I'm not a big fan of the Mad King
592430
There are Burroughs fans who love this novel, but I'm not a big fan of this particular story.  You can read about it in the reviews of much cheaper editions than this one.  Just a reminder that McClurg is the first edition and G&D's are reprints.  "All Lustadt was in an uproar.  The mad king had escaped."
4022367
I gave up on King around Gerald's Game.  I have read a couple of his books since then, and didn't think they were worth anything.  Having started with that downvote, I'll say that like many people my age, I was a King obsessive in the 80s.  I loved just about everything he wrote.  And I'll be honest, I literally only bought the Revival audiobook because I was in danger of losing an Audible credit.  Turns out I really liked it, but I have some criticisms.  The older man with a younger girlfriend angle.  Worn out, Uncle Stevie.  Does it happen in real life?  Yeah, but the trope is an older man's fantasy, and that's where it needs to stay.  Not as embarrassingly portrayed as in Bag Of Bones, but time to let it die.  Basil Exposition character - Brittany, the younger girlfriend in question, also turns into the typical King infodump character, after she's basically been written out of the story - unsubtly dowloading Wikipedia-like chunks of info to the reader via the protagonist, instead of uncovering the information through natural, organic means.  Tossing Lovecraft in as part of it without Jamie asking "LoveWHO?", and without establishing him as someone already familiar with Lovecraft's work is disengenuous by King.  He's using the omnipotent voice of the writer to talk directly to horror readers, not one character talking naturally to another to drive the plot.  Lazy.

I didn't have the ending spoiled for me, so I didn't know what was coming, but the precipitous plot point to get to the ending was way too Bride of Frankenstein for me - too much for it to have just been an affectionate nod to the classic movie, and as for the final reveal of the story - tonally it was so far removed from the rest of the book, with not enough foreshadowing, so that it felt to me like King - because he doesn't "plot" - came up with this ending, thought it was just too amazing to not use, and threw it into Revival.  It seemed clunky as it was written, but I actually did appreciate the nihilism.  I just can't take a lot of King's penchant for using 50s and 60s themed B-movie imagery as the basis for his horrors - then again, he's a product of that era, and I'm not.  Overall, it sounds like I'm knocking it, but I c'mon, I gave it four stars, baby!  I really liked the story, even if I have issue with some of the plot points.  Jamie felt like a rich character, and I liked being on the journey with him - though I'm glad the story isn't just about an aging rocker.  If it had been I might have just tuned out halfway through.
2533640
As much as I love the Wrath and Beth they just couldn't really save this book for me. I guess it's my fault for having such high expectations but this book was just okay. It honestly felt more like a filler book to me than a complete story. There is so much going on but nothing is happening at the same time. Wrath and Beth weren't even major players in the story until the second half.

Don't get me wrong, there were certain things about this book that I really enjoyed. Surprisingly I loved Assail and Sola and what was going on with them. In the previous books I could have cared less for Assail but for some reason I am digging these two. Another surprise was iAm. I'm not the biggest fan of the Shadows but there was just something about him that I found endearing and I'm really looking forward to seeing him get his HEA.

Now on the other hand, I could care less about Trez and his story line. I felt like it didn't really add anything to this book at all and it took up so much page time. I'm just not connecting with Trez or Selena, so I could care less about their HEA.

One of the things that I was looking forward to in this book was more development into Layla and Xcor and I was very disappointed that they were barely a blip in the book. I feel like JR Ward is dragging their story out way too much.

I was really hoping that The King was going to be a throwback to the beginning of the series but sadly it wasn't. It's a shame because there were moments of brilliance in this book but those moments were just too few and they just seemed to get boggled down by all of the unnecessary storylines that are occurring.
3426652
I just couldn't get myself to care about the whiny protagonist.  He's just a really annoying character.  So in the end I couldn't finish the book.  It's also odd in that the book is written in some Modern English/Old English fusion language, which is cool, but the style is very modern.  The imagery used felt too modern for me.  If the style isn't going to be Old English, then why use odd spelling?  It just felt a little half-hearted.
1167182
If I read a fictional history novel, I expect to take real events, keep them accurate and chronically correct, then that the author fills the gaps with fantasy. Here I've been confronted with twisted events to make the king appear more sympathetic or just to add a unnecessary plot to the story... If someone is dead years before, leave him alone don't bring him back because you feel like it!
I'm just disappointed.
4430859
This was  little too much for my taste although it was done well I don't feel I'll watch it again.
3079158
This was one of Stephen King's earliest attempts at writing a novel, and it kind of shows. It's slow at times. A little grey. There are some great action scenes, but mostly you end up not caring much about the main character and not understanding the world that he lives in.

