dannilmp's reviews
70 reviews

Children of Dune by Frank Herbert

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The third installment in the Dune series, and once again we start off with a sizeable time skip from the last events of Dune Messiah. The focus has shifted from Paul and his psychic abilities to his two children and their psychic abilities compared to their aunts capabilities. Once again this book involves another struggle for the Atredies to try and keep the throne from other families hands. 

This series is starting to feel as though its dragging its heels now, I'm not sure we needed a third installment at all? It seems the character writing becomes sloppier the more books we progress through. If I'm being honest, I don't like either of the twins characters and this is not something that will change over the course of the rest of the series I'm sure. There was nothing really that captivated me about Children of Dune and I'll only be continuing the series because there's nothing worse than leaving a series half read.

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Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

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adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book felt like a breath of fresh air compared to the long haul that Dune felt. Dune Messiah felt like a completely different novel with a whole new cast of characters. Following a large time skip from the final events of the previous book, here we see the fallout of Leto I's actions of the first book. Boy are they some severe consequences! In this section of the story, he will try to please everyone before making a final choice on who his actions will save. 

Of all the books in the series, this one didn't stick out much to me so it's hard to think of anything I actually enjoyed while reading it as I write this review months after I finished the novel. Watching the plot against Leto unfold was quite interesting, due to Leto's character I didn't think they would be able to plot anything against him at all without him being able to detect and ruin it.

Sometimes, the writing in this book was not great, especially when it came to Leto I starting to monologue on certain mundane things. I know he has all these great powers now but, it seemed to me that he just enjoyed hearing the sound of his own voice by trying to philosophise all these little things. That or he just really didn't like talking to some people and wanted to bore them to sleep?

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Dune by Frank Herbert

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adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

While my rating of Dune isn't that high, I must admit that for a piece of sci-fi written so long ago this book certainly holds itself up well and through the test of time. Here we follow a complicated game of politics across multiple planets and factions while a young boy and his mother are just trying to survive Arrakis' harsh climate. 

The world building in this novel is superb, the politics, religion, factions, and planets are very well fleshed out and don't leave you wanting for much more information. If you have all of your wits about you when you start this book then I think you'll be able to keep up with the plot quite well. The touch of the passages from different sources before each chapter was a good addition as at times they revealed more than the reader yet knew, so it really got me thinking about certain characters or plot points throughout. 

On the other hand, I felt like the characters themselves were not given as much attention as the world around them, they felt very flat in comparision. At times I would have to re-read certain parts of the text to see if I had understood something and even then there were times I don't believe I had a full understanding, especially when it came to the politics plot points. So while the story and world were good, I think this book fell slightly on the delivery of those points. 

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Carrie by Stephen King

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

For the start of my reading Stephen King in the order it was published TBR, Carrie is an excellent start. Here we follow a young girl through her most traumatic years (teenage years!) as she struggles both to fit in at school and at home while battling what she doesn't yet know to be her latent psychic abilities. Will she learn to control them or will they control her?

For being only a novella length book, Carrie really packs a punch in such a short number of pages. The use of mixed media from excepts, transcripts and newspaper clippings was a nice touch. Introduced before the reader has too much knowledge which helps to keep you on your toes just wondering how such catastrophic events come to be toward the end of the book. I am so glad that King's wife made him finish writing this novella. 

Bullying is a topic close to my heart so I must admit some scenes made me quite uncomfortable but this didn't stop me from finishing the book. But boy, King sure does love his
child murder
doesn't he?

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'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

You would think a novel with Salem in it's title would be about witches, but here you would be very wrong. A refreshing vampire read compared to the novels I grew up with during my teenage years (looking at you Twilight, vampire academy and the Morganville Vampire series). King takes what should be a dark topic and makes it even more so. We follow a young man recovering from personal loss as he ventures back to the town he once spent time in as a child. Except now new men have moved in and the mood has certainly changed.

It is King's ability to write a good atmospheric horror setting that makes me enjoy all of his work so much, the descriptions of the vampires, of their creation, their impact on the town and the rest of the living is so stomach churning,
especially the description of the smells these vampires leave behind
Honestly I think the priest was one of my favoutire characters for this novel. 

