MICHAEL

Intelligent Viking Dane Saga

Revisado: 08-09-19

Familiar territory well told, with good observations of human nature and what seems decent research. The narrator is somewhat pedantic and not very adept with characterization of the various players. The men as she reads them seem simply gruff and unlikable and the women either shrewd or milksops but the writing intrigues. The story carries well, though slow at times, with no real dramatic energy, & you find yourself carried along until you are deep in the time and lives of real-seeming folk of long ago. Worth a visit by any who enjoy this genre, though I crave a more exciting reader, accomplished in drama.

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Captivating performance of a masterful monologue

Revisado: 10-08-18

Ms. Mulligan is such a captivating talent, drawing you into her saucy, natural character. What starts out as a charmingly vulgar and funny performance soon evolves in depth. Vignettes from love and family life slide into the horrific retelling of a murder. Very well done all around.

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Entertaining adventure tale slightly marred by dated dramatics and bad music.

Revisado: 02-19-18

Pullmans delightful series continues. This entertaining tale, with many twists and entwined plot lines is so enjoyable I overlooked the somewhat old fashioned narrative dramatics. Some characters were played in a nearly unbearably overwrought way, like old radio shows, Including some female characterizations so hopelessly silly I found my self exasperated. The hokey bad guys and wise old shaman plied on, all of which made me realize how much time have changed. Perhaps that is in tune with the setting of the tale, connected world of old Oxford and rustic villages, mysterious villains, heart-rending quests and airships, but it grated non the less. The main characters, however,

were very good, hitting that mark with impeccable narrative instincts. This whole series would do with a makeover, updated the dramatic characterizations while keeping the period sensibility and getting rid of that completely dreadful synth music between chapters!

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Heartthrob apocalypse tale is easy on the ears but fluffy overall.

Revisado: 11-05-17

I didn't hate this, but better than nothing isn't a very strong endorsement. I think some people, especially younger women, would really like it. The story is pretty formulaic and easy to predict for anyone who has watched the walking dead. But, Honestly, nothing really bad happens. And the focus on her love life starts to make me a little cuckoo. The breathy, girly Romance aspect is frankly just unbelievable and ruins what dramatic tension there is.

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Non-typical and inspiring psychological sci-fi

Revisado: 06-02-17

I get tired of the male-dominated, militaristic, conflict-ridden nature of most sci-fi narrative. Also the hyper-theoretical hard science aspect. What I have been searching for is a thoughtful, emotionally resonant escape into the future that includes realistic but pressing human drama. This writer goes a bit far in creating characters who seem to be utterly well-rounded and reasonable both socially and emotionally. You wonder if it will ever be possible for human beings to achieve that level of development. Inevitably, some dramatic depth is lost, though I really enjoyed hearing what might be called a more "feminine" voice. Inspiring, actually. The dramatic arc is minimal, dependent mostly on human (or alien) interactions and minimized events. If you need battles, evil, explosion, and unbelievable universe-changing events, this may not be for you. It does deliver fascinating alien species and galactic relationships, big-science questions, and believable challenges overcome. A novel voice. I really loved cozying up with this. Then again, I'm a grown woman...

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Entertaining and complex, a feast of fantasy

Revisado: 02-10-17

This is everything one wishes for in fantasy, long on adventure and derring-do, with strong and likable if fallible heroes, bewitching and exasperating though intelligent romantic heroines, and dark forces aplenty. Complex narrative threads unwind in satisfying patterns, narrow escapes and desperate quests unfold, and characters advance along their storylines down enjoyable, if not altogether believable paths. If the women are somewhat too bewitching, the young men ridiculously headstrong and foolishly noble, well, it's all in good fun and never strays too far into aggravating charade. I did find the romantic relationships pretty silly, I admit; if you can't take a strong tinge of romance novel then you'll not like this. The women and the men are jay, well, silly at times, & really, no one acts like that...but that's not why we read this tuff, right? The story is a good one though, long and twisting and full of unexpected and creative turns. I have to admit I liked the tendency for things to work out well in the end. Refreshing these days. Oh, & the writing isn't bad at all. All in all, this book is Good Magic, indeed. I will read the rest of the series, for sure. Perfect for long winter nights.

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This could've been a good read, but fell far short.

Revisado: 01-24-17

I was intrigued by the idea, and hoped to get some insight into survivors stories. Sadly, this reads like a silly boo hoo romance novel and the narrator, as ever, pours on the trembling emotion until I just had to stop. I gave it a chance and finished it, but walked away dissatisfied and somewhat angered. It was repugnant to imagine anyone being so completely passive as to fall passionately in love with a captor and abuser, and the writer completely missed pulling off a believable account of this Stockhausen Syndrome. I have personal experience with abused women and the truth is much more
Complicated and perplexing. A woman doesn't survive 17 years in such a relationship with her self esteem intact, nor would she accept such conditions and lies over many years without becoming seriously unhinged. The simplistic resolutions and facile emotional examinations seem like so much silly drama written and acted by people who have had no real experience of trauma and simply weren't able to delve deeply enough to bring anything real into this ridiculous story. Don't bother.

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Nearly perfect third act

Revisado: 03-01-16

I gobbled up the other books in the series, surprised at enjoying what is clearly targeted at young men, and even eagerly awaited this one. At first, Thiugj, I was dismayed by an obtuse and ponderously dramatic extended prologue and nearly wrote it off as a "failure to thrive". It took too long to piece together where we are in the story and what has occurred. Our hero lives! The narrative soon picks up, with plenty of trademark, yet satisfying, surprise last-minute rescues and a rollicking pace. No lack of action, which is sometimes a bit too amazing; even when one of our heroes falls, things just have a way of turning out for the noble and burdened leader. That's the nature of young make-oriented fantasy, I suppose, but I sense that there may be more depth in this author, and look forward to seeing him develop it. He is fully capable of creating novel dramatic scenarios and intensely touching interactions , but too often falls prey to an unfortunate tendency to amp up and extend the emotional drama in words rather than trusting the reader to feel the pathos for themselves (The Spielbergian Principle; cue the strings so we know something moving is happening, then make it last forever). This is a big third act. There are plenty of dramatic twists and big moments. In this series, characters well-drawn and fairly believable. Lots of noble purpose and stirring battle action. All in all a very satisfying adventure and conclusion to a highly creative and intriguing story.

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A good read for those with milder tastes

Revisado: 09-26-15

This book was pretty good, but a little bit on the boring side. There were interesting elements but none of them really came together or were explored in depth. The several different threads of the investigation never crossed and were, frankly, slightly unbelievable. More than that just seem like a good book for an older person who didn't want to read anything to dark bloody or full of sex. A "lovely British mystery"
set in Finland.

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