Monday, March 18, 2024

Thursday, February 08, 2024

Review: The New World

The New World The New World by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The New World - Patrick Ness   12/31/16Nothing else was really grabbing me, you know? I saw an ad for the film Monsters of Men, which brought me to Ness and thinking it's been too long since I read it, because when I was recommending the series to Natasha as truly excellent sci fi, I couldn't remember much except lots of twists in the spaghetti. In fact, while I remembered that the series was Chaos Walking, I managed to choose the wrong title as first in the series three times in a row. There are only three novels in the series you understand.personal copy

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Review: The Knife of Never Letting Go

The Knife of Never Letting Go The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

October 29, 2010

The only problem I had with this book was Todd's way of talking. (I don't think first-person books should be written in dialect, because our way of talking always sounds both natural and neutral to us. It only sounds like dialect to other people.) Other than that, I loved it. The very best thing that Ness did, was deal with how the lies and ignorance lead Todd to doubt everything. Beautifully done. I'd recommend it to fans of The Hunger GamesAnd yes, I'm eager to get the sequels and find out what happens next.As an aside, according to the respective authors, both this and Feed come out of the same idea, the constant stream of info into modern lives. Very different books.Library copyThe Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness  

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Review: The Ask and the Answer

The Ask and the Answer The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Ask and the Answer - Patrick Ness January 3, 2017
July 17, 2014
As I was nearing the end I had to run out to the library for the next book, to have it on hand when I finished. Ness does an amazing job of showing how people are brought to make certain choices, and how they can be manipulated into certain choices. So yes, it's covering a lot of the same moral ground as The Hunger Games and it has that same adventure feel, and also the extremes of society between the haves and the have nots. There is also an overt division between men and women, tensions with the indigenous population and so much more.
 
Personal copy

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Review: Monsters of Men

Monsters of Men Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

12 April, 2010

That's a hell of an ending to the series. Ness pretty much manages to throw every possible event in there and keep it gripping and plausible. The tight focus on Todd, and Viola keeps the story from becoming too chaotic. There's even a helpful map. The whole good and evil issue certainly gets a workout, because Ness manages to make everyone's motivations understandable (if not clear). It's a great series, and this is the strongest of the three books. I would expect fans of The Hunger Games to love it.

7 January, 2017

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Review: Snowscape

Snowscape Snowscape by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

7 January, 2017
26 July, 2014

I agree with Ness, don't read it until you've read the rest of Chaos Walking. It's disturbing.

Free online:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/141687602/S...

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Review: The New World

The New World The New World by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The New World - Patrick Ness   12/31/16Nothing else was really grabbing me, you know? I saw an ad for the film Monsters of Men, which brought me to Ness and thinking it's been too long since I read it, because when I was recommending the series to Natasha as truly excellent sci fi, I couldn't remember much except lots of twists in the spaghetti. In fact, while I remembered that the series was Chaos Walking, I managed to choose the wrong title as first in the series three times in a row. There are only three novels in the series you understand.personal copy

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Review: The Wide, Wide Sea

The Wide, Wide Sea The Wide, Wide Sea by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

July 18, 2014

Not too spoilery, but best read in its proper place after The Ask and the Answer

It's delightful when authors are as good with short as with long forms, and I really, really love that writers are filling in episodes and/or exploring other characters from their own books.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/141687258/T...

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Review: Monsters of Men

Monsters of Men Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

12 April, 2010

That's a hell of an ending to the series. Ness pretty much manages to throw every possible event in there and keep it gripping and plausible. The tight focus on Todd, and Viola keeps the story from becoming too chaotic. There's even a helpful map. The whole good and evil issue certainly gets a workout, because Ness manages to make everyone's motivations understandable (if not clear). It's a great series, and this is the strongest of the three books. I would expect fans of The Hunger Games to love it.

7 January, 2017

View all my reviews

Review: The Ask and the Answer

The Ask and the Answer The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Ask and the Answer - Patrick Ness January 3, 2017
July 17, 2014
As I was nearing the end I had to run out to the library for the next book, to have it on hand when I finished. Ness does an amazing job of showing how people are brought to make certain choices, and how they can be manipulated into certain choices. So yes, it's covering a lot of the same moral ground as The Hunger Games and it has that same adventure feel, and also the extremes of society between the haves and the have nots. There is also an overt division between men and women, tensions with the indigenous population and so much more.
 
