Book Review | Artemis by Andy Weir

Artemis is a science fiction novel from Andy Weir.

Jazz Bashara is a criminal.

Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.

I was excited about Artemis for the simple fact that it was a new Andy Weir book. I loved The Martian so I was anxious for more Andy Weir. I was hoping to go into reading it blind, but I spoiled myself to the premise as I was adding it to my Goodreads. Once I saw it was a heist story set on the moon, I had to read it immediately.

There was a level of fun to Artemis. I'm sure a lot of readers will enjoy it. I hoped by the time I sat down to write my official review, the fun aspects of Artemis would overtake my issues, but the opposite has happened. When I look back on reading Artemis, the problems are what I remember most.

Most of my issues revolve around the main character Jazz. This makes sense since there really weren't any other developed characters in Artemis. It was a formula that worked well for Mark Watney's character in The Martian, but I wasn't a fan of Jazz at all.

Not only was Jazz not likable, her character development was problematic. The reader is told on several occasions that Jazz has a sexual history. Why? What does the fact that Jazz has sex tell us about her character? As many times as it was brought up, I assume it was supposed to mean something.

My assessment of Jazz's character is Andy Weir tried to create a badass female character like Devi Morris from Rachel Bach's Paradox trilogy and failed miserably.

Jazz's back story was filled with the awful choices of her youth. I didn't see how her back story was any different from her current story. She was still making awful choices. I wish I could have cared about her, but instead I felt she deserved whatever she got.

Complaints aside, the science in Artemis was fun. The science was a huge part of what I was hoping for going into reading Artemis. Like The Martian, I have no idea if the science was accurate, but it didn't need to be.

At the end of the day, my opinion of Artemis isn't going to sway anyone and it really shouldn't. I wanted a new Andy Weir novel and that's what I got.

I will be excited for his next release, but I'm also hoping it will be a while before we get his next female protagonist.

Despite having issues with Artemis, I came away from reading it waffling between 2 and 3 stars so I'm going to stick with my initial reaction and go straight up the middle with my rating.

5/10: Decent Read

Review copy provided by publisher

Book Review | The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey

The Boy on the Bridge is the prequel to M.R. Carey's The Girl with All the Gifts.

Once upon a time, in a land blighted by terror, there was a very clever boy.

The people thought the boy could save them, so they opened their gates and sent him out into the world.

To where the monsters lived.

I'm glad to see The Boy on the Bridge is getting rave reviews. I'm not sure why it didn't work as well for me. There were some good moments, but as a whole I had a hard time sustaining excitement for it.

I'm a huge fan of The Girl with All the Gifts. If you haven't read that one yet, I highly recommend it.

I'm not sure the beginning of this book would pull in folks who haven't already read Girl. I felt like the only thing sustaining me in the beginning was my previous knowledge of the world and the virus. My biggest problem while reading Boy was how much my mind was consistently able to wander and ponder such things. It felt like the good moments were reeling me back in. For whatever reason, I wasn't able to connect to the story until I was about 80% in.

I did enjoy the ending of The Boy on the Bridge. I'm glad I read it, and I will happily read more books set in this world. Unfortunately, I was bored throughout a lot of the book which is why my rating is very middle of the road.

If you loved The Girl with All the Gifts, The Boy on the Bridge would certainly be worth checking out from your library. Based on the other reviews I've seen, it's likely you'll enjoy it more than I'm leading you to believe.

5/10: Decent Read

Book Review | Fender Lizards by Joe R. Lansdale

Fender Lizards is a coming of age novel from Joe R. Lansdale.

The unmistakable accent of the Piney Woods of East Texas rolls from the pages of Fender Lizards, Joe R. Lansdale’s tale of the life and love and work of one Dot Sherman, who delivers on her promise that her story is “the real thing from beginning to end.”

Dot waitresses on roller skates at the Dairy Bob, doesn’t care for smoking at least partly on account of her dad having never returned from a cigarette run, and carries on the family tradition of philosophizing. Life hasn’t done her any favors in her seventeen years so far. But if there was ever a heroine built for turning things upside down and seeing what shakes out, it’s Dot. Determined to find out who she is and why she’s the way she is, an opportunity presents itself when her heretofore-unknown uncle suddenly moves his camper into the front yard.

As in his classic novels The Bottoms and The Magic Wagon, multiple-award-winning Lansdale instills place with character and character with place. Here is an overlooked world and a cast of real folks that prove unforgettable, all rendered in one of American fiction’s most authentic voices.

