Karsa Orlong
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Posts posted by Karsa Orlong
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Great review! I'm glad it picked up in the end. I'll be sure to keep your review in mind when I get around to reading it. If I keep my expectations low, I surely won't be disappointed (that's pretty much my philosophy in life, and it rarely disappoints).
Thanks, Kylie, and that philosophy is very wise
I couldn't help but read the bits in spoilers,
but I'm glad I did because it gives me a better idea of what to expect. It's interesting that Kasasian (or any author, really) would choose to start using different writing techniques three books into a series. It's quite a risk to take, one would think! It's particularly risky to have (this relates to Steve's spoiler): the two main characters spend most of the book apart, particularly when one of the best aspects of the books is obviously their funny banter! It reminds me of my fave show, Gilmore Girls, when the two main characters (also best known for their witty banter) spent the better part of an entire season estranged.
Yes, that was an odd decision. I kind of understood why he did it in the end, but the humour that seemed forced to me in the early stages made the first half of the book a bit . . . odd, and that particular decision of his didn't help, I felt.
I was thinking about this after my post and I only mentioned the number of chapters very briefly - but I think the chapters are so short that it made it difficult to settle into the book. It makes it a very fast read, though, because I was always thinking 'oh, just one more chapter before I put it down'.
Sorry to hear that it disappointed you, but thanks for going 'first' and telling us what to expect.
I'm still looking forward to reading it!I hope you enjoy it
I'm actually kind of curious to find out if I enjoy it more in re-read, knowing how good the latter stages are - it might put the first half or so in a different light Oh, how disappointing! Although hopefully the rest of us will now have slightly lower expectations following your role as guinea pig and might get a little more out of it?! Which doesn't help you much I realise, expect in altruism levels.
Yep, that's why I'm here 
I did find it a little disappointing, comparatively, but I've read far, far worse books If I was still giving scores in my reviews I think the first two thirds would've been on course for a 6, but the last third pulled it up to an 8 I'm waiting for it to come down in price a little given I haven't read the second yet - savouring it after loving the first.
Yeah, I rushed in a bit there - I had it pre-ordered ages ago. And then they reduced the price on the day it was released!
I hope you enjoy The Curse of the House of Foskett - I thought it was fab
Really glad it did get better in the last third though.
It really, really did
I noticed the first review on goodreads said similar - and it wasn't written by me -
We had to buy a new Xbox One controller yesterday, because ours has broke (we only bought the damn thing last year!). It's been dodgy for a while but has got to the point where it stops you from playing games properly. Whenever you load up anything on the Xbox, it behaves as though the LS stick thingy is pushed forward even when it isn't. So, characters walk around of their own volition, and it's impossible to choose dialogue options because it's skimming through them too quickly. Same with Netflix. So, yeah.
Probably the result of 100+ hours on DA:I
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I've had The Yard sitting on the shelf for over a year - a friend gave it to me for my birthday but I've been put off reading it by the comments about the lack of historical accuracy. I think I've been spoiled by Patrick O'Brian
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Ooh, cool. How's it going? I didn't realise it was already out. I'm still reading the second one.
Just finished it whilst eating my lunch
I'd say it's the weakest of the three so far. Review here -
Death Descends On Saturn Villa (The Gower Street Detective Book #3) by M.R.C. Kasasian
2015 - Head of Zeus ebook - 400 pages
London: 1883
125 Gower Street was once a house of justice, truth and perspicacity. Now madness, murder and scandal lurk in its empty halls. It is rumoured that its owner Sidney Grice - London's foremost personal detective - has been driven to the brink of despair.
But, as with all good stories, we must begin at the beginning. With Sidney Grice journeying to Yorkshire to solve a mysterious death. And with March Middleton, his ward, left to her own devices in a London swarming with danger and vice.
Curiosity, as we know, has a dark edge. So when an intriguing letter leads March to the gates of the palatial Saturn Villa, and into the nightmarish world of her long-lost uncle, it could be the beginning of an end, for all...
I've been looking forward to this book since reading the first two entries in the series (The Mangle Street Murders and The Curse of the House of Foskett) last year. I thoroughly enjoyed both of those novels, loved the characters, the humour, the mysteries. So, yes, my expectations were heightened going into this one - and we all know that's a recipe for a fall from grace (Grice?
