Synopsis: After Butler is fatally shot, Artemis Fowl enlists fairy help to make things right, get revenge, and make one last score before going straight.
Of the three AF books I've read to this point, this is second best. It's miles better than The Arctic Incident but just barely short of Artemis Fowl. In this one, you have Artemis once more taking the role of hero, but this time, he's not completely incompetent doing it. He still had his try/fail cycles, but this time they didn't make him seem stupid. It may be because John Spiro is a more worthy adversary. It could be that Artemis was simply smarter in this book.
I have to say I wish the mob had a bigger role. It seemed like that part of the plot just petered out. And while the fairies making a guy who knows too much disappear was funny, it solved the problem too thoroughly too quickly.
Regardless, the book was worth the read, and the ending makes me look forward to the next one.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Book Review: The Mauritius Command by Patrick O'Brian
Synopsis: Jack Aubrey gets back to sea. This time he is sent to the southern Indian Ocean as Commodore of a small fleet.
The quality of Master and Commander returns in this one. Perhaps that's because Jack Aubrey spends much of this book at sea. This book also spends quite a deal of time following Dr. Maturin when he's apart from Aubrey. And that's rather entertaining in itself.
One of the best parts of this for me was reading the Île de la Passe battle with Google Earth open and zoomed in on the locale. Seeing the actual locations of the reefs and imagining sailing anything around there made the scene so much more vivid. And with O'Brian's narrative voice, it was already powerful.
I think the parts of this book (and series) that are most educational for me are the nautical parts (of course) and the handling of political bureaucracy. The nautical parts need no explanation. The politcis are so educational to me because I tend to be pretty straightforward. I have always had a hard time understanding undercurrents and intrigue. I guess I'm somewhat guileless. Reading this series, I have become acquainted with the techniques of advancement by standing on the backs of others.
Of course, I still think them the actions of a scrub.
The best parts of this one are Dr. Maturin's covert ops, the interaction between Aubrey and Clonfert, and Aubrey's reaction to the final reversal. Then there's the great "Flog Bonden?!" scene.
The quality of Master and Commander returns in this one. Perhaps that's because Jack Aubrey spends much of this book at sea. This book also spends quite a deal of time following Dr. Maturin when he's apart from Aubrey. And that's rather entertaining in itself.
One of the best parts of this for me was reading the Île de la Passe battle with Google Earth open and zoomed in on the locale. Seeing the actual locations of the reefs and imagining sailing anything around there made the scene so much more vivid. And with O'Brian's narrative voice, it was already powerful.
I think the parts of this book (and series) that are most educational for me are the nautical parts (of course) and the handling of political bureaucracy. The nautical parts need no explanation. The politcis are so educational to me because I tend to be pretty straightforward. I have always had a hard time understanding undercurrents and intrigue. I guess I'm somewhat guileless. Reading this series, I have become acquainted with the techniques of advancement by standing on the backs of others.
Of course, I still think them the actions of a scrub.
The best parts of this one are Dr. Maturin's covert ops, the interaction between Aubrey and Clonfert, and Aubrey's reaction to the final reversal. Then there's the great "Flog Bonden?!" scene.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Book Review: Night of the Soul Stealer by Joseph Delaney
Synopsis: Tom Ward follows the Spook to his winter home where they encounter a failed apprentice, now a powerful necromancer, who plans to summon an ancient god.
A lot of this book had the same charm as the previous two books of The Last Apprentice. However, this is the weakest of the three. It just doesn't have the constant sense of menace that made the first two of the series so great. I don't think as much happens, and that's a little sad.
It also has the weakest ending. Basically, it ends without input from any of the good guys. If they did nothing, it would have ended exactly the same. That said, it uses a similar trick as used in the Bartimaeus Trilogy. I won't give it away, but it's just one of my favorite ways to fight a summoner.
Another thing I liked was having a necromancer who is evil, but puts aside his overt evil to go John Edward for local farm folk. Yeah, it's still pretty dark and depressing, but it shows how when one has a skill, one uses it to pay the bills.
So this book isn't as good as its predecessors, but it's still worth reading. And I can't see a book by Delaney in this world being a bad read.
A lot of this book had the same charm as the previous two books of The Last Apprentice. However, this is the weakest of the three. It just doesn't have the constant sense of menace that made the first two of the series so great. I don't think as much happens, and that's a little sad.
It also has the weakest ending. Basically, it ends without input from any of the good guys. If they did nothing, it would have ended exactly the same. That said, it uses a similar trick as used in the Bartimaeus Trilogy. I won't give it away, but it's just one of my favorite ways to fight a summoner.
Another thing I liked was having a necromancer who is evil, but puts aside his overt evil to go John Edward for local farm folk. Yeah, it's still pretty dark and depressing, but it shows how when one has a skill, one uses it to pay the bills.
So this book isn't as good as its predecessors, but it's still worth reading. And I can't see a book by Delaney in this world being a bad read.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Book Review: Curse of the Bane by Joseph Delaney
Synopsis: Spook apprentice Tom Ward helps his master fight an ancient evil that's corrupting the countryside.
The second book of The Last Apprentice is possibly better than the first. It still has minor writing issues, but they are so small it's hardly worth mentioning (except that I'm a schmuck). The biggest issue I had was that the back cover copy revealed the Act II twist.
One thing I rather liked in this story was the portrayal of evil clergy. What was great about the clergy was that we know the clergy hate Spooks (they consider them servants of evil). The clergy hates witches too. Basically, the evil clergy are Cotton Mather and his ilk (I am a direct descendant of Robert Calef, so it rang well with me). Most clergy are basically good and treat others (even Spooks who aren't obviously malevalent) well. The worst are under the influence of an ancient evil (not a spoiler since it's the title and something we learn in the first few chapters).
