pontalba Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Hurrah for the film of The Martian! I didn't know. I really like the sound of Where the Trains Turn, but all your reviews are great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 Hurrah for the film of The Martian! I didn't know. I really like the sound of Where the Trains Turn, but all your reviews are great! Thanks That's a good little read, and *fairly* quick. The prose can be a bit laggy but it's still a fairly fast read. And yuss, sure isn't there a film for everything these days? But in this case, it could be very good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 The Martian - Andy Weir Genre: Science Fiction Synopsis: Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first men to walk on the surface of Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first man to die there. A dust storm holed his suit and nearly killed him, and forced his crew to leave him behind, sure he was dead. Now he's stranded millions of miles from the nearest human being, with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. But will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him? *** Review: This novel blasted off with no problems, and didn't land far from perfect. (I'm so sorry.) It starts off relatively simple, being composed of Mark's log entries as he attempts to document for posterity his attempt to survive. The entries are written in a fairly humorous, relatively light-hearted way. If Mark's optimism and drive to succeed ever briefly fail him, it's never apparent in his journal and that makes it a very easy read, even if a significant part of the book is comprised of logical deductions and mathematical explanations. Don't let that put you off, though - while the style may not be to everyone's taste, it's certainly not scientifically heavy or intellectually challenging stuff, featuring Watney-made measurement units named pirate-ninjas, and otherwise clear explanations. It's designed to be a (somewhat) credible novel at a level accessible for enjoyment, even, I suspect, by people not usually into sci-fi. There were many moments I laughed out loud right from the outset ("The Fix-It Man Who Played With Plants" would have made an excellent alternative title, in my opinion), and I have to say that even if all the other characters in the novel (the crew of the ship who left him behind, the people on earth who realise Mark is still alive) are a bit flat, Mark more than makes up for it with his relentlessly good-natured personality and outright cleverness in the face of apparent doom. The novel expands outward from a mere set of journal entries to something quite vast and exciting - which I'll leave to the reader to discover. Suffice it to say, the 400+ pages of this book are sufficiently packed with action and disaster to keep you turning them to the very last one. The film adaptation is, naturally, already on the way, and I think it's gonna be a good one. Rating: 4.5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Nice review, glad you enjoyed the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Great review! So glad you enjoyed The Martian. I thought an alternative title could have been McGuyver in Space. Just snagged Where the Trains Turn from Amazon for 99 cents! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I'm glad you enjoyed the book ! Great review. I have the book on my wishlist, though I could also see if my library maybe has it. I hope to read it some day, at least . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 Great review! So glad you enjoyed The Martian. I thought an alternative title could have been McGuyver in Space. Just snagged Where the Trains Turn from Amazon for 99 cents! Haha! He was definitely that! Nice review, glad you enjoyed the book. Thanks I'm glad you enjoyed the book ! Great review. I have the book on my wishlist, though I could also see if my library maybe has it. I hope to read it some day, at least . Thanks I hope you do too! In other news: I got mail! ...Apparently I got sideways mail. Anyway it's Longbourn by Jo Baker, which has been on my wishlist for a year or two now, and thanks to Janet who graciously sent me her copy I HAVE IT! And there's a lovely handwritten letter that came with it. I love things like that, I think if someone ever sent me something without a little card or letter I'd feel like they'd done it very begrudgingly I'm reading the final Harry Potter book, and also re-reading The Book Of Lost Things by John Connolly because it has been a couple of years and I know I loved it. I've also been browsing the book reviews of one of my favourite Irish DJs, Rick O'Shea - he reviewed 100 books last year and it was his first year doing it properly and officially. He read several titles I already love, but many many more I've never even heard of, including plenty by Irish and seemingly Japanese authors (I'm guessing by their names), two areas I've been meaning to read a lot more of. So, I've taken down about 15 of those out of 30 for my wishlist, and no doubt will go through the rest later EDIT: My first post since I've returned in which I've had to cull emoticons! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Begins Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I've also been browsing the book reviews of one of my favourite Irish DJs, Rick O'Shea - he reviewed 100 books last year and it was his first year doing it properly and officially. He read several titles I already love, but many many more I've never even heard of, including plenty by Irish and seemingly Japanese authors (I'm guessing by their names), two areas I've been meaning to read a lot more of. So, I've taken down about 15 of those out of 30 for my wishlist, and no doubt will go through the rest later That's so neat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 (edited) Angelfall by Susan Ee (2012)Genre: YA/FantasySynopsis: It's been six weeks since the angels of the apocalypse destroyed the world as we know it. Only pockets of humanity remain. Savage street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When angels fly away with a helpless girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back...Review: I love anything to do with angels, and the more biblically accurate they are in their ruthless violence, the better. Vampires, werewolves and zombies are definitely the anti-heroes of the day, but I wish there were more, well-written books about angels. Until that happens, this one will certainly do the trick. It is a fairly light read with some unexpectedly heavy elements. I could have taken an extra hundred pages with a bit more depth - but allowing for its YA status, it ain't bad.I didn't have high hopes going into it, as most YA fantasy tends to involve some form of romance. Not only does this one have nothing bordering on regular YA/fantasy romance, I'd even go so far as to say there isn't any in this book. Some setup for future romance, maybe, but honestly by then I'm totally going to buy it, and that's an achievement. And in the meantime, this romance-independent novel instead focuses on building a small cast of likeable, if not nice, characters and depicting a slice of world-wide catastrophe through their eyes. While quite a few Bella-Swan-esque observations about the beauty of angels irked me somewhat, the main character Penryn is actually a pretty level-headed, streetwise heroine who can really hold her own. By contrast, the main angel Raffe is a tad undercooked for my taste, but still a respectably serious character.The story reeled me in pretty quickly, with some really interesting and creative elements - for example the mentally-deteriorated (and yet still strong and independent) character of Penryn's mother. The darkly comedic decoration of a corpse early in the book was the first point that I stopped and thought 'okay, this could be pretty good'. Some small surprises and interesting creatures sealed that appraisal by halfway through. The appeal dipped a bit at one point about two thirds of the way in, but then revved right back up into a deeply disturbing end sequence which, honestly, brings about resolution of each character's primary goals in such a twisted and borderline way that it left me dying to see what happens next. I already have the next book ready to go.Rating: 4/5 Edited February 10, 2015 by Nollaig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 The Giver - Lois Lowry Genre: YA/DystopianSynopsis: Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.***Review: I'm always wary of reviewing classics - I tend not to do it with the older ones, simply because I don't really feel it's my place to question the quality of something that has already stood the test of time and passed. However, The Giver is too good of a story not to write at least a little blurb about.For such a short novel, The Giver packs in quite a detailed system of living in the Community. Much like the residents of the Community, the novel is precise and un-flowery. I've seen this marked as a criticism against the book, but I actually find it to be quite an important part of the experience. The simplicity and precision of the book, for me, heavily reflects the starting point for Jonas and that which he ultimately tries to escape. In addition, Lowry's writing is extremely readable. I will admit the characters are a little flat, but again, we're talking about a community where exactly two people experience real emotion. Funnily enough, my favourite character was Gabriel.I thoroughly enjoyed learning about each aspect of Community life, and the fundamental underlying idea of giving up agency for a Pleasantville-style existence. It is far from an original concept - the idea of a society without pain, sadness, violence, or redundancy, but it does well to illustrate the pitfalls and sacrifices of such a concept, without ever directly pointing out why free will is, although more chaotic and difficult, much better. That is left as a logical conclusion to be reached by the reader as Jonas does.I've seen some reviews discussing the foundation on Plato's Republic, and the depth (or lack thereof) of the philosophy in the novel. Mostly those reviews sound like people searching a young adult book for intellectual enlightenment, and I feel they're missing one of the points. Among my favourite things about this book is that it is a lightly intellectual story for younger readers.Rating: 5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Angelfall by Susan Ee I didn't have high hopes going into it, as most YA fantasy tends to involve some form of romance. Not only does this one have nothing bordering on regular YA/fantasy romance, I'd even go so far as to say there isn't any in this book. Some setup for future romance, maybe, but honestly by then I'm totally going to buy it, and that's an achievement. The story reeled me in pretty quickly, with some really interesting and creative elements - for example the mentally-deteriorated (and yet still strong and independent) character of Penryn's mother. The darkly comedic decoration of a corpse early in the book was the first point that I stopped and thought 'okay, this could be pretty good'. Some small surprises and interesting creatures sealed that appraisal by halfway through. The appeal dipped a bit at one point about two thirds of the way in, but then revved right back up into a deeply disturbing end sequence which, honestly, brings about resolution of each character's primary goals in such a twisted and borderline way that it left me dying to see what happens next. I already have the next book ready to go. Yep - all of this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggle not Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 (edited) Nollaig - excellent review on The Giver. Like you, I enjoyed The Giver very much but I am not good at doing reviews. I do hope you read The Universe Versus Alex Woods. I