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Right now, there aren't that many reviews here, but my plan is to add a book review per week, on average. I'm hoping to review the books that I'm currently reading, as I finish them, but I'll also be throwing in some reviews of my favorite books from the past. We'll see how well the plan works in reality. :) Since there are so few reviews at the moment, I'm stuffing all the reviews onto this one page to make it easier to browse. By the way, I tend to mostly read science fiction so that's the majority of what will be reviewed here, but I may occasionally review books from other genres as I read them.
Review Policy: Since I really hate spoilers, I will seldom discuss any details of the plot in my reviews. I tend to skip most reviews before reading a book simply because I'm afraid I'll run into a spoiler. So, I'll try to make my reviews safe to read by someone who hasn't read the book and hates spoilers (like me). If I do need to discuss the plot I will try to give ample spoiler warning.
I decided to try out the amazon.com associates program (where I get a commission on books you buy through my web page). You can search for a book at amazon here:
If you have comments or suggestions just send them to me, Steve Chew (schew@interzone.com).
Enjoy the reviews!
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Bibliography:
| Author | Glen Cook |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Style | Action based. Focuses strongly on plot and action |
| Publisher | Tor |
| Pub. Date | 1984 |
| ISBN | 0812521390 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | 319 |
| In Print | Yes |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 19 |
| flow | 16 |
| tension/suspense | 19 |
| character | 19 |
| connection/immersion | 20 |
| consistency/logic | 17 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 14 |
| depth/mileu | 18 |
| novelty/originality | 18 |
| --- | |
| Total | 160 |
Review:
Let me preface this review by mentioning that The Black Company is one of my favorite fantasy series. In fact, Glen Cook is one of my favorite authors -- I feel he's one of the best little-known writers out there. Not many people seem to have heard of him.
Now, on to the review.
Glen Cook's writing style tends to be sparse, describing what is necessary and expecting the reader to pay attention as things shift quickly. The Black Company is no exception. The sparse style tends to keep the plot moving and somehow Cook is still able to paint very captivating characters without going deeply into their emotions. You get to know the characters through their actions. The Black Company generates a dark, gritty atmosphere with many shades of grey rather than black and white. This is another trait typical of Cook's writing. It's not that things are depressing, but rather that there are just few (if any) black and white issues in his stories. The characters tend not to be either purely heroic or purely evil -- they're driven by personal motivations. Their motivations may result in actions that are good or bad, depending on your perspective. And each action has a consequence. The Black Company involves a band of mercenaries and we follow them on their exploits. It is pretty tightly plotted and kept me wondering what will happen next. Cook often gives the sense that there are wheels turning within wheels and you never quite know the full extent of what is in the background. You have to try to dig away the layers along with the characters to find out what is really happening.
Overall all it's an excellent book (one of my favorites) and is a great start to a great series. If you're interested in giving Cook a shot, start with The Black Company. It has the advantage of being one of his best books (and best series) and it's still in print.
1000 Rating for this book: 930/1000
1000 Rating for whole series: 940/1000
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 18 |
| flow | 17 |
| tension/suspense | 16 |
| character | 19 |
| connection/immersion | 17 |
| consistency/logic | 17 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 15 |
| depth/mileu | 19 |
| novelty/originality | 12 |
| --- | |
| Total | 150 |
Review:
The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams is the first book of the "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" series -- one of the best epic fantasy series I've read in a while. It follows in the footsteps of Tolkien, but Williams does a good job creating his own world and developing characters.
It's obvious that Williams has put a lot of time into creating a very in-depth and complex history for the world, but he generally avoids throwing it all at us at once. Instead he weaves it slowly into the story. We learn about the world as the characters do. My only complaint about the world building is that the religion in the story has an obvious reference to Christianity that seems thrown in and tended to briefly jar me out of the story at each reference.
Time is also spent developing the characters. Some of the characters have aspects of the usual epic fantasy stereotypes, but they generally move beyond that as we get know to them. By the end of Dragonbone Chair, I cared for the characters and felt that I knew them well.
The book starts off a bit slowly which I think may be due to the scope of the story -- it just needs some time to develop -- but once it begins to picks up speed and tension it does a good job at maintaining it.
