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4 | Hard for me to say much, I purchased this as a gift. | I purchased this as a gift for a friend. They have said they loved the series, but that's about all I can say, I never tried reading it. | [] | B0711L16QC | B0711L16QC | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,515,521,479,533 | 0 | true |
3 | Too many dangling plot threads. | It could have been a contender for my best book of the year, but then it seemingly descended into a weird maze of convoluted motives and intrigues. The demons in this story just didn't seem to have a real presence in the tale. They existed and did a ton of real harm, but their connection to the characters was a bit t... | [] | B06ZZX3VDB | B06ZZX3VDB | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,513,011,869,154 | 0 | true |
4 | Improvement over recent books in the series | This book continues R.J. Ross's long running "Cape High" series. I won't say its in the top 3 for the series, its not that good of a book.<br /><br />However, it is a very solid book and one of the better recent ones. R.J. Narrows the focus of the story nicely, which allowed the characters and plot to develop... | [] | B077NMXW17 | B077NMXW17 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,511,817,330,892 | 0 | true |
3 | Weak. Very, very weak. | Wow. The author had an interesting idea where he had an elderly man pass away, but almost immediately reincarnate as a tiny blond haired faerie with all of his memories from his old life.<br /><br />It was an idea with a ton of potential. And yet, I can completely understand the poor grades this story has received.<b... | [] | B01NC3KRUW | B01NC3KRUW | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,506,102,247,428 | 2 | true |
1 | It wasn't for me. | I'm not sure how many times I'll try to get through this book. I've made 4 attempts and the writing has turned me off each time. I can't get through the beginning to see if there is enough plot to entertain me.<br /><br />That's about all I can say. I don't like the main character, I can't get into the tale. It jus... | [] | B01CO4B14I | B01CO4B14I | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,505,419,574,740 | 0 | true |
4 | Book 2 is the strongest, but this tale ended well. | Well, Benjamin definitely backslid quite a bit in this book. My review for book 2 said that the story was excellent when Benjamin focused on Phynis and Sistina and got away from all of the side plots he was spinning.<br /><br />Here we do get to see most of those sideplots come to fruition. The problem is that we als... | [] | B073RZXD8W | B073RZXD8W | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,503,018,070,589 | 2 | true |
4 | Mixed bag of short stories that delivers enough good tales. | This book is a bit of a mixed bag, a bit like the villains who received page time.<br /><br />The title notes it is "a side story" its actually several side stories each one staring a different villain from the Cape High world. This includes lovable favorites like Skyestep and new ones like Reaper.<br /><br /... | [] | B074G3M4XG | B074G3M4XG | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,503,017,765,982 | 0 | true |
4 | A great sequel | The strange foundation of this world where everyone is a dragon who might live for centuries, but spends their youth mostly in the body of a human, only transforming to cast magic or fly is definitely interesting. The characters are well done, even the newest member of the Misfit's club.<br /><br />Niall even keeps th... | [] | B073YHWGJB | B073YHWGJB | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,501,793,427,925 | 0 | true |
3 | Too many characters thinned the tale. | Oh, a school for super-powered kids, but this time written from the point of view of one of the teachers/assistant principal. THis has so much potential.<br /><br />At least that's what I thought. Sadly, it didn't work out that way. Template here never manages to bring back the magic from the first book, and the rot... | [] | B073SLF4G4 | B073SLF4G4 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,501,793,076,514 | 1 | true |
4 | Good first book with silly stuff tacked on. | I'll be honest, this story has one problem and its the fact that a nominally male super-powered being decides to fight crime as a woman. It is explained, but it ends up feeling more than a bit forced to me.<br /><br />The funny thing is everything else is surprisingly well thought out. The characters are detailed and... | [] | B071P98J9H | B071P98J9H | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,501,792,635,548 | 1 | true |
2 | Too depressing to be enjoyable. | I don't know what to say.<br /><br />The description suggested that this would be a good coming of age tale of a human girl ripped from her parents and taken to a fantasy world where there are mechanical fighting machines that resemble dragons.<br /><br />That might have been interesting.<br /><br />Instead we are subj... | [] | B01E6HYNGE | B01E6HYNGE | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,499,803,597,567 | 35 | true |
3 | It did more than books 6 and 7, but still not great. | They moved!<br /><br />Ok, after more than two books where so many calamities were inflicted on Daniel and his companions I shouldn't be happy that they started moving again, but for me that was the first thing I noticed. A tale that seemed to have them trapped near the home of the Giant Butterflies finally starts mov... | [] | 1519092210 | 1519092210 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,497,297,787,475 | 0 | true |
3 | Lots of words, but no payoff. | The story switched away from the darkness that permeated the appearance of Gemini and the massive battles with various insane monsters that filled much of the plot for the last 2 Acts. Instead we now end up blessed with a story that almost never moves in a book that apparently covers only 1-2 days of time.<br /><br />... | [] | 1519091494 | 1519091494 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,497,295,968,410 | 2 | true |
