Suzanne

Dead on look at the H/J World!

Revisado: 04-23-25

This book gets it right. From Amateur Owners who fuss over their horses, to BNT who think they are above it all (rules included), to barn owners who don't even seem to 'like' horses, the author nails it. Is it over the top? Yes. But so is the horse world. And Jaffe presents this world in a way that is hilarious, and makes fun of itself. I love Dante, with his german sensibilities and attraction to Penny. And Izzy, who really enjoys talking to him. Izzy personifies those of us who truly love horses and their world, and makes us all wish we could talk to horses the way she does! Izzy's view of the horse show world is just like mine. I've been part of it for many years, and I love watching good hunters, but I don't like the dark side that has been part of it since I began riding in the 1970s and seems to have always been part of the show scene. The truth of decades is finally coming out.

Jaffe pulls no punches with her summary of SafeSport, the fall of the 'greats' because of SafeSport, 'I Stand with George', and bringing in WeRidetogether. These are cataclymic shifts that have taken place over the last 8 years or so, and are still happening. I live in the PNW, and the Oregon suspensions have hit close to home, and have been talk of many a local stable. The situation with Madison and her family could so easily happen (and likely has) - the ripple effects on the family members tend to move outward with little comment, unfortunately.

In many ways, this book reminds me of the issues in Horse Gone Silent by Shane Leyard, or, especially of Margaret Fletchers "Gallop Girl - A Fall from Grace at 40 Miles Per Hour". Jaffe presents a realistic view of the H/J world - good, bad, funny, ugly (very ugly), and the fact that light is finally shining on the dark side.

The only drawback in this production was the use of a virtual Voice narrator. Many of the words and infections were not correct, although it was better than I thought it would be. But I have to say, it reminded me of the videos that were going around about 20 years ago with South Park type annimation and computer voices spoofing the horse world. Like the one about a rider wanting to buy a horse to go to the Olympics, but had only ridden twice. But I digress.

May the light continue to shine, and Jody Jaffe - You go girl! This NEEDED to be written.

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Original, Unique and a True Delight

Revisado: 01-27-25

Brandon Sanderson had been on my reading list for sometime, but honestly, I'd grown out of my high fantasy era (with the exception of a few really amazing authors) some time ago. But Mistborn came highly recommended to me, so I gave it a shot. Three and a half days later I was through it and onto the sequel. I can't say enough good things about it!

This book is truly original with a world complete into itself. The characters are complete people - all a mix of good and bad traits, just like real people. Things don't always go to plan, and nothing is perfect. The usual trops of a bad fantasy series are all missing - Sanderson has created his own world, and hasn't borrowed from anybody else.

The story is complelling, the people interesting, and the fact that it is a 'Heist' story brings that edge of lightness and humor that you get with you think of something like the movie 'The Sting' or 'Oceans Eleven' or any of the other great heist stories/movies that immediately come to mind.

The characters grown and change as the world changes around them. it's a mesmerizing story!

The writing is spot on. Sanderson knows how to write! This isn't somebody with a half made up plot and uneducated writing. Sanderson is the real deal. Literate, imaginative, and all the attention to detail you could possibly wish.

I highly recommend!

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Great Creature Feature with a twist at the end

Revisado: 02-20-24

I really enjoyed this. It was a typical B Movie Creature Feature, with enough detail to be really interesting. The setting was great - really eerie (pardon the pun) with great backstory and well presented and described. The story wasn't long, but was just long enough with perfect detail. But the ending surprised me. It certainly wasn't to the normal script, and I really enjoyed it. I didn't see it coming. Great story!

The only qualm I had was the narrator. He was a little too deadpan for this one. But better that than overdone.

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Surprisingly good

Revisado: 05-05-22

I almost quit this halfway through. I'm glad I didn't. It was a slow start, and I wasn't fond of some of the imagery. However, that same disturbing imagery that I didn't care for comes from Jonathan Maberry's incredible use of language. Like Stephen King, violence and gore aren't the point - it's the slow unveiling of the story The action and acts of the characters are wrapped in words like gift wrap. His descriptions are incredible, and what he is describing is slowly revealed in his own time. It took awhile to get going, and I got a little bored, but his beautiful use of language kept me going. The story picks up mid way as the threads start to be gathered together. Well written, disturbing, and interesting. Just a normal book by Maberry.

