All Reviews by Jim
My Man Jeeves
by Pelham Grenville Wodehouse
I found these stories somewhat repetitive, although they are amusing and strangely compelling. Well, the stories that involve Jeeves and Wooster (of which there are 3 in this collection) are compelling anyway. I wasn't so keen on the other stories that weren't about Jeeves and Wooster. The stories are light, formulaic (after the first story you know basically what's going to happen and what it involves), but highly readable. The narrator (Bertie Wooster) is as daft as a post, and Jeeves's "intelligence", which is simply the common sense of the common man, deliberately contrasts the lame-brained Bertie. Funny in that respect, and entertaining. I couldn’t help hearing Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie talking these scenes in my head as I read the stories though. Highly recommended. Or in the words of Bertie, "a rummy collection, what!"
Survival Tactics
by Al Sevcik
This story is probably the best of the three Sevcik stories on this site. With Alien Offer being second, in my humble opinion. Both stories are fairly well written and keep you reading until the end. The premise of this one is pretty basic (man against machine and environment) but Sevcik still writes a fairly compelling little story with it. A quick, enjoyable read.
A Matter of Magnitude
by Al Sevcik
Not as good as Sevcik's other two stories on this site. A sort of second-rate Star Trek plot and a little too cheesily written for my liking. The outcome was a bit predictable too. Still, worth reading as part of the set.
Alien Offer
by Al Sevcik
Neat twist in this story that surprised me, and I've read plenty of twisted tales over the years so that's no mean feat. A great little early sci-fi yarn without the cheesy pulpism of Sevcik's "Magnitude" ... well, except for a few lines here and there that made me cringe a bit. Otherwise it's well worth the read.
The Communist Manifesto
by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
I read this recently after putting it off for years. I expected it to be full of wisdom, I expected to learn something new, but instead I found it as dull as dishwater. It was once an important book, but I don't think the Communist Manifesto is relevant anymore, and is really only worth something as a historical document. There is nothing new here, surprisingly, perhaps because everything about the downtrodden working class has already done the rounds. George Orwell does a better job of speaking for the proletariat. We all know we're slaves to money, but does anybody have a Utopia up their sleeve? You won't find Utopia here either.
The story of my first novel
by Margaret Wolfe Hungerford
This is basically two essays published in the Ladies' Home Journal in 1890, and the same thing as "How I Write My Novels" by the same lady, with tons of Gutenberg spam.
Don't expect a "cookery" book on writing a novel. These are two essays that have more in common with the kind of essays you were made to write about yourself in primary school. Not very informative and too personal to be of any value.
City at World's End
by Edmond Hamilton
Basically, a space opera. Reminded me of some of the sci-fi B movies I used to enjoy as a kid. It's a little flat in the telling in places, a bit pulpy (although it's meant to be I suppose because it is space opera after all), and the aliens reminded me of the crew of Space Quest (the game), but you can't fault the passion behind the story. Despite the basic premise, there's an undercurrent of humanity that's quite moving. Made me think how finite our world really is. Still, a great little book. I enjoyed it enough to look up the author and seek out some of his other work.
Moby Dick
by Herman Melville
Sometimes you just have to remind yourself that classics are called classic for a reason. I started reading this with some trepidation, not expecting that I'd like a story about a whaling expedition. I was wrong. It was a terrific story, epic in scope, of the hunt by Captain Ahab for the great white whale, Moby Dick. I expected it to be an adventure about hunting a whale, which it was, but it was so much more. In some respects, it was a much different story than I've ever read. The narrator, Ishmael, not only tells us the story, but explains to us in minute detail, numerous aspects of the whaling trade. He explains to us about different type of whales, whaling boats themselves, and the process of killing and striping a whale. He also gives us in-depth looks at a great many of the personalities aboard the whaling ship, the Pequod, including the brave, tragic, obsessed Captain Ahab, his mates, and his crew.
All this sounds like a great deal to take in, and it is. Though a work of fiction, it's nearly an entire course in the mechanics of whaling. It seems every other chapter strikes out in a new direction to explain some aspect of the story. The story is laden with soliloquies from the various characters as they ponder their places in the universe and on the Pequod. Sounds boring doesn't it?
It's not. The genius of Melville is that he can weave so many disparate threads into such a compelling tale. I found that as the story picked up momentum, I had more and more trouble setting my e-reader down.
Although you know how this tale will end, you'll find yourself in eager anticipation of the epic battle with the whale. And it's worth the wait.
If you don't want to devote the time or concentration required, pass on this book. It's graphic in detail at times, and disturbing at times. But I am glad I read it.
Little Brother
by Cory Doctorow
This book is very poorly written. The characterisation is poor and the plot is a bit of a muddle. There is no real sense of danger or purpose, and the whole thing seems a bit too geeky for me. Plus, a lot of the "computer and internet factoids", for want of a better phrase, are wrong. Also wrong is Doctorow's assumption that most people who download ebooks on the net for free don't read them because it's too much of a pain and so end up buying the book. Obviously he hasn't ever seen anybody with a PDA, an IPAQ, an ebook reader.
The story seems too derivative and a bit of a take on William Gibson. It didn't work for me at all. I found the book stone cold boring and it was a drudgery to get through. I would have stopped about 50 pages in, if not for wanting to review it.
His other assumption that teenagers will "get" this book is also wrong. No teen I know cares about the issues being raised in Little Brother. Most teens in the UK are hanging about on street corners drinking cider, taking drugs, having sex and getting into trouble. They are not all playing online geeky role playing games. And the ones who are probably wouldn't bother reading this book anyway.
I think he has his audience all wrong.
Yet again, another bad creative commons book. I've yet to read anything put out by creative commons that was any good or even half way decent.
Return to Pleasure Island
by Cory Doctorow
Steve Bookworm is spot on. This books is mind-numbingly bad. No wonder it's free on the net. I wouldn't pay for it, and if I had paid for it I would feel mugged. Even free it's not worth your time.
Roo'd
by Joshua Klein
A fun and fast paced book. Not everyone will like it, but if you're a fan of Gibson or Stephenson you'll probably enjoy it. As a software engineer I really appreciated how much effort the author put towards making the virus aspects as real-world as possible, without becoming too technical.
Move Under Ground
by Nick Mamatas
I agree with Cheryl. This is a poor book. Despite it being written as a pastiche of Kerouac (On the road), it still reads badly. The author has managed to take a well written book and write it badly, adding a mishmash of Cthulu Mythos in an attempt to spice it up. There really is no plot structure. That's the one glaring fault above all others in this book, its structure. I couldn't finish it either. The books lets you down, and is just another example of Creative Commons putting out rubbish. I looked this book up to see what background I could get on it, and discovered, to my utter surprise, that it seems to have won awards. I notice this trend a lot lately, and have commented on it here before, awards being dished out to undeserving books. I have to say that most of the Creative Commons books are pretty bad stuff. This is yet another bad one.
Jude the Obscure
by Thomas Hardy
There are parts of this book that will blow you away. Despite the somewhat archaic language in places, it is utterly compelling. Hardy writes about his characters from inside out. You really feel as if you know them. The book flags a bit in the middle, but it's a little bump that's all and if you keep going you'll feel the full force of this great classic. Ultimately, it is a depressing book, because it's about failing, failing in love, failing in life. But you leave this book feeling wiser. A monumental work. Much deserving of its place in the history of literature. This is one book you must read.