Weird Concept, Well Executed
926437
Interesting film. Oddly enough, I stumbled across this film at a local library! I read the premise and had to see how this was executed.

It's filmed very amateur style, but not poorly. The fact that it's black and white I think adds to it. There are some really nice looking shots, as well as some truly creepy ones. The acting is well...hard to say. It really comes off as if everyone is just being themselves, but not in a way that looks bad. It almost feels like a home movie instead of a real film. I think in this way, it makes the events that unfold have that much more of an impact on you.

I only have 2 complaints: 1. It moves a bit slow at parts. 2. The killing scenes aren't very well filmed, especially the 2nd. All in all, it's an interesting concept and I feel it's worth checking out. The fact that there are 2 actual handicapped people in the film is neat. Make sure to check out the interviews as well, very good stuff.
2783849
I won this book through a Good-reads give-away contest, and it was my first read by author Lucian Poll.

The positives:  I felt that the idea of a "maze" comprised entirely of the "missing" 13th floors from buildings all around the world was a unique concept.  Some of the characters displayed traits of survival that were quite plausible, under these conditions.  The story also flowed well, making it easy to go from one scene to the next.

The cons:  I did not personally find the main character, Dawn, likable.  Even when she showed a bit of concern for another, it somehow didn't come across as authentic to me.  (I felt that she contradicted herself too much by her actions throughout the corse of the novel).  Also, there were some scenes that were just a little too confusing (I won't go into spoiler territory and elaborate)--but this just could have been a personal issue I had, which others might not find the same.  The ending seemed a bit abrupt and "anti-climatic" after all that we had read before; and again, there were aspects that I just didn't understand in regards to previous scenes.

Overall, I'm going with a rating of 3 stars, because I did like the idea of the novel.  However, I felt that certain issues needed a bit more clarification, or that they could have been done away with all together.
3033053
This is a strange weird great short story with a hitchhiker's guide to the universe feel. I enjoyed the silliness of it and two main characters. It's a bit strange, but definitely worth the time to read it.
2093760
Compelling read, pretty original story concept
3641721
I don't generally read a lot of small-press or self-published books, but when one snags my attention, I'm more than willing to give it a shot. Lords of Dyscrasia is one of those books where everything fell into place - the cover caught my eye; the review blurb comparing it to "the works of Poe and Lovecraft" made me curious; and the concept of infected bloodlines, diseased souls, and necromancy assured it a spot on my shelf.

Stylistically, this was a very interesting read, with a mix of high fantasy, pulp adventure, and visceral horror that worked as well as I could have hoped. Elements of it did indeed remind me, at different times, of H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe, but I also detected the flavour of Robert E. Howard, and even some early Books of Blood era Clive Barker.

The storyline here is interesting, and the investment in the mythology is quite impressive. It's definitely one of the more unique concepts I've come across in a long while, taking a very Cthulhu-like approach to an otherwise standard fantasy trope of interracial breeding and the mingling of mortal & immortal races. The world-building doesn't quite live up to the mythology, but only because we don't get explore enough of it.

This is a very intense, very frantic, very driven read that leaps from scene to scene. The action and the tension is relentless, which has a definite appeal for some readers, but I felt it suffered somewhat because of it. I think one more pass at the story to build some narrative bridges between the scenes, and to pad out the intensity with some subtler moments of reflection could have really served the book well. It's not very often that I put down a book wishing it had been just a bit longer, but her I would have welcome some fluff to round things out.

That said, what's on the page works very well. Doctor Grave is a fantastic character, secretive and manipulative, but driven by an honest purpose. His ethereal assistant is definitely a nice touch, and the ways in which she is used outside the Doctor's environment were a very pleasant surprise. Lysis, unfortunately, came across as a bit one-dimensional for me. I would have like to see some more vulnerability in him, some lighter emotions, but I suspect that lack is due more to the unrelenting intensity of his quest than to any failings on the part of the book.

