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The amount of plot holes and inconsistencies in this book overcame the nostalgia I had for it. And the ham-handed ending that just ... ignores everything that has happened makes it worse.
This one was not as clever. Sure, parts of it felt like realistic responses to a situation where hypnotists are real, but parts of it were mind-bindingly (pun intended) stupid. Dr. Mako seems perfectly in character until we realize his evil plan, which ... makes no sense whatsoever. And the final resolution of the book — where the US military just ... lets all these hypnotists, some of whom literally made the world come to a standstill, go, is perhaps less realistic than hypnotism itself.
This was clever, I'll give the author that, and it was nice to see the story continue. The ending feels detached and is clearly the setup for the next book, though.
This book is a collection of short stories ostensibly about humans being the crazy alien race — we're enduring, have boundless compassion and ingenuity, and have so many traditions that are insane when seen form the outside. So I went into this book excited — I've read stories like this before, and enjoyed them. But, while I didn't dislike any of the stories, I didn't love them either. "Sidekick", the first story, is good. I enjoyed "WWHD: What Would Humans Do" but was a little disappointed by the ending. "New Union Requirement" was good and an interesting perspective — a story all about humans with no humans actually in it. "The Sound of His Footsteps" was also good, and "No Way This Could Go Wrong" was another interesting story that focuses on something quintessentially human that doesn't really make sense — sarcasm. "Human Engineering" was another outside perspective story that …
This book is a collection of short stories ostensibly about humans being the crazy alien race — we're enduring, have boundless compassion and ingenuity, and have so many traditions that are insane when seen form the outside. So I went into this book excited — I've read stories like this before, and enjoyed them. But, while I didn't dislike any of the stories, I didn't love them either. "Sidekick", the first story, is good. I enjoyed "WWHD: What Would Humans Do" but was a little disappointed by the ending. "New Union Requirement" was good and an interesting perspective — a story all about humans with no humans actually in it. "The Sound of His Footsteps" was also good, and "No Way This Could Go Wrong" was another interesting story that focuses on something quintessentially human that doesn't really make sense — sarcasm. "Human Engineering" was another outside perspective story that was good, and an accurate depiction of humanity, and I also enjoyed "Once Upon a Time There Was A Xurit Named Xcanda". So while these were good stories, they didn't feel like anything particularly special.
Callum Hunt's life has been difficult ever since he was admitted to the Magisterium, since his father suspects him of …
1st Edition
A. A. Milne: House at Pooh Corner, The (1970, Yearling)
Ten adventures of Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet, Owl, and other friends of Christopher Robin.
Contains: In Which [a House Is …
Dante can swim. Ari can't. Dante is articulate and self-assured. Ari has a hard time with words and suffers from …
A group of American scientists are rushed to a huge vessel that has been discovered …
This book starts with a team of 5 being brought together by the US Navy to investigate a spaceship discovered on the ocean floor — that has apparently been there for 300 years. They go down underwater to investigate, staying in a habitat on the seafloor. But as they stay down there, they may find that the greatest danger is not the ship, but each other.
Discover the very special book that has captured the hearts of millions of readers all …
This book is a very sweet, beautiful children’s book about life and friendship and love. It’s written and illustrated by the same person, with some wonderful watercolor art and stunning calligraphy. But it’s also just full of profound messages — and some funny ones as well.
In an Arizona desert a man wanders in a daze, speaking words that make no …
Michael Crichton writes realistic, near-future sci-fi and his books just captivate me. I can’t even really say why. This book is about a team of archaeologists excavating and reconstructing a French village from the 1300s. When they discover multiple anomalies with their site — chief among them being a modern eyeglass lens buried there — they are whisked off to the headquarters of the multinational multibillion-dollar corporation that sponsors their dig. There they learn that the company has the ability to go back in time, and that their help is needed to rescue their dig leader from that past. On their trip back, they learn a lot about the history of their site, and they have some adventures of their own
The main character is the leader of the Greatcoats, an elite group of people who travel the country upholding the King’s Law. But the King has now been overthrown by the Dukes, who are cruel and power-hungry. The book flips through a few different timelines, showing us the founding of the organization, the fall of the King, and the main character’s travels in the “present”. What we find out did happen is very clever, and I’m excited to see how it’s resolved in the rest of the series — this book was fun and interesting enough to get me to read more
This book is a collection of missing scenes and alternate POVs. It’s nothing special, but if you already like the characters and the series, it’s nice to read more about them
Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite …
The series is a very interesting story of cyborgs and lost queens and revolutions, and the way in which the books are inspired by and play off of classic fairy tales (Cinderella, little red riding hood, rapunzel, Snow White) is extremely clever. This book does not stand out as by far the best in the series, but it’s a satisfying conclusion
