Tag Archives: magical creatures
The Terror by Dan Simmons
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
It is not beyond the realm of possibility that this book would have waited from being finished in February to being reviewed in July even had my year not been inhumanely busy. Despite the disgustingly hot weather, I have goose bumps thinking about it.
The Terror is taken from the name one half of a pair of ships sent on an Arctic expedition at some point when reinforcement technology for ice breaking ships still involved the types of wood used in conjunction with some iron. Near the beginning a character thinks to himself that the number of awards given to the returning commanders of these expeditions seems to be higher the more lives are lost. I’m inclined to agree.
This book was dark, dirty, and above all cold. To steal from the inimitable karen’s review, “oh my god, let me never get scurvy.” There are many things I could add to that list. I have no idea how realistic it may be, but the descriptions of the conditions experienced by the people on those ships make me wish I could forget hearing them.
Sadly, I feel the same way about much of the element of this book that throws it into the fantasy heap. It somehow went from a scary thing that could have been made frightening to a rather campy and eventually lame rehashing of a mythology that I suspect is nowhere near as simplistic as it seems. The last 10 or so chapters could have been left off the book. More HMS Terror and less of the Terror would have made this a far better book.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 3.5 stars, book, book review, books, crazy deities, denizens of hell, everybody dies, fantasy, friend review sparked interest, historical fiction, horror, impending doom, magical creatures, mythological types, the fuck is this the fuck was that | posted in Words
Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
I enjoyed Fool Moon more than I did Storm Front, which I definitely enjoyed. Harry was still stupidly overprotective of other people in a way which put them in more danger than they would have been otherwise, but at least there was less “omg, the wimmenz, they need protecting and coddling” bullshit. I also found the story more interesting. Where the first book bounced around in a way that I found confusing at times, the pace of the second was pretty good. The audio is also great. I recommend listening to these. I’m looking forward to the next one!
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 4 stars, badassery, book, book review, books, chicago, fantasy, fool moon, harry dresden, jim butcher, magical creatures, windy city, witches & wizards, wolves of the were persuasion | posted in Words
Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
I don’t even know how to express just how much I loved Small Gods. I really, really, really enjoyed reading this. Sure, that may have been because my boyfriend’s great love of turtles has rubbed off on me. It may have been a devious glee at the thought of a petulant little god who never considered that he should do anything for his believers. The great library and the hilarious stereotype of the philosophers in Ephebe certainly didn’t hurt. Nor did the penguin. Or the history monk. Vorbis was creepy as hell, which added a slight touch of reality. Seriously, go read this. Now. Go!
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 4.5 stars, book, book review, books, crazy deities, discworld, fantasy, humorous, libraries are awesome, magical creatures, review, small gods, terry pratchett, too stubborn for their own good, turtles | posted in Words
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
>
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was better than Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Coming from me, that pretty much falls into the “damning with faint praise” category. There were some parts of this book I really enjoyed, especially some of the character development with the Weasley kids. Overall though…well, if you don’t mind obscenities or spoilers, my complete thoughts are in the rant below.
Continue reading
Leave a comment | tags: 3 stars, book, book review, books, deathly hallows, disappointing, fantasy, Harry Potter, jk rowling, magical creatures, precocious kiddos, review, the fuck is this the fuck was that, young adult | posted in Words
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Good lord, I’ve not reviewed a single book I’ve read this year & it’s already February. *deep breath* Here goes…
Continue reading
Leave a comment | tags: 4 stars, children, dolores umbridge, fantasy, ginny weasley, Harry Potter, harry potter and the order of the phoenix, hermione granger, hogwarts, jk rowling, magical creatures, order of the phoenix, precocious kiddos, ron weasley, sirius black, up to no good, witches & wizards | posted in Words
Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews
Magic Slays has a poignancy and genuine darkness that was a change from the preceding books in the series. Unfortunately,it also has some problems, for instance the complete ignoring of everything that happened in Magic Dreams. That being said, Kate shows vulnerabilities and weaknesses that made her a far more believable character. The villain was of a sort I had been waiting to see since the main construct of the series was introduced. The tension between Kate & Curran was more believable than in the past. Overall, perhaps less enjoyable because of the afore-mentioned darkness, but a better book. 4 stars just for that.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 4 stars, atlanta, badassery, curran, down south, drinkers of blood, fantasy, ilona andrews, kate daniels, magic slays, magical creatures, re-read potential, sweet sweet luuurve, swordplay, that is not natural, too stubborn for their own good, vampires, witches & wizards, wolves of the were persuasion | posted in Words
Hexed by Ilona Andrews
This is a review of Magic Dreams, #4.5 of the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. Unfortunately, there is not a standalone version, hence the review of this anthology.
Magic Dreams was sad. I like Dali’s character and it turns out her life is more sad than I thought. The villain was the saddest I have seen in this series to date. Even Jim was sad, although that could have had something to do with, well, spoilers. Anyway, sad. I enjoyed it overall and was quite angry that it was in no way acknowledged in the fifth book. Also sad. It’s all sad.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 3.5 stars, atlanta, badassery, dali, down south, drinkers of blood, fantasy, ilona andrews, kate daniels, magic dreams, magical creatures, re-read potential, sweet sweet luuurve, that is not natural, too stubborn for their own good, witches & wizards, wolves of the were persuasion | posted in Words
Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews
I remember really enjoying Magic Bleeds when I first read it. A month later, I had to work hard to remember what happened during the first 2/3 of the book and why I liked it so much. I suppose that might sum up my feelings on the book best. It started out very exciting, became repetitive, then had a badass ending. One thing that I did appreciate very much was the change in Kate’s relationship with the Order. Her relationship with the chief villain was also well done. Unfortunately, this book has proven too forgettable for the 3.5 I would like to have given it. Still glad I read it.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 3 stars, andrea nash, atlanta, badassery, curran, down south, drinkers of blood, fantasy, ilona andrews, kate daniels, magic bleeds, magical creatures, re-read potential, sweet sweet luuurve, swordplay, that is not natural, too stubborn for their own good, vampires, weres, witches & wizards, wolves of the were persuasion | posted in Words
Magic Mourns by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Magic Mourns is probably my favorite of the Kate Daniels novellas. Andrea Nash is not a character to whom I paid much attention prior to this read. In addition to watching her try to come to grips with some stuff in her life, we also see her chasing down Cerberus. With the assistance of Raphael the sexy werehyena and Thanatos, Angel of Death, who happens to be a guy living in a trailer park named Teddy. How could that not be awesome?
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 4 stars, andrea nash, atlanta, badassery, cerberus, curran, down south, drinkers of blood, fantasy, hera's apples, ilona andrews, kate daniels, magical creatures, re-read potential, sweet sweet luuurve, swordplay, thanatos, that is not natural, too stubborn for their own good, witches & wizards, wolves of the were persuasion | posted in Words
Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews
Magic Strikes is my favorite of the Kate Daniels novels to date. I chalk this up to really liking Derek’s and Dali’s characters. Derek in particular gained more dimension in this installment. Dali was really funny, while also plucky. At risk of spoilers, all I am going to say is that there are gladiator games and Kate & Curran end up on opposing sides of an issue in a much more concrete way than they have before. Simon also receives an interesting treatment. Overall, I enjoyed this read quite a bit.
View all my reviews
1 comment | tags: 4 stars, atlanta, badassery, book, book review, down south, drinkers of blood, fantasy, ilona andrews, kate daniels, magic strikes, magical creatures, re-read potential, review, sweet sweet luuurve, swordplay, that is not natural, too stubborn for their own good, witches & wizards, wolves of the were persuasion | posted in Words