Other reviewers have said this is a very dark book, and they're right. This is pulp fantasy for the horror fan (not the other way around), and it is wonderfully grotesque. There's a very clinical detachment from much of the horror, which actually serves to elevate the monstrosities to a higher level. Like I said earlier, this reminds me of Books of Blood era Clive Barker on the page, or original Hellraiser era Clive Barker on the screen, and I delighted in that visceral element.

By no means a perfect book, but one that manages to offer something new, and which does an admirable job of bringing it all together.
2909694
The premise of this book, a little dabbling in time travel leads to distopia, is more unique that most I've seen in awhile. The story itself is engaging, though hardly blockbuster material. Still, considering what the major publishers pick up and turn out, this is a very worthwhile self-published effort.
1698438
This is a very unusual book.  It's sort of a mix between doomer and m/m fiction.  It has a mix of pretty much everything, from graphic torture to graphic sexual activity.  The writing is okay, but the premise--what makes "the world unravel" as the blurb says--is a little contrived and implausible.  Still, if you don't think too deeply about it, it works acceptably well.

In most respects it's a standard post-apocalyptic story with something bad happening and the main characters trying to cope.  As with most such books, the black swan event brings out the worst in some people and that accounts for most of the body count--the dead stack up quickly.
314590
A pretty decent story, and very original. Might make some people uncomfortable if they make the connection to common farming practices, or possibly even more uncomfortable if they don't. The major characters are all portrayed as actively trying to be rather selfish and unpleasant, but then hardly any of them manage to actually be that way, which is a bit of a strange configuration. There's also a bit of a bizarre lack of description - there's at least five major 'groups' in the book that are apparently physically distinguishable, but the only things you can really tell about what they look like is which ones have pointy teeth and claws, and a little bit of information about relative sizes. Maybe this is a deliberate trick to let the reader fill in the blanks with whatever they would most identify with, but it makes the whole story-world seem a bit blurry.
3985451
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 5/10

PROS:
- Really interesting idea. It's been a while since I last read a book in which the premise or sci-fi/fantasy setting was quite so fascinating to me.
- The bonds between male mates, even those without fem members to complete their Triads, are romantic and sexually charged. I really enjoyed the scenes between just Tonas and Jonal as well as the scenes between the human Mark and his BondMate--even though there's no sex shown between the latter two. The male characters are also extremely tender toward their female mates.
- The sex scenes are hot, though not as pervasive as I expected after reading another review that claimed the story was secondary to the sex. I'm not questioning or belittling that person's opinion, but I wonder what kinds of books s/he is reading that s/he finds 4 sex scenes in a book of 200 pages extreme; I've read some with a LOT more than this book has.
- Some funny little one-liners here and there: Anya, for example, comes up with several amusing descriptors for her giant Sarran mates, my favorite of which is "two refugees from Wrestling Mania."

CONS:
- There's a huge battle/confrontation scene toward the end of the book and everyone's in danger at one point or another. Yet when it's all over and everybody's safe and our two heroes are reunited with their woman, we never get to see anything remotely romantic happen between them. I REALLY wanted another sex scene at the end that was either slow and savoring or fast and wild and "must have NOW."
- Large chunks of "telling" instead of showing, especially at the beginning of the novel when Katt describes the initial alien attack on Earth and toward the end when she explores the psychology of one of the Sarran characters.
- Lots of confusing passages. Some of the exposition and especially some of the dialog is jumpy and almost entirely lacks transitions from one thought or one description to the next.
- Inconsistent vocabulary usage. Here's a line from Jonal that I found particularly odd: "The sewer sucker below negotiates duplicity while sentient life lies in misery." There's also some antiquated dialog, even from the modern, feminist Anya: " `Tis such a good dream." And there are numerous instances in which the author uses the wrong word: "a look of incredibility" (incredulity), "non-pulsed" (non-plussed), "prenatural sense of danger" (preternatural), etc.
- Poor editing (not just copy editing, though that is an element of it). Some lines of dialog are written as though they're in a play: "Lunas: `Confirm, sir.' Saxon: `Attention all fleet personnel...'" Also, quite a few inconsistencies occur throughout the book, the most notable one being that at the beginning of each chapter, the date is reported in both Sarran and Earth time, and although the initial action of the story occurs on July 4, the dates of several chapters in the middle of the book are reported as occurring toward the end of June.

