Quick Links - 11/22/2015

Oh Glob I'm behind on this. Bad me! Post more! Anyway, I have had a few reviews up in the last month. They are linked below.

The League of Unexceptional Children by Gitty Daneshvari (Kidsreads) - A kind of cute story that plays on the spy kids tropes, but here the kids' greatest asset is being invisible. Which introduces some problems into the mix.

The League of Unexceptional Children by Gitty Daneshvari (Goodreads, my score 3/5) - And here is my personal review of the book.

Scarlett: A Star on the Run by Jon Buller and Susan Schade (Kidsreads) - This book is weird and I didn't know the authors did Ten Thousand Baseball Cards Under the Sea, which I think was the first book I ever read completely on my own. This one involves genetically modified pets.

Scarlett: A Star on the Run by Jon Buller and Susan Schade (Goodreads, my score 3/5) - I will reiterate that this book was weird. Like, rather mundane except for the genetic experimenting and dumpsters full of dead cats and dogs. 

The Entropy of Bones by Ayize Jama-Everett (Nerds of a Feather, my score 7/10) - This was a solid action book with some big concepts that probably would have worked a bit better having read the first two books in the series. Still, a fine read.

The Entropy of Bones by Ayize Jama-Everett (Goodreads, my score 4/5) - And here again. I swear, this is my last double. I loved the voice of this book, and the violence, and the weird characters. It reads like a Kung Fu movie.

Pluto Vol. 7 by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki (Goodreads, my score 4/5) - Finally I got back to this series after having gotten the final volumes some time ago. And though it doesn't offer up too many surprises at this point, the plot is tight enough that it doesn't need to. It's a very good series, and the push to the end is something to see.

Pluto Vol. 8 by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki (Goodreads, my score 4/5) - Things get a little transparent in this final volume, with some of the metaphors becoming...well, a bit obvious and a little simpler. But mostly this volume is about kicking ass and learning how to be human instead of wanting to lord over humans. It's about war and forgiveness and love. I really enjoyed the series as a whole.

Un Lun Dun by China Miéville (Goodreads, my score 4/5) - My first Miéville and one that's a bit middlegrade but as I read a lot of that it works. I loved the idea of the UnChosen One, and the UnGun, and all of it. The characters were great and the story line compelling. A lot of fun, this one.

Eden: It's an Endless World Vol. 10 by Hiroki Endo (Goodreads, my score 4/5) - This series continues to be rather conflicting to me. On the one hand, it's still exploring doing good in a fallen world. And the bits with the Closure Virus transforming into the Disclosure Virus are promising. But it is an ugly read at times and I do not like how most of the women are around basically for violence to happen to them. It's making a point, but still... 

The Case of the Little Bloody Slipper by Carlie St. George (Nerds of a Feather, my score 8/10) - And finally a review of a novelette that was a lot of fun. Not sure if I'll do these longer reviews for all three stories in the series but otherwise the reviews will be on this site direct soon enough. Indeed.

And there you have it. Obviously a lot of these books here graphic in nature (manga or graphic novels), which means it's nearing the end of the year and I'm picking up things I think I can clear out of my TBR stack quickly. There's some novels in there, though, and there will be more. Hopefully I'll manage to post another link post before the end of the year. Otherwise, thanks for reading!

Quick Links - 10/04/2015

So you know how I said I was behind on some reviews. Well, I (mostly) caught up on them. So hurrah! Also had some go up elsewhere so those are here as well. Again, I've had the good luck of liking most of these, with no "negative" scores. It's actually been a little while since I read a book I disliked, which is nice, but some of these had some problems that were harder to ignore, so yeah. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Secret Coders Vol. 1 by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes (Goodreads, my score 3/5) - This was a rather cute start to a series but didn't really feel whole to me. It ends on a cliffhanger and while I think that can work from time to time, I wasn't completely sold. Still, not a bad read.

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (Goodreads, my score 5/5) - I LOVED IT! It was amazing and examined sexuality and choice and freedom and systems of power and yes, this one fully lived up to my hopes after The Left Hand of Darkness. Go read this one!

Making Wolf by Tade Thompson (Goodreads, my score 4/5) - Another great book and one whose grittiness surpasses anything I've read before. It's not perhaps the kind of book that I seek out but it is brutal and good and provocative and another one to challenge yourself with.

Planet of Exile by Ursula K. Le Guin (Goodreads, my score 3/5) - This one did not really live up to the others in the series. It's a fine book, and super short, but it didn't really do as much as the other books in the series. Next to The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness it's...well, good, but not on the same level.

Pluto Vol. 7 by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki (Goodreads, my score 4/5) - Finally I got back to reading this series after having waited for a while to get the last two books. It's a great series, and the mystery here is finally wrapping up. Another rather heartbreaking installment.

Secret Coders Vol. 1 by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes (Kidsreads) - Same as above, but a bit more polished because it's for a site and not for just me. Still, glad I read it so I could enjoy the extra at Tor that much more. Indeed!

And there you have it. Pretty much entirely Goodreads reviews, but I managed to mostly caught up on things. Now to get behind again! Thanks for reading!