very much enjoyed the book. Not many people will have a friend as wonderful as Alex Woods. I would be very curious to see your review after reading the book as it is hard to review without giving away the plot. Edited February 12, 2015 by muggle not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 Yep - all of this! I was very pleasantly surprised by the ending. Genuinely awesome stuff. Nollaig - excellent review on The Giver. Like you, I enjoyed The Giver very much but I am not good at doing reviews. I do hope you read The Universe Versus Alex Woods. I very much enjoyed the book. Not many people will have a friend as wonderful as Alex Woods. I would be very curious to see your review after reading the book as it is hard to review without giving away the plot. Thank you very much! I always feel my reviews are quite rambling and dull, so it means a lot when people like them I will definitely be reading it - I'm not sure when, but challenge accepted on reviewing with no spoilers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 (edited) Can Anybody Help Me? by Sinead Crowley (2014)Genre: Fiction/ThrillerSynopsis: Struggling with a new baby, Yvonne turns to netmammy, an online forum for mothers, for support. Drawn into a world of new friends, she spends increasing amounts of time online and volunteers more and more information about herself. When one of her new friends goes offline, Yvonne thinks something is wrong, but dismisses her fears. After all, does she really know this woman? But when the body of a young woman with striking similarities is found, Yvonne realises that they’re all in terrifying danger. Can she persuade Sergeant Claire Boyle, herself about to go on maternity leave, to take her fears seriously? ***Review: My opinion of this book soared and plummeted at varying points. There were a couple of moments where I thought it was going to be another 5 star read, but it has just a few too many issues for that. For the most part, I think it's an excellent, well-written book. However there are some editing issues, and some unusual choices of adjectives (Eastern-European cheekbones, anyone?) which jar the prose somewhat in places.On the flip side, this debut Irish author absolutely, beautifully captures modern Irish life, turns of phase, attitudes and culture. I've never read another contemporary novel that felt as authentically Irish as this one. It is frequently dotted with words and phrases like 'I'm grand', and 'for the craic'. It off-handedly references the financial state of the country, well known locations in Dublin and outside it, even has the 'Penneys, five euro' joke known to every living Irish woman. It is not a stereotypical expression of Ireland and its people, it is an accurate one. I love this book, for that.There is a lot that I loved about the plot, particularly the central idea of online anonymity versus the amount of information we can reveal without realising. As a fond frequenter of forums since the age of fourteen, I loved reading the forum posts and I was genuinely creeped out by the realisation that someone posting on netmammies was clearly not who they claimed to be. The characters are relatively solid, though I liked TheFarmer and FarmersWife, brief as their appearances are, more than anyone else in the book.I thought I had figured out the killer fairly early on, and I turned out to be wrong. I feel the explanation was so long-winded and complex, without any prior hints of its truth, that it's quite thin and not entirely credible. Additionally, I don't feel it wrapped up all the events of the novel as well as I'd like. That said, the thrilling journey more than makes up for it, and I tore through it in a single evening. Despite its minor flaws I found it to be an original and thoroughly compelling read and would definitely recommend it to mammies, internet addicts, and thriller fans in general.Rating: 4/5 Edited February 12, 2015 by Nollaig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Great reviews ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Are you suspicious of us all now Noll? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 The Giver - Lois Lowry An excellent review, Nollaig . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 Great reviews ! Thanks Are you suspicious of us all now Noll? Hahaha, I'll be suspicious if one of you disappears temporarily and then comes back! There's a great bit in it where a cop searches back through the posts of one woman and manages with a bit of googling to find her name and address in five minutes. Scary stuff. An excellent review, Nollaig . Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Hahaha, I'll be suspicious if one of you disappears temporarily and then comes back! There's a great bit in it where a cop searches back through the posts of one woman and manages with a bit of googling to find her name and address in five minutes. Scary stuff. D You forgot how good we are at sussing out the promotional posters! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 (edited) To Rise Again At A Decent Hour - Joshua Ferris Genre: FictionSynopsis: Paul O'Rourke - dentist extraordinaire, reluctant New Yorker, avowed atheist, disaffected Red Sox fan, and a connoisseur of the afternoon mochaccino - is a man out of touch with modern life. While his dental practice occupies his days, his nights are filled with darker thoughts, as he alternately marvels at and rails against the optimism of the rest of humanity.So it goes, until someone begins to impersonate Paul online. What began as an outrageous violation of privacy soon becomes something far more soul-frightening: the possibility that the virtual 'Paul' might be a better version of the man in the flesh . . . ***Review: This book was a slow-starter for me, and only 40 or so pages in, I wasn't sure the meandering inner monologues of Paul O'Rourke would be sufficiently interesting to retain my attention. Although the prose is extremely dense, it