Saturday, June 29, 2013

2013 June Reading List

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson – I’m getting used to Sanderson’s style. I finally guessed a plot twist long before it happened. In a way, it was better than the Mistborn trilogy, and I only didn’t care for one POV.  4/5 stars

Abbadon’s Gate by James S. A. Corey – The first book in the Expanse series was great. The second book was just okay. This one was meh. It was a pain to get through the first half. Then it gets better, but you still have to get through the first half. It didn’t help that an editor recently pointed out to me the importance of avoiding SOB verbs. I kept spotting them all over the place and that really took me out of the story.  4/5 stars

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman – The prose is beautiful, it almost makes you want to listen to is like a bedtime story. It’s a typical bittersweet, angst ridden Gaiman story, and the length is just right.  4/5 stars

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman – After reading American Gods, which I absolutely loathed, I decided to give Gaiman’s a break for a while. The release of the new book brought my interest back and good thing it did. This story is playful, but it strays too often from the plot, and I didn’t care for the too many story-within-the-story and dream sequences.  4/5 stars

Sundiver by David Brin – Some great ideas, but I wasn’t so keen on the execution. 3/5 stars

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson – I never thought the lack of physical description of a main character could be so annoying. The science is interesting, but all the drawings took me out of the story. The book doesn’t work well as a stand alone novel, there are some plot holes and don’t get me started on how female characters are portrayed. It’s the weakest Sanderson novel I read so far, or maybe YA just isn’t for me anymore. 3/5 stars

Hmm, not much reading this month it seems. Well, I also caught up with half a year's worth of Lightspeed Magazine short stories. Not many moved me this time. Shrug.

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