2012/04/22

Review: Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art


Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art
Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art by Christopher Moore

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The first third or so of this book is not Moore's best work by any means. It time jumps so gracelessly that he has to rely on chapter titles to tell the reader where they are and his stabs at bawdy humor are just that - blunt force stabs that inflict as much pain as humor. However, when the story starts to pull together and the characters begin moving the story rather than being moved by it, this becomes a slightly more adult and intelligent Christopher Moore Real Person Fiction. I was thrilled by the reveal of Bleu's real identity that I did not see coming but made perfect sense, and was very happy to read about a Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec who was quite happy with his lot in life. Add in the use of a few well known Impressionist paintings with Moore's choice captions and as always in a Christopher Moore book, the best written Author's Notes that you will find in Historical Fiction, and the sins of the beginning are washed away by the glory of the ending.



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Review: Trade


Trade
Trade by Oliver M. Bishop

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



A book with a promising plot set in locations that work with the plot almost ruined by lack of editing. At its core, this is a dark story of what happens when damaged people cross into the lives of people who have never imagined such evil exists in the real world. The antagonist makes no apologies because he's not aware that he has anything to apologize for and the group of characters that come together to form the protagonist shows glimpses of being flesh and blood types who make mistakes and sometimes blunder into doing the right thing. Where the book goes bad is the repetition of inner dialog (perhaps used to show the characters intellectual weaknesses, but the smart ones do it too), supporting characters that take actions that aren't supported by what they've shown themselves to be, and way too many uses of gunshots by amateurs , either accidental or on purpose, that always hit the best spot for lazy story telling.

A few more drafts and an impartial editor and Mr. Bishop would have had an impressive first novel.



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2012/04/21

Review: Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art


Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art
Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art by Christopher Moore

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The first third or so of this book is not Moore's best work by any means. It times jumps so gracelessly that he has to rely on chapter titles to tell the reader where they are and his stabs at bawdy humor are just that - blunt force stabs that inflict as much pain as humor. However, when the story starts to pull together and the characters begin moving the story rather than being moved by it, this becomes a slightly more adult and intelligent Christopher Moore Real Person Fan Fiction. I was thrilled by the reveal of Bleu's real identity that I did not see coming but made perfect sense, and was very happy to read about a Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec who was quite happy with his lot in life. Add in the use of a few well known Impressionist paintings with Moore's choice captions and as always in a Christopher Moore book, the best written Author's Notes that you will find in Historical Fiction, and the sins of the beginning are washed away by the glory of the end.



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2012/04/13

Review: Last Seen in Massilia


Last Seen in Massilia
Last Seen in Massilia by Steven Saylor

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Definitely better than the previous book, but that might be because I took a break between reading Saylor's Sub Rosa series. Perhaps the negatives (anachronistic ethics) aren't so noticeble if you don't immerse yourself in the series, or perhaps Saylor did a better job of writing characters that lived in the 40s BCE. Either way, this was a simple little mystery set in a fascinating time and place. Add in the return of Meto and I was hooked in a "junk food with some redeeming qualities" sort of way. Also unlike a lot of reviewers, I liked the ending.



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