Archive for the ‘Book reviews’ Category
Just reviewed Kevin Sorbo’s autobiography TRUE STRENGTH at SBR
Folks, if you haven’t read Kevin Sorbo’s autobiography TRUE STRENGTH: My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal and How Nearly Dying Saved My Life (co-written with his wife, Sam Sorbo), you really should. It’s an excellent memoir, well written, well-thought out, and has enough Hollywood “names” dropped to please any fan. Yet the real purpose of this book is never obscured; as the subtitle says, Sorbo had to deal with a major medical crisis and he nearly died due to many blood clots in one of his arms. During this time, he also found out that he’d suffered three strokes.
And this didn’t happen at a particularly good time, either — not that life-threatening illnesses ever do, mind — because Sorbo was at the height of his fame. He was starring on the TV show Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. And he well knew that in Hollywood, fame can be quite fleeting; due to this illness, he had to turn down at least one movie role (a lead role, at that), which just made his overall feelings of helplessness even worse.
Sorbo had no idea if he’d recover or not when all this happened. It was kept very quiet, just how ill he was, and his doctors didn’t have any idea how to help him once his initial arm problems were fixed. So he suffered as anyone who’d nearly died would suffer — he dealt with despair. Depression. Feelings of worthlessness. And as he’d not been with Sam all that long when the health crisis happened, he had to be concerned that she’d maybe not want to stay with him, too.
The upshot of Sorbo’s tale is that he got in touch with the Higher Power. He learned to enjoy his family, his faith, his friends, and value them above his work — because no matter how enjoyable (or lucrative) his TV series was, he was still going to be there at the end of his, providing he survived in the first place. (That’s why he subtitled the book the way he did.)
The way this book is written is refreshing; Sorbo is candid but in a way that doesn’t reveal as much as it seems. His wife, Sam, reveals more in the passages she wrote — what she was thinking at the time, what she noticed about her soon-to-be-husband, and the fact that living through this with him was important to them both.
This is an excellent book, so even if you hate Hollywood and couldn’t stand either of Kevin Sorbo’s TV series (as he also was in Andromeda), you should read it. The quality of the writing is outstanding, as is the craftsmanship. And the overall message — that it’s people who are important, not things (even “things” such as your own profession) — needs to be stated far more often.
Here’s the link to my review:
Have at!
Just Reviewed two “Wheel of Time” books at SBR
Folks, I reviewed THE GATHERING STORM and TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT, both written by Robert Jordan (and continued by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan’s death in 2007) this evening at Shiny Book Review.
Take a gander:
Here’s the upshot: Sanderson writes very well. I enjoyed what he did, and think he did an excellent job — I know how hard this is because I’m trying to finish Michael’s novels and he wrote in a completely different style from me. (When he helped me with my novel, ELFY, Michael wrote in my style. Writing in Michael’s style is much tougher for me than Michael writing in mine was for him, apparently, as it doesn’t come naturally. I leave it up to the reader as to whether or not Michael was more advanced as a writer/editor at the time of his death, though I know I think he was.)
Both books are good. I liked TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT better. I think that book was more humane and made more sense. But both are good and if you’ve read the previous eleven books in the WoT series, you will enjoy them. (But if you haven’t, please go out and read the first eleven or you will be hopelessly lost.)
Just Reviewed “Beauty and the Werewolf” at SBR
Folks, if you’re looking for a fun, fast romantic fantasy that loves turning “the Tradition” of fairy tales on its ear, you will really enjoy Mercedes Lackey’s BEAUTY AND THE WEREWOLF. Here’s the link to my review:
Now, as to what else to say about it? Well, I loved the characterization, and I appreciated how the plot enhanced this rather than the reverse. That the characterization flowed out naturally and that the romance was an extremely believable one (where the two characters had to get to know each other as friends, first, and only then did they realize they were attracted to one another) was just an added bonus.
Very good story. Enjoyable plot. A good way to spend two or three hours. And I would gladly re-read this one again, which is why I gave it an A-. (There are a few things I would’ve liked to see here that I didn’t, mostly having to do with the bad-guy character, Eric. But they were minor quibbles, at most.)
Enjoy the review!
Just Reviewed “The Spiritual Brain” at SBR
Folks, I was impressed with Mario Beauregard and Denyse O’Leary’s THE SPIRITUAL BRAIN: A NONMATERIALIST’S LOOK AT NEUROSCIENCE. Authors Beauregard (the neuroscientist) and O’Leary (the journalist) have created an engaging, thought-provoking book that deals with what they call RSMEs — Religious, Mystical, and/or Spiritual Experiences. They also excoriate promissory materialism and all its works, and point out that many scientists, not to put too fine a point on it, worship at the altar of Science — leaving much room for doubt with regards to their worldview completely out.
