Shadow Play / Tad Williams

Shadow Play

(Shadowmatch #2)

by Tad Williams

fantasy

copyright 2007

started in January 2021

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

I find myself wishing more and more for a book with a beginning, an end and a plot to connect the two. I have less and less interest in a continuing saga which gets... nowhere.

There's a prelude, where we meet two central characters as children. The young prince stole something, father (the king) had the servants beaten in an attempt to find the object. So I already dislike this royal family and have no objection when chapter one reveals that they have been overthrown.

Chapter one follows the princess. Her faithful advisor tells her, Shut up, do as I tell you, I won't explain anything. This is the author's way of avoiding explanations.

Chapter two follows the prince. His faithful advisor attempts to protect him. The prince says, Do as I say, I don't know why I say it, I appear to be following the commands of a porcupine. (Really.) This is the author's way of building "suspense" -- not telling the reader what is going on.

Chapter three... follows yet another character. No, I've never heard of this character. I check the list of characters at the back of the book. Oh, so this "person?" is a "Funderling", and husband to yet another unknown character.

Nothing interesting so far.

I stop reading.

===

18dec21: Again, I start to read this book.

Okay, it's book two so lots will be missing. Strange... I'm sure I remember the ruling family being overthrown. Is it in this book but later? Did I give up -- this second time -- even sooner than the first? Because I do give up. Again.

This time, I skip to the end -- just to see if the princess reappears. She does. So does the prince, so both major characters do reach the end of the book. Oh, and I meet a whole tribe of those Funderlings. Wait... does that mean that they were unexplained for the bulk of the book?

And then the prince collapses... yes... to be continued.

To be fair, a lot of my current dislike of this book is due to it being just one of a series. What I read did not encourage me to read more... perhaps the book does improve.

I am -- right now -- actively *dis*interested in continuing sagas. What little I read does not encourage me to change my attitude.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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I'd rather be super rich than completely stupid... Ginger Meggs

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

Iron Gold / Pierce Brown

Iron Gold

(Red Rising #4)

by Pierce Brown

science fiction, dystopia

copyright 2018

read in January 2021

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

Book one was terrific, it stood alone but left me wanting more. Books two and three could not be read alone, characters had been introduced in book one, book two ended with everything lost, to be continued in book three.

This book four makes -- I guess -- very little sense unless you have read at least one of the previous books. If you have read them all -- then this book may be worth more than six. For me it was spoilt by the clear indications that there would be no conclusion. Sure enough, at the end, everyone is in mortal peril.

This book does not stand alone. Having read the previous three -- it is just another chapter, with no conclusion. This annoys me.

As a story it is as violent and nasty as the others. Nothing wrong with that... Nothing wrong with that -- if there is some conclusion. With at least some wins for the goodies. In this book, there are no winners, there are several losers.

If you want a science fiction dystopia -- if you can wait for the next two books (one is written) -- if those two actually finish a story -- then this is a terrific book. For me... I now need to brighten my mood with a lighter book or two. 

===

Later thought:

The book is written as three or four threads. Each thread follows one character, with some interactions. This approach gives a broad picture of what is happening, it also gets more words from the same size plot. I seem to remember that the first three books were simpler, one-main-character plots.

The multi-thread plot is typical of never-ending fantasy sagas. Is this coincidence... or has the author decided that this Mars saga will never end. I take it as a bad sign.

The series seems to have changed from a one-thread plot with a worthwhile end, to a less interesting soap opera. Yes, the various threads are related. But are they aiming towards a satisfying end? Not as far as I can tell.

As I read, I had no hope for a real conclusion. This stopped me enjoying the book.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

I'd rather be super rich than completely stupid... Ginger Meggs

===

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

Early Riser / Jasper Fforde

Early Riser

by Jasper Fforde

fantasy

copyright 2018

read in January 2021

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

Fforde has taken a step away from Thursday Next. After a two-year writer's block, according to his author's notes.

This is not another Next novel. It is nowhere near as... funny. "True literary comic genius", it says on the cover. The book is not funny.

It's a good story. Set in an alternate universe. Well presented, a solid plot. An alternate world and set in an alternate Wales... Perhaps the book would be funnier if I were Welsh? Perhaps the references to real items and people would be funnier if they were part of my own world?

This is a solid fantasy novel. Expecting "comic genius" spoilt it for me. I also had trouble keeping track of all the characters. One is, we are told, based on a real person... I could not remember that character. Some of the characters are clever, overall it's confusing.

If you have never before read a Fforde book, you may enjoy this one more than I did. Read it as a good fantasy, alternate world, mystery. I expected humour and was disappointed.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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I'd rather be super rich than completely stupid... Ginger Meggs

===

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

The Wind in the Willows / Kenneth Grahame

The Wind in the Willows

by Kenneth Grahame

fantasy

copyright 1908

read in January 2021

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

Okay, six out of ten... I enjoyed the book but, well it is sadly dated. The characters are PG Wodehouse country gentlemen. Likeable. The action is fun... but there is so little of it.

Half the book is the pleasure of life and the wonder of the English countryside. I enjoyed that but not enough to rate it as "well worth reading".

The book may have been written for children, it is not a children's book. Unless the children live in the idyllic English countryside of the story's setting. They may then gain extra appreciation of the animals that live there. For other children -- the book is so far out of normal experience that it is confusing.

Older kids, perhaps, who understand that Willows is set in what is now a purely imaginary world.

What did strike me as I read, was the imagery invoked. Not in the style of 1908 illustrations... I kept getting flashes of the Disney movie. I don't even remember seeing the movie... but the images are clear. And when I search the net, yes, there are the images as I "remember" them.

And when I search the net -- I far prefer images from the original, far older, book.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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I'd rather be super rich than completely stupid... Ginger Meggs

===

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

The Calculating Stars / Mary Robinette Kowal

The Calculating Stars

(Lady Astronaut #1)

by Mary Robinette Kowal

science fiction

copyright 2018

read in January 2021

rated 8/10: really quite good

This is traditional "what if" science fiction: What if something had pushed the race to space forward, to become a major effort in the 1950s? The author combines what actually happened with the setting and society of those several decades earlier.

The result is a study of gender and racial inequalities. Wrapped within a solid story of one woman's urge to be an astronaut.

The star is a woman. Yes, she changes clothes regularly but this is not chicklit. The book offers hope for women -- and blacks -- suffering under discrimination. A white man will enjoy the story -- and perhaps have his eyes opened.

The woman works hard, and succeeds. There are no major confrontations, no fisticuffs, no court cases. She deserves success, and succeeds. Most of the opposition is simply ingrained bias. Even the one determined opponent has a good -- in his own mind -- reason for his attitude.

The book is "what if" science fiction. What happens reflects reality, shifted to emphasise the prejudices. The action is slow but fascinating. The message is strong, essential to the plot, not shoved in the reader's face.

Hard science fiction at its best.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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I'd rather be super rich than completely stupid... Ginger Meggs

===

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