Queen of Shadows / Sarah J Maas

Queen of Shadows

(Throne of Glass #4)

by Sarah J Maas

fantasy, chicklit

copyright 2015

read in May 2021

rated 9/10: really really good

Perhaps not a "great" book -- but absolutely great for enjoyment :-)

Action from go to whoa. When the action slows... add a new character. Or set of characters. Or add a brand new -- major -- sub plot. What a lot of fun !

All new... and yet... and yet... it all fits together. Eventually.

The story builds to a grand climax... and builds... and builds. There is just so much to do before the grand finale.

And yes -- there *is* a grand finale. Plot threads tied off... finally. Not always as expected. There are last-minute revelations -- answers to questions which have been outstanding for several books.

All is wrapped up in a very satisfactory fashion... Not!

The book ends with several very satisfying conclusions. Plus several wide-open possibilities.

I am absolutely satisfied. Yet there is still so much more to come.

This is a never-ending saga. With so much solid enjoyment in every chapter. So much violence. So much enjoyment. Do much... emotion!

I need to take a break... Weeks, perhaps moths -- before I look for the next book in the series. It is so very absorbing... so draining... and so much fun :-) I need to cool down. To rest a bit... before I tackle another such roller-coaster of... absolute enjoyment.

Oh, and look: The action and adventure is essential. The complex plot is essential. And yet... The real reason that I enjoy this book. The key to my absolute absorption and enjoyment... is in the characters.

No matter how violent they are. No matter how emotionally torn. No matter how cruel... There is always something to like.

The characters may not all be nice. Yet they are understandable. Sympathetic. And -- the major characters -- they are fighting for niceness. In a very harsh world, they want to do better -- for everyone. I can only think, Yay! go for it :-)

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"When the going gets tough, the smart get going" ... per Ginger Meggs"

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

Too Like the Lightning / Ada Palmer

Too Like the Lightning

(Terra Ignota #1)

by Ada Palmer

dystopia

copyright 2016

read a bit, May 2021

rated 2/10: unreadably bad

I started reading... trying to read. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.

Very clever, perhaps? Another Ulysses, an invented language, impossible to read? No. What I read was incomprehensible and uninteresting.

What little I read was... nonsense.

I tried the Wikipedia entry. The longest plot summary I have ever seen... I guess the wiki author had no idea, either.

So, okay, here's a guess. Based on the Wikipedia article: The author has invented a societal organisation which -- she believes -- will result in world peace. She wants to push her idea. So she wraps a flimsy plot round her idea. And "shows" what a terrific world it would be. If only we all followed her brilliant idea.

Almost a pity the book is unreadable.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"No matter how much you push the envelope, it will still be stationery"

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

Heir of Fire / Sarah J Maas

Heir of Fire

(Throne of Glass #3)

by  Sarah J Maas

chicklit, fantasy

copyright 2014

read in May 2021

rated 8/10: really quite good

On the back cover of this book it says, A Throne of Glass Novel. Yes, that's what it is. Not really a third volume in the Throne sage. More a brand new novel set in the Throne world.

Okay, it follows the action from book two. And it leads (by all indications) into the action of book four. Yet it may as well be a book entirely on its own.

The heroine is in a new country. A new continent. She lives and fights in new places. She meets new friends and new enemies, she fights with and against characters who were never mentioned in the earlier books. Well, barely mentioned.

It's a whole new adventure.

And yet... The new adventure is tied -- narrowly but definitely -- to the previous Throne books. Better yet, the new adventure is complete in itself.

The heroine is isolated from previous friends. She fights a war -- while her friends advance their own stories. The heroine's war is self-contained, yet it advances the overall plot of the series.

Overall plot? Yes, there is such a thing. Yet I had barely begun reading before I realised, This story will never end. Certainly not in this book. Possibly never. This book -- the series -- has developed into a never-ending soap opera.

And yet... The major battle (war?) is sufficient for a complete novel. There is enough novelty, enough of a complete plot, for this book to be read as a standalone novel... But don't. Read from book one. Enjoy the heroine's journey. Enjoy the complex plotting all round. Enjoy the sudden expansion of people and places in this book. It can be read alone. It is better as another book in an ongoing saga.

