The Critic's Corner | Forum profile

Grand Design, the /Tyrants and Kings /2 I had enjoyed the first book of this series more than expected, but this second left me disappointed. Which isn't to deny that The Grand Design has a couple of admitted strengths (the development of Biagio's character, and the castle with the crows plotline stand out in my memory). I think that my biggest problem with the book was that a...

Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick This 2001 offering from Henkes was the first of a series that recycles past characters in short, weak, overpriced, holiday-themed stories. These can be read in a minute or less. so they are rather ineffective as a bedtime delaying tactic. As a parent of a child who loved the original stories, it's been impossible to avoid purchasing these mini-...

Henry Climbs a Mountain This book's aim (teaching young children about the concept of civil disobediance and what led Henry David Thoreau to go to jail rather than pay taxes to a government that sanctioned slavery) is laudible. But I found that it doesn't really succeed in bridging the conceptual gap of a five year old trying to make sense of tax-collectors and slavery. It might work ...

What Do You Say, Dear? This best book of manners ever illustrates that, even in strange and awkward circumstances, one should always be polite. It even worked with my most recalcitrant of three year olds. The Sendak illustrations are a big part of the book's success. In today's world we'd never get a children's book published that would ask questions like . . . "You ...

Year's Best Science Fiction, Thirteenth Annual Collection, The Another solid collection from editor Gardner Dozois, this one covering short fiction initially published in 1995. I found my responses to the individual stories pretty well split, although I can say that even in some of the stories that didn't really work for me I could acknowledge the author's efforts to take on an ...

Year's Best Science Fiction: Eighth Annual Collection, The Another interesting collection, if perhaps not as strong as the first one I read in this series. Most of these stories fall in the "strong, but not particularly ambitious" category. My favorites were "The Hemmingway Hoax," a tour de force about literary hoaxes, time travel and the multiverse; "Bears Discover Fire," a ...

Room on the Broom Julia Donaldson is best known for The Gruffalo, but this cute little picture book has been a favorite of each of my three kids in turn at age four or so. A dog, a cat, a bird and a frog work together to save their friend the witch from a hungry dragon in this fun rhyming story about courtesy and teamwork. The text, alternating repetetive sections and new material, ...

Feast for Crows, A /Song of Ice and Fire, A /4 I’ve just completed my second re-read of the series (in anticipation of A Dance of Dragons finally being published), and if you’ve got as far as Feast I don’t think you’ll be too disappointed. Undoubtedly it is the weakest of the series, largely caused by the loss of Jon and Dany (Ice and Fire), Tyrion, and Bran, whose parallel ...

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The /Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy, the /1 Obviously this is a book with legions of rabid admirers, and, being a fan of British humour, I had fairly high expectations. When I finally broke down and read this book, my general response was. . . puzzlement. Now don't get me wrong, The Hitchhiker's Guide is certainly reasonably entertaining, and it ...

Ballad of Beta-2, The This is a short novel featuring a couple of powerful ideas and some effective imagery, but not much in terms of characterization or story. A bored young graduate student is sent to investigate the scene of a curiously neglected space disaster, and finds out quite a bit more than he expected. Not one of Delany's best, but it does feature one of the author's ...

Robots of Dawn, The /Positronic Robot /4 I consider myself an Asimov fan, and I recognize that he's generally an author you come to looking for great ideas more than great characters. Having said that, this book really didn't work for me on any level. I consistently found it contrived and long-winded. If you cut out all of the references to the design and use of "personals" (i.e., ...

i recomend this book to loads of people read it while you still can its the best _________________ thewizzkid'97 4 eva

Feast for Crows, A /Song of Ice and Fire, A /4 I’ve just completed my second re-read of the series (in anticipation of A Dance of Dragons finally being published), and if you’ve got as far as Feast I don’t think you’ll be too disappointed. Undoubtedly it is the weakest of the series, largely caused by the loss of Jon and Dany (Ice and Fire), Tyrion, and Bran, whose parallel ...

Eden Six nameless explorers find themselves marooned on a strange planet where the more they learn, the less anything makes sense. Automated factories produce nothing. Death is everywhere. They race to repair their ship before the increasingly menacing locals take effective action. If you're looking for light diversion and a bit of adolescent escapism, Stanislaw Lem is not for...

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The /Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy, the /1 Obviously this is a book with legions of rabid admirers, and, being a fan of British humour, I had fairly high expectations. When I finally broke down and read this book, my general response was. . . puzzlement. Now don't get me wrong, The Hitchhiker's Guide is certainly reasonably entertaining, and it ...

Arts. Inc. On some level I agree with one of Ivey’s essential premises: that the “I’m an artist, dammit, and I create art, which is good for you, so you should help pay for it whether you like it or not” argument has limited effectiveness. We do need to be rethinking the fundamental basis for our argument that a healthy, vibrant arts community is good for America. I also am completely...

Secret of the Old Clock /Nancy Drew /1 One of my sisters-in-law passed on the family set of Nancy Drew hardbacks to my eldest daughter, and I recently read through volume 1 (in the early 1960s rewrite version) with her as bedtime reading. I came to the story with very modest expectations, and I'd have to say that it in one aspect it was far worse than I expected. I can forgive ...

Ballad of Beta-2, The This is a short novel featuring a couple of powerful ideas and some effective imagery, but not much in terms of characterization or story. A bored young graduate student is sent to investigate the scene of a curiously neglected space disaster, and finds out quite a bit more than he expected. Not one of Delany's best, but it does feature one of the author's ...

Warrior's Apprentice /Miles Vorkosigan /4 This is the book that introduced us to the inimitable Miles Vorkosigan. It is vintage Bujold, offering a deft combination of humor, action, and suspense with moments of touching insight into what makes us all tick. Add to this a smart yet vulnerable protagonist with an admirable capability to learn from his mistakes and an author who doesn't ...

Harold and the Purple Crayon /Harold and the Purple Crayon I had fond, but distant, memories of this one from my own childhood. It has now become a favorite of the youngest of my three kids, currently aged four. There is something gloriously creative about Harold's simple drawings and the imaginary world into which he transforms them, an imaginary world which starts when you stray from...