4 | RJ is not a Hemingway, but here she doesn't need to be. | RJ is becoming a very consistent writer. Her tales are almost too sweet at times, the characters are rarely all that developed, and the action tends to be thinner than it should be.<br /><br />And yet, I enjoy her tales enough to give this one a low four star rating. Yes, there are things I don't care for, but this s... | [] | B0714L3P37 | B0714L3P37 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,496,676,197,000 | 1 | true |
4 | Good story when it keeps on Sistina and her people. | I have to say that Benjamin Medrano really impresses me. I started out a bit ambivalent towards this series. The lack of focus on just one part of the world felt like he was forcing too many plot threads together.<br /><br />Now after reading book 2, I still think he's trying a bit too hard to have lots of plot threa... | [] | B06XPVKQQZ | B06XPVKQQZ | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,493,313,033,000 | 7 | true |
2 | Extremely disappointing ending resulted in a negative impression of the whole book. | 2/3 of the way through I was enjoying this tale. it had a few flaws and I felt that it was progressing a bit slowly, but I like Karen Hashimoto, and the rest of the cast was showing signs of development, something that you don't get with every superhero tale.<br /><br />Sadly, while the story was mostly fun, the last ... | [] | B06XQ82L88 | B06XQ82L88 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,493,312,646,000 | 15 | true |
4 | I guess I'll call it a flawed masterpiece. Great in a way, but not always. | I'm going to start this review by noting that I've already read and reviewed book 2, so my review is influenced by my feelings towards the sequel.<br /><br />That said, this book was a wonderful start to a series. The characters aren't presented in a way to allow you to get to know them, but in many cases that was a v... | [] | B00KX8K4ZA | B00KX8K4ZA | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,489,099,035,000 | 3 | true |
3 | A hard tale to like | The "hero" is broken. Even the author admits it through some of the many long soliloquies the hero agonizes through.<br /><br />And that is the problem. Daniel is such a broken and hateful character that it becomes increasingly difficult to be interested in what will happen next.<br /><br />The rest of the ca... | [] | B00XH106SK | B00XH106SK | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,488,924,779,000 | 4 | true |
4 | A great addition to the series. | R.J. seems to have a couple books that I find disappointing, but then manages to put a story together that is impressive and fun. Coyote's Howl falls well into the later category. Lance has not been a major character. She even writes a section about the creation of this book where she admits that he had not planned ... | [] | B06WWMXX1Z | B06WWMXX1Z | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,488,924,129,000 | 0 | true |
3 | Nothing gets resolved in this disjointed multiple point of view tale. | Benjamin has the skill as a writer and the imagination to possibly get a 5 star rating from me. someday. Sadly, this story not only didn't get that lofty score, but issues I had with his narrative style and his inability to stick with one person or even one plot dragged this down to a low three star level.<br /><br />... | [] | B01N6SCHC8 | B01N6SCHC8 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,487,871,842,000 | 2 | true |
4 | A solid tale, told fairly well. | Ah, a heartwarming tale of a former dark sorcery using teenage woman who ends up rescuing a princess, promising never to use black magic again, and has to flee her home because of it.<br /><br />Honestly, this could have been a complete mess, but D.L. Harrison is a good enough writer to keep the tale moving, and the ac... | [] | B00QGA8SNO | B00QGA8SNO | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,486,408,909,000 | 1 | true |
3 | The character was just like the book, mediocre. | I liked the first book in this "series" a bit more. D.L. Harrison has a very interesting idea here, but the nature of the plot really removed a lot of the emotion from the tale. Yes, there is a romance, but it felt like it was overshadowed, but some of the other plot threads.<br /><br />Add in the fact that C... | [] | B01NCQE1VF | B01NCQE1VF | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,486,408,500,000 | 1 | true |
3 | Meh, its a filler-episode was what I thought. | This was just..... meh.<br /><br />Yeah, I'll go with Meh.<br /><br />The sad thing is that I ended up feeling like the title was a complete lie. Yes its about Maximum, the character who in previous books had been a man with a mouth and a smile. He made a great showboat and "villain" in the Cape High world as... | [] | B01MZWNEEO | B01MZWNEEO | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,480,545,372,000 | 2 | true |
3 | Its not the first book is so many ways. | In my opinion this series has really gone downhill from the first book. I think the problem is especially easy to spot here.<br /><br />Ozma has the potential to be a great character, but she's become a bit too much of the "I need something to perform X action" problem solver. Need to find a person, no proble... | [] | B014X6OHDC | B014X6OHDC | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,472,578,521,000 | 1 | true |
3 | Plots are repetitive enough to annoy me. | I hate to write this review, but I feel I have to. R.J. Ross started out writing of an unusual and largely interesting world where heroes and villains worked together to put on a show for the rest of the world while they worked together to stop the true supervillains who endangered everyone.<br /><br />She populated t... | [] | B01JSH8WZA | B01JSH8WZA | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,471,901,828,000 | 1 | true |
4 | Fun read expanding the characters of the Cape High Universe | R.J. originally wrote the majority of this for her blog. The stories are connected by a theme, but overall each one does concentrate on one of the many children who are part of the student body at Cape High. And as the characters have different levels of development, the quality of the stories varies widely depending... | [] | B01FEC6OSK | B01FEC6OSK | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,468,266,471,000 | 1 | true |
4 | A strong series not advanced much by this book. | I've read every book in this series, and this one has few surprises. R.J. Ross is in some ways frighteningly consistent in her action scenes and her seeming need to avoid any truly "Bad" scenes. Even the worst villains in her world are given second and third chances to turn a new leaf.<br /><br />At the same ... | [] | B01C8XFTHK | B01C8XFTHK | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,462,627,482,000 | 0 | true |
3 | Flat story that should/could have been a lot better. | Ex-Heroes did the zombie v superhero tale much better, and this one only compounded the problem by trying to make it an elitest rich ruling class humans v exiled superheroes v zombies mystery with very little action.<br /><br />The lack of action really was the main problem. The character is interesting, but with no a... | [] | B00YO494WI | B00YO494WI | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,439,778,975,000 | 2 | true |
3 | Am I supposed to care? | Missy wrote an interesting tale. The main character is a powerless desk jockey who stumbles into a conspiracy group aiming to expose the heroes failings.<br /><br />It's a great idea. Its a wonderful plot foundation.<br /><br />It didn't really work.<br /><br />Sadly, while the idea is great, I couldn't get into the ... | [] | B00PGB64MG | B00PGB64MG | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,420,661,688,000 | 4 | true |
4 | Claymore is a great "magic" series | This manga series is ultra-violent and stars young women with superpowers. That is probably what most people see when they look at the covers. Sure the weapon of choice appears to be insanely large swords, but that's just a sideline.<br /><br />However, the tale grew far beyond that. Norihiro had a web he wove of ch... | [] | 1421537966 | 1421537966 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,420,660,845,000 | 0 | true |
3 | Too much power, too little character and plot. | One complaint I often find I have with any story about "superheroes" is what I call the "over the top" powerlevels. An author will seem to decide to hide problems developing plot or character by ramping up the powerlevels until my ability to suspend my disbelief is gone.<br /><br />Sadly, that is what ... | [] | B00N8LCAVA | B00N8LCAVA | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,415,813,086,000 | 0 | true |
3 | Strong start dissolves into just another story. | I was offered a free copy in exchange for a review.<br /><br />That said I'll get into the meat of the review.<br /><br />This was a story that started out with a lot of potential. The basic premise was strong and Chris the narrative character was a solid "everyman" type character. The plot appeared to have l... | [] | B00MGEUYSQ | B00MGEUYSQ | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,412,813,219,000 | 0 | false |
3 | Good action book, but skips a bit on plot and character. | I have to start out by saying that Mike noticed my reviews and challenged me to read this book and review it saying that it would prove to be better than some other books I read recently.<br /><br />In that he was correct. This book despite a description that left me wondering what it was about proved to be a fun, lig... | [] | B00LDY9D0A | B00LDY9D0A | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,411,766,861,000 | 0 | false |
3 | No depth and mostly action, makes for a dull book. | I can just barely give this 3 stars, and that mostly because Tim does try to humanize a couple of his characters. Unfortunately I don't really think you can humanize psychopaths, but he does try and manages to a degree. It doesn't really make them likable or the story all that readable.<br /><br />However when you co... | [] | B00MMK75M2 | B00MMK75M2 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,410,782,524,000 | 0 | true |
4 | Good writing helps a weak plot and characters shine. | I'm going to give this 4 stars, but it barely deserves it.<br /><br />The second book in this series has all the elements of the first, with the second team heroes having to defend their hometown while the A-team heroes are off on another adventure. We get to see heroes that should be less than effective taking on a d... | [] | B00KOZAGZ0 | B00KOZAGZ0 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,407,186,794,000 | 0 | true |
3 | Ends with no closure | This story ended at a break in the narrative, but unlike the first two there is no real conclusion. Instead we are left in the middle of the villains scheme.<br /><br />Worse, the character development seemed to step backwards. It was already rather light considering that just about every other chapter ends with some... | [] | B00LRSOKQE | B00LRSOKQE | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,407,186,123,000 | 0 | true |
2 | One of the worst in the series, I recommend you skip it. | I seem to either love a Garrett P.I. novel or I hate it. This one was one I hated.<br /><br />Worse, I can't put my finger directly on why I didn't get into it. I think a huge part was that the mystery seemed contrived in this case. Most of the time Garrett stumbles into a mystery because of a friend or someone down... | [] | B00A30JSFA | B00A30JSFA | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,406,054,776,000 | 5 | true |
