The Lies of Locke Lamora / Scott Lynch

The Lies of Locke Lamora

(The Gentleman Bastard Sequence #1)

by Scott Lynch

fantasy

copyright 2006

part read in December 2020

rated 5/10: readable if there's nothing else

An interesting start but after fifty pages I stop reading. Not that it's bad. It just does not interest me.

The world is complex and well detailed. The detail adds nothing to any plot. There are amazing structures from an earlier, long vanished civilisation. So far this is irrelevant, the structures may as well have been rough stone.

The characters are unappealing. Criminals all, not nasty but self-interested in a callous way. The main character is described from a third-person perspective, I have no more than a surface understanding, no idea of meaning nor motivation.

Perhaps all these faults are sorted out in the next 600 pages... perhaps not. I am not interested enough to find out. Not interested? More accurately: I don't like the people so I do not want to read any more.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===

"When someone does something wrong, don't forget all of the things they did right." ... anonymous

   

Closer to Home / Mercedes Lackey

Closer to Home

(The Herald Spy #1 and Valdemar #6?)

by Mercedes Lackey

chicklit, fantasy

copyright 2014

read in December 2020

rated 7/10: well worth reading

The book starts with characters returning from an adventure... at least five books' worth of adventure. Doesn't matter, main characters are soon introduced. Though it took me a while to realize that one key character is a super-intelligent horse.

It's a very slow start. Gradually becoming more interesting, in a very chicklit way: home decoration, costumes, nice people doing nice things. I begin to wonder if anything serious will ever happen. I can see how this author could write five books a year: every room, every dress, every discussion... and more... are all described in full detail. No need to waste time on complex plots, just fully describe everything.

There's an obvious boy-meets-girl. Orphans are rescued from a life of crime. Match-making becomes the main theme...

Then life becomes more complicated. The plot twists... yet not unexpectedly. The author introduces doubt: surely that can't be right, I think. Then... the action becomes frenetic. Major threats are dealt with by personal effort. Once it starts there are no surprises -- by then I am hooked. I want to read the details of the obvious ending.

Followed by another slow patch as all loose ends are tied up. By now I am happy to have all loose ends tied up... though I would have liked it to be a bit quicker.

This book continues the history of Valdemar. It begins a new sub-series. It is enjoyable by itself. After the slow start... through the detailed descriptions of every... single... thing... I found the book to be surprisingly enjoyable.

I may not rush to find other Valdemar books but I will be quite happy if some do turn up.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===

"When someone does something wrong, don't forget all of the things they did right." ... anonymous

   

The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games
(Hunger Games #1)
by Suzanne Collins

Fantasy, dystopia, chicklit , subadult

Copyright 2008
Read in December 2020

Rated 9/10: really really good

There's been a lot of publicity about this book. A lot. Sometimes that puts me off. This time I had the feeling, maybe it's as good as its publicity. And it is.

My initial rating was eight. but. I think this book is worth a nine. Any qualms I have are part of it being written for younger readers. Subadult. Teenagers. Teenage girls... because a the main character is a teenage girl. And because she changes clothes a lot.

In its category this book is really really good. In any other category it is really quite good.

I do have one criticism. Near the start of the book the heroine puts on her boots then puts on her trousers... Come on! trousers first, then boots.

Apart from that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book :-)

I also read the Wikipedia summary of the series and thought, books two and three seem a bit extra. Added on because there was money to be made. Having read to the end of book one— yes, it does seem to need more. I'm looking forward to reading more.



Nick Lethbridge
Consulting Dexitroboper

First among Sequels / Jasper Fforde

First among Sequels

(Thursday Next #5)

by Jasper Fforde

humour, fantasy

copyright 2007

read in December 2020

rated 8/10: really quite good

It's been a while since I read other books in this series. Yet my feeling is... this is the best one yet :-)

There are references to the previous four Next books, they don't seem to make sense ... till it all comes together. There are references to a later book, as yet unwritten, which ... eventually fits perfectly into the plot.

There is a secondary plot -- time travel -- which is completely unrelated to the "bookworld" plot. Until... it all fits into place. There is a complex -- yet wholly comprehensible, finally -- plot. Amazing!

Then there are the constant allusions to other books. The cast of Pride and Prejudice are a delight. (I'm a P&P fan.) Others are (to me) less familiar, I have taken to reading with regular cross-checks to Wikipedia. Cold Comfort Farm... through the barn... see "something"... search for Ada Doom... and *then* I chuckle :-)

Then: Thank you to Fforde for "plot, pace, character and atmosphere", an interesting addition to my knowledge. And finally: The book provides an extremely clear and very logical explanation of the creative process of reading and writing novels. At last, it all makes sense.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

It's a dog eat dog world. Bring a bottle of something ... per Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https: // notdotdeaddotyet .blogspot. com. au/ :-)

Amberlough / Lara Elena Donnelly

Amberlough

by Lara Elena Donnelly

fantasy

copyright 2017

started reading December 2020

rated 5/10: readable but only if there's nothing else

The book is set in an imaginary world. I can't help thinking, a decadent era in a major European city. The back cover mentions Weimar-era Berlin. Imaginary city and country names equals fantasy... That is the only element of fantasy so far.

