Angels Of The Deep

Angels Of The Deep by Kirby Crow (2 out of 5 stars)

Why two stars? I am torn about this book. Many of its merits turn against it, ending up as flaws. For example:

It has extraordinarily beautiful language. Kirby Crow spins pure magic with her words, making the reader see and feel everything as if they are present. However, the long descriptions slow the book down, to the point of halting action and becoming a chore. Much as I loved the details on decoration and the poetic description of landscapes, the atmosphere etc., from a point onwards I wanted things to happen and the story to move forward.

The atmosphere is stifling, foreboding, bleak. Crow captures the very essence of winter, heavy with hopelessness and despair. This continues relentlessly throughout the story to the point of becoming depressing and sometimes tiring. I often put the book down because I needed a break.

The protagonist, Becket, is miserable and beating himself for his failings and incomprehension of his place in the world. It’s very convincing and it makes you feel for him. You can taste his despair. Unfortunately, this happens for 240 out of 296 pages. So much angst and self-loathing desensitises the reader, and finally succeeds in making them bored and unsympathetic towards Becket. At least that was how I felt.

At one point, another hero thinks of who the protagonist really is and how the entire story has come to be. For almost five pages, we’re given all the details neatly wrapped in that person’s internal monologue. Yes, it is helpful, but I would prefer Crow to give the details through the story itself, rather than amassing so much info in such a straightforward way.

The romance between the two protagonists is a battle of wills that frustrated me more than stimulated me. Every time things were about to heat up, Becket stepped back, drowning in self-denial and shame and plain stubbornness. Moods and mannerisms changed from playful and skillfully seductive to aggressive and condescending in a matter of seconds. There isn’t always a realistic explanation or a smooth transition from intense flirting and absolute openness to anger, denial and irony. I would have preferred a more subtle and even approach. Then again, I didn’t write the book, so what I would have done is a matter of personal preference.

Crow has a very interesting and complex mythology as a background, but the way this mythology is presented is chaotic and often unconvincing, statements conflicting with actual happenings. We learn that Becket belongs to a race that care about themselves only. However, throughout the book Becket exhibits the exact opposite behaviour. I think Crow found the idea plausible as an angle, but didn’t present it in a convincing manner. The other members of the same race appear aloof and uncaring about everything, failing to ignite even a spark of interest in me. They were figures in the background. Even their imminent demise failed to stir any feeling. They felt two dimensional.

To sum up, it is an interesting but uneven read, with strong merits and equally strong flaws. If you enjoy long, dark, lyrical descriptions with an anguished, tortured protagonist, mystery and gore thrown in, you will love it. I struggled through it, loved some moments, hated others. I would suggest trying it out for yourself.

*My star rating and what it means: 

 

Zero stars: Why me?!?  I do come across books that aren't really books, but brain damage in disguise. For reasons you can all understand, I won't be publishing reviews on them. I tend to become enraged and say things I later on regret.

One star: Meh... I didn't like it and won't be keeping it. It might be the book, or it might be me. I'll try to clarify in my review.

Two stars: Average/ Okay. Either the kind of light/ undemanding book you read and don't remember in a month, or suffering from flaws that prevented it from realising its potential.

Three stars: Better than average. Good moments, memorable characters and/ or plot, maybe good sense of humour... Not to die for, but not feeling like you wasted your time and money either.

Four stars: Wow, that was good! Definitely keeping it and checking to see what else I can buy from the same writer.

Five stars: Oh. My. Goodness. The kind of book you buy as a gift to all your friends, praise to random strangers on the bus, and re-read until the pages fall out and the corners are no longer corners, but round.

The Nightmare Factory

The Nightmare Factory by Thomas Ligotti (5 out of 5 stars)

This is the most refined, rampant brain sickness I've ever come across, and it was disguised as a book. Words can't describe the impact of these stories. If you are a fan of Lovecraft, you must read this author. Just keep in mind Ligotti's prose is even more nightmarish, vague and unsettling. It reminded me of an exhausted, fevered man, slowly drowning in quicksand made of leprous, rotting matter, struggling and screaming in vain. The landscape is desolate, swampy, forsaken. Every life born there is born flawed and sick, and serves only involution and degeneration. Each lungful of squirming dirt that man inhales takes root in him, killing him and claiming him, bringing ecstatic visions of death and the other side of Creation. It's the side that serves only the blind, ever-changing void of reason, the Darkness that birthed everything and humans masked it as a benevolent God to retain their sanity. Ligotti sees behind that mask, and brings back gifts meant only for the brave, and those ready to embrace that same void inside them.

Please DON'T read this book if you aren't a hardcore fan of Lovecraft ready to be taken several steps further into madness and decay. Here be dragons. End of transmission. Off to eat cake and hopefully restore a portion of my brain to a semblance of function. 

*My star rating and what it means: 

 

Zero stars: Why me?!?  I do come across books that aren't really books, but brain damage in disguise. For reasons you can all understand, I won't be publishing reviews on them. I tend to become enraged and say things I later on regret.