4 | A surprisingly fun read. | I first purchase Sweet Silver Blues some twenty years ago. It was a fun book, a bit dark, but the main character was entertaining and the writing was very good. This book continued the tradition of the series. Garrett gets abused quit a bit, and many of the other characters note that he's not on the top of his game,... | [] | B0046ECFA4 | B0046ECFA4 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,396,121,752,000 | 1 | true |
3 | Good first tale, but issues drag down overall rating. | whenever I read a tale like this I wonder a bit about the childhood of the author. The concept here is very good, but the main character here has so many issues that at times I wonder how he can get out of bed each morning.<br /><br />It seems like Tom Reynolds had a great concept, but was terrified of having his main... | [] | B00GCICW6O | B00GCICW6O | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,386,695,357,000 | 0 | true |
2 | A book about historical accuracy that has historical inaccuracies | I almost hate to mark this book down. Many of the points made by Susanne Alleyn are good. She clearly understands that some authors trying to write historical fiction will not get all the elements correct and that some people will note those mistakes.<br /><br />The scary thing is that after all her talk about doing ... | [] | B00958628C | B00958628C | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,378,779,374,000 | 23 | true |
2 | Narrative and style betrayed the author here. | Book 2 in this series was extremely good, and temped me into trying the next story. Sadly, the same narrative style Ben White used in book 2 became a huge liability in book 3 and soon turned a fun and interesting narrative into a complete disaster.<br /><br />Ben White tries to start this tale with Charlotte having lo... | [] | B006KP3HV8 | B006KP3HV8 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,372,803,364,000 | 0 | true |
4 | Sequel that was better than the original | Ben White did an amazing job of improving on the narrative from book 1 Power Down. Here the still very naïve and energetic Charlotte finds herself at first a bystander as her parents try to find the group that had caused all the trouble in the first tale Later, Charlotte gets a chance to once again show her own abili... | [] | B005JVSPMK | B005JVSPMK | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,372,801,593,000 | 0 | true |
3 | Teen Angst - Oh Joy. | I am suddenly reminded of why I tend to avoid urban fantasy novels, especially when they are written for the young adult market.<br /><br />Of course, this wasn't labeled urban fantasy, but rather as a "superhero" novel. Well, it's basically urban fantasy with a different plot. You have the female character with grea... | [] | B004NIFW30 | B004NIFW30 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,371,494,037,000 | 1 | true |
3 | Great premise. Solid characters, Plot ran thin. | The basic idea here is one I haven't seen attempted quite this way since the movie Mystery Men used satire to point out that a hero who accepts merchandising contracts could become more concerned with image than performing heroic acts. Here this conflict isn't openly brought out, but it becomes a major plot thread, in... | [] | B00BKKHX9U | B00BKKHX9U | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,369,344,598,000 | 3 | true |
3 | Seemed to lack something | I guess after reading stories like Confessions of a D-list Supervillian and Wearing the Cape I have a slightly higher standard when it comes to superhero books than others. This is an interesting story with an imaginative plot, but it seemed to lack something.<br /><br />I'll admit that the main character didn't reall... | [] | 0062095471 | 0062095471 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,364,595,551,000 | 3 | true |
3 | Disappointing | I like the overall premise.<br /><br />And Keeley could have been a great character.<br /><br />Unfortunately, this story just doesn't come together for me. I think part of the problem was the way P.S. Power seems to hate adult men. I don't think there was a single father in the story who comes across as even slightl... | [] | B0070K2IIA | B0070K2IIA | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,358,182,298,000 | 8 | true |
4 | A little disappointing after Wearing the Cape | I love Wearing the Cape and its sequel Villians X, both of these tales do a wonderful job of taking the superhero story and humanizing it. In many ways Bite Me tries to do the same with vampires.<br /><br />It's a good book overall. I'd call it a light read that flows well and gives just enough visual description to ... | [] | 1480097160 | 1480097160 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,358,181,561,000 | 0 | true |
4 | Green is always a breath of fresh air | Recent fantasy authors seem to try to top the Wheel of Time for drama and emulate the Gameof Thrones with wind plot twists.<br /><br />Simon Green is from an earlier generation. I won't say his stories are pulp fiction, but his clear and unadorned style of writing is much easier to read. And when he finds a few good ... | [] | 0451452429 | 0451452429 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,352,759,310,000 | 0 | false |
3 | A Story dragged out a bit too far | The first book in this series "Here be Dragons" was a fun read despite the fact that the plot was about as close to outlandish fantasy as any I have encountered. The main political conflict seemed over-the-top. I had remembered a similar basic plot in a book called Gryphon that I'd ready back in the early 1990's.<br ... | [] | 1416520570 | 1416520570 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,350,233,836,000 | 1 | false |
4 | Strong Continuation to "Beautiful Friendship | This book picks up the narrative shortly after the end of Beautiful Friendship. Once again we get to follow Stephanie Harrington and her family as they struggle with the problem of helping the treecats without inciting the citizens of Sphinx to demand their extermination.<br /><br />This story is strong. It concentra... | [] | 145163840X | 145163840X | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,350,233,085,000 | 15 | false |
