I'm hesitant to call this horror but I think this is the best genre to call it. This was pleasantly surprising. I quite liked it. I was kind of put ofI'm hesitant to call this horror but I think this is the best genre to call it. This was pleasantly surprising. I quite liked it. I was kind of put off by all the references to vintage King but, honestly, this is probably one of those rare books that actually lives up to that.
It wasn't terrifying to me personally, and there wasn't the level of violence that was in vintage King, but there was enough similarities to make this pleasant. This was obviously for a YA market so there really couldn't be that level of dark. xD
12/17: Really enjoyed this! I was wondering how he'd make this into the series until the end. That was really clever. I totally didn't see that coming12/17: Really enjoyed this! I was wondering how he'd make this into the series until the end. That was really clever. I totally didn't see that coming.
My one complaints were all the references to mind blowing experiences and the evil villain. I did like the villain though. I thought it was a bit silly.
12/16: Liking this so far. A black girl as 'Lovecraft' was well played, Howard. Well played.
I feel at a disadvantage being that I've never been able to truly stand Lovecraft so I've only had brushings with him in what little I've read and the references to others. I feel like I'm missing a bit by that,...more
Overall I can say that I enjoyed this book. I can say, though, that this was perhaps the worst audiobook I've ever listened to. The reader has a very Overall I can say that I enjoyed this book. I can say, though, that this was perhaps the worst audiobook I've ever listened to. The reader has a very thick Russian accent that gave me a headache.
Otherwise, I thought it was creative. I like the whole concept of the woods. This theme of evil woods is in so many different books and it's never truly explained WHY they are evil like that. This one gives a very plausible reason for that. At the end, I was like GO WOODS GO! KILL THEM ALL! almost. XD
So, I liked the villain, I liked the MC, I thought Kasha's role in everything was done really well. I didn't really feel for the romance (this was mostly epic fantasy with a dash of romance) but that didn't detract. I was a bit meh on the magic system. It was very convenient at times.
The middle really sagged and felt very contrived at times. The plot slowed and I can't honestly see a reasonable reason for her to go to the capital. It felt very much like the author had the beginning and the ending, then just threw in a middle without real consideration. The plot itself lost itself there.
Why would the Dragon allow her to go? She's a country bumpkin who "healed" Kasha and the others. Did he honestly think she, who has absolutely no training in court, could actually do ANYTHING? There was no reason for it and it was basically pointless until the author decided to work up to the climax.
This weakening of the plot also included all the (originally) smart characters to suddenly become quite stupid and blind, and basically just step aside until the climax was starting. I mean, the King dies and we've been told that the Woods is not only smart but would pick a hot head. Then, conveniently, word comes of a possible attack and everyone's surprised that the crown prince dies? I was just waiting for someone, ANYONE, to say 'hey, isn't think awfully convenient?' The MC is completely shocked by this and even more by the assassins in the crown princes rooms.
Then there's the sudden (and convenient) awakening of the Queen and the complete blindness in characters like Marik, where dark magic is being used in front of his face (in a very obvious manor) and he's completely blind to it.
The battle at the tower wasn't much better. That whole thing was very poorly thought out. I mean, here you have a wizard who is throwing spells continually at you. He's killing your tiny army. He's pretty much ruining everything you put into place and he's slowly draining you of your power and yet at NO TIME was there even an ATTEMPT to kill him. Not once. She can grab the spell to throw aside the arrows but she can't send them back to him? They can petrify the men at the cannons firing magical cannonballs are them but they do nothing about the wizard casting the spells? REALLY?
So, overall I enjoyed it but I really didn't like being strong-armed into visiting Stupidville USA....more
This is really, really well done. I thoroughly enjoyed this.
The reason why I knocked a star off this was because I felt, at the end, the romance was aThis is really, really well done. I thoroughly enjoyed this.
The reason why I knocked a star off this was because I felt, at the end, the romance was a little hurried and, well, it seemed more like duty than anything else. Like 'will you come to love me?' and the 'probably' seemed a bit sad there. After all that, I really wanted a more HEA.
