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wyntrchylde's reviews
631 reviews
Out of the Dark by David Weber
2.0
Out of the DArk
By David Weber
Publisher: Tor
Published In: New York, New York, USA
Date: 2010
Pgs: 381
Summary:
Aliens arrive and conquer humanity, destroying major and minor cities from orbit with kinetic weapons. Over the course of minutes, the human race is culled, half…three quarters…
Humanity fights back with a ferocity the aliens have never encountered before and an inventiveness that the centuries old Hegemony of Allied Empires has never encountered in a lesser species.
Heroism, tenacity…and a splinter of humanity long forgotten and shrouded in myth ride to the sound of the guns.
Genre:
Militaria, science fiction
Main Character:
The story reads as an ensemble piece. Buchevsky is probably intended as the main character, but Ushakov, or the Dvoraks, or Basarab.
Favorite Character:
The action moves pretty fast and it’s hard to get attached to any of the characters. There are the people who lost everyone they loved, there is the family on the run, hiding out in their mountain bolthole, there are the soldiers in the trenches fighting back with everything they can lay their hands on…there are a lot of characters in this book that you can key on, but none of them jump out at me as a favorite.
Least Favorite Character:
The Shongari…anyone above the rank and file, all of the higher ups come across as cardboard strawmen for the humans to battle against and stun with their ingenuity. The lower ranks and ground combat commanders seem more fully formed in the small vignettes before they are fed into the meat grinder of war.
Favorite Scene:
Lieutenant Colonel Alastair Sanders tank battle with the alien armored formation near Chesht-e sharif, Afghanistan.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
No holes that I noticed.
Last Page Sound:
With the big reveal, I kept expecting it to get silly…and it didn’t. It played it straight and just told a good conquest/militaria story.
Author Assessment:
I love Weber and will read more stuff by him. Not sure if I will ever re-read this book, but it was an interesting diversion.
Disposition of Book:
Half Price Book it.
By David Weber
Publisher: Tor
Published In: New York, New York, USA
Date: 2010
Pgs: 381
Summary:
Aliens arrive and conquer humanity, destroying major and minor cities from orbit with kinetic weapons. Over the course of minutes, the human race is culled, half…three quarters…
Humanity fights back with a ferocity the aliens have never encountered before and an inventiveness that the centuries old Hegemony of Allied Empires has never encountered in a lesser species.
Heroism, tenacity…and a splinter of humanity long forgotten and shrouded in myth ride to the sound of the guns.
Genre:
Militaria, science fiction
Main Character:
The story reads as an ensemble piece. Buchevsky is probably intended as the main character, but Ushakov, or the Dvoraks, or Basarab.
Favorite Character:
The action moves pretty fast and it’s hard to get attached to any of the characters. There are the people who lost everyone they loved, there is the family on the run, hiding out in their mountain bolthole, there are the soldiers in the trenches fighting back with everything they can lay their hands on…there are a lot of characters in this book that you can key on, but none of them jump out at me as a favorite.
Least Favorite Character:
The Shongari…anyone above the rank and file, all of the higher ups come across as cardboard strawmen for the humans to battle against and stun with their ingenuity. The lower ranks and ground combat commanders seem more fully formed in the small vignettes before they are fed into the meat grinder of war.
Favorite Scene:
Lieutenant Colonel Alastair Sanders tank battle with the alien armored formation near Chesht-e sharif, Afghanistan.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
No holes that I noticed.
Last Page Sound:
With the big reveal, I kept expecting it to get silly…and it didn’t. It played it straight and just told a good conquest/militaria story.
Author Assessment:
I love Weber and will read more stuff by him. Not sure if I will ever re-read this book, but it was an interesting diversion.
Disposition of Book:
Half Price Book it.
