Book Review - No Spam

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Sat Aug 25, 2001 5:21 am

A simple topic really, what are you reading and give us a small (large if you want) review. If you are not reading anything just give us a relevant review.

First off: Weaveworld by Clive Barker.

The plot is hard to categorise in a simple review of this nature, but i will endeavour to outline its intricacies.

It starts out as an average novel telling the story of Cal and his Father, not to mention the birds which commence the intricate plot.

He stumbles upon something magical and stunning that attracts him to possibilities that he had never imagined.

Meanwhile (

) Barker brings in the other characters that eventually become the apex of the story. A strange incantrix who uses her magic to further her ends, and a salesman (with the aid of the magic) help the incantrix in her schemes.

A female potter recieves a letter (IIRC), it states that she must travel to see her grandmother, there is an immpending problem that they must discuss. She leaves her pottery not knowing what will come next, but she recalls many strange things about this grandmother that have perplexed her since youth.

This is just a brief outline of what is to come. The ideas that Clive Barker creates can be interesting and even inspiring, but at the same time, he is too pre-occupied with making banal statements about religious issues that he seems to know very little about, but as opposed to making forth right statements he tries to 'weave' them into the story, mostly unsuccessfully, he shows a good knowledge of his craft, but the overall feeling i get from this novel, is not as effective as it might have been.

I open the floor anyone got anything they want to write about.

Vehemence · Post by **Vehemence** » Sat Aug 25, 2001 6:40 am

Darkspawn, by Eliot Jenkins

A story cloaked in darkness and riddled with despair. Jenkins' Darkspawn is a haunting tale of a mage named Purak Darkspawn who witnesses the slaughter of his family by wild knights of Dekrator. Following his journey through the world of Feldae, we shadow Purak in his quest to find the truth behind the murder of his family.

A gripping tale that will both scare and excite you as Purak discovers the hidden reasons for the not so random death of his, and many other families as well. With a twist so sharp it'll throw you out of your seat.

Jenkin's dry wit and often comical writing style is often a pleasure to read and you will undoubtedly finding yourself grasping to turn the page. This chilling tale is well worth the read.

Reviewer's Rating: 3.5 stars

Word · Post by **Word** » Sat Aug 25, 2001 1:05 pm

The Bakers Boy by JV Jones
the story of a bakers boy who is force to fullfill a prophocecy that he doesn't even know about. It is nonstop excitment and intrigue the plot to destroy a king.
This book is great fantasy:5/5 stars

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Sat Aug 25, 2001 1:21 pm

Currently reading Microsofts Accerlerated Exam book, the review will come after the test.

By the way, does anyone on this board read Piers Anthony? I love the Xanth series.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sat Aug 25, 2001 1:34 pm

Originally posted by Bloodstalker:
<STRONG>Currently reading Microsofts Accerlerated Exam book, the review will come after the test.

By the way, does anyone on this board read Piers Anthony? I love the Xanth series.</STRONG>

I've read 4 or 5 of his books, but in honesty I can't say I liked 'em. He seems to have a method of posing moral dilemnas that would only stump 8-year-olds, but ties his characters in knots. As for his punning, I don't mind that as much as some people, but I think James Thurber did it much better. (One of Thurber's illustrations for a series of fictional birds is subtitled, "A Mother Volt putting all her yeggs in one gasket.")

[ 08-25-2001: Message edited by: fable ]

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Sat Aug 25, 2001 1:41 pm

Currently only reading textbooks about subjects that would bore most of you to sleep if I even started mentioning the titles

Last book I was reading before my lab reopened was "Orientalism" by Edward W Said. It's a non fiction book about how the Western World has viewed the Orient world historically and present, and why these images come from. It's very good, and it deals with a lot of erranous preducies and ideas many of us in the Europe/US have about the Arabic world and Islam. \

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Sat Aug 25, 2001 1:54 pm

@Fable

Ok, maybe the series IS a little childish, but I think that's why I like it so much. Not to much to take in. I just like the free spirit I feel in his writing. I also like the Incarnations of Immortality series.

As far as puns go, I love them.

And could someone please help me out here. Does anyone know the books about the Demon from Perv and that kid that he leads around by his nose? I love that series, but can't think of the name of it for the life of me.