This is hard to rate. I enjoyed it but I was also VERY thankful when it was finished. There is a CLIFF-HANGER ending, if you hate that sort of thing bThis is hard to rate. I enjoyed it but I was also VERY thankful when it was finished. There is a CLIFF-HANGER ending, if you hate that sort of thing but this one didn't bother me a great deal. Yes, despite a cliff-hanger ending, I was glad this book was over. I guess I have way too much faith in the other characters that I don't feel like OMGZ! What's gunna happen next?
This volume had way too much introspection for my liking. I found myself flipping forward just to get away from all his thoughts. Bleh.
It was nice that this book took a forward step towards his goal too, but I think keeping Nero alive and setting him up as a King would've been so foolishly bad that it doesn't bear thinking about. Yeah, let's give the power-crazy guy all the power. We can kill him later, right? RIGHT?!
Uh huh.
And can I just say that the names just bugged the shit out of me? I've read a lot of Ancient Roman history and enjoy that topic very much, so I know where most of the names come from and their history. I find it really distracting because the author didn't actually deem to match them up. It was like he wanted to take the names from history but didn't want to bother reading about them...
So we get Pliny who, in reality was a scientist, who wrote encyclopedia's, etc. is turned into this gay-ish rumor monger who is too afraid to use any real physical power but tries to set up some young man through which he can grab power. The Nero is obvious -- the real Nero was a made monster too -- but he was made very differently than the fictional Nero and Agrippina was his mother, she was the one who set him up as an emperor.
It's just very distracting. I'm trying to get into the story but then I'm always kicked out by how different these people are... I disliked the Hunger Games for the same reason....more
Rating: 1.5 stars. I bumped it up because it was fairly creepy throughout the book. I really liked that aspect of this book.
I think I should say upfroRating: 1.5 stars. I bumped it up because it was fairly creepy throughout the book. I really liked that aspect of this book.
I think I should say upfront that this book is one of those that ends with a major cop-out: the author basically tells us 'who knows' and there's not real ending. 600 pages and you don't get to see WTF is going on in here. If you're okay, great. If you hate those sorts of ending, run away really fast.
Beside the horrible ending, I took issue with the main character being such a pushover. I kept waiting for Scott to say fuck you, fuck you, and no really, fuck you. The things that he was being accused of were incredibly stupid and he just took it. He never stood up for himself, even when it concerned his daughter.
Like one scene Scott and his daughter are in a store and a lamp tips over. Sam gets cuts and such, and his Ex is all like 'I'm going to the judge to revoke your visiting rights' and he just walk away. He doesn't say 'I'm going to fight it' -- actually, quite the opposite.
Then there's his scooby-do team members. At one point, the two are like 'you're pathetic! You're only in this for the money'. This was coming from a man who didn't pay anything for all this information he was starving for. While, on the other hand, Scott was dropping thousands on this case. Seriously. THOUSANDS. One informant cost him $1300 for the information. He took one of them in (the homeless one), gave her free room and board, and paid her $300 a week and he's only in this for the money?
To be honestly, I truly wasn't expecting much but this book turned out to be really, really good imo. It was a fresh take on the mundane UF out there.To be honestly, I truly wasn't expecting much but this book turned out to be really, really good imo. It was a fresh take on the mundane UF out there.
AND NOW I HAVE TO WAIT A YEAR TO READ THE NEXT ONE?!?! D<...more
I really wanted to like this book more. I truly did. That's why I rounded up.
I loved her voice and many of the characters. The rating: 2.5 rounded up.
I really wanted to like this book more. I truly did. That's why I rounded up.
I loved her voice and many of the characters. The horror elements that are in the book are unnerving. It reminded me of Stephen King in some aspects: mainly, the ability to turn normal into horror.
The problems were several, though, and they kill the enjoyment of it.
1) The Length: This book is WAY too long for the actual plot that in it. You could cut this in half and be fine. Hell, you could cut this by 75% and be even better.