Fender Lizards is the story of how Dot came to be in the roller derby.

Reading about roller derby is like reading about quidditch in Harry Potter or stopping in the middle of Twilight for a long game of baseball. It's not an exciting time. (Is it taboo to make references to Twilight? Sorry.) Some of you will know what I mean.

I'm from Southeast Texas so Lansdale automatically puts me at home. I can hear and feel East Texas in his writing. This is a big plus for me.

I loved the characters in Fender Lizards. Dot was definitely the heart of the story. Fender Lizards was much more about Dot and her family than it was about her joining the roller derby, but that aspect bored me so I'm harping on it.

Overall, Fender Lizards was a decent read. I didn't love it. I felt like I wanted more to be happening. It was easy to put down, and it took longer than it should have for me to finish it. I didn't dislike it, either, though. It reinforced the fact that I need to be reading a lot more Lansdale outside of my Hap and Leonard binges.

5/10: Decent Read

Book Review | The Binding by Nicholas Wolff

The Binding is the debut horror novel of Nicholas Wolff (a pseudonym for "an acclaimed New York Times bestselling author").

When a rare mental disorder begins to consume his small-town neighbors, a young psychiatrist digs up the past for clues to the epidemic’s bone-chilling source in this brilliant supernatural horror debut, written in the bestselling tradition of Peter Straub.

Convinced that evil spirits have overtaken his daughter, a desperate father introduces her to Nat Thayer, a young psychiatrist in their sleepy blue-blooded Massachusetts college town. Thayer quickly diagnoses the girl with Cotard Delusion, an obscure condition sometimes described as “walking corpse syndrome.” But Thayer soon realizes his patient—and many of the local families—are actually being targeted by a malignant force resurrected from the town's wicked history. Thayer must discover the source of the spreading plague…before there is no one left to save.

Reading The Binding was kind of a strange experience. There were some great scenes - even some scares - but I had a lot of trouble paying attention to the rest of it. I'm coming out of it with memorable bits and pieces but no glue to hold it all together.

I texted my mom at 12% because I knew she was reading this as well. She told me she had to start over completely 3 times before she got it to stick. That was not a fate I wanted so I just pressed on.

In the end, I'm glad for those memorable moments - they are what I look for in a great read - but I often found myself pushing through The Binding so I could move on to something else.

5/10: Decent Read

Review copy provided by publisher

Red Hill by Jamie McGuire | Book Review

Red Hill is a zombie/post-apocalyptic novel from Jamie McGuire.

Book Description

When the world ends, can love survive?

For Scarlet, raising her two daughters alone makes fighting for tomorrow an everyday battle. Nathan has a wife, but can’t remember what it’s like to be in love; only his young daughter Zoe makes coming home worthwhile. Miranda’s biggest concern is whether her new VW Bug is big enough to carry her sister and their boyfriends on a weekend escape from college finals.

When reports of a widespread, deadly “outbreak” begin to surface, these ordinary people face extraordinary circumstances and suddenly their fates are intertwined. Recognizing they can’t outrun the danger, Scarlet, Nathan, and Miranda desperately seek shelter at the same secluded ranch, Red Hill. Emotions run high while old and new relationships are tested in the face of a terrifying enemy—an enemy who no longer remembers what it’s like to be human.

Set against the backdrop of a brilliantly realized apocalyptic world, love somehow finds a way to survive. But what happens when the one you’d die for becomes the one who could destroy you?

Review

Let me get this out of the way first. I absolutely thought this was going to be a romance novel with a zombie apocalypse backdrop. No, no, no. That's not at all what this was which is a very good thing. This was a straight up, classic zombie novel. There was romance, sure, but not until well past halfway into the book.

There were things I loved about Red Hill. For one, I loved that everyone knew it was the zombie apocalypse. I get so tired of zombie books where no one ever calls them zombies. They make up stupid names for them and eventually figure out only a head shot will kill them. They eventually renamed the zombies in Red Hill, too, but it wasn't out of ignorance. Everyone had perfect clarity regarding what was happening and what needed to be done.

There were things I didn't love about this book, too, though. At the heart of every survival story, there has to be a struggle for basic needs. Obtaining, supplying, and rationing things like food for one. No one other than the zombies should be that well fed.

I also had some serious trouble with the characters and their reactions to the wide spread death toll as well as the sentiment behind the ending.

I do admittedly have some zombie book pet peeves, but the truth is I love the shambling, people eating, low moaning, decaying undead. I really, really do. As a zombie book, I did really enjoy the presence of classic zombies. I'm that easy to please. I just wish I had been more of a fan of the living in Red Hill as well.