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NOT a horseman’s book

Revisado: 02-14-22

Clearly neither author know their subject as well as they think. The details weren’t right. From how you warm up a jumper to patting a horses ‘head’ while riding, the inaccuracies were bad enough. But the formulaic story was transparent. Within the first hour the whole plot was clear. The Undocumented Mexican trainer, the spunky , talented but underachieving granddaughter, and the cardboard cutout of the bad business partner out to destroy the women and take the horse. Every bad impossible horse movie in a one book. No surprises here, and not even very interesting. Not worth finishing.

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Fascinating and Original!

Revisado: 07-22-21

As always, Jeremy Robinson surprises. An excellent writer with a boundless imagination, I looked forward to reading The Dark. It didn't disappoint. The two tracks of the story - The Dark, and Miah's story - were both well thought out and well put together. The very first section introducing us to Miah was laugh out loud funny, and the image of Miah riding a shopping cart upstream while wearing a skirt will forever be in my head. The distance Miah travels emotionally from the beginning of the story to the end takes us along for the ride, and gives me hope in humanity. (Get that? LOL. If you've read it, you will). This is a terrific character driven story, but at the same time it's a horror story that keeps us guessing. The twists and turns were unexpected, and made for a terrific story.

I love Jeremy's writing. The Didymus Contingency and Apocalypse Machine have been some of my favorites, and he always manages to interject a lot of humor. And The Dark is definitely worth the read. I would just suggest that you don't read it in the dark.

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Goes on. And on. And on . . .

Revisado: 05-20-21

This series certainly had its moments. Much like the author’s Jakarta Pandemic and Alec Fletcher series, the first book was fine, but the remaining became more and more disjointed. I lost track of the characters, the story, and the overall direction. Lots and lots of unneeded details. This would be much better if the author wrote one story at a time, rather than mushing everything together like a huge run on sentence.

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Great story!

Revisado: 02-25-21

Great series of books. I love a good military thriller, and this series doesn't disappoint. The action is great, and the characters are well drawn. I get a little tired of the gun specifications, but that's just me. I did mark the story down a bit, as more than a little of the authors political leanings are showing, almost to the point of sounding preachy. But overall, the story is sound and holds together well, and I'm interested in the main character. Not as good as the Terminal List, but overall, a very enjoyable story. Looking forward to the next one!

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Good story, from a promising author

Revisado: 01-20-21

I get the feeling that this may be a first published novel from this author. Great story, great premise, very well thought out and it holds together well. The writing has the feel of somebody in love with words. The descriptions are wonderful, and the feel and description of the fog throughout makes it feel like a character itself. Creepy, hiding the monster, almost sentient. The reactions of the characters felt real - denying the monster until they had no choice. Very, very well done.

My feeling of this being an early novel comes from an overuse of the language. If one word is good, then five are better. Some of the best writers pen their books with an almost sparse style. The author here gives us far more detail than needed. I don't mind that, but three paragraphs can be made into one and say the same thing. This is just experience, and I expect future works will tighten up.

The main irritation I had was with small things, that irritated like a small barb that kept pricking at me. In describing Alex, the author kept referring to him as 'the boy'. After a time or two, I kept wanting to say 'he has a name!'. It took me out of the story. And some characters were over described - such as Trip and Alex. Trip isn't a naïve idiot and Alex isn't an angel. I got a little tired of the descriptions making them out as if they were.

In the future, I hope the author keeps their eye on the tale that they are telling, and less on the minutia surrounding the world they have built. It will make for a cleaner story. If Alex has a story to tell, write a separate story about it. Don't try to do too much in one book.

Overall a great, enthralling story, and I will definitely be following this author, hoping for more.

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It's been done . . . a lot

Revisado: 07-30-20

Not a bad book. But not a great one either. It's just too much like all the others of the genre. If you've read Greig Beck's 'Primordia', then you've essentially read this one. This is the Cliff Notes version. The characters were good, the action was good, the science got a little long, and the whole story got a little long. There just wasn't anything really original here. I'll eventually read something else by this author, but I won't rush out to get it.

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