Reviews Written By: A200NTD1KG4F4Fprovided by Amazon.com |
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 | A Feast for Crows | |
 | "Warning, series will never be finished!" | 2009-11-07 |
| When I learned 5 years ago (!) that this was only half a book and that number 5 would come out the next year, I decided to wait and read both together at once.
I'm still waiting. 5 years later. I have a very bad feeling this series will never be finished. Take a look at George RR Martin's blog - see what I mean? His pic says it all, he's old and very unhealthy looking. He will not be finishing this series at 5-6 years to complete just 1 book. For those who don't know, he has been working on book five for 5 years! No end in sight. If you look in his blog, he keeps adding stuff and re working and just plain not working on it. For 5 years now and maybe more. He still has book 6 and 7 to consider. And if those get split up into 2 books each . . . At this rate, he will be 80 before it's finished. Do you want to bet, looking at him, that he will make it to 80? Be warned about starting this series, the author will likely be RIP before he can finish it. Save yourself severe disappointment. I have learned to NEVER start a series until all the books are done because of this sort of thing. | ||
 | Foundation's Edge : The Foundation Novels | |
 | "Starts off great, lands with a thud" | 2009-11-04 |
| The first three quarters of this book were engaging and almost compulsively readable. That section was worth 5 stars. Now, for the first time, we get an idea what life in the 2nd Foundation's inner circle is like. The mystery of the home world, Earth is brought out. All of this makes for a very tightly packed excellent read until we get to Gaia. The book hits with a huge splat at this point. It becomes a 1 star book after that.
Spoiler warning: The planet Gaia was thought to be Earth at one point, but the book veers off into silly garbage about a planet filled with mind readers who claim to be the Mule's people. They are terrible New Age stereotypes and I wonder if Asimov was making fun of this group. The idea that they are one with their planet and everyone is intimately connected mentally with everything, from rocks to animals, even to each other - (no privacy, even during sex they share it ALL) the whole situation is very disappointing. I remember from the previous books, it was mentioned that the Mule lived in a dystopian world as a boy in some sort of slum. I got the idea it was a large metropolis and he was abused for being a freak. Nothing about a whole planet full of mind readers who have willfully lost their personal identities. The love story is god awful. I'm sorry, but I was pretty put off by the unlikely May December pairing of the old librarian with the 18 year old girl from Gaia, and when they are intimate, her link with the whole planet broadcasts to everyone what is going on . . . Ugh. The entry of this girl into the story is the point it begins to nosedive. This signals the introduction of Gaia and begins the unraveling of the Foundation universe. The Foundation series takes a major hit with the introduction of New Age feel good stuff on planet Gaia. If this was meant as some sort of satire, I don't get it. It just ruins the great concept of the Foundation and prevents the story from developing to its conclusion. What happens at the end of 1000 years? Apparently, Asimov lost his way and we do not ever find out at the end of Foundation and Earth, the final book in the series. A serious disappointment. The story of finding Earth had great potential, but the reader is left hanging wondering what will happen at the 1000 year mark, the point at which the Foundation was supposed to prevent the Dark Ages extending to thirty thousand years. Instead, we follow the wooden Trevize and the lovebirds through the next book on an increasingly silly adventure that ends in disappointment. | ||
 | Destiny's Road | |
 | "A good story that could have been great . . ." | 2009-08-02 |
| It's a strange book.
While reading this, I had the sense that it was just the framework of what could have been 2 or maybe 3 books. The world of Destiny is finely textured, and if only the main character had been more developed, it could have been an excellent novel. Even this fragment is worth 4 stars because it was fascinating in spite of all the flaws. For example, the novel changes direction drastically about half way through and that took a while to get used to. Like other reviewers, I got the impression that this was worked on, then dropped and then finished in a hurry. It is somewhat disjointed. Even at that, it was an enjoyable read just for the interesting people and scenery. The reference to carnal relations with birds . . . makes some sense in the context of the story. I think Niven was trying to make a joke. Except it wasn't funny the first time, let alone 20 or 30 repeats later. The situation of skipping 27 years into the future all of a sudden makes sense, it's as though Niven wanted to keep Jemmy a cypher, a not-person. The character stays 2 dimensional for the entire novel, he's almost a caricature. Was this on pupose? It's not typical of other books of Niven's that I've read. Overall, a good novel that was entertaining, but there is enough rough material here that I can only wonder what would have happened if the editors had asked Niven to re write it . . . | ||
 | I Am Legend | |
| "Be aware it's only half the book - the rest is short stories" | 2009-07-15 |
| When I got this book a few weeks ago, I sailed right into it, thinking it would be a decent sized novel, similar to 'Earth Abides' or Lucifer's Hammer'. Time to get into the character and plot.
No. Halfway through the book, it ends and you think sure, the author will pull a Ray Bradbury and tell the rest of it in related short stories, right? Nope. I went into the next short story after 'Legend' ended quite suddenly and I was caught for a few pages thinking it could kind of be a continuation . . . I began to casually flip through the rest of it to see if Bob from 'Legend' ever came back. Then I went here on Amazon to find out what happened. Apparently, 'Legend' was only a novella. I hadn't read the reviews because I wanted to avoid spoilers. Well, the fact it's only a half a book is a pretty big 'spoiler' for me. The story ends so suddenly, and had been good enough, that I hoped the author would continue to flesh out the new vampire world rising up without human beings. What kind of culture would develop? I paged through the rest of the short stories that are totally unrelated and came away feeling pretty annoyed. The story of 'I am Legend' is interesting enough, that even when it seems all hope is lost, you kind of hope something will pull through. Instead, you flip the page and get a short story about a wooden doll slashing a lonely spinster to death. And the others are more of the same. Somebody should have begged Matheson to re write 'Legend' to full length. Perhaps the main character would have had great adventures if he had left his house - that was one thing that I never understood. Vampires couldn't outrun his car, at least once he hit the highway in daytime. He could have explored the rest of the country for survivors and he never did. He kept waiting for his old friends to show up and plugged his ears as they taunted him through the boarded up windows of his house. Ultimately, the novella fell short in many ways, not just length. The fact that it ends the way it did renders it just another horror story and not an epic. Which it most definitely could have been with a little more effort. | ||
 | Foundation | |
 | "A first and great classic of science fiction" | 2009-07-09 |
| This was probably the book that got me into science fiction. At first, I was a little put off. (I was 12 years old) and thought, wow they talk too much. It wasn't until a few years later when I re read it, that it sunk in and the scope of the story became obvious. Sure, there is a great deal of dialogue, and very few authors have the gift to keep it from becoming boring. It's what the characters say that's so interesting, so important. The concept is fantastic: The future of humanity can be predicted in broad terms mathematically. The use of this method causes a mathematician 20,000 years from now in the Galactic Empire to realize that it will all come to an end very soon. In the effort to prevent Galactic civilization from breaking down altogether, he works out the formulas for keeping the universal Dark Ages to 1000 in lenghth instead of what would have been 30,000 years of barbarism. The story is then told in segments of every 50 years or so, and the rich tapestry of the story ties together in a jaw dropping finale at the end of 'Second Foundation'. One of the 'greats' in science fiction. Don't let the dialogue turn you off an excellent reading experience! | ||
 | Foundation | |
| "A first and great classic of science fiction" | 2009-07-09 |
| This was probably the book that got me into science fiction. At first, I was a little put off. (I was 12 years old) and thought, wow they talk too much. It wasn't until a few years later when I re read it, that it sunk in and the scope of the story became obvious. Sure, there is a great deal of dialogue, and very few authors have the gift to keep it from becoming boring. It's what the characters say that's so interesting, so important. The concept is fantastic: The future of humanity can be predicted in broad terms mathematically. The use of this method causes a mathematician 20,000 years from now in the Galactic Empire to realize that it will all come to an end very soon. In the effort to prevent Galactic civilization from breaking down altogether, he works out the formulas for keeping the universal Dark Ages to 1000 in lenghth instead of what would have been 30,000 years of barbarism. The story is then told in segments of every 50 years or so, and the rich tapestry of the story ties together in a jaw dropping finale at the end of 'Second Foundation'. One of the 'greats' in science fiction. Don't let the dialogue turn you off an excellent reading experience! | ||
 | Foundation | |
| "A first and great classic of science fiction" | 2009-07-09 |
| This was probably the book that got me into science fiction. At first, I was a little put off. (I was 12 years old) and thought, wow they talk too much. It wasn't until a few years later when I re read it, that it sunk in and the scope of the story became obvious. Sure, there is a great deal of dialogue, and very few authors have the gift to keep it from becoming boring. It's what the characters say that's so interesting, so important. The concept is fantastic: The future of humanity can be predicted in broad terms mathematically. The use of this method causes a mathematician 20,000 years from now in the Galactic Empire to realize that it will all come to an end very soon. In the effort to prevent Galactic civilization from breaking down altogether, he works out the formulas for keeping the universal Dark Ages to 1000 in lenghth instead of what would have been 30,000 years of barbarism. The story is then told in segments of every 50 years or so, and the rich tapestry of the story ties together in a jaw dropping finale at the end of 'Second Foundation'. One of the 'greats' in science fiction. Don't let the dialogue turn you off an excellent reading experience! | ||
 | A Fire Upon The Deep | |
| "One of the best of science fiction reads in a long time" | 2009-07-06 |