Overall, the Dragonbone Chair is an excellent first book for the series and is worth reading.
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 13 |
| flow | 14 |
| tension/suspense | 10 |
| character | 8 |
| connection/immersion | 7 |
| consistency/logic | 14 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 11 |
| depth/mileu | 17 |
| novelty/originality | 15 |
| --- | |
| Total | 111 |
Review:
Against a Dark Background is one of those books that I feel like I should have enjoyed more than I did. Iain Banks built a complex world and the plot held together pretty well, but for some reason I just didn't get that caught up in the story. I think that the main reason is that the characters fell flat for me. I found myself only somewhat interested in what would happen to them -- enough to pick up the book again, but not enough to actually care much for them. Even at what should have been emotional moments I found myself feeling distant from the characters. Their backgrounds and personalities were reasonably well fleshed out, but I simply wasn't that interested in them. It's unfortunate because Banks had placed his characters in a pretty original, interesting setting. The plot was also well done with some good points, but it really didn't grab my attention, perhaps because of my lack of interest in the characters.
I gave the book an average rating overall, giving it higher marks for
the world building and novelty, but lower marks for characterization.
If you want gripping story and characterization this isn't a book I would
recommend.
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 11 |
| flow | 12 |
| tension/suspense | 6 |
| character | 8 |
| connection/immersion | 7 |
| consistency/logic | 13 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 10 |
| depth/mileu | 13 |
| novelty/originality | 8 |
| --- | |
| Total | 88 |
Review:
I bought A Point of Honor on a whim because the cover caught my eye and I was interested by the blurb on the back cover. Sometimes my whims work out (e.g.. The Black Company by Glen Cook) and sometimes they don't. Unfortunately, this time it was the latter.
A Point of Honor has a somewhat interesting premise and the plot flows pretty well, but it never builds any tension. I found it very easy to put down the book at any time. The basic problem for me was that the protagonists seldom seemed to be any real danger even though the story was supposed to be driven by their adventures. I just wasn't that interested in finding out what would happen next.
The characters weren't a whole lot more interesting. The main protagonist was a woman who was an expert at playing a virtual reality knight. I liked her, but didn't find her character particularly compelling. She certainly didn't make up for the problems with the plot. The antagonist was a nebulous figure who didn't contribute a whole lot to the story.
Heydt did a reasonable job at building the virtual reality world, but she didn't go beyond the usual Dungeon & Dragons/mud-style approach so the book didn't score very well on originality either.
Overall, the book simply didn't keep me interested -- it just seemed
very average. It wasn't poorly written, but the lack of tension and
below average characterization just left me wanting more.
Bibliography:
| Author | George R.R. Martin |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Style | Action based. Focuses strongly on plot and action |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
| Pub. Date | 1997 |
| ISBN | 0553573403 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | 784 |
| In Print | Yes |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 17 |
| flow | 9 |
| tension/suspense | 15 |
| character | 18 |
| connection/immersion | 17 |
| consistency/logic | 15 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 12 |
| depth/mileu | 16 |
| novelty/originality | 14 |
| --- | |
| Total | 132 |
Review:
A Game of Thrones is the first book in an epic fantasy series by George R.R. Martin. If the first book is any indication, the series is going to be superb. The characters are very well developed and the plot is interesting.
The story focuses on a family as they try to identify and deal with troubles brewing in the local provinces. Martin does well at developing a large cast of characters. I found myself quickly caring for the protagonists and becoming interested in their relationships and interactions.
The plot is well developed, maintaining a good pace and leaving me thinking about it after I put the book down. The large scale of the story allowed Martin to weave a complex tapestry and dig deeply into numerous areas of the plot.
My only complaint about A Game of Thrones is that Martin dealt with the large cast of characters by switching between their viewpoints and it happened so often that it became distracting (hence the below average score on flow).
Overall, I would recommend A Game of Thrones as a good epic fantasy. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in the series.
