The Gypsy Morph is Here!!!!

I wandered into one of my local bookstores yesterday and I couldn't believe it: the final book in Terry Brooks' Genesis of Shannara trilogy was there! It was out several days before it was due to be released according to Brooks' site (August 26/08). I'm just excited because now I can finally read Armageddon's Children, the first book in the Genesis trilogy. I've been hoarding it until book 3 was released.

Library Break: Worldwired

Well, here it is: the end of the Jenny Casey trilogy. Worldwired is about the aftermath of Scardown: what happens after the Toronto disaster and the starship Calgary going down. The alien Benefactors are here, but strangely silent. The UN is looking into the Toronto disaster. And Jenny Casey and her friends are still stuck in the middle of everthing.

I have to say that I liked Hammered and Scardown better than Worldwired. I think that Worldwired had too much going on with so many different characters that it wasn't able to follow Jenny Casey as much as I would've liked. But it was still a good story that was definitely worth reading. Elizabeth Bear did a great job with the whole trilogy! There were many great characters, and even though not all of them made it, it was great to know their stories. And I still like it that Jenny Casey's parts were written in first person.

Elizabeth Bear's Website

Oh, in case anyone is interested, here is Elizabeth Bear's website:

http://www.elizabethbear.com/index.html

Library Break: Scardown

As I had to wait a few days until I got Scardown, book 2 in Elizabeth Bear's Jenny Casey trilogy, I thought I would read something else. I got through one chapter, but then I couldn't keep going; I NEEDED to know what happened next, and I didn't want Scardown to come in and then have to wait to read it until I was finished another book. So I waited. And it was worth the wait!

I just finished Scardown a few minutes ago, and it was great! Scardown picks up right where Hammered left off. It was a little bit all over the place at first, but by the middle of the book, I needed to know what happened next and didn't dream of putting it down! (Although I had to as I worked all day today).

Many of the characters from Hammered return in Scardown and the story of Jenny Casey is expanded upon. But as political intrigues expand and explode, it becomes clearer and clearer that Scardown is about much more than Jenny Casey's life, but is about a world crisis that is rapidly drawing nearer. Scardown was an excellent read and I can't wait to (momentarily) start Worldwired!

Library Break: Hammered

Hammered by Elizabeth Bear was one of four books that were recommended to me from the library recently. After reading The Weekend Man, I needed something that was faster paced and had interesting characters and dialogue. I actually decided to read this book first because of the cover quote by Mike Resnick: "Very exciting...very impressive debut." And I absolutely have to agree! Although it wasn't possible, I didn't want to put the book down! (And I am hopefully going to have the other two in the trilogy by the middle of this week!)

Hammered tells the story of Jenny Casey, formerly Master Warrant Officer of the Canadian army. Casey survived the army although lost her legs and her left hand in service. She was the only person to successfully adapt to her metal limbs, but now, thirty five years later, they are slowly killing her.

Hammered was full of many other interesting characters, from Razorface, the Connecticut warlord with a face full of metal, to Richard, the only successfully sentient AI. It was a masterpiece that remained glued to my hand all night until I was able to finish it a few minutes ago, leaving me aching to know what happens next!

Library Breaks

I have decided that I will be writing a review of all the books I read on here; this will include library books. All of the books that I review on here from the library will have "Library Break" in the post title. I am saying this now because I currently have a bunch of novels from the library, and am getting a few more this week. (Yes, I managed to stay out of the bookstores, but I cannot stay away from the temptation that work affords me!)

The Weekend Man

I started The Weekend Man by Richard B. Wright before I went to camp over the weekend. I've had it for quite awhile, having purchased it from the used book sale at work (the library) a few years ago. Reading the back, the book appealed to me; it is about a guy, Wes Wakeham, who is trying to figure out what he wants from life. I thought that that pretty much describes me at the moment, so I would give it a shot.

Well, I had to brute force my way through this book. The only reason I kept reading was that I wanted to see how it ended. It turns out that I really didn't care. The book buries you under mounds and mounds of description. There was barely any dialogue; what was present felt like it was thrown in because the author had to. The back of the book describes Wes as"a decent man with an ironic sense of humour." I found that I truly didn't care about or for him. He might be decent to those around him, but he generally wasn't very charitable to those around him in his own thoughts. (And of course, the reader gets to hear all about Wes Wakeham's thoughts on everything).

Save your money. Save your time. Don't bother with this one.