| Like another reviewer said, the list of great books stays just about the same over many years. I'm happy to say that my list just got bumped up by one. This is one of the most engrossing reads of any genre I've run across. It presents a unique and very deep interpretation of the universe, and each of the alien species is very well worked out. The personalities of the humans in the story are well done and I will remember the children for a long time. In the midst of all that, the species described as sort of a pack of hyper intelligent dogs is one of the most fascinating aliens I've run across in more than 20 years of reading science fiction novels. The 'individuals' in this species and how they relate to the other aliens and humans is fascinating and ties the story together in a unique way. This is one of those books you read until 2 or 3 in the morning and just can't put down (even if you do have work the next day!). I'm glad I gave this one a chance after overlooking it for 17 years. I never picked it up, because I thought I'd get around to it someday . . . Please give it a chance. Fantastic storyline, in depth world building and intricate exchanges between species and characters. Now one of my favorite reads. | ||
 | The Longest Way Home | |
| "Been here over and over again" | 2009-07-06 |
| This novel was a great disappointment. For instance, I can summarize the entire thing in archetypes. That's basically all Silverberg does here. Story starts with the Peasants killing all the Nobles in an uprising against Slavery. A Noble boy is taken to safety by Kind Elderly Servant. He escapes through the woods, he will Walk All the Way Back Home. On the way, gets help from a Forest Creature who takes him to Alien town. The Priest there decides to sell him and his doctoring abilities to other Alien towns. He hates it and escapes after a while. Runs out into the Wilderness at the Edge of the Mountains, comes close to Starving to Death. He is Rescued by Kind Peasants from a Different Far Away Town. He is nursed back to health, Falls in Love with Beautiful Peasant girl. He hopes none of the Peasants figure out he is one of the Hated Nobles. Has Sex For the First Time. Her Boyfriend gets mad, reveals to everyone that Noble Boy is a fraud. Before Noble Boy is mobbed, Beautiful Peasant girl takes him to the edge of Far Away Town so he can Escape. He decides to continue walking Towards Home. He is caught by Military Peasants who intern him in a concentration Camp. Noble Boy catches the eye of General Fat Dude who calls in his Superiors and they agree to set him free at the Border. They don't want Bad Feelings between them and what's left of the Nobles on the other side. Noble Boy decides being Noble may not be all it's cracked up to be. When he finally gets What He Wants, it's no Longer the Same. So, the reader is left wondering "Well . . .?" For fantastic world building/trekking, I highly recommend Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness. That book is actually shorter than Silverberg's non effort here and is so well written that the complexities of its world and people linger in the mind. Not so in The Longest Way Home. This reads like fanfic on a science fiction website. Silverberg seems to bet going through the motions and it leaves the reader with an incredible feeling of deja vu. As someone else pointed out, Silverberg sleep-walked through this one. It would have been nice to have the aliens fleshed out a bit more, not just a cheesy stereotype of tribal life. As for the ending, the reader is not left with any idea what Noble Boy will do to prevent an uprising of the Peasants in his own estate. | ||
 | Tomorrow & Tomorrow | |
| "Magnificent, epic and heartbreaking . . ." | 2009-07-06 |
| This has to be in the top 5 of my list of favorite science fiction books of all time. The story will remain with you long after the last page is turned. It asks the simple question:
What if you could live forever? It takes the reader on a journey with one very ordinary man who just wants to live long enough to bring his wife back to life after she dies from cancer. He chooses to enter cryosleep along with her body so that someday in the future when technology is able to revive her, he will be right there to continue where their lives left off. He gets much more than he bargained for. After several awakenings and eons of time, his questions (and his answers) undergo an incredible change. The issues in this book force the reader to ask what does it mean to be 'real'. Is death real? Is it even final? And ultimately, is love enough? An incredible book with a great ending. You won't be sorry for picking this book up. | ||
 | Dante Gabriel Rossetti | |
 | "Muddy and tiny reproductions ruin this book" | 2009-04-15 |
| I was very annoyed when I got this book and after looking through it, see that the images are about greeting card sized, and poorly reproduced. I have better Rossetti work as desktop wallpaper, honestly. This book also is very repetitive. Plug the name 'Rossetti' into Google or any search engine of your choice. Hm? You see what I mean. It's the same girl over and over and over and- I should be more careful with Pre-Raphaelites. They tended to depict their girlfriends to the exclusion of everything else. This book, sadly is mostly images of the same woman/girl/guy? to the point it gets boring. And for what it's worth, I love the samples of Rossetti's work I have from other books. Just be warned not to expect one of those nice coffee table books loaded with huge full page images. This sure isn't it. I'm not sure it's even a good representation of Rossetti's works. I like what I have for wallpaper, but those paintings weren't included here. | ||
 | Xenogears | |
| "Classic game -translation of Perfect works here" | 2009-03-05 |
| Just ran across the translation of perfect works and other stuff at flkr cot com. Can't give the link, because Amazon removes it. See how great the game is, just from the Perfect works alone. Complete translation of the Perfect Works. Complete full color script Color maps of all locations, even Fei's house with Karen and Khan. This game is the best RPG on the console. Period. 10,000 year history and an in depth story that literally has us all talking even now, 10 years later. Fun to play, still is on PS3. You won't regret trying this. | ||
 | The Years of Rice and Salt | |
| "He ain't no James Michener . . ." | 2009-02-13 |
| All joking aside, this book was a real letdown on several levels. The premise, which is worth 5 stars is the sit down and contemplate whopper of 'what if the Europeans were killed off in the Plague?" That means no Renaissance, no Catholic Church, no feudalism, no discovery of the new world, Newton, Galileo, no subjugation of the world's peoples in the Industrial Age, . . .the concept is huge, in fact, it's staggering. And the author must tread carefully not to appear racist in any way. I believe that is what hampers this book the most. If all of Europe had died in the Plague, that means No Mozart, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Tolstoy, Michelangelo, Einstein - no Karl Marx, no Industrial Revolution, no World Wars - so much that has shaped world history. The book asks such an incredible question, that it is no wonder that Mr. Robinson was not up to the task. The book is just overambitious, it needs to be a series or at least a trilogy. And as I pointed out, he is not of Michener's caliber, who is about the only author who could have pulled this off. 1. Frustration on several levels. Having posed this idea, we go into a series of disconnected short stories with no point. The book as a whole does not have any conflict that needs to be resolved, thus nothing happens. I had hopes of a future history complete with an unforeseen pastiche of cultures that would have come about in Europe's absence. Africa? New Zealand, even Hawaii for crying out loud! The author lacked the ability to make this new world work, and we are left with b. s. spiritual pablum about the spirit brothers who meet in the limbo land between deaths and get new bodies according to karmic dictates. The premise deserved better than stereotyped religion and paper thin characters. 2. Shallow story. What was the point for the spirit brothers to reunite in each life. Karma? It almost gets interesting when they want to overthrow the afterlife, but the idea is not followed through. The story could have been plausibly told with an interchange of rich cultures, new Mozarts, Shakespeares, etc. and since this is science fiction, how about NEW scientific discoveries? The author takes the lazy way out, he creates a vacuum and fills it with - nothing. 3. Flimsy characters. None of them stay in the mind, like paper cut outs. Which would be all right if the story, as in Michener's epics, was large enough to carry the whole. Sadly, it isn't. There is just not enough here to sustain the lack of any characters. Yet again, none of them were fighting to get anywhere, achieve anything. There was no conflict, and therefore no purpose other than as spectators. And frankly, there wasn't much to look at. After finishing this book I got the idea that Robinson was too careful to remain neutral and not offend anybody, that the story just never took off. The story done well should have been a fully realized alternate history, with new 'Greats' in music, science, art, literature, heck maybe a new religion as an amalgamation of what is left. If I can think this stuff up, can't the man who wrote the epic Mars Trilogy? The concept, done well could extend over several books, because the richness of human history tells us that with Europe or not, it would be fascinating, exciting and definitely things would happen. Unlike the events in this book, which are similar to waiting for paint to dry. | ||
 | The Years of Rice and Salt | |
| "He ain't no James Michener . . ." | 2009-02-13 |
| All joking aside, this book was a real letdown on several levels. The premise, which is worth 5 stars is the sit down and contemplate whopper of 'what if the Europeans were killed off in the Plague?" That means no Renaissance, no Catholic Church, no feudalism, no discovery of the new world, Newton, Galileo, no subjugation of the world's peoples in the Industrial Age, . . .the concept is huge, in fact, it's staggering. And the author must tread carefully not to appear racist in any way. I believe that is what hampers this book the most. If all of Europe had died in the Plague, that means No Mozart, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Tolstoy, Michelangelo, Einstein - no Karl Marx, no Industrial Revolution, no World Wars - so much that has shaped world history. The book asks such an incredible question, that it is no wonder that Mr. Robinson was not up to the task. The book is just overambitious, it needs to be a series or at least a trilogy. And as I pointed out, he is not of Michener's caliber, who is about the only author who could have pulled this off. 1. Frustration on several levels. Having posed this idea, we go into a series of disconnected short stories with no point. The book as a whole does not have any conflict that needs to be resolved, thus nothing happens. I had hopes of a future history complete with an unforeseen pastiche of cultures that would have come about in Europe's absence. Africa? New Zealand, even Hawaii for crying out loud! The author lacked the ability to make this new world work, and we are left with b. s. spiritual pablum about the spirit brothers who meet in the limbo land between deaths and get new bodies according to karmic dictates. The premise deserved better than stereotyped religion and paper thin characters. 2. Shallow story. What was the point for the spirit brothers to reunite in each life. Karma? It almost gets interesting when they want to overthrow the afterlife, but the idea is not followed through. The story could have been plausibly told with an interchange of rich cultures, new Mozarts, Shakespeares, etc. and since this is science fiction, how about NEW scientific discoveries? The author takes the lazy way out, he creates a vacuum and fills it with - nothing. 3. Flimsy characters. None of them stay in the mind, like paper cut outs. Which would be all right if the story, as in Michener's epics, was large enough to carry the whole. Sadly, it isn't. There is just not enough here to sustain the lack of any characters. Yet again, none of them were fighting to get anywhere, achieve anything. There was no conflict, and therefore no purpose other than as spectators. And frankly, there wasn't much to look at. After finishing this book I got the idea that Robinson was too careful to remain neutral and not offend anybody, that the story just never took off. The story done well should have been a fully realized alternate history, with new 'Greats' in music, science, art, literature, heck maybe a new religion as an amalgamation of what is left. If I can think this stuff up, can't the man who wrote the epic Mars Trilogy? The concept, done well could extend over several books, because the richness of human history tells us that with Europe or not, it would be fascinating, exciting and definitely things would happen. Unlike the events in this book, which are similar to waiting for paint to dry. | ||