Bibliography:
| Author | Dick Francis |
| Genre | Mystery |
| Publisher | Fawcett Columbine |
| Pub. Date | 1992 |
| ISBN | 0449219550 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | |
| In Print | Yes |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 16 |
| flow | 16 |
| tension/suspense | 15 |
| character | 16 |
| connection/immersion | 17 |
| consistency/logic | 16 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 10 |
| depth/mileu | 14 |
| novelty/originality | 13 |
| --- | |
| Total | 133 |
Review:
Dick Francis is one of my favorite mystery authors because I know that when I pick up one of his books it will be a fun read. Longshot is no exception. In fact, I think it's one of his better efforts.
Once again Francis has created a main character who easily maintains my interest. This time the main character is a writer of "how to survive in the wild" travel books which provides some interesting background. Not that I would really know, but it seemed like Francis had done his research (as usual) and the main character's knowledge of the survival techniques fit in smoothly with the story. The other characters were fleshed out to a reasonable extent and fit the story well.
As usual in a Francis novel, the protagonist has to use his wits, observation and perseverance to find out what's really happening in the troubles he gets involved in. The plot is not as complex as some of Francis' other stories, but it maintained good tension and held my interest.
Longshot is yet another good Dick Francis novel that I found hard to
put down.
Bibliography:
| Author | Dick Francis |
| Genre | Mystery |
| Publisher | Fawcett Columbine |
| Pub. Date | originally 1965 |
| ISBN | 0449212696 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | |
| In Print | Yes |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 14 |
| flow | 15 |
| tension/suspense | 15 |
| character | 17 |
| connection/immersion | 16 |
| consistency/logic | 14 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 11 |
| depth/mileu | 13 |
| novelty/originality | 13 |
| --- | |
| Total | 127 |
Review:
Odds Against is one of Dick Francis' earliest novels. I enjoyed it, but the plot isn't quite as tight as some of his later novels. Francis allows a few plot points to hinge on coincidence which I tend to regard as a weakness in mystery novels. Also, a few of the minor characters seem to act out of character at times. Nonetheless, the overall story is strong and the characters are well drawn. As is usual with Francis novels, I had a hard time putting it down.
Odds Against is the novel in which we first meet Sid Halley, one of Francis' more memorable characters. Sid Halley also appears in at least two other Francis novels, Whip Hand, and Come To Grief. Halley's character is probably the highlight of the novel -- he's well drawn and enjoyable to follow.
Overall, Odds Against is a good book though probably not one of Francis' best. If you are intending to read the other Sid Halley novels, I would recommend reading this one first since Halley's characterization in the other novels builds heavily on this one.
Bibliography:
| Author | Kevin J. Anderson |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Style | Action based. Focuses strongly on plot and action |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
| Pub. Date | 1994 |
| ISBN | 0553297988 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | |
| In Print | Yes |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 14 |
| flow | 13 |
| tension/suspense | 13 |
| character | 16 |
| connection/immersion | 14 |
| consistency/logic | 15 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 10 |
| depth/mileu | 14 |
| novelty/originality | 8 |
| --- | |
| Total | 117 |
Review:
Jedi Search is the first book of Kevin Anderson's "Jedi Academy" trilogy. As you might expect, it involves most of the cast from the original Star Wars movies. Anderson does a good job with the "voices" of the Star Wars characters. The way they talked and acted felt right -- they seemed like the characters from the movies. Anderson also expanded a bit on the characters through their thoughts, but he didn't take it too far.
So, why didn't this book rate higher? Well, I suppose it's mainly due to the plot. The plot just didn't have a strong focus and so it didn't provide much tension. A number of the action scenes were well done, but the story seemed to wander when the action slowed down. I haven't yet read the next books in the series, but I'm hoping they will strengthen the focus of the plot. Perhaps the lack of focus in the first volume is because Anderson spent a lot of time building a base for the next books. We'll see.
Overall, if you enjoy Star Wars you'll have fun seeing the familiar characters in another adventure, but don't expect a riveting plot.
Bibliography:
| Author | Kevin J. Anderson |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Style | Action based. Focuses strongly on plot and action |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
| Pub. Date | 1994 |
| ISBN | 0553297996 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | |
| In Print | Yes |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 9 |
| flow | 11 |
| tension/suspense | 8 |
| character | 12 |
| connection/immersion | 7 |
| consistency/logic | 14 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 10 |
| depth/mileu | 12 |
| novelty/originality | 8 |
| --- | |
| Total | 91 |
Review:
Dark Apprentice is the second book of Kevin Anderson's "Jedi Academy" trilogy. As you might expect, it involves most of the cast from the original Star Wars movies. As in the first book, Anderson does a good job with the "voices" of the Star Wars characters.
