fiction - Book Reviews (Page 3)

Book Reviews

fiction

A collection of 63 posts

Submission

Brutal, philosophical, terrifying, and bigoted? Houellebecq's "Submission" [http://amzn.to/1swigDr] describes the Muslim Brotherhood's demographic/religious takeover of France. Published on the same day as the Charlie Hebdo shooting, Submission is a violent condemnation of the moral relativism/bankruptcy of leftist multicultural Europe

Good Omens: The Nice & Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

Good Omens: The Nice & Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

Very clever. Perhaps too clever. "Good Omens" [http://amzn.to/29Pydir] is actually a delightful book, so it pains me to only give it three stars. Both Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman are masters and the book is full of hilarious situations and turns of phrase. But something

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

GRRM is a master storyteller, that's really all there is to it. "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" [AMZN_LINK] has a little something for everyone - from action and intrigue to romance and comedy. Having just read Ivanhoe, you can really tell that GRRM is heavily

Ivanhoe

A classic! I had read "Ivanhoe" [http://amzn.to/29BC180] back in middle school and didn't really appreciate it for the gem that it is. The Michael Page narration is delightful and expertly draws out some of the wit that is easily lost when reading rather

The Magicians series

The Magicians series

I loved this series. Start with Harry Potter. Replace cute British kids with angsty older American hyper-competitive boarding school seniors. Add darkness and an eerie thread of pseudo-Narnia. It gets a little trippy towards the end, but well worth it. GoodReads rating: 5 stars [https://www.goodreads.com/

American Psycho

American Psycho

"American Psycho" [http://amzn.to/29J0OSU] is easily the most disturbing book I've ever read. I'm conflicted about how to rate it - does it deserve 5 stars because of its power? I feel like I've been punched in the chest. Or should

Southern Reach series

Southern Reach series

Jeff VanderMeer's "Southern Reach" series is strange. Thoreau on LSD strange. Not sure I'd recommend reading, but it is certainly unique. It's getting turned into a Natalie Portman movie though, so apparently someone in Hollywood is a fan. It may work better

The Goldfinch

"The Goldfinch" [http://amzn.to/29Ev5mf] is a masterwork of storytelling. When I picked it up, I had no idea what it was about but Amazon kept telling me I needed to read it. And although most of the characters in the book are deeply unlikeable, the story

Why Read Moby-Dick?

Why Read Moby-Dick?

Philbrick loves the hell out of Moby Dick. In "Why Read Moby-Dick?" [http://amzn.to/29BCSp4], he lovingly traces the contours of the plot, the major themes, and - most interestingly - the context/story behind the writing of this great American classic. Very short, but it accomplishes its

American Gods

Fantastic. Utterly different than anything I've read before - Gaiman is a master storyteller. "American Gods" [http://amzn.to/2b3qfni] is a sprawling, delightful, clever, and haunting evocation of the many aspects of America and its land, people, and beliefs. The audiobook narration is great too.

Seveneves

Part world-building, part Apollo-13, and part House of Cards. Skip the last third of the book though.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" [http://amzn.to/2bGRZgQ] is much darker and significantly more homoerotic than I remembered this book being when I read it as a kid! The questions of morality, beauty, innocence, society, and intelligence all swirl around in this short but powerful book. It

Cryptonomicon

A bitingly sharp wit, irreverent self awareness, and a brilliantly tangled plot make Stephenson's book a delight. Although it's technically about cryptography during and after WWII, the book reads more like an action/mystery/adventure/historical thriller. Although Stephenson takes many seemingly irrelevant detours and doesn&