Reviews and Comments

Actor, musician, voice actor, sex symbol—Tim Curry reflects on his life and works.

A sprawling, messy memoir which feels very genuine in the way it’s written. At various points I considered whether this would have been improved by a more involved editor, but after thinking about it, I’ve decided its best as is. It feels recalled, as if Curry was speaking to someone and remembering his life, rather than a perfectly linear, arranged set of happenings that sometimes memoirs can read as.

I was disappointed in how shallow what Curry was willing to share was, though. I don’t want salacious details, but I didn’t come away with much of an appreciation for what type of person Curry is. A few unguarded utterances gave a peek into what a less reticent memoir could have offered, and I’d have loved more of that.

Mary Saunders doesn’t want to eke out a life sewing piecework like her mother. She wants more; a scarlet ribbon, to wear silks every day, her own coach. When circumstance intervenes she has no choice but to grasp fate with both hands and attempt to bend it to her will.

A reread. It surprised me to find how much more I enjoyed this the first time I read it, originally giving it 4 stars back in 2014. While I still admire Donoghue’s writing and storytelling skills, I suppose I’m just less able to handle the particular flavour of sadness running throughout “Slammerkin” now. It remains excellent historical fiction, just a little too grimdark even for my tastes these days.

After being designated “fragile”, our hero is content with his lot. That is, until circumstance, and those in charge, force him back to more challenging work.

It felt like the second half to “Prosper’s Demon”, with both novella’s sharing characters, and, uh, certain predicaments. I liked this one more, purely because it appealed more to my personal tastes. I love me a shifty protagonist, and the turtles all the way down aspect was delicious.

What do you get when a Genius wants to raise the perfect Philosopher-King, but there is the tiniest possibility of a small demonic possession going on? An exorcist, that’s what.

A fascinating addition to Parker’s fantasy world’s lore, this novella expands what we learnt about religion in “Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead”. Not only is there a loyal opposition, there are demons. Naturally this requires exorcists. Enter our.… hero? As usual, the somewhat shifty narrator is much too clever, and convoluted plans are made. Enjoyed it. Started the sequel immediately.

Mattie Ross’ father is dead, and she knows who did it. Now she’s looking for someone with grit to help her avenge his murder.

Didn’t care for this at all. I hoped I was in for another “Lonesome Dove” experience, but absolutely did not get that. The plot was simple and straightforward, lacked compelling characters, had an annoying protagonist, and an ending which felt meaningless. At points where an author like McMurty would break your heart with sparse, compelling language, Portis just.… wastes the opportunity to make the reader feel anything other than tedium. I also found Mattie’s compulsive quirk of putting random words in scare quotes increasingly annoying.

Sir Cameron is a hot, strapping knight with a body that won’t quit. He is also a coward who needs to stop the Sorcerer at all costs. Well, some costs. Maybe.

I somehow stumbled across a small excerpt of this a year or so ago, and was eagerly anticipating the publication, so I could read it the whole thing. While amusing, and different, the full-length novel didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

I found the story pleasingly unpredictable, and while I liked most of the characterisations, I would have enjoyed a little more depth to them. The romance aspect also suffered from being somewhat shallow, and rushed. I didn’t really enjoy the last third of the book very much, and found the ending quite abrupt and unresolved. Still quite fun.

Davi, now poised to fix things, is quickly disabused of the notion that she can predict how the time loop will play out. It almost feels like something, or someone, is countering her every move.

The conclusion to the story which began with “How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying”. Davi attempts personal growth, horde control, peace negotiations, and enjoying a long-term relationship, but a few “surprises” crop up and throw spanners in the works. All in all it was fine, but I didn’t find it as engaging as its predecessor, and didn’t particularly care for the denouement.

Davi is sick of trying to save the Kingdom, only to fail ad nauseam. So, this time, she’s going to try something different.

A fast, fun fantasy take on isekai stories. Davi is for the most part amusing, but humour is personal, so while I snickered at a good third of her asides, others won’t. Though there are a lot of characters, but all are easily differentiated, and it doesn’t become trying to remember what role they’ve played so far. The story is interesting enough that I’ll be reading the sequel. It’s a self-aware novel that plays with breaking the fourth wall, and I think fans of Lit-RPG style books might enjoy it, even without the endless listing of stats and levelling.

When you need a princess guzzled at the Ecclesiastical Council, of course you send a monk and a nun to do the deed.

I didn’t find this as enjoyable as previous Parker novels. It’s still entertaining, with the usual type of shifty narrator both the author, and I, favour, but for some reason it just wasn’t as much fun.

I’d have liked it more if it had concentrated on the fifteenth ecumenical council, lost books, faking antiquities, and Svangerd bossing Desiderius around. I’m just not particularly interested in the way things escalated. While I’ll almost certainly read the sequel at some point, I won’t be holding my breath in anticipation of its publication.

Citizen Gyges has a chat with his city’s foremost scholars. He has a small request. A tiny one, really.

A quintessentially K. J. Parker novella. Wanting a far too clever for his own good narrator, who is a bit shifty but deep-down basically decent? Check. In need of a complicated scheme involving many moving parts? Parker has got your back.

If you generally enjoy Parker’s books, you’ll like this. I was vaguely disappointed by the denouement, but all in all, found it a delight.

Waking up, attached to strange medical equipment, he realises that he doesn’t know where he is, why he’s there, or who he even is.

The concept is fine, interesting even, but I do not enjoy Weir’s writing style. In fact, I’d forgotten just how much I dislike it in the decade since I read “The Martian”.

I find Weir tediously didactic, he over-explains everything, and so many plot points are so blatantly telegraphed, it makes a mockery of his supposedly intelligent characters. Speaking of which, I really don’t like Weir’s characters, particularly the protagonist.

Ryland Grace is a cardboard cut-out who cracks unfunny “jokes”, and tiresomely describes his every move. Grace’s character is just flat, despite him crying constantly (that’s how we know he is sad), or him being the coolest teacher ever.

Weir is not for me, I shall stop reading Weir.

Tova Lir — captain, courier, mentor — has a few mysteries to solve, and she needs to figure out the answers before an assassin can strike.

I found this very light and frothy, and with a much too cutesy vibe for my tastes. It also has no misdirections or explorations of any kind, it’s a simple story told in a straightforward manner. This is not a bad thing, but I like curlicues, details, miscellanea, and complex characters in my fiction. Not bad, but not for me.