5/10: Decent Read

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang | Book Review

What's Left of Me is the first book in Kat Zhang's The Hybrid Chronicles series. The second book Once We Were released this week.

Book Description

I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Review

I absolutely love it when a book builds and builds and ends on an awesome note like one giant crescendo. Unfortunately, What's Left of Me was the exact opposite of the crescendo effect. What's Left of Me is possibly the first book I have ever read that was a complete decrescendo.

The beginning of What's Left of Me was awesome. The way the premise of two souls inhabiting one body was explained and handled was nothing short of brilliant. I was immediately invested in the characters, and it was hard to get the premise or the characters off of my mind.

Once the plot really got underway, however, my problems with the book began to snowball. We are told society feels one way, yet we are shown another. We drifted from huge thought provoking questions down to teenage drama. I had no trouble believing two souls could exist in one body, but I couldn't believe normal human reactions. I felt like less and less time was spent on the details the further I got into the book. There were just too many plot holes to keep me from singing its praises.

A lot of the logic problems I found with What's Left of Me reminded me of Article 5 by Kristin Simmons. If you loved Article 5, the issues I had with What's Left of Me may not bother you.

I'm in a weird predicament having to rate What's Left of Me. I loved the beginning of What's Left of Me so much I'm almost inclined to recommend it just for that (so good!), but the rest of the book was such a let down that I have absolutely no intention of continuing the rest of the series. As a result, my rating is split down the middle.

5/10: > aka the decrescendo of awesome

Tamarack County by William Kent Krueger | Book Review

Tamarack County by William Kent Krueger
Series: Cork O'Connor
Publication Date: August 20, 2013

Book Description

Violence and murder blow into Minnesota’s sleepy Tamarack County as ex-sheriff Cork O’Connor returns in the latest installment of William Kent Krueger’s New York Times bestselling series.

As a blizzard swells just days before Christmas, the car belonging to the wife of a retired local judge is discovered abandoned on a rural road in Tamarack County. After days of fruitless effort, the search-and-rescue team has little hope that she’ll be found alive, if at all. Cork O’Connor, former sheriff and now private investigator, is part of that team.

Early on, Cork notices small things about the woman’s disappearance that disturb him. But when the beloved pet dog of a friend is brutally killed and beheaded, he begins to see a startling pattern in these and other recent dark occurrences in the area. After his own son comes close to peril, Cork understands that someone is spinning a deadly web in Tamarack County. At the center is a murder more than twenty years old, for which an innocent man may have been convicted. Cork remembers the case only too well. He was the deputy in charge of the investigation that sent the man to prison.

With the darkest days of the year at hand, the storms of winter continue to isolate Tamarack County. Somewhere behind the blind of all that darkness and drifting snow, a vengeful force is at work. And Cork has only hours to stop it before his family and his friends pay the ultimate price for the sins of others.

With complex plot twists, rich characters, and a vivid setting, Tamarack County is a relentlessly fast-paced novel that will chill, thrill, and shock you.

Review

Earlier this year I read William Kent Krueger's Ordinary Grace. It was the first book I had read by Krueger so I was anxious to get my hands on another one of his books. Tamarack County is Krueger's latest release, and it's part of his Cork O'Connor series.

Overall I'd have to say this was a middle of the road book for me. Some of it was from coming into the series late, but some of it wasn't.

Like most adult mystery series books, the main story of Tamarack County is stand alone. I didn't need to have read any other Cork O'Connor books to enjoy the plot or the mystery aspect of Tamarack County. I did feel like I was missing out on the back stories of Cork's family and his love interest, though. There was also some Native American culture I can only assume was explained in previous books. That being said, someone who has read all of the series thus far will probably appreciate not having it rehashed for them. I could also probably read the next book in the series now with less issue.

Now for the part that had nothing to do with it being a series book. Even though Tamarack County kept me engaged as a reader, there were times I felt like I was being told about the good the stuff after the fact instead of experiencing all of the action myself. I also think some things were supposed to shock me, but they either fell flat or I simply saw them coming.

This isn't to say I didn't enjoy Tamarack County because I did. There is a quality to Krueger's writing that I really enjoy. I may even go back and start this series at the beginning. I have no doubt folks who have been reading the Cork O'Connor series will enjoy this installment; I just wish I had started out earlier in the series.

5/10: Decent Read

Review copy provided by publisher