2013 05 13 Monday

A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)

A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)

So far my favorite book in the series. No punches were pulled and I am grateful for that. At first I absolutely hated certain things that happen in this book. Not because the actions were unbelievable or didn’t make sense within the storyline, but because I’d grown to really like certain characters and didn’t want “bad things” to happen to them. And lots of “bad things” do happen. To everybody. But that seems to be the theme with each of the books so far, right?

A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)

A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)

This was the book that really sealed it for me that things were happening in the story’s world that were immensely bigger than what was being portrayed, that Martin had only just begun to scratch the surface of what was really going on with the story.

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)

As I’m writing this I’m about a third of the way through A Feast for Crows, book 4 out of a planned 7 in the series. Wow. So far this series has everything I loved about Lord of the Rings when I was a kid, but is written for adults. The story is epic, with the book portraying that even though the scale of the story being told is massive, things are happening in the world that are much larger. Love it.

Wonder

Wonder

Clearing out my Goodreads “currently reading” list, this was read a long time ago. Kel and I alternated reading this to the kids and the whole family loved it. A very touching story about “an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face”, with characters that are very believable. The author does a great job switching perspectives between characters and giving their insight a voice.

Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It

Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It

Clearing out my Goodreads “currently reading” list, this was read a long time ago. Another that Kel and I switched off reading to the kids. I really enjoyed reading this and looked forward to when it was my turn to read to the kids. Brendan has some really big questions in his life and I thought the book did an excellent job in portraying them.

2012 12 16 Sunday

Play Unsafe

Play Unsafe

A meta book on role-playing games and game-play.

Though very short, I was able to read it in an evening, the advice given is excellent, practical, and geared towards both players and GMs. Though some of the advice might seem like standard game play technique to some players/GMs, a lot of this was new to me and very eye-opening. I really liked this book, and can see myself re-reading certain sections in the future.

2012 06 06 Wednesday

Dead Beat (The Dresden Files, #7)

Dead Beat (The Dresden Files, #7)

Another good story in the series. I really liked the tension and horror built up in the first part of the book. So far the stories that center around Halloween / the dead have been some of my favorites.

2012 05 30 Wednesday

Blood Rites (The Dresden Files, #6)

Blood Rites (The Dresden Files, #6)

Liked it. Yeah, it's more of the same but all that means is that it's another really fun read. The world Jim Butcher has created is really interesting and each books adds a ton more detail. I'm hooked.

Amulet, Book 4: The Last Council

Amulet, Book 4: The Last Council

Bought this on free comic book day, the girls and I we're excited to see the shop had a copy. The two oldest and I have been reading this series and are loving it.

Although this book does push forward the main plot line, it also opened up a few new significant threads and I'm beginning to wonder how many books the series is going to have. I had been thinking either five or six, but after reading this volume I felt the story was even farther from closure. I'm thinking ten books with a high probability of more... We'll see. I am really enjoying the story though, I'm just hoping all these loose story lines come back together.

2012 05 19 Saturday

Dungeon Masters Guide(Advanced Dungeons and Dragons)

Dungeon Masters Guide(Advanced Dungeons and Dragons)

This is thick, though not necessarily physically so: very small type written in language that is very hard to read linearly. That said, this tome is absolutely FILLED with bits of gaming wisdom.

I've never actually been able to pick this up and read it from start to finish due to the dry, rambling language used. I've skimmed through it though more times than I can count, going over some sections more than others.

This combination of reading difficulty mixed with my only being able to skim the material has given the book an almost magical quality: I've found that I can pretty reliably pick the book up, open it to a section I'm interested in reading about, and be almost assured that I'll read something I haven't read before (or don't remember reading). Quite frequently this "new" section will have some pearl of wisdom embedded in it that I've never seen before. I'd swear Gygax somehow cast a spell on the book ("Book of Infinite Wisdom"?).

Also, the Appendices are a gold mine. TONS of tables mixed with information that any fan of these types of games would love (Appendix N, looking at you).

I easily rate this 5 stars as a book that I love and hold dear. But as a gaming reference I find this a bit harder to rate. I know I could bookmark the sections I need to know, but part of the charm of playing this version of D&D is in how loose it plays. Why bother then?

2012 05 02 Wednesday

Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)

Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)

I've been meaning to read this for years now, having heard so many great things about it.

Ender's Game has been really hard for me to rate. I thought the story was good, a classic sci-fi war novel with a great moral. I liked the characters as they were very believable (for the most part). The science was interesting and I enjoyed that they left most to the imagination. The action was also portrayed well. All that said, nothing really stands out as being "exceptional" when I think back on it. Really good, yes, but not exceptional. Maybe I've been spoiled by more recent sci-fi/fantasy (Old Man's War, Hunger Games).

Overall a good sci-fi story and a fun ride. Liked it.

The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes

The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes

I finished this awhile ago but haven't had time to write a review.

I really liked this and wished I would have read it sooner (Kel is a fan and told me to read it years ago). A lot trippier than I thought it'd be, the story follows Morpheus, otherwise known as "Dream" or "The Sandman", as he's accidently imprisoned by a sorceror attempting to capture Death. With Dream imprisoned, humanity's sanity begins to suffer...

I thought the story got a lot better as it went on, with the last story being especially awesome (the story with Death). I was also very surprised that these stories take place in the same "universe" as both John Constantine and the Justice League (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc.).

I really like this world/character that Gaiman has created and am looking forward to reading more.

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 (Mouse Guard, #1)

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 (Mouse Guard, #1)

Went to the library with the girls and picked this up on a whim.

I had heard good things about this series and I wasn't dissapointed. This is a great fantasy story that can be read by kids and yet still has a very gritty feel to it that keeps the story very tense.

It is very obvious that the author has put considerable time thinking about the different aspects of a mouse's life in this world. This world, though no different from our own beyond anthropomorphic animals, is very dangerous for mice. The book does a fantastic job of conveying a sense that danger lurks around every corner.

Although the art does an excellent job in helping to give the world a gritty feeling, there were several times I found it really hard to distinguish between certain mice. That said, each mouse has a ton of character making me both grow attached to each and causing the story to become that much more tense as they're constantly threatened.

The author has crafted an incredible little world for these mice to live in. Great book.

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