The kid is an apprentice, master summons demon, someone kills master, demon takes kid under his wing, kid gets rep as a bad dude through series of con.....anyone?

T'lainya · Post by **T'lainya** » Sat Aug 25, 2001 2:56 pm

@ Bloodstalker..Robert Aspirins Myth Adventures series

If you like puns and that general style..Craig Shaw Gardener's books are similar..A Difficulty with Dwarves is one, I can't remember the other titles offhand.

Thanks Xan

[ 08-25-2001: Message edited by: T'lainya ]

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Sat Aug 25, 2001 4:37 pm

THATS IT!!!!

hehe, that had been driving me crazy,I will definatly have to try this Gardner persons.

humanflyz · Post by **humanflyz** » Sun Aug 26, 2001 12:11 pm

I also read Piers Anthony's books. They are a little childish but nonetheless pretty good. I also love the puns, "Holey Cows". Haha.

Anyways, now reading Stephen R. Donaldson's "Chronicle of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever"

Review: Very interesting book. It has an unlikely hero battling against both outside foes and inner demons. A lot of interesting ideas such as the key to survival is Unbelief. Battle scenes are rare, but very dramatic. The book presents a paradox. In case you haven't figured it out yet, Thomas is the name of Jesus's disciple who did not believe Jesus was alive. Hence the name Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever.

thantor3 · Post by **thantor3** » Mon Aug 27, 2001 12:55 pm

Seeing that there were no new Harry Potter books this summer (

), I'm currently reading the trilolgy "Lilith's Brood" by Hugo and Nebula award winning author Octavia Bulter. It is a post-apocalyptic story that concerns the rescue of the remnants of mankind by an alien race, the Oankali, after a nuclear holocaust. The protagonist, Lilith, is chosen, against her will, to lead a group of humans who have been selected to repopulate earth. However, the rescue of humanity comes at a price. The Oankali are traders, specifically beings who trade in genetic material. Seeing the human structure as flawed, they have decided that the only way to save humanity is to change, forever, its genetic structure. This sets into motion many ethical and interpersonal dilemmas. As the book says, "Lillith and all humanity must now share the world with uncanny, unimaginably alien creatures: their own children. This is their story..."
An intelligent, well written tale. I'd give it 4/5 stars.

In nonfiction, I am currently studying the use of glcyoproteins and oligosaccharides as prebiotics and immune system adjuvents.

humanflyz · Post by **humanflyz** » Mon Aug 27, 2001 4:17 pm

Another review:

Childhood's End: Arthur C. Clarke.

Probably the best science fiction that I have read so far except maybe Dune. It deals a lot with religion in that book. Spoiler: Devils rules the Earth. Yeah, you heard right. It's sort of like the Matrix in a sense that the entire world is living in an ignorant way, not knowing what they can do or who controls them.

Non-fiction: Democracy and Education by John Dewey.

Mr Snow · Post by **Mr Snow** » Mon Aug 27, 2001 8:02 pm

The Horselords by David Cook (Forgotten Realms novel)

Review: I've read it several time so far (Only reading it because I don't have the money this week to spare to by a new book [City of Ravens-which is the only FR book I haven't read yet]), The book is fine, as far as it goes, typical FR stuff, but IMO is better than book 2 but not as good as book 3, but you get an insight into the Tuigan (re: insert mongols here

).

Damn, I need new reading material, anyone?...

Sailor Saturn · Post by **Sailor Saturn** » Tue Aug 28, 2001 5:03 pm

I'm currently reading The Two Towers, the second book in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

I don't like to tell about the story because I tend to give too much of a spoiler for those who haven't read it. I haven't gotten very far in this one yet, anyway.

I'm also reading Physics, Einstein's Theories of Relativity and other essays, Star Trek Voyager: Pathways, Beyond Star Trek, The Bible, and This Present Darkness.

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Sun Sep 09, 2001 3:14 pm

Neil Gaiman - American Gods

A book very similar in style to my previous review, there are quite a few comparisons that can be made between Clive Barker and Gaimans work:

[*]they both use real world settings
[*]they both dabble with a magical angle
[*]there is an implicit message in their works

This however is a surface similarity, Barker is more of a horror/Thriller writer, Gaiman writes with an intangible warmth, that makes every character come out of the page.

There are a myriad of characters in American Gods that are mentioned sparingly but you never forget, Czernobog, Bliqis & Mr Town are but a few.

