A respectable effort, but doesn't quite deliver (for me)
925502
Overall, the quality of the recording is fairly good, and it's quite enjoyable and even a bit nostalgic to hear some of these pieces again.

That being said, some of the tracks on this album simply don't stand up to their original versions, most notably Liberi Fatali (FFVIII) and Reign of the Septims (Oblivion).

The arrangement for Liberi Fatali left me very much disappointed. Originally a bombastic, intense and sweeping work of art, this version comes across as rather "tinny" and very much lacks the punch. Some of this was due to the choir being severely understaffed for this kind of piece, and the arrangement which took the liberty of exchanging instruments for certain parts (tuba/trombone/french horn where there should have been piano, etc). Not that these things ruin the rendition, but while listening to this version I'm expecting it to at least equal or surpass the original in scope. Definitely not hitting the mark, and this piece was one of the primary reasons for purchasing this album.

Reign of the Septims from Oblivion... this arrangement exhibits the same symptoms as stated above, and again this is the other track on this album I was most excited about. I would listen to the original version over this one any day of the week.

I was hoping to hear a fresh take on the Zelda theme, however the one on this album is the same orchestrated arrangement we've heard for years and years (and not as effective as the original recording of it). Suffice it to say no (or very little) effort went into this one, they simply printed the sheets and played it.

On a different note, I have no idea what some of this music is doing on an album titled "Greatest Video Game Music". The Angry Birds theme for example, is one I would have certainly left off to make room for a more iconic piece.

Altogether, it is an enjoyable album, but personally I did not find it overly so. As a musician, it's difficult NOT to notice some of these glaring differences. My expectations were not unrealistically high, in many ways some of these performances just failed to deliver.
2587098
eh.... I wanted to like this book, but it's really not my tastes
4932046
I really wanted to love this book, but I didn't. Altogether it's a fun read and good premise but it fell short in a few places.

This book starts off strong and promising but the main character, throughout the book, seems inconsistent to me. One moment she is riveted in place, the next she is forceful with her words. She wasn't the super strong heroine that I like to see, but sometimes she stood up for herself. She was smart and passed her test with "flying colors" but then it takes her a LONG TIME to connect some of the dots that are askew in her life. If you are truly that smart then it shouldn't take so long, be so hard, or drawn out. So, like I said, inconsistent.

I also thought that the book grew very long in a few places and there were several missed opportunities to show additional conflict inside and outside of prison and how horrible prison life really was for her. It touched on it, but I thought it could have been grittier. It definitely needed more conflict! And the main bad guy shows up sporadically. I think he could have caused a lot more drama and I kept waiting for it to happen, but it wasn't at the level I was hoping and expecting. I will say that the dude did give me the creeps though, so at least he was well written.

The ending I was not thrilled about. I was expecting a twist or something that makes me go "AHHH!" but it never happened. I hear there is a sequel to hopefully be out in June of 2014, not sure if I will buy it or not at this point. I don't feel like I 'have' to read it after finishing this one.
1823526
This is an interesting novella, with a lot of promise that it unfortunately doesn't quite live up to.

The setting is steampunk, but aside from some mentions of the "Steam Meister" we don't get to hear much about the "Dreamless City" the story supposedly takes place in. Which is a shame, because that's a fantastic name with a lot of story potential. I just wish it had been realized a bit more.

As for the novella itself, it's a neat little story with some interesting characters (I fell for Rook a little bit) that is hampered by the quality of the writing. Comma splices, an excess of adjectives, some stilted lines of dialogue...nothing that a thorough round of editorial attention wouldn't fix, but it was distracting while reading.

I also questioned some of the characterization. Drescher and Vellura both monologue like cartoon villains, and Margo goes from being so panicked about her scars she won't take off her scarf to saying nothing when they dress her up in a "scoop-necked blouse"?? Then there's also her abrupt turnaround on the issue of using alchemy against people, and her shift in motivation to face the ringleader "for everyone" which I didn't feel had enough grounding in the story.