I had hoped that Anderson would increase the focus of the plot in the second book after introducing things in the first book. Unfortunately, he didn't. I found it hard to maintain my desire to keep reading. For those of you who are interested in reading it, be warned that I'm going to discuss a little more detail about the plot than I usually do here. POSSIBLE SPOILER: There was seemingly no overall goal to the plot. It just meandered back and forth between a few plotlines, none of which were very interesting. Even what I expected to be the highlight of the series, the Jedi Academy, was superficial at best. We only got the barest glimpses into what was happening there. END SPOILER.
Even though the standard Star Wars characters were reasonally well drawn, the rest of the cast, especially the villans, were not very interesting or believable. Then again, they weren't given that much to do.
Overall, I'd recommend reading Timothy Zahn's Star Wars trilogy rather
than this one. I was hoping the second book of this series would
improve on the first, but it doesn't.
Bibliography:
| Author | Christopher Hinz |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Style | Action based. Focuses strongly on plot and action |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
| Pub. Date | originally 1987 |
| ISBN | 0812530756 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | |
| In Print | Yes |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 14 |
| flow | 13 |
| tension/suspense | 12 |
| character | 13 |
| connection/immersion | 12 |
| consistency/logic | 15 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 10 |
| depth/mileu | 16 |
| novelty/originality | 17 |
| --- | |
| Total | 122 |
Review:
Liege-Killer has an interesting premise but overall the book just didn't do much for me. Hinz builds an original and interesting world that turns out to be the strongest part of the novel. It takes place on orbital colonies after the earth has been wasted by nuclear war. The characters are reasonably well drawn, but they don't manage to hold my attention very well. The plot is fairly original too, but it unfortunately doesn't build that much tension. Hinz has some exciting action sequences but they seem to be spikes in an otherwise flat plot. It is a combination of not being that interested in the characters and the low tension in the plot that explains why I didn't like the book more.
Overall, I gave the book good scores for its originality and world building,
but lower scores for plot and characterization and how much the story actually
interested me. If you want to read about an interesting world, give
it a try. If you want a captivating story, you may be better off
looking elsewhere.
Bibliography:
| Author | Christopher Hinz |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Style | Action based. Focuses strongly on plot and action |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
| Pub. Date | originally 1989 |
| ISBN | 0812530780 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | |
| In Print | Yes |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 12 |
| flow | 12 |
| tension/suspense | 11 |
| character | 12 |
| connection/immersion | 9 |
| consistency/logic | 14 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 9 |
| depth/mileu | 15 |
| novelty/originality | 15 |
| --- | |
| Total | 109 |
Review:
Ash Ock is the second book in the Paratwa series and I was hoping it would build on the base presented in “Liege-Killer” and provide mounting tension, but it didn't. Again, the world building is well done though not as interesting now that we're familiar with the world from the first book. And again, I wasn’t very interested in the characters – they weren’t stereotypes, but I just didn’t care much about what happened to them. The plot did build a little bit of tension, but not enough to keep me wanting to turn the page to see what happened next.
Overall, I’d say that if you liked Liege-Killer then you’ll probably
want to continue with the series, but if you didn’t enjoy Liege-Killer
things don’t improve in the second book.
Bibliography:
| Author | Christopher Hinz |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Style | Action based. Focuses strongly on plot and action |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
| Pub. Date | originally 1991 |
| ISBN | 0812530934 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | |
| In Print | Unknown |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 13 |
| flow | 12 |
| tension/suspense | 13 |
| character | 12 |
| connection/immersion | 10 |
| consistency/logic | 12 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 9 |
| depth/mileu | 15 |
| novelty/originality | 15 |
| --- | |
| Total | 111 |
Review:
The Paratwa is the third and last book in the Paratwa series. Though I didn’t enjoy the first two books all that much, I wanted to finish the series so I read this one. I guess it says something for the series that it at least held my interest enough to want to finish it.
