Reader of books, programmer of computers, raiser of children, drawer of art.
My website: ratfactor.com/
Also on Mastodon: mastodon.art/@ratfactor (where I mostly post art!)
The avatar is a watercolor painting (from my sketchbook) of Tux, the Linux penguin with a pipe and disheveled feathers on the head (Slackware Linux style) in a Roman-style robe and computing on a laptop atop a Roman column. He is leaning on a marble block that has a martini glass. You can't tell, but the martini glass just contains fish-flavored water.
Review of 'The Tower of the Swallow' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
In my reading order, this is Witcher book 6. Putting a star rating to this is going to be very difficult. There are many, many brilliant things in this book. Very clever dialog and situations. The pace can be a bit plodding at times (not helped by how slowly I read it, which was not the book's fault). But when it heats up, the action is fast and furious. I liked it. I didn't love it, but I liked it. And I respect it. I'm certainly curious where all of this is going!
The Wizards Guild has been shattered by a coup and, in the uproar, Geralt was …
Review of 'Baptism of Fire' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
In my reading order, this is Witcher book 5. (And as an aside, after a lifetime of hemming and hawing, I have decided that I prefer reading books in publishing order, not by story chronology.)
I'm no longer surprised by the way in which this story is not solely a story about Geralt of Rivia. But he's in here and he's having a story arc. What I love about this book are the other awesome characters Sapkowski has introduced. There are still so many things I don't know about them. Like most readers, I do grumble when my favorite characters aren't mentioned for a hundred pages, but this is really an incredible fantasy book if you come into it with the right expectations or a very open mind.
From helpless slave to beloved son to aspiring merchant to prodigal heir, Citizen of the …
Review of 'Citizen of the Galaxy' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Unfortunately, these Heinlein "juveniles" have been pretty uneven. I think we lucked into the better ones near the beginning. Citizen of the Galaxy is considered one of his better books, but I couldn't disagree more. The pacing was great in the beginning and I thought he handled some interesting and challenging subjects very well (slavery and all sorts of classism). But as a story, it just increasingly sucks. The ending on this perhaps even more of a let-down than Time for the Stars. And like that book, it's got not one, but two instances of "gosh, my cousin sure is hot" (one instance being more literal than another). Does anybody know what the deal with that is?
At any rate, these last two juveniles have reminded me less of fun SF adventures with thought-provoking elements and more of his 1960s work that I pretty much despise (and mind you, …
Unfortunately, these Heinlein "juveniles" have been pretty uneven. I think we lucked into the better ones near the beginning. Citizen of the Galaxy is considered one of his better books, but I couldn't disagree more. The pacing was great in the beginning and I thought he handled some interesting and challenging subjects very well (slavery and all sorts of classism). But as a story, it just increasingly sucks. The ending on this perhaps even more of a let-down than Time for the Stars. And like that book, it's got not one, but two instances of "gosh, my cousin sure is hot" (one instance being more literal than another). Does anybody know what the deal with that is?
At any rate, these last two juveniles have reminded me less of fun SF adventures with thought-provoking elements and more of his 1960s work that I pretty much despise (and mind you, I started on a bad foot with him by reading the unbelievable garbage, The Number of the Beast!). My kiddo was also very disappointed by the abrupt and unsatisfying ending. And for that reason, I'm gonna give this a low rating.
It's sad, really, because there are some very good elements in this.
Little Lord Fauntleroy is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was published as a …
Review of 'Little Lord Fauntleroy' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Update: Third reading. We wanted something that FELT GOOD to read. Again, forgot how funny it was.
Update: Second reading. Kiddo enjoys it! Despite the angelic main character, it's a good little story. Above all, I forgot how funny this is. Very dry humor.
First reading's review:
I read this to my daughter. She's only 16 months old, so no more than a word or two could have sunk in, but we're getting the pattern of reading at night instilled.
This is a sweet and innocent book. A bit too sweet, perhaps. But the antiquated wording and speech help to bring interest. I enjoyed the cantankerous grandfather. I read him in a slow, low, and mostly bemused voice and imagined him quite vividly from his descriptions.
It's altogether a charming book that got some real chuckles out of me. Perfect for kiddos or perhaps some adults who need some life …
Update: Third reading. We wanted something that FELT GOOD to read. Again, forgot how funny it was.
Update: Second reading. Kiddo enjoys it! Despite the angelic main character, it's a good little story. Above all, I forgot how funny this is. Very dry humor.
First reading's review:
I read this to my daughter. She's only 16 months old, so no more than a word or two could have sunk in, but we're getting the pattern of reading at night instilled.
This is a sweet and innocent book. A bit too sweet, perhaps. But the antiquated wording and speech help to bring interest. I enjoyed the cantankerous grandfather. I read him in a slow, low, and mostly bemused voice and imagined him quite vividly from his descriptions.
It's altogether a charming book that got some real chuckles out of me. Perfect for kiddos or perhaps some adults who need some life lessons in an easy-to-swallow form.
John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday.
First he visited his wife’s grave. …
Review of "Old Man's War" on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of Old Man's War. Not just because I was invested in the story and the characters (I was) but because after I'd read several excellent chapters, I wanted to see if Scalzi could keep up the momentum all the way to the end.
Lots of books blow their load early and fizzle out. Dean Koontz, for example, writes some wonderful first and second chapters, but he suffers mightily from the sort of mid-book doldrums wherein it feels as though he's just winging it until he can find his way to the conclusion.
Scalzi does not suffer from this problem. After packing the first half of the book with a fast pace, wit, and clever things, he shifts gears and ends it with a fast pace, wit, and more clever things. He never runs out of clever things! He stays …
I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of Old Man's War. Not just because I was invested in the story and the characters (I was) but because after I'd read several excellent chapters, I wanted to see if Scalzi could keep up the momentum all the way to the end.
Lots of books blow their load early and fizzle out. Dean Koontz, for example, writes some wonderful first and second chapters, but he suffers mightily from the sort of mid-book doldrums wherein it feels as though he's just winging it until he can find his way to the conclusion.
Scalzi does not suffer from this problem. After packing the first half of the book with a fast pace, wit, and clever things, he shifts gears and ends it with a fast pace, wit, and more clever things. He never runs out of clever things! He stays witty, get this, all the way through the book! And the pace? It's fast.
Bravo. I've already purchased the next two sequels from the used bookstore and look forward to reading them when I need some serious entertainment.