But despite all of these comments I do want to emphasize the fact that I enjoyed the story, and there were definitely moments that shone. In particular, I want to highlight the second task. In my opinion it was creative, tense, well-written, and with an interesting resolution that furthered both plot and characterization. So I think Tracy Cembor has a lot of promise, and I hope she keeps writing. This one just wasn't quite there yet.
4522684
Maybe I'm being overly harsh because I had too high of expectations for this book, but overall I really found this book to be... lacking.

Overall, the proposition this book makes isn't terrible. Death is universal, and we all must come to terms with it, so perhaps this man with his medical training, well-read background, and numerous accolades can provide us with some unique perspective - perhaps even solace. However, I found this book fell so far short of its goal.

I felt that the first portion of this book was a bit too pushy to try impress the reader how smart and talented yet charming and noble the author was. This part reads like a college application essay, as Kalanithi weaves through the major demarcations of his life (pretty much by detailing every degree he has obtained) and "humbly" listing his achievements.  For example, Kalanithi takes care to list at length what class literature he read at what ridiculously young age and insert moving quotes from famous authors that he has - of course - memorized. (Ironically, I don't see any traces in this book that harken to classic, well-formed prose... rather, the writing is very basic and bland... often... it is redundant... Obviously, Kalanithi was unable to fully complete this book, so it is hard to hold this too much against him.)

And yet all of this could merit forgiveness, if Kalanithi had indeed provided us with unique insight into life and death. Instead, in the second half, he repeats musings over his contrasting interpretations of diagnosis/illness/care between doctors and patients. He wavers between grieving at the loss of his career/future and acknowledging that his improbable situation is merely a statistical data point.

The one thing I found interesting was that he chose to return to work. While I still believe that his martyr-like self-portrayal was overdone, I do like how he parallels his earlier experiences as a doctor with his final ones. As a young trainee, he struggled to balance his purpose as a doctor to save lives with the inevitability of losing patients. Later, more experienced yet weak from cancer, he knows that he cannot perform as a surgeon to the level he once could, but goes back to work anyway. In both cases, his motivation to push onwards is that: "You can't ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving." This is easily the best quote in the book and sums up nicely his perspective on the meaning of life, morality, and purpose. While not a particularly illuminating point to make, this message is an important one and is well-framed in the context of Kalanithi's narrative.

To be sure, if you are curious this is a very quick read. The book is already very tiny, and the inside reveals large font and double spacing. It took me about two hours to finish this book (I believe I am an somewhat slow speed-reader compared to other bookworms). On the other hand, I found anything by Elie Wiesel to be a much more compelling and memorable take of the meaning of life.
3618335
I really wanted to like this album, and at some points I do, but there's a  certain feeling that the product was just slightly more fabricated than  created.  The industrial angst of Vulcan, the pop appeal of slower  Garbage-like tunes, the songs themselves are pretty decent.  But taking  into account the seemingly unwarranted just-for-the-shock-of-it use of the  f word, the covers (Lovesong is an interesting take on the Cure, but How  Soon Is Now doesn't stray far from the original and is certainly not better  - indeed the band itself admits it wasn't the best choice), the use of  Vulcan to start the media circus, something just doesn't sit  right.
Certainly SRC got some undeserved criticism from those expecting  more of Vulcan - their slower songs are some of the better ones, showcasing  Tobey's voice better. But SRC does make us wonder why there are no good  female-fronted industrial (or at least somewhat industrial) bands (no,  Lords of Acid does not count).
Check out SRC, but don't forget to let go  of your expectations.  Some will enjoy it, some will not.  Several good  tunes, but short of groundbreaking.
1354814
The back made it sound wonderful: a scribe in central Asia searching for the perfect paper, while his town's location at a crossroads of travel and politics impacts upon his life. While it is about that, the execution is not as good as I'd hoped. A lot of time is given over to the Scribe's unhappy musings about his life and how he's just not capable of writing the perfect book. Events unfold sometimes slowly, sometimes offstage, with the overall effect of not particularly gripping me. Bahiyyih Nakhjavani's language is lovely in places and some of the characters are interesting, but I felt like the novel isn't quite as focused as it could have been: it muses, it tells, but it doesn't quite work. Certainly interesting, though, and I intend to re-read it sometime because I suspect there are layers to be found. Also there's an excellent chronology of paper-related history at the back.
1709457
I feel uniquely...unqualified to review this. But based on just my personal enjoyment, I can't rate it very highly. It jumped around a bit too much, for me, without a very coherent storyline. It felt more like a stream of consciousness poem put to pictures, than a book with any sort of plot. I don't expect anything major in plot for picture books, but some coherency is nice.

