All Reviews by parky
The Day of the Nefilim
by David L. Major
Book is page turner, the author keeps you wanting to know what is going to happen next. That said not my favoite type of sci fi, too many characters, Nazis, aliens, mutants all with different powers. Strange things just happen in middle of book with no foundation as he brings in different new groups of characters.
The Work of Christ
by A. C. Gaebelein
Previous review must be of a diffrent book, this is a work of theology not the historical Jesus.
Ballad of Reading Gaol
by Oscar Wilde
Fantastic poem of a prisoner thinking about a condemmned man being executed by hanging. Best poem I have read by Oscar Wilde. It is not that long and really gives you the feel of being in prison and watching an execution.
The Lani People
by J. F. Bone
Entertaing story, got a little talky at the as the characters get into slavery and compensation to slaves. Made me wish I had a Lani woman.
The Stowmarket Mystery
by Louis Tracy
An entertaining mystery that I enjoyed reading though in the middle I got a little confused. Still one of the better mysteries I have read.
Brain Twister
by Gordon Randall Garrett
Cute mystery story where the characters really make the story. Sci fi based but only slightly as the real story is the characters, even if you don't like scifi I think you will enjoy this book. A great fun read.
The Country of the Pointed Firs
by Sarah Orne Jewett
Amazingly good considering the author is writng about ordianry life in Maine a century ago. I enjoyed the book which is really a colection of a few short stories. Gives a great feel of ordinary life and people enjoying it.
The Colors of Space
by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Good read. Nice sci fi adventure tale. Pretty standard plot of young man off on a great advednture, But well written for entertainment.
The People of the River
by Edgar Wallace
The plots of the stories are not bad but I do not like his writing style. I just cannot get into them. It reads more like a dry history than pulp fiction should.
Mohammed, The Prophet of Islam
by H. E. E. Hayes
If you are looking for a reason to dislike Islam, this essay might be for you. It does show the problems with all the great movements of mankind, that no matter how noble they are; we the people who practice them, fail and corrupt them. Certainly a similar essay could be written of Christianity, communism and I am sure Buddhism, Hinduism, Mormoms, and all others I think. It is dated and I would not recommend it.
The Defiant Agents
by Andre Norton
Andre Noton at her best. Very enjoyable read just a little dated as th main character is very concerend with the Reds taking over with a mind control device in a new world settled by Apaches from the West and mongols from the East with the Mongols under mind control from an alien device. Good story as these groups meet and try to revolt and protect an alien storehouse they find full of who knows what tech marvels.
The Window at the White Cat
by Mary Roberts Rinehart
Enjoyed this novel, hero is clumsy which adds humor to the story. Took a long time for murder to happen. Pretty good mystery.
Mothers & Other Monsters
by Maureen F. McHugh
Great collection of short stories with mothers the common theme. Most are sci fi orientated. An award winning collection and deservedly so in my opinion.
Sight Unseen
by Mary Roberts Rinehart
Pretty good story, enjoyed reading it as the neighborhood club tries to solve a killing after having a seance at one of their houses. Did the medium really have the spirit world help with clues?? Or was she involved?? If you put yourself in the place of the main character you too can feel totally puzzled and scared at times. Enjoyed the work, ending was a little lame given the nice buildup before it.
Out of the Silence
by Erle Cox
This book never got my interest and I gave up after 70 pages. This book was serialized, so it must have been liked by a lot of people in its day. I suggest if you read this you skim the first 1/3, maybe then it gets a lot better.
R.U.R.
by Karel Čapek
Great play. I read this because it was reviewed before and have to agree it is a great story and pretty good future predictor. With world getting ready for cloning this could be our future. Excellent story and thought provoking. Reminded me of Blade Runner where our creations start to take on a will of their own.
The Girl in the Golden Atom
by Raymond King Cummings
Dated sci fi story of finding worlds in small pieces of matter like atoms. Chemist discovers way to shrink himself and others down to the size where a single gold atom is a new solar system. Entertaining story line but is wordy when he describes the society they find and other things. If it seems wordy to you I suggest skimming that chapter and go to the next one. The adventure story is very good and very entertaining. Liked it alot never read anything by this author before.