Anyway, here’s a link for y’all:
Have at!
Just Reviewed “Scandal of the Year” at SBR
Folks, it’s Saturday, so that means I’ve reviewed a romance. Tonight’s book was Olivia Drake’s SCANDAL OF THE YEAR, which I found to be a rather pedestrian Regency romance that was only livened up by the vivid descriptive powers of Ms. Drake.
Here’s the link to my review:
Enjoy!
Just reviewed “Spell Bound” at SBR
Folks, I just reviewed Kelley Armstrong’s urban fantasy SPELL BOUND at Shiny Book Review . . . here’s a link:
http://shinybookreview.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/kelley-armstrongs-spell-bound-a-quick-fun-read/
I enjoyed this book a great deal. It’s a fast read, it’s fun, there’s a lot of action and suspense, but the best part about it is how deftly Ms. Armstrong gets in heroine Savannah Levine’s struggles once she loses her power (Savannah’s a witch with demon blood and has been used to being uncommonly powerful). The “hero’s journey” aspect is done very well, and I appreciated it; that it’s often funny in a sarcastic way appealed to me, especially at this time in my life.
While SPELL BOUND isn’t a perfect book, it’s still a very good book from a very fine writer; I enjoyed it immensely. Go read my review, then if you’re in the mood for an urban fantasy with werewolves, vampires, demons, and more, give SPELL BOUND a try. (You’ll be glad you did.)
Just reviewed Three Pernese Novels for SBR
Folks, I reviewed Dragonheart, Dragongirl, and Dragon’s Time — the first two by Todd J. McCaffrey (né Johnson) and the third by Todd J. McCaffrey and Anne McCaffrey — just now at SBR.
Here’s the link:
As it says . . . I found these novels to be competent. The middle one, Dragongirl, had a few moments where I really liked it but others I just couldn’t stand. All three of these novels received relatively low marks from me, the last one (Dragon’s Time) getting a B-.
I’m aware of how difficult it is to write in someone else’s universe as I’m trying to finish my late husband Michael’s work and he doesn’t write much like me at all. Plus, I’ve read the Brandon Sanderson-finished “Wheel of Time” books — so far, there are two out, with one more due next year — and have them on the list at Shiny Book Review (SBR) to be reviewed in coming days.
So saying something is competent isn’t a slap at Todd McCaffrey in the slightest; what I’m mostly saying is that there’s not much life to the writing, and that I didn’t get engrossed in the stories. Someone else probably will feel differently than I do as reviewing is always a highly subjective art; also, even though I do feel sympathy and understanding to a degree with regards to Mr. McCaffrey (by the way, Anne McCaffrey and I are no relation whatsoever, not even through marriage; my late husband Michael used to say he wanted to have her career, though), I can only review the book that’s in front of me. Which is exactly what I did.
So, should you read these three books? If you enjoy the “Dragonriders of Pern” series (these being the twenty-second, twenty-third, and twenty-fourth novels in the series), you’ve probably already picked them up. But if you haven’t read any of them, I’d skip these and read the original trilogy instead — that’s Dragonflight, Dragonquest, and The White Dragon, all by Anne McCaffrey.
Just Reviewed Julia Quinn’s “Just Like Heaven” at SBR
Folks, if you like historical romances with farcical elements, you will enjoy JUST LIKE HEAVEN by Julia Quinn. I called it “solid, funny, and smart” in my review, which was just posted at Shiny Book Review . . . anyway, please go to this link:
http://shinybookreview.wordpress.com/2011/11/05/julia-quinns-just-like-heaven-solid-funny-and-smart/
Enjoy!
Just Reviewed Martin’s “A Dance with Dragons” at SBR
As the post says . . . I just reviewed George R.R. Martin’s A DANCE WITH DRAGONS at Shiny Book Review. My capsule review is as follows: nearly as good as the first three books in his SOIAF cycle, much better than the fourth book, A FEAST FOR CROWS.
Have at!
Just Reviewed Martin’s “A Feast for Crows” for SBR
Folks, I thought George R. R. Martin’s A FEAST FOR CROWS wasn’t up to the standard of his other novels in his Song of Ice and Fire series, and said so just now at Shiny Book Review.
Here’s the link:
Have at!
Barb Caffrey's Blog 