Matt

A Love Letter to Making

Revisado: 08-26-24

I went into this expecting an autobiography with a few comments about how Adam's process has evolved, an abstract view of be a craftsman and how it applied to his life have he went from ILM, Mythbusters, and Tested.

It is not that. Firstly, the book is about making. It's an overview how Adam picked up some skills, but mostly why he chooses to craft. There is a chapter named "Glues" to give you a perspective.

That is not to take away from the quality of the book. I really enjoyed the honest look at crafting from a man that's done it his whole life on many stages literal and figurative. There is a lot of good stuff in here, it's just not a behind the scenes or history book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Generic and Not Really a Memorable Spidey Story

Revisado: 08-30-23

The story is both consulted and extremely simple. What you see is what you get and there isn't even much spiderman in this spiderman story. You could actually change him out for anyone and the story would still work as intended.

It feels like this premise has a lot of potential but this is low effort. Generic story with Spidey tacked on. One dimensional villains. Forced conflict and forced resolution. This would at best be a throwaway episode on the Saturday morning circuit.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Maxime gets better. Stick with it

Revisado: 08-01-23

I have been a fan of Maxime for a while. I started with Vanquier and then Kairos. This series doesn't really compare to those. It starts slow and it is riddled with pop culture references, cloches, and the MC is borderline unbearable. But the series grows into it's own and overall I enjoyed it. Give it a chance, but be prepared to trudge a bit.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A Very Slow Start

Revisado: 05-25-23

This book is set in an interesting world with interesting hooks, but even though it's the first book of the series, it feels like there is a lot of filler. Characters are introduced too quickly and viewpoints change before you can really get invested in a situation. Overall, this was a book I put on in the background whenever I was doing something else, not something I was excited to listen to. I'll try the next book because the ending of this one did pick up and give some good payoffs, but if the structure and format follows this book, I don't see my self finishing the series.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

An Interesting Idea Told in a Very Boring Way

Revisado: 11-28-22

The world is interesting although the world building is poorly paced, full of jargon, and expositional. The concept of the story is good, but the story takes forever to get going and even after it starts, there is a lot of scenery to chew. The main character is a Gary Stu and tells us how he feels all the time, although his actions don't bare it out. All. The. Sex. Not people having it, it's just every emotional response is supposed to be heightened if it relates to sex, r*pe, etc. It gets old. Shad could do with an editor and someone asking, "Is this the best way to tell the reader about this?"

Overall, I would pass. it was a chore to get through and I was happy it was over.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Best of the series

Revisado: 10-13-22

I've read the trilogy. This is the crown jewel. Get it and enjoy. It's quite the ride.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A good ending, but rushed

Revisado: 10-13-22

The performance was top notch as always and the ideas in the book matched the rest of the series, but the book itself felt rushed. It feels like there was a deadline Durand needed to hit with his over use of "immediately", "swiftly", and "like butter." I can't help but think these were place holders for another draft because, Durand's normal prose isn't consistent throughout this book.

Usually the characters are the focus and we get a lot of insight of their thoughts and motivations, but in this it felt as if we were just going down a checklist closing all the loose ends. Overall it is a satisfying ending and there are great moments, but I'm still hungry for more about the pirate king and his cohorts.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Pretty Redundant

Revisado: 09-25-22

This story tells the events leading up to Revenge of the Sith and honestly, I'd pass on it. There are some good ideas but the novel is just so short.

You don't really get much time with the characters you care about and too much time with those you don't. There is no depth and there are no stakes.

I'd consider it pretty business as usual for the intermediary Star Wars novels. Yoda and the council struggle because the dark side is clouding the force. Sidious is insidious, really powerful and smart, I swear you guys (even though you never REALLY see that in any story.... you get told a lot, but otherwise....) Anakin and Obi-wan are brothers and work well together but Obi-wan is concerned about Anakin's recklessness while Anakin doesn't understand why Obi-wan is so hesitant. They never decide to really talk about that... And grevious is a non-threat while Nute Gunray is an incompetent cartoon villain.

Overall the story is disjointed and flat. The moments of drama are undercut by the story focusing on characters we know little to nothing about, and the characters we like provide commentary to sum up evemts occasionally. I came into this book looking for a deep dive into Obi-wan and Anakin's friendship leading up to RoTS, but instead was given a "Meanwhile!" story.

The last 10 minutes of the book hint at interesting concepts.

Very Minor spoilers below:

Sidious speaks on how long he has been watching Anakin and details plans with Dooku. You don't hear why he is interested in him, how he has been manipulating him, or more importantly, see any plans in motion, but it's nice to hear a plan instead of everyone saying it's going according to plan.

Then there is a nice exchange between Obi-wan and Anakin where Anakin teases Obi-wan about the number of times he has saved him from peril saying that Obi-wan would surely be there for him. Obi-wan quips that when Anakin needs help, they are all in trouble. Anakin just simply says Obi-wan has already saved him so many times. The implications of the two above statements are what I want out of a star wars novel and I've yet to find it. It surely isn't here as those were the last two entries of the book. Popcorn story at best, rehash of a better novel at worst.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Wet Slice of Bread

Revisado: 09-21-22

This book is... disappointing. It has a great premise, but thats where it ends. The story doesn't have any stakes, the characters are inconsistent, and the pace is sporadic.

A majority of the book goes like this:
CharacterA - "We have a problem!"
MC - "Okay. Let's do this very thought out and specific thing to solve it"
CharacterA - "That's brilliant "
MC - "We have this problem though"
CharacterA "No we don't. I already thought of that and fixed it"
MC - "Wow"
CharacterA - "I even made it work for us as long as this set of rules is followed."
MC - "Your fantastic!"
CharacterA - "I know. I'm also quirky and disarming."
MC - "Right you are!"

Surface level at best, inconsistent and full of plot holes at worst. The MC's power is to upgrade anything but he doesn't have many points. To make money, restoring and "upgrading" antiques is his most profitable venture. Small investment of material and actual value but high intrensic value. He restores a torn Michaelangelo sketch for instance, manifesting the missing signature to the piece.... why doesn't he upgrade... idk, cash? Literally turn 1 dollar in 100 with no loss in material.

It's a wish fulfillment story as the rest of the reviews say, but I was never really able to get into it. It's a story that is being told to you instead of pulling you in and making you invest. Maybe it'll be what you are looking for, but unless you want to put it on in the background while you do other things... pass. I might pick up one more in this series to see if the stakes increase if it's on sale, but it has to be a good sale.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

The Best of the Lot

Revisado: 09-13-22

This is my fifth book in this series. It's by far the best. Abercrombie is at his best when he is developing characters, sometimes focusing so much on them he forgets to write a climax for his stories and loose threads sort of just dry up. This novel has it all. Good characters, good story, it reads like an old western but with the depth of an Abercrombie novel. Lamb is everything he was but everything he is.

You don't need to read the other books in the series to appreciate this one. It helps some when familiar faces come into view, but this is a good standalone. I can't recommend it enough. Great writing, great performance, top quality.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña