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wynnz's reviews
213 reviews
Unstable by Jack Hunt
3.0
Your average run of the mill, end of days, apocalypse, government/military incompetence, ruining everyone's day. Following the trials and tribulations of Brody Jackson, a front row seat of his attempts to wrangle his family together during the ensuing poop storm. Nothing new here, although it does move at a nice pace to keep you engaged.
Deep Storm by Lincoln Child
3.0
It was good enough to keep me interested, some intrigue and suspense that kept me engaged for the most part. A different take on the sci-fi aspect, thrilling to a degree, so yeah enjoyable.
The Crimson Deathbringer by Sean Robins
2.0
'm not sure how to review this book, on the one hand it was ok-ish, but on the other a bit lackluster. The premise was ok, but it just felt that there was something missing, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, it felt forced a bit wooden, stiff. The humor was very much hit or miss, and in my opinion more misses, I’ve read funnier banter and dialogue. But there again humor is subjective, one man’s meat is another man’s poison. The practical jokes are another example of trying to inject some humor into situations but failing. Having said that the action sequences were well written and descriptive. In conclusion, you have to suck it and see. Anyway reviews, opinions and criticism are like rectums, everybody’s got one.
Need a Little Time by Adam Eccles
4.0
An easy enjoyable read, no need to worry about mind-bending paradoxes here. The plot is straight forward, no need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out this one. Heartwarming, feel good story. Curl up in front of a roaring log fire, a nice mug of hot chocolate or bottle of wine, whichever floats your boat, wrapped up in a cuddly blanket, and have at it. You’ll enjoy it.
Edges by Linda Nagata
1.0
Ok, let me start off by agreeing wholeheartedly with the one percenters. Straight off the bat, I did not like this book, not one iota. It's going to be more of a rant than a review.
In fact, I would go as far as to say, read the blurb, don’t bother with the book. I gained more information from the blurb than I did from the book. Whomever wrote the blurb did a good job, if the author wrote the blurb, then she should have continued in that vein. Instead, I got pretentious, highbrow claptrap. I also want to emphasise my utter contempt for this book by swearing, but swearing they say is a lack of vocabulary. Unfortunately, this book had the mother-lode of vocabulary, after every sentence I had to virtually look it up in the dictionary, in fact it was like reading the dictionary.
Language and vocabulary are as grand as her ideas, if you have a degree, PhD or a doctorate in literature, philosophy and any of the other ologies, then this is the book for you. I didn’t even know whether the characters were human, there were avatars, ghosts, copies, copies of copies, sub minds, was it the Matrix in space? Transhumanism? Consciousness uploaded or downloaded, were they all digital consciousness, I haven’t got a clue. On top of that there were the philosopher cell, WTF are the philosopher cells, I thought it was a bunch of philosophers sitting around discussing the meaning of life, metaphysics, epistemology, and there’s me thinking it was 42. Apparently, it's the coating of the spaceship, see I did read it, mind you I wish I hadn’t, I wished I'd been poked in the eye with a sharp stick, more enjoyment, I think.
Imagine a bald fat man sitting in his underwear in front of the TV, scratching his arse, smelling his fingers afterward, eating pizza and drinking a beer. Now he sends his avatar down to the shops to do some shopping, he then sends a ghost to work, sends a copy to watch a movie in the theatre, and his sub mind is on a date. They all come back, and he’s got all their memories, or something like that.
The characters were bland, sterile, clinical, I couldn’t empathies nor sympathies with any of them, they had no pathos whatsoever, I couldn’t care if they all died, in huge explosion of nanomachines and biomaterial.
The premise sounded interesting, but the delivery was abysmal.
In fact, I would go as far as to say, read the blurb, don’t bother with the book. I gained more information from the blurb than I did from the book. Whomever wrote the blurb did a good job, if the author wrote the blurb, then she should have continued in that vein. Instead, I got pretentious, highbrow claptrap. I also want to emphasise my utter contempt for this book by swearing, but swearing they say is a lack of vocabulary. Unfortunately, this book had the mother-lode of vocabulary, after every sentence I had to virtually look it up in the dictionary, in fact it was like reading the dictionary.
Language and vocabulary are as grand as her ideas, if you have a degree, PhD or a doctorate in literature, philosophy and any of the other ologies, then this is the book for you. I didn’t even know whether the characters were human, there were avatars, ghosts, copies, copies of copies, sub minds, was it the Matrix in space? Transhumanism? Consciousness uploaded or downloaded, were they all digital consciousness, I haven’t got a clue. On top of that there were the philosopher cell, WTF are the philosopher cells, I thought it was a bunch of philosophers sitting around discussing the meaning of life, metaphysics, epistemology, and there’s me thinking it was 42. Apparently, it's the coating of the spaceship, see I did read it, mind you I wish I hadn’t, I wished I'd been poked in the eye with a sharp stick, more enjoyment, I think.
