The Passage by Justin Cronin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Creeped me out.
All posts by BrianM
Review: Illuminae
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Not a book for an ereader. Teen romance? Graphic novel? Dystopian future ruled by AI? Forbidden hybrid love? Space opera? Works, for the most part.
Review: The Cartel
The Cartel by Don Winslow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
About drug cartels, the war on drugs, and the failure of goverment policy. Winslow rappels his reader into a deek dark eddy of despair and gives him nightmares. Yikes!
Review: Golden Son
Golden Son by Pierce Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
So far Pierce Brown doesn’t nod.
Review: In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead
In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead by James Lee Burke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Yes again.
Review: Kraken
Kraken by China Miéville
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I like Mr. Mieville’s fiction. I did not like this book. How do you review Mieville fiction? The more imaginative the better, right? But there are risks if the characters, their world, and their quests are too attenuated, too disconnected from the world I awake to. That was Ray Bradbury’s challenge, ney? So, what’s wrong with this book. Too many made-up words? Too much religion? Characters who cared more about each other than the reader cared about all of them combined? Eschatology? Squids?
Perhaps it’s worth a second read, but I fell asleep twice reading this book. A bit too turgid and too estranged for my tastes. I was surprised to see the average review over 3 (out of 5). I finished the book, which violates my rule–toss if I get 100 pages less my age into it and there’s no there there. But respect, Mieville. Even if you you have to release the Kraken every once in a while.
At this point, punish my kids with Julianne Moore in Blindness, Mark Wahlberg in the Happening, and Billy in Kraken. Call me Ishmael.
Review: Red Rising
Review: Last of the Breed
Last of the Breed by Louis L’Amour
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I suppose when you’ve written 120 books it’s not surprising that a few sentences in each of your books might be as well-crafted as flushing a nesting ptarmigan from tall grass in the muddy banks of a frozen river. It is very impressive that this 400 page book is one of three or four similar books Louis L’Amour may have turned out in 1987. What is less impressive is that the book is full of uncomfortable stereotypes, two-dimensional characters, a formulaic storyline, tincan repetition, and a plot held together at times by reindeer sinew. It’s hard not to root for the good guys. But good God.
Mason Avenue Apartments
I spend most of my time in the common interest real property world — solving the problem one parcel at a time of how to get neighbors to share resources and get along.
Low income housing is a necessary piece of the real estate pie. I’m really proud of my sister and what her team has accomplished at Mason Avenue Apartments.
See two relevant links:
Matt Driscoll: Lives changing for the better at Mason Avenue Apartments
Review: A Stained White Radiance
A Stained White Radiance by James Lee Burke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another good Robicheaux story. Love the author’s descriptions of New Iberia’s sites and smells. Puts you there. Burke writes so we don’t need virtual reality gadgets.