Book Reviews from the Past!
Here are some book reviews that were posted to Louisburg Library's adult webpage in the past year.
posted by Holly @ 6:38 AM
23 comments
Louisburg Library Book Blog
Want to find out what others are reading? Want to know what books might be good? Want to join a book club, but don't have time? Then join Louisburg Library District No. 1, in Kansas, as we create our own Book Blog.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Previous Posts
- What are You Reading?
- What Romance are You Reading?
- Authors Visit Louisburg Library!!
- What Inspirational Book are You Reading?
- Coming to Louisburg Library!!!
- What Science Fiction/Fantasy are You Reading?
- What are You Reading??
- What Mystery are You Reading?
- Read a Good Romance
- Read a Good Inspirational
23 Comments:
Reviewer: John
"Brimstone" by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
Once again my favorite dual authors come through with a great mystery. Brimstone leads us on a downward ride of the occult. We are to believe that the Devil is on the loose killing semi famous people, by incineration. Special Agent Pendergast is at his best in proving that science will always triumph. One point was notable is the idea of religious fanaticism in New York and the medias involvement in casing wide spread panic. Child and Preston play on this with great expertise. For the Pendergast fan, Brimestone gives us a glimpse at the next story involving Pendergast evil brother. Can’t wait for the next book.
Reviewer: John
"The Cabinet of Curiosities" by Lincoln Child & Douglas Preston
What can I say, I am a huge Child & Preston Fan. Cabinet of Curiosities introduces us to Special Agent Pendergast. And what an enigma this cat is. Pendergast is a throw back from the Victorian Era, mixed with Sherlock Holmes, Magnum P.I. and Quincy M.E. all rolled into one. The story revolves around a serial killer in New York from 130 years ago. As the story plays out we are at times asked about the sacrifices that are sometimes made for science. Is one innocent life worth the thousands that could be saved? Answer that one for yourself. Cabinet of Curiosities provides rich details of forensic and archeology, as well as murder & mayhem. I read this book in 2 days. I just had to read one more chapter.
Reviewer: Ruth
"Crown Duel" by Sherwood Smith
This is a fantasy novel and there are two books to the full story.
The first book is about a girl, Mel, who starts a revolt in her country with her brother. Mel & her brother are of noble birth but have been raised with little money and a dislike for their ruler who had their mother killed. This book takes you through Mel’s journey as a rebel soldier to a girl who just wants to go home to take care of her castle as she seeks knowledge through books.
I enjoyed this book as I tried to figure out how Mel was going to get out of the newest trouble she was in.
Reviewer: Anonymous
"Dirty Jokes & Beer: Stories of the Unrefined" by Drew Carey
This was an audio book. I normally don’t read comedic material, especially biographies. I was surprised by Drew Carey. Some stories I was drawn to based off the similarities between his experiences and mine. “Before he got famous!” The tale of getting a big screen T.V. was right on the money. This was a decent book. Sometimes I laughed out loud, only a few. When they say adult language, they mean a lot. I almost cried hearing about his Las Vegas betting days trying to get rent money.
Reviewer: John
"Dirty Sally" by Michael Simon
As the title may suggest, Dirty Sally leaves a gritty feel after reading just a few chapters. At first I like the first person, third person story telling, but was soon lost. I had to re-read several chapters just to see if I had missed something. But, no, it was just the authors holes in the story or he just plain forgot to elaborate on some crucial information. The ending of the book leaves the main character Dan Reles feeling cheated just like the reader. At first I thought it was a cheap ending, but I like the fact that not all endings are happy.
Reviewer: Marilyn
"The Dogs of Babel" by Carolyn Parkhurst
Lexy has fallen from a tree. Was it an accident or suicide? Only Lorelie the dog knows the answer for sure. She was the only animal to see it. Paul decides to teach Lorelei to speak but has little success. This comes to a halt when he meets with a group of mean who do surgery on dogs to get them to talk. They cut out Lorelie’s larynx so she will never bark again.
Pal slowly discovers that Lexy was pregnant but didn’t think she would be a good mother. He finds clues from her final messaged for “Tom Lin.” “Had I know but yesterday what I know to day I’d rather have taken out here eyes and put in eyes of clay.” This book was very strange and a bit morbid. I don’t think that I would read this author again.
Reviewer: John
"Fade" by Kyle Mills
Never in a million years would I think I could root for an Arab-bad guy. Kyle Mills gives us a great assassin by the name of Salom Al Fayed. “Fade” for short is an ex CIA operative let go after being wounded in action, left bitter by the way he was treated, Fade refuses to help his government in its time of need. Naturally some dumb ass bureaucrat needs to set Fade up to get him in action. Mills sets the story up so well we can’t wait for him to let Fade loose. Fade is a great CIA/Assasian read that any Ludlum/Clancy reader would enjoy.
Reviewer: Marilyn
"Five Quarters of the Orange" by Joanne Harris
Framboise returns to the small farm she grew up on. People do not recognize her as the daughter of an infamous woman they “thought” was responsible for deaths in the village by German soldiers.
She inherited a scrapbook of recipes and memories from her mother. Mother seemed so cold and harsh as she was growing up but she really loved her children.