Various characters are miserable, sad, rude, cruel, name a negative trait. Their interactions are equally strained. There are several possibly sympathetic characters, characters with whose situation I can sympathise. But not like.

There is not a single character that I like. I have no interest in what happens to any of them. (After 70 pages it is, nothing pleasant so far.)

I stop reading. I have better books to read.

If miserable characters in a miserable world don't put you off, this is a well-written book. Not very interesting but well-written. It's not rubbish. It's just an unpleasant book which I do not want to read.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===

"When someone does something wrong, don't forget all of the things they did right." ... anonymous

   

The Bone Clocks / David Mitchell

The Bone Clocks

by David Mitchell

fantasy

copyright 2014

started reading December 2020

rated 4/10: bad but could be read

This book is "fantasy", I read just a few pages and found no fantasy. I believe fantasy does happen.

What I did find was a stupid girl. Someone that did not inspire me to read further. She -- and her stupid actions -- inspired me to stop reading. So I did.

Though I then read the Wikipedia entry for this book. And learnt several things:

Man Booker prize tells me nothing about the quality of a fantasy. World Fantasy award indicates a rubbish fantasy book. And from the Wikipedia plot summary, I learnt that I was wise to stop reading.

If you like whatever the Man Booker judges like, go for it. From this one experience, I do not.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

It's a dog eat dog world. Bring a bottle of something ... per Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https: // notdotdeaddotyet .blogspot. com. au/ :-)

Solar Express / L.E.Modesitt, Jr

Solar Express

by L.E.Modesitt, Jr

science fiction

copyright 2015

part read in December 2020

rated 4/10: bad but could be read

First alien contact, a regular science fiction theme. Lots of ideas, many unusual, some thought-provoking.

This one is rubbish.

I have no idea what happened to the "alien artifact". After a relentlessly boring 80-plus pages, I gave up. Here's a sample:

"[He] had no idea whether the announcement was AI-generated or whether a human had entered the information. He doubted whether it mattered in the slightest." It certainly doesn't matter to the reader. It's a time-wasting irrelevance -- just like the majority of the book so far. This bit is pointless, most of the rubbish is the author saying, "See what tech nonsense I just read on the internet! Ain't I clever!"

The book is "hard" science fiction. Mixed with political maneuvering, just to ensure that the reader is bored.

Apparently this author has written more than 60 novels. He has said, "the bottom line is simple: As a writer, you first must entertain your readers". This book fails. Perhaps he should slow down the writing and spend more time learning how to entertain his readers.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

It's a dog eat dog world. Bring a bottle of something ... per Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https: // notdotdeaddotyet .blogspot. com. au/ :-)

The Last Guardian / Eoin Colfer

The Last Guardian

(Artemis Fowl #8)

by Eoin Colfer

subadult, fantasy

copyright 2012

read in December 2020

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

I came to Artemis Fowl from Highfire, an adult (or young adult) fantasy by the same author. I did not remember an earlier book, where Colfer failed miserably.

Impressed by Highfire, I tried the first Artemis Fowl. It was okay, not great. Does the Fowl series get better? I wondered. Unfortunately, it gets worse. Judged by this eighth book, anyway.

I'm surprised. In my memory I rate book one as a possible seven, at the time I rated it six. I rate this book as another six... perhaps it should be five? By itself, yes: Readable if there's nothing else. But worth an extra point for wrapping up the series.

The main character has certainly developed, not in a way that I like. We've lost the self-centred villain and gained a loyal and friendly Disney hero (see below). He has lost his edge. Yet everyone waits on him to develop a cunning plan which will save the day... Boring.

The book seems full of well-known characters appearing -- just in time -- to do whatever they do best. Plus regular flashbacks to explain why a previously unheralded "something" saves the characters from otherwise inescapable doom.

I'm an adult reading a children's book, perhaps I should not complain. Yet I would not read this book to a child. I have just done a strikethrough on the subadult category.

The overall threat is, that every single human being will be killed. Bad enough. There are also several meaningless deaths. Individuals whose only role is to be killed. Nasty :-( Not suitable for children.

There is also an overall feeling that the book is a series of set pieces, of climactic destruction which will make for an "exciting" movie. Look! lots of scenery blowing up, won't that thrill the audiences! The author seems to be writing for the big money, the movie rights.

And speaking of movies: I tried to watch the Disney movie of the first Fowl book. If I were rating that movie it would be three out of ten. So bad it's embarrassing.

At least the books are readable.

===

17dec20: I looked at the cover from the first Fowl book: Artemis is a skinny, sneering child in a suit. As described in the book.

By this, the eighth Fowl book, Artemis has become a solid teen in a bright yellow space-age costume. A creepy, saccharine, Disney stereotype. It may not affect the book. The image change does, however, exemplify the disaster of the Disney movie.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

The best part of [Triple J's Hottest 100] is watching everyone realise they've aged out of the demographic for [Triple J's Hottest 100] ... John Birmingham"

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https: // notdotdeaddotyet .blogspot. com. au/ :-)