However, the very next entry "Drawing of the Three" is one of the best in the series, and The Gunslinger is required reading to understand it. It's worth getting through the 220 or so pages to get to the other books in the series. And the Gunslinger isn't completely unenjoyable. It just doesn't live up to the rest of the series or the greater story of the Roland's quest for the mysterious Dark Tower.
4338353
So I didn't really like the whole male point of view thing in this one, probably because his personality just wasn't as enjoyable for me. He came across as a little more arrogant and the whole love story was just not as enjoyable. I did like the ending, all tied up nicely. But not as much fun as the first one in the series.
1981778
It may be a classic, but it's not my favorite story.
1857888
These two characters weren't really ever my favorite. It moves the story along but I'm not sure how much more of the series I'm going to pick up again. I just realized recently I hadn't finished reading this series.
3139697
I love Joe Hills books and I have been so excited for months waiting to read The Fireman. But honestly it it just doesn't stack up to his other work. I think I was more entertained by the abundance of self referential (well King references actually) The book seems like a really long homage to his dad. Like right down to the ponderous and wandering King style ending. It was good...just not great. I guess I psyched myself up too much and ended up a bit let down.
4668227
The Pirate King, book two in R.A. Salvatore's Forgotten Realms series called "Transitions," suffers greatly from middle-book syndrome, as well as just not being as interesting as the first book, The Orc King.  The pacing of the book just seems off, a large part of the book is filled with characters I didn't care much about (and a couple who I had trouble telling apart occasionally), and it just seemed too much like a transitional novel.  You might not think that's a bad thing in a series called "Transitions," but this one goes a bit too far in that direction.

The major problem I had with The Pirate King is that too much of the action is removed from the characters who I actually like, Regis and Drizzt.  Salvatore cuts back and forth between the two companions and the events in Luskan, and I found myself losing interest in the horrible events going on in that city, especially after the first assault on the Hosttower.  The main pirate captain who dreams of becoming the Pirate King, Kensidan, just isn't that interesting a character, despite his Machiavellian machinations to wield political power once Deudermont is removed.  The dialogue didn't grab me, the plots and counterplots going back and forth among the captains, Greeth, and Deudermont, all seemed so pedestrian.  These events didn't have the oomph of the first book, and the characters weren't interesting enough to cover for that.

Also, Drizzt and Regis seemed too far removed from the action.  When they're in Luskan, they get involved, and things become much more immediate.  They actually succeeded in making me care about Luskan and what was going on there.  My favorite scenes, though, were those when the pair was up north, looking for Wulfgar, trading tales of the past and showing just how much they have changed in the many years since they all became friends.

I did love the action and characterization of the regulars (Drizzt and Regis are the only ones in most of the book).  It was nice to see somebody who is almost a match for Drizzt in a fight, as it often doesn't feel like he's in any danger when you're reading about him in a melee.  Also, the action doesn't seem quite as forced as it did in The Orc King, though that could just be me getting used to Salvatore's writing style again.  Overall, I did enjoy a large part of the book, whenever Drizzt and Regis were "on screen."  I also liked how Salvatore has them deal with a couple of moral dilemmas that makes the book seem a bit more "adult" than many Dungeons & Dragons novels.

Overall, I was disappointed in The Pirate King, but I would still recommend it for those who are interested in this type of fantasy novel.  I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a novel alone, but the series itself seems to be on strong footing and this is just a minor crack to step over in your enjoyment of the whole.  Take it for what it's worth.

David Roy
3232106
I had never seen Mad Max before, but I was working on a dystopian short story and I thought it would help put me in the mood to write it.  I think as a watcher of more current action movies, I expected less build up and more action, but that is a result of the time the movie was made, I think.  The villains were a bit cartoonish in their evilness, but at the same time brutal in their attacks.  I also found the interactions between the police hard to follow.  I am unsure if I'll finish the series, we'll see.
763867
I will start by saying that I am a fan of the author and the overall series.  However, in this book, rather than coming up with a new villian Salvatore has dredged up an old one albeit with a new twist.  While this isn't ideal, it isn't a huge issue with people who have come to love the ensemble developed over the course of many books.  The writing itself is satisfactory but the book is lacking in storyline and overall believability (I know, funny thing to talk about with a fantasy book).  I also don't much care for authors deciding to kill off a number of characters they have spent many years developing.  I didn't like it in HP 7 and I don't like it here either.  Unfortunately I ended the book not sure if I was happy that I'd read it and wondering if I want to bother reading Gauntlgrym.
1124410
I'm a big Stephen King fan, but I didn't like the crossroads series of books.
4127219
Having read the entire Thomas Pitt series, I found that I didn't enjoy this one as much as most of the others. Usually I try to read the book straight through but I didn't have the same sense of urgency with this one. It just didn't engage me and I'm not really sure why.
1219837
I feel like a broken record. There isn't much more for me to say. I'm enjoying the series, but it's not going to ever be one of my favorites or end up being one that I return to over and over. It's kept my attention, and at times I really enjoy it, but it just doesn't really grab me and suck me into the story and characters like other series. I think about Patricia Brigg's Mercedes Thompson series a lot when I read it. It's very similar in feeling (though I believe Dresden came out before Mercedes Thompson did), but I just don't find myself falling in love with the world and characters as I do in that one