Overall comments: This is a very good story idea that was just begging for an editor who wasn't afraid to be heavy-handed with a red pen. The bare bones of the book are strong, but the execution falls flat. It could have been so much better.
2616606
I found "Ancillary Justice" to be quite interesting. The main character, Breq, embodies a truly novel concept (to me at least). She is a splinter of a hive mind; the single remnant of an AI that once controlled a warship, The Justice of Toren. (That's not a spoiler. It is one of the first things you learn.) The story is told in two timelines: the present, in which Breq is seeking justice for an evil deed, and a flashback timeline in which that evil occurred. Though, Breq is only a shadow of her former self, she is still very competent and very dangerous indeed.
And is Breq even a "she"? At the end of the story I still don't know. Gender indifference and gender confusion are an integral part of the story. Most characters are referred to as "she" or "her", but gender designations switch sometimes. This reminds me somewhat of Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Left Hand of Darkness". However, in that book (IIRC) most characters were referred to with masculine pronouns.
The social system is very interesting. It is based on families and "clients" in a hierarchical structure, but with some provision for meritorious advancement. I don't think the writer meant to mimic any particular society, but it brought to mind ancient Rome and medieval Japan and has some resemblance to that of Walter Jon Williams' "Dread Empire's Fall" series . The entire social structure is run by an all-powerful entity made up of clones with a shared intelligence.
All in all, Ancillary Justice is a good story and a solid first novel. I have to give Ann Leckie major props for imagination and world building.
4655653
3.5 stars -- I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

Well damn.  This book was sooooooo weird for me.  I was extremely compelled to read it, and couldn't put it down (staying up until the wee hours of the night to finish it).  But I was also kind of unsatisfied with many aspects of the story, and I'm not exactly sure what was compelling me.  Honestly, I think I just wanted to know the answers.  I wanted to know the different mysteries, and I wanted to know how the time travel was going to work and be explained.

I can honestly say that the mysteries were my favourite parts of the story, from how the time travel was working to the lost baby plotline, even though the lost baby mystery wasn't really remembered and reintroduced until fairly late in the story.  I think it's so odd when something is part of the blurb, or mentioned at the very beginning, but ends up only being a small part of the plot as a whole.  I wasn't expecting that, and it was kind of frustrating how it kept getting lost in the shuffle.  But at the same time I was really interested in finding out, and while I had some theories pretty early on that ended up coming to fruition, I was still really satisfied with the way that worked out.  I think I just would have liked for it to play a more central role in the book, instead it felt a bit tacked on...even though there was groundwork laid earlier, we as the reader didn't know that.  I don't know...

And then there's the time travel.  I found it really compelling, but I have to say the explanation was very underwhelming.  But I think it still ended up being enjoyable for me, just because of the way the time travel was working and the theories I would come up with in my head, and that anticipation, that even though I was unsatisfied with the explanation, it still made for a fun read.  I think time travel is extremely hard to get right, and in the end this book just left me with a lot of confusing questions and plot holes, which is a shame.  Also, if you're looking for a time travel book that's science based, this book isn't for you.  This was more just hand-wavy in the end...which would have been ok if a major part of the book wasn't about the Physics Professor making it his life's work to figure it out.  *shrugs*  See?  Mixed bag.
Honestly, I could write a lot more negative things about this book than positive things.  Abbi was not a very well-developed character, and I really couldn't tell you what she was like, what interested her, any of that.  She was extremely shallow.  She was really just a vehicle for the plot I guess.  Which is kind of disappointing when she's your MC and voice.  The Professor, Sharon, Ruby, and even Walter a bit, were more interesting and 3 dimensional.

The love interest, Will, was very sweet, but we really don't learn much about his journey either.  And I was even less satisfied with his reasons for time travel than I was for Abbi's (I was satisfied with Abbi's).  And while the romance was sweet, it was a bit insta-lovey just because of the nature of the way their stories intertwine, and because we don't really get to see them connect, it's sort of glossed over in that they share time talking over weeks or whatever.  I want to see that chemistry and connection, not just have it exist out of nowhere.  And it really wasn't a very prominent part of the book either, just a small section.