3 | Fun, but fluffy | Ah, this was a nice story, with lots of fluff.<br /><br />Unfortunately, fluff in this case was empty characters, empty plot twists and in general a storyline that lacked gravitas and emotion, despite the main character living with plenty of angst.<br /><br />The problem was that we never really get to know the charact... | [] | 1609280121 | 1609280121 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,348,758,171,000 | 1 | true |
4 | Readable, but has issues | I liked this book. It was an easy read, and definitely enjoyable.<br /><br />However....<br /><br />I have to say that the main character set off just about every "mary-sue" metter that I use. The story is one of intrigue and mystery with a small portion of romance (that feels a bit creepy since the main character su... | [] | 1467917036 | 1467917036 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,347,634,215,000 | 1 | true |
4 | Good book, but will definitely anger some | I like this book. The characters of Barbara "soccer-mommasaurus" and Doris "Janea" Grisham have to be two of the more unique characters I've run into in recent years. In many ways they should not be interesting characters, or should hit many of my "This is a mary-sue" buttons and turn me off, but John Ringo manages ... | [] | 1451637896 | 1451637896 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,344,458,882,000 | 23 | false |
3 | Light Read and fun | This was the first story by Mike Sirota that I've read. Overall, I'd rate it an interesting read. The characters were fleshed out some, the plot was intersting and not overly cliche, and the writing was solid.<br /><br />But it isn't an classic. I found many of the characters a bit underdeveloped, and in a couple of... | [] | 0984007261 | 0984007261 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,343,833,631,000 | 2 | true |
3 | Solid enjoyable read, but nothing special | This book is interesting in that it follows one main character over a period of more than two decades as they take up a quest for a god and pursue their duties with patient diligence.<br /><br />The characters were interesting, but a little flat. Most seemed more like ideas that were never fleshed out and more than a ... | [] | 147505842X | 147505842X | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,341,590,667,000 | 4 | true |
2 | More Disappointing work from Weber | I've been reading the works of David Weber for more than a decade. His early works are amazingly tight stories with good characters and a plot that moved smoothly.<br /><br />However, his last few stories have ended up being ponderous works where page after page is a long slow exposition describing the antics of the v... | [] | 1451638353 | 1451638353 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,341,340,580,000 | 48 | false |
2 | Gritty | I've read that John Ringo basically wrote the books in this series over the course of a few months of frantic writing. I have not read the others, but this was a gritty description of commando style spy antics combined with almost BDSM sexual scenes.<br /><br />The military scenes and descriptions are solid. However,... | [] | 1416573844 | 1416573844 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,337,788,452,000 | 0 | false |
3 | Middle book that wasn't as good as the others | I enjoyed book one in this series "Mutineer's Moon". I enjoyed book 3 "Heirs to Empire". I found this book tolerable, but hardly outstanding.<br /><br />This book has many of the same flaws recent David Weber books have. The battles are epic, but end up being frighteningly quick due to technological tricks and plans... | [] | 0671721976 | 0671721976 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,337,787,257,000 | 0 | false |
3 | Interesting compendium of short stories | This is a collection of stories Mercedes has written over the years. Some good, some just ok. None that really qualify as horrible, but also none that I considered great.<br /><br />Did have one that was later expandied into Bardic Voices Book 1 "Lark and Wren". Much of the story was translated almost word for word.... | [] | 0671878662 | 0671878662 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,337,786,578,000 | 1 | false |
4 | Solid Space Opera | The third book in his Dahak series is by no means the best. I still think the first book Mutineer's Moon has far better characterizations and plot twists. However, this book was a huge improvement over the middle book which relied far too much on a few convenient coincidences to make the story hold together.<br /><br... | [] | 0671877070 | 0671877070 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,336,749,798,000 | 1 | false |
2 | Ambitious story that didn't sing for me | FOr me, this was an extremely difficult book to review. Linell writes with a wonderful style and phrasing. I was truly enchanted at the start by her style and wanted to see where the story went.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the quality of the writing couldn't keep me excited once the plot started unfolding.<br /><br />T... | [] | 1470106000 | 1470106000 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,335,200,499,000 | 51 | true |
4 | Good story well told | I appear to be on a streak where I read a lot of superhero tales. Ian Healy's Just Cause was the latest, and while I don't feel its the best, it definitely stands up well to comparison with hte many other offerings out there.<br /><br />Ian writers with a smooth style that makes for easy reading. He doesn't use a lot... | [] | 0984882812 | 0984882812 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,334,780,373,000 | 5 | true |
3 | Sequel that suffered from poor characters | The first book in this series "Rising Tide" was strong. The characters seemed to be multi-dimensional and had lives that intertwined with the plot, bringing a depth to the tale you don't often find.<br /><br />Sadly, the sequel failed to build on the same foundation. We do see several characters return, but their dev... | [] | B007KT6QFW | B007KT6QFW | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,334,460,792,000 | 4 | true |
