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More Book Reviews
May. 18th, 2010 01:49 pm...Cause I've been slacking on these.
The Gate of Ivory, by Doris Egan
This book came highly recommended - and wound up just as highly disappointing me. The author struggles to present the world as original and multifaceted, but winds up with a mishmash of ‘exotic’ traits borrowed from existing cultures. The characterization is serviceable but bland: the only two characters who really come to life are, ironically enough, dead by the end of the book. The protagonist is ok, but nothing to write home about. And god, I hate the main romance, with the male lead manipulating the protagonist and keeping information back from her ‘for her own good.’ Condescending shit. Come to think of it, the parts of the book I actually enjoyed all have a particular trait in common: he wasn't in them.
Maybe it's a medium thing, or an experience level one (this book was written in the eighties.) I certainly enjoy Egan's writing on House. Ah, well. I'm extremely unlikely to continue on with the sequels.
Love's Executioner, by Irvin D. Yalom
This is a collection of case studies from Yalom's career. He has a great narrative voice, making each case come out like a story, without compromising the fact that these stories are real. It's also worth mentioning how honest Yalom is about his own reactions to various clients - sometimes cringingly so. I have to give him serious credit for doing so, even if it makes me raise my eyebrows on occasion.
The God Engines, by John Scalzi
This is Scalzi trying something new, and I gotta say, he's got the chops, though I miss his trademark humor. This novella is darker than other stuff he's written, and reaching for bigger, newer ideas. I found it a fast read and a thought-provoking one, though it didn't engage me on quite the same emotional level as, say, the Old Man Verse books.
The Gate of Ivory, by Doris Egan
This book came highly recommended - and wound up just as highly disappointing me. The author struggles to present the world as original and multifaceted, but winds up with a mishmash of ‘exotic’ traits borrowed from existing cultures. The characterization is serviceable but bland: the only two characters who really come to life are, ironically enough, dead by the end of the book. The protagonist is ok, but nothing to write home about. And god, I hate the main romance, with the male lead manipulating the protagonist and keeping information back from her ‘for her own good.’ Condescending shit. Come to think of it, the parts of the book I actually enjoyed all have a particular trait in common: he wasn't in them.
Maybe it's a medium thing, or an experience level one (this book was written in the eighties.) I certainly enjoy Egan's writing on House. Ah, well. I'm extremely unlikely to continue on with the sequels.
Love's Executioner, by Irvin D. Yalom
This is a collection of case studies from Yalom's career. He has a great narrative voice, making each case come out like a story, without compromising the fact that these stories are real. It's also worth mentioning how honest Yalom is about his own reactions to various clients - sometimes cringingly so. I have to give him serious credit for doing so, even if it makes me raise my eyebrows on occasion.
The God Engines, by John Scalzi
This is Scalzi trying something new, and I gotta say, he's got the chops, though I miss his trademark humor. This novella is darker than other stuff he's written, and reaching for bigger, newer ideas. I found it a fast read and a thought-provoking one, though it didn't engage me on quite the same emotional level as, say, the Old Man Verse books.