Basically, it gave us some villains to generate a feeling of injustice without making a vast group of people purely evil. Yes, evil was behind it, but it wasn't the pure evil of flat, unimaginative villains.
The second book of The Last Apprentice is possibly better than the first. It still has minor writing issues, but they are so small it's hardly worth mentioning (except that I'm a schmuck). The biggest issue I had was that the back cover copy revealed the Act II twist.
One thing I rather liked in this story was the portrayal of evil clergy. What was great about the clergy was that we know the clergy hate Spooks (they consider them servants of evil). The clergy hates witches too. Basically, the evil clergy are Cotton Mather and his ilk (I am a direct descendant of Robert Calef, so it rang well with me). Most clergy are basically good and treat others (even Spooks who aren't obviously malevalent) well. The worst are under the influence of an ancient evil (not a spoiler since it's the title and something we learn in the first few chapters).
Basically, it gave us some villains to generate a feeling of injustice without making a vast group of people purely evil. Yes, evil was behind it, but it wasn't the pure evil of flat, unimaginative villains.
Book Review: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney
Synopsis: Young Tom Ward takes up an apprenticeship to the county Spook, a kind of monster hunter.
This is the first of The Last Apprentice series. It's a middle-grade horror story. And it is good.
The world that Delaney creates has a ring of truth to it. It seems so vast and complicated without overdoing it. Delaney uses a fairly standard mythos, based largely on celtic lore, but he has his own take on it. There are some moments where Delaney's writing isn't as tight as it should be (nothing anyone but a jerk would notice), but otherwise it's nigh on perfect.
I particularly admire how Delaney structures his conflict. In almost any novel (especially those for a young audience or running the Hero's Journey), the hero has a mentor who is fully capable of solving the problem without the hero. The traditional (and annoying) way of handling this is to have the mentor say something enigmatic (such as, "This isn't my fight.") and then stand by doing nothing. The way Delaney keeps the Spook out of the fights is simple, but it works.
The interesting thing about this book is that it's obvious Delaney has studied the craft. Most of the time when I'm reading or watching TV or movies, as the plot develops I come up with a few predictions of what's coming. The first is always the Hollywood/hackneyed path, and it's right most of the time. The other predictions are based on the theory of plot, and they're "unexpected" results. Delaney actually used a few of my deeper predictions, and a few times even defied my "plot-dar."
I should say that although I predicted some of Delaney's twists, I don't consider the book predictable because I don't think most people would have seen them coming.
This is the first of The Last Apprentice series. It's a middle-grade horror story. And it is good.
The world that Delaney creates has a ring of truth to it. It seems so vast and complicated without overdoing it. Delaney uses a fairly standard mythos, based largely on celtic lore, but he has his own take on it. There are some moments where Delaney's writing isn't as tight as it should be (nothing anyone but a jerk would notice), but otherwise it's nigh on perfect.
I particularly admire how Delaney structures his conflict. In almost any novel (especially those for a young audience or running the Hero's Journey), the hero has a mentor who is fully capable of solving the problem without the hero. The traditional (and annoying) way of handling this is to have the mentor say something enigmatic (such as, "This isn't my fight.") and then stand by doing nothing. The way Delaney keeps the Spook out of the fights is simple, but it works.
The interesting thing about this book is that it's obvious Delaney has studied the craft. Most of the time when I'm reading or watching TV or movies, as the plot develops I come up with a few predictions of what's coming. The first is always the Hollywood/hackneyed path, and it's right most of the time. The other predictions are based on the theory of plot, and they're "unexpected" results. Delaney actually used a few of my deeper predictions, and a few times even defied my "plot-dar."
I should say that although I predicted some of Delaney's twists, I don't consider the book predictable because I don't think most people would have seen them coming.
Book Review: Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer
Synopsis: Artemis Fowl returns. This time he helps the fairies fight a goblin revolution in exchange for help recovering his kidnapped father.
This is an enjoyable book. It's not as good as the first book of the series. In fact, a lot of its enjoyability may come from the afterglow of book 1.
I think the major flaw this book has is placing Artemis Fowl into a heroic role. He's great as an evil genius, but as a hero he's required to fail regularly. That just makes him clumsy and sad albeit still a genius.
That's not say it's not worth reading. It has much of the same charm and some great moments, but it doesn't hold up as well as the first.
Oh, and on the previous subject of environmentalism and fairies...they have an interesting view of radiation.
This is an enjoyable book. It's not as good as the first book of the series. In fact, a lot of its enjoyability may come from the afterglow of book 1.
I think the major flaw this book has is placing Artemis Fowl into a heroic role. He's great as an evil genius, but as a hero he's required to fail regularly. That just makes him clumsy and sad albeit still a genius.
That's not say it's not worth reading. It has much of the same charm and some great moments, but it doesn't hold up as well as the first.
Oh, and on the previous subject of environmentalism and fairies...they have an interesting view of radiation.
I guess I'm not the only one...
Just an update on my jerk post. Nathan Bransford had an interesting post on the internet and rabid personal opinion. You can read it here.
I don't think I'm that rabid... Okay maybe once or twice I probably crossed a line somewhere. I'll try to be a bit more balanced in the future.
I don't think I'm that rabid... Okay maybe once or twice I probably crossed a line somewhere. I'll try to be a bit more balanced in the future.
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