Don't Forget to Read a Book!

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Pat Murphy's  The Falling Woman. The Short of It Plot:  An estranged mother and daughter are reconnected on a troubled archaeological dig. Page Count: 287 Award:  1987 Nebula Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  None Review:  A bland coming of age story/relationship drama with pretensions of being either horror or suspense. Characters are flat: the woman who threw herself into her career and ignored her family, the man who needs to protect people, the old woman who is superstitious. Story is a plodding mess that is meant to give the characters and their interactions the spotlight - but characters don't deliver, and the whole thing crumbles. Boring and predictable. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! One spoiler, but it's in the blurb of the books, so, deal. This is another book that falls into the broad category of dull, tedious, and dry stories withou...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Roger Zelazny's  Chronicles of Amber (Merlin Cycle). The Short of It Plot: As much as Merlin wants to be his own person, Amber keeps pulling him in. Page Count:  Trumps of Doom: 184 Blood of Amber: 215 Sign of Chaos: 217 Knight of Shadows: 251 Prince of Chaos: 241 Award:  Trumps of Doom: 1986 Locus Fantasy  Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  ( Plot ,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail. Technobabble:  Mild fantasy babble. Review:  A remarkable job of creating a sequel series. Takes the previous five books as a foundation and develops it, filling in details of the world. Also adds a new magic system – or, more accurately, adds new aspects to the already neat system of magic. Zelazny struggles a bit in giving Merlin a distinct voice from Corwin. Pacing stays quick, writing is cleaner than the earlier books. Merlin’s motivations are much clearer than Corwin’s as well. Totally enjoyable. ...