Review - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Title: Ready Player One

Author: Ernest Cline

Synopsis:

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

My Thoughts:

Not being a gamer myself and knowing what Ready Player One is about, going into it I wasn't sure it'd be a book I'd entirely enjoy. I shouldn't have worried.

Most of the novel is set in a virtual reality called the OASIS. It's a world created by James Halliday who recently deceased and now his legacy is up for grabs... whoever finds the easter egg hidden in the game will inherit the OASIS and all the money that fuels it.

Wade Watts is a gunter, he dedicates all his time to his quest for the egg. When he finds the first clue he can't believe his luck... However, soon he realizes the danger that comes with his ambitions. The evil organization's – the IOI's – hand reaches out even to the real world and they'd do anything to beat Wade to the egg. 

The novel is packed with references to movies, tv shows and video games, mainly from the 1980s and 90s. It's fun to find out how many of the mentioned tv shows or movies you know. The video game references were mostly lost on me, but hey, no one is perfect... 

The movie Ladyhawke appeared so many times in the book I had to rewatch it because I remembered I'd loved it as a child. I also smiled at the Indiana Jones references and I especially appreciated when the song Kids wanna rock by Bryan Adams was mentioned. 80s, Baby.

Since I have a thing for popular culture in general, Ready Player One had a lot to offer to me. It's also a great adventure for the admirers of the 80s or the ones who were teenagers in that decade.

(Also it's a lot like Spykids 3D – Game Over for adults I just can't shrug this thought...)

Give yourself a favour and take a trip to the futuristic past. I know I'm glad I did.

Goodreads | Amazon

Review - Oops, Caught by Alli Reshi

Title: Oops, Caught (Expanding Horizon #1)

Author: Alli Reshi

Synopsis:

Mark Noland can’t figure out how he got into such a fix. How does an ex-mercenary (okay, an almost-reformed mercenary) get himself caught, stuck in a holding cell, on a hostile alien planet? Held captive by strange bug-like creatures who’d just as soon eat him as look at him. How can a simple mission go so awry? To make matters worse, Noland’s not alone. His fellow prisoner, a certain high-ranking, elite Stella officer holds him responsible for their failed plan. Yeah, it was supposed to be a quick in and quick out sort of mission. But no… Officer Gavnson just can’t let it go.

It’s not so easy trying to plan an escape when Noland keeps getting distracted by how his mission partner so very nicely fills out his uniform. And he suspects Gavnson is hiding something, too. As tensions run high, secrets are revealed that will change the both of them. There’s nothing like gunfights and running for your life to make that special bond.

I received a free ebook copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My Thoughts:

I would give the first half of this novella a higher rating than I'd give the second half. I rarely come across a situation like this but here it is. The first part deserved three stars (pineapples) in my book, the second, one. The overall result: a sad two-star rating.

Noland and Officer Gavnson are shut up in a cell together. A mission went wrong and they both got caught by the Awoknain, nasty bug-like creatures who aren't famous for their hosptality. They have to plan their escape and define a not-so-clear relationship between the two of them.

The beginning was so much fun! What I expected. I liked Noland, he had a few tricks up his sleeve and he had an entertaining personlaity. He bought time for them coming up with an insane idea, they were also able to escape the cell because of his heroism. 

The way out was exciting too: first they hid, then they fought their way through the bugs; at this point the book had all the potential to turn into a very decent Firefly-esque story. However, once they reached a spaceship that was fit to escape in, this sci-fi tale started to bleed from many wounds.

It was obvious while they were at the bug-base that something was not right with Gavnson. He wanted to sacrifice himself all the time, it seemed like he was eager to die. Noland started to ask him about the war they fought on the same side and what happened since, but Gavnson didn't open up easily.

He was also very willing (almost pushy) to engage in sexual activity with Noland who kept turning him away (even though he wanted him too... the bugs told them they have to mate and Noland thought Gavnson was only willing because he didn't want to be tortured, but it was so clear it wasn't the only reason). 

The second half of the novella was a huge disappointment. Stuck on a spaceship with hours to spare Noland finally prodded Gavnson into telling him about his past and why he chose to come on the mission with Noland and his group. 

The story we get is confusing and incoherent. Noland's fleeting presence in it doesn't really explain Gavnson's infatuation with him since they'd never actually talked or at least it is not clear if they've talked since the war or not. I found this part a bit muddy, past happenings were too vaguely described to give us a full explanation regarding Gavnson's motivations or his behaviour.

The writing takes a turn for the worse here too. It is repetitive and preachy. The subject they talk about is important but the converation is full of clichés, not to mention a talk like this is unlikely to occur between two persons who have started to get truly close to one another only a few hours ago.

Yet another unfavorable review from me, I know. At least I liked the beginning this time...

Goodreads | Amazon

Weekend Wrap-up #2

The Sunday post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It's a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things you have received.

This week went by very fast and relatively uneventful. The snow is melting at last which gives me hope that spring is knocking at our doors. I'd really love to go for more walks but only if it's not freezing cold outside.

My left eye was inflamed yesterday but luckily it got better fast (I dabbed at it with a cotton pad soaked in camomile tea – gosh, I hate the smell of camomile...). Now I'm allowed to strain my eyes again, yay! XD

I've finished one novel and one short story this week one of which I enjoyed, and one that wasn't very much to my liking. Reviews are on the way.