).I don't want to say too much about the plot because I'm fairly certain there will be a few people reading the book in the not too distant future. The blurb says more than enough. What I will say is that Kasasian uses a couple of narrative tricks new to this novel which took a bit of getting used to. I'll spoilerise them and would recommend not reading them if you're planning to read the book:
For a start, March and Sidney spend most of the novel apart, which reduces their interaction and vicious, witty banter and also means they don't get to work as a team.
Secondly, and for the first time, part of the novel is told from Sidney's point of view. Whether you'll like this or not is entirely a personal preference. I found it took some time before it clicked for me.
I am quite confused by this book. The first half to two thirds of it are the problem. The normally sharp and witty dialogue seemed a little forced and repetitive, and I got the sense that it was trying to be a little too clever for its own good. The endless put-downs of March seemed to be every other line. The result is that it felt like some kind of bizarre comedy, unlike the previous novels where I thought the story and the characters came first and foremost, and the humour as an extension of that, and it all began to feel a little tedious. Maybe my expectations were too high, but this one felt clunky to me, and I was on the verge of tearing it to shreds, to be honest, because everything I loved about the first two seemed to be missing here.
But then it somehow managed to turn things around in the last third. Even though the problems didn't entirely go away, the plot started to come together in clever and satisfying ways, and the book ends in such a fashion that the first two thirds seem like something of a long-forgotten dream. I suspect that some good editing could've reduced my problems with it - the plot, as intricate as it is, would probably have been better served if 100 pages shorter. Did I mention that this 400-page novel has over a hundred chapters in it? Crikey.
Anyway, long and short, I ended up enjoying it but wishing the beginning had matched the ending. I like it when authors experiment with narrative tricks. Those used here are not entirely successful, but I think the book as a whole was enjoyable, if a trifle disappointing. It's the weakest of the three books, but then the standards had been set so high, perhaps I wanted to love it just a little too much.
Memorable Quotes:
'Nobody goes into a house expecting their host to be murdered.'
'I do.'
'Nobody normal.'
When I was eight I was sent to sing for an elderly lady who lived on Tan House Lane, but luckily she died before I got there.
Juries hesitate to convict beautiful women of capital crimes and judges to pass the death penalty. Unfortunately, Miss Middleton cannot shelter under that protection.
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^^ The Curse of the House of Foskett is currently £1.19, although that's not a Daily Deal, so no idea how long it'll remain at that price
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Highly recommend Half a King.
Seconded!
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Although Midnight Tides is the fifth book of The Malazan Book of the Fallen, its story actually takes place chronologically before the events of the first four books, and as such could potentially be a great starting point for newcomers to the series.
Ah, the old 'trying to read the series in chronological order trick
Which probably means reading Forge of Darkness first, which would probably put anyone off for good 
I agree with you, though
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I've got about 30 pages left to go of Death Descends On Saturn Villa, the third of M.R.C. Kasasian's 'Gower Street Detectives' novels.
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I didn`t know that Waitrose/Ocado had a pets` section
Neither did I, until I Googled that food. Seems good, though. The food turned up the next day at the specified time. I'd actually forgotten it was coming and, when I saw the truck pull up, thought it was the fridge being delivered early
Saw the words Fridge and Tardis and gave a very girly whoop, with an additional "I gotta get myself a Tardis fridge!".
I then actually read your post. If they don't make them already then they should! I sense a business opportunity, if only I could make the science bit work
Yay for the new fridge! Boo for the crappyness.
Oh it's not crappy, just seems a bit of a squeeze to get everything that was in the old one into the freezer part. On the plus side, it's frost free, so no more having to de-frost it myself. Yay.
Vets have you over a barrel don't they? What can you do but buy the food
We did this for Oscar .. cos the vet told us it was necessary .. but it didn't seem to help him much (not saying this will be the case for dear Pixie .. hope she feels much better soon xx) Thanks, Kay
She seems to be much better since she's been on this food, and had the various injections. She actually did a solid poo last night 
I got a new fridge not long ago and it is tiny inside .. I had serious trouble at Christmas when the turkey turned up
I had to think again about making a trifle!!Christmas without trifle??
Should be against the law -
Fridge turned up and seems to be working. It's a bit like a reverse TARDIS, though. It's much bigger than my old one on the outside, but the inside seems smaller
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Fantastic review, Laura
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Pixie's shredded the rubber surround of the patio windows. She sits outside staring at me and then starts clawing them when I ignore her
I had to get someone in to see if it could be fixed That special food the vet's put her on, Royal Canin, they wanted £54 for four boxes of it. That's 48 pouches in total. She's on to the last box of it now. I thought the price was outrageous, so I searched online and found that Fetch (Ocado's pet store) did the same for £38.90 and free next day delivery. Just shows how the vets take advantage
Excellent news ; fingers crossed for tomorrow.
