Book review: Dinosaur planet by Anne McCaffrey

Genre: Science fiction.

Uninteresting characters, no real plot line whatsoever is how I would characterise this book. This book feels like it is a preview for the next book. There is very little story progression here and a bunch of mysteries are set up and none are resolved.

I never grew to like the characters mainly because everyone felt one dimensional. The characters motivation for doing good or bad are not explored. Anne McCaffrey's writing style itself is pretty good but that is the only redeeming point about this book.

Rating: 2/5, Below average, only reason to get this one is if you are a huge Anne McCaffrey fan.

The Amazon link is to this book and the sequel for this book. I have not read the sequel.

Book review: The shadow at evening by Chris Walley

Genre: Christian science fiction.

The pacing of this starts slow as it gradually fills in the details of the world. The writing is decent, the plot is interesting. The issue for me here is this is a Christian book with no warning anywhere on the book that it is.

Initially I thought the author was setting the stage for a complex story where various viewpoints are explored with people who thought the world was black and white begin to see the shades of Gray.

However it seems the author believes things are black and white. So following rules without thinking about them is a good thing. Any genetic modification of humans is a bad thing. Technology needs to be controlled and so on and so forth.

All in all I won't bother with the sequel and regret the time I spent reading this.

Rating: Don't bother ... well unless you like Christian literature then this one is pretty good.

Web comic recommendations

Series:

Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio - Excellent art, excellent stories, great humour.

Buck Godot: Zap gun for hire by Phil and Kaja Foglio - A earlier work by the creators of Girl Genius. The complete series is online.

Schlock Mercenary by Howard Tayler - Madcap adventures of a band of mercenaries. Pretty funny, the initial strips are a bit rough in terms of the art but all in all this is good stuff.

Strips:

XKCD by Randall Munroe - As the site says a webcomic about romance, sarcasm, math and language. Simple looking art but a great comic nevertheless.

Penny arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik - You need to like computer games to get the context in many of these strips. One of pre-eminent gaming related web strips.

Book review: Fabulous harbours by Michael Moorcock

Genre: Short stories/Novella/Novelettes in a Fantasy setting.

Fabulous harbours is a sequel to Blood, the introduction however states that Fabulous harbours does not continue any story lines or such and hence reading Blood is not required. I have not read Blood and I concur it is not required to read Fabulous harbour.

The book starts at a languid pace and continues throughout the book. This is mainly because the book is narrated as a recounting of events that have occured in the past. The book is a collection of short stories/novella/novelettes. These are set across various timeline and dimensions, and Moorcock writes these in different literary styles to suite the story's setting. The styles are varied but blend together well and do not jar.

I found myself warming to the stories and Moorcock's style as the book progressed. A large part of this was realising that there is no one tale (epic or not) to be had from this book, rather I just enjoyed each story and the varied style and pace.

Rating: 4/5, Great as long as you are open to short stories.

Book series recommendation: Terry Pratchett's Discworld series

Genre: Humour in a Fantasy setting.

The entire Discworld series of book are excellent. Terry Pratchett's books mix humor, good stories and life lessons to make them a fun read. The Discworld novels are a large body of work with 36 published novels and 1 more planned for October 2009. All the novels can be read standalone. However there are a few miniseries and while there is no overarching story line, its fun to read them in order and see the characters grow.

My personal favourite in terms of characters comes from the 'Watch series' followed closely by the 'Witches series', either of these would make a very good entry point into the series. There are also 4 young adult novels, but don't let that put you off, they are good reads too.

Here are the books with links to Amazon. The series are listed in the order that you should read them.

The Watch series (Recommended as a first read of the Discworld series)

Guards! Guards!
Men at Arms
Feet of Clay
Jingo
The fifth elephant
Night watch
Thud

The Moist series (Best enjoyed if read once you have read the Watch series)

Going Postal
Making Money

The Witches series (Recommended as a first read of the Discworld series)

Equal rites
Wyrd sisters
Witches abroad
Lords and ladies
Maskerade
Capre Jugulum

The Tiffany Aching series (Young adult novels, best enjoyed if read after the Witches series)

The wee free men
A hat full of sky
Wintersmith

The Death series (Recommended as a first read of the Discworld series)

Mort
Reaper man
Soul music
Hogfather
Thief of time

The Rincewind series

The Color of Magic
The light fantastic
Sourcery
(Faust) Eric
Interesting times
The last continent

Standalone Novels (Read in any order)

Small gods
Pyraminds
The amazing Maurice and his educated rodents ( A young adult novel)
The truth
Moving Pictures
Monstrous regiment

Link to a Amazon store that list all the Discworld books.

Book review: Untapped - The scramble for Africa's oil by John Ghazvinian

Genre: Non-fiction, Oil and its impact on African nations.

The book does not deal with the whole of Africa, rather it explores the area south of the Sahara desert. Ghazvinian spent some time between 2003 to 2004 travelling around a bunch of these countries,, talking to the locals, Oil company representatives and employees, government officials and any other parties he could get a hold off.

