Date Read: July 18 Author: Jeannette Ng Genre: Fantasy Rating: 3/5 Catherin Helstone’s older brother, Reverend Laon Helstone, is a missionary in the land of the fae. When months go by without any correspondence from him, she goes after him to make sure that he is okay, but she finds more than she was lookingContinue reading “Under the Pendulum Sun”
Category Archives: 3 Stars
The Imitation Game
Date Read: July 14 Author: Jim Ottaviani Illustrator: Leland Purvis Genre: Comic Rating: 3/5 I didn’t realize that this was a comic when I checked it out digitally from the library. I’m sure that it’s an excellent comic and a good telling of Alan Turing’s story, but it was difficult to read on a kindle.
Darwinia
Date Read: July 7 Author: Robert Charles Wilson Genre: Fantasy Rating: 3/5 In 1912 the Miracle happened, transforming all of Europe into a nightmarish jungle full of monsters. Guilford Law travels to new-Europe, called Darwinia, and finds that the Miracle was even more complicated than he ever imagined. The novel’s premise certainly had potential, butContinue reading “Darwinia”
Things in Jars
Date Read: June 17 Author: Jess Kidd Genre: Historical Fiction Rating: 3/5 It certainly started out well, but it tried so hard to be interesting that it ended up being boring due to too many plot twists and too much detail throughout each chapter. The novel felt squeezed into the chapters, as though the authorContinue reading “Things in Jars”
The Mirage
Date Read: May 26 Author: Matt Ruff Genre: Fiction Rating: 3/5 In an alternate history, it’s Christian fundamentalists who hijack airplanes, leading to an entirely different, and yet oddly familiar, timeline.
Justice Hall
Date Read: May 24 Author: Laurie R. King Genre: Mystery Rating: 3/5 While I generally love any book that involved Sherlock Holmes, I did not realize that this was the sixth book in the series. By the time I was a few pages in it felt as though I had started watching the second seasonContinue reading “Justice Hall”
Girl, Woman, Other
Date Read: May 3 Author: Bernardine Evaristo Genre: Fiction Rating: 3/5 The novel follows the lives and struggles of twelve characters, most of whom are black and British. While the stories were excellent, I found it hard to get past the format and writing style. It felt a lot closer to poetry than anything else.Continue reading “Girl, Woman, Other”
Paradiso
Date Read: April 29 Author: Dante Alighieri Genre: Classics This is the third and final book of the Divine Comedy, preceded by Inferno and Purgatorio. I found Paradiso a little boring, particularly in comparison to the depictions of hell and purgatory in the other two parts of the Divine Comedy. In Paradiso everything is perfect,Continue reading “Paradiso”
Tooth and Claw
Date Read: April 16 Author: Jo Walton Genre: Fantasy Rating: 3/5 A world of dragons, with some changes from human society, but largely based off of and reflecting human society. Even the conflict between the “old” religion and the “accepted” religion is unclear, and largely based off of the practice of confession and absolution. Overall,Continue reading “Tooth and Claw”
The Conference of the Birds
Date Read: March 30 Author: Farid Attar Rating: 3/5 This is another book for one of my classes, and I just don’t like it as much as I’ve enjoyed other books. I don’t really like poetry, so I doubt I would have picked it up if not for my class.
Zoey's Year in Books 2020 