4 | Great concepts and good characters | I could never have pictured the idea of each cities primary superheroes forming "teams" that competed for acclaim, but the authors of this story started from there, and then built the story around a mid-level team in a fictional city in California.<br /><br />And it worked.<br /><br />Part of it is the characters. The... | [] | B0058V5MPO | B0058V5MPO | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,334,254,771,000 | 1 | true |
5 | Puns, crazy characters and myths, oh my! | The idea is silly, the premise almost incomprehensible, but the ttory ends up excellent.<br /><br />that's the simple way to describe the book Pyramid Scheme.<br /><br />The surprise is that I can't figure out a description that truly does justice to this book. How many authors would have conceived of, let along attem... | [] | 0743435923 | 0743435923 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,332,345,923,000 | 1 | false |
4 | A solid addition to Weber's universe | Weber is at his best when he has a single main character in his story and the plot follows the character as they take on new challenges and grow.<br /><br />A Beautiful Friendship is a wonderful example of how good Weber's writing can be when he keeps to that formula.<br /><br />There isn't much to dislike in the book.... | [] | 1451637470 | 1451637470 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,332,345,470,000 | 0 | false |
2 | The rot has set in deep it seems | This is a review I didn't want to write. I genuinely like David Weber's writings. I own most of the books he's produced and loved On Basilisk Station when it first came out. This series has been a huge breath of fresh air in the world of science fiction writing.<br /><br />Sadly, this series is also a wonderful exam... | [] | 145163806X | 145163806X | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,331,653,552,000 | 142 | false |
2 | Choppy and stilted dialogue broke up an interesting story | The idea is excellent. The characters funny and definitely unusual. The villain was perfectly over-the-top and insane.<br /><br />And that's about all that worked in this novel.<br /><br />The first thing I noticed was that while the characters were unusual, they also were often rather two dimensional. The hero Drew... | [] | B004LGTNL6 | B004LGTNL6 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,327,937,720,000 | 11 | true |
4 | Solid, good, but no Battle Royale | This book struck me as being very similar to Battle Royale. Both stories have teenage kids fighting in an arena until only 1 is left. Of course, the selection process and even the staging of the fights are different, but in many ways the principal emotional hooks are frighteningly similar.<br /><br />But to start wit... | [] | 0439023521 | 0439023521 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,327,607,200,000 | 1 | true |
2 | Poorly constructed with ponderous writing | This story had a promising premise and plot. 3 different Earths joined in both space and time but a canal that wraps around the one main continent much like the legendary Midgard Serpent circles the Earth in Norse Myths.<br /><br />Soem of the characters are engaging and the joint crises of global cooling and politica... | [] | B005DI893O | B005DI893O | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,326,834,768,000 | 2 | false |
4 | No breaks in the action now | The action and danger keep increasing through this volume of Claymore, and several characters have deep encounters with fate.<br /><br />The artwork remains solid.<br /><br />My only warning would be that you cannot start with this volume. There is too much backstory at this point and it is not possible for a new pers... | [] | 1421540789 | 1421540789 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,325,630,325,000 | 3 | false |
5 | Gripping look at a dark world | It's frightening to think about the imagination that came up with this story. A dystopian world where as part of the technique for controlling the population is to have selected classes of students end up in a game where the class is taken to a game zone and forced to fight. Much like the old Highlander films "There ... | [] | 1421527723 | 1421527723 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,324,656,388,000 | 1 | false |
2 | Disappointed by high expectations after reading other reviews. | This is one of the more difficult reviews I've ever tried to write. Reading Kushiel's Dart I found myself torn over how I felt about the book. The reviews here are mostly highly complementary and praised Jacqueline Carey for the artistry of her writing. And yet, I feel obligated to rate this story at 2 stars.<br />T... | [] | 0765342987 | 0765342987 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,324,485,744,000 | 5 | false |
2 | Dark reimagining without the Heart of Little Fuzzy | John Scalzi wrote a rather impressive tale here, and if he had not tried to claim that this was a reimagined version of Little Fuzzy I might be willing to rate this at around the 3.5 star level. It's well written and a rather light read.<br /><br />However,<br /><br />He openly writes about how this was an attempt to ... | [] | 0765328542 | 0765328542 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,324,395,887,000 | 7 | false |
5 | Fast paced and light reading fun | The dangers in this book are hardly world shattering, and the magic usually subtle rather than huge and showy.<br /><br />I first read this book as the two individual books Mairelon the Magician and The Magician's Ward. Each could stand alone, but having read them in order helped to understand the characters quite a ... | [] | 0765326329 | 0765326329 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,324,079,000,000 | 0 | false |