The Swords Trilogy by Michael Moorcock
4.0
The Swords Trilogy
By Michael Moorcock
Publisher: Ace Fantasy
Published In: New York, New York, USA
Date: 1971
Pgs: 403
Summary:
The gods are afraid. The Conjunction of the Million Spheres is about to sweep the multiverse and all things are possible. Men sweep the Earth driving the Vadhagh and Nhadragh toward extinction. A handicapped Elvish man gifted with the eye and hand of two brother gods must seek balance between Law and Chaos. He must fight the good fight. He must seek the eternal city of Tanelorn…and survive it all…maybe…
Genre:
Sword and sorcery, fantasy
Main Character:
Corum
Favorite Character:
Jhary-a-Conel. Because he’s an ass and a fop and a great well rounded character. He is a bit of a deus ex machina in that he knows so much about the worlds that Corum travels through, but still…a great character.
Least Favorite Character:
The King of Men, Lyr. He’s a straw horse in the way that he is written. His role could just as easily been subsumed into Earl Glandyth-a-Krae’s. And since Glandyth was the supervillain…one of the supervillains of the tale, it would have made good sense for him to have “been done” with the King far earlier than circumstance allowed him to be.
Favorite Scene:
The first time that Corum discovers the power of the jeweled Eye of Rhynn and the six-fingered Hand of Kwll.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
At the time of the key when Corum is seeking assistance, Jhary acts out of character at that moment. Though it could be that he wasn’t allowed to interfere, but it isn’t ever explained that way. It comes across as if he is leaving Corum to his devices and then complaining about how things turn out when he could have advised him otherwise.
Last Page Sound:
A well satisfied sigh.
Author Assessment:
To me, this is Moorcock’s best work. It’s the only one of his books that has remained on my re-read pile. And it will continue to remain there.
Disposition of Book:
Re-read it.
Why isn't there a screenplay?:
On the one hand, I wondered why this hasn't been a movie yet. And then, I answered my own question. This book has a lot of introspective exposition about the balance between Law and Chaos and such which wouldn't necessarily translate to the big screen.
By Michael Moorcock
Publisher: Ace Fantasy
Published In: New York, New York, USA
Date: 1971
Pgs: 403
Summary:
The gods are afraid. The Conjunction of the Million Spheres is about to sweep the multiverse and all things are possible. Men sweep the Earth driving the Vadhagh and Nhadragh toward extinction. A handicapped Elvish man gifted with the eye and hand of two brother gods must seek balance between Law and Chaos. He must fight the good fight. He must seek the eternal city of Tanelorn…and survive it all…maybe…
Genre:
Sword and sorcery, fantasy
Main Character:
Corum
Favorite Character:
Jhary-a-Conel. Because he’s an ass and a fop and a great well rounded character. He is a bit of a deus ex machina in that he knows so much about the worlds that Corum travels through, but still…a great character.
Least Favorite Character:
The King of Men, Lyr. He’s a straw horse in the way that he is written. His role could just as easily been subsumed into Earl Glandyth-a-Krae’s. And since Glandyth was the supervillain…one of the supervillains of the tale, it would have made good sense for him to have “been done” with the King far earlier than circumstance allowed him to be.
Favorite Scene:
The first time that Corum discovers the power of the jeweled Eye of Rhynn and the six-fingered Hand of Kwll.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
At the time of the key when Corum is seeking assistance, Jhary acts out of character at that moment. Though it could be that he wasn’t allowed to interfere, but it isn’t ever explained that way. It comes across as if he is leaving Corum to his devices and then complaining about how things turn out when he could have advised him otherwise.
Last Page Sound:
A well satisfied sigh.
Author Assessment:
To me, this is Moorcock’s best work. It’s the only one of his books that has remained on my re-read pile. And it will continue to remain there.
Disposition of Book:
Re-read it.
Why isn't there a screenplay?:
On the one hand, I wondered why this hasn't been a movie yet. And then, I answered my own question. This book has a lot of introspective exposition about the balance between Law and Chaos and such which wouldn't necessarily translate to the big screen.