Don't Forget to Read a Book!

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Ken Grimwood's  Replay. The Short of It Plot: Jeff Winston dies of a heart attack and returns as his younger self. What would you do with a second chance? Page Count: 311 Award:  1988 World Fantasy Award Worth a read : No. Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or Character) Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  Minimal to none. Review:  The most generic possible take on (de facto) time travel. Dislikable protagonist doing the blandest and most predictable possible things. If you've read anything similar, you know every single beat of this story. Unremarkable writing. Slow pacing. Completely underwhelming. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! This book is not terrible. There's just no reason to read it. I pull all of my book covers from Goodreads - it's a good way of finding early editions. And, of course, I look at other reviews that people put up. Not to change my own, of course, but out of curiosity. So color me surprised when I see that this thi

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about David Brin's  The Postman. The Short of It Plot: Society has already collapsed. But someone needs to deliver the mail...  Page Count:  339 Award:  1986 Locus SF  Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or  Character )  Bechdel Test : Fail (Slim chance that there's a technical pass, but... I don't think so.) Technobabble:  Minimal to moderate. Review:  I am a sucker for a good grifter, and Gordon Krantz is one of the best. He's one of the few "full" characters here - but I was rooting for him the whole time. The natural evolution of his role is believable; it keeps the story moving. His interpersonal interactions are also good - and the few other characters who are more developed are nicely done. The Postman  stumbles when it tries to expand this small-scale story of a survivor to a broader world - pacing, plot, and character all suffer in the home stretch. Can be preachy about American Exceptionalism... The Mediu

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Robert Heinlein's  Job: A Comedy of Justice. The Short of It Plot: When Alex comes to, he is not in his own world. Is God testing him?  Page Count:  377 Award:  1985 Locus Fantasy  Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character )  Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  Minimal to moderate. Review:  All the fun of parallel worlds with no charm. Irritating characters responding in incomprehensible manners to unfortunate but often uninteresting twists of fate. New candidate for weakest female lead character in a book! Pacing is atrocious - up to and including a massive shift for the final third or so of the book, making it feel like two lackluster novellas. This book felt significantly longer than its 370 pages. Everything about this book feels half-baked and peculiarly self-indulgent. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Except for the premise being a parallel world. I thought I loved Heinlein, then I read more of him. New rule: You can i