So see?  Not a lot of positive to say, but at the same time I really was entertained.  It was a quick read.  I'm not sure how well Ms. Stanton did getting the historical stuff right, but I've never been a historical book reader so that wasn't what drew me to the book.  In the end it was pretty light on history, mostly just shallow details there as well.  So I guess I would mostly recommend this to those who enjoy a good mystery.  Because in the end that's what drew me in and had me turning the pages to find the answers.  I'm just not going to guarantee that you will be satisfied with the time travel resolution.
2043887
Offworld has an interesting and unique premise. The idea of a mission to Mars returning and finding no one there to greet them? Awesome. And then begins the mystery: Where is everyone, and how and why did they go away? Great stuff.

I thought the characters were well-drawn and believable too. The author clearly put some thought into their backstories. I also liked the occasional flashback to their time on Mars. It added to the driving mystery.

At first the time the astronauts spend on Earth perplexed me, because it seemed like the story was turning into less a mystery and more a survival story. Im a fan of those too, but it seemed like a strange change of focus. Then the survival situations stopped and it became about the mystery again.

I liked that the villain in the story was nuanced too. He had valid reasons for doing what he was doing, and in his eyes, what he did seemed like the proper course.

Being a tech guy, the solution and ending seemed a bit too fantastical to me, but if I forced myself to put the computer scientist hat aside, I enjoyed what I read. All in all, Offworld was a solid sci-fi tale that never felt the need to preach. I recommend it.
1087927
After hearing good things about this novel I decided to check it out, and I finished it with mixed emotions.  The premise is good, although in some parts it seems wacky.  The way you are thrown into the scene with "Bone Man" and "The devil" right at the beginning had me wondering what the hell was going on, but then later on it makes a bit more since.  The novel was cool, but my biggest issue for giving it 3 starts is that obviously this is fiction and not meant to be realistic, but it didn't feel real.  alot of the stuff happening had me like why?  There is a scene where a kid gets beat down for what based on the description would have to be about 20 minutes from a man that is described as someone who could easily kill a man with his bare hands, yet somehow this kid is still ambulatory the next day.  no big deal, minor gripe.  It was just an example.  My big complaint about this book however, is that there is so much space just being filled between action and tension.  a good portion of this book, absolutely nothing is really going on and it makes it drag.  I understand this sounds bad, but i will say that i still enjoyed the book, it just doesnt warrant the praise it's had.  Yes I enjoyed it, no it wasn't amazing, or even anything special and most likely i will pick up the next book in the series in hopes that the author has capitalized in the big promises that this book makes.
745099
I liked this book; I've read one or two alternate history type books before, but it's not a genre I'm heavily into so this was a pretty original idea for me. I found it quite fascinating to see how the islanders worked out ways to survive and prosper, and the take on the local cultures was entertaining and interesting to me.

Some flaws; any book like this is going to have to balance between keeping the plot moving along and going into sufficient detail to make things believable. I found that Stirling skipped over some aspects a little too lightly for my taste. For example in some scenes a person will raise an issue about food production, then somebody will suggest an answer, then we'll have a scene on a farm, then people eating the produce. The reality of this kind of subsistence farming is that it's long, difficult, backbreaking work where a hundred things can go wrong - what about pests, bad weather, mistakes that people new to this life are inevitably going to make? I get that sticking another 500 pages of farming in wouldn't do, but a little more detail about the pitfalls and mistakes would be nice.

Things were also might convenient for our islanders, who just happen to have a historian, an astronomer, a coast guard sailing ship, aircraft, and other vital things to hand. Personally I took that to be deliberate on the part of the Effect. The islanders suggest that the time transition may be the work of god, or mysterious aliens of some sort - if so then one might suggest that this higher power chose Nantucket and arranged the "coincidences" specifically so that the islanders could survive. It would be nice if a character had suggested such an idea to help with the suspension of disbelief.

