The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold
SOA Listening Challenge 2012: Surprise Me 2nd Quarter
Choice #4--Listen to a non-romance
SFR Reading Challenge 2012 #12- I was doing the Moon Challenge (15 books) but will now up my status to the next level.
4.5*
Grade A
Watching
Miles "grow up" is almost as difficult and nerve wracking as watching
my own children's progress. Although I'm very grateful my children won't
be juggling the future of the known universe in their hands any time
soon. I was on the edge of my seat for much of the book, and laughing
out loud for much of the rest. Miles is a wonderful character, and his
over-confidence and bravado inspire both admiration and horror. This is
my first time through the series, and I can't help wondering if the
impact of the decisions Miles has had to make, including the mistakes,
is going to come back to haunt him. And I wonder if he'll ever think
he's achieved enough to make up for his disabilities.
Bujold is a
master at convoluted, many-layered plots. Reading her one of her books
is always a pleasure. The narration by Grover Gardner is excellent as
always. While he doesn't change his voice a great deal for his
characters, he does have a different inflection for each character,
especially during dialogues, and it's easy to follow along.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
SOA Listening Challenge 2012
No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole
SOA listening Challenge 2012 Surprise Me 2nd Quarter--Choice #2 Listen to a romance narrated by a man.
Narrator Robert Petkoff
4.5*
Grade A
<i>No Rest for the Wicked</i> is the second book set in Kresley Cole's very imaginative universe. It follows closely on the heels of the excellent [book:A Hunger Like No Other|14384], and continues the complex and entertaining world-building started in that book. This book centers around Kaderin the Cold-Heart, a Valkyrie who was "blessed" with no emotions after almost going crazy witnessing the brutal deaths of her two sisters almost 1000 years ago. Her purpose in life now is to slay as many vampires as possible in revenge. That brings her to a lonely castle to kill the vampire, Sebastian. Sebastian was made a vampire against his will and has lived in self-loathing and solitude for over 200 years, drinking only the blood of animals. Both Sebastian and Kaderin end up in a sort of supernatural scavenger hunt called the Hie, where winning could mean changing the past. Along with the adventure, Kaderin has to come to terms with her growing feelings for Sebastian.
Both Sebastian and Kaderin are great characters. Sebastian is an interesting mix of alpha and beta hero qualities, at once demanding and controlling, and yet inexperienced and unsure of himself as well. His beta qualities make him vulnerable and sympathetic, and his alpha qualities make him swoon-worthy. Kaderin was irritating in the first part of the book, but her softening heart makes her a much more enjoyable and sympathetic heroine as the book progresses. The two together are dynamite.
The audiobook is narrated by the talented Robert Petkoff. His voicing of the many accents and his ability to do both male and female characters well makes him a perfect choice for this series. He differentiates the characters very well, even when voicing two males with Slavic accents, or two Valkyrie sisters. His timing and inflection when reading dialogue is excellent. He delivers humorous lines with the right "punch" and is good at knowing just the right inflection needed for the context. My only caveat, and this is a small one, is that the love scenes are delivered a little too dramatically for my tastes, and Kaderin sometimes ends up sounding too breathy. Overall, however, this is an enjoyable story made even better by an excellent narration.
SOA listening Challenge 2012 Surprise Me 2nd Quarter--Choice #2 Listen to a romance narrated by a man.
Narrator Robert Petkoff
4.5*
Grade A
<i>No Rest for the Wicked</i> is the second book set in Kresley Cole's very imaginative universe. It follows closely on the heels of the excellent [book:A Hunger Like No Other|14384], and continues the complex and entertaining world-building started in that book. This book centers around Kaderin the Cold-Heart, a Valkyrie who was "blessed" with no emotions after almost going crazy witnessing the brutal deaths of her two sisters almost 1000 years ago. Her purpose in life now is to slay as many vampires as possible in revenge. That brings her to a lonely castle to kill the vampire, Sebastian. Sebastian was made a vampire against his will and has lived in self-loathing and solitude for over 200 years, drinking only the blood of animals. Both Sebastian and Kaderin end up in a sort of supernatural scavenger hunt called the Hie, where winning could mean changing the past. Along with the adventure, Kaderin has to come to terms with her growing feelings for Sebastian.
