Onwards.
Saying I'll catch up by the end of the year will almost certainly doom this to failure (especially as I will be travelling), but I can at least try to get down to a pending review pile of reasonable numbers (hmm. Having just looked at it, "reasonable numbers" will probably have to be defined as less than 20, although I'd really like to get that down to less than 10.)
MT Anderson, Octavian Nothing v1. Man. This is a very impressive book that I will comment more on when I have finally managed to track down the second one. Having said that, though, although I did like it it did not blow me away like Terry Pratchett’s Nation and Morris Gleitzman’s Then did. This may be because of built-up expectations or because it is in a series, but I also felt - hmm. Unattached, maybe? Observing rather than involved in? - to the main character. This may be deliberate as Octavian is, after all, a subject of study, but I’ll re-read it when I have the next one and see if I get the same effect.
Sherman Alexie, The incredibly true diary of a part time Indian. Skinny Indian kid goes to rich (relatively) white school while still living on the reservation. Deals well with expectations and what happens when you move between worlds where these differ; the reservation background is low-key, but the death/injury/addiction rate is depressingly realistic. Comes with great and funny illustrations, by Ellen Forney, and does involve redemption through basketball, but in a tolerable way.
Mauric Gee, Salt. One of those books I stalled on about 20 pages from the end for ages. Interesting worldbuilding and set-up; characters rather bland and difficult to care about, with a plot that is rather inevitable. There’s a sequel out, which I’ve resisted.
Racing thriller. Conveniently shelved very close to Dick Francis, but not as good; attitudes towards women taken from the 70s despite recent publication date (obsession with breasts plus work world populated with attractive single females aged 20-30 in customer service positions accepting dinner offers from clients on a regular basis) and plot rather silly, relying as it does on someone who finds out after over 20 years that their father is not their biological father, and then loses all affection/feelings for them in a completely unproblematic fashion, as well as the murder of a closeted gay racing tipster that wavers uneasily between having an actual character and lunging badly between stereotypes. Racing bits entertaining.
Lennon, Jun, Gravitation: voice of temptation. Light novel manga tie-in. Gets across the tone of the series rather well, a kind of bouncy fast-moving melodrama with strong slapstick elements. Haven’t remembered much else.
Charlie Higson, By Royal Command. Last Young Bond book. I’ve enjoyed this series - the first one’s still probably the best, and then the third, but this is pretty good. The alpine avalanche sequence is a bit unlikely in that it all results from Bond’s apparent inability to subdue an annoying classmate, all the more improbable because the boy has a broken leg, but exciting enough. I did like the bonding with reluctant Nazi Youth member on the train. It’ll be interesting to see what Higson does after these.
MT Anderson, Octavian Nothing v1. Man. This is a very impressive book that I will comment more on when I have finally managed to track down the second one. Having said that, though, although I did like it it did not blow me away like Terry Pratchett’s Nation and Morris Gleitzman’s Then did. This may be because of built-up expectations or because it is in a series, but I also felt - hmm. Unattached, maybe? Observing rather than involved in? - to the main character. This may be deliberate as Octavian is, after all, a subject of study, but I’ll re-read it when I have the next one and see if I get the same effect.
Sherman Alexie, The incredibly true diary of a part time Indian. Skinny Indian kid goes to rich (relatively) white school while still living on the reservation. Deals well with expectations and what happens when you move between worlds where these differ; the reservation background is low-key, but the death/injury/addiction rate is depressingly realistic. Comes with great and funny illustrations, by Ellen Forney, and does involve redemption through basketball, but in a tolerable way.
Mauric Gee, Salt. One of those books I stalled on about 20 pages from the end for ages. Interesting worldbuilding and set-up; characters rather bland and difficult to care about, with a plot that is rather inevitable. There’s a sequel out, which I’ve resisted.
Racing thriller. Conveniently shelved very close to Dick Francis, but not as good; attitudes towards women taken from the 70s despite recent publication date (obsession with breasts plus work world populated with attractive single females aged 20-30 in customer service positions accepting dinner offers from clients on a regular basis) and plot rather silly, relying as it does on someone who finds out after over 20 years that their father is not their biological father, and then loses all affection/feelings for them in a completely unproblematic fashion, as well as the murder of a closeted gay racing tipster that wavers uneasily between having an actual character and lunging badly between stereotypes. Racing bits entertaining.
Lennon, Jun, Gravitation: voice of temptation. Light novel manga tie-in. Gets across the tone of the series rather well, a kind of bouncy fast-moving melodrama with strong slapstick elements. Haven’t remembered much else.
Charlie Higson, By Royal Command. Last Young Bond book. I’ve enjoyed this series - the first one’s still probably the best, and then the third, but this is pretty good. The alpine avalanche sequence is a bit unlikely in that it all results from Bond’s apparent inability to subdue an annoying classmate, all the more improbable because the boy has a broken leg, but exciting enough. I did like the bonding with reluctant Nazi Youth member on the train. It’ll be interesting to see what Higson does after these.