is also beautiful, darkly comedic and frequently quotable. Though I'm not sure what exactly it was, something did click into place. I don't feel the synopsis does the novel justice, suggesting (I'd imagine) to others what it suggested to me - some sort of modern thriller with undertones of Poe's Wilson Wilson if we were lucky. That isn't what it's about at all. Paul is a socially isolated soul, suffering from a perpetual existential crisis in a world of which he seems to be more aware than most people, but from which he is disconnected. He wonders at the gap between him and the rest of humanity - a whole unit that seem to have something figured out - perhaps their belief in god or some other higher power - which he lacks, and tries to fill with a baseball obsession and his work as a dentist.The synopsis does not mention the fundamental involvement of religion in this novel - an alleged historically forgotten, ethnically-distinct religious group, the Ulms, descended from the Amalekites, a brutally cruel people in the eyes of the Jewish. Paul's online alter ego espouses the beliefs of this group on Twitter, Facebook, and various internet forums, eliciting accusations of anti-semitism, and also asserts Paul's genetic tie to it. As Paul engages with and tries to understand this bewildering parody of himself, he recounts to the reader his interactions with religion via his past relationships with women from devoutly Catholic and Jewish families. He contemplates the point of religion, the relevance of God to people who act - as people, towards other people - without any apparent intervention from God at all. A man from a broken family, he loves the sense of familial community among these believers and wonders is it enough to love the religion that holds them together, without believing in God himself.There were many moments that I found Paul extremely relatable when articulating the nature of his isolation and how it feels to be disconnected; how it feels to yearn for something that gives one purpose and makes life worthwhile, despite the futility of everything in the face of mortality. While none of the characters except Paul take on any more life than necessary to provide reasons for, and counters to, his attitudes and beliefs, the existential deliberation that Ferris embarks on in this novel is weirdly presented with one of the most unusual, circuitous manners I've ever encountered, and is simply wonderful to read. A demanding novel, but one which I ultimately found immensely rewarding.Rating: 5/5 Edited February 19, 2015 by Nollaig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Great review! Sounds like a brilliant read. I just went to add it to my wishlist, but it was already on there. I really liked Then We Came To The End, which I read a couple of years ago. It got many mixed reviews, but I enjoyed it immensely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 Great review! Sounds like a brilliant read. I just went to add it to my wishlist, but it was already on there. I really liked Then We Came To The End, which I read a couple of years ago. It got many mixed reviews, but I enjoyed it immensely. Oh I'm so glad you liked one of his other books! I plan to read both, though I've heard that each has good points, while To Rise Again has the best of both books and is his most polished work yet. So that might mean I'll enjoy the other two slightly less, but hopefully it'll mean that you'll LOVE To Rise Again Currently reading The Girl On The Train and really enjoying it, even though I've heard mediocre reactions to the ending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 (edited) The Girl On The Train - Paula Hawkins Synopsis: Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. ***Review: Thrillers aren't my usual fare, so they have to be pretty gripping to reel me in. The last time I recall tearing through a thriller as quickly as this one was when I read "Derailed" by James Siegel. Coincidentally both involve trains! As soon as I read the premise for "The Girl On The Train" I had to read it. I myself am a people-watcher, though maybe not quite so invested in the lives of specific strangers as Rachel is in the lives of 'Jess' and 'Jason'.There was nothing I didn't enjoy about this book. None of the characters were particularly likeable, but all were compelling enough to read about, which is not an easy thing to achieve. Although, I didn't dislike Rachel. I found myself relating uncomfortably to her endless good intentions for a fresh start tomorrow, knowing tomorrow is always a day away. I can see why people might pity or despise her, much in the way they do in the novel, but honestly I just felt empathetic. I wanted something to go right for her, and completely understood her compulsion to unravel the mystery she finds herself tangled up in.The narrative jumps around, temporally and from one viewpoint to another, and often such books lose me entirely so that I give up any semblance of understanding what's occuring. This book, however, covered quite a short span of time in two separate years, and each viewpoint was distinct enough to create distinct jigsaw pieces which slotted together perfectly. I had five ideas about whodunnit, all of which were wrong, and on three separate occasions I thought 'this reads like an ending, what more can happen?!' An easy read, a complex but not over-complicated, and certainly not unbelieveable, plot, and while it probably doesn't *quite* deserve five stars (not entirely sure about that scene at the end), it definitely left me satisfied enough to award them.Rating: 5/5 Edited February 19, 2015 by Nollaig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I haven't heard much about this book, but I'm glad you enjoyed it . Great review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 Really? I've seen two or three people mention it on this forum alone. Apparently it's getting really big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.