Don't get me wrong. I've read a whole TON of long books. I don't mind them. You can basically sum up the plot of this book in a sentence or two: Grannie pissed off Gods and accidentally awoke an evil spirit but managed to put it to sleep. Then stupid son re-awoke it, it killed him, and his mother is now dealing with it.
We're treated to various VP as well as many flashbacks from both the son and the manuscript of the Grannie. These truly cut the tension in the book because, while slightly interesting, none are scary and it felt like I was wading through a mire just to read them.
2) The Actual Plot (aka the stupid factor): This is a much bigger thing for me then the length. Simply put, I don't think the Grandma is stupid and to buy into the story, I'd have to believe she was. This story is pretty much weighted and rooted in stupidity. I can't even comprehend it.
There's nothing you can say that would change my VP on that issue. Here we have a magical Grannie. She pisses off her personal God in such a way that it bars her from talking to other Gods and she accidentally awakes something evil. It does bad things and she puts it to bed.
Despite this, despite knowing all this and that her family is basically cursed because of her actions, she doesn't tell ANYONE in her family about this. Her own freakin' daughter gets possessed and killed. This spirit is truly bad and yet she still does nothing to warn her Granddaughter. She doesn't teach her a damn thing.
But, to make matters worse, she decides to write a how-to guide filled with spells and such? She basically just leaves this in a closet and the son finds it. What? It's like I'm reading this and knowing that this is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. If you're not going to teach them anything then don't leave that shit laying around. Her Great grandson was four or five when she died so the 'she didn't know there's be young, bored, or curious kids in the house' excuse. It's worse because she didn't raise them to fear the craft. The son had no frame of reference AND he'd heard all the rumors of her magic.
She might as well've put a gun to their heads. It would've been kinder. Oh wait...
And I simply don't believe she was this stupid. I can't. Thus it killed all my enjoyment of this book. ...more
I thought this was a good ending but I also thought all the plot threads were just tidied up way to easily and I don't think th3.5 really, rounded up.
I thought this was a good ending but I also thought all the plot threads were just tidied up way to easily and I don't think the ending could've been pulled off without large problems.
Nor do I think the government would go away so easily. That was just sort throw aside at the end....more
rating: 2.5 stars. I feel bad about giving this book a low rating, thus I rounded it up.
Okay now... This is about an unfavored youngest half elf, halfrating: 2.5 stars. I feel bad about giving this book a low rating, thus I rounded it up.
Okay now... This is about an unfavored youngest half elf, half goblin son who finds himself emperor at 18 after all his male relatives on his father's side die together in a crash.
The Plot: the biggest part of this is that there is no real plot. It's just the first couple months of Maia's reign and those months aren't all that exciting. After he gets to the capital, it's just daily duties and feelings of being overwhelmed. That's about it. He doesn't actually strive for anything and somehow everything he does is alright.
The Names: Another reviewer mentioned this but this was a huge problem for me. Perhaps because I listened to the audiobook. The names are all incredibly similar to each other and, apparently, only slight variations of the names mean different things. The problem is that this is never explain and it's confusing as fuck. I can honestly tell you that I had absolutely no idea who was who for most of the book. You have several characters that have the same name or almost the same name and then the various families all have the same names it seems, with very little explaining as to wtf. You have names like Setheris and Csevet that sound alike. It's just bad, terrible naming. This is probably enough to make me not read this author again.
Polly Ann: The MC is, unfortunately, a Polly Ann. Everything he does is just and right. I think his only real fault is losing his temper once or twice in this book. Not only that but everyone loves him. He need only talk to people to have them love him, and the few that don't are basically the books villains. It's really black and white in that way. I found it extremely hard to believe that an 18 year old with almost no school whatsoever would be able to every correct decision that he made. He had the wisdom of an 80 year old King who'd reigned for some 60 years. It just wasn't realistic and, more than that, it was boring.
There seriously was a scene were the Emperor proclaims that he can, indeed, be friends with his guards and I just wanted to sink into the ground. It becomes very overbearing as the story progresses. Everyone loves him. It's like utter hero worship.
