Tag Archives: fantasy

Incarceron

Book Review of Incarceron, by Catherine Fisher

I purchased a copy of Incarceron, by Catherine Fisher.

Description from Goodreads:
Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells and corridors, but metal forests, dilapidated cities, and wilderness. It has been sealed for centuries, and only one man has ever escaped. Finn has always been a prisoner here. Although he has no memory of his childhood, he is sure he came from Outside. His link to the Outside, his chance to break free, is Claudia, the warden’s daughter, herself determined to escape an arranged marriage. They are up against impossible odds, but one thing looms above all: Incarceron itself is alive . . .

Review:
Soooo, what to say about Incarceron? It’s good. The writing is stellar. The idea is big and interesting. I appreciate the world-building and the characters. But I felt like I’d been reading this book for 15 years, instead of a week. A lot happens, don’t get me wrong. But it just felt really slow. I’ll read book two at some point. I want to see what happens. But I’m gonna give myself a break from it first.

 

zoo city

Review of Zoo City, by Lauren Beukes

I bought a copy of Lauren Beukes‘ Zoo city.

Description from Goodreads:
Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit, and a talent for finding lost things. But when a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheck, she’s forced to take on her least favourite kind of job – missing persons.

Review:
A friend of mine saw that I was reading this and warned me that it gets quite dark toward the end. She wasn’t kidding. Though I admit I really like the last little tidbit of a chapter, do not go into this expecting a happy ending. I kind of did and had to readjust my thinking.

Having said all that, I liked the book. I liked the African setting and characters (They are from several African countries. I don’t mean to reduce a continent of peoples to a single, geographic designator.), the world and magic system, the plot and the writing. I got a bit thrown by some of the non-English words. I could have done with a glossary, but it was followable.

All in all, I liked it. I’m undecided about if I’ll read the next one in the series, but mostly I ended this one happy.

Bearly Awake

Book Review of Bearly Awake (Providence Paranormal College #1), by D.R. Perry

I picked up a copy of Bearly Awake, by D. R. Perry, from Amazon. It was free at the time.

Description from Goodreads:
Bobby Tremain’s life used to seem charmed, but since his dad’s crippling accident, he has an avalanche of problems. He’s the first in his family to have a shot at college, also the first to head north of Louisiana. An early snow calls his Bear to hibernate a week before finals, but he needs to pass or he flunks out of Providence Paranormal College.

Lynn Frampton’s loneliness is almost more than she can take. She went to college on the other side of the country to get away from the persistent curse of unpopularity in a small town. Once at college, Lynn’s prickly personality has pushed everyone away yet again. At least, she’s at the top of her class.

Bobby needs Lynn’s help to stay awake and pass his exam, and she discovers she needs companionship more than she’d ever imagined. Lynn’s all set to transfer to a school back home, but Bobby thinks she’s his mate. Can he keep awake long enough to pass, and more importantly, convince his love to stay?

Review:
So, this wasn’t necessarily bad. It fit the bill of being fluffy and non-taxing, which is what I wanted when I picked it up. But I didn’t feel like it held together very well. The plot jumps around and a fairly large mystery isn’t solved. Worse though, was the main character, Lynn. She’s supposed to be smart and sassy and snarky and sarcastic. I know this because her internal monologue tells me, the reader, about it a dozen times. But I just found her unpleasant. Sure, there’s some fun nerdiness, that I and a large portion of the female populace recognize and appreciate. But it’s treated like she’s something special for it. And her constant, “I’m not like other girls because I’m smart,” is a blatant insult. It infers that other women aren’t smart. Duh. Basically, it felt like the author was trying way too hard to be funny and it just fell flat on its face.