In some ways this was my least favorite book of the trilogy. The plot seemed to wander a bit and though it did address the questions raised by the first two books, it seemed to be stretched a bit thin in doing so. The tension in this book was a bit better than in the second one, but I still found it easy to put the book down. The characters continued to fall flat for me and they seemed to be rather inconsistent. I didn’t particularly buy their motivations or decisions.
Overall, read the book if you want to find out the answers to the problems
raised in the first two books, but otherwise I wouldn’t recommend it unless
you enjoyed the earlier books.
Bibliography:
| Author | Stephen Donaldson |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Style | Character and Action. Combines action with character development. |
| Publisher | Bantam Doubleday Dell |
| Pub. Date | 1992 |
| ISBN | 0553295098 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | |
| In Print | Yes |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 17 |
| flow | 16 |
| tension/suspense | 16 |
| character | 17 |
| connection/immersion | 15 |
| consistency/logic | 15 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 9 |
| depth/mileu | 16 |
| novelty/originality | 17 |
| --- | |
| Total | 138 |
Review:
Stephen Donaldson's books tend to be brutal and The Real Story is no exception. If you've read Donaldson's "Thomas Convenant" series then you'll know what I mean. The characters are often angry, nasty, suffering people who don't pull punches. Nonetheless, I enjoy Donaldson's books, and again The Real Story is no exception. But, I do find it hard to actually recommend his books unless I know the person well. So, be forewarned.
In The Real Story, Donaldson once again focuses on the dark side of human nature and turns it into a gripping story. We get to witness "the real story" behind a series of events that other characters in the book don't fully understand. It takes place in a fairly distant future where mankind has developed space travel but has not yet learned to control piracy in space. While I find the brutality of the characters difficult to read at times, overall the plot maintained my interest well. Being the first of five books in the Gap Cycle series, The Real Story begins to give you a sense of wheels turning within wheels.
This series is not nearly as verbose as "Thomas Covenant" was. Donaldson does not spend pages describing every detail, though some of his large vocabulary is still at hand. Instead, he focuses on the characters and building momentum in the plot.
I would recommend this series highly to fans of Donaldson's "Thomas
Covenant" series. I'd recommend it to others as well, if you're prepared
for the brutality of the characters.
Bibliography:
| Author | Stephen Donaldson |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Style | Character and Action. Combines action with character development. |
| Publisher | Bantam Doubleday Dell |
| Pub. Date | 1992 |
| ISBN | 0553297600 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | |
| In Print | Yes |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 18 |
| flow | 16 |
| tension/suspense | 18 |
| character | 17 |
| connection/immersion | 17 |
| consistency/logic | 14 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 9 |
| depth/mileu | 17 |
| novelty/originality | 17 |
| --- | |
| Total | 143 |
Review:
Donaldson ups the ante in the second book of the Gap Cycle, Forbidden Knowledge. The plot builds on the momentum gained from the first book, The Real Story, and throws in some nice twists and turns. Donaldson expands the view of the story while increasing the tension which is a neat trick. He maintains tight control on a plot that could easily fly to pieces. The brutality continues, so if that turned you off in the first book then you may not want to read this one.
Donaldson brings a lot more of the world into focus in this book. Again, there is a sense that we're really only scratching the surface of what is really going on. I enjoy the tension that brings. The characters also grow as we get to see them in new situations.
Read my review of the first book, The Real Story, before starting this
series to make sure it's the kind of series you want to read, but I think
Forbidden Knowledge is a step forward from The Real Story. If you
enjoyed the first book, you'll like this one as well.
Bibliography:
| Author | Stephen Donaldson |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Style | Character and Action. Combines action with character development. |
| Publisher | Bantam Doubleday Dell |
| Pub. Date | 1993 |
| ISBN | 0553562606 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | |
| In Print | Yes |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 19 |
| flow | 17 |
| tension/suspense | 18 |
| character | 17 |
| connection/immersion | 18 |
| consistency/logic | 14 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 9 |
| depth/mileu | 17 |
| novelty/originality | 17 |
| --- | |
| Total | 146 |
Review:
Donaldson continues where Forbidden Knowledge left off, turning the
screws even tighter. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and how
Donaldson continued to expand the view of the story. If you liked
the first two books, definitely get this one. See my reviews
of The Real Story and Forbidden Knowledge for more information about the
series.
