Book Review: Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

My rating: 3/5

From Amazon: "In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human."

This book suffers from a good idea with not-so-good execution.  The only way I was able to finish it was to imagine famous actors playing the parts and hear the dialogue in their voices, even if those actors didn't make any sense for the parts I gave them. For example, Jensen Ackles is not Japanese, but Dean Winchester works very well as Tom; and Christopher Walken is not a big muscly dude, but he is hilarious as Charlie Pink-Eye, and I highly recommend reading his lines in Walken's voice.

The biggest problem was the main character.  Benny is annoying. He's lazy and childish in the beginning, and he has spurts of maturing throughout the book, but sometimes he backslides (and it's not always clear why), and you roll your eyes.  How he could grow up in a tiny town and not know what his brother, whom he lives with, does for a living is far-fetched, as is the characterization of the town itself being so awkwardly fearful.  Tom explains these things to Benny; Benny says these things are dumb; and the reader agrees. 

But again, I like the idea. I like having to wrap my mind around zombies still being people, at least in the memories of those who loved them. I like the Wild West feel of the all-but-vanquished world.  It just gets a little too dramatic and a little too unrealistic.

For a zombie book though, there isn't a terrible amount of gore, and there is only a little swearing (I think one of the big bad guys even says "friggin'" at one point), so it seems to be aimed at a younger, junior-high-ish audience.  But it doesn't quite fit that crossover young-adult-to-adult audience, so I probably wouldn't recommend it for anyone older than high school.

Book Review: The Colour of Magic (A Discworld Novel) by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 3.75/5

From Goodreads.com: "On a world supported on the back of a giant turtle (sex unknown), a gleeful, explosive, wickedly eccentric expedition sets out.

"There's an avaricious but inept wizard, a naive tourist whose luggage moves on hundreds of dear little legs, dragons who only exist if you believe in them, and of course THE EDGE of the planet..."

As the series title states, this fancifully absurd world exists as a flat disc, which rests on top of four elephants who are in turn on top of a turtle, while the gods play dice to decide the occupants' fates. Scientists and philosophers strive to figure out the hows and whys of the world (for example, the all-important question of the sex of the giant turtle), and Rincewind the wizard and Twoflower the world's-very-first tourist are repeatedly caught in the middle.  They survive bar fights, dragon flights, magic spells, fires, and shipwrecks, and the action really never stops.  And the sapient luggage is their friend, is full of gold, and eats bad guys, so, there's that.


I really enjoyed this book.  The writing was very clever and made me giggle several times; but it was a little too far on the absurd side for me to love it.  I will say that the style grew on me though as the book progressed.  I have not read the rest of the series, but if I find out that it does not turn into the silliness that Hitchhiker's Guide (which this writing style very much reminds me of) turned into as its series progressed, I probably will. Another small complaint is the ever-present misogyny that the male, British, 20th-century authors whom I've read all seem to have, presented as a severe lack of female characters other than mainly as sex objects.  I believe that, among all of the multitude of characters the heroes encounter, there were three women in this book. One is a dangerous, unpredictable goddess ("Luck") who's rarely present but admittedly powerful; one a naked dryad; and the last a dragon-warrior princess who wears very little and whose sole goal is to find a husband.  However, it really only grated on me when these characters were present, and since they weren't present for very much of the book, I could ignore it and enjoy the rest of the story.


All in all, a good book and a talented author.


I also recommend the movie of the same name with Sean Astin and Tim Curry, which I believe combines this book and the next in the series (since the story goes a little bit beyond what I read in Color of Magic).  The movie captures the feel of the book very well.  It's a little long (something like 3 hours 20 minutes), but it's worth it. 


Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nedwZwOvdVs

Book Review: The Burned Tower by Sergey and Marina Dyachenko

My rating: 4/5

From Amazon: "A truck driver on a lonely stretch of road, a hitchhiker, and an ancient curse— a brilliant and moving tale, steeped in folklore, by the masters of modern Fantasy."

I'm loving the folk tales lately, and I haven't even been seeking them out.  This short story is currently a free download for Kindle through Amazon; which is why I thought, even though I'd never heard of the authors or the story before, why not download it. 

Because it's a translation from Russian (and well done, but still pretty obviously a translation), I do feel that I maybe missed some of what the story was trying to say.  Despite this though, I enjoyed it. The Piper was unearthly and creepy (and exactly how I imagine someone of his supernatural persuasion would act), and poor Guy's story weaves from being about an average schmo driving a delivery van to a series of questions about heaven and hell, life and the afterlife, reality and monsters, and even time. 

I will definitely be keeping these authors in mind for future reading.

Book Review: The Woodcutter by Kate Danley

My rating: 4/5

From Amazon: “Cinderella is dead and one of Odin's hellhounds has gone rogue. The Woodcutter, protector of peace between Man and Fae, is charged with finding the beast and returning him to the Wild Hunt. 

“Unfortunately, the forces of evil have other plans. 