Both Sebastian and Kaderin are great characters. Sebastian is an interesting mix of alpha and beta hero qualities, at once demanding and controlling, and yet inexperienced and unsure of himself as well. His beta qualities make him vulnerable and sympathetic, and his alpha qualities make him swoon-worthy. Kaderin was irritating in the first part of the book, but her softening heart makes her a much more enjoyable and sympathetic heroine as the book progresses. The two together are dynamite.
The audiobook is narrated by the talented Robert Petkoff. His voicing of the many accents and his ability to do both male and female characters well makes him a perfect choice for this series. He differentiates the characters very well, even when voicing two males with Slavic accents, or two Valkyrie sisters. His timing and inflection when reading dialogue is excellent. He delivers humorous lines with the right "punch" and is good at knowing just the right inflection needed for the context. My only caveat, and this is a small one, is that the love scenes are delivered a little too dramatically for my tastes, and Kaderin sometimes ends up sounding too breathy. Overall, however, this is an enjoyable story made even better by an excellent narration.
TBR and SFR Reading Challenges 2012
Girl Gone Nova by Pauline Baird Jones
A-
4/5 stars
TBR Reading Challenge 2012: Personal challenge-- This book was originally added to my to-read list June 10, 2010.
SFR Reading Challenge 2012: book 10 of 15 for Moon Challenge
Girl Gone Nova is quite a roller-coaster ride! What stands out for me, both now and as I read it, was what you don't know about what is going on. The catch is that you know you don't know the what and why. It's like walking on a familiar path but in the fog. You feel both sure and unsure of where you're going and it keeps you alert.
Pauline Baird Jones has written a complex puzzle of a plot, mixing time and space travel, advanced technology such as nanoagents, and good old-fashion military space opera. This book is the second of a series, and reading the first book, The Key, is recommended for complete understanding of some major plot points. It's not absolutely necessary, but some things the reader is assumed to know and understand, so it's helpful to have read it.
The plotting is masterful. I enjoyed trying to guess what was actually going on and how the author was going to resolve it all. When time-travel is thrown in the mix, things can get complicated quickly and making a coherent story out of it can be a challenge. For the most part, Ms. Jones succeeds, although the ending got a bit muddled. The resolution was more complicated than necessary and ended up detracting from the story overall for me. One less trip through time would have been better. The last trip was confusing and oddly unsatisfying, bringing up more questions than it answered.
Doc and Hel were both unique, and Ms. Jones succeeds in developing their characters slowly and satisfyingly throughout the book. Her secondary characters were also interesting and often well-defined.
My only other caveat is that the book dragged in places due to too much internal musing by the characters. Granted, the musing was usually entertaining and even enlightening, but just because something is good doesn't mean it adds to the story. The internal musing too often came in the middle of key scenes and slowed down the action. Removing some paragraphs, or even removing some sentences from some paragraphs could have tightened up the flow of the book.
Overall recommended for SFR lovers. I've already downloaded the next two books in the series and look forward to reading them.
A-
4/5 stars
TBR Reading Challenge 2012: Personal challenge-- This book was originally added to my to-read list June 10, 2010.
SFR Reading Challenge 2012: book 10 of 15 for Moon Challenge
Girl Gone Nova is quite a roller-coaster ride! What stands out for me, both now and as I read it, was what you don't know about what is going on. The catch is that you know you don't know the what and why. It's like walking on a familiar path but in the fog. You feel both sure and unsure of where you're going and it keeps you alert.
Pauline Baird Jones has written a complex puzzle of a plot, mixing time and space travel, advanced technology such as nanoagents, and good old-fashion military space opera. This book is the second of a series, and reading the first book, The Key, is recommended for complete understanding of some major plot points. It's not absolutely necessary, but some things the reader is assumed to know and understand, so it's helpful to have read it.