The book points out that Africa has been gaining interest from the rest of the world due to the substantial reserves that have been discovered there along with the current high price of Oil. The chief theme in this book is how discovery of natural resources in a developing country, rather then causing a increase in the standard of living actually ends up reducing this. There is a term for this called 'Dutch disease'.

So the book does not sermonise on big bad Oil companies, rather he visits a country explores the current state of the country and looks like how Oil has changed the current dynamics of the country viz-a-viz development, politics, social order and foreign relations. The locals he meet do complain about the Oil companies but the author does try to get and present the other side of the story.

All this makes for great reading. Ghazvinian is a fine writer and he captures the unique vibe of each country well, the book holds ones attention and I found myself reading it for long spells. The only section not well written is the start where he make all these pop culture references to 'Fargo' - the movie and place. But that is just a bumpy start and it takes of well from there.

Rating: 5 / 5, Highly recommended.

Book review: The match king - Ivan Kreuger, The financial genius behind a century of wall street scandals by Frank Partnoy

Genre: Biography, written from second hand sources.

The rather lengthy subtitle to this book comes from the financial instruments that Ivan Kreuger created, all those fancy derivatives that have come into focus because of the current sub prime mortgage meltdown. Since the book chronicles events in the 1920's and 1930's , Kreuger can also be considered as the granddad of this generations Enron, Bernie Madoff, Allen Stanford etc.

While derivatives have got a bad rap recently, they are legitimate and important financial instruments and Kreuger by (allegedly) creating these instruments has shown that he was extremely astute if not a genius.

Partnoy potrays a case that there is no hard evidence Kreuger set out to defraud investors or banks. Partnoy builds up Kreuger as a figure who did not knowingly do anything wrong but rather ended up getting tangled in all the complex webs that he build. Far more shocking that what Kreuger did was that he could get away with it all for so long. From shockingly lax accounting for a company borrowing money from the average Joe, to shell companies over shell companies, to colossal fund transfers. Kreuger was rarely challenged over any of this.

All this makes for fascinating reading. Partnoy described having gone through a tonne of material for this book and there is certainly plenty of details in the book. Some of these details combined with Partnoy overly florid writting style combine to reduce the allure of this book. I would have preferred Partnoy to have focussed more on the facts he could glean then on interactions between various people. It is hard to believe that Partnoy found any truthful material that made him privy to the behaviours and dialogues he attributes to the characters in the book.

The subject matter of the book is great, the writing is average and often times overly dramatic. Still it makes for a fun read and is recommended.

Rating: 3 / 5, Above average, Recommended if the subject matter interests you.

DVD review: Battlestar Galactica - The complete series review

Genre: Science fiction.

Boxset info: This is a revamp of the original BSG. The entire BSG run encompassed, a mini series, 4 seasons and a mid season movie "Razor".

In terms of boxsets these would be:
Battlestar Galactica: The complete series - Includes everything.

Or in terms of individual seasons:
Battlestar Galactica - Season One - Includes the miniseries and season 1
Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.0 - Half of season 2.
Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.5 - The concluding half of season 2.
Battlestar Galactica - Season Three - The complete 3rd season.
Battlestar Galactica - Season 4.0 - Includes the movie "Razor" and first half of season 4.
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 - The concluding half of season 4.

Whether you like this series or not will depend on what you expect from your TV shows. If you expect logical conclusion and plot lines to be tied up, there is a good chance you will hate this show. If having drama and good acting is enough and you don't care for the plot so much, then this series will rank among the all time greats for you.

I like my plot lines tied up and hence felt cheated on seeing the last episode. It ruined the entire series for me. This is a crying shame, the miniseries and the first season were absolutely brilliant. Cracks began to appear in the 2nd and 3rd season, where we were given more mysteries and twist and turns and one had to wonder, how the writers were going to resolve everything. As the 4th season explained the writers just couldn't be bothered to explain anything.

The acting all through the series is top notch. The special effects and CGI is excellent and really adds to the drama and action. The writing in terms of dialogues and drama is very good.

I would recommend watching the mini series and Season 1 but not the entire series. Considering how good the mini series and season 1 is though I think you would be hard pressed not to watch the rest of the season even knowing that it will disappoint you.

Here is the Amazon link for the series or you can use the links at the top of the post to get them.

Rating: 2 /5 for the entire series. Don't bother.

DVD review: Doctor Who - the complete first series

Genre: Science fiction

Boxset info: 5 disc boxset containing all 13 episodes of the first series. This is the newer Doctor Who series that debuted in 2005.

Doctor Who was a successful British Scifi shows in the 60's and has a large cult following. I have not seen the original series so this was my first exposure to Doctor Who. The main protagonist Doctor Who is a alien who has a ship that can travel through space and time. Over the course of 13 episodes we see the good doctor do just that, along the way picking up a human companion Rose and a few other travelers from time to time.

