Press Start to Play | Daniel H. Wilson | Review

Monday, 4 April 2016

Press Start to Play | Daniel H. Wilson | Review

Summary:

A collection of short stories with the central theme of video games. Stories are written by a combination of fiction authors and video game story writers. 

Review:

One of the things I love about anthologies is that I get introduced to new authors. After reading this anthology, I a large number books to my wishlist by almost every single author in this collection. The wide range of genres represented in this anthology (yes, they're not all sci-fi!) makes it feel like a great stepping stone to the types of books I wouldn't normally read. There were love stories, horror stories, mysteries and dramas. One of the scarier stories actually really freaked me out and I had put the book down for a while to fully recover. 

I know that one of the biggest draws people will probably have to this book is that one story is by Andy Weir (The Martian) and the foreword is by Ernest Cline (Ready Player One). Fortunately for the readers, every story in this book is entertaining, engaging, and well worth the money. This is a book that I would take with me to a desert island because of its re-readability. 

Even if you don't have a strong interest in gaming in general, I feel that there are plenty of stories in this collection that focused more on drama, love, humor, horror, etc. that you will find something you enjoy. Or, if you're trying to get a gamer to do some more reading, this may be a good book for them. 

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Liesmith: Book of the Wyrd #1 | Alis Franklin | Reviewed by Ria

Wednesday, 1 October 2014

Liesmith: Book of the Wyrd #1 | Alis Franklin | Reviewed by Ria

*image via GoodReads

Welcome to Pandemonium and meet Sigmund Sussman, a dorky low level IT guy with an video game and comic book obsession. Sigmund is nothing special (he tells people to turn their computers on and off again for a living). Which is why it’s weird that the new guy in the team, Lain, takes a shine to him in a really hot flirtatious way. Lain may be devilishly good looking and a questionable past, but Sigmund kinda likes him back too. What’s the worst that could happen if he starts to date him?…well?…

What Sigmund doesn’t count on is that Lain is also a God and not just in an ‘Oh my God he looks like a God kinda way’. Nope. An actual God. A Norse one to be precise. And as fate and ancient prophecies start to unravel, Sigmund starts on a path of adventure and inevitable danger that comes with being the other half of ancient mythology.

So what’s my verdict? 
Liesmith is definitely one of the most unique novels I’ve read before. It’s lead, Sigmund, as I’ve said is very much the zero a the start of the novel. Though his father is pretty connected, he’s very much sat at the bottom of the barrel at the biggest organisation in Pandemonium. Lain on the other hand is the opposite. Suave, sophisticated and the embodiment of a trickster God (cyber cookies if you can figure out which one he is already!). This opposites attract storyline between the two is definitely the thread that keeps this story going. The LGBT element to their very non-traditional relationship is also very well played and without the usual drama that comes with these kinds of stories.

The story itself is a bit crazy. The world of Pandemonium is so detailed and intricately interwoven with Norse mythology, which all feeds into the plot line of the story. I will however say that, for me, the mythology elements went over my head a little, at times the interwoven elements of the mythology felt a bit confusing.

Despite Liesmith being way out of my genre comfort zone, I did really enjoy the premise and plot line for this book. It’s cinematic with page turning action sequences and the moments that really stood over were often seeing Lain and Sigmund’s relationship develop throughout the novel. Plus - and a big plus for me - Liesmith is full of a variety of very diverse characters.

Soundtrack

Centuries: Fall Out Boy; Seven Devils: Florence + The Machine; Art Of War: We The Kings; The Devil In Me: Kate Voegele; In My Veins: Andrew Belle; Vampire Money: My Chemical Romance

This post was written by regular reviewer Ria, get to know her here.

*review copy c/o NetGalley

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Angelfall | Susan Ee | Review

Wednesday, 15 January 2014

Angelfall | Susan Ee | Review

“I never kid about my warrior demigod status."