The plotting is masterful. I enjoyed trying to guess what was actually going on and how the author was going to resolve it all. When time-travel is thrown in the mix, things can get complicated quickly and making a coherent story out of it can be a challenge. For the most part, Ms. Jones succeeds, although the ending got a bit muddled. The resolution was more complicated than necessary and ended up detracting from the story overall for me. One less trip through time would have been better. The last trip was confusing and oddly unsatisfying, bringing up more questions than it answered.
Doc and Hel were both unique, and Ms. Jones succeeds in developing their characters slowly and satisfyingly throughout the book. Her secondary characters were also interesting and often well-defined.
My only other caveat is that the book dragged in places due to too much internal musing by the characters. Granted, the musing was usually entertaining and even enlightening, but just because something is good doesn't mean it adds to the story. The internal musing too often came in the middle of key scenes and slowed down the action. Removing some paragraphs, or even removing some sentences from some paragraphs could have tightened up the flow of the book.
Overall recommended for SFR lovers. I've already downloaded the next two books in the series and look forward to reading them.
Friday, April 13, 2012
TBR Challenge 2012: April Category
Release by Beth Kery
TBR Challenge 2012: April Category-- A new-to-you author. Release has been on my to-read list since February 17, 2010.
3.5*
Grade B+
Release is an enjoyable erotic romantic suspense. Erotica romance is not my favorite genre, so that impacts my final rating of the book. I was quite interested in the suspense plot and the gradually unfolding backstory concerning Max, Sean, and Genny. I was less interested in the lengthy and highly detailed sex scenes. I didn't enjoy the recounting of the menage (told in retrospect) because the husband, Max, put me off. Otherwise, the sex scenes were very hot, and even though I was more interested in the suspense plot I did appreciate how well-written they were.
Unfortunately, the suspense plot had a few too many holes in it. One person's blackmail "evidence" pointing to the supposed murderer would never had stood up in court. Photos can be doctored or faked, and even I could figure out where the guy came up with his key physical evidence.
So the suspense plot didn't quite hold up, but was still entertaining. The sex was frequent, detailed and well-written. to paraphrase my friend Jane from her review (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/123635489), you don't read this book for the plot. ;-)
TBR Challenge 2012: April Category-- A new-to-you author. Release has been on my to-read list since February 17, 2010.
3.5*
Grade B+
Release is an enjoyable erotic romantic suspense. Erotica romance is not my favorite genre, so that impacts my final rating of the book. I was quite interested in the suspense plot and the gradually unfolding backstory concerning Max, Sean, and Genny. I was less interested in the lengthy and highly detailed sex scenes. I didn't enjoy the recounting of the menage (told in retrospect) because the husband, Max, put me off. Otherwise, the sex scenes were very hot, and even though I was more interested in the suspense plot I did appreciate how well-written they were.
Unfortunately, the suspense plot had a few too many holes in it. One person's blackmail "evidence" pointing to the supposed murderer would never had stood up in court. Photos can be doctored or faked, and even I could figure out where the guy came up with his key physical evidence.
So the suspense plot didn't quite hold up, but was still entertaining. The sex was frequent, detailed and well-written. to paraphrase my friend Jane from her review (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/123635489), you don't read this book for the plot. ;-)
SFR Reading Challenge 2012
The Warrior's Apprentice (Vorkosigan Saga #4) by Lois McMaster Bujold
SFR Reading Challenge 2012 7/15
Free from the Baen Free Library.
I admit I wasn't as pulled into this one as early or as powerfully as the other Vorkosigan books I've read so far, but this was also the first on I hadn't listened to on audio. I did find the middle section of the book somewhat convoluted and had trouble keeping the (many) characters and factions straight. But I have to marvel at how much detail Bujold puts into her books, and how layered the plots and characters are. Amazing, really. Just when you want to dub the series "light," Bujold throws in something sobering and very, very disturbing.
Miles is a great character, and I liked seeing him at what is essentially the beginning of his story. I love the humor, and I like that Miles, while the "hero" of the tale and obviously a likeable person, is definitely not perfect or blameless.
SFR Reading Challenge 2012 7/15
Free from the Baen Free Library.