One star: Meh... I didn't like it and won't be keeping it. It might be the book, or it might be me. I'll try to clarify in my review.

Two stars: Average/ Okay. Either the kind of light/ undemanding book you read and don't remember in a month, or suffering from flaws that prevented it from realising its potential.

Three stars: Better than average. Good moments, memorable characters and/ or plot, maybe good sense of humour... Not to die for, but not feeling like you wasted your time and money either.

Four stars: Wow, that was good! Definitely keeping it and checking to see what else I can buy from the same writer.

Five stars: Oh. My. Goodness. The kind of book you buy as a gift to all your friends, praise to random strangers on the bus, and re-read until the pages fall out and the corners are no longer corners, but round.

Twilight, Dead Until Dark, Enthralled

Three more reviews. Two negative, one neutral.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (1 out of 5 stars, did not finish)*

Um... No. Not my kind of thing. I can see the appeal of the invisible girl winning over the hunk-who-doesn't-date, but the writing style is poor and some of the relationship elements are rather disturbing. I tried to read it and could not finish it, so I passed it on.  Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (0 out of 5 stars, did not finish)* Another no. I didn't like the writing style at all, and when this happens I can't get into the book. The narrative was juvenile and the heroes two-dimentional. I gave it a perfunctory read and passed it on to someone else. Enthralled by Kayci Morgan (2 out of 5 stars)* Pros: very easy to read. In its own way quite sweet. Cons: Too short, therefore everything happening too easy and fast. Relies on well known 'recipes' of the vampire genre instead of actual development. Good, clear writing for a free ebook. The writer shows promise. I would like to read something longer by her. *My star rating and what it means:    Zero stars: Why me?!?  I do come across books that aren't really books, but brain damage in disguise. For reasons you can all understand, I won't be publishing reviews on them. I tend to become enraged and say things I later on regret. One star: Meh... I didn't like it and won't be keeping it. It might be the book, or it might be me. I'll try to clarify in my review. Two stars: Average/ Okay. Either the kind of light/ undemanding book you read and don't remember in a month, or suffering from flaws that prevented it from realising its potential. Three stars: Better than average. Good moments, memorable characters and/ or plot, maybe good sense of humour... Not to die for, but not feeling like you wasted your time and money either. Four stars: Wow, that was good! Definitely keeping it and checking to see what else I can buy from the same writer. Five stars: Oh. My. Goodness. The kind of book you buy as a gift to all your friends, praise to random strangers on the bus, and re-read until the pages fall out and the corners are no longer corners, but round.

Joseph Campbell

A hundred times yes. Amazing scholar, amazing book. Read it if you like mythology explained and integrated in everyday, modern life. He knew what he was talking about.

"The modern hero, the modern individual who dares to heed the call and seek the mansion of that presence with whom it is our whole destiny to be atoned, cannot, indeed, must not, wait for his community to cast off its slough of pride, fear, rationalized avarice, and sanctified misunderstanding. 'Live,' Nietzsche said, 'as though the day were here.' It is not society that is to guide and save the creative hero, but precisely the reverse. And so every one of us shares the supreme ordeal––carries the cross of the redeemer––not in the bright moments of his tribe's great victories, but in the silences of his personal despair."

The concluding paragraph of Joseph Campbell's "The Hero With A Thousand Faces"

The Sirens of Titan, Dreams of a Dark Warrior

I am always wary of the classics. Most of the time I don't like them. Here is a classic:

The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut (1 star out of 5)*

This is a good book that unfortunately lost me after the first 100 pages. Up to that point I had loved it to bits. I didn't like the direction the plot took after the hero's departure and didn't care about any of the following events. The developments and the characters failed to keep my interest; the story didn't 'speak' to me anymore. Also, the treatment of the characters made me feel very depressed.

I read it all the way to the end, hoping it would be salvaged, but it wasn't. The language is very good and the author makes some excellent observations on human nature and religion. The book is also quite funny at parts. I guess it just didn't do it for me.

Just as I am wary of the classics, I am also wary of the Paranormal Romance genre... Again, most of the time I don't like books of that genre.

Kresley Cole: Dreams of a Dark Warrior (2 stars out of 5, did not finish)*

Interesting and funny at parts, but not really my cup of tea. Too wordy and fluffy for me. However, I am sure that paranormal romance fans will love it.

*My star rating and what it means: 

 

Zero stars: Why me?!?  I do come across books that aren't really books, but brain damage in disguise. For reasons you can all understand, I won't be publishing reviews on them. I tend to become enraged and say things I later on regret.

One star: Meh... I didn't like it and won't be keeping it. It might be the book, or it might be me. I'll try to clarify in my review.

Two stars: Average/ Okay. Either the kind of light/ undemanding book you read and don't remember in a month, or suffering from flaws that prevented it from realising its potential.

Three stars: Better than average. Good moments, memorable characters and/ or plot, maybe good sense of humour... Not to die for, but not feeling like you wasted your time and money either.