 | War and Remembrance | |
| "Magnificent and gut wrenching, stays with you for a long time" | 2009-01-31 |
| As the sequel to Winds of War, this surpasses the considerable depth of that novel. This is one of the most difficult books I've read in years, I had to put it down for days in between reading sessions because it was gut wrenching. I literally sweated. There are parts that are extremely unpleasant, but vital to the story. The scenes depicting the war and the Holocaust are outstanding, why this book did not win an award of some kind is beyond me. The author TAKES you there and shows you, and the images will be with you for a long time. By contrast, the characters seem to be more archetypes than living human beings. Maybe that was intended so that they wouldn't overshadow the story. And wow, is it a story. This should be required reading in college. People need to know how WWII happened and the type of human decisions that shaped it. The characters seems to grow in some ways, or rather, they solidify. Most were perfect for the story, but some were so aggravating that they bear mentioning. Spoiler alert Pug remains an android. For cripes sake, you mean to tell me he had no carnal relations with Pam until they were married? Sheesh. Too perfect. He makes the right decision with eerie frequency, maybe he's really from the future and already knows all the answers . . .I halfway expected that to be it. Nope. Just an android. The only emotion he has is drowned in booze on occasion, then he smartens up and reports for duty bright eyed and bushy tailed. Maybe a little haggard, but he shows up. And pulls off another miracle. Rhoda. Ugh. I literally wanted her dead halfway through. Pug stayed married to this bimbo for HOW long?! Android. She gets over Palmer when he stops worshiping her and sees her with contempt, and needs another moth to dance around her aging flame. What gets her hot is the idea that a man, any man wants her. At the end, she gets what she deserves, marriage to another suitor who is already bored with her, and the knowledge she frittered away a good husband and family. Briny/Natalie. They come as a pair. Both their decisions rank equally in terms of idiocy. You will be screaming in frustration as we go into a second huge tome with Natalie seeming determined to paint herself into the corner known as Auschwitz. Briny is Mr. Heroic that will save her no matter what, but fumbles his way around ineffectually. Couldn't they have put her and Aaron on the $#%^@ submarine?! They could have dropped them off anywhere in 1000 miles out of Hitler's way. Or she should have stayed hidden in the mountains of Corsica. Pamela/Shamela the only one more shallow than Rhoda. The 'Whore who couldn't'. She could not get Pug into bed, even though she had wild fun other places and apart from her lame idealistic soul mate speeches to him, she just wants to bag him. She followed him around the globe for that purpose. It's stretching it a bit to think a May/December pairing has raging hormones to that extent- you know, when the old boy can't salute as often? Viagra wasn't invented yet. And they never got in bed even once in almost 2000 pages of story. Not real. Android. Leslie almost grows a, er spine. But he manages to get killed just when he might actually get interesting. I would have loved to see the quandary Natalie would be in if he had been the one to rescue her and the baby. Briny would have had to sweat it out . . . The ending does not give happy, easy answers. People bear deep scars. It is doubtful if Natalie and Briny can really make a life together. It is glaringly obvious at the end they don't even know what to say to each other. Maybe she and Rabinovitz would have made a better couple, both having survived hellish experiences. Briny is still too safe, to much the spoiled American boy who thinks he can fix everything. This is the kind of book that will make you lie awake at night trying not to think about the images in the concentration camps. Mr. Wouk hits very heavy in these sections. The actual fighting was easier to bear than the stream of consciousness method he uses in telling of the final journey of Natalie and Uncle Aaron to Auchwitz. This is a masterpiece that re creates the war and lets the reader inside in spite of a handful of shallow characters. The book soars beyond them, a stage that outshines the actors in chronicling the darkest time in human history. | ||
 | Giant (Perennial Classics) | |
| "The movie really WAS better" | 2009-01-31 |
| I remember watching the movie in growing awe, thinking 'how come it took me 20 years to discover it?' The film is an epic retelling of this book, and it carried it past 'chick lit' status, to Cecil B. DeMille territory.
Frankly, after reading this book I was disappointed, IMHO it lacks the epic scope and the details in the movie. Spoilers ahead: One aggravating thing, is the book just ends. It starts with the scene where Jordan the son of Leslie gets hit by Jett Rink during a fight, and while Leslie nurses him on the floor, she looks up over into the distance and proceeds into a 300 page flashback. The whole book is a flashback. And, unlike the movie, it's interesting but all the fantastic events are dulled and some are missing that in the movie, really gave the characters depth and meaning. Spoiler alert 1. For example, the scene in the movie in which Leslie goes to talk to Jett in his house, and it is very apparent he has a crush on her. So much unspoken there, but this is where Jett becomes a sympathetic character. Not much interaction in the book, except he drives her in the car once. 2. The death of Luz. In the movie, she took out her hatred of Leslie on the horse by literally beating it to death in her attempt to dominate it. This was very powerful as it showed the depth of her evil, and the horse retaliating and killing her made perfect sense in terms of justice. The book just says she was thrown wearing hoop skirts. 3. The part in the film where Leslie leaves Bick and takes the kids back to her home to go to a wedding, and he comes looking for her. She almost feels his presence right behind her and she turns, their eyes drinking in the sight of one another as they listen to the marriage vows in the background and say it to one another in silence. Their love just doesn't come across in the book. Leslie falls a distant second to the ranch, she's like furniture and the script writers for the movie changed this, because frankly it was not realistic and hampered the power of the story. Leslie doesn't seem like a neglected wife in the film, but is literally Bick's lifeline and the true mistress of the house. The movie did a fantastic job of showing the love they had for each other that the book glosses over. 4. The growing up of the children, completely passed over, except as flashbacks within the larger flashback. Argh! As is the scene where Jett strikes oil and comes to brag to the others, covered in black gold from head to foot and devilishly triumphant. In the movie, you just knew someone was going to die as the men stared at each other, the dark energy crackled with menace. In the book, Bick and Jett had a small scuffle on the porch and Jett ran off not to be seen until he was old. So much feels missing in this book, I guess it's because I have watched the movie twice and it is one of my favorites of all time. The book feels very thin, just not enough there although one interesting scene was missing from the movie, that is when Jett kidnaps Leslie and her grown daughter Luz when they are out shopping. But, the proposal by Jett to Luz is only briefly mentioned in an offhand way, it lacks the power of the scene in the movie where she sits in an empty restaurant before Jett, picking at the tablecloth while he lets his anguish and longing for Leslie pour out in a proposal of marriage to her beautiful daughter. I feel like the book was poorly edited, and the film makers and script writers took the core and made it an outstanding epic. Having 80 percent of the book as a flashback is just shoddy writing. It could have gone in the right order, and been much more powerful. And at the end, we never find out what happens after Jordan Jr. was punched by Jett and everyone went home. The book just ends. The scene in the restaurant is told as a flashback and it lacks the impact of the final scene in the movie when Bick fights with the owner in defiance of the racism against his own family. In the book he doesn't even find out about the event, the women hide it from him. The book almost needs to be written over again, but the author is long dead. Maybe they could discover her 'papers' in a trunk and have it re written to do the thing justice. If we could have 'Scarlett' as the sequel to Gone with the Wind, they could do this much. | ||
 | Antarctica | |
| "thinly disguised eco preaching, almost no plot" | 2009-01-27 |
| Oh, if only this book had a plot to go with the wonderful descriptions of Antarctica's landscape . . . Robinson is almost poetic in how he skillfully captures the mood and feel of the frozen wastes. You will shiver in places. However, reading this was like waiting for an airplane to take off, but it never gets beyond taxiing down the run way, slowing, turning around and taxiing with one brief acceleration. Then full stop. The book starts off with a mystery, who stole the missing train boxcar? Then we get into some non person in Washington, can't remember his name, just that he flew down to Antarctica to find out what happened for some Senator he worked for. Then we get into some guy name 'X' who is paper thin, just wants to get back with Val, another paper cutout character. She is notable for being 6'4" and somehow still sexy to all men. Not real, as another reviewer pointed out, not very many huge women with perfect proportions running around. So, they go all over Antarctica, not doing much, at this point I'm waiting for terrorism, bombs, airplanes - something to happen. Finally a few things get blown up, then Barbie - I mean Val, gets lost in the wilderness with some yuppies and that kind of gets interesting, but then they get rescued in a Jules Verne meets Indiana Jones kind of way and the best part of the novel happens. For 20 pages, a whole new hidden culture is discovered and carries this book close to science fiction. It is gone too fast and the books stalls on 10 pages of blather from Robinson thinly disguised as 2 faceless characters as he gets on his soap box about Green peace initiatives. As the reviews of his next 3 books suggest, he has gone on to full Eco salvation mode and left storytelling behind. Call it something else, but this kind of book is more preaching than science fiction. Another venue, please! Blog it, but don't sell it as storytelling. | ||
