Eric

Complex, Confusing and Slow

Revisado: 06-14-24

This is clearly a talented writer with great characters and a rich world setting. However, the terminology of the world, the complex nature of the gods, spirits, pantheons and mixtures and meshing there of is really hard to follow, even for someone like who's read a lot of her stuff. The big scene at the end is also incredibly confusing with all the god and sprit stuff going on and I could pretty much have skip it and been perfect fine.

There are pace issues too and I think its accentuated by the epic/semi arcane language that is used that takes extra effort to listen too. Actually, there is a little bit of yoda dialogue going on with word order and just isn't needed though intended I think to amp the drama and setting.

Finally, the sexual repression of the two main characters is highly annoying and distracting. Had they simply hooked up from the start, like 90% of all people would regardless of tome and place, then we could have totally avoided off the pain and agony of them wanting each other the whole darn book.

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Anglophile Fix

Revisado: 08-10-20

If, of a lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon/evening, you are looking for some well written and immersive period English mystery tales, these Sidney Chambers stories will give you the fix you’re craving. The idyllic English village community, the clever insertion of period headline news and the relevant cultural biases pull you into the world of the 1950’s and timely struggles of the characters.

Another great feature is the flipping of the detective mystery formulation from an 80/20 blend of plot narrative to character development, to something more like 50/50. For example, we get to see how Sidney struggles balancing his detective activities with his clerical duties, friends, and family. The consequence being his moral and intellectual struggles make him more human and multidimensional than a typical sleuth.

Finally, the various plots and settings of the short story format provide a chance to see more of the world of Grantchester and its people. Rather than seeming disjointed, we smoothly view the character’s life’s over a number of months or years as we move in and out of the stories. This is different from many long novel series where there seems to be a very loose treatment of chronology and the lives of everyone seem to be forever fixed within a certain decade. I fully expect to follow Sidney into the 60’s and will enjoy his take on the world as the rate of change starts to pick up.

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Ekk, Jumped The Shark?

Revisado: 07-06-19

Up to this point this series has been cute and entertaining for me and offered a reliable piece of escapism. Although very formulaic I have enjoyed the characters and even the mysteries. This book, however, pushes down on the formula petrel way too hard such that the story flows poorly and gets annoying. Also, the plot is a good bite more ridiculous than the other books. There is a scene about 3:15 in that I can't get past and am having to put the book aside. I'm not sure if I'll attempt the next in the series. This might have killed it for me.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Funny, with great life lessons.

Revisado: 09-03-18

Hart tells story about his life and craft. Great story for anyone on overcoming challenges

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Quality English Mystery

Revisado: 02-03-18

Four redeeming qualities come to mind for this book. 1) Well written with good dialogue. 2) The decade of the 1850's (early Victorian) seems under used to me within fiction and the author uses this technologically transitional period to good effect for her settings. 3) The heroine is much older then the typical sleuth, totally sane, not eccentric (a feature overdone for many sleuths), not rich and is not, and never was, beautiful. In other words a refreshing change from the norm. 4) The sleuth and her brother love making money from the detective business and will even bend a few rules to make things work. In other words, they are nice people but are practical, make their money and move one.

The miss on 5 stars is from what seems to be a rather complicated plot. I understood everything in the end but the large number of seemingly similar characters had me confused at times.

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Almost A 4 But . . .

Revisado: 11-10-17

There are two reasons why this novel didn't rate a 4 overall. One was the story, which was thought provoking and interesting but not very unique in my opinion. The other reason was the very large case of characters who name's I never did get strait. Even towards the end of the book I still could tell who was who but for a few of the most prominent individuals. It is true that character development is a hallmark of King novels but I believe a simplified story with fewer characters or a least more distinctive names was be a major help.

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No Jazz Chickens

Revisado: 07-12-17

If you love Eddie, you'll love this book. Otherwise, it drags.

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Not Adorable Just Strange

Revisado: 04-11-16

You don’t have to read too fare before you realize the author and her husband’s adoption of Victorian era technology and customs is as much a product of their strange and awkward personalities as their love of history. If it hadn’t been period reenactment they would have adopted some other “look at me I’m special, different and misunderstood” lifestyle like religious fundamentalism or full body tattooing. Occasionally you do get some interesting insight into late Victorian life but you have to wade through a lot of ultra-trite memoir style impressions from her daily life. It doesn’t help that she attempts to write in a style reminiscent of her favorite time period and falls quite a bite short with her arcane and needlessly elaborate vocabulary.

Also, the narrator seems a totally inappropriate choice for a first-person account of a young woman’s thoughts and impressions. I get the sense the author is in her mid-30’s but the narrator is 20 years older and with her pinched, schoolmarm vocal style is more suited to reading to very young children than adults.

If you are looking for a truly engrossing historical commentary on everyday life check out Bill Bryson's "At Home". It ranges from the medieval to the Victorian era and is incredibly well researched and entertaining.

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so many details and that voice . . .

Revisado: 06-02-12

It’s a shame this book wasn’t better than it was because the author has obviously put some time into creating a new and interesting world. There are plenty of new words, lands and concept as well as a fully worked out society with all of its professional and social classes. However, I miss having a nice visceral response to the world and the characters and this is ironic considering the amount of detail that is included. We are constantly being informed as to what clothing is being worn and what characters are eating (to the nth detail I mean). In fact, many times I found myself wanting more action and suspense and much less mundane and what really are trivial details. Also, with a much detail that was included, there was very little said about the causes and inner workings of the “imagining” phenomena. This comes after having finished the Harry Dresden series where magic is very well explained.

One point is for certain. The narrator/performer was very poor in my opinion. He is very limited in the number of voices he has available and those he does have become nearly unbearable with time. Whether it is his drunken John Wayne voice, his drunken Elvis voice or, worse of all, his Napoleon Dynamite voice I found myself very close to turning the book off despite the credit I spent on it. Maybe if the dialogue was more organic and real sounding (not one swear work, not even in the story’s lexicon) and maybe if there was a different narrator I would have enjoyed this one much more. I do not plan on continuing the series.

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A Real Space Thriller with Brain’s to Boot

Revisado: 12-10-11

I’m new to Alastair Reynolds and only a passing fan of sci fi literature but this is a great book that stands alone even though it is part of a larger series. One of the best aspects of the book is that the technology presented within the story is understandable and has a very familiar feel to it. In other words, most of the technical innovation is linear from our own time and place. Also, the hero is a classic tuff guy who doesn’t annoy by coming off as an all knowing, all power individual (a type that I can’t stand). He does come across as the right man at the right time for a world that is grown complacent and ceased any kind of introspection or self-improvement. Sound familiar? There are other contemporary issues addressed as well such as governmental role in private life, gun control, artificial intelligence, and the impact of supermen (people) on society.

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