A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



So I was really liking this, and thinking how well the BBC Sherlock is done, and then right after the reveal we didn't get Holmes' explanation for how he got there. Instead it went off on a huge flashback to America, showing what led up to the crime. I kept wondering if someone had pasted the wrong book into my public domain download! I didn't really care for the detour. Which is probably why I've never seen it in any adaptations.

Starcrossed - Elizabeth C. Bunce

StarCrossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Starcrossed started out really, really slowly. It took half the book to set it up. The first 200 pages were 2 stars, and I almost quit a couple of times. The last 200 pages were 4 stars, so I'm going with 3 overall. It took a lot of patience to get through that first half, especially as I really struggled to like the main character, Digger, and it was just... boring. Nothing much happened, even when Digger was using her skills. A thief should not be boring!

But once Digger started to clue into what was going on, and started to change, I began to feel I could root for her. That's when the action and discoveries about what was going on started to come together as well, making for a much more interesting second half.

There is absolutely no romance in this high fantasy - so far - and not a lot of adventure either. There's a little bit of magic, but it doesn't make much of an appearance until later in the book. So what there is, is a lot of political intrigue, but you're in the dark about it for quite a while. You know that Digger is working for the wrong side, whatever side that is, and that you don't want her to succeed.

Digger is a thief who actually acts like a thief, and is ignorant about anything beyond her own survival. She does not have any trouble betraying those who have helped her because her vision is so narrow. She does start to think about further reaching consequences of her actions at some point. And finally she steps up and becomes the kind of heroine I want to read about.

By the end, I found myself wanting to read the sequel, which is surprising for a book that I almost didn't finish. I don't plan to read it until there's some resolution on the final book in the trilogy being published, though. The publisher dropped this series, and I've heard there's quite a cliffhanger at the end of book two. This book ended with things open, but not hanging. I'll stop here for now, but it's a shame. I hope the third book gets published some day, or that the author will consider self-publishing to give some closure to her readers.

The First Confessor - Terry Goodkind

The First Confessor by Terry Goodkind

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



Gosh, this was awful. I was really hoping it wouldn't be, but it just was. It is actually possible to do this review in one word: repetitive. But that seems too weak. If I could have two words, I’d add te-di-ous. But those words are not going to be enough. I need to rant.

Wow, this could really have used a vigorous editor. It seems like Goodkind believes we need to hear everything three times in a row to comprehend it, and that we forget what we just learned after 10 pages. At 500 pages, I skimmed at least 200 of unnecessary repetition and redundant phrases that were repeated too many times. Conversations and thoughts were explained over and over again. Concepts I had just absorbed were re-introduced in the very next paragraph so that I wondered if I was re-reading portions.

See how that just tripled my word count? Did your eyes start to glaze over with complete boredom? It almost became comical to note how many times the same information was repeated as I was skimming for anything that held a whiff of action or plot or any character actually being interesting.

Somewhere in there, there was a story I wanted to read, and towards the end it did begin to emerge. I was interested in the making of the Sword of Truth, and the first Confessor, and in the last 100 pages something actually happened with them. There are some other old familiars in there - references to the Boxes of Orden, the Temple of the Winds, the Sliph, and the world of the dead. But they are only talked about, not experienced like they would have been in the original series.

I had to trudge through so much extra exposition and junk dialog to get to the story, and the story was just not up to old standards. I honestly found it hard to imagine that the writing could be worse. I was bored out of my mind, and frustrated that just when I would start to get into it, I’d have to read/skim a couple of pages of repetition. Argh. It went way beyond the preachy exposition that he was fond of in the original series, and which I was able to ignore for the most part. The writing was just bad. It's the worst I've read in years and I'm amazed that I finished it. I feel as if I need to go re-read The Wizard’s First Rule to wash the memory of this away.


Nov 15, 2014:

Trying to decide whether to give a 2nd star or not. Maybe by the time I've written my review.