Better. And really quite good.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"No matter how much you push the envelope, it will still be stationery"

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

Improbable Sherlock Holmes / John Joseph Adams

Improbable Sherlock Holmes

ed. John Joseph Adams

various authors

fantasy

copyright 2009

read in March 2021

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

Let's say Sherlock Holmes on the cover, and hope that suckers will read this book. It's a collection of short stories which have Watson and Holmes as characters. Okay, there's usually a crime. Not always solved. The stories are not even in the Conan Doyle style.

There are horror stories, for example. Nasty threats, attempts to build suspense, a gruesome death... no explanation. Standard horror nonsense. Ho hum. There are several stories where Watson is old and can barely recall details of the case that is discussed. Ho hum again.

None of the stories are as good as the real Holmes stories.

There is just one excellent story in the entire book. It's very funny. Ludicrous. Well structured with a satisfactory ending.

The rest... may entertain fans of the actual authors. Otherwise, oh, readable enough. But not Holmes. Just, ho hum.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"No matter how much you push the envelope, it will still be stationery"

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

The Terranauts / T. Coraghessan Boyle

The Terranauts / T. Coraghessan Boyle

science fiction

copyright 2016

read 27.3% in May 2021

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

To be fair -- this is a good book. Well written. Exploring interesting ideas in an interesting -- sometimes challenging -- way. A sealed environment -- a spaceship still on Earth -- is a fascinating idea.

The book presents a complex environment -- human, animal and physical -- and presents it well. There are problems -- expected (by me) and unexpected. All believable, all well presented.

I'm just not interested.

There is just one character who is -- at best -- quite likeable. The others? I don't care. Interesting? Challenging? Ho hum. Interactions? Oh yes, well explored but I don't care... well, I don't really enjoy.

Right now I want books where clever characters solve interesting problems. So far, the problems are, in the main, the characters. And I don't really care.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"No matter how much you push the envelope, it will still be stationery"

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

The Good Psychopath's Guide to Success / Andy McNab, Kevin Dutton

The Good Psychopath's Guide to Success

by  Andy McNab, Kevin Dutton

self help

copyright 2014

read a bit in 2016, 2021

rated 4/10: bad but could be read

Okay, it's well written. Easy to read in the sense that, it's jolly, it's informative, it flows nicely. What's bad is what it says.

I like the concept: a logical approach to solving problems.

I read a few chapters. Lent the book, got it back five years later, read a bit more. Quickly remembered what I had thought of it on the first reading.

The man is a creep. Self-centred. Doesn't care who he hurts, how other people feel about being manipulated.

Probably -- as stated -- a brilliant SAS leader, where the situation is definitely "them or us". If it's win-or-lose -- and "lose" means death -- bring on the psychopath. As long as he is on our side.

In real life -- everyday civilised life -- life-or-death is not an issue. Winning a big contract is not life-or-death. Flying first-class or economy is not life-or-death.

We van afford to accept some give-or-take. To occasionally allow the other person to win. To treat other people as human beings. To allow some room for other people -- other human beings -- to win a little.

This "good" psychopath must always win. At any cost. Sure, send him to a war, where winning and losing really is a matter of life or death.

Keep him away from other human beings.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"No matter how much you push the envelope, it will still be stationery"

===

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

Crown of Midnight / Sarah J Maas

Crown of Midnight

(Throne of Glass #2

by Sarah J Maas

chicklit, fantasy

copyright 2013

read in April 2021

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

That rating... If you have already read book one -- this is a 7 out of 10 as a follow-up, well worth reading just to see what happens next.

But Yet there are no conclusions. Villains and monsters appear, kill, are killed, disappear. There is a lot of following clues and wondering what is behind all the evil. The answers are not obvious, which is good...

But the book is just another chapter. At the end, the heroine launches into a brand new adventure -- leaving loose ends behind.

It's good fun but don't read it by itself. In fact... perhaps you should get the complete series and read it as one massive novel... Except that there is no guarantee that even that will get you to a solid conclusion.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"Failure is not an option. It's a lifestyle." ... per Ginger Meggs

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