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Alright, so I thought this novella was pretty okay. I'm glad I didn't have to pay to read it. SMeyer got to show off the newborn gang's shenanigans and redesign Bella into a regular vamp via Bree. But it's definitely mediocre in terms of writing (which is to be expected) but also in terms of creativity and storytelling. I think SMeyer has lost whatever magical touch she had that let her come up with the story behind Twilight. I'm not saying Twilight was superb writing either, but (IMO) there is something special about it nonetheless.
I'm throwing this out there, I think the reason she isn't finishing Midnight Sun is because she just doesn't have "it" anymore. Call me cynical, but why else is she giving her new book away for free? And I think having her be a producer on the Breaking Dawn movies is a huge, huge mistake. Summit should take a look at the reviews for that book on amazon sometime, and then decide whether they want the author bankrolling it. Also, she didn't even want BD to be made into a movie in the first place.
And I'm not even gonna talk about the 2 movie deal. The second part will be the most boring POS ever put on film, unless they embellish the story drastically, which probably won't fly with the producers, considering one of them is the author. It'll be worse than The Soloist. ;)
I'm throwing this out there, I think the reason she isn't finishing Midnight Sun is because she just doesn't have "it" anymore. Call me cynical, but why else is she giving her new book away for free? And I think having her be a producer on the Breaking Dawn movies is a huge, huge mistake. Summit should take a look at the reviews for that book on amazon sometime, and then decide whether they want the author bankrolling it. Also, she didn't even want BD to be made into a movie in the first place.
And I'm not even gonna talk about the 2 movie deal. The second part will be the most boring POS ever put on film, unless they embellish the story drastically, which probably won't fly with the producers, considering one of them is the author. It'll be worse than The Soloist. ;)
This book is like a fanfic, with Obi-Wan tragically angst-ridden and on the brink of death for...uh...yeah, the whole book. *g* I like it. Plus if you're of the OW/Bail persuasion, it's all over that action. I'm reading the series backwards, which means things are just now starting to make sense O_o
And this baby comes out tomorrow:
Unfortunately I have to be in the lab all day, but I will be reading in the dark with my little desk lamp, in between poking the rats.
(no subject)
Apr. 22nd, 2010 01:43 am
DAMMIT. There is nothing in this book's benign cover or blurb to indicate that it is Part 1 of 2 and ends in a horrible cliffhanger. WHY WAS I NOT WARNED.
short reviews
Apr. 12th, 2010 12:04 pm
I've always heard how good this series is, but I never thought I'd like it for some reason (idk). Well...I do. Unfortunately only 13 books have been translated so far. The writing is pretty poetic despite the japanese to english translation, and it's much better than other translations I've read. There's an element of chauvinism, but I am forgiving of that in fiction because it's fantasy.
I felt this book was pretty blah compared to the rest of Gregory's books. There is a nice little romance tucked in there, but it's not the focus of the story, which is more on political maneuvering and war.
Movies!
She's Out of My League--more a guys' movie, but I liked it.
Remember Me--I actually liked it, and I think critics were all so pissed off about the ending that they didn't give the rest any credit.
Clash of the Titans--so bad it's good! Like Street Fighter.
A Reliable Wife
Feb. 24th, 2010 01:47 pm
He placed a notice in a Chicago paper, an advertisement for "a reliable wife." She responded, saying that she was "a simple, honest woman." She was, of course, anything but honest, and the only simple thing about her was her single-minded determination to marry this man and then kill him, slowly and carefully, leaving her a wealthy widow, able to take care of the one she truly loved.
What Catherine Land did not realize was that the enigmatic and lonely Ralph Truitt had a plan of his own. And what neither anticipated was that they would fall so completely in love.
The cool thing about this book is that I never saw any of the twists coming, even though a lot of other people probably did and I'm just slow. I never quite knew which if any character's side I was on until the end, or if they were all irredeemable. I enjoyed the early 20th century setting, too. One issue I have is with the very end of the book, which I won't spoil for you, but if you've read it comment! :D Overall, I liked it.
First of all, I don't know whether to be amused or appalled that Rod Blagojevich is on Celebrity Apprentice. "'You're fired'? Yeah I've heard that one before."
I loved this book. I didn't care for the movie, but the novel has this creepy ambiance mixed with the whole mother's love thing, which has been done over and over in Hollywood but this is the ORIGINAL demon baby story, you get me? Really horrifying.
Someone rec'ed this in the broad category of vampire books better than Twilight, but it's more like the Anita Blake series in that there is wayyyyyyy too much space wasted on exposition and detailing the magical jargon of the author's personal fantasy world. There is unending minutiae that has to be described in excruciating detail (and run on sentences), and there are a lot of times where something illogical/magical/supernatural happens and the author has to explain after the fact exactly how it's possible, because the audience has no idea what to expect. There's also a Mary Sue quality to the main character in that she keeps gaining ability after ability and everyone is counting on her to save the day and of course she's the long lost daughter of the most powerful magic handler in the history of ever, scourge of bad vampires and irresistible to less bad/more sexy vampires. However she is, on occasion, amusing.
That being said, I did enjoy how not human at all or even attractive the vampires in the book are and how the romance (such as it is) isn't all twu wuv or anything close to it. I also like the vampire-love-interest's constant dry and ironic (maybe?) dialogue. Unfortunately he's an overuser of ellipses and is only in about 2/5 of the book.
I loved this book. I didn't care for the movie, but the novel has this creepy ambiance mixed with the whole mother's love thing, which has been done over and over in Hollywood but this is the ORIGINAL demon baby story, you get me? Really horrifying.
Someone rec'ed this in the broad category of vampire books better than Twilight, but it's more like the Anita Blake series in that there is wayyyyyyy too much space wasted on exposition and detailing the magical jargon of the author's personal fantasy world. There is unending minutiae that has to be described in excruciating detail (and run on sentences), and there are a lot of times where something illogical/magical/supernatural happens and the author has to explain after the fact exactly how it's possible, because the audience has no idea what to expect. There's also a Mary Sue quality to the main character in that she keeps gaining ability after ability and everyone is counting on her to save the day and of course she's the long lost daughter of the most powerful magic handler in the history of ever, scourge of bad vampires and irresistible to less bad/more sexy vampires. However she is, on occasion, amusing.
That being said, I did enjoy how not human at all or even attractive the vampires in the book are and how the romance (such as it is) isn't all twu wuv or anything close to it. I also like the vampire-love-interest's constant dry and ironic (maybe?) dialogue. Unfortunately he's an overuser of ellipses and is only in about 2/5 of the book.
When Anita Blake meets with prospective client Tony Bennington, who is desperate to have her reanimate his recently deceased wife, she is full of sympathy for his loss. Anita knows something about love, and she knows everything there is to know about loss. But what she also knows, though Tony Bennington seems unwilling to be convinced, is that the thing she can do as a necromancer isn't the miracle he thinks he needs. The creature that Anita could coerce to step out of the late Mrs. Bennington's grave would not be the lovely Mrs. Bennington. Not really. And not for long.
OK, she's not even trying anymore. This plot worked in a short story, way at the beginning of the Anita Blake series, but to bring it up 18 books later and have it be the entire storyline is just ridiculous. Reading reviews on amazon, this seems to be another PWP with the resurrecting-the-spouse story as a set up for a LOT of kinky sex, as per usual. Sigh.
On a related note, since making the resolution to read 50,000 pages in 2010 I have read 0. Except for school, which I need to tally up. Um.
