the_pale_woman's Reviews (542)

Decent. I liked this better than his most recent book, Upgrade. It's shorter, so it's more of a simplified story than the other Crouch books I've read. It reads more like a horror than a sci-fi. This is partly due to the fact that the science here is flimsy, but I don't think it matters much. It has holes but I found myself not caring much about them. It's simply entertaining and sometimes that works. 

Respect. I will happily read anything, Mr. Abercrombie writes in the future. 

This trilogy was truly impressive. The characters, the plot, and the humor. All fantastic.

Officially one of my favorite active writers. What's next? I need more!

Easy 5 star rating. Abercrombie just keeps getting better. I think I love this new generation of despicables even more than the last.

I can see why other people might really like this. At times, I would be engrossed in the prose, but then it would fall flat. The concept, setting, and story are all compelling. I just didn't like the characters or the dialog or the progression of events. I liked it but at the same time I didn't. 

I would only recommend this to people who have read a lot of science fiction. Not for some gate keeping agenda but because there are better stories out there. Just because some portentous toe jam said this was the greatest single sci-fi doesn't mean you're going to like it or that he's right. Old or original does not equal perfection. 

One neat aspect to an older influential novel like this is that I can see where other fav sci-fi books of mine have pulled inspiration. That recognition is a unique experience that I appreciate. However, that can't make up for the times that I just really wasn't enjoying the experience of reading this. 

I'm conflicted but firm in the thought that this wasn't great. 

This would have been a 2 star read if not for my unexplainable curiosity. An individuals carefully curated memoir is not my favorite type of read. To be honest, in my library, read memoirs are a very small percentage.

I was surprised to find that my favorite part of the book was his account of his time in the military and his work with veterans afterward. I'm not fan of war but I feel stories like his, like any soldiers, are important in a world where war is a reality. 

I felt he did a good job of being respectful to his family. I'm sure they disagree, but I'm American. What do I know? I got the sense that he felt unloved by his Dad and brother. That broke my heart more than any other sin or betrayal they committed against him. Most acts can be forgiven if there is love. 

I'm surprised more royals don't leave the family. Not because life is hard for them. It's not. They have a  security in life that most people will never experience, not to mention the lavish lifestyles. But it seems irresponsible to throw children into a public life. There's no consent. I feel the same way about children being thrown into celebrity in America. 

Enough of my opinions on the subject. As a book it's okay. If you want to read it for something scandalous, then maybe try something else. He's not trying to break the boat. Just rock it a little.

Not really much to rate here. I feel weird even giving it two stars because there is really nothing to rate. More like one chapter of a book. Ultra tiny short fiction is not my thing. I loved all the murderbot books but this was skippable. 

I have mixed feelings here. 

There is so much about this universe that is intriguing and undeniably creative. To put it simply, the series explores sentience. It's different forms, its evolution, and from different perspectives. It's a great concept. Children of Time did this best. It wasn't just an exploration of ideas but a fully formed story that had me invested in the characters/personas as well as the plot and concept. The second book, Childern of Ruin, was a solid sequel. It leans more heavily into the horror genre and really adds a lot to the variables into the universe. 

Children of Memory tries to capture the same vibe as the first two books. I think it missed the mark. The idea is there, but the execution seems rushed. The "stages" (parts of the story and history that periodically get broken down for you) really pulled me out of the narrative. Like a rush of bland information that keeps circling in on itself. Regardless of the purpose, the text felt repetitive. Towards the end, the narrative further degrades and just feels purposely convoluted. Add on top of that some povs that are definitely at the bottom of the childern of time character tier list and you have my disappointment. 

However, while I'm disappointed, it didn't ruin the first two books in this series for me. It didn't even feel like the end of a trilogy. I'm not sure if it's even supposed to be. I would welcome another book in this series, but I would hope he would spend more time and effort on it than he did on this one.

The Green Bone Saga is a fantastic series. This short story is a prequel to events in the trilogy, but I think it's better to read this afterward. It has a solid story for a shorter work, but my favorite part of the experience was looking back at how this world functioned before the events of the trilogy. Gives it a nostalgia vibe that was extremely satisfying. I don't think I would have loved it as much without the context. 

Normally, I'm not a fan of short story collections. However, this was better than most. All the stories really added depth to the existing characters in the series. There's so many in the first law world that it was nice to see a little more back story or story continuation of a few less prominent characters.

I appreciated how there is one particular story interwoven throughout this book. Not continuously told but peppered in enough that it enticed me to keep a steady pace reading. Most collections will fail to keep my attention. I can binge read multi volume thousand page beastly book series, but tell a whole bunch of unconnected little stories, and you'll lose my interest.