 | The Winds of War | |
| "Excellent time capsule, as if you were really there!" | 2009-01-27 |
| Mr. Wouk has a marvelous way of making a reader feel as though they are standing at the edge of history, with a bird's eye , fly on the wall view. The highlight of this book is not the actual characters, what stood out to me was the analysis of the actions leading up to and during the outbreak of the war by the fictitious character Von Roon. For those of us who never got past the Civil War in the textbooks at school, Winds of War and War and Remembrance are an excellent way to get an education. Teachers never had time to finish history books when I went to school 20 years ago, and I'm not sure it's gotten any better today. The characters are kind of a mixed bag. Pug is the main character, and seriously, he's not human. Not remotely. He is too perfect, like an android and it's very hard to empathize with him. Rhoda is one that gets annoying as she goes along. We've all met women like her, a living stereotype who is absolutely soulless. Without spoilers, chances are you will have contempt for her by the end of the book. Briny and Natalie. Whew, gut wrenching and frustrating in the extreme. Could someone grow a brain? Please? Her uncle is the more frustrating, because he is intelligent and continues to fool himself as to the dire situation he's in. One of my favorites is Lady Aster. There's a guy with a hidden gem of a soul somewhere. Leslie needs to be smacked, he is the world's best whiner, and when people are dying, you wish he'd go too. And the world figures, Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt . . . They feel very authentic, and my uneducated guess is they are very well researched. The author claims it's not necessary to read this book to enjoy War and Remembrance, but I beg to differ. Skip this and it's kind of like reading The Two Towers by Tolkien without the Fellowship of the Ring first. This book lays important groundwork and is pivotal to appreciating the entire epic as a whole. | ||
 | Antarctica | |
| "thinly disguised eco preaching, almost no plot" | 2009-01-27 |
| Oh, if only this book had a plot to go with the wonderful descriptions of Antarctica's landscape . . . Robinson is almost poetic in how he skillfully captures the mood and feel of the frozen wastes. You will shiver in places. However, reading this was like waiting for an airplane to take off, but it never gets beyond taxiing down the run way, slowing, turning around and taxiing with one brief acceleration. Then full stop. The book starts off with a mystery, who stole the missing train boxcar? Then we get into some non person in Washington, can't remember his name, just that he flew down to Antarctica to find out what happened for some Senator he worked for. Then we get into some guy name 'X' who is paper thin, just wants to get back with Val, another paper cutout character. She is notable for being 6'4" and somehow still sexy to all men. Not real, as another reviewer pointed out, not very many huge women with perfect proportions running around. So, they go all over Antarctica, not doing much, at this point I'm waiting for terrorism, bombs, airplanes - something to happen. Finally a few things get blown up, then Barbie - I mean Val, gets lost in the wilderness with some yuppies and that kind of gets interesting, but then they get rescued in a Jules Verne meets Indiana Jones kind of way and the best part of the novel happens. For 20 pages, a whole new hidden culture is discovered and carries this book close to science fiction. It is gone too fast and the books stalls on 10 pages of blather from Robinson thinly disguised as 2 faceless characters as he gets on his soap box about Green peace initiatives. As the reviews of his next 3 books suggest, he has gone on to full Eco salvation mode and left storytelling behind. Call it something else, but this kind of book is more preaching than science fiction. Another venue, please! Blog it, but don't sell it as storytelling. | ||
 | Evolution's Shore | |
| "Rotten main character and foul language ruin this story" | 2009-01-27 |
| A very interesting idea starts off this novel. A dark shadow appears on Iapetus, and the world watches in horror as the moon entirely disappears. A few years later, a similar growth starts on Earth, and everyone knows their days are numbered when the nature of the Chaga becomes clear. Is the world going to be destroyed? Cool idea, keeps you reading for about 100 pages or so, and then you figure out the book isn't science fiction at all, not really, it's all about Gaby. She is one of the WORST characters I've run across in literally hundreds of science fiction books- and she's the main character and we're stuck with her. I've got to go all the way back to Heinlein's Podkayne of Mars to find as aggravating a character. In short, Gaby is a red blooded male's perfect (wet) dream. She's gorgeous, works non stop, smokes, glugs beer nonstop and is good for sex all the time, with just about anyone that gets their hand down her panties. Oh, and she always has sexy underwear on and carries her handy 'hope I get laid' cache of condoms. You know, just in case. She also wears in the middle of several African towns a T shirt with a picture of a masturbating nun. In real life she would be a smear on the pavement in no time. (And not because people took offense to slandering a nun.) She has the character of a flimsy porn role. The other problem is the constant profanity in dialogue, etc. A really good writer doesn't need to use it, it's very lazy and is a huge red flag when avoiding garbage. The whole book is mainly focused on Gaby's sexcapades, foul mouth and rotten personality while the actual plot just never gets started. One scene recalls her college days when she was watching a news broadcast while casually rebuffing the advances of a guy trying to enter her from the rear. And it is explicit, full of details about the prickle of the pubes around his wang against her rump, etc. He gets bored after a while and goes home. That's pretty much how this whole book is written, very little plot. I read about halfway just to find out what the Chaga is, and gave up around the time her co worker reflected on getting a hot chili pepper stuck up his 'f'tuba' (not making this up) during fiki fiki sex and it's scenes like that that fill up the book, not exploration and discovery of the world eating Chaga. I wish the author had saved his male fantasy story for another genre, calling this science fiction is dishonest and I feel my money is wasted. | ||
 | Fool's Fate | |
| "Okay, did anyone else hate Molly . . .?" | 2008-07-07 |
| Because her presence sure ruined the ending of this epic saga. For me, anyway. Having just finished this incredible series, I'm left feeling dumbfounded at how Robin Hobb totally blew the ending. To call it `bittersweet' or `anticlimax' is only to paint part of the picture. If only Molly had died earlier, in childbirth or had some kind of accident. . . the ending would probably have been much better. Just to recap: Molly was stated over and over again to be only a youthful love of Fitz's, And that she had finally discovered true love with a MAN, Burrich, almost twenty years ago. Someone who could take care of her and give her a horde of children. For crying out loud, she wasn't even that developed a character. I chiefly remember her from the first series as alternating between crying and frowning while stamping her foot and arching her back in ecstasy while she dug her fingernails into Fitz back during lovemaking. Not a whole lot else there really. Spoilers ahead! What Fitz got at the end, was hollow and meaningless, even if it was `happy'. I have a feeling the author chickened out a bit near the end of this story, and all of the groundwork laid for the identity of the Fool was just thrown out because she either couldn't or didn't want to deal with it. The Fool was supposed to be a woman. Period. The books had so many hints! First, Starling called it back in book 3, and it was so obvious after that, it made more and more sense as the saga went on. The dream with the Rooster Crown in which a WOMAN with the Fool's voice led some kind of festival. That vision was the first `warning' to Fitz that the Fool was totally different than what he visualized. Then, the story of their relationship in the Tawny Man became about Fitz not seeing the truth on purpose and the complexity of their relationship with the sexual tension building and nether one admitting the truth to the other. Other hints: The fact the Fool never let him see him undressed. The fact the Fool covered his chest when showing Fitz his tattoo. When Jinna the hedge witch read Fitz's palm and said that his true love had been there in and out of his life for many years, and would come back to him at the end. I thought it was the Fool, it made sense. Molly was absent for almost 20 years. The female visitor from the Trader's town who told Fitz point blank that he was a moron and not seeing `Amber' as she truly was. The fact the all White Prophets and their Catalysts are male/female pairings. The list goes on. The Fool was woven in and out of his life and did come back to him. He was even named `Beloved' ! Instead, Fitz had to go back to Molly in a somewhat painful fashion. I literally cringed while reading the entire nauseating last 20 pages of the book. Ugh. It was a horrible clichéd ending to have given the readers, after the wonderful originality of the series and did not feel right, but forced. Come on, am I supposed to believe that Fitz pined for the memory of someone that basically either cried or b--tched at him for their entire teenage relationship? In between great love sessions, of course. And upon renewing their acquaintance, she isn't much changed except that she becomes a grandmother with more `womanly curves' while Fitz tries to woo her sorry a-s back to him. Also, they both just kind of sail past the complexity of Burrich in the mix and get over his death with almost painful relief. Burrich deserved better. Fitz ends up kind of pathetic, really. What was so great about Molly was the nostalgic memory of her he had. The tripe about the Fool buying his memories back from Girl on a Dragon is a cop out to explain why a nearly 40 year old man never grew up in terms of romance. I liked him with the Fool better. Hobb built up a complex relationship and it was brushed out by `accident' that's very contrived, just like Burrich's convenient death so Fitz can finally have Molly. And frankly, at the end she's just not worth having. Other points: Final reunions with people who thought him dead were glossed over. He and Burrich had so much to say to one another . . . this never really happened. The reunion with Patience was a little better, but the feeling of hurry begins to be more obvious at this point in the book. I wonder if Robin Hobb was truly happy with the ending upon later reflection. If she was rushed, well - it shows. Too many pat and easy answers. Until the last half of this book, the entire saga was a masterpiece. But bringing Fool back to life only to have him walk away without saying goodbye was terrible and not at all what was so painstakingly laid out in the last 6 books. All so Fitz could finally bag Molly after she sucked a bee stinger out of his ear. After 16 years. (not making this up) And they lived happily ever after. The End. (I hope not!) | ||
 | Fool's Fate | |
| "Okay, did anyone else hate Molly . . .?" | 2008-07-07 |