I admit I wasn't as pulled into this one as early or as powerfully as the other Vorkosigan books I've read so far, but this was also the first on I hadn't listened to on audio. I did find the middle section of the book somewhat convoluted and had trouble keeping the (many) characters and factions straight. But I have to marvel at how much detail Bujold puts into her books, and how layered the plots and characters are. Amazing, really. Just when you want to dub the series "light," Bujold throws in something sobering and very, very disturbing.
Miles is a great character, and I liked seeing him at what is essentially the beginning of his story. I love the humor, and I like that Miles, while the "hero" of the tale and obviously a likeable person, is definitely not perfect or blameless.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
SFR and SOA Reading Challenges 2012
After Glow by Jayne Castle
SOA Reading Challenge 2012 Surprise Me by Quarter: Quarter 2
Choice #3 – Rounding Out the Family – Listen to a romance where a child (under 18) or pet plays a significant role. (Fuzz, the dust bunny)
SFR Reading Challenge 2012 9/15
2.5* rounded up to 3*
Grade C+
Mildly entertaining futuristic suspense novel hampered by clunky writing and too much telling. I generally enjoy JAK in all her permutations, but this isn't one of her best. Lydia and Emmett skirted around actually talking about their true feelings for most of the book. That's a cliched romance novel trope, but it could've been used to create a little angst and distant between them, which could potentially have set the stage for an emotional confrontation/discussion. Instead, the tension basically was allowed to fizzle in one half-hearted conversation.
The suspense plot was decent, but convoluted, and there were too many plot holes. Like why hadn't anyone found the secret chamber before? Lydia got out once through a series of tunnels not involving the big trap, is it reasonable that someone hadn't stumbled on the chamber from that direction before?
SOA Reading Challenge 2012 Surprise Me by Quarter: Quarter 2
Choice #3 – Rounding Out the Family – Listen to a romance where a child (under 18) or pet plays a significant role. (Fuzz, the dust bunny)
SFR Reading Challenge 2012 9/15
2.5* rounded up to 3*
Grade C+
Mildly entertaining futuristic suspense novel hampered by clunky writing and too much telling. I generally enjoy JAK in all her permutations, but this isn't one of her best. Lydia and Emmett skirted around actually talking about their true feelings for most of the book. That's a cliched romance novel trope, but it could've been used to create a little angst and distant between them, which could potentially have set the stage for an emotional confrontation/discussion. Instead, the tension basically was allowed to fizzle in one half-hearted conversation.
The suspense plot was decent, but convoluted, and there were too many plot holes. Like why hadn't anyone found the secret chamber before? Lydia got out once through a series of tunnels not involving the big trap, is it reasonable that someone hadn't stumbled on the chamber from that direction before?
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
TBR Reading Challenge 2012--Personal Category
Blue Flame by Jill Shalvis
TBR Challenge 2012- Personal category. This book has been on my to-read list for over a year while I tried to find a used copy.
A-/B+
Jill Shalvis's Firefighter Trilogy are some of my favorite books by this author. She's written other romantic suspense titles, but these seem to be the most complex as far as characterizations and story. In Blue Flame, I enjoyed the developing relationship between Callie and Jake. Jake was a player, and it was interesting to watch him come to terms with his past and his future. Callie had the most real strength of character in many ways, and I liked that Shalvis paired the alpha-male Jake with a strong female lead who could hold her own.
The suspense plot was fine, and although it wasn't a huge part of the book it helps with character development and provides a focus for the story.
Good book! Well worth the effort to find a used copy.
TBR Challenge 2012- Personal category. This book has been on my to-read list for over a year while I tried to find a used copy.
A-/B+
Jill Shalvis's Firefighter Trilogy are some of my favorite books by this author. She's written other romantic suspense titles, but these seem to be the most complex as far as characterizations and story. In Blue Flame, I enjoyed the developing relationship between Callie and Jake. Jake was a player, and it was interesting to watch him come to terms with his past and his future. Callie had the most real strength of character in many ways, and I liked that Shalvis paired the alpha-male Jake with a strong female lead who could hold her own.
The suspense plot was fine, and although it wasn't a huge part of the book it helps with character development and provides a focus for the story.
Good book! Well worth the effort to find a used copy.
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