Imagine a bald fat man sitting in his underwear in front of the TV, scratching his arse, smelling his fingers afterward, eating pizza and drinking a beer. Now he sends his avatar down to the shops to do some shopping, he then sends a ghost to work, sends a copy to watch a movie in the theatre, and his sub mind is on a date. They all come back, and he’s got all their memories, or something like that.
The characters were bland, sterile, clinical, I couldn’t empathies nor sympathies with any of them, they had no pathos whatsoever, I couldn’t care if they all died, in huge explosion of nanomachines and biomaterial.
The premise sounded interesting, but the delivery was abysmal.
An Assassin's Accord by Michael Anderle
3.0
At the start of the book, I thought I was reading a business management course for dummies. Because, well that’s what the main characters were talking about, you know, business stuff. And the alien creatures roaming around certain countries, as a backdrop. There was a bit of a detective theme going on, stealing some data from a high security facility, and then right at the end some action. So a slow start, a slow-ish middle and somewhat of an exciting end.
Ad Astra by Kevin McLaughlin
2.0
Found a spaceship, took it out for a spin, around the solar system, broke it, fixed it, let’s go and explore, and stick our nibs in where it doesn’t belong, let’s have an adventure.
Cherry Drop by P.A. Piatt
4.0
I thought I was going to be reading your average run of the mill, bog standard military sci-fi, and in many ways, it was. Dropped from space, kills some bugs. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt, but there was something different about this one, it felt sharper, crisper, more precise in its delivery, like a well ironed pair of trousers, with a knife edge seam, it practically felt as if I was there, feeling their pain and anguish. Yes, very enjoyable, a good story, and some intrigue thrown in for good measure. A worthwhile read.
Donovan's War by W.J. Lundy
3.0
Going by Goodreads' starring system, it was Ok. I haven’t read many books in this genre, I’m not quite sure how to categorise these types of books, military, ex-spec ops, CIA, clandestine, mystery, thriller, counter-terrorism, off the books, wink wink, nudge nudge, double cross, betrayal, stab in the back, don’t mess with my family, revenge and vengeance is mine, good guys, bad guys, the guys that are in between, in the shadows.
I couldn’t fully empathise with the main character for some reason, I felt detached, disconnected, like I was looking from the outside, rather than being included in his journey. Although the action was exciting and well written.
I find the problem with this type of genre, is that it's very similar to the zombie apocalypse genre, it gets very, same same, very quickly. Overall, I did enjoy it, and I do think it's a worthwhile read.
I couldn’t fully empathise with the main character for some reason, I felt detached, disconnected, like I was looking from the outside, rather than being included in his journey. Although the action was exciting and well written.
I find the problem with this type of genre, is that it's very similar to the zombie apocalypse genre, it gets very, same same, very quickly. Overall, I did enjoy it, and I do think it's a worthwhile read.
Wherever Seeds May Fall by Peter Cawdron
4.0
To be honest with you Peter Cawdron has made me feel guilty, he’s made me think twice about writing my reviews. The authors and reviews that I read and wrote deserve more credit than I have given them, and appreciate their work. They work very hard in thinking of ideas and developing them, refining them and ultimately delivering them. I have been very critical about some of the books that I have read, just because I don’t like a book, I shouldn’t dismiss it offhandedly and ignore the amount of work someone has poured into them, their hearts and souls, blood, sweat and tears, I should imagine. Although I have very little understanding of the process of writing a book, let’s face it, I can barely write a review.
Right, having said that, let's smash the crap out of this book. No, no, only kidding!
Another interesting and entertaining premise, to add to his other books in his First Contact series, another pause for thought for the human race, to reflect and ponder, not that we ever will, pause and think that is. Given enough time I'm sure we’ll be the instigators of our own demise. Glass half empty philosophy here.
Although I did find the author's Afterword absolutely fascinating, and very informative, it was nearly as interesting as the book. Another worthwhile and enjoyable read. But make sure you read the Afterword, afterwards. See what I did there.
Right, having said that, let's smash the crap out of this book. No, no, only kidding!
Another interesting and entertaining premise, to add to his other books in his First Contact series, another pause for thought for the human race, to reflect and ponder, not that we ever will, pause and think that is. Given enough time I'm sure we’ll be the instigators of our own demise. Glass half empty philosophy here.
Although I did find the author's Afterword absolutely fascinating, and very informative, it was nearly as interesting as the book. Another worthwhile and enjoyable read. But make sure you read the Afterword, afterwards. See what I did there.