| Because her presence sure ruined the ending of this epic saga. For me, anyway. Having just finished this incredible series, I'm left feeling dumbfounded at how Robin Hobb totally blew the ending. To call it `bittersweet' or `anticlimax' is only to paint part of the picture. If only Molly had died earlier, in childbirth or had some kind of accident. . . the ending would probably have been much better. Just to recap: Molly was stated over and over again to be only a youthful love of Fitz's, And that she had finally discovered true love with a MAN, Burrich, almost twenty years ago. Someone who could take care of her and give her a horde of children. For crying out loud, she wasn't even that developed a character. I chiefly remember her from the first series as alternating between crying and frowning while stamping her foot and arching her back in ecstasy while she dug her fingernails into Fitz back during lovemaking. Not a whole lot else there really. Spoilers ahead! What Fitz got at the end, was hollow and meaningless, even if it was `happy'. I have a feeling the author chickened out a bit near the end of this story, and all of the groundwork laid for the identity of the Fool was just thrown out because she either couldn't or didn't want to deal with it. The Fool was supposed to be a woman. Period. The books had so many hints! First, Starling called it back in book 3, and it was so obvious after that, it made more and more sense as the saga went on. The dream with the Rooster Crown in which a WOMAN with the Fool's voice led some kind of festival. That vision was the first `warning' to Fitz that the Fool was totally different than what he visualized. Then, the story of their relationship in the Tawny Man became about Fitz not seeing the truth on purpose and the complexity of their relationship with the sexual tension building and nether one admitting the truth to the other. Other hints: The fact the Fool never let him see him undressed. The fact the Fool covered his chest when showing Fitz his tattoo. When Jinna the hedge witch read Fitz's palm and said that his true love had been there in and out of his life for many years, and would come back to him at the end. I thought it was the Fool, it made sense. Molly was absent for almost 20 years. The female visitor from the Trader's town who told Fitz point blank that he was a moron and not seeing `Amber' as she truly was. The fact the all White Prophets and their Catalysts are male/female pairings. The list goes on. The Fool was woven in and out of his life and did come back to him. He was even named `Beloved' ! Instead, Fitz had to go back to Molly in a somewhat painful fashion. I literally cringed while reading the entire nauseating last 20 pages of the book. Ugh. It was a horrible clichéd ending to have given the readers, after the wonderful originality of the series and did not feel right, but forced. Come on, am I supposed to believe that Fitz pined for the memory of someone that basically either cried or b--tched at him for their entire teenage relationship? In between great love sessions, of course. And upon renewing their acquaintance, she isn't much changed except that she becomes a grandmother with more `womanly curves' while Fitz tries to woo her sorry a-s back to him. Also, they both just kind of sail past the complexity of Burrich in the mix and get over his death with almost painful relief. Burrich deserved better. Fitz ends up kind of pathetic, really. What was so great about Molly was the nostalgic memory of her he had. The tripe about the Fool buying his memories back from Girl on a Dragon is a cop out to explain why a nearly 40 year old man never grew up in terms of romance. I liked him with the Fool better. Hobb built up a complex relationship and it was brushed out by `accident' that's very contrived, just like Burrich's convenient death so Fitz can finally have Molly. And frankly, at the end she's just not worth having. Other points: Final reunions with people who thought him dead were glossed over. He and Burrich had so much to say to one another . . . this never really happened. The reunion with Patience was a little better, but the feeling of hurry begins to be more obvious at this point in the book. I wonder if Robin Hobb was truly happy with the ending upon later reflection. If she was rushed, well - it shows. Too many pat and easy answers. Until the last half of this book, the entire saga was a masterpiece. But bringing Fool back to life only to have him walk away without saying goodbye was terrible and not at all what was so painstakingly laid out in the last 6 books. All so Fitz could finally bag Molly after she sucked a bee stinger out of his ear. After 16 years. (not making this up) And they lived happily ever after. The End. (I hope not!) | ||
 | The Eye of the World | |
| "Warning, series author has died!" | 2007-11-11 |
| These books will probably never be finished, I warn any reader thinking of reading this for the first time to reconsider. Wait until the last book is released, IF it's ever released, and save yourself the torture some of us have gone through waiting for him to finish the series. I know this is in incredibly poor taste, but . . . Too bad he dawdled. Period. Postmark. Now that Robert Jordan has passed away, the likelihood of the original ending for these books ever being seen is remote. The rumor is that his wife and cousin are writing the last book based on some taped conversations and dictations he left behind. I warn any reader thinking of picking up these books that there is NO guarantee of any ending volume at all, and what may turn up in a few years when the dust settles will probably not be anything like what it should have been. I am a veteran reader of this series. I picked up the first novel when it came out half my life ago, and eagerly awaited each new book after that. 17 years is an obscene amount of time for this series to have continued. 17 years ago, OJ hadn't happened yet, `Back to the Future' was practically new, the super Nintendo had just come out and gas was $1 a gallon. Think about it. This is what ultimately gets me so angry. He dragged his feet writing up hundreds of paper thin `walk on' characters and then expects the reader to remember Thiallin von Gankfallin or whoever it was when it was five huge tomes ago and no one remembers who that is amid all the braid tugging and skirt swishing. So instead of the series being done and over with say, ten years ago, for whatever reason Mr. Jordan decided to fill the last 5 or 6 volumes with minutiae about the tea service pattern in the various inns, when all we really wanted to know was, what happened to Mat? In one book, 8 or 9, Rand only gets 5 pages!! As a reader I am pretty annoyed and I have a suspicion that the author did not know how to end the series. He just procrastinated and now the ending will never be as he would have written it. Just like the TV series `Lost' this series goes on and on, adding more walk on characters and twists and turns in their tiny lives with no follow through on the main characters for book after book. So now Robert Jordan is gone. What now? My heart goes out to his family, my mother being a widow I have an idea of what his wife is going through. But in terms of his writing, I feel toyed with. I still have all 11 hardbacks that fill up almost an entire shelf on their own. I am seriously considering getting rid of them, but that part of me that's followed the series since the Hubble telescope was new and Arnold Schwarzenegger just an actor still wants to hang on. Maybe they will uncover a hidden manuscript he wrote oh, say, 15 years ago that has the entire ending, kind of like JK Rowling with the Harry Potter books. Yeah, right. We can all dream on, and wait for the 25th anniversary edition of the first book in which a teaser chapter from the forthcoming 12th book will at last be revealed. | ||
 | Across the Puddingstone Dam | |
| "Why the series will never have an ending" | 2007-10-08 |
| Warning - you will enjoy this book, and the series will not be finished according to the author herself. Why? Here's what she had to say on her website. "The Time Has Come, the Walrus Said... ...to talk about Little House. Many of you have written to ask when my next Martha or Charlotte book will be published. Plans have been in flux for over a year now, but it's time to address your questions. As I mentioned here recently, HarperCollins has launched new paperback editions of Laura's books which feature photographic covers and no longer contain the Garth Williams illustrations. (The Garth Williams art will remain in the hardcover editions and the colorized paperback editions.) There are also going to be some changes in the other Little House series. The Martha, Charlotte, Caroline, and Rose books are being reissued in abridged editions. If you wish to read these books in their original, complete forms, you'll want to pick them up now before the unabridged editions go out of print. In at least one case ( On Top of Concord Hill, a Caroline book), the original is already out of print and is hard to find. (A reader recently told me copies are selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay.) The abridged editions of my books and the Caroline and Rose books will be released with new covers this summer. They are significantly shorter; in some cases more than a hundred pages have been cut from the original edition. In light of these changes, I have decided not to continue writing Martha and Charlotte books. Although it is indeed strange to know that I will not tell the rest of their stories (especially the story of Martha and Lew's romance, for which I have been sowing seeds since the first books), I do not think it is such a bad thing to end my part of the story with Beyond the Heather Hills and Across the Puddingstone Dam. In both of those books, I had the opportunity to say something about what is good and true and enduring in this world. Martha glimpsed it, looking into the eyes of her infant niece. Charlotte glimpsed it in the eyes of her mother, the grown-up Martha, who endured the worst kind of loss but, through faith, managed to keep hold of--and share--her joy. It will be difficult to say goodbye to these girls who have been to me like my own children. I have loved watching them grow. I am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to, in the words of Gail Godwin, "respectfully imagine" them and chronicle their stories. As I said, my decision to leave the series has been in the works for quite some time. Meanwhile, I've been working on new projects and am quite excited about my current novel, which is about neither a Scottish lass nor a New England villager, but something completely different. Stay tuned... You Guys Are Great Thank you so much for the outpouring of support and well wishes you have given in the comments from yesterday's post. You all are wonderful, and it's a blessing to have such passionate readers! Some questions naturally arose in the comments, and I thought I'd tackle a few of them here. One important point is that HarperCollins doesn't think of the abridgements as dumbed-down. I do, and that I am strongly opposed to the dumbing-down of children's literature must be obvious from my decision to walk away from a series of books that has been my heart's work for the past decade. Although I came to the decision many months ago, the shock of it still takes my breath away sometimes. I love Martha and Charlotte, really love them. Like daughters. I have written certain scenes between Martha and Lew in my mind a hundred times. I'm sorry that I will not be sharing them with you, more sorry than I can express. My decision to quit also had serious ramifications for my family. Had I continued with the series, we would still be living in Virginia; Scott would still be a work-at-home freelancer. So quitting was