Four stars: Wow, that was good! Definitely keeping it and checking to see what else I can buy from the same writer.

Five stars: Oh. My. Goodness. The kind of book you buy as a gift to all your friends, praise to random strangers on the bus, and re-read until the pages fall out and the corners are no longer corners, but round.

The Left Hand of God

So here is another review. 

The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman (2 out of 5 stars, did not finish)*

I loved the beginning of this book. As I read more, my enthusiasm lessened. Near the end, I was flipping through pages instead of actually reading it.

There are many issues that marred my enjoyment. Most of the good guys are just too decent and fatherly towards Cale, the hero, if we bear in mind their political positions and/or past. The women of the book are stereotypical and a bit clueless, or shrewd and heartless. Cale moves from tortured child to fully fledged messiah, and he's too young to pull this off in a plausible manner. The writer also uses words and phrases that have no place in a medieval-ish kind of setting. As one unlikely event piled upon another, I lost that beautiful sense only fiction can give, the "yes, this could have happened!" state of mind. I could see that the writer loved his hero and wanted him to have everything he had been deprived of, and then some. This unfortunately is a recipe for disaster. You end up giving too much, too easy, too soon, and real life never works that way. This mentality works in the Young Adult genre, but I didn't get the impression that this is such a book.

On a positive note, I loved the writer's sense of humour, as well as the playfulness of his prose. There are incidents and phrases that had me laughing out loud. I wish he had devoted more time in making his world more realistic and his heroes more complex. Not a bad book in any case; entertaining, funny, fast-paced, gripping, hopeful for the human race. If not for the flaws in plot and character building I would have given it twice as many stars.

*My star rating and what it means: 

 

Zero stars: Why me?!?  I do come across books that aren't really books, but brain damage in disguise. For reasons you can all understand, I won't be publishing reviews on them. I tend to become enraged and say things I later on regret.

One star: Meh... I didn't like it and won't be keeping it. It might be the book, or it might be me. I'll try to clarify in my review.

Two stars: Average/ Okay. Either the kind of light/ undemanding book you read and don't remember in a month, or suffering from flaws that prevented it from realising its potential.

Three stars: Better than average. Good moments, memorable characters and/ or plot, maybe good sense of humour... Not to die for, but not feeling like you wasted your time and money either.

Four stars: Wow, that was good! Definitely keeping it and checking to see what else I can buy from the same writer.

Five stars: Oh. My. Goodness. The kind of book you buy as a gift to all your friends, praise to random strangers on the bus, and re-read until the pages fall out and the corners are no longer corners, but round.

Transmetropolitan

I've decided to add a few reviews here. They will be short and express solely my point of view. The same reviews will appear or have appeared in my Goodreads account, which is this one:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8377818.Lizbeth_Gabriel

The first review will be on Transmetropolitan series by Warren Ellis, which is one of my most favourite comic series ever. :) So, a solid 5 out of 5 stars!*

I have no words to describe how good this one is. I consider it one of the treasures I have on my book shelves. A life-changer, page-turner of a comic series, filled with profanity, drugs, humour, the protagonist's unusual sense of justice and the writer's vision of the not-so-far future. Incredible, jaw-dropping visual art by Darick Robertston in all ten graphic novels that brings the characters and story to life. The series grabs you by the lapels and doesn’t let go until you find yourself at the other end of the universe, dazed and astounded. It never loses its frenetic pace. It's outrageous, bizarre, amazing, preposterous, glorious, obnoxious, brilliant and brimming with entrails, excrement, explosions and journalistic badassery. I can’t praise it enough.

PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO READ IT if you are easily offended or too keen on politically correct; you just won’t get it. The writer shows no mercy to any form of hypocrisy or human right violation. He literally bulldozes his way through human relationships, political games, religious gurus and their followers, police brutality and victimisation of minorities. He’s not polite. He’s not pleasant. He’s not proper. But he’s spot on, and hilarious and obscene in a way that warms your insides.

If I could turn this series into a religion, I would.

*My star rating and what it means: 

 

Zero stars: Why me?!?  I do come across books that aren't really books, but brain damage in disguise. For reasons you can all understand, I won't be publishing reviews on them. I tend to become enraged and say things I later on regret.

One star: Meh... I didn't like it and won't be keeping it. It might be the book, or it might be me. I'll try to clarify in my review.

Two stars: Average/ Okay. Either the kind of light/ undemanding book you read and don't remember in a month, or suffering from flaws that prevented it from realising its potential.

Three stars: Better than average. Good moments, memorable characters and/ or plot, maybe good sense of humour... Not to die for, but not feeling like you wasted your time and money either.

Four stars: Wow, that was good! Definitely keeping it and checking to see what else I can buy from the same writer.

Five stars: Oh. My. Goodness. The kind of book you buy as a gift to all your friends, praise to random strangers on the bus, and re-read until the pages fall out and the corners are no longer corners, but round.