Grr at John Lewis breaking your furniture.
Did you get money off them for it ? Yeah, got money off and free repair of the furniture. Plus the carpet hadn't been laid properly (they have sub-contractors to do it) so they had to send someone else to fix it. As angry as I was when it happened (which was on a Saturday afternoon just before Christmas) I was even angrier when I phoned JL on the Monday morning and found that the sub-contractor had already phoned them and told them there had been a 'problem', but tried to make out that one of the pieces of furniture was already damaged before they arrived
JL immediately agreed to pay for the repairs, but the sub-contractor refused to make any contribution, so JL had to pay for it all. And the guy who did it - another third party - also took a nest of tables to restore them, and they weren't anything to do with the carpet fitters, and charge that to JL as well In the meantime the sub-contractor had sent out one of their bosses to see the damage - and he didn't even apologise! Sitting here waiting for fridge to arrive . . . again
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The Commodore (Aubrey/Maturin Book #17) by Patrick O'Brian
1994 - Harper ebook - 351 pages
Jack Aubrey’s long service is at last rewarded: he is promoted to the rank of Commodore and given a squadron of ships to command. His mission is twofold – to make a large dent in the slave trade off the coast of Africa and, on his return, to intercept a French fleet set for Bantry Bay with a cargo of weapons for the disaffected among the Irish. Invention and surprise follow at every turn in this tale of nineteenth-century seamanship, as rich, as compelling, as masterly as any of its predecessors.
This is where the series returns to 'real' time, as Jack and Stephen return home after the lengthy voyage which has taken up the previous five books. It picks up a short while after The Wine Dark Sea. As seems to be happening a lot with me at the moment, I didn't think I was in the mood for it when I first thought about reading it next. It only took about half a page for me to be completely immersed again. I am amazed at how easy I find these books to read now. I will be fascinated to go back to the first couple and read them again and see how I get on. Obviously, O'Brian's writing style will have developed over 17 books, but that much?
Even though the latest mission isn't comfortable for the characters (yellow fever, slavery, animosity between the crew members, not to mention marital problems and a first meeting with a child born in absentia) but as a reading experience it's like settling into a deep, comfy chair. It's reached the point where I don't think the books are getting any better, as such, but they are maintaining such a level of consistency, never failing to involve, engage or entertain. And of course they are always exciting and bursting with character and humour. I never want to get up out of that chair again.
Words I learned whilst reading this book:
jactitation - the restless tossing of the body in illness
otiose - serving no practical purpose or result
surcingle - a wide strap which runs over the back and under the belly of a horse, used to keep a rug or other equipment in place
peccavi - used to express one's guilt
pratique - permission granted to a ship to have dealings with a port, given after quarantine or on showing a clean bill of health
tertians - denoting a mild form of malaria causing a fever that recurs every second day
quartans - denoting a mild form of malaria causing a fever that recurs every third day
Memorable Quotes:
'I have always prided myself on a perfect freedom from jealousy,' said Jack
'For a great while I prided myself on my transcendent beauty, on much the same grounds; or even better,' said Stephen.
Of all the many virtues, Preserved Killick possessed only two, polishing silver and making coffee; but these he possessed to such a high degree that for those who liked their plate brilliant and their coffee prompt, freshly roasted, freshly ground and piping hot it was worth putting up with his countless vices.
He raised his voice: 'Killick. Killick, there. Light along another pot of coffee, will you?'
'Which I already got it in my hand, ain't I?' said Killick, outside the door.
I love Killick
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That's crappy Steve. We've been using AO for white goods in the last year or two. Had a freezer delivered on Tuesday through them. They text and e mail confirmation, and give updates including a call from the driver. It's the third thing we have bought through them in the past year.
Ah now that's interesting - you're the second person to recommend AO in the past 24 hours. Shall have to look them up next time I need white goods . . . which hopefully won't be for a while now.
My husband tells the story of his sister's chest freezer breaking down, so she made a big batch of pea soup from all the bags of peas that had thawed out. He is yet to comprehend why she 'rescued' the peas and made a stomach churning terrible soup with them, when there was much nicer (and more expensive) food stuffs she could have used up!
