Bobby McCanne – Google

Don't get me wrong, Grossman is a fantastic writer, and Bright Sword can turn a phrase. Unfortunately, partly due to the author's acknowledged attempt to write a surreal, dream-like Arthurian telling to match the amalgam that is Arthur, this book goes off the deep end into crazy dream sequences a bit too much for my taste. Well written dream-like sequences, but it interrupts the flow of the story attempting to be told. I preferred Griffith's take on Arthur for a modern, classical look.

What in the world did I just read. This book is literally all over the place. While the descriptions are very florid and colorful, I'm still left with very little idea of what anything looks like. Some of that is probably due to the in medias res style of the story--I can't help but feel like this was the second in a series or something. It appears to just be the style, however, to give you a feel for how out of place we are. Ultimately the story wasn't as satisfying as it could have been, and didn't really make any sense. Still, what an imagination to have conjured this.

Much less seamless inclusion of the romance here, unlike in the first book. Shoehorned. Additionally, character decisions didn't really make a lot of sense, and the plot didn't really either. A lot of the positioning seemed contrived. I liked the magic system explanation, such as it was, though again the Spirit characterization is inconsistent like everything else. The writing helps make up for it. Overall a good duology.

An interesting, poetic exploration of a dark(er) fairy tale. Like many Romantasy books the romance is forced, but here it at least makes sense. The plot progression is smooth and well-paced, and the magic system explanation arrives relatively apace. The book is written in a very poetic style, good enough to work well for it, though it occasionally makes it repetitive. Finally, this would be a 2 star review for the ridiculous cliffhanger, if there weren't already a second book. Reading that now.

As a huge Tchaikovsky SF fan, this was both interesting and a bit of a let down. Plotted as an Odyssey, it didn't really connect with the subject matter, and some of the moral positions taken reflecting on society were a bit off, even if I mostly agree with the author. The conclusion wasn't particularly satisfying either, making this the first SF book of Tchaikovsky's I wouldn't immediately read again. A good book, but sadly not his best.

Fun, innovative, and ultimately insane. With a rough start attempting to be wittier than it is, the plot quickly takes precedence and makes overlooking the linguistic quirks easy. Somehow picking up pace from the initial breakneck, the plot gets weirder and weirder, all service of explaining the magic system of this world, into a truly bizarre conclusion that has to be read to be believed. While I had issues with the beginning and the writing, ultimately a very enjoyable experience.

Interesting, if wildly inaccurate. Not in the science, or the climate predictions, mind you, but in the specificity of the interior thought processes of the characters. I lost count of the number of times children were described far beyond their years. Despite this, it's an interesting climate apocalypse, defined narrowly. I've read better, but I've certainly read much worse. The writing is competent, and the pacing acceptable. In all, enjoyable.

I need to remember when a new Tchaikovsky drops: I love everything SF he does, and really don't like his fantasy. City is no exception--there's really not much here, it feels more like a disconnected set of short stories than a (long) novel. None of the characters were interesting, to the point where I won't read the sequel because the character continuity is off-putting. This feels like a bad imitation of Under the Pendulum Sun, and just as frustrating in that it apes something bad.

Nothing can save the trainwreck that this movie oh so slowly gyrates through. Nevermind that it's at least twice as long as it needs to be, and that the moral seems to be completely useless, if you can call it a moral. The biggest issues are the complete and utter lack of explanation for ANYTHING. Yes, yes, the twist was obvious from the very beginning, but WHY?? Why is this the way things are done? Perhaps it all makes more sense in the book, but I suspect there's just as little content there. I wish I'd read reviews before starting to watch this movie, as it would have been clear this was an utter waste of time. Too many inconsistencies, not enough story.