She finds love and friendship in an old friend Paul. This is a story for people who like relationship and family stories. I enjoyed it and would read more books by Joanne Harris.
Reviewer: John
"Gasping for Airtime" by Jay Mohr
Have you ever known anyone who got what they wanted, but then had the gumption to complain about it? If you have, then you know how completely irritating it is. “Gasping for Airtime” is about the 2 year stint on Saturday Night Live for Jay Mohr. You know the guy from “Jerry McGuire” the putzy agent who had to fire Tom Cruise. The whole book was Jay Mohr griping and complaining how he wasn’t appreciated and was given his due. The book wasn’t funny, entertaining or remotely enjoyable, it was a waste of space. As for Jay Mohr. Don’t even think about comparing yourself to the likes of Phil Hartman, Adam Sandler, Rob Scneider, Charis Farley. He’s not even in the same class.
Reviewer: Naomi
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Adults, Harry Potter is not just kidstuff. I have been reading the series since they first came out with the Sorceror’s Stone, and like the great classics there is far more to these books than child’s play.
Book One, the Sorceror’s Stone, started with Harry’s eleventh birthday and his invitation to attend Hogwarts, a school for young witches and wizards.
By this book, Harry and his friends are sixteen and in their sixth year at Hogwarts. This book continues on in the series. They are not stand alone books. They need to be read in sequence.
As this series is a classic series of the conflict between good and evil, they aren’t really feel-good books.
The Half-Blood Prince is especially set in dark times. There is war in the land, between the evil Voldemont and his followers and the side of good, epitomized by Albus Dumbledore. As the jacket says, life goes on, even in wartime. There are still classes, Quidditch, and at sixteen the draw of the opposite sex.
Harry has gotten a potions textbook with margin notes which soon make him an ace in the class. The mystery involves our wondering who the Half-Blood Prince is.
Professor Snape is also a mysterious character as we try to figure out if he is worthy of the trust that Professor Dumbledore puts in him.
It is a satisfying book, but it has an unsatisfying ending, leaving us all very anxious for the last book of the series, when, hopefully, good will finally triumph.
Reviewer: Marilyn
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Do you like reading about magic and mystery. This is the next to last book in the Harry Potter series. Harry, Ron and Hermione are at it again. They are 6th year students as Hogwarts. Professor Snape has been mad Professor in chard of “Defense Against the Dark Arts.” Ron and Hermione fight and fuss until they both decide they are “more than friends.” The same for Harry and Ginny. Dumbledore is trying to find the split parts of Lord V.’s soul. Snape ends up killing Professor Dumbledore but is he really “responsible” for his death and is he really dead. This was a big preview for the last book of the series. I enjoyed this and all of the Harry Potter books.
Reviewer: John
"The Ice Limit" by Lincoln Child & Douglas Preston
As always with the Lincoln Child & Douglas Preston books you never know what you’re going to get. Is it going to be some prehistoric lizard gobbling up half of Manhattan or is it some deranged child-man-boy in the wheat fields of Kansas. But no, it’s a meteor in Chile!!
Child & Preston do a great job of pulling the reader into the story. The Ice Limit is like a good roller coaster. It builds slow, then drops you like a rock, twists and turn and then before you know it, you come to a screeching halt. Unfortunately, this story leaves you wanted for more answers. I felt cheated at the end of the story, but all in all there is great detail in the science involved. The best part of the story regards the jobs the ESS Company has completed. “Double Overage”
Reviewer: John
"The Jester" by James Patterson & Andrew Gross
This was my first book by James Patterson. A friend of mine had recommended this book several weeks ago.
Once I started, I could not stop. This was a very fast read. The story is a great tale of Love, Revenge, Justice, and Humor. The story of Hugh De Luc reminds me of “Rudy.” This guy gets into all sorts of trouble but his quick wit gets him out. You just can’t help but to root for the guy. The battlefield descriptions were very detailed. In some case this was a very graphic read, but I loved it.
No-Stop Thrill Ride
Reviewer: Ruth
"The Last Kingdom" by Bernard Cornwell
This novel is written in first person and set in the late 800’s in what becomes England.
Uhtred is an Earl’s son who in one day is orphaned, captured by Vikings, and loses his home to his Uncle who claims the land for himself. Although, Uhtred is a “slave” he is treated like a son of prestigious Dane and learns to be a great warrior. He fights against the English, then he fights for the English under King Alfred when his second “father” is killed by another Viking. Everything he does is with the idea of one day getting his land back, so he patiently waits and learns.
That is the story in a nutshell. There were times in the book where I wished things would be summed up more quickly. The story was just drawn out a little too much. Usually Bernard Cornwell’s books move more quickly for me, but for some reason this one seemed to drag in places.
Reviewer: Ruth
"Lie By Moonlight" by Amanda Quick
As a teacher saves the four proper British girls she is in charge of from their guardian, who wants to sell them for money. She gets the help of a secretive man, who is after information about the guardian.
The story weaves and unweaves from there as the teacher and man reveal their pasts and save the girls from their guardian coming after them. Of course the teacher and man fall in love and everything works out great.