Of course, if you are reading this to a child of mixed race, it might be far better received. Having something which affirms their identity in particular is rare, since most books about ethnic identity look at a single identity, rather than a blended one. So, in that case, this book would be a no-brainer to try out.

Just for me...I didn't come away from my reading with a good opinion, and I'm having to stick to that after another perusal. It's just...not quite good enough, for me.
713116
I really, really wanted to like -- no, to LOVE -- this story. Maybe too much, and that contributed to my overall disappointment in the read. It wasn't an awful book -- the writing was good, the characters well-drawn, the setting interesting and believable, the world-building worked for me. I enjoyed the idea of biocyph and how the teks worked, and the relationship that built between the characters were very well-done, but... I think that my expectations for the story were too high. Partially because I'd heard that the story was so good, but partially because of Creasy's development itself. There's a lot of time and effort put into the secrets of Scarabaeus and I'm not going to include spoilers, but suffice it to say that I found the ultimate unraveling of the secrets to be something of a frizzle rather than a bang. Certainly, the story twisted nicely with the revelations, and everything fit as it continued, but I'd expected something more than what everything turned out to be, and that left me feeling let down. Also, the book really does end on a cliffhanger of sorts -- the big questions of the book are answered, but there's a lot left that has to be explored. I do have the second book, Children of Scarabaeus, and I will probably read it, but I won't go into it expecting anything dazzling or brilliant, maybe just a decent space-set story.
2283569
I'm giving this book three stars. I was hoping for more from this book, probably due to the write-ups and recommendations (mainly by Foundation followers and Fourth Wayers). I really wanted to enjoy the book, and took time reading it. As others have commented, it is a 'hard slog' to get though. Mainly because it is composed of the author's personal diary entries, and in no particular plan or aim. The book is largely impractical (again to my disappointment), and in some parts drones on about one's inability to 'do', to focus, to gather attention, to unify the centres, to become more conscious etc. Most of the ideas have been done before (and better) in Gurdjieff's own books, or Ouspensky's.
The positives (and why I will keep the book) relate to how the author writes from her own perspective, and in that the book could easily be read aloud, with some effect happening in the reader. Her experiences are universal, and the sufferings detailed are all of our sufferings.
There are a couple of unique practices (but very few) given, mainly in gathering attention (such as in focusing on body parts and intoning 'I am' etc.). Some nice work is written about self-observation and self-remembering (and the need for it). However, unlike Ouspensky's work, the actual detail in performing this is left out, and rather the author's subjective thoughts about how difficult it is etc. etc. are written (again in diary style).
There's a bit of a departure from Gurdjieff's standard set of teachings here, and the book drifts into Nondual/Buddhist/Advaita type philosophy in more than a few spots. Some of Gurdjieff's ideas about needing to form a 'soul', or voluntary suffering, sneak in here and there, but there's also the idea given here that there is a Presence available now, from the start (which clearly goes against what Gurdjieff taught in a few places). There are more examples of where she has gone off into her own philosophy throughout the book, which is fine, though probably needs to be acknowledged by some of her students (rather than the usual story of how the author was the 'appointed heir and custodian' of Gurdjieff's work).
Overally, a good read for those familiar with the "Work", though don't expect anything earth-shattering here that can't be found elsewhere.
763249
Despite its fascinating premise, I didn't think 'Gaspipe' was as good as it could have been. Carlo's family knew Casso personally, so in principle this should have been a True Crime classic; with Carlo gaining access to all manner of secret personal and professional details from the man himself. But unfortunately, 'Gaspipe' doesn't really live up to expectations.