Bibliography:
| Author | Kathryn M. Drennan |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Style | Character and Action. Combines action with character development. |
| Publisher | Dell |
| Pub. Date | 1997 |
| ISBN | 0440223547 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | 256 |
| In Print | Yes |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 14 |
| flow | 14 |
| tension/suspense | 15 |
| character | 17 |
| connection/immersion | 16 |
| consistency/logic | 14 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 9 |
| depth/mileu | 16 |
| novelty/originality | 11 |
| --- | |
| Total | 126 |
Review:
I’ve read a few of the Babylon 5 original novels and this one was definitely the best. The subject was interesting, dealing with what happened to Jeff Sinclair after he left Babylon 5 for the Minbari homeworld. Plus, the characterization was excellent. I generally like to read books in the order they came out, but the Babylon 5 books are mostly independent so if you’re looking for a good one to start with, try this one.
The plot itself was not particularly riveting but it managed to hold my interest because I wanted to learn more about Sinclair and the Minbari rangers. The story built nicely on what we knew of the Babylon 5 universe from the television show. Drennan made it feel like what was happening in the book could have been happening behind the scenes on the show. Plus, she added some interesting ideas on how and why certain things happened in the show.
Overall, I would recommend the book if you like the Babylon 5 television show. If you’re not familiar with the show, many of the references will probably not make much sense.
Bibliography:
| Author | Mark Fabi |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Style | Action based. Focuses strongly on plot and action |
| Publisher | Bantam Doubleday Dell |
| Pub. Date | 1997 |
| ISBN | 0553578081 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | 608 |
| In Print | Yes |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale
of 1-20):
| plot | 17 |
| flow | 17 |
| tension/suspense | 17 |
| character | 11 |
| connection/immersion | 18 |
| consistency/logic | 14 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 9 |
| depth/mileu | 16 |
| novelty/originality | 14 |
| --- | |
| Total | 133 |
Review:
I found Wyrm to be a very fun book – I had a hard time putting it down. Since it takes place in the near future, it has some of the usual problems of technology that is far too advanced for what actually exists today, but the story was enjoyable enough that I didn’t care. I basically thought of it as more like fantasy than science fiction. Once the assumptions for the sophisticated technology were presented they were built on fairly consistently.
The protagonist is a computer programmer who’s specialty is stopping viruses. He happens upon a virus that may have far reaching implications and things intensify from there. The plot starts off a little slowly but it gradually builds tension until it became hard to not turn the page. Fabi obviously has fun with the story. As I mentioned earlier, the technology is too advanced but it is cool to imagine being able to do what they’re doing. Also, the problems that the characters have to solve are well presented and interesting.
The characterization is somewhat superficial though sufficient for the story. I found the interactions between the characters to be a bit too simplistic. And in a couple instances the characters seemed to react in a manner that was hard to believe and inconsistent with what we’d seen earlier. Still, the characters were good enough that they didn’t detract from the fun plot.
Overall, I’d recommend the book if you’re looking for an enjoyable story
to read. It kept me up late a few nights.