The main Characters are very interesting and complex. I will not describe them too deeply otherwise that would give away a plot which is complex and at some points confusing, but always has a pace.

Here is a quote which sums the story up fairly well:

"You learn anythin' from this?"
"I don't know. Most of what i learned i've already forgotten, I think i met some people. But i am not certain of anything anymore. It's like one of those dreams that changes you. You keep some of that dream forever, ad you know things deep down deep inside yourself, because it happened to you, but when you go looking for details they kind of just slip out of your head."

I fully and totally recommend this book to everyone, it is a tiny bit too long, it also suffers from a thriller esque plottwists, but the characters are well worth the time.

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Fri Nov 16, 2001 6:11 am

Elmore Leonard - Rum Puch

I have read quite a few Elmore Leonard novels now, they are always varied in quality and topic. Rum puch as some of you may know was converted to film, Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown (Burke in the book

) to be precise.

This novel is close to that in many ways, although there are differences in some scenes to some degree it remains the same characters and plot.

The characters are very personal and one finds a character to latch onto, my personal favourite is the Bail Bondsman, however many of the characters are certainly interesting, there is the FBI agent Ray Nicolet - out for success.

All in all worth a read, as per usual you can write Leonard's work off as pulp, but there is some good characterisation and definately a good story

Saruman · Post by **Saruman** » Fri Nov 16, 2001 6:58 am

I've plugged this series once or twice before but I just can't stress how good these books are.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

Basically I'm not going to go on for hours (although I most certainly could) about how good these books are. But if your into fantasy fiction with huge amounts of political intrigue and are looking for something that delves into the darker side of human nature these books (3 out so far) rock.

The fallen one · Post by **The fallen one** » Fri Nov 16, 2001 9:19 am

Currently I an reading the: Otherland Series by Tad Williams.

It is a four book Series with the fourth book just coming out.

It is a science fiction book. I actually found out about this book on a forum board.

I am finding these books very hard to put down. Tad Williams has generated some very intersting chartcters in this book.

The book taskes place in the not so far future. Where the internet is a much more interactive system then what we have now. It is much more a virtual experience then just looking at a screen. But there seems to be a problem all the kids are going into a kind of coma from being on the net.(sounds like the kids now). So a band of people around the world try to find out more about this sickness. They all end up in the otherland. The otherland is a very complex net. And is made up of many many worlds. With gate ways to each of these worlds. So the search is on to find what is happening to the kids.

Well I am still in book three. So not much else to say, but get out there and buy them.

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Thu Feb 28, 2002 2:06 pm

I decided to revive this thread

Anne Rice: Interview with the Vampire.

I recently picked up Interview with the Vampire after hearing many a good word about it's stylings and characters. So i was pleasently surprised to find that the book was as good as expected.

It all starts rather sedately, with the creation of the Storyteller and the listener, we are told the main character is a Vampire - which is kind of expected

- and that the human counterpart is a Journolist of some kind. The scene is set, so begins the tale. An interesting tale it is too.

Anne Rice seems inclined to diverge from her peers in her portrail of the Vampire. There are mild differences between Rice' vampires and those of folklore and Bramstoker etc. Rice' Vampire range through heroic, exciting, devilish, exotic and erotic. They are certainly lively characters and infinitely belivable, they have none of the camp and outrageous characteristics of some that we have seen since (John Carpenter for instance) The story she weaves is slightly long winded, i think this is as much due to setting of the atmosphere as any other deciding factor.

Sometimes it feels like Rice is trying to philosophise over existence and religion, some of this seems trite, however i think it is necessary with a book of this nature. All around it does not impede the story and is at some points necessary to the plot. I have read a subsequent novel (Vampire Lestat) and it seems to be a continuing method to create these religious conundrums.

On a side note a great deal of this novel is not very literary. She begins sentences with ".But" and ".And" a big no no

This seems to have become quite the fashion since this novel, perhaps Anne Rice is really to blame for illiteracy (j/k

)

I enjoyed it, i would reccommend it to anyone with a penchant for the macabre, it might put some people off with the long winded scene setting, others might be annoied by her philosophy, all around though it was a good read.

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Thu Feb 28, 2002 2:12 pm

Currently reading Lord of the Rings for the first time. Yeah, I know, I am way behind the times.