"Oh. My. God." I lower my voice, having forgotten to whisper. "You are nothing but a bird with an attitude. Okay, so you have a few muscles, I’ll grant you that. But you know, a bird is nothing but a barely evolved lizard. That’s what you are.” - Susan Ee, Angelfall 

It's been six weeks since earth was attacked by angels, and it's not looking good for the humans. Penryn and her family are leaving their home to find a safer place to stay. On their journey through he night Penryn sees something terrifying, a single while feather falling from the sky.

I wasn’t quite sure about picking up this book because a novel with angels didn’t sound like my cup of tea at all. But after reading only positive reviews about this book I caved in and decided to give it a try. And boy, was I pleasantly surprised! The thing that usually scares me a bit about novels with angels is that they’re going to have a strong religious message and that’s not something I’m that interested in reading. But that’s not really the case with Angelfall  by Susan Ee. The novel even has something as original and refreshing as an angel who isn’t sure if he believes in God or not.

But let’s leave the whole discussion about religion because I guess everything is open for everyone's own interpretation. So, let’s talk about my over all thoughts about the book instead. You know what my first thought was after I finished reading it? Wow! This is what I hoped Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor to be (I’m one of those few people who was quite disappointed with that book). Angelfall  is a fast-paced, original and apocalyptic urban fantasy. Being a person who usually enjoys apocalyptic novels way more that urban fantasy I found it to be a refreshing take on the genre. To be completely honest, this is not a perfect novel. The characters are to some extent a bit stereotypical and Susan Ee’s writing style isn’t mind-blowing (but absolutely good enough). But over all this was a very fun and pleasant reading experience. The story includes some interesting and very original plots and it’s a true page-turner and I also really enjoyed the apocalyptic take on urban fantasy. So, I really recommend Angelfall to anyone who’s looking for a fun, fast-faced and original urban fantasy to read. I give Angelfall by Susan Ee 4/5 stars.

This post was written by regular reviewer Niina, get to know her here.

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Blackbirds | Chuck Wendig | Review

Wednesday, 3 July 2013

Blackbirds | Chuck Wendig | Review

“She thinks, I want an orange soda. And I want vodka to mix into the orange soda. And while we're at it, I'd also like to stop being able to see how people are going to bite it. Oh, and a pony. I definitely want a goddamn pony.” - Chuck Wending, Blackbirds

Blackbirds by Chuck Wending is a story about a girl named Miriam Black who can by a simple touch see how and when people are going to die. She has seen how hundreds of people are going to die in accidents, illness and suicides.

Miriam is getting used to seeing how people die and has learned that there’s nothing she can do to change the future. But one day she meets a trucker called Luis and when she touches his hand she sees him getting tortured to death while he’s calling her name. This time Miriam realizes that she has to try to do something...

I feel so conflicted about Blackbirds. First of all I loved the general story line. A girl who can see how and when people are going to die? That sounds pretty fascinating and interesting to me. But be aware, there’s a lot of swearing and violence going on in this novel. Don’t get me wrong, I usually don’t have a problem with swearing or violence, but even I felt that there was a bit too much of that stuff in Blackbirds. There’s a difference in using swearing and violence for a purpose and just simply overusing it. In the first half of the book this disturbed me quite a bit. Yes, I understand, Miriam and her fellow characters are the swearing and violent types. But I kind of felt that was the only thing there was to them. Sure, they all had a troubled past and everything, but still? Do people really talk like that? But in defense of the book I have to say that in the other half of the book both the characters (especially Miriam) and the story-line grew on me and I quite enjoyed the ride. That makes it extra sad that all the swearing, violence and weird sex dragged this book down for the first 150 pages because this could have been pretty darn good.

So, let's wrap it up: I didn't fall in love with this novel, but Blackbirds was an interesting and exciting story. It would definitely have deserved a higher rating with a bit less of the stuff mentioned above and I have to say that I’m pretty interested in reading Mockingbird (the sequel to Blackbirds). I’m sensing that we might get to see more of who Miriam really is in that book. Because to be honest, in the last 20 pages I kind of started liking the girl! 

So my rating for Blackbirds is going to be 3/5 stars. I do recommend it if you think that you’re okay with A LOT of swearing and violence. If you’re sensitive to that kind of stuff, this is not the book for you...

This post was written by regular reviewer Niina, get to know her here.

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