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“Same Dresden, Different Case” Score: 3/5
I think I missed one of the books in the series, or maybe more. The funny thing is it wasn’t even slightly difficult to pick up what was going on. Maybe that’s a sign of how little impact the ongoing story arc has on the actual plot, or maybe it just means the author fills in the blanks well. I’m not sure.
Still, if you’ve read one of the Dresden books, you’ll know what to expect and you won’t be wrong.
“Just Not As Good” Score: 2/5
This book just feels different from the first book, and not in a good way. From the first page, the perspective shifts from Hornblower’s point of view to how Hornblower is perceived by those around him. It’s not a pleasant shift, and it seems odd that, having built up empathy for the Hornblower character in the first book, we’re then shifted to the point of view of someone we don’t know and don’t care about.
I don’t think it really works…
Still, another adventure takes place, and it’s still fun. Just not as much fun as it could have been.
“Way Of The Future” Score: 4/5
I enjoyed this book the way I enjoy most of Cory Doctorow’s books – for the insight they give on the way things could go in the future. I don’t necessarily agree, but he always has an interesting perspective on things.
I think this book is really just his perspective on how 3D printers will change society. There’s lots here about business models, Disney, relationships, and so on, but the real meat of the science fiction is all about 3D printing.
Part of me can’t wait for 3D printing to become affordable and commonplace. Part of me is mildly terrified by the idea and its implications. But it was a lot of fun reading someone else’s thoughts on the matter, especially someone who seems to have really thought about it.
“Boy’s Own Naval Romp” Score: 4/5
I’d heard a lot about the Hornblower books but I’d never read any of them. So when people started asking me what I wanted for my birthday, it seemed a simple option to give them (instead of some of the more eclectic stuff I’ve asked for in the past…)
The books really are a series Boy’s Own Adventure type stories. There’s no complicated intrigue or psychological drama, just out and out adventure seen through the eyes of a young man taking part in (occasionally) world-changing events.
This book was fun and easy to read – what more could you ask for?
“Punished By Both Sides” Score: 4/5
This autobiography tells the story of a boy from Scotland during World War 2 who was:
Eventful! But the truth of the matter is that those startling events are really just the backdrop to a well told story of the life of a soldier. I don’t feel bad about mentioning any of those events – I don’t think they’re spoilers because they were all featured in the book’s launch publicity and they’re the main reason I bought the book. I’m paranoid about spoilers, but knowing all of those future events while reading the book didn’t detract from it one iota.
The story is an engaging one of a boy growing into a man when events seem to conspire against him. His own side seems to have been responsible for much of what was done to him, but he comes across as quite stoic about all of it, even when he felt he was cheated out of some discharge benefits. He could not be said to have had an easy time of it, but he bore it all well and there’s little bitterness in the book, and what bitterness there is is restricted to the Japanese treatment of prisoners. He may have a point in saying that Japan as a country still hasn’t come to terms with what was done in its name, the way that Germany has.
A fascinating glimpse of times I hope we never see again.
“Way Too Much Detail” Score: 4/5
It’s not that I know more than him on the subject and I’m picking holes in what he says. Oh no. He knows much more about the subject than I ever will.
No, the problem is that he insists on telling the reader all about it. It’s like he’s saying “Look, I spent months researching all of this nonsense so you’re going to have to suffer it too.” Some background is essential. More can add flavour or colour (to mix metaphors a little). The volume of background in this book though sometimes makes reading the next paragraph a painful decision. It really detracts from the story.
And the story itself is good. It’s nicely plotted, has some recognisable settings in Prague and New York (well, recognisable to me as places I have been) and was interesting enough to keep me more than 600 pages. It could just be me that feels this way; the book – surprisingly – won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2001. (It’s a surprise to me because I didn’t even know there was a Pulitzer Prize for fiction. There you go.)
In the time since I read this book I have successfully forgotten most of what he wrote about the state of comics pre-World War 2, but I haven’t forgotten how hard it made the book to read.
(Side note: this book spent over 2 years on my to-read pile before I got around to it.)
“Interesting Sci Fi Gimmic” Score: 4/5
And it’s good at what it does. It’s not great at what it does, but it’s good. Maybe his other stuff is worth a look too – I’ve already ordered another of his, so we’ll see.
“Unpleasant Person Making Money” Score: 3/5
The closest I came to reading any of his publications was when I nearly subscribed to The Friday Thing. I didn’t subscribe, in the end – even though it was a free email newsletter – on the grounds that I thought it was a pile of crap.
Now, having read this book, I can see the reason I thought it was a pile of crap is because I – apparently – don’t like Paul Carr’s writing. I don’t like his portrayal of himself, and I don’t like his writing style. And even though you can now download the book free, I still can’t say I’d recommend it.
I’ve nothing really against the guy. He may be nice enough in person. I just don’t think he’s as funny as he (writes like he) thinks he is, and I don’t want to read any more of what he’s written. (And yes, I’m sure he’d feel the same about me if he ever noticed me.)
“Hateful, Miserable Anti Hero” Score: 2/5
The setting for this book (and, I believe, the whole series) is good ol’ Norn Iron. That endears it to me, and I really want to like it. I have a fondness for Colin Bateman’s books because they’re set here, they’re written by a guy from here, they have characters and mannerisms we’ll be familiar with, and they’re written with the dry wit we’re known for.
This book, much as I want to like it, lacks a lot of those things.
I’ve no idea if Ian Samson is from here or not (and I’m not bothered enough to try to find out), but this book is written from the perspective of an outsider who arrives in Northern Ireland to take up a new job and doesn’t like much of what he sees when he arrives. It’s possible (likely, even) that the author is trying to hold up a mirror to Northern Ireland and show us how we’re seen from an outsider’s perspective.
It fails because the outsider is a dislikeable tosser.
I know that some stories have anti-heroes instead of heroes, and some heroes are dislikeable, some anti-heroes likeable, and sometimes it’s the other way around, but whether you like the lead characters or not you have to empathise with them and their situation or else the story is just dull. I had no empathy with the lead character, or any of the other ones in the book come to that. Apart from the miserable, hateful lead character, everyone else seemed a comic pastiche rather than a real person, but where that can work for some authors here it just left me wanting the book to end.
Maybe the idea isn’t that it’s a mirror for us Norn Ironers to see ourselves from a different perspective. Maybe it’s just a way for an outsider to point at us and laugh. If that’s the case I’ve no idea if it works or not. I don’t dislike any outsiders enough to give them this book to read to find out what they think.
“Not Worth The Effort” Score: 2/5
This book is in the second category.
There’s nothing overly bad about it. The characterisation is weak, but it’s like that in a lot of the crime genre. The plot is fairly standard stuff. The setting is Sheffield, so I suppose that’s a bit different, but it’s not really different enough to make the book stand out.
It’s just average. And given that, there are plenty of better books out there to spend your time on.
