Gardens of the Moon

   This is the first novel in Erikson's Malazon series.  Some people really like these books-- but I'm not one of them.  This first book was so poorly written and unfocused that I gave up on the series.

 There are lots of characters in this book.  Erikson never describes much of anything about them.  They just appear, and start doing stuff.  Then they disappear for 100 pages, then they reappear, then they suddenly die.  That's pretty much how this book goes.

 Additionally the prose can be painful, this is not lyrical, and repeated words and phrases within just a few lines are common--this drove me crazy! A good editor should have caught and fixed shit like this.

 Some people say the later books are better, and that Erikson's writing improves.  I haven't bothered to test these claims yet, and I'm not sure if I ever will..

 Anyway, this book is not worth reading, perhaps the sequels are, but this one is absolutely not.  It reads like a D&D campaign, and as such has about as much depth.


7/10

Brothers in Arms

 Miles clone is introduced here.  Fairly dull book aside from that.  This is the last dull book before shit gets good for quite awhile.

7.4/10

Ethan of Athos

 A side quest dealing with a planet that only has men; they use artificial wombs to procreate.  Their wombs are dying and they need new ones.

 Average.

7.5/10

The Warrior's Apprentice

 This is the first Miles focused novel in the Vorkosigan saga, it starts pretty good, then gets somewhat silly.

  Miles forms his mercenary fleet through sheer blundering.

 A fairly light read, enjoyable, but by no means the best of the Miles books(nor the worst).

7.9

1984

Everyone seems to know of 1984 by George Orwell, considered a class of science fiction by people who don't actually read science fiction.

 It may well have been influential, but I don't believe a book should be rated by how influential it was, but by how it holds up for the purpose of-- you know.. reading.  And this one just doesn't hold up that well.

 We find ourself in a dystopia future with 'Big Brother' watching, and where everyone is frightened little mouse.  These ideas may have been what cemented its fame, but they've been reused by so many other since(and better), that they don't have much impact anymore.

It doesn't have much of a plot, a man and women get together, get in trouble, and get disappeared.

 The characters are rubbish, Orwell makes almost no attempt to make you give a shit if they live or die.

  One of those books people read so they can say they read it, but nobody really considers it their favorite book(unless they just don't read much).

 7.0/10

Perdido Street Station

 China Mieville drew much attention with Perdido Street Station, and it is a very visually imaginative novel-- if somewhat lackluster in plot and characterization.

 Mieville apparently should have been a 3D modeler, or painter, because he is very talented at imagining and describing creative monsters, and locations.  Here he constructs New Crobuzen, a filth ridden city, in a rotten world.

 We meet a bird man who wants to fly again,  an inventor who agrees to help him, and some girl with a scarab for a face.  Soon monsters are popping out, and the plot weaves through the city, from one monster to the next.

 I cannot say  I loved that book, as seems to be the case for some.  While the description of the monsters and whatnot was often clever and unique, this doesn't excuse the lack of characterization and the limp plot.

7.7/10

Speakers for the Dead

 Speakers for the Dead Card is Card's follow up to Ender's Game, and while it also claimed various awards, for me this is where the series heads downhill.

 Notably, this book is absolutely nothing like Ender's Game, the setting is a remote alien planet that humans have begun colonizing, and Ender himself is now and adult, and bears little resemblance to the character from the first novel.

 The plot involves lots of uninteresting religious-style babble, some weird trees, and a weak Ender unable to cope with what he did in the war(despite having no knowledge of it..).

 There are more sequels after this one, but their quality is takes an ever steeper dive-- too be avoided.

7.4/10

Warbreaker

Warbreaker is a standalone novel by Brandon Sanderson, and it reads much like his previous standalone, Elantris.

The novel follows two sisters, the younger sent as a hostage queen to marry the "God King", the older
sets out on her own to save her sister.

There is also a third POV character, a minor god in the God Kings court, who doesn't think much of his role as a god.

Sanderson constructs another unique magic system(as he seems to enjoy doing), this time based on color and 'breathes'.  Each person is born with a single 'breath', which can be transferred to others.  The more breaths you have the more powerful you are.

 Although this novel was released recently, it felt like something of a step back in regards to the quality of Sanderson's storytelling. I believe this story was originally written years ago, and only recently published, perhaps it just didn't receive as much of a rewrite/cleanup as some of his others have had.

  Some of the dialog feels forced, especially in the early portions with the older sister after she arrives in the city to save her sister.

 I did enjoy the book, but it is not Sanderson's best work, actually this is probably the least of his novels, so if you want to try Sanderson start with Mistborn or "The Way of Kings".

7.3/10