The Assassination Attempts: They were incredibly stupid and horribly weak. It was almost jarringly so. The author gives some few reasons for this but they make no sense. At one point, a character who aims to take the throne tries to kill the emperor in front of everyone and is, unsurprisingly, smacked down. I mean, really? It's stupid. It's incredibly stupid. Another attempt had the people wanting the emperor to sign a document saying he gives up the throne. Again, really? Is the emperor ruling over a used car lot? The idea is ridiculous and laughable. I'm not even certain why the author put them in -- well, no, I know why. Because that's the entirety of the action in this book. Just a couple stupid and ridiculous assassination attempts.
/sigh
It's sad because there's a good book under all this crap.
Well, color me ... surprised! And utterly delighted. I totally went into this not expecting anything and it caught me almost from the get-go. This is Well, color me ... surprised! And utterly delighted. I totally went into this not expecting anything and it caught me almost from the get-go. This is easily one of my top five reads this year. It was amazing.
And what the fuck is up with the cover? I think the cover is so bizarre.
Basically, the lowest rung on the totem pole are the 'reds'. They're either the miners or grounds keepers up top. Darrow is a red and he's a damn good driller. So when his live caves in on top of it, he doesn't hesitate to put that knowledge to freeing his people up top.
Now the fascinating thing about this book is how he goes about it. The reds aren't stupid (despite what they've been told.) They realize that in order to effect actual change, they have to do it from the inside. To this purpose, they (physically) make Darrow into a Gold and send him to the academy where all future ruling Golds go.
After he gets in, the fun really starts.
I wish people would stop comparing this to the hunger games and enders game. Neither book holds a candle to this one. It's completely different on all levels. Especially Enders Game. Darrow doesn't stumble into this. He isn't tricked. And he knows what he's getting himself in for. He's not a child nor is he sacrificing himself for a loved one. They're completely different books!...more
OMG! OMG! MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON! I LOVE MOON! I loved these short stories. Normally, I don't read shorts in series because I generally find them a OMG! OMG! MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON! I LOVE MOON! I loved these short stories. Normally, I don't read shorts in series because I generally find them a waste of time but Wells is a fantastic author!
I'd totally throw a dozen tea pots at Jade if I thought I could steal him from her. D:< But then Moon would get upset and he gets violent when he's upset.
I really love the gender switch here. It's kind of funny to see how everyone expects the consorts (all males) be passive and shit....more
The writing itself isn't bad in this book. More the pity. It's actually the only thing that has kept me reading this book. ISo... This book... Well...
The writing itself isn't bad in this book. More the pity. It's actually the only thing that has kept me reading this book. I wouldn't consider it a slog. At least sort of.
It's the structure that doesn't work at all. Each chapter is a different person but he never fully finishes off the character before.
So, like, Holly is 15 at the start of her chapter and it ends when she learns her baby brother is missing.
Then we get yanked 10 or so years in the future and are given the POV of someone we've never heard or know about before discuss all his petty criminal deeds. It takes half that chapter to get even see Holly again and now she's in her twenties. Then, near the end, when some action actually starts up, that chapter ends. Now we get another guy's POV, Holly's hubby. Holly's suddenly in her thirties and now has a 6 year old.
So you get to the point that you just get incredibly annoyed as it goes on. It's like a series of cliff hangers that aren't mentioned much at all in the next chapter....more
More cute. I didn't think McGuire did the change of POV very well, though. =XMore cute. I didn't think McGuire did the change of POV very well, though. =X...more
Amazing! I absolutely loved the first two stories and the rest were great as well. 'The Yellow Wallpaper' was such a convincing look into someone goinAmazing! I absolutely loved the first two stories and the rest were great as well. 'The Yellow Wallpaper' was such a convincing look into someone going 'crazy'. It was very subtle and by the end, I could almost believe that her delusions were true.
I actually read the second story thinking the ghost in that one is what she saw in the first story....more
Alisi � wants to read too many books �
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