I generally enjoy Amanda Quick’s novels, but I think her newest novel is not as good as some of her previous novels. The twists in the story were a little more obvious than usual.
Reviewer: John
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia will soon be a smash hit movie this fall. It was time to recapture my youth. With the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, it was hard to see what all the hoopla is about. As a SciFi Fantasy read the book seems so outdated compared to the Harry Potter and the Artemis Fowl series. All the time I thought this was a classic, re-reading I realized that this book can’t stand up to the test of time unlike the Lord of the Rings. The characters were flat and predictable, the plot had promise but just didn’t deliver. This book as with the wardrobe would best be left shut.
Reviewer: John
"The Longest Day" by Cornelius Ryan
I am not a huge fan of non-fiction but, Ryan tells the story of D-Day in such a way that at times you could swear that it was fiction. What I like most about the Longest Day is not only we hear about the American side but the French Resistance, and the German version of D-Day as well. A classic book that is a great testimony to the men who served so many years ago. This should be a mandatory read for high schoolers. Lest they never forget.
Reviewer: Marilyn
"The Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett
Brigid comes to Spades office as an “innocent” young lady but is she really a cold blooded killer and thief. This is a “Classic Mystery???”
Gutman has been trying to find the Maltese Falcon for 17 years. Knights of Rhodes settled in Crete. Emperor Charles V gave them Malton, Gozo and Tripole the tribute way one falcon a year in acknowledgement that it was still under Spain. The Knights were very rich and decide to show their gravitated by giving him a golden falcon encrusted with jewels. This was the most interesting part of the book to me.
This mystery involves lying, cheating and stealing. It’s a typical Sam Spade novel. It was ok but just not my type of mystery.
Reviewer: John
"Mount Dragon" by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
This story was definitely not up to the Relic or Reliquary standards.
This story is about the dangers of gene splicing or gene therapy. One thing I could not stand was the villain of the story, Brent Scopes. This guy is a cross, between Charles Manson, Bill Gates and Carnegie. I couldn’t decide if I liked him or hated him. This character got in the way of a good story.
The meat of the story is about playing God with DNA, and the bad things happen. Oh like, getting a bad case of the flu and having your head explode because of it. Just don’t read before dinner. Slow paced, predictable read
Reviewer: Marilyn
"My Sisters Keeper" by Jodi Picoult
Anna was conceived for her cord blood to help her sister Kate. Kate has leukemia. It doesn’t stop there. They keep needing her for blood, bone marrow and lastly a kidney.
Enough is enough! She doesn’t want to give up her kidney so she hires Campbell as her lawyer. He does pro bono work for her for the PR. For some unknown reason he has a guide dog, judge. Julie is appointed by the judge to be Anna’s advocate. She is Campbell’s old girl friend. Sara seems to think of Kate only but Brian (the dad) is more understanding of Anna. It turns out Kast asks Ann not to donate her the kidney.
Campbell and Julia get together after the truth comes out.
This book was very hard for me to read since my son had leukemia and was on chem. For three years. You should keep the tissues handy as you read this. The author did an excellent job of telling the story and brought out detail that she could have only gotten through extensive research.
Reviewer: Marilyn
"One Corpse Too Many" by Ellis Peters
If you like mystery and reading about mid-evil times you will enjoy this book. It is the second in the Brother Cadfael series.
Shrewsbury is captured by Stephen. Godith is hidden at the Abbey as a boy. Brother Cadfael is asked to give rights to hanged prisoners. The body count was one to many. One of the men was murdered by a strangulation device. Hugh Beringer is a young nobleman seeking Stephens favor. He also was betrothed to Godith. He has a very high opinion of himself and pits himself against B. Cadfael. Torold was delivering treasures to Maud and his partner was killed (the extra corpse). Godith saves him and she and Cadfael nurse him back to health. They fall in love.
Aline is courted by Hugh and Adam. Adam is the killer and loses out. They do battle and Adam fights dirty but loses. Hugh helps Godith and Torold escape and turn out to be a good guy after all. I read this book after enjoying A Morbid Taste For Bones by Ellis Peters also.
Reviewer: John
"Still Ranting After All These Years" by Dennis Miller
I thought this was some of Dennis Miller’s finest material. His thoughts on the War on Terrorism lets us know that its okay to laugh at such a serious issue. Dennis is definitely not for the liberal at heart. This is at times a dose of common sense. Such as racial profiling “like we should pay more attention to an Arab than a midget from Scandinavia.”He also lets know that its okay to be the biggest, baddest, and boldest country on the block. Some of his rants are great, and some of the references he uses will split your “quasi” sides.
Reviewer: John
"Velocity" by Dean Knootz
Wow!!!! This guy just keeps turning it up, raising the bar, knockin’ ‘em dead. Velocity is a fast paced thriller that I couldn’t put down. The moral dilemmas that Billy Wiles is dealt just blows the mind. Imagine you are picked by a sadistic killer to choose what victims will be his next. By not choosing, you still make a choice. This is a great plot, great protagonist. The ending was a small let down, but all-in-all, this was one of my favorite reads this year.
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