Personal copy

View all my reviews

Review: The Knife of Never Letting Go

The Knife of Never Letting Go The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

October 29, 2010

The only problem I had with this book was Todd's way of talking. (I don't think first-person books should be written in dialect, because our way of talking always sounds both natural and neutral to us. It only sounds like dialect to other people.) Other than that, I loved it. The very best thing that Ness did, was deal with how the lies and ignorance lead Todd to doubt everything. Beautifully done. I'd recommend it to fans of The Hunger GamesAnd yes, I'm eager to get the sequels and find out what happens next.As an aside, according to the respective authors, both this and Feed come out of the same idea, the constant stream of info into modern lives. Very different books.Library copyThe Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness  

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Review: The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century

The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century by Martin H. Greenberg
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Just the other day I was thinking that I should give away my old Asimov's books, since I had no desire to revisit them. There are just too many new and tasty books coming out all the time. And too the newer works have fresh takes, richer characterization, more action, humor, or whatever I showed up for.
But I love time travel stories, or short stories, and it's fun to pick up an anthology then walk away with some new-to-me writers. I made it through the first two stories and that was too much. I'm guessing this is arranged chronologically, since I noticed an absence of female bylines until the last three.
And then the introduction spoke of Wells as the first sci fi novelist in English. Seriously.

So the first two stories take place in an alternate earth where there are only men. No women, no children. It was disturbing. Not even someone to ogle, or an unattractive woman who was over the hill and all alone and unloved. And the guys in the stories, they never noticed or commented on the weirdness.

Truly, I didn't expect it to be impossible to suspend my disbelief, since I grew up reading this stuff, and didn't have an assigned text by a woman until college. I'm sending this one back to the library.

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Review: The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century

The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century by Martin H. Greenberg
My rating: 1 of 5 stars



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Monday, January 22, 2024

Review: The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots

The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots by Beatrix Potter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The title kitty isn't the bland pet her woman thinks. This cat has worked out a scheme with a friend that allows her to get out whenever she likes, in order to get into trouble. Trouble being a gun and a rather smart tweed hunting suit.

I was prepared to find the art jarring, because Blake isn't particularly similar to Potter, but it worked beautifully. Successful find on all counts. I wish there would be more.

Library copy

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Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Review: Ghost Cat

Ghost Cat Ghost Cat by Kevan Atteberry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Using books to raise topics with children has never especially appealed to me, but for those who do want an entree into a conversation about death and grief, this would be a good one. It is a warm and quiet book, not at all creepy. Sweet, really, about missing someone, feeling as if they're still right there, and eventually, letting go and letting someone new in.

Lovely, even if you've never had the bittersweet pleasure of being haunted by your own beloved cat.

Library copy

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Review: New Cat

New Cat New Cat by Yangsook Choi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Friday, January 05, 2024

Review: Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things

Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O. Frost
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Whenever one studies people with behavior at the extreme end of the bell curve, one finds qualities present in most of us. That's my theory. It might not be original. As tool-using apes, there is a definite social utility to be found in collecting stuff and finding new uses for it. This book is mostly about the horrific toll for individuals afflicted with hoarding, and their families and friends. Some of the insights were fascinating: the way people afflicted with hoarding see connections between stuff and people, the way the see utility where I would only see trash, the rich stories associated with every thing.

Weirdly, the section that most frightened me was the one on animal hoarding. These well-meaning folks set out to rescue animals (usually cats) from a dreadful fate (euthanasia at over-crowded shelters). When they invariably become overwhelmed by the necessary care and costs for the animals, they are blind to the neglect, even as they seek to rescue more, even those who may not be strays or neglected at all. And why? They feel a special connection, that they, above other humans, really understand and relate to the cats. I've thought that, because the cats always like me best. And strays (or near strays) can be so sweet, and so appreciative, and it would be lovely to have a cat curl up with me every time I sat down....This chapter in particular gave me a very strong sense of disaster narrowly averted.

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