Urban Shaman - C.E. Murphy

Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Urban Shaman is the first in an urban fantasy series that may not stack up too well against ‘the greats’ of UF, but is entertaining none-the-less. And the series is finished, which is a plus. One thing it is not is Paranormal Romance. There is the slightest inkling of the beginning of interest between two characters, but that’s it. So if you’re looking for a UF series sort of in the middling range of quality that is not exclusively romance, this could be for you. (Although I can't speak for the rest of the series yet.)

The world has an interesting blend of Celtic and Native American mythology - again a refreshing change. I’m not sure this combination is completely pulled off, but it was definitely an interesting one.

Joanne is - sort of - a cop. She thinks more like a mechanic, and is a skeptic who is forced in a bloody way to come to grips with a world of myths and Shamanic powers. There is a very mystical feeling to the whole thing, with dream walking, near death experiences, healings, and spirit guides. At times the shifts between worlds were disorienting, and I had no clue what was going on in the beginning. Neither did Joanne, though, so I figured it out while she did.

Although Joanne is a cop, as the murders pile up, they are not solved in a true detective fashion, but through trips to the spirit world. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping for a good mystery with actual investigations.

I liked some of the supporting characters and hope they stick around in future installments. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything with a senior-aged ex-football player cabbie for a side-kick before. It actually created another dimension that I really enjoyed and added some humor to the mix.

I enjoyed reading this well enough to be wishing I could get back to it while I was at work. It definitely has some unique aspects to it, whether they work well or not. I’m looking forward to seeing if things come together more smoothly in the sequel, and for once I’m actually looking forward to seeing how the romance develops because it’s so subtle - just enough to pique my interest.

Bath Tangle - Georgette Heyer

Bath Tangle by Georgette Heyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



3.5 Stars, for now rounded up. This ended on a 4 star note, but took a while to get there. The beginning was slow, and conversations were boring in places. It didn't even arrive in Bath until about page 60, which is where things finally started to move forward. What kept me reading was the opening scene, which hooked me on one relationship after only one exchange between the two. Once I was interested in what would happen between them, the anticipation kept me waiting and hoping for the entire book. I love how Heyer manages to do that.

The main hero and heroine are both extremely tempestuous, possibly even unlikeable at times, and lose their tempers constantly, especially with each other. They somehow have remained friends even after she jilted him a few years ago - so they have history and you feel it right away. What saves them is their ability to laugh in the middle of an argument, and the fact that they don't hold a grudge. I do wish that the hero had been present more often, since the scenes with him were the best, and kept the whole thing going.

Basically all the other characters are insipid and wishy-washy (on purpose), which adds to the boring parts during the first half. But that's only the setup. It starts to get interesting once everyone's love lives get all tangled up, with everyone falling in love or getting engaged to the wrong person. The ending was exactly what I was hoping for, and worth the wait. This was another good Heyer, even if you have to skim some of the society details and wade through a slow beginning.

Brightly Woven - Alexandra Bracken

Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Brightly Woven was an OK YA fantasy. Too light on the world-building, and unfortunately heavy on the teen attitudes and fit-throwing. There was some interesting magic, and hints at an interesting world, but it was vague in many places. There were times when I thought something exciting was going to happen (like seeing a dragon defeated!) but then it was barely referred to. Instead we got Sydelle sewing, or waiting in a cabin, or being safely placed on a hill during all the interesting action.

I could tell it was a debut novel. So many aspects could have been filled out more. Also, this is currently a standalone novel but feels somewhat unfinished. I'm not sure if it's just that gaps were left, but I could see there being a sequel someday.

I also found the character development - and thus the romance - to be kind of spotty and the shifts in opinion awkward. Sydelle was a judgmental brat for a long time. She took reluctance to leave home past the point of believability. I felt like she was angry for no good reason, and blindly hated North for taking her away when he actually rescued her. Then I missed the part where she changed, because suddenly she wasn't that person anymore.

All that said, once I managed to get into the flow of it, the story did keep my interest. Otherwise it would have been 2 stars.