4 | Breaking Fantasy Cliches can be fun! And funny | Just about everyone knows the basic fantasy cliches about how a prince or princess can be rescued and will fall in love with the rescuer. Most of us have probably read so many of these that the idea doesn't excite anymore.<br /><br />John Moore decided to have fun with the cliche and in doing so he comes up with a hil... | [] | B001PIHRWU | B001PIHRWU | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,323,974,874,000 | 1 | false |
5 | Powerful and emotional ending to a great series | Updating and rewriting fairy tales has come into vogue a bit with multiple authors working to reinterpret these classic tales. Jim Hines took it a slightly different route by looking at what happens "After happily ever after" and admitting that not every story has a happy ending. (something he has Talia [Sleeping Bea... | [] | 0756406749 | 0756406749 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,323,965,007,000 | 1 | true |
5 | Amazing and fun | I have an old paperback version of this that includes postscripts by both authors. They admit that this story came out of the two of them engaging in a game where they wrote letters in character to each other. Once they wound up the story they sat down, reviewed the latters and realized they had a book. Well, the fr... | [] | 015205300X | 015205300X | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,323,899,102,000 | 0 | false |
3 | Fun yet flawed | I like much of Mercedes Lackey's early work. I have copies of some of her Valdemar tales that are 20 years old and showing signs of multiple readings.<br /><br />The free and flowing writing style that so enthralls me in many of those earlier books doesn't come out in this one. The initial storyline of a young ballet... | [] | 0756404886 | 0756404886 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,323,898,815,000 | 0 | false |
3 | Good writing spoiled a bit by questionable plotting | Compared to book 2 at least this story ties into events from book 1, and brings back some of the characters from that story. It still could almost stand alone, but the nature of the main magical villain falls a bit flat even with the extensive flashbacks by Moiron during her pursuit of him.<br /><br />Sadly, the appea... | [] | 0446198072 | 0446198072 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,323,889,108,000 | 0 | false |
3 | Second book in a Trilogy. | This is the second book in a trilogy and sadly it shows. For all of the movement of the characters as Moiron and Bao travel from the world's China, to Mongolia, to Russia and finally to India there is little actual movement of the plot. Characters introduced in this story are there only for a few scenes and then vani... | [] | B005HKN85C | B005HKN85C | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,323,888,722,000 | 0 | false |
5 | Another wonderful tale | Patricia Wrede is an unusual author. She clearly loves history, but rather than writing simple historical fiction, she blends in magic to the worlds she creates. This results in wonderful stories.<br /><br />Across the Great Barrier is second of her Frontier Magic series and while it follows closely upon the end of h... | [] | 0545033438 | 0545033438 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,322,861,276,000 | 1 | false |
4 | Finally approaching the ending | When this series first came out, I eagerly awaited each additional book and purchased them within days of them reaching the bookstores, even while I was a starving college student and might ahve wanted to save the money.<br /><br />By the 10th book, I no longer really cared. The series had dragged on too long, and the... | [] | 0765364875 | 0765364875 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,320,271,312,000 | 2 | false |
5 | A surprisingly good yarn. | This story had so much that could have gone wrong with it. The basic plot was laiden with pitfalls that many writers have dove into without any hesitation, but Jacqueline Carey manages to write a story that is full of the adventure of coming of age, teases with a romance that has fits and starts, unveils a new race of... | [] | 044619817X | 044619817X | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,319,495,421,000 | 2 | false |
3 | Lots of words, little action | So much happens in this story. Or at least someone looking at the number of pages to this book would believe that.<br /><br />The truth is that despite the huge number of pages this volume 2 of what is supposedly a 5 book epic series doesn't appear to move the plot much at all.<br /><br />The characters have all been ... | [] | 0765345498 | 0765345498 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,319,231,849,000 | 1 | false |
3 | Long and winding start to a story | Epic fantasy appears to be a new rage after the phenomenal financial success found by George R.R. Martin with his series. In this first book of a new Epic, J. V. Jones demonstrates the joy that is epic fantasy at the same time she falls in to many of hte same pitfalls.<br /><br />I liked this story enough to hunt down... | [] | 076534551X | 076534551X | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,319,229,208,000 | 0 | false |
5 | Light, Entertaining and just plain fun | This book reads more like 3 connected short stories rather than a book with one over-arching plot, but that turns out to be a good thing.<br /><br />I know some people will hate this book. The main character after all is a devout Christian, a loyal if sometimes frustrated housewife, a mother and yet capable and confid... | [] | B000HEW0PC | B000HEW0PC | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,318,451,459,000 | 1 | false |
2 | I couldn't finish this | It's hard to put my thoughts about this book into words. I remember when the Wild Cards series first came out and the fun of stories about super-humans who were also often quite "human".<br /><br />I knew since the back cover writeup on this story suggested that it was "inspired" by the online RPG City of Heroes that ... | [] | 1439134197 | 1439134197 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,318,279,927,000 | 13 | false |
