Archive for the ‘Book Reviews’ Category
« Newer Entries Older Entries »
- “Infoquake” Reader Reactions • April 27, 2007
Amazon recently took down a 5-star reader review of "Infoquake," and I'm a little disappointed. Also, I received an email from a woman who claims "Infoquake" is a "guy magnet." - The Works of Kurt Vonnegut • April 13, 2007
Since I'm thinking about the late, great Kurt Vonnegut, I decided to do a short summary of his works here, along with my take on them and my star ranking of each. Keep in mind that it's been many years since I've read some of these books, so my remembrances of a few might be a bit off. - Mervyn Peake’s “Gormenghast” and “Titus Alone” • February 14, 2007
Mervyn Peake's "Gormenghast" is a suitable companion-piece to "Titus Groan." The two are so alike in tone and theme, that they seem to have been written in a single burst of inspiration. But "Titus Alone" is a completely different animal altogether. It's an amazing novel in its own way, but it stands completely aloof from the first two novels of the series. - “Infoquake”: The Bad Reviews • February 5, 2007
I’ve noticed a few other authors posting links to bad reviews of their novels on their websites. By bad reviews, I don’t mean poorly written or incomprehensible reviews — I mean reviews that tear your book a new asshole. I mean reviews that compare your book unfavorably to various types of animal dung. There’s one [...] - Robert Charles Wilson’s “Spin” • August 17, 2006
This is the absolute wrong time to be posting a review of Robert Charles Wilson’s Spin. If I wanted to be timely, I should have read the book in early 2005 when it first came out. Or I should have read it in the weeks leading up to the voting deadline for the Hugo Award (for [...] - “Titus Groan” by Mervyn Peake • July 2, 2006
Mervyn Peake's "Titus Groan" is nothing less than the extension of Franz Kafka's vision to its chilling nadir. It's Franz Kafka narrated by a stuffy British professor in tweed who's long ago retreated into the bitter chambers of his imagination and shut the doors, tight. - George R. R. Martin’s “A Feast for Crows” • December 21, 2005
George R.R. Martin spent two and a half books building up a panoply of fascinating and believable characters who ranged the spectrum of moral grays. And now, it's hard to think of "A Feast for Crows" as anything but a retreat, after the grand flourish of the series' first three novels. - Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” • January 1, 2005
I missed climbing aboard the Harry Potter bandwagon until it had become passé, until the boy wizard was hawking quidditch-themed underwear and even Michael Chabon was getting into the kiddie lit biz. So it was with great eagerness that I plunked down $45 for Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy in hopes of getting ahead [...] - Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson’s “Dune” Prequels • January 1, 2004
In their "Dune" prequels, Herbert fils and hired gun Kevin Anderson settle for graphic sensationalism in lieu of subtlety or insight. Couldn't they have peeled back the covers on Herbert pere's grand mythic and ecologic themes, just a little bit? Instead we get gore, buckets of it. - T. Coraghessan Boyle’s “The Tortilla Curtain” • October 18, 1995
This book review was originally published on Critics’ Choice on October 18, 1995. Through the course of five novels and four short story collections, T. Coraghessan Boyle has proven himself an extraordinary (if erratic) satirist. His disdain for the politically correct and his peculiar sense of humor have propelled some spectacular successes (The Road to Wellville [...]