My instant concern was the meat - I figured the peas would be cheaper to replace Of course, this would happen when we're having a sudden bout of warm weather. I just found that the last pint of milk has turned I have The City & The City on my TBR pile/kindling mount, and the Womack may well end up there very soon too.
Cool! Have you read any of China's other books?
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Poor Pixie ! Does she have insurance ? How does she fell about all the vet visits, poor girl. I hope the special food has made a difference to her health ?
No, I left it too long to get insurance and the prices were astronomical. This is the first time she's had to have treatment like this, and she's nearly 10, so I suppose it's not too bad. The special food seems to be helping. She's only stunk the house out once since she's been on it, and she's stopped crapping on the lawn, which has made me happy seeing as I haven't had to negotiate a minefield whilst cutting the grass
That`s abysmal. I`ve ordered 3 things from John Lewis - a washing machine, a very expensive mattress and a bed - all were delivered damaged. Fine, they gave me money off, but it`s a pretty rubbishy service.
Hope the local shop comes through for you.
Yeah, they did, thanks. I was in and out in about 10 minutes, looked at the ones they had in stock, chose a Samsung, and it's being delivered tomorrow afternoon. Good old friendly service, too. It's a family business. Should've thought of going there in the first place
Fab reviews of Random Acts, The Shrinking Man, The Body Snatchers and The City & the City.
I only have the first and last books on my TBR pile, but I'll certainly be adding the others.Thanks Kylie! I hope you like them as much as I did
I've had nothing but awful service from John Lewis so this doesn't surprise me. They didn't offer me money off though! Hope you get a new one sorted soon.
Thanks Tim. Hmm, so this poor service seems to be the norm, then. I got my new TV from them without any hassle at all (I've got my last three TVs from them cos the free 5 year guarantee is too good to pass up), but I had them fit a new carpet a few years back and they broke two pieces of furniture in the process
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Feeling the need to rant. My fridge freezer broke down on Monday night so, after relocating all the frozen stuff to a neighbour's freezer, I spent Tuesday looking at new ones, then came home and ordered one from the John Lewis website, with express delivery for today between 7am and 2pm. So I was up at 6am and waited . . . and waited. I checked the order confirmation email and it says "The following Standard delivery product(s) will be delivered on Thursday 4th June between 7am and 2pm", so that was all okay.
But then, at about 1:30 when it still hadn't arrived, I logged into my account on their website and it still said 'order processing' against it. So I got on the phone to them and discovered that, because I'd placed the order at just about bang on 5pm on Tuesday it had got stuck in some kind of loop, because orders after 5pm would be delivered Friday, not Thursday. I was furious. Why hadn't they contacted me when my order got stuck? Why wasn't my order rejected when I placed it? Why did it let me specify today for delivery? Etc etc.
Then I asked if they could deliver it tomorrow. Nope, the earliest now is Monday. I asked to speak to someone in management. He wouldn't let me. Then he went off, came back, said it would still be Monday, but they would refund the delivery fee, the disposal fee for the old fridge, and give me some money off the new one as well. But it doesn't change the fact that I need it NOW. So I said no, cancel the order.
Gaaaaagh!
/rant
So now I've got to go off to a shop a few miles away who said they can deliver tomorrow if I choose one they've got in stock.
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Hi Steve.
Hope all is well with you. And Pixie. 
I'm fine thanks. Pixie's not been too well recently, having to go to the vet every week for vitamin injections and such, and she's had to go on special food cos she's got a sensitive stomach. Costing a fortune!
Hope you're feeling better now
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Did you enjoy the writing and creep factor up to that point?
I didn't find it creepy, tbh - I thought it was completely lacking in atmosphere which, for me, is a cardinal sin in horror
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I didn't like the last third, or how it ended, it all got quite silly and bizzare
I had exactly the same problem with Apartment 16. Hmm.
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Oh there you are! I was wondering where you'd gone
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Interesting! A lot of reviews said that No One Gets Out Alive was poor compared to his others, so I assumed his other books could only be an improvement. Guess I was wrong.
I know you can't always rely on Amazon reviews but Apartment 16 has lower averages than No One Gets Out Alive. Don't think I'll bother with any of this others then. There are far too many books out there that I know I'll enjoy. My thoughts exactly!
There was a point where I was quite tempted by The Ritual but I managed to resist
Steve's Bookshelf 2015
in Past Book Logs
Posted
Next up I think I'm going to return to the Pliocene Epoch