not a decision I made lightly; it had teeth. And yet, if you read this blog then you know my stance on giving children the highest caliber of literature--not a slimmed-down version of what had been a carefully crafted novel. And so, when it became clear that my publishers were committed to their decision to abridge, I made what I believe to be the right decision--the only decision I could have made. Doing the right thing, I tell my children, is almost never the easy thing. Certainly, this was a very hard thing to do. But as I said, while I see the abridgement as dumbing-down, I must say in all fairness that I don't believe my publishers see it that way at all. They see this as an opportunity to bring the books to a younger audience, a way to keep the series in print. The decision was presented to me with excitement and enthusiasm; I really think they were surprised that I was dismayed by it. I bear them no ill will; indeed, I shall be sorry not to be working with my wonderful HarperCollins editor anymore. She is a gem. I simply disagree, quite gravely, with this publishing decision. I do think children deserve the very best books we can give them. The books I wrote, the books that were carefully and lovingly edited by not one, but two top-notch editors (the great Alix Reid, who edited all eight of my novels, not to mention Newbery winner Ella Enchanted, has since left the publishing world for other pursuits), are, I truly believe, literature of high quality. And I don't think they are too hard, or too long, for young readers. I have heard from too many enthusiastic young readers to believe otherwise. HarperCollins has made a business decision, and I disagree with it on principle, as an author, a reader, and a mother. I think chopping up the books is a mistake. But--and this is very important--publishers respond to trends in the marketplace. They make decisions based upon what sells. If you, as consumers (readers, parents, booklovers), want to influence publishing trends, you must do it (I am sorry to say) with your pocketbooks. The big publishing houses don't read our blogs; they don't know how we feel about literature versus twaddle. They only know what sells. I see both sides of this coin, because I live on both sides. I'm a homeschooling mom with a modest household income, and frugality is a must. I'm also a writer whose livelihood depends on people spending money on books. Years ago, Scott and I made a conscious decision to strike a balance between these two competing identities: we resolved not to buy used if the book is still in print and the author is still alive. We buy new books in hardcover as often as possible, because that too sends a message to a publisher. And if we read a book at the library and truly love it, we try to buy a copy of it too. (Now you know why I have cheap furniture and don't dress well. All the discretionary income goes to books.) So. I'm deeply gratified that you are ordering copies of my unabridged novels while you can still get them. Deeply gratified--yesterday was a goosebumpy day as the comments and emails came pouring in. But if you really want to show your support for the principles on which I stand, go out and buy a new copy of The Penderwicks. In hardcover, if possible! " Pretty sad. Don't say you weren't warned. You will want to know how MArtha ends up and none of us will ever find out. | ||
 | The Far Side of the Loch | |
| "Warning - author will never finish series" | 2007-10-08 |
| Warning - you will enjoy this book, and the series will not be finished according to the author herself. Why? Here's what she had to say on her website. "The Time Has Come, the Walrus Said... ...to talk about Little House. Many of you have written to ask when my next Martha or Charlotte book will be published. Plans have been in flux for over a year now, but it's time to address your questions. As I mentioned here recently, HarperCollins has launched new paperback editions of Laura's books which feature photographic covers and no longer contain the Garth Williams illustrations. (The Garth Williams art will remain in the hardcover editions and the colorized paperback editions.) There are also going to be some changes in the other Little House series. The Martha, Charlotte, Caroline, and Rose books are being reissued in abridged editions. If you wish to read these books in their original, complete forms, you'll want to pick them up now before the unabridged editions go out of print. In at least one case ( On Top of Concord Hill, a Caroline book), the original is already out of print and is hard to find. (A reader recently told me copies are selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay.) The abridged editions of my books and the Caroline and Rose books will be released with new covers this summer. They are significantly shorter; in some cases more than a hundred pages have been cut from the original edition. In light of these changes, I have decided not to continue writing Martha and Charlotte books. Although it is indeed strange to know that I will not tell the rest of their stories (especially the story of Martha and Lew's romance, for which I have been sowing seeds since the first books), I do not think it is such a bad thing to end my part of the story with Beyond the Heather Hills and Across the Puddingstone Dam. In both of those books, I had the opportunity to say something about what is good and true and enduring in this world. Martha glimpsed it, looking into the eyes of her infant niece. Charlotte glimpsed it in the eyes of her mother, the grown-up Martha, who endured the worst kind of loss but, through faith, managed to keep hold of--and share--her joy. It will be difficult to say goodbye to these girls who have been to me like my own children. I have loved watching them grow. I am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to, in the words of Gail Godwin, "respectfully imagine" them and chronicle their stories. As I said, my decision to leave the series has been in the works for quite some time. Meanwhile, I've been working on new projects and am quite excited about my current novel, which is about neither a Scottish lass nor a New England villager, but something completely different. Stay tuned... You Guys Are Great Thank you so much for the outpouring of support and well wishes you have given in the comments from yesterday's post. You all are wonderful, and it's a blessing to have such passionate readers! Some questions naturally arose in the comments, and I thought I'd tackle a few of them here. One important point is that HarperCollins doesn't think of the abridgements as dumbed-down. I do, and that I am strongly opposed to the dumbing-down of children's literature must be obvious from my decision to walk away from a series of books that has been my heart's work for the past decade. Although I came to the decision many months ago, the shock of it still takes my breath away sometimes. I love Martha and Charlotte, really love them. Like daughters. I have written certain scenes between Martha and Lew in my mind a hundred times. I'm sorry that I will not be sharing them with you, more sorry than I can express. My decision to quit also had serious ramifications for my family. Had I continued with the series, we would still be living in Virginia; Scott would still be a work-at-home freelancer. So quitting was not a decision I made lightly; it had teeth. And yet, if you read this blog then you know my stance on giving children the highest caliber of literature--not a slimmed-down version of what had been a carefully crafted novel. And so, when it became clear that my publishers were committed to their decision to abridge, I made what I believe to be the right decision--the only decision I could have made. Doing the right thing, I tell my children, is almost never the easy thing. Certainly, this was a very hard thing to do. But as I said, while I see the abridgement as dumbing-down, I must say in all fairness that I don't believe my publishers see it that way at all. They see this as an opportunity to bring the books to a younger audience, a way to keep the series in print. The decision was presented to me with excitement and enthusiasm; I really think they were surprised that I was dismayed by it. I bear them no ill will; indeed, I shall be sorry not to be working with my wonderful HarperCollins editor anymore. She is a gem. I simply disagree, quite gravely, with this publishing decision. I do think children deserve the very best books we can give them. The books I wrote, the books that were carefully and lovingly edited by not one, but two top-notch editors (the great Alix Reid, who edited all eight of my novels, not to mention Newbery winner Ella Enchanted, has since left the publishing world for other pursuits), are, I truly believe, literature of high quality. And I don't think they are too hard, or too long, for young readers. I have heard from too many enthusiastic young readers to believe otherwise. HarperCollins has made a business decision, and I disagree with it on principle, as an author, a reader, and a mother. I think chopping up the books is a mistake. But--and this is very important--publishers respond to trends in the marketplace. They make decisions based upon what sells. If you, as consumers (readers, parents, booklovers), want to influence publishing trends, you must do it (I am sorry to say) with your pocketbooks. The big publishing houses don't read our blogs; they don't know how we feel about literature versus twaddle. They only know what sells. I see both sides of this coin, because I live on both sides. I'm a homeschooling mom with a modest household income, and frugality is a must. I'm also a writer whose livelihood depends on people spending money on books. Years ago, Scott and I made a conscious decision to strike a balance between these two competing identities: we resolved not to buy used if the book is still in print and the author is still alive. We buy new books in hardcover as often as possible, because that too sends a message to a publisher. And if we read a book at the library and truly love it, we try to buy a copy of it too. (Now you know why I have cheap furniture and don't dress well. All the discretionary income goes to books.) So. I'm deeply gratified that you are ordering copies of my unabridged novels while you can still get them. Deeply gratified--yesterday was a goosebumpy day as the comments and emails came pouring in. But if you really want to show your support for the principles on which I stand, go out and buy a new copy of The Penderwicks. In hardcover, if possible! " Pretty sad. Don't say you weren't warned. You will want to know how MArtha ends up and none of us will ever find out. | ||
 | Little House by Boston Bay | |
| "How a business decision ruined this series" | 2007-10-08 |
