Customer Comments

Danielle G has commented on (8) products.

Pirate King: A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes by Laurie R. King

Danielle G, September 30, 2011

Pirates. They capture our imagination and sentiment, and that is just the problem investagator Mary Russell faces. This splendid farce about a silent film about a film about a film about the Pirates of Penzance..wait, I can't remember how many layers there are, but it's about pirates, real and imaginary, literary and cinematic. Per usual, Laurie King brings the time and landscape of the 1930s alive with rich detail and impeccable research, which weaves a fabric for her story to ride, rollicking, through mysteries like just who is selling guns and drugs from film sets and why does this Portugese translator/poet have multiple personalities? It is the kind of book you can't put down, and though pirates have been overdone, they haven't yet been done quite so existentially as King does them. It is a must read, but by the end I began to wonder if the author is beginning to tire of writing about Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes. I hope not, as this world is fun, fantastic and still enjoyable to read.

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Lamentation (Psalms of Isaak) by Ken Scholes

Danielle G, July 22, 2011

I had given up on high fantasy novels five years ago, when everything seemed to be the same poorly-edited iteration of someone's epic war fantasy or role-playing game set in a Middle Earth-derived world.

Then a friend told me to read 'Lamentation.'

The riveting tale of magick, love, war, loss, and survival is not new, but Ken Scholes tells it like a true storyteller in a world that is original and vibrant. I couldn't put it down, and I found myself thinking about it long after I turned the last page.

The epic high fantasy is not dead. It has found new wings in Scholes' prose.

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Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear

Danielle G, April 9, 2011

Hull Zero Three throws the reader to the wolves along with the main character, 'Teacher,' who awakens with no memory in a hostile environment (a ship in space), attacked repeatedly by monstrous creatures, aided by strange companions who are as dangerous and bewildering as the surroundings, and a creepy sensation that the ship is actively trying to destroy them. And it is clear he has done all of this before, and failed...a lot. It narrated in a stream of conciousness that takes some of the best psychological gambits of Phillip K. Dick and melds them with what Bear excels at: exposing moral and ethical implications of technology and space exploration. I had a hard time putting down this book, and it left me wanting more.

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To Say Nothing of the Dog: Or How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last by Connie Willis

Danielle G, March 31, 2011

When reading time travel stories, one usually expects technobabble, high drama, and glorification of the past--and those make for good reading but are a bit overdone. Willis' 'To Say Nothing Of The Dog' is a refreshing comedy of errors that brings to life the more inscrutably inane parts of the Victorian Era. She deftly pays homage to the wry humor and picturesque setting of Jerome K. Jerome's travelogue 'Three Men In A Boat' while adding the dimension of interpersonal & interclass relationships (verboten topics for the Victorian Jerome). It is quick, quirky, and more than a little deep in some places...just like the Thames. A great vacation read!

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Maze Runner Trilogy #02: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Danielle G, December 6, 2010

The second in Dashner's post-apocalyptic series, 'The Scorch Trials' begins with Thomas and the remaining Gladers who have escaped the Maze at the end of 'The Maze Runner.' Their hard-won safety immediately turns into a challenging mission of survival in the real-world, though reality is never what it seems. This book explores important questions of identity, moral action, and persistence in the face of chaos and betrayal in a compelling and entertaining way. I recommend parents read this book before giving it to their children, as it is filled with graphic violence, death, and serious themes of war, disease and social collapse, so it may not be suitable for all young readers.

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