Posts this week:

• Goodreads Monday: Death or Ice-Cream?
• Tell Me Something Tuesday: Books I can't wait to share with my kids
• Words, words, words: NTLive Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch Review
• Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 - Hiding by Jenny Morton Potts
• Review – Oops, Caught by Alli Reshi

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves – physical or virtual – during the week.

I have only one new ARC to show you this week:

Title: Oops, Caught (Expanding Horizon #1)

Author: Alli Reshi

Source: NetGalley

Goodreads

Synopsis:

Mark Noland can’t figure out how he got into such a fix. How does an ex-mercenary (okay, an almost-reformed mercenary) get himself caught, stuck in a holding cell, on a hostile alien planet? Held captive by strange bug-like creatures who’d just as soon eat him as look at him. How can a simple mission go so awry? To make matters worse, Noland’s not alone. His fellow prisoner, a certain high-ranking, elite Stella officer holds him responsible for their failed plan. Yeah, it was supposed to be a quick in and quick out sort of mission. But no… Officer Gavnson just can’t let it go.

It’s not so easy trying to plan an escape when Noland keeps getting distracted by how his mission partner so very nicely fills out his uniform. And he suspects Gavnson is hiding something, too. As tensions run high, secrets are revealed that will change the both of them. There’s nothing like gunfights and running for your life to make that special bond.

It's a very short lgbtq sci-fi novella. My review will be up soon. 

I also have something else to share with you: a book-related DVD I've purchased recently:

I've seen this Onegin film adaptation ages ago and loved it a lot. It was around the time when in high school I had an Onegin phase and couldn't shut up about Pushkin's novel. Now that I'm gonna meet Toby Stephens in the summer at London Film and Comic Con, I've decided to revisit some of his older projects and this film is among them (he plays Lensky in it). Can't wait to discover if I'll still rate this movie as high as I would have done 10 years ago.

How was your week? What books did you add to your library? 

Leave your links down below, please!

Have a nice weekend!!

Review - Doctor Who: A Matter of Life and Death

Title: Doctor Who: A Matter of Life and Death (The Eight Doctor Volume 1)

Author/Illustrator: George Mann, Emma Vieceli, Hi-Fi

Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis:

Eerie Victorian magic shows, living paintings, mysterious lost books, crystalline life-forms, space-barges crammed with the undead... Embrace all the Gothic Romance and interstellar terror of the Eighth Doctor in this new series starring the most-requested past incarnation!

 

My Thoughts:

I’m totally hooked! The art is amazing, the colouring is beautiful and the new companion is absolutely lovely!

A Matter of Life and Death features the Eighth Doctor who sweeps through time and space in a giddy fashion – as usual – craving a cup of tea all the while – as usual – leaving the work of saving worlds to others – as… wait, what??

Yes, quite surprisingly, the Doctor mostly leans back in this one and watches as Josie, a blue-haired Welsh painter girl, takes on his role and thus proves she is worthy to become a regular companion.

We follow them through six loosely connected stories that involve singing crystals, murderous plants, evil reflections and many more fascinating wrong-doers. I believe the writers found a perfect way to introduce a new companion and I didn’t mind at all that the Doctor was only present as a helper/mentor figure.

I liked that there were a lot of emotions floating around, especially towards the end and it was good to see how the Doctor’s philosophy – ‘everyone counts’– got addressed in the final chapter.

If the next installments will be as good as this one was, in the end I might end up owning a complete comic book series…
 
Goodreads | Amazon

Review - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Title: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Author: Becky Chambers

Publication date: March 16, 2015

Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis: 

When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The Wayfarer, a patched-up ship that's seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past.

But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptillian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful - exactly what Rosemary wants.

Until the crew are offered the job of a lifetime: the chance to build a hyperspace tunnel to a distant planet. They'll earn enough money to live comfortably for years... if they survive the long trip through war-torn interstellar space without endangering any of the fragile alliances that keep the galaxy peaceful.

But Rosemary isn't the only person on board with secrets to hide, and the crew will soon discover that space may be vast, but spaceships are very small indeed.

My thoughts:

It’s always great when after dealing out a few lower ratings you can finally give a book five stars. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet certainly deserves all the praise it gets. It is well-written science fiction that makes the reader feel all warm and fuzzy inside and keeps their attention without an unnecessarily overcomplicated plot.

The Long Way… follows a short period in the life of the crew of the Wayfarer. This patchwork of a tunneling ship houses nine individuals of different species: Ashby, the captain, Rosemary, the clerk, Sissix, the pilot, Kizzy and Jenks, the techs, Ohan, the navigator, Dr. Chef, the doctor/cook (aka my favourite character), Corbin, the algaeist and Lovey the AI. Since the novel is heavily character-driven by the end of the book I felt I knew this little group of people intimately and, in a way, I became a part of the family they formed.

I truly believe this novel can be life-changing for some people who read it at the right time, just when they need to ‘hear’ the message it holds. There are quite a few little lessons about life hidden between the lines and then in the end there is one greater thought to contemplate. This book is a wonderful teacher and I’m sure every reader can take something away from it, even those who normally don’t like science fiction. I wouldn’t miss this experience if I were you.

Goodreads | Amazon