“Leaving the comforts of his quiet home, he finds a pixie dust trade raging out of control and a power hungry Queen who will stop at nothing to take over the world.   The lives of Snow White, Rapunzel, and Little Red Riding Hood are at stake in this dark fairytale.  It is a race against time as the Woodcutter travels east of the sun and west of the moon, up beanstalks and down to the bowels of the earth to unravel a mystery that can only be described as Grimm.Show MoreShow Less”

I’m not into stories about fairies, but this was actually a really good read and one of the most unique books I’ve read.  The story is written as if it were a fable passed down through the centuries, and the style is pulled off very well.  Nothing is overdramatic and some things just “are,” without need of explanation, the way a fairy tale is told to a child. And in spite of not being written in an overly dramatic fashion, the reader becomes very attached to the Woodcutter, and the author includes some beautiful imagery.  I was honestly in tears near the end, and that does not happen to me often with books.   I also enjoyed how almost every fairy tale I remember was woven into this story. Though this seems to be a trend lately (a la Once Upon a Time), The Woodcutter stands apart, and I would recommend it to almost anyone.

The only reason I didn’t rate it higher than a 4 is that the last half seemed to drag a bit for me.  Personal opinion, but I think the book could have been a little shorter and still been just as good.

I purchased the Kindle version and plan to buy a paperback just to have for my collection.

Book Review: Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

My rating: 3/5

From Amazon:
"Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

    

"Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world."

I finished this book in only a few nights, which is becoming an increasingly rare thing for me, so I have to give the book credit for being engaging and interesting enough to hold my attention and make me want to finish it.

The only problem is that by the end I was disappointed, and for several reasons.  I understand now that this book is part of a 3-book series, but that only the last book continues this book's story.  However, I still felt let down that this book does not tell us what happens to many important characters.  They just up and leave, and that's it.  Part of what kept me reading was wondering what happened to these people, and then, poof; it's over.

Characterization was a bit of a problem also.  I could cut it a little slack since it's told from the perspective of a 16-year-old's journal, but I still wish I'd gotten a better "feel" for all of the major players, Miranda included.  They just never quite felt entirely real.

And then there's the stuff that the author just didn't bother to research that got irritating.  Apparently most of the science (about the moon, the weather, etc.) doesn't add up; but to be honest, I wouldn't have known if I hadn't read others' reviews.  But the well kept working without electricity?  They tossed their hair clippings into the fire to "watch them sizzle" but don't mention the horrible stench that would've caused?  The wood stove that they're sleeping in front of backfired and they woke up from the smoke, not the *boom*?  The mayor has a snowmobile, that he could have used to go find and talk to people, but simply wonders out loud why no one's coming for supplies?  These are all pretty big errors, and I'm surprised they made it past an editor, let alone the author herself.

Also, as much as I could be called a "crazy liberal," the jabs at George W. Bush and Fox News were a little much. The crazy Christians didn't bother me as much, but I would've liked to see some realistically reasonable Christians as well.  It's pretty far-fetched to think the only Christians Miranda comes into contact with are in a cult.

And that's why, as much as I honestly enjoyed the read, I can't rate it any higher than a 3.

Book Review: The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross

My rating: 3/5

From Amazon: "Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined…"

This is actually a short-story prequel to the series' first book, The Girl in the Steel Corset, which I have not read.  This prequel is also currently free on Kindle.

Overall, this wouldn't be bad for a reader probably in the junior high age range.  It gets a little tiring though when Finley Jayne never seems to grow into more than a Mary Sue.  Keep in mind, this judgment is based solely on the short story; maybe Finley is better developed in the novels.  And the story as a whole isn't terrible, especially since the author clearly knows very well the world she's created.  But I never cared for Finley's constant haranguing herself for doing good things that she had somehow determined were part of her "bad side," and so I have no real interest in reading the series.

Book Review: Bossypants by Tina Fey

My rating: 4.25/5

From the back of the book:

"Once in a generation a woman comes along who changes everything. Tina Fey is not that woman, but she met that woman once and acted weird around her.

"PRAISE FOR TINA FEY:

"'You'd be really pretty if you lost weight.'(College Boyfriend, 1990 )

"'Tina Fey is an ugly, pear-shaped, overrated troll.' (The Internet )

"'Mommy, where are my pretzels?' (Tracy Morgan )

"ADVANCE PRAISE FOR BOSSYPANTS:

"'I hope that's not really the cover. That's really going to hurt sales.' (Don Fey, Father of Tina Fey )

"'Absolutely delicious!' (A Guy Who Eats Books )

"'Totally worth it.' (Trees )

"'Do not print this glowing recommendation of Tina Fey's book until I've been dead a hundred years.' (Mark Twain )

"'Hilarious and insightful. Laugh-out-loud funny -- oh no, a full moon. No! Arrgh! Get away from me! Save yourself!' (A Guy Turning into a Werewolf )"

This autobiography by comedienne Tina Fey (SNL, 30 Rock, Sarah Palin doppelganger) at times seemed randomly put together but for the most part follows the timeline of Tina's life, the majority dealing with her professional life as a writer and an actress. It's pretty short (288 pages with big type), but that's one of only a few complaints that I had. And maybe it's not even a real complaint to wish the book were longer.

I love Tina Fey and found this book laugh-out-loud funny, so much so that I'm sure my husband is glad that I've finished the book and quit reading passages out loud to him.  Good chunks of the book though seemed written almost directly for people in the entertainment industry, and I found myself a little bored in spots.  I would like to emphasize "a little" though, because for the most part, I really enjoyed the book and didn't want to put it down. 

If you like 30 Rock and/or somewhat bizarre humor, you'll like this book.