Lucas Blogs About Books

It's that not hard being green. So, you actually stopped playing Hades  long enough to write a blog post, eh? Yes, Hypothetical Reader, I was able to exert a modicum of self-control and sit down to write about this lousy book. Poisoning the well, aren't we? Maybe a bit, but we've got another inductee into the " books-that-I-didn't-finish " club. I struggled mightily to complete this book and gave up two-thirds of the way through. Dude! You were in the home stretch! I know, but each time I put the book down it got harder and harder to find the motivation to pick it back up. According to my book-mark, I even stopped in the middle of a chapter. Anyway, I just realized that I haven't even mentioned the title or author yet. You're slipping. Sure you wouldn't rather talk about Hades ? Well, that's certainly done a better job of holding my attention of late, but no. I'll blog about Brightfall by Jaime Lee Moyer. So, what's its deal? Well, it...

It really is a lovely shade of blue. So, what's this book's deal? Well, Hypothetical Reader, as with Magic: A History  the deal with A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos   is that I never finished it. You're the worst, Lucas. Yep! Last Winter I was the worst at finishing books that weren't comics. That said, I read so many comics that I've lost track of what order I read them in, so I've probably already blogged about several that I actually read after I gave up on Magic and A Winter's Promise . So that's something. Anyway, time to get this one out of the way. Unlike Magic , I don't feel bad about giving up on A Winter's Promise , but before we get into why, let's give a brief synopsis of what I got through. Let's. Okay. So Ophelia is the curator of a museum in a place called Anima where she uses her ability to see the history of the objects she touches to . . . . see the history of the objects she touches.  Well that would be usefu...

Hmm, morning doesn't have idea lighting conditions for my crummy webcam bookselfies. So, what's this book's deal? Well, Magic: A History: From Alchemy to Witchcraft, from the Ice Age to the Present  is a book by Oxford archaeologist Chris Gosden. As you may have guessed from the title, it examines the place of magic in societies around the world from the earliest evidence of magical practices by early humans up to the present day. Unfortunately, part of the deal with this book is that I didn't finish it . Lucas! I know, I know. This was one of those books that I just couldn't get into back when I was in my "it seems like all I can finish is comic books" funk. On the one hand, that means I have plenty of comics that I can blog about. On the other hand, I feel a weird compulsion to blog about books I didn't finish and why I didn't finish them. Unlike say, Bloody Rose  I didn't stop reading this book because I hated it. The subject matter is legit...

Wow, name bigger than title status, nicely done, Powell. So, what's this book's deal? Embers of War  is the start of a new series by Gareth L. Powell, the British Science Fiction Award-winning author of Ack-Ack Macaque . Oh, you liked those books didn't you? I did. Did you like this one? I couldn't get into it. Sadly, this joins the " books that I didn't finish " club with Bloody Rose  and Into the Drowning Deep . So, it's not good? I wouldn't go that far. Look, I've never thought that Powell was an amazing prose writer. His style is proficient enough, but I was definitely more into Ack-Ack Macaque and its sequels because of the story and characters than because of the writing. But let's get an idea of the book's deal. Yes, let's. So it begins with a space battle over the planet Pelapatarn where Captain Annelida Deal gives an order that will simultaneously do two things: 1) end the immediate conflict and possib...

In the grim darkness of . . . oh, who gives a fuck? So, what's this book's deal? Okay, so what if—GET THIS!—what if there was a fantasy setting where bands of mercenaries were like rock bands and—GET THIS!—they put on shows in huge arenas and—GET THIS!—they lived hard on the road and—GET THIS!—they had legions of fans following them on tour but—GET THIS!—instead of playing music they slaughtered monsters in gladiatorial combat. Well, I think I've got that and, I gotta say, that sounds kinda awesome. Or it would if you hadn't made such a big deal out of the parallels. Huh, I wonder if anyone told Nicholas Eames that while he was writing this book. This is gonna be a short one. Because like Into the Drowning Deep , I didn't finish reading Bloody Rose . Unlike Drowning , I only made it about a fifth of the way in before giving up. This book kinda blows. Kind of harsh for a book you barely started. Speaking of getting started: Our protagonist, Tam Hashford...

Huh, some idiot covered part of the author's name. All right, full disclosure time. I didn't finish reading this one. Whoa! Seriously, you're going to review a book that you didn't finish reading? Yeah, I mean, it's not like anyone's paying me to do this. Also, I thought maybe we could talk about whether you have an obligation to finish a book you're not enjoying. I'll allow it, but make sure you go somewhere with this. Thanks, Hypothetical Reader. You're the best. So, let's put in a little backstory. I enjoyed Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy from a few years ago ( Feed, Deadline, and Blackout ). The books are fun and feature engaging narrators in Georgia and Shaun Mason, the adoptive siblings who become embedded bloggers on a presidential campaign in a world in which the zombie apocalypse has become the status quo and ultimately end up uncovering a massive conspiracy. They've got a kind of late 90's Josh Whedon-y vibe t...