Tag: 2004

The Austere Academy

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The Austere Academy
A Series of Unfortunate Events #5
Lemony Snicket
middle grade fiction
82 / 3 stars

The Baudelaire Orphans go to a private school. Meet the Quagmire Triplets[who are down to twins], run ragged by Count Olaf and live in a shack. Ends up with the Quagmires being kidnapped by Count Olaf’s henchmen[they have an enormous fortune of their own]. Mr Poe is as useless as usual.

The Green and the Gray

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The Green and the Gray
Timothy Zahn
SF
85 / 3 stars

aliens[who turn out not to be aliens, just from the past] are fighting a clandestine war. One human couple gets caught up in it, and tries to make peace. Succeeds. Zahn really knows how to write about human\alien interaction and focus on character and not just a flashbang action plot. The twists were visible a mile away, but still enjoyable.

The Seventh Gate

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The Seventh Gate
Death Gate Cycle #7
Margaret Weis
Tracy Hickman
fantasy
83 / 3 stars

finishes up the tale. The good and bad dragons\serpents, along with the patryns and sartans are all locked into the labyrinth, death’s gate is shut, so no more travel between worlds but the flow between worlds still works, so life can continue. Find out alot about the Sundering and history. Glad to finish it tho.

Into the Labyrinth

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Into the Labyrinth
Death Gate Cycle #6
Margaret Weis
Tracy Hickman
fantasy
83 / 3 stars

The seventh gate is revealed, as the gate where all power resides. The serpentsnakes play a much bigger role and their opposites are shown thru the single personage of Zifnab’s dragon. But the ‘goodpower’ just seems to stay hidden, very disappointing. Lots of cool things happen tho. Haplo finds his old lover and Alfred stops running and accepts his status of serpentmage.

The Wide Window

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The Wide Window
A Series of Unfortunate Events #3
Lemony Snicket (pseudonym)
middle grade fiction
82 / 3 stars

having heard the first 2 books on tape, The Bad Beginning and The Reptile Room , I was hooked. 3 children are orphaned and go from relative to relative and each story is about all the bad things that happen to them. They never die, but usually the relative they are currently living with does, and they are always pursued by Count Olaf, a distant relative after their immense fortune. A children’s series. Very educational in that the author is always using big words and explaining them in very funny, simplistic terms. Not depressing at all.

The Hand of Chaos

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The Hand of Chaos
Death Gate Cycle #5
Margaret Weis
Tracy Hickman
fantasy
83 / 3 stars

Hugh the Hand is back and makes sure Bane is killed. Haplo realizes the serpentsnakes are simply our own evilness phantasmagorized[?]. Deals with the elves and their magic system a bit more. Very interesting.

The Battle of Corrin

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The Battle of Corrin
Legends of Dune #3
Brian Herbert
Kevin Anderson
SF
85 / 3stars

A satisfying finish to this prequel trilogy. The spice navigators are started, the Bene Gesserit truly start, the Fremen start and House Corrino comes into existance.You see the beginning of the Face Dancers, cool stuff. The Titans are destroyed, along with the last Omnius incarnation. The Harkonnen betrayal is shown. So many question left tho. I am hoping for more!

Serpent Mage

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Serpent Mage
Death Gate Cycle #4
Margaret Weis
Tracy Hickman
fantasy
83 / 3 stars

the fourth world. Alfred finds the remnants of his people, Haplo finds the Sartan responsible for the Sundering and both find that they are indeed not the highest powers. More dualism, but you really only see the side of evil. Depressing to see the downside and not the upside. Made me thankful I know there is One All Powerful God, not 2 coequal opposing forces duking it out.