Last book you read and your rating - book reviews

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by Sharecrow

I recently finished The High Druid of Shannara: Jarka Ruus, by Terry Brooks. I hardly know what to say about it without potentially spoiling prior Shannara books for other readers. I loved it, though. Plus, it had Grianne in it (who I have a secret crush on). Epic fantasy novel. 9/10.

I've only read Sword. It was good despite being an unabashed Lord of the Rings ripoff. I know Brooks has expanded on the universe quite a bit since then.

[Sharecrow]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

I've only read Sword. It was good despite being an unabashed Lord of the Rings ripoff. I know Brooks has expanded on the universe quite a bit since then.

Sword is good...but among the weaker entries in the series. Sheesh, though...counting all of them I think would make the one I just read number twelve? That's a lot of material.

I've been bored by many fantasy novels in my life. So his are refreshingly and consistently good IMO. I have some minor gripes with some style-related matters but overall I've been pleased with Brooks.

[Sharecrow]

Okay, I'll try to keep this relatively short. I finished Homer's Odyssey earlier today. Phew! That book is something else. It follows Ulysses's adventures following the Trojan war. Reminded me of an odd mix of Populous and Battle of Olympus if I were to give it a video game parallel. I'm assuming there's no Odyssey game...

Anyway, it was complete with a cyclops, sirens, ghosts, tempests, and even a Scylla. As with its predecessor, I am just amazed that it was translated into English as smoothly as it was while still retaining (I assume) a close match to its original meaning as well as the flow you'd expect from an epic poem.

Also, as with its predecessor, I decline to rate it. I'm not qualified...I respect and appreciate it, but it's over my head in ways that cause it to be unfair for me to rate.

[Kanti 3000]

"Lolita" by Vladamir Nabokov- The famous (and infamous) story of Humbert Humbert, a man who is only sexually attracted to prepubescent girls and his obsession with the 12 year old Lolita. This book really is amazing, Nabokov has an amazing style and flair for words, just reading his descriptions is interesting. The story itself is darkly funny, but rather sad and disturbing, although it's written well enough that you almost forget you're reading that you're reading about a pedophille, charming and sad though he may be. It's easy to see why Nabokov is so well regarded.

9/10


"The Crying of Lot 49" by Thomas Pynchon- My first Pynchon novel, and one of his most well known and well regarded. It is about a woman named Oedipa Maas who discovers a strange conspiracy involving secret mail companies and strange plays. I have to admit I'm somewhat dissapointed, the novel had been built up so much and it hardly lived up to the hype. Maybe post modern isn't for me...I did enjoy the novel though, once I levelled my expectations. It's quite funny and sad in a few places, a picks up steam near the end, although I didn't really feel any attachment to any of the characters. Still it was quick and easy, and intruiged me enough to give Pynchon another shot.

6/10...maybe 7/10, I'm not really sure...

"The Power and the Glory" by Graham Greene- I ran into this novel by chance and was really blown away, maybe it's because I come from a somewhat religous background, but I was greatly impressed. The novel takes place in Mexico during the 1930s, when the Mexican government strove to suppress the Catholic Church. Priests were forced to revoke their religion and marry, flee the state, or be charged with treason and executed.
The story itself revolves around an unnamed Priest as he attempts to flee the state of Tabasco, while secretly preforming religious rites for the people. He is an alcholholic, has an illegitimate child, and is full of self loathing and guilt, but he still strives to continue his priestly functions in secret despite the constant danger of execution. The priest is constantly chased by a Police Lieutenant who is ruthless in his pursuit of the priest, and actively hates the Catholic church and the corruption he feels it represents. Despite his ruthless actions in persuing the priest, he is also shown to be quite idealistic and truly loves the people of Mexico.
It's an interesting story, that with no real clear cut hero and villian, just alot of very flawed characters doing what they think is right. Greene's writing is pretty great as well, I'll definitately be looking into more of his work.

10/10

"The Man in the High Castle" by Phillip K. Dick- A speculative fiction story about what might of happened had the Allies lost the second World War and the Axis powers had taken over most of the world. It's a really fantastic premise that is told from the point of view of several mostly ordinary people living in the now Japanese occupied west coast of the US. The story mostly focuses in on the day to day life in this new world, and is actually kind of disturbing and scarily plausible. All in all a fantastic read, although some the plot elements involving Nazi space programs are a little silly, and the end is very open ended to say the least. To be honest I'm not sure how I really feel about the ending, but I sure did enjoy the ride.

8/10.

[Sharecrow]

Alrighty, I just finished A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. This is my second reading of this book but it's been more than fifteen years since I last read it. I have a bit of a love / hate thing going on for Mr. Dickens. He was an outstanding story teller and, at times, his prose is extremely beautiful and well-executed. At other times, he's a little meandering and awkward with an excessive attention to details that neither add depth nor advance the story. He had some mixed motivations, though, because I think his compensation was at least somewhat linked with his word count. But, in any event, his works are good enough to read and, for all that I've read so far, well worth re-reading as well.

This one is set during the Reign of Terror period of the French Revolution. It casts the normal human values and motivations that regular folks have into the shoes of characters involved in this often-insane whirlwind of events. It's mind-boggling, really, to try to put oneself in the shoes of someone watching these types of things transpire without already knowing how they will turn out. There's some nastiness and some hope...the story is interesting enough and moving when it needs to be. There are a handful of scenes that really stand out in my mind with the rest of it keeping them together and making it whole.

7.5 out of 10 overall.

EDIT: I just finished re-reading Romeo and Juliet. I absolutely love this play and want to see it again... I've seen it several times as well as film versions of this and even a ballet. Anyway, I won't regurgitate the story as it's known well enough for me to not have to go there. 10/10. Beautiful.

[Sharecrow]

I finished a poems collection entitled The Poems of Robert Browning. I'm not sure if it represents his complete works (probably not), but it was lengthy. It was divided into three sections: Lyrical Poems and Dramatic Lyrics, Dramatic Monologues, and Quest, Illusion, Faith. Cryptic distinctions to me, but okay.

I have to be honest. I don't know much about poetry and I seldom read it. The most noteworthy piece in here was The Pied Piper of Hamelin, which has been retold in several formats (kids cartoons, games, children's books, etc.) My favorite of the collection was the short yet haunting Porphyria's Lover. Other pieces that I really liked included Bishop Blougram's Apology and Abt Vogler.

This was good stuff but rather dry for me and it took me awhile to make my way through it all. Other than the ones I noted above, the rest of it just flew by me. I admittedly was not his intended audience though. 7/10 overall, I'd say.

Tom Jones will be started pretty soon and I'm still in the middle of a couple other books.