Familiar Stars

Star Wars: Jedi Search by Kevin J. Anderson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Familiar characters, doing familiar things.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it was exactly what I wanted.

And I got my first introduction to Admiral Daala, which explains some things from later books.

Still like Han better than Luke. Is he ever going to grow out of being a moody teenager? *sigh*



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I'd Rather Some Tommy and Tuppence

The Modigliani Scandal by Ken Follett

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


For a long time I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was about this book that was so...familiar. And then I figured it out.

It reminds me of a Georgette Heyer London mystery (as opposed to one of her "cosy" mysteries, or Regency romances)--except Heyer does it much, much better.

Two days of reading out of my life that I'll never get back.



(And, yes, I know T&T are Christie, not Heyer.)



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When Worlds Collide

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I know many people who love this book.

Me, not so much. For instance, I was 2/3 of the way through it several years ago, lost it, and didn't really care.

But I found it again, and after a dear friend mentioned Hiro Protagonist the other day I thought, "Oh, what the heck. Let's finish it." Well. That's done.

Maybe I read it too far after it was published to find it very "cutting edge." Maybe I don't know enough/too much about computers and cyberspace to really get engaged by the central conceits. All I know is Uncle Enzo rocks, YT reminds me far too much of how Lisbeth Salander might have been had she grown up with a loving mother in Southern California, and I'm having a terrible time not merging Hiro Protagonist and Hiro Nakamura in my mind--though, frankly, I definitely prefer the latter.

What did I most take away from this book? The impulse to look at everyone I know and wonder what phrase I'd tattoo on their foreheads. Alas, there a many who, like Raven, should have the words "Poor Impulse Control" written in large friendly letters for everyone to see.

Now, where did I leave my towel?



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The real _Wrath of the Titans_?

I went to see Ridley Scott's Prometheus on Thursday.

Some of my friends loathed it, some loved it. I waited until the last possible moment to see it, and saw it in 2D, and don't think I missed much by the choice.

I'm going to write something coherent at some point, but since it's now out of the theaters, I'm not going to worry about spoilers. These are just impressions, not fully fleshed out thoughts.

1) Nice juxtaposition between image and action for the "founders" (big, round, friendly eyes--not-so-friendly behavior)

2) Michael Fassbender continues to impress. But, wow, he's short.

3) Charlize Theron was wasted in her role.

4) Idris Elba. :-)

5) I don't understand the David/O'Toole's T. E. Lawrence connection. I'm sure it was supposed to "reveal" something, but I didn't catch it/didn't understand it. And I've seen Lawrence of Arabia multiple times. And read about the real Lawrence. Need to think about it.

6) The critic's lampooning of the Jurassic Parkness of it was well-grounded, but sort of missed the point.

7) Nope. Still don't like horror movies. Had to keep my eyes shut--a lot.

8) Clearly, they're hoping for a sequel (Sara and David Visit Othrys?), but, really, haven't we seen that already? Isn't that the Terminator films?

9) What is it with Ridley Scott and heroines? I'm sure his psychiatrist wonders, too.

10) Should have gone to Magic Mike. Soderburgh also makes my head hurt, but in a totally different way.

Star Wars: Cloak of Deception by James Luceno

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book is set just prior to events in The Phantom Menace. A colleague loaned it to me after I mentioned how I wished there was more Qui Gon Jinn in the Star Wars universe, since Qui Gon is really the hero of this book--the the extent it has one.

I thought the book was better written (in terms of Standard English conventions) than many Star Wars and Star Trek books. In terms of plot and character development, however, it was not very good. Too much plot for too little book. It's really a political thriller, and those require more words and development to be really successful. This book, in fact, is about average length for this genre, and as such, really didn't have the required pages to do the job.

But, it does make The Phantom Menace make a bit more sense. I'll take that, and call it enough.



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A Time for War, A Time for Peace by Keith R.A. DeCandido

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This is the final book in the series that covers the gap between the films Insurrection and Nemesis.

I was, overall, disappointed in the book. While it effectively ties up all the loose ends from the six previous books, it is a bit too pat, and the story line itself is not very engaging. The one "action" plot line, which involved lots of Klingons, I might add, was...dull. (How, I wonder, can scenes that involve Klingons using weapons be dull? Yet, here it has been achieved. Impressive.) The Federation presidential election line was...politics as usual. And the Starfleet suspense line (with the gratuitous presence of Adm. Montgomery Scott) was...*yawn.* Even the Klingon politics, and the appearances by Martok, failed to engage. I can almost hear my mental warp engine gearing up to power, and then winding down pathetically.

Oh, well. Perhaps my problem is that it is too much character and talking, and not enough phasers and bat'leths.





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Heat Wave by Richard Castle

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Fortunately, my expectations for this book were not high, so I suffered no sting of disappointed expectations.

It is a book "by" the character played by Nate Fillon on the TV show Castle. I enjoy Fillon, I enjoy the show, so I thought it would be a pleasant diversion to read the tie-in.

The problem is that in the TV show Rick Castle is presented as not only a successful, but a good writer of the genre, and his heroine, Nikki Heat, as being sexy, strong, and compelling. Alas, the book is average at best, bordering on mediocre, and Nikki is self-indulgent, and condescending, bordering on mean.

Next time I'm tempted to pick up a Nikki Heat book, I think I'll just pop in a Castle DVD. I don't like the heroine any better, but I like the surrounding characters MUCH more.



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