sdmftn's reviews
179 reviews

A wild ride through worlds that left me quite confused and trying to pick up the pieces that seemed to, more often than not, leave more questions than answers. The fun thing about sci-fi being it doesn't always have to make sense or be plausible. Even with the myriad plot holes and dangling questions and sometimes outright ludicrous scenarios, this was a fun book. The ending seemed a bit contrite and honestly got a little boring, which brought it down a bit for me, but it did have me wondering at times, what if I had made some different choices in my life? Where would things be today? All in all, I'm looking forward to this becoming a movie or television show and I'll definitely check it out when it does.

Outstanding case study of Pat Postiglione’s career

Being a lifelong resident of the Nashville area, this book brought back memories of some of the more infamous crimes in this area from my childhood to more recent years. In as much as it was about the crimes themselves, the book was an excellent insight on the man who headed up the team that solved most of these crimes and brought the perpetrators to justice. Definitely worth a read if you are a true crime lover and even more so if you are a Nashvillian. Be ready for a ride down memory lane.

Although this is considered by many to be a classic sci-fi story and one of the "must-reads" of the genre, it was only a mediocre at best tale for me. It seemed to be more of a story about boot camp and the training of a soldier but was one that really didn't astound me any. Perhaps due to the myriad tales of the same type that have been written since. There were a few thought provoking ideas around the idea of requiring military service for citizenship and the conditioning, physical, mental and psychological, through certain techniques but aside from these few points, this will not be much of a memorable read for me. I certainly don't think seeing the movie detracted from this story since they were so drastically different, but this will certainly not be a re-read for me.

Another entry in the O'Reilly series and another good telling of some of the lesser known facts regarding our Founding Fathers and that period in time. I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did the Old West but the Revolution period wasn't quite as wild and wooly as the western pioneers so the stories are full of more characters that held themselves to a higher standard and were considered to be more "dignified" men. The narration was very solid and the stories were very entertaining. Highly recommended for any history lover.

Focusing on forever

At a time of instant gratification and wanting everything right now, the challenge of bringing the big picture into focus is difficult for many. In this book, the Chan’s ask us to focus on eternity in our relationships and look far beyond the now and make not our marriages the focus but to put God above all else and let our marriages flourish from that. An inspiring, thoughtful read and good for any couples regardless of what stage of marriage you are in.

I had read this many years ago but didn't recall much of it at all and wanted to give it another shot as an adult to see if it resonated better now than I remembered. I'm glad I did. Even though it came much later than the original Foundation novel, this was the one that laid out so much of the beginnings of Seldon. I'm already anticipating getting back into the rest of the books in this series.

The writing and narration of this book were outstanding but the subject matter itself, while I expected to enjoy, I didn't enjoy at all. It is hard to imagine that anyone would want to follow or believe in these god creatures as most of them seemed dull and/or dim-witted and so easily fooled. Hardly seemed like gods I would wish to follow. The ease with which they were tricked or taken for a fool, and the brute activity of many of them, made them very daft, unlikable characters. If you are a fan of the mythology, Mr. Gaiman's writing, and particularly his narration, will bring these characters to life for you in a rich and meaningful setting, but it just wasn't for me, although I really was hoping it would be.

Dark, just like addiction

Wow. That’s really all I can fathom to say about this dark, depraving look into the horrors of addiction. Although most of these stories have an almost supernatural bent to them, so the same can be said about the powers and torture of active addiction, when one can hardly determine reality and illusion. Several of these stories took me back into dark places and memories but all were powerful reminders of places I never want to be again.

This book was like taking a fun ride back through adolescence with the author as he reminisces on past events that many of us can relate to, even if not entirely. The fear that comes with the first kiss, the awkwardness of school dances and the inevitable first car crash are all things most all of us have had to experience at one time or another. And who doesn’t have a friend like “Party” that seems to always drag trouble along behind him like a trailer? A very enjoyable and short read.

There are not enough good things I can say about this collection of short stories by Dr. Appel. The title alone contains the most appropriate word - Amazing! I enjoyed every single one of these tales even though several of the characters were quite unlikable. All of the stories had the ability to draw me into the scenario and make me think and, after all, isn’t that hat a good writer does? I will most definitely be following Dr. Appel and continuing with more of his work. My highest recommendation!