I’ve very much enjoyed the Vlad Taltos novels, and this one was entertaining, but it’s not my favorite of the group. And like all the Vlad novels, this one can be read as a stand alone, but it’s the last one I would recommend picking up as your introduction. This book reads more as a minor interlude in the story. Still, it’s a good read with a gorgeous cover, and there’s more Vlad on the way.
October 2008
Monthly Archive
Thu 30 Oct 2008
Mon 27 Oct 2008
Wong Kar-Wai strikes again with another semi-mosaic movie. (I do not suggest watching two different mosaic movies in one day, unless you’re forced to for a film class or something equally silly.) Kooky people living strange lives and making odd decisions. An apartment that cries. If this is the sort of thing you like, you will probably like it. If not, you’ll run screaming and/or make up new drinking games.
Mon 27 Oct 2008
Another Alejandro González Iñárritu picture. It certainly has its striking moments and it won him a best director award, but I wasn’t entirely won over. I keep expecting him to do something better as a director. Or maybe I just expect him to make the movies I want to see instead of the movies he wants to make? Maybe the problem was that the characters played by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett were the least interesting characters in the film. But I was very happy to see Adriana Barraza again. (She was also in Iñárritu’s Amores Perros.)
Tue 21 Oct 2008
What a delightfully creepy collection of Texas rural fantasy. This collection doesn’t venture as far into intense squick territory as Trial of Flowers (in that yes, he really did go there way I can’t help admiring) but it makes up for it in humor, a full measure of goats, and a well-rooted sense of place.
Wed 8 Oct 2008
This is the third book in a series, but once again it does a good job of standing alone. If vigorous action stories are your thing, Toby’s books have got you covered. Yet he manages to fit in rich world-building details while keeping his prose spare and avoiding major info dumps. I’m also impressed that his writing has improved over these three books. (And the first one was no slouch.) I continue to look forward to more.