Wednesday Reading Meme
What I Just Finished Reading: 3 books this week: The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher, The Harvest by Scott Nicholson, and Vanguard by Ann Aguirre. Reviews below.
What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm about 3/4 through How To Sell A Haunted House by Grady Hendrix, and really enjoying it.
What I'm Planning to Read Next: I listed my five remaining library books for the "Give Me Five" pick at Goodreads Challenge Factory, but so far no one has picked. So I'm waiting to see, and will probably just go with the one with the nearest due date if it's not picked in time (which should be A Conjuring of Light by VE Schwab.)
38. The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher
The conclusion to Clockwork Boys was a smidge disappointing. Don’t get me wrong; it was still an enjoyable romp. The banter between the main characters was fun and in character. I really liked learning more about gnole society - those little badger-like creatures are wiser than most humans.
The disappointment came more from the conclusion. It just felt… not unfinished, but almost a sort of handwave, a “I can’t come up with anything better so this will do,” kind of thing. I was expecting a big payoff and got let down.
Overall I really enjoyed the book, but I just wish it had a bigger Oomph at the end.
Dates Read: April 02 to 04, 2024
Page Count: 370
4 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges 74 Letters - February U - 8 in publication year [2018] (38/74)
+ Around the Year in 52 Books 26 - author who uses initials (38/52)
39. The Harvest By Scott Nicholson
Though this was published in 2003, it reads like something out of the ‘70s or ‘80s: a mountainous cast of characters who we barely get to know before they are overcome by the Big Bad, in this case a sort of toxic amoeba-sized space invader who sends out tendrils that infect people and then they become sort of swampy tree-sap people who quickly liquify (so really, not so good as an infectious method?)
Nevertheless, they make inroads in this cliched, backwater Appalachian town populated by tobacco chewin’ good ol boys and a lust-filled preacher. In fact, there’s not a single character to actually LIKE, with the possible exception of the teacher who just moved to town. And even her character is bogged down by the unnecessary addition of badly-described premonitions that make her sound like a teenager.
Probably should have given this only 1 star.
Dates Read: April 04 to 07, 2024
Page Count: 384
2 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges 74 Letters - April A - set in spring (39/74)
+ Around the Year in 52 Books 36 - featuring a character in education (39/52)
40. Vanguard by Ann Aguirre
Author Aguirre decided to take up the Razorland series one more time for a final book, this one focusing on Tegan, the former captive turned trainee doctor. The book gets a bit of a rough start because, frankly, none of the main characters, sans Szorak, the vanguard of the title, are particularly likable. Tegan is prickly and filled with anger that she hides behind a superficially pleasant exterior, and though she’s certainly been through a lot and has her reasons for hiding away her real feelings, that doesn’t make her any easier to deal with. Morrow spends his time inexplicably mooning over Tegan, and a new character spends HER time mooning over Morrow.
Through it all, Szorak, one of the enlightened People who have just ended hostilities with the humans, is a complete badass. And when he and Tegan are trapped together, they bring out the best in each other and love blooms. This part of the story was written soooooo well and I could completely see how they grew to be so fond of each other. They each end up making sacrifices for the other, and their story made my heart soar and then clench and then soar all over again. A fitting end to the series.
Dates Read: April 07 to 08, 2024
Page Count: 368
4 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges 74 Letters - November V - word with a V in title (40/74)
+ Around the Year in 52 Books 37 - part of a series (40/52)
.
What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm about 3/4 through How To Sell A Haunted House by Grady Hendrix, and really enjoying it.
What I'm Planning to Read Next: I listed my five remaining library books for the "Give Me Five" pick at Goodreads Challenge Factory, but so far no one has picked. So I'm waiting to see, and will probably just go with the one with the nearest due date if it's not picked in time (which should be A Conjuring of Light by VE Schwab.)
38. The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher
The conclusion to Clockwork Boys was a smidge disappointing. Don’t get me wrong; it was still an enjoyable romp. The banter between the main characters was fun and in character. I really liked learning more about gnole society - those little badger-like creatures are wiser than most humans.
The disappointment came more from the conclusion. It just felt… not unfinished, but almost a sort of handwave, a “I can’t come up with anything better so this will do,” kind of thing. I was expecting a big payoff and got let down.
Overall I really enjoyed the book, but I just wish it had a bigger Oomph at the end.
Dates Read: April 02 to 04, 2024
Page Count: 370
4 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges 74 Letters - February U - 8 in publication year [2018] (38/74)
+ Around the Year in 52 Books 26 - author who uses initials (38/52)
39. The Harvest By Scott Nicholson
Though this was published in 2003, it reads like something out of the ‘70s or ‘80s: a mountainous cast of characters who we barely get to know before they are overcome by the Big Bad, in this case a sort of toxic amoeba-sized space invader who sends out tendrils that infect people and then they become sort of swampy tree-sap people who quickly liquify (so really, not so good as an infectious method?)
Nevertheless, they make inroads in this cliched, backwater Appalachian town populated by tobacco chewin’ good ol boys and a lust-filled preacher. In fact, there’s not a single character to actually LIKE, with the possible exception of the teacher who just moved to town. And even her character is bogged down by the unnecessary addition of badly-described premonitions that make her sound like a teenager.
Probably should have given this only 1 star.
Dates Read: April 04 to 07, 2024
Page Count: 384
2 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges 74 Letters - April A - set in spring (39/74)
+ Around the Year in 52 Books 36 - featuring a character in education (39/52)
40. Vanguard by Ann Aguirre
Author Aguirre decided to take up the Razorland series one more time for a final book, this one focusing on Tegan, the former captive turned trainee doctor. The book gets a bit of a rough start because, frankly, none of the main characters, sans Szorak, the vanguard of the title, are particularly likable. Tegan is prickly and filled with anger that she hides behind a superficially pleasant exterior, and though she’s certainly been through a lot and has her reasons for hiding away her real feelings, that doesn’t make her any easier to deal with. Morrow spends his time inexplicably mooning over Tegan, and a new character spends HER time mooning over Morrow.
Through it all, Szorak, one of the enlightened People who have just ended hostilities with the humans, is a complete badass. And when he and Tegan are trapped together, they bring out the best in each other and love blooms. This part of the story was written soooooo well and I could completely see how they grew to be so fond of each other. They each end up making sacrifices for the other, and their story made my heart soar and then clench and then soar all over again. A fitting end to the series.
Dates Read: April 07 to 08, 2024
Page Count: 368
4 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges 74 Letters - November V - word with a V in title (40/74)
+ Around the Year in 52 Books 37 - part of a series (40/52)
.