| Warning - you will enjoy this book, and the series will not be finished according to the author herself. Why? Here's what she had to say on her website. "The Time Has Come, the Walrus Said... ...to talk about Little House. Many of you have written to ask when my next Martha or Charlotte book will be published. Plans have been in flux for over a year now, but it's time to address your questions. As I mentioned here recently, HarperCollins has launched new paperback editions of Laura's books which feature photographic covers and no longer contain the Garth Williams illustrations. (The Garth Williams art will remain in the hardcover editions and the colorized paperback editions.) There are also going to be some changes in the other Little House series. The Martha, Charlotte, Caroline, and Rose books are being reissued in abridged editions. If you wish to read these books in their original, complete forms, you'll want to pick them up now before the unabridged editions go out of print. In at least one case ( On Top of Concord Hill, a Caroline book), the original is already out of print and is hard to find. (A reader recently told me copies are selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay.) The abridged editions of my books and the Caroline and Rose books will be released with new covers this summer. They are significantly shorter; in some cases more than a hundred pages have been cut from the original edition. In light of these changes, I have decided not to continue writing Martha and Charlotte books. Although it is indeed strange to know that I will not tell the rest of their stories (especially the story of Martha and Lew's romance, for which I have been sowing seeds since the first books), I do not think it is such a bad thing to end my part of the story with Beyond the Heather Hills and Across the Puddingstone Dam. In both of those books, I had the opportunity to say something about what is good and true and enduring in this world. Martha glimpsed it, looking into the eyes of her infant niece. Charlotte glimpsed it in the eyes of her mother, the grown-up Martha, who endured the worst kind of loss but, through faith, managed to keep hold of--and share--her joy. It will be difficult to say goodbye to these girls who have been to me like my own children. I have loved watching them grow. I am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to, in the words of Gail Godwin, "respectfully imagine" them and chronicle their stories. As I said, my decision to leave the series has been in the works for quite some time. Meanwhile, I've been working on new projects and am quite excited about my current novel, which is about neither a Scottish lass nor a New England villager, but something completely different. Stay tuned... You Guys Are Great Thank you so much for the outpouring of support and well wishes you have given in the comments from yesterday's post. You all are wonderful, and it's a blessing to have such passionate readers! Some questions naturally arose in the comments, and I thought I'd tackle a few of them here. One important point is that HarperCollins doesn't think of the abridgements as dumbed-down. I do, and that I am strongly opposed to the dumbing-down of children's literature must be obvious from my decision to walk away from a series of books that has been my heart's work for the past decade. Although I came to the decision many months ago, the shock of it still takes my breath away sometimes. I love Martha and Charlotte, really love them. Like daughters. I have written certain scenes between Martha and Lew in my mind a hundred times. I'm sorry that I will not be sharing them with you, more sorry than I can express. My decision to quit also had serious ramifications for my family. Had I continued with the series, we would still be living in Virginia; Scott would still be a work-at-home freelancer. So quitting was not a decision I made lightly; it had teeth. And yet, if you read this blog then you know my stance on giving children the highest caliber of literature--not a slimmed-down version of what had been a carefully crafted novel. And so, when it became clear that my publishers were committed to their decision to abridge, I made what I believe to be the right decision--the only decision I could have made. Doing the right thing, I tell my children, is almost never the easy thing. Certainly, this was a very hard thing to do. But as I said, while I see the abridgement as dumbing-down, I must say in all fairness that I don't believe my publishers see it that way at all. They see this as an opportunity to bring the books to a younger audience, a way to keep the series in print. The decision was presented to me with excitement and enthusiasm; I really think they were surprised that I was dismayed by it. I bear them no ill will; indeed, I shall be sorry not to be working with my wonderful HarperCollins editor anymore. She is a gem. I simply disagree, quite gravely, with this publishing decision. I do think children deserve the very best books we can give them. The books I wrote, the books that were carefully and lovingly edited by not one, but two top-notch editors (the great Alix Reid, who edited all eight of my novels, not to mention Newbery winner Ella Enchanted, has since left the publishing world for other pursuits), are, I truly believe, literature of high quality. And I don't think they are too hard, or too long, for young readers. I have heard from too many enthusiastic young readers to believe otherwise. HarperCollins has made a business decision, and I disagree with it on principle, as an author, a reader, and a mother. I think chopping up the books is a mistake. But--and this is very important--publishers respond to trends in the marketplace. They make decisions based upon what sells. If you, as consumers (readers, parents, booklovers), want to influence publishing trends, you must do it (I am sorry to say) with your pocketbooks. The big publishing houses don't read our blogs; they don't know how we feel about literature versus twaddle. They only know what sells. I see both sides of this coin, because I live on both sides. I'm a homeschooling mom with a modest household income, and frugality is a must. I'm also a writer whose livelihood depends on people spending money on books. Years ago, Scott and I made a conscious decision to strike a balance between these two competing identities: we resolved not to buy used if the book is still in print and the author is still alive. We buy new books in hardcover as often as possible, because that too sends a message to a publisher. And if we read a book at the library and truly love it, we try to buy a copy of it too. (Now you know why I have cheap furniture and don't dress well. All the discretionary income goes to books.) So. I'm deeply gratified that you are ordering copies of my unabridged novels while you can still get them. Deeply gratified--yesterday was a goosebumpy day as the comments and emails came pouring in. But if you really want to show your support for the principles on which I stand, go out and buy a new copy of The Penderwicks. In hardcover, if possible! " Pretty sad. Don't say you weren't warned. You will want to know how MArtha ends up and none of us will ever find out. | ||
 | Little House in Brookfield (Little House) | |
| "How business ruins books" | 2007-10-08 |
| Warning - These books are not the full originals as intended by their authors! Here's what's happening to Little House according to the author of the Martha and Charlotte books, Melissa Wiley. "The Time Has Come, the Walrus Said... ...to talk about Little House. Many of you have written to ask when my next Martha or Charlotte book will be published. Plans have been in flux for over a year now, but it's time to address your questions. As I mentioned here recently, HarperCollins has launched new paperback editions of Laura's books which feature photographic covers and no longer contain the Garth Williams illustrations. (The Garth Williams art will remain in the hardcover editions and the colorized paperback editions.) There are also going to be some changes in the other Little House series. The Martha, Charlotte, Caroline, and Rose books are being reissued in abridged editions. If you wish to read these books in their original, complete forms, you'll want to pick them up now before the unabridged editions go out of print. In at least one case ( On Top of Concord Hill, a Caroline book), the original is already out of print and is hard to find. (A reader recently told me copies are selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay.) The abridged editions of my books and the Caroline and Rose books will be released with new covers this summer. They are significantly shorter; in some cases more than a hundred pages have been cut from the original edition. In light of these changes, I have decided not to continue writing Martha and Charlotte books. Although it is indeed strange to know that I will not tell the rest of their stories (especially the story of Martha and Lew's romance, for which I have been sowing seeds since the first books), I do not think it is such a bad thing to end my part of the story with Beyond the Heather Hills and Across the Puddingstone Dam. In both of those books, I had the opportunity to say something about what is good and true and enduring in this world. Martha glimpsed it, looking into the eyes of her infant niece. Charlotte glimpsed it in the eyes of her mother, the grown-up Martha, who endured the worst kind of loss but, through faith, managed to keep hold of--and share--her joy. It will be difficult to say goodbye to these girls who have been to me like my own children. I have loved watching them grow. I am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to, in the words of Gail Godwin, "respectfully imagine" them and chronicle their stories. As I said, my decision to leave the series has been in the works for quite some time. Meanwhile, I've been working on new projects and am quite excited about my current novel, which is about neither a Scottish lass nor a New England villager, but something completely different. Stay tuned... You Guys Are Great Thank you so much for the outpouring of support and well wishes you have given in the comments from yesterday's post. You all are wonderful, and it's a blessing to have such passionate readers! Some questions naturally arose in the comments, and I thought I'd tackle a few of them here. One important point is that HarperCollins doesn't think of the abridgements as dumbed-down. I do, and that I am strongly opposed to the dumbing-down of children's literature must be obvious from my decision to walk away from a series of books that has been my heart's work for the past decade. Although I came to the decision many months ago, the shock of it still takes my breath away sometimes. I love Martha and Charlotte, really love them. Like daughters. I have written certain scenes between Martha and Lew in my mind a hundred times. I'm sorry that I will not be sharing them with you, more sorry than I can express. My decision to quit also had serious ramifications for my family. Had I continued with the series, we would still be living in Virginia; Scott would still be a work-at-home freelancer. So quitting was not a decision I made lightly; it had teeth. And yet, if you read this blog then you know my stance on giving children the highest caliber of literature--not a slimmed-down version of what had been a carefully crafted novel. And so, when it became clear that my publishers were committed to their decision to abridge, I made what I believe to be the right decision--the only decision I could have made. Doing the right thing, I tell my children, is almost never the easy thing. Certainly, this was a very hard thing to do. But as I said, while I see the abridgement as dumbing-down, I must say in all fairness that I don't believe my publishers see it that way at all. They see this as an opportunity to bring the books to a younger audience, a way to keep the series in print. The decision was presented to me with excitement and enthusiasm; I really think they were surprised that I was dismayed by it. I bear them no ill will; indeed, I shall be sorry not to be working with my wonderful HarperCollins editor anymore. She is a gem. I simply disagree, quite gravely, with this publishing decision. I do think children deserve the very best books we can give them. The books I wrote, the books that were carefully and lovingly edited by not one, but two top-notch editors (the great Alix Reid, who edited all eight of my novels, not to mention Newbery winner Ella Enchanted, has since left the publishing world for other pursuits), are, I truly believe, literature of high