Firstly, there is the inevitable problem of trying to paint a sympathetic portrait of someone who is, in effect, a psychopathic killer, to the point of almost semi-justifying his crimes. As always, most of the blame is pushed onto others: disloyal thugs, corrupt cops, sneaky federal agents, heartless prosecuters (they want to take him away from his wife and family and put him in jail! How unreasonable of them!). It doesn't help that Carlo tries to have it both ways: he defends Casso's violence by claiming (in effect) "That was just his way" while at the same time trying to portray him as a tender, loving husband and father. It's a very idealised portrait of Casso, whereas a Warts-And-All approach would have been much more informative and believable, as well as being a more interesting read.

Secondly, Carlo is not that good a writer, and often lapses into lazy passages and repetitiveness. Parts of the book are well-written and detailed, such as the section dealing with the attempt on Casso's life and the subsequent attacks on Gotti. But at other times, Carlo seems to just repaste the same "Capo A from Family B Hired C and D to kill E. They waited outside his house and shot him in the head as he got out of his car" block text over and over again. This gives parts of the book an almost academic feel: "A shot B, so C shot D, but D survived and ordered E to shoot F, meaning G shot....". This dry style means we can't always see the big picture: exactly who was ordering what and why.

Still, the subject matter itself is interesting enough to make up for these flaws. Despite its sympathetic treatment of its subject, we do gain an insight into Casso's twisted morality. Despite ordering and comitting so many murders, and having himself turned informer, Casso still sees himself as an Honourable man who respects tradition, his family, and his Family. He only killed those who (by his reasoning) deserved it; informers, disrespectful thugs, killers, rapists. And in any case "It's just business, nothing personal", right? It's a very warped viewpoint, but at least we can appreciate how Casso justifies such brutality to himself.

A pretty good read, but it's hard not to wish Carlo did a better job considering what he had at his disposal.
2666898
I received a free copy of I, The Provocateur in return for a non-reciprocal review. I really looked forward to reading this book, because I especially like stories that contain dark visions of humanity's future. While I can say the book was pretty good, unfortunately I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I hoped I would. The story takes place on the distant planet Remania, where a rich upper class enjoys the spoils provided by the slave labor of the lower classes, and a tyrannical government keeps all the workers in check. Into this world comes our first-person narrator, Adrian Temple. He is the Provocateur of the book's title. Working for a mysterious organization called the Galactic Order Department, his job is to travel to planets where the people are oppressed, and, to put it simply, stir up trouble for the local rulers.
One of the book's problems lies in the fact that it is told in first person narration, which makes it hard for the author to flesh out the many characters that Temple has to deal with. There is little enough personality or distinctiveness for the main character, but there is none at all for anyone else. We are, of course, presented with an evil general, idealistic revolutionaries, and a love interest, among others, but none of them feel particularly real, although we feel we've seen them all before. The main bad guy is Alcazar and he comes across as an amalgam of every other sociopathic, egomaniacal bad guy in pretty much every other book where such a character is called for. It's not that he's not good at being evil and bloodthirsty, it's just that he's not very original at it. Plus he's only evil and bloodthirsty, which makes him not very interesting.
The two main leaders of the revolutionary movement are called Salvador and Mother: while they are presented in a fairly original fashion which I won't reveal here, they merely come on stage, spout some generic polemics about freeing the enslaved citizens, and then disappear. Despite the very particular way that Salvador especially is introduced, as characters they are bland and easily forgotten. The hero's love interest is Reena and other than being beautiful, brave and heroic, as are all the other members of the Sisters of the Revolution, there was nothing distinctive or memorable about her. I wondered if the love interest was included in the story because the author felt it was obligatory, because there was little that was real about it, and at no point in time did I read anything which explained why these two would fall for each other.
The story certainly moves along at a brisk pace; there is a good, unexpected plot twist, and what description there is of the planet and its governing powers is fairly well done. But, at around 35,000 words, there is little room for depth or backstory, or even many twists and turns in the storyline. I felt the author wanted to write something more than just a quickie action adventure, and maybe was trying to create a paean to liberation movements or to the empowerment of oppressed people. To fully succeed at this he would have had to fill out the story much more than he did. It was a noble effort at combining thoughtful commentary with an energetic story-line, even if it wasn't a perfect fit.
1390654
I get recommendations from the Amazon computer as to what CDs I might like. I guess it's derived from what I buy and, perhaps, what I look at. The "Cross" album by Justice appeared several times. Well, that's probably because I have bought up a bunch of Deadmau5 and Daft Punk recordings which are lumped into the same Electrohouse microgenre. But that's OK. If someone has put it into that same category, I might indeed like it and after several appearances on my list I broke down and bought it.

