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wynnz's reviews
213 reviews
Nepřemožitelný by Stanisław Lem
2.0
The Invincible by Stanislaw Lem, published in the early sixties, and translated to English in the early seventies. I enjoyed it up until a certain point: that point was about sixty percent-ish. The beginning was good, interesting, intriguing and a bit of a mystery, a sort of whodunnit or what dunnit, on this planet, and to the crew. After the perpetrators were revealed, and the mystery more or less solved, I lost interest, I couldn’t follow the story after that, not sure why, just did. But out of sheer pig-headedness I finished it, but didn’t really understand it. The language was a bit clunky and a bit strange. It felt forced, whether that's the writer's style or due to the translation, I'm not sure, but it felt awkward. So in conclusion, as the soccer pundits say it was a game/book of two halves, first half good, second half bad, which was a shame.
Old Enemy by Nathan Hystad
4.0
Old Enemy, book six in the Survivors saga. I felt this book was better than the previous couple, a better plotline, more intrigue, more interesting, more entertaining, and more enjoyable. Still got the handy and convenient factor to it, but it's part of the course, and something I have to accept, but still find frustrating at times. An all round better book.
The Emissary by Michael J. Edwards, Michael J. Edwards
5.0
Oh dear me, I so wanted to like this book, some good reviews, the blurb caught my eye. I wasn’t sure whether this type of novel was my cup of tea. But boy was I glad I read it, so refreshing to read a good book, well written, intriguing plot line, strong believable characters. An entertaining, engrossing, compelling and pleasurable read, couldn’t put down, 424 pages, puff gone just like that.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. A deep dive into the human psyche, and how utterly unprepared we are to work together as one entity. Depressing in a way, how splintered and tribal we are as a species. Unwilling and unable to work together for a common good, but there again it shouldn’t come as a shock, the writing was so believable and insightful, it left me feeling disheartened and disappointed.
I’m also disappointed that I can only find two books by this author. I will definitely read the other book ASAP. I have no qualms in giving this book five stars.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. A deep dive into the human psyche, and how utterly unprepared we are to work together as one entity. Depressing in a way, how splintered and tribal we are as a species. Unwilling and unable to work together for a common good, but there again it shouldn’t come as a shock, the writing was so believable and insightful, it left me feeling disheartened and disappointed.
I’m also disappointed that I can only find two books by this author. I will definitely read the other book ASAP. I have no qualms in giving this book five stars.
Terms May Apply by Keith A. Pearson
5.0
Such a mundane book, but yet so compelling, in parts boring, but then so engrossing, so banal, but endearing and yet such a page turner. In other words a book full of oxymorons. Beautifully written, capturing the essence of an ordinary man, in his ordinary life, when it's thrown into turmoil, all because of a simple wish. I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish, a bloody good read. I wish I had the words to express how good this book is. 5 STARS.
Echogenesis by Gary Gibson
5.0
Wow! I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this book, from the plotline, which was so good and exciting, world building, characters, I loved everything about it. Considering that I was in two minds whether or not to read it, I'm so glad I did. The plot teasingly revealed slowly throughout helped to sustain the intrigue and suspense, and for the first time in a long time, an ending that I wasn't disappointed in, or felt cheated, the only thing was, it left me wanting more, just like Oliver, please sir I want some more. A classic page turner, if ever I read one. 5 *****. I’m certainly going to look for more books by this author.
Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher
5.0
What the hell, 5 stars.
Some very witty, amusing and sarcastic banter in this very entertaining yarn. Not my usual genre, but I thought I'd give it a go. And I'm glad I did, they say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but wit nonetheless. Just like The Dirty Dozen, except there’s only four of them, and they're not soldiers, but apart from that exactly the same, well with some other niggly inconsistencies, but apart from those exactly the same. The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, no hang on I got that wrong, the knight, the forger, assassin, the scholar, there we go. Well anyway, I enjoyed it, give it a go you might be surprised, I was.
Some very witty, amusing and sarcastic banter in this very entertaining yarn. Not my usual genre, but I thought I'd give it a go. And I'm glad I did, they say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but wit nonetheless. Just like The Dirty Dozen, except there’s only four of them, and they're not soldiers, but apart from that exactly the same, well with some other niggly inconsistencies, but apart from those exactly the same. The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, no hang on I got that wrong, the knight, the forger, assassin, the scholar, there we go. Well anyway, I enjoyed it, give it a go you might be surprised, I was.
Welcome to the Occupied States of America by Peter Cawdron
4.0
Another masterclass in story telling from the king of first contact. How does he do it. A classic page turner, yet again, this is the ninth novel in the First Contact series,( I think) and none of them have been disappointing. Enjoyed this book immensely, entertaining, exciting and engrossing. Looking forward to reading the next one.
The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher
4.0
Book two of the Clocktaur War, another immensely entertaining, witty, amusing and sarcastic continuation from the previous book.
Our intrepid heroes squabbling and bickering amongst themselves. And the will they won't they, conundrum is solved, or is it.
Poor Caliban, I’ve got a funny feeling if he were to fall into a barrel of breasts, he’d come out sucking his thumb. Beautifully written, the author spins a wonderful web of intrigue. A very enjoyable and easy going read indeed.
Our intrepid heroes squabbling and bickering amongst themselves. And the will they won't they, conundrum is solved, or is it.
Poor Caliban, I’ve got a funny feeling if he were to fall into a barrel of breasts, he’d come out sucking his thumb. Beautifully written, the author spins a wonderful web of intrigue. A very enjoyable and easy going read indeed.
Starman's Saga: The Long, Strange Journey of Leif The Lucky by Colin Alexander
4.0
Nothing new under the sun here, except the planet, oh and the sun, but apart from that, nothing new, space exploration, how people interact with each other in a confined space, with the added tension of world conflict thrown in for good measure. A difficult book to review, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either, although for some reason it was a bit of a page turner. It did keep me interested. Some excitement ensued on the planet, but very little elsewhere. If I had to criticize, I think the book should have been shorter, it was a bit long winded.
The Stone of Destiny by M.C. Roberts
3.0
Bond 007 comes to mind, well Bond-ish, without the gadgets, the girls, the casinos, the jumping out of planes, apart from that exactly the same, so basically Bond, but without the excitement. More like planes, trains and automobiles, but there is a secret cabal, hell bent on world domination, so there is that. Like all these charismatic main protagonists, they’re all pretty much cast from the same mould. Handsome, tall, athletic, charming always gets the girls, you know like real life stuff. But there again we don’t read this type of stuff for the reality, we want to be swept up into the thrilling adventures of these characters. Anyway as far as the story goes, they looked for a diamond… and they found it!