Book Reviews

[jethrien]

More capsule reviews:

#73: The City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau. 3. Can YA dystopian be generic? This one was strangely so.

#74: Every Day by David Levithan. 4.5. Opposite of generic. Engaging and touching story of a person who wakes up in a different body every day. Does a good job of exploring some of the ramifications without becoming just a thought exercise.

#75: HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!! and other improbable crowdfunding projects ed. by John Joseph Adams. 3.5. Gets a little repetitive--there are a few too many time-travel/memory erasure/take over the world scenarios--but surprisingly clever.

#76: The Magus by John Fowles. 2. What the hell was that? Supposed to be literary postmodern something or other. So far up its own ass it pops out the top and waves. Turgid, florid, and other purple adjectives prose.

#77: Angels and Visitations by Neil Gaiman. 5. I'd read this before and forgotten half the stories. Not sure why the troll stuck with me. Gaiman's stories are almost always masterful.

#78: Word Puppets by Mary Robinette Kowel. 3.5. She admits the earlier stuff is not as graceful as the later. The stories towards the end gather some real power, though.

#79: Witches: Wicked, Wild, & Wonderful ed by Paula Guran. The title is wince-worthy, and the intros to each story are obvious and trite. But a number of the actual stories are wonderful.

#80: The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson. 5. Succinct and brilliant. A magical forger desperately trying to rebuild the soul of a dead emperor is a strangely compelling character.

Comments

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

The City of Ember is middle grade, isn't it? Worth noting that in 2003, it probably seemed a lot fresher, as it preceded the big dystopian fiction trend, even Scott Westerfeld's Uglies. It reminded me more of The Giver than anything else, and like that series, you're probably better off stopping with the first book. (Though I have yet to read Son.)

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure it was middle grade. I hadn't realized it was from that far back; you're right, that helps a bit.