3 | Interesting, but tangled tale. | I had never before read a book by Jacqueline Carey. However, the cover art and descriptions intrigued me and when I had the opportunity to read the first book of one of her trilogies I took a chance.<br /><br />This story was not what I expected. Although I'd be hard pressed to explain what I expected. Jacqueline do... | [] | 0446198048 | 0446198048 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,318,272,705,000 | 0 | false |
3 | You're going to need a bigger hammer | I really enjoy John Ringo's work. He weaves tales that combine sci-fi with good action and usually ties in some strong character development. Unfortunately, this story clearly got away from him at some point and what plot there was in this story quickly gets lost in side stories about cultures and politics.<br /><br ... | [] | 1439134324 | 1439134324 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,316,199,549,000 | 0 | false |
4 | A romance that doesn't read like the sci-fi was grafted on | In my opinion too many "urban fantasy" stories tend to read like a bad romance where the fantasy or sci-fi elements are grafted on to help hide the lack of good plot or character. This one didn't.<br /><br />Linnea Sinclair has managed to write an entertaining and endearing story of two very star-crossed people strugg... | [] | 0553587994 | 0553587994 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,315,428,264,000 | 0 | false |
3 | Fun historical fiction. | I've had this book for a long time. Its interesting, especially for the detail about life in Rome in the time after Nero was emperor.<br /><br />The story itself isn't very deep though. The kidnapping of Tertullia which starts the search which gives the book its title ends up being an attempt to generate a red herrin... | [] | 0345344383 | 0345344383 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,314,829,458,000 | 1 | false |
5 | Great and humorous tales of men snatched from Earth | Stories of extraordinary men who go on quests are common, but the two short stories that appear in this compliation are both about rather mundane businessmen who find themselves in impossible worlds and given seemingly impossible quests.<br /><br />These stories abound in humor, warmth and romance as the heroes stumble... | [] | 0671698753 | 0671698753 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,313,702,227,000 | 0 | false |
4 | Fine and humorous space opera/adventure | Classifying this story is actually rather difficult. L. Sprauge de Camp moved the culture of his world forward and was showing how modern cultural products and philosophies will slowly change another culture. He does this by moving the time-line forward 25 years and then reintruducing two characters he had brought to... | [] | 0671720392 | 0671720392 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,313,698,006,000 | 0 | false |
3 | Good, but not outstanding story of a new world | I remember when this book first came out and I recognized it as an expansion of the short story "Thorns of Barevi", which had appeared in the collection "Get Off the Unicorn" about a decade before this novel came out. This novel proved to be a good expansion of the original story and did a solid job of establishing th... | [] | 0441003389 | 0441003389 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,313,612,670,000 | 0 | false |
4 | Solid storytelling in a fantasy world | Writers who try to do fantasy don't always get the beginning of the story right. This series didn't have that problem and the first volume of Claymore has just the right mix of violence and mystery to draw in the average reader. By the end of the few too short chapters here you have figured out that Claire is a not q... | [] | 1421506181 | 1421506181 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,313,442,700,000 | 0 | false |
3 | Not wonderful, but not a bad read either | Let's see if I can expand on this manga without revealing too much<br /><br />Pretty girls - Check<br />Young man with past - Check<br />Girls have magical power - check<br />Man has the ability to increase girls power - check<br />Man can do this wtih more than one girl - check<br />Girls don't like each other - check... | [] | 1598166514 | 1598166514 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,313,430,271,000 | 3 | false |
3 | Fascinating if Impossible world created by a skilled writer | I usually find Wen Spencer's work to be easy to read. The stories tend to flow smoothly and there are rarely any obvious continuity errors or characters lacking development. This book is a wonderful example of that as despite my concerns about the world and some of hte plot twists, the story itself is one I've taken ... | [] | B001NXDRTY | B001NXDRTY | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,313,429,141,000 | 1 | false |
4 | Interesting twist on the frustrated suitor story | Picture your typical male lead in a romance manga. Shy, passive and completely unable to tell a girl that he likes her. Worse prone to nose-bleeds if she is dressed even slightly sexy and looks at him.<br /><br />Picture that same passive boy being in a VR chamber when it malfunctions and now switching sex every time... | [] | 0345492331 | 0345492331 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,313,184,634,000 | 0 | true |
4 | The sad life of a male lead in a "Harem manga" | Strawberry 100% is one of those series that doesn't explain itself through the name or the cover, but which is still extremely straightforward once you start opening the pages, mostly due to the fact that it follows the formula for harem manga very closely.<br /><br />As always you have a hero. Here he's a young man a... | [] | 1421513714 | 1421513714 | AE747CPTU3RCQNGPY4OYSSKJHKQQ | 1,313,183,565,000 | 2 | false |
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