Quick Update
The house is clean.
I feel better (finally).
The furnace has been serviced with no sign that I'll need a new one soon. (Which means nothing until the AC is serviced this spring).
I've read four books so far this year.
Imhotep by Jerry Dubs was really good*. I was happily surprised as I'm always worried with self-published books. The book is a little time travel, a little romance, a lot historical, and a little thriller. Dubs nicely weaves the various tropes of the genres together to create an enjoyable read. It doesn't easily allow itself to be categorized via the standard genres, which is probably at least partly why I liked it. Mash ups tend to make me happy! I'm rusty on my Egyptology from the period of the Old Kingdom so I don't know how historically accurate the setting was but nothing felt "off" or threw me completely out of the story, which in my mind makes it a success. I'm not always a stickler for historical accuracy as long as the story and characters are there. YMMV.
Was it perfect? No but few books are. I would have liked the female characters to be more compelling. Diane particularly seemed mostly a foil for Brian and fell flat for me. The pacing and flow were good throughout but there were a few points which I felt were a bit overwritten. There's a dramatic moment about mid-way through the book that would have benefited from being the end of the chapter - one of those hit the reader with the reveal, cymbals crash, bum dum dum, next chapter. Instead there were several more paragraphs with the POV that left the moment of impact lessened, at least to me. Luckily neither the occasional pacing issue or the few spelling and grammar errors threw me out of the story. And let's face it, that is how I judge whether I liked a book or not - was I able to maintain suspension of disbelief or was did it snap?
So, in summary, I liked it quite a bit. I look forward to reading more by Jerry Dubs and hope there is a sequel one day.
*disclaimer - Jerry Dubs left a comment on my previous post mentioning Imhotep. This in no way influenced my opinion of the work, it just reminded me that I hadn't written a review.
Now if you'll excuse me I think its time for a nap.
I feel better (finally).
The furnace has been serviced with no sign that I'll need a new one soon. (Which means nothing until the AC is serviced this spring).
I've read four books so far this year.
Imhotep by Jerry Dubs was really good*. I was happily surprised as I'm always worried with self-published books. The book is a little time travel, a little romance, a lot historical, and a little thriller. Dubs nicely weaves the various tropes of the genres together to create an enjoyable read. It doesn't easily allow itself to be categorized via the standard genres, which is probably at least partly why I liked it. Mash ups tend to make me happy! I'm rusty on my Egyptology from the period of the Old Kingdom so I don't know how historically accurate the setting was but nothing felt "off" or threw me completely out of the story, which in my mind makes it a success. I'm not always a stickler for historical accuracy as long as the story and characters are there. YMMV.
Was it perfect? No but few books are. I would have liked the female characters to be more compelling. Diane particularly seemed mostly a foil for Brian and fell flat for me. The pacing and flow were good throughout but there were a few points which I felt were a bit overwritten. There's a dramatic moment about mid-way through the book that would have benefited from being the end of the chapter - one of those hit the reader with the reveal, cymbals crash, bum dum dum, next chapter. Instead there were several more paragraphs with the POV that left the moment of impact lessened, at least to me. Luckily neither the occasional pacing issue or the few spelling and grammar errors threw me out of the story. And let's face it, that is how I judge whether I liked a book or not - was I able to maintain suspension of disbelief or was did it snap?
So, in summary, I liked it quite a bit. I look forward to reading more by Jerry Dubs and hope there is a sequel one day.
*disclaimer - Jerry Dubs left a comment on my previous post mentioning Imhotep. This in no way influenced my opinion of the work, it just reminded me that I hadn't written a review.
Now if you'll excuse me I think its time for a nap.