| plot | 15 |
| flow | 15 |
| tension/suspense | 14 |
| character | 17 |
| connection/immersion | 16 |
| consistency/logic | 14 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 11 |
| depth/mileu | 16 |
| novelty/originality | 15 |
| --- | |
| Total | 135 |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale of 1-20):
| plot | 15 |
| flow | 14 |
| tension/suspense | 16 |
| character | 18 |
| connection/immersion | 16 |
| consistency/logic | 14 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 10 |
| depth/mileu | 16 |
| novelty/originality | 16 |
| --- | |
| Total | 135 |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale of 1-20):
| plot | 18 |
| flow | 15 |
| tension/suspense | 18 |
| character | 18 |
| connection/immersion | 16 |
| consistency/logic | 15 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 11 |
| depth/mileu | 17 |
| novelty/originality | 16 |
| --- | |
| Total | 144 |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale of 1-20):
| plot | 16 |
| flow | 14 |
| tension/suspense | 17 |
| character | 16 |
| connection/immersion | 16 |
| consistency/logic | 14 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 10 |
| depth/mileu | 16 |
| novelty/originality | 15 |
| --- | |
| Total | 134 |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale of 1-20):
| plot | 15 |
| flow | 13 |
| tension/suspense | 14 |
| character | 18 |
| connection/immersion | 15 |
| consistency/logic | 14 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 11 |
| depth/mileu | 16 |
| novelty/originality | 15 |
| --- | |
| Total | 131 |
Detailed Rating (each aspect is on a scale of 1-20):
| plot | 16 |
| flow | 15 |
| tension/suspense | 16 |
| character | 18 |
| connection/immersion | 17 |
| consistency/logic | 14 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 11 |
| depth/mileu | 16 |
| novelty/originality | 15 |
| --- | |
| Total | 138 |
| plot | 15 |
| flow | 15 |
| tension/suspense | 14 |
| character | 17 |
| connection/immersion | 18 |
| consistency/logic | 14 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 11 |
| depth/mileu | 16 |
| novelty/originality | 15 |
| --- | |
| Total | 135 |
| plot | 16 |
| flow | 17 |
| tension/suspense | 15 |
| character | 19 |
| connection/immersion | 18 |
| consistency/logic | 15 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 14 |
| depth/mileu | 17 |
| novelty/originality | 17 |
| --- | |
| Total | 148 |
| plot | 16 |
| flow | 15 |
| tension/suspense | 17 |
| character | 16 |
| connection/immersion | 19 |
| consistency/logic | 14 |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | 13 |
| depth/mileu | 16 |
| novelty/originality | 16 |
| --- | |
| Total | 142 |
| plot | out of 20 points |
| flow | out of 20 points |
| tension/suspense | out of 20 points |
| character | out of 20 points |
| connection/immersion | out of 20 points |
| consistency/logic | out of 20 points |
| insightfulness/inspirationality | out of 20 points |
| depth/mileu | out of 20 points |
| novelty/originality | out of 20 points |
Below I'll describe what I mean by each category. Obviously, the
category descriptions are subjective and may mean different things to different
people, but I'll base my ratings on the descriptions below. Just
because a book doesn't do well in a category doesn't mean it's a bad book
(for example, not all good books have to be insightful/inspirational).
But a good book will generally score above average in a number of categories.
|
Is the plot interesting, well thought out, creative, complex? |
|
Does the book read smoothly? Do scenes connect well? |
|
Does the book make you want to keep turning pages? Does it keep you interested? This may involve suspense in the plot (what's going to happen next?) but may also involve tension between characters. |
|
Once the book establishes how things work in the world does it deal consistently with these issues? Do characters act in consistent manners? Are the world's limitations defined and then enforced? For example, if a book establishes (somewhere near the beginning) that magic is possible, that's fine. But, if the book never mentions magic and then uses magic to save the characters at the end of the book then that's not fine. |
|
How close do you feel to the characters by the end of the book? Do you feel like you're immersed in the world created by the book? |
|
How well developed are the characters? Do they keep your interest, make you care for or hate them (either may be good)? Do they act believably in their interactions with others? |
|
Does the book make some significant insights into the world or human nature? Do the characters or their actions inspire you or make you think? |
|
Does the book make some significant insights into the world or human nature? Do the characters or their actions inspire you or make you think? |
|
Is the story's approach particularly original? Does it make improvements or modifications to that which it derives from? |
Of course, my view on each element above is subjective but at least it gives you an idea of what parts of the book I felt were strong or weak. That way, once you see how I rate some books that you have read, you should get an idea on how much you can trust each part of my rating.
I try to base my rating for each category on how much it extends beyond 'average'. So, an average book would get 10 points for each category. If the book was above average in a category then it gets additional points above 10 and vice versa.
Review Policy: Since I really hate spoilers, I will seldom discuss any details of the plot in my reviews. I tend to skip most reviews before reading a book simply because I'm afraid I'll run into a spoiler. So, I'll try to make my reviews safe to read by someone who hasn't read the book and hates spoilers (like me). If I do need to discuss the plot I will try to give ample spoiler warning.
* This rating system is copyright 1997-1998 all rights reserved by Steve Chew and Ben Cheung.