The Apartment Next Door
by William Andrew Johnston
Read this book because of the previous reviews and they were right on really enjoyed this light reading book. Plot was simple and straightforward. Looking for nice easy read this is your book.
Little Brother
by Cory Doctorow
Great book of a very possible big brother future like the classic 1984. Learned a lot about how easy it is for the government or anyone who access to data to snoop on you without you realizing it. With security cameras going up across the country to watch streets, catch speeders and other traffic violators, I have known that before long you will have a hard time to do anything that is not considered the socially correct. This shows the back door ways of tracing you through seeing where you are going by using traffic and mass transit passes. It is a future we are facing and will have to define our rights as to what can and cannot be used. Story line is fantastic sci fi and entertaining. This book is great from just being a good read to one that really makes you think!!
The Night of the Long Knives
by Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr.
Interesting story of the world after a nuclear holocaust. Its main characters are wanderers in a wasteland and survive scavenging and murdering other people. They have developed a culture on murder. Some people have survived that set up new societies based on technology and when these murderers come in contact with them get a story of savages trying to understand the new world. A little talky in the middle and end on the philosophy of being a murderer and their gradual conversion away from it, sort of like the story of mankind again. It is a good read enjoyed itl
The Great Quest
by Charles Boardman Hawes
Entertaining story very similar to Treasure Island. I enjoyed it but its dated look at Black Slaves of Americas the the African Natives they came from was annoying. Lots of use of the n word. The first third is a little slow to get to the adventures of sea and natives in Africa. It is an exciting adventure tale there like King Solomon's Mines and other adventure stories of this era I have read. A little more respect for the natives would be much more correct than the way the author obviously looked down on them, even though they were protecting their heritage in this case a lot of diamonds in a Kings graveyard.
Overall I give it 3 stars because of its attitudes.
Missing Link
by Frank Patrick Herbert
Good short story from one of the masters of Science Fiction. Hero is on a new planet and it is his job to decide whether to make contact with a unknown intelligence or destroy the planet. I think this is part of a series or led to a novel which I read long ago. Theme is identical except the other story line dealt with a human planet that had been out of contact for a long time. Enjoyed this tremendously and highly recommend it.
Doctor Who and the Empire of Glass
by Andy Lane
Enjoyed this story a lot, but I think it helps to be familiar with the early Dr Who's from the early days in 60's before Tom Baker who I feel was the best Dr Who. It goes back in time to the time of Galileo and Shakespeare. Plot is a little hard to believe as they bring in these famous people at the same time. If you are a Dr Who fan this is a great book of an original character. The current series has done at least one show like this where they go back in time and get involved in outlandish plots with them.
Indiscretions of Archie
by Pelham Grenville Wodehouse
I loved this book. I am a big Wodehouse fan. This work is very much like my favorites Bertie Wooster and Jeeves. Archie is a clone for Bertie except he is poor sot who married a very rich girl. He is always bumbling around into one humorous situation after another just like Bertie Wooster. No Jeeves to help him out though, just his good luck and fortune. I think these stories were a precursor to Bertie. I smiled throughout the book and could not stop reading it.
Eastern Standard Tribe
by C. Doctorow
I like some of this authors works alot but could not get into this one at all and gave up reading it after a couple of chapters. It could be that I am just not enough of an internet junkie to really get this one.
Voodoo Planet
by Andre Norton
This book by Andre Norton who I like in general was not that well written. Things happened that I was lost on. Characters had mind powers that were not well explained as they weren't the hero's and his powers were confusing to me and him I guess. Still I read it all the way through and could not put it down but I kept wanting something more. It is entertaining reading though and if you like the thought of mind control illusions it might be just your science fiction type of book.
The Crystal Egg
by H.G. Wells
Interesting story that precursors War of the Worlds. It was well done, very suspenseful till the end. I thought it would have made a great Twilight Zone episode. A dealer of unusual items gets an crystal egg from another dead dealer and sees things in it. I enjoyed the story but would have preferred a slightly better ending.
The Diary of a U-boat Commander
by Stephen King-Hall
Couldn't stop reading this but I thought it was historical not a work of fiction till the last chapters. It reads like a real account of a Uboat commander. I enjoyed it alot.