Wayne and Rebecca Madsen

Let's play pretend and say this book was mixed up in the multiverse and was actually authored by Robin McKinley, not Terry Pratchett. Or at least, let's just do that for Comparison's sake. Although, I don't know anyone named Comparison nor why we should care for his sake.  read more »

This is the second book in the Percy Jackson series; which Rebecca and I both think is almost an exact copy of the structure of the Harry Potter series. Just in a mythology setting. But that doesn't make this a bad book: instead, the story keeps itself under control and poses some interesting plot conundrums which make this story a well written children's tale.  read more »

Another Terry Pratchett. But not a Terry Pratchett.

This book was a serious fantasy novel. Even poignant. Even touching. Not comedic. I chuckled once. In fact, the only thing which ties this novel into the previous Discworld series books is that it takes place on the same planet [okay, so maybe there's a little bit more than that]. So imagine a series of novels about New York City and using the same characters, and then you pick up one about Tibet.  read more »

I like Terry Pratchett. I like his Discworld series a great deal. So far.  read more »

Neil Gaiman (apparently pronounced Gaym'n, not GUY-man - like someone told me) has to be my favorite author right now, and by far one of the most refreshing authors I've come across in a long time. His tales don't "feel" the same as any other authors but I'm not sure why that is. Some have speculated that a familiar Gaiman theme of characters whose nature works against their perceived roles is common in his books/graphic novels.  read more »

I started Hero's Song while waiting around for...I think for Wayne to get done with class so I could take him home. It was slow to start with, and I didn't touch the book again for well over a week. But the next time I picked it up, I finished in two days. I admit it wasn't as well executed as another Edith Pattou book Wayne and I both loved, called East. But it was a fun world and I enjoyed some of the characters. What's not to like about a girl disguised as a boy who fools everyone she meets until she joins the journey, and then proceeds to fool only the main character.  read more »

I don't know much about investing, or retirement plans, or buying a house. These all seem like good ideas in theory, and I thought some general book about making wise financial choices would help me at least define some terms and help me know what I want to learn more about. This book did that pretty well. David Bach has several books all along this "finish rich" train of thought. I can only assume that Smart Couples Finish Rich and Smart Women Finish Rich have similar lessons.  read more »

What banal mediocrity.

While Eragon was a mediocre book which entertained, it followed a somewhat intelligent path of least resistance to create an enjoyable experience. Eldest was a pretentious long-winded entry into fantasy which can only be categorized under the term: forgettable. Gosh, this was a long book.

Why even write it about Eragon? After 300 pages, the only interesting things were happening to other characters  read more »

Douglas Adam's potency as a satirical/humor writer of science fiction novels (read: Hitchhiker's series) could be attributed to the mainstream understanding of science fiction as a genre. Because of films like Star Wars and others which permeated the consciousness of the American popular arts, Douglas Adams' works of humor captivated a higher level of social experience than had he written a mystery novel.  read more »

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is one of Douglas Adams' best books. A highly overlooked novel, due to the Hitchhiker stardom, it surpasses many of the books in this famous series in wit, charm and Adams' brilliant humor. But this review isn't about Holistic. Nope. It's about the sequel.  read more »