First, I don't understand all the religious stuff. Why the Cross symbol and song titles like Genesis, Let There Be Light and Waters of Nazareth? Things like this slowed my purchase down by at least three or four months in that I'm not looking for religious music. However, I can't see anything in the music or the lyrics (what there is of them) that is overtly Christian in any way. Why the religious symbolism?

In any case, the music is rather interesting but the quality, from my listening point of view, is quite uneven. Some of the tunes catch me up in a hurry and others have me waiting around for them to finally end. Perhaps this unevenness is just an artifact of their first recording and the later CDs will improve. Certainly some of the individual songs are good enough to win or be nominated for awards. I'm going to wait a while for a judgement on this electronica duo. Right now, I'd say their music is interesting and enjoyable, but uneven.

Gary Peterson
1435304
Linus of Hollywood sounds a little Beatlish, a little Beach Boyish, and even a little like America.  There are some nice moments here, but the pretension of the name--Linus Of Hollywood--comes out in the music too. There are moments on it where I feel like artist and producer sat down and made a concerted effort to include every Pop and Bubblegum pretense into each title; I keep expecting the kitchen sink to come flying out the speakers.  The attempt at cute & witty is just a bit too transparent.
There are some things I really like a lot.  "Building A Ship" is good, though I could do without the "Greensleeves" flute parts.  "I've Lost My Mind" is kind of nice but--here comes the kitchen sink--the oh-so-whacky keyboard and synth break kills it.
This is what Emitt Rhodes would have been with too large a budget.  Perhaps there's a more restrained approach in the future that will let these melodies rise above the overproduction.
Worth a listen, but don't expect to walk around humming these tunes for any length of time.
4680779
I am still trying to read this one but I am not as impressed as the review lead me to believe
4061201
...there are some interesting and pleseant tracks here, some are quite catchy but my basic problem with this album is that it has nothing to offer which really grabs one nor anything so inspirational as to ensnare one with a new and exciting genre.

 That brings me to my second point, surley if this a truely "Global" experience, the music would be more varied and certainly very inspirational. Unfortunately it just doesn't quite deliver and offers a gentle ride which is really more of the same.
4258843
Since Michael Chabon endorsed this book and the author had won a place at Yaddo to write parts of it, I thought that I was in for a treat of a read, and yay! it was  450 pages of reading.

Well, yes and no. The book has a great premise -- ganglife and a new immigrant's experiences in 1880s New York -- but it waffles between a full-fledged historical novel (like Edward Rutherfurd's works) and the second draft of a literary work. If the author had taken on one of the genres, and fully explored that rather than trying to blend the two, perhaps this would have been a more satisfying read for me. It's definitely "readable" but doesn't live up to the accolades on the jacket.

But because I saw some moments of good storytelling and a good handle on the dramatic pace, I have hope the author's next work will be much improved over this piece.