Book Capsule Reviews
Nov. 13th, 2017 02:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chuckroTrigger Warning by Neil Gaiman - Pretty much what you should expect from Gaiman’s short stories—they’re eerie and creepy and often thought-provoking. I found the inclusion of a Doctor Who story kind of odd, though it was a fun read. There was also a Holmes story, though it was old beekeeper Holmes with a twist. And a sequel short story to American Gods that I suspect wouldn't make any sense if you hadn't read the original novel (and I honestly though was a little weak even having read it). I think I liked the month-by-month flash fiction pieces the best.
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman - I had read most of this years ago (Shnayder's copy, I think), and figured I'd re-read/finish it since it was on Prime Reading for free. Feynman is kind of a dick, doesn’t really have a filter and is definitely rather sexist (though he was clearly a product of his generation in that respect), but he's very funny in his ridiculous anecdotes. I somehow suspect that he’s a lot more tolerable in his writing than he was in person, but at least he owns up to when he was being a pain in the ass out of spite.
Timebound by Rysa Walker - A YA time-travel story about a girl who discovers that she's inherited the ability to use a time-travel medallion from her grandparents, one of whom is evil and trying to rewrite history. It’s the first book in a series and it shows; also, the author is clearly very interested in historical fashion. And likely deli sandwiches and onion rings. A little too predictable and not funny enough for my taste in this style of book, but not bad.
Humans Wanted, ed. Vivian Caethe - A collection of short stories that grew out of a Tumblr post, noting how ridiculous humans are and what if, instead of being the standard well-rounded, boring character in sci-fi, we were the weird ones. (I can’t find a useful link to the post, but much of the text is here.) They get a bit repetitive (in that there’s only so much you can do in a short story when you’re focused on a narrow theme), but there’s some cute ideas in there and they have fun with them.
Myth of the Maker by Bruce R. Cordell - A novel that ties into Monte Cook's “The Strange” rpg system, as an extended version of the introductory fiction many rpg books open with. I give them credit for the conceit that Aerdan is a human-written MMO that was translated into a real world, so the hackneyed tropes that often populate it are entirely justified. That said, too much of the stories are written as first-person solo adventures to really feel like the tabletop adventure this is clearly supposed to be evoking. The four main characters never actually act as a party, which makes the book's seeming build towards “getting the band together” never really pay off. I think this was interesting as a way to deliver a game system's worldbuilding, but on so-so as a standalone novel.
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman - I had read most of this years ago (Shnayder's copy, I think), and figured I'd re-read/finish it since it was on Prime Reading for free. Feynman is kind of a dick, doesn’t really have a filter and is definitely rather sexist (though he was clearly a product of his generation in that respect), but he's very funny in his ridiculous anecdotes. I somehow suspect that he’s a lot more tolerable in his writing than he was in person, but at least he owns up to when he was being a pain in the ass out of spite.
Timebound by Rysa Walker - A YA time-travel story about a girl who discovers that she's inherited the ability to use a time-travel medallion from her grandparents, one of whom is evil and trying to rewrite history. It’s the first book in a series and it shows; also, the author is clearly very interested in historical fashion. And likely deli sandwiches and onion rings. A little too predictable and not funny enough for my taste in this style of book, but not bad.
Humans Wanted, ed. Vivian Caethe - A collection of short stories that grew out of a Tumblr post, noting how ridiculous humans are and what if, instead of being the standard well-rounded, boring character in sci-fi, we were the weird ones. (I can’t find a useful link to the post, but much of the text is here.) They get a bit repetitive (in that there’s only so much you can do in a short story when you’re focused on a narrow theme), but there’s some cute ideas in there and they have fun with them.
Myth of the Maker by Bruce R. Cordell - A novel that ties into Monte Cook's “The Strange” rpg system, as an extended version of the introductory fiction many rpg books open with. I give them credit for the conceit that Aerdan is a human-written MMO that was translated into a real world, so the hackneyed tropes that often populate it are entirely justified. That said, too much of the stories are written as first-person solo adventures to really feel like the tabletop adventure this is clearly supposed to be evoking. The four main characters never actually act as a party, which makes the book's seeming build towards “getting the band together” never really pay off. I think this was interesting as a way to deliver a game system's worldbuilding, but on so-so as a standalone novel.