quality. And I don't think they are too hard, or too long, for young readers. I have heard from too many enthusiastic young readers to believe otherwise. HarperCollins has made a business decision, and I disagree with it on principle, as an author, a reader, and a mother. I think chopping up the books is a mistake. But--and this is very important--publishers respond to trends in the marketplace. They make decisions based upon what sells. If you, as consumers (readers, parents, booklovers), want to influence publishing trends, you must do it (I am sorry to say) with your pocketbooks. The big publishing houses don't read our blogs; they don't know how we feel about literature versus twaddle. They only know what sells. I see both sides of this coin, because I live on both sides. I'm a homeschooling mom with a modest household income, and frugality is a must. I'm also a writer whose livelihood depends on people spending money on books. Years ago, Scott and I made a conscious decision to strike a balance between these two competing identities: we resolved not to buy used if the book is still in print and the author is still alive. We buy new books in hardcover as often as possible, because that too sends a message to a publisher. And if we read a book at the library and truly love it, we try to buy a copy of it too. (Now you know why I have cheap furniture and don't dress well. All the discretionary income goes to books.) So. I'm deeply gratified that you are ordering copies of my unabridged novels while you can still get them. Deeply gratified--yesterday was a goosebumpy day as the comments and emails came pouring in. But if you really want to show your support for the principles on which I stand, go out and buy a new copy of The Penderwicks. In hardcover, if possible! " Pretty sad. Don't say you weren't warned. If you want to read the whole book, Harper Collins doesn't seem to we have to buy the original for more than a hundred dollars on ebay. | ||
 | Across the Puddingstone Dam | |
| "Why the series will never have an ending" | 2007-10-08 |
| Warning - you will enjoy this book, and the series will not be finished according to the author herself. Why? Here's what she had to say on her website. "The Time Has Come, the Walrus Said... ...to talk about Little House. Many of you have written to ask when my next Martha or Charlotte book will be published. Plans have been in flux for over a year now, but it's time to address your questions. As I mentioned here recently, HarperCollins has launched new paperback editions of Laura's books which feature photographic covers and no longer contain the Garth Williams illustrations. (The Garth Williams art will remain in the hardcover editions and the colorized paperback editions.) There are also going to be some changes in the other Little House series. The Martha, Charlotte, Caroline, and Rose books are being reissued in abridged editions. If you wish to read these books in their original, complete forms, you'll want to pick them up now before the unabridged editions go out of print. In at least one case ( On Top of Concord Hill, a Caroline book), the original is already out of print and is hard to find. (A reader recently told me copies are selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay.) The abridged editions of my books and the Caroline and Rose books will be released with new covers this summer. They are significantly shorter; in some cases more than a hundred pages have been cut from the original edition. In light of these changes, I have decided not to continue writing Martha and Charlotte books. Although it is indeed strange to know that I will not tell the rest of their stories (especially the story of Martha and Lew's romance, for which I have been sowing seeds since the first books), I do not think it is such a bad thing to end my part of the story with Beyond the Heather Hills and Across the Puddingstone Dam. In both of those books, I had the opportunity to say something about what is good and true and enduring in this world. Martha glimpsed it, looking into the eyes of her infant niece. Charlotte glimpsed it in the eyes of her mother, the grown-up Martha, who endured the worst kind of loss but, through faith, managed to keep hold of--and share--her joy. It will be difficult to say goodbye to these girls who have been to me like my own children. I have loved watching them grow. I am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to, in the words of Gail Godwin, "respectfully imagine" them and chronicle their stories. As I said, my decision to leave the series has been in the works for quite some time. Meanwhile, I've been working on new projects and am quite excited about my current novel, which is about neither a Scottish lass nor a New England villager, but something completely different. Stay tuned... You Guys Are Great Thank you so much for the outpouring of support and well wishes you have given in the comments from yesterday's post. You all are wonderful, and it's a blessing to have such passionate readers! Some questions naturally arose in the comments, and I thought I'd tackle a few of them here. One important point is that HarperCollins doesn't think of the abridgements as dumbed-down. I do, and that I am strongly opposed to the dumbing-down of children's literature must be obvious from my decision to walk away from a series of books that has been my heart's work for the past decade. Although I came to the decision many months ago, the shock of it still takes my breath away sometimes. I love Martha and Charlotte, really love them. Like daughters. I have written certain scenes between Martha and Lew in my mind a hundred times. I'm sorry that I will not be sharing them with you, more sorry than I can express. My decision to quit also had serious ramifications for my family. Had I continued with the series, we would still be living in Virginia; Scott would still be a work-at-home freelancer. So quitting was not a decision I made lightly; it had teeth. And yet, if you read this blog then you know my stance on giving children the highest caliber of literature--not a slimmed-down version of what had been a carefully crafted novel. And so, when it became clear that my publishers were committed to their decision to abridge, I made what I believe to be the right decision--the only decision I could have made. Doing the right thing, I tell my children, is almost never the easy thing. Certainly, this was a very hard thing to do. But as I said, while I see the abridgement as dumbing-down, I must say in all fairness that I don't believe my publishers see it that way at all. They see this as an opportunity to bring the books to a younger audience, a way to keep the series in print. The decision was presented to me with excitement and enthusiasm; I really think they were surprised that I was dismayed by it. I bear them no ill will; indeed, I shall be sorry not to be working with my wonderful HarperCollins editor anymore. She is a gem. I simply disagree, quite gravely, with this publishing decision. I do think children deserve the very best books we can give them. The books I wrote, the books that were carefully and lovingly edited by not one, but two top-notch editors (the great Alix Reid, who edited all eight of my novels, not to mention Newbery winner Ella Enchanted, has since left the publishing world for other pursuits), are, I truly believe, literature of high quality. And I don't think they are too hard, or too long, for young readers. I have heard from too many enthusiastic young readers to believe otherwise. HarperCollins has made a business decision, and I disagree with it on principle, as an author, a reader, and a mother. I think chopping up the books is a mistake. But--and this is very important--publishers respond to trends in the marketplace. They make decisions based upon what sells. If you, as consumers (readers, parents, booklovers), want to influence publishing trends, you must do it (I am sorry to say) with your pocketbooks. The big publishing houses don't read our blogs; they don't know how we feel about literature versus twaddle. They only know what sells. I see both sides of this coin, because I live on both sides. I'm a homeschooling mom with a modest household income, and frugality is a must. I'm also a writer whose livelihood depends on people spending money on books. Years ago, Scott and I made a conscious decision to strike a balance between these two competing identities: we resolved not to buy used if the book is still in print and the author is still alive. We buy new books in hardcover as often as possible, because that too sends a message to a publisher. And if we read a book at the library and truly love it, we try to buy a copy of it too. (Now you know why I have cheap furniture and don't dress well. All the discretionary income goes to books.) So. I'm deeply gratified that you are ordering copies of my unabridged novels while you can still get them. Deeply gratified--yesterday was a goosebumpy day as the comments and emails came pouring in. But if you really want to show your support for the principles on which I stand, go out and buy a new copy of The Penderwicks. In hardcover, if possible! " Pretty sad. Don't say you weren't warned. You will want to know how MArtha ends up and none of us will ever find out. | ||
 | Alphonse Mucha: The Spirit of Art Nouveau | |
| "Another textbook masquerading as an art book . . ." | 2007-08-29 |
| If you are looking for an art book, avoid this one. I adore Mucha's work. That being said, I was decidedly underwhelmed with this massive tome. I was really looking forward to this because it seemed like it would be loaded with full color images from Mucha's career.
Half the book is black and white pictures with text. Then comes the 'Catalogue' which I'm finding means code for 'small pictures ahead'. The entire Slav epic is reproduced, however the images are so tiny you can barely make it out, except for a couple pieces that take up half the page. Even more annoying is the fact that the teeny images occupy what is largely a blank page.Two or three images way down at the bottom and blank space for the rest of it. I guess it's part of 'negative space' and art or whatever, but it felt like a rip off. The rest of the 100 or so pages of art is much like this. Small images of most of his work, like 'Seasons' and 'Jewels' with mostly a blank page. Why wouldn't they use more of the page and blow up the image so the reader can enjoy the works? This large book could have been the definitive book on Mucha for art book lovers. That is why I would rate this as an over hyped textbook. The best Mucha book out there is the one I imported from Prague. Don't waste your time with this unless you are into a scholarly approach to this fantastic artist. For classroom study at best. | ||
 | John Singer Sargent : The Early Portraits (Volume One) | |
| "Stunning and georgeous book . . ." | 2007-08-26 |
| By all means, buy this book! This is one of the most engrossing art books that I have come across. Each reproduction has crystalline clarity and the accompanying information makes for very interesting reading. You find yourself really interested in all the people depicted. This is an excellent combination of art and text, without the book becoming a glorified textbook, but still being useful for research. I purchased the book mainly for the art and I am not disappointed! It's not one of those 'trick' art books that promise lush full color reproductions and actually consist of mostly black and white images. The only black and white included here depicts paintings that are lost. If you love J. S. Sargent's work, this is a great introduction to his earlier work and he only gets better! | ||
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