I must say I wasn't a fan of the epilogue section of the novel, I thought this dragged out, didn't really add much more to the story but also didn't help to make the ending of the novel any clearer. In fact I think the epilogue muddied the experience and put me off of any ideas of a re-read any time soon. 

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A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I put off reading these books for a long time as I didn't think they would be of any interest for me. Boy was I wrong. While the writing in A Game of Thrones may be misogynistic, uneccesarily violent and gory, involve far too may assult scenes of all kinds, I still enjoyed this novel and the setting of the world. 

I think it's the otherworldy mysteries of Beyond the Wall and dragons and remnants of magic that mostly kept me interested in this book. Had it been just a plain world setting as the backdrop I would have put this book down long before the last pages. I enjoyed following through the different perspectives of all the characters and almost getting a dragon's eye view of the entire world rather than just one small section. 

On the other hand, the writing is very dark at times, uneccesarily so and involves far more rape, murder and pillaging that I think is ever needed in any series. But it does convey such a sense of darkness to the world and ensures the reader is fully aware that this will not, in any way shape or form, be a happy world. 

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The Shining by Stephen King

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What I have always come to think of as a Stephen King classic, The Shining does not disappoint as a gripping, terrifying novel. Here we join the Torrence family as they move to an isolated hotel during the winter season while Jack works as the caretaker. In typical King fashion, things start to go wrong and Jack begins to change while Danny is left to deal with his own developing psychic capabilities.

While I didn't like Jack Torrence's character, I must commend King on being able to write a character that I hate but love at the same time? Jack's character is very well written and watching his descent into madness while caring for the hotel made shivers crawl down my spine. Certain scenes made me put the book down to process, including both the bathtub scene and
the scene where Jack still drags himself around despite his stab wound
I haven't read many King books yet but I feel like the ending to The Shining was actually sort of pleasant compared to other books that I have read. 

I don't think Wendy got enough character development, or at least she seemed like the least important member of the family during their stay. I still think she was well written regardless, but I would have liked to have seen some of the supernatural in her as well as the boys. 

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The Appeal by Janice Hallett

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challenging mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Do you like to combine your love for reading with cluedo? Well then this is certainly a book you'll be interested in. A typical whodunit type of story where the stakes are making sure an innocent is released from prison while the guilty pay the price for murder. 

I really enjoyed getting involved with this book and taking the time between sections to review the facts and try to deduce the case. Taking breaks is made a little easier as the whole book is told through texts, emails, phone records and the like. I must admit I hadn't gotten the murderer right so I was still suprised when all the case wrapped up and I had been completely lead astray by red herrings!

While both the book and the experience were highly enjoyable, my reasoning for the lower star rating is the fact that I cannot see myself reading the book again now that I know the answers to the questions. Maybe if I re-read it I could see where I had gotten my facts wrong the previous time or maybe retrospectively I could put more clues together. I may re-read it one day but it certainly won't be any time soon. 

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Fragile Things: Short Fictions & Wonders by Neil Gaiman

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adventurous dark relaxing tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I don't typically read anthologies and even when I do its only a select few stories that stay with me. Such was the case with Fragile Things. Neil Gaiman's story writing capabilities are impecable and even though there were some short stories that I didn't really enjoy, I could still appreciate the craft work. It's brilliant that these stories are so far removed from one another but they contain so much depth in such short prose.

My favourite story from this collection is the one where the months of the year are telling stories to one another. There was just something so other worldy about it that it just captivated me. I loved the way it wasn't entirely clear cut at the end and there was some thought to be had about the ending itself. The problem with Susan was another good one, mainly because I have always loved the Narnia series and I think Neil's short story was a fitting addition to the tale. 

There were a few poems in this collection and while I did read through them, I don't think I fully appreciated them as poetry isn't really my thing. But they did serve as a nice little break between longer pieces. I would recommend this book if you prefer reading in short bursts as you can take the time to put the book down and digest whatever hellish concept you've just finished reading. 

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The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

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hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I gave this a try as it came as a recomendation from someone a long time ago and I just hadn't gotten round to it yet after all those years. It is not usually my style of read but I felt myself flying through the pages and really eager to continue the series. It certainly serves as a nice refreshing break from some of the darker themed books that I like to read. I am in love with all of the characters and I just want to see them do well and achieve their own goals. I loved learning more about African culture and mannerisms and community interactions.