Some complain that the battles were too long and detailed. Personally I find them enjoyable, and the detail only helps. The depiction of the ancient people is something I like - they're primitive and savage in many ways, sure but clearly no less intelligent than the modern people, and indeed superior in some ways since they haven't had the "soft easy" life of modern people. Some of the brutality depicted was pretty horrific, most especially the Panther religion scenes. But such things have been done in history, and thoe whole point of the book is to contrast them and now.

Characterwise, I found it a little mixed. The good guys are a little bit too perfect for my liking, adapting rapidly to new ways of thinking and doing things, always rational and cool headed. Alston especially is just too perfect - the ultimate perfect Coast Guard officer who also proves to be an exceptional infantry commander? Hmmm. Her relationship with Swindapa is very cute though, they do make an adorable couple. Unfortunately the bad guys fare rather worse. Walker and Isketerol are decent bad guys, smart, calculating fellows who are doing what many would if they had the opportunity. Pamela and David Lisketter, however... I guess that, theoretically, there are people out there who are really like that. But as characters their utter fanaticism makes them uninteresting. And I have the suspicion that we're meant to be somehow satisfied that somebody as stupid and out of touch with reality as Pamela suffers what she does because of it, which is a rather disturbing thing for a writer to try and suggest, in my mind.

Finally, Hong. I've never been of the opinion that showing a particular type of person as evil means the author thinks that everybody of that type is evil, so I won't say that Hong represents Stirling's opinion of what people who are into S&M are like. All the same... well let's say I found this character such a caricature that I just couldn't take her seriously as a bad guy. She's meant to be a scary woman, but really it falls flat because she's too unbelievable to be scary. Thankfully she only makes brief appearances.

Overall, though, a good work that held my interest. I'll definitely check out the sequels.
550660
The reviews on this weren't stellar, so I almost didn't read it, but I'm glad I did. I thought Mead's idea here was very original and interesting. I particularly liked the idea that religious extremists destroyed society, so now religion is banned -- except that the gods won't exactly go away. I like that all of the characters weren't immediately accepting of the supernatural elements of their society, and I appreciated Tessa's contributions. I can see her becoming a key player in later books.

I also liked the idea of the ravens and their occasional observations about Justin and what was happening around him.

I'm not sure why genetic engineering was so bad, honestly, and I wish that had been made more clear, but otherwise, I thought the mystery of the killings was interesting and not too predictable, for the most part.

I'd recommend giving this book a try. I've only read one of Richelle Mead's other books, but most of the negative reviews seem to say this is unlike her other writing. I'm not sure why that's a reason to give a lower rating, but I enjoyed this book. It was a little more descriptive than most YA books, but I think it worked and made sense in the way the story unfolded. Definitely worth a try if you enjoy YA dystopian/fantasy.
2863039
Books are real gates to other worlds.

That is the basic premise of the novel. The protagonist, Declan Hale, the Shadowless Arbiter; now exiled on our Earth is living a quiet life in Perth among memories of his past mistakes and the price he paid to end a one hundred year war. But some debts come calling back on him and he has to take action in order to save his life or at least avoide making it worse.
The author does a good job of slowly unraveling the story, instead of just cramming the first chapters with explanations, he prefers to go the other way and tells the tale in the present for a character with a heavy past.
You can feel the influences for urban dark fantasy, from Gaiman and Moore to Butcher, but it is a new take on the old concept of the down on his luck reluctant hero what I enjoyed.
Perhaps if I want to be critical the ending feels a bit rushed, but well executed. When you finish the book you end up wanting to read the next one in the series and that to me it means the author made a good job.
4581466
This was one of those odd books that left me disliking most of the characters, even as I couldn't stop reading about them. And unlike many of the books I read, I still have a vivid memory of what the story is about, which means it left quite a deep impression on me. But I didn't really /like/ it. I suspect that's down to personal preference so don't be put off.

In terms of craft, the prose is clean and well edited, and the story 'flows' without any 'what the?' moments. Definitely worth a read.