The monster designs and the various set designs for the spacecrafts and space stations, give Doctor Who, a old time almost B movie kind of vibe. This combined with some pretty good special effects ends up giving Doctor Who a unique enjoyable style.

Each episode(or two) ends up being a self contained adventure. The stories are pretty varied and are set in the past, present and future. The writing on the show is very good and the pace of each episode is brisk. As the series goes on the characters get developed and we get to know more about the Doctor and his past. The acting of everyone in the show is very good. Christopher Eccleston in particular who plays the Doctor gives a fine performance.

The only downside to the boxset is the cost which is significantly more expensive then the norm.

Rating: 5 / 5, Highly recommended.

Graphic novel review: Y, The last man complete series

Genre: All male mammals are dead except for one man and his monkey. Drama and suspense.

Writer: Brain K Vaughan
Pencillers: Pia Guerra, Goran Sudzuka and Paul Chadwick
Inker: Jose Maran Jr.

Series details: Total of 60 issues, collected as 10 trade paperbacks.

With a premise of only one surviving male, this book generated a lot of positive hype. After reading through the entire series, I don't think it lives up to its hype. At the start of the series we are introduced to the end of all males, all but one Yorick and his pet monkey. Yorick is not a likable character to start with, nor does he grow into a likable character as the series progresses. A large amount of the drama in the series ends up being Yorick or some other character doing something stupid, getting into trouble and having to be rescued.

The story elements in the series are the mystery surrounding this plague and how women would deal with a world without men. The origins of the plague which should have been the driving point for this book is not revealed and we are given several possible causes, none of which seem plausible. The plot lines involving the women are pretty insipid. While you have the token women jock characters in this book, some diversity among the women for example strong and inspiring leaders would have been welcome. Lacking a true story the writer tries to inject some emotion and drama using some cheap shots, like killing characters for no particular reason.

This series is too long, there isn't enough story to be told for 60 issues. There is some humor and plenty of pop culture references. The dialogues and writing in this book is pretty average. The art of the book is functional, not bad in any way but nothing noteworthy.

All in all I would not recommend this series. If you do want to try it however, here is the Amazon link for the series. I suggest you only try the first trade paperback, and note that while it does get a bit better in the latter issues, the improvement is not enough to redeem the series.

Rating: 2.5 / 5, Not recommended, there are better series around.

DVD review: Dexter-The complete second season

Genre: TV show about a serial killer. Dark drama.

Boxset info: 4 disc box set containing all 12 episodes of the second season.

Dexter season 1 really set a very high bar for the series and Dexter's producers and actors all step onto the plate and deliver a great second season. Checkout the first seasons review if you have not seen it yet. I'll not spoil anything from the second or first season in this review.

The first episode starts with the same seat of your pants pace as the season finale and the season continues to build on that. Due to the events in season 1 Dexter is facing some emotional issues. This is a first for him since he does not normally feel any emotion. Season 2 continues to peel the layers of Dexter's past and we continue to see other shocking twists to his past. His relationship with his girlfriend and her kids, his step sister and colleagues continue to hold our attention and continue to be interesting.

As the season goes on Dexter's life gets more and more complex and one has to wonder if the writers would be able to resolve everything. So it is gratifying that the season finale manages to resolve things very nicely. I can't wait to see where season 3 will lead to.

Rating: 5 /5, Highly recommended.

DVD review: Dexter-The complete first season

Genre: TV show about a serial killer. Dark drama.

Boxset info: 4 disc box set containing all 12 episodes of the first season.

This show is about a Serial killer who works as blood spatter expert for Miami police. Thats the initial hook of the show and the show grows very well from that initial setup. The main character Dexter is setup as a good serial killer i.e. he only kills very bad people - other serial killers and over the season there is a good chance you will end up liking the character Dexter.

The show builds a lot on Dexter's interactions with other characters on show, from his step sister, girlfriend and colleagues to his dead step-father who appears in various flashbacks. These interactions are fun and interesting because Dexter does not feel human emotions like normal people and he has to fake a lot of it. Over the season the layers around Dexter's mysterious past are peeled away and we get taken along for a rollicking good ride.

The writing is very good with Dexter's character narrating and giving us a unique perspective on the events as they occur. All the actors put in top notch performances. This is a excellent show.

Rating: 5 / 5, Highly recommended.

Also see: Dexter-Season 2 review

DVD review: Made in Spain with Jose Andres

Genre: Cooking / travel show with focus on Spanish cuisine.

Boxset info: 2 Disc.

The DVD starts brightly enough, Jose Andres is clearly passionate about his cooking and that enthusiasm comes through well. The show flits between various regions of Spain and Jose's house in Washington DC. In Spain we get to see where various ingredients come from and also get to see some of the local chefs cook a few of the dishes. Back at Jose's kitchen in Washington DC he shows us how to cook various Tapas dishes usually focussing on the style of region we just visited.

The creators of this show have tried to cram in a lot of Spain in a very short time and therein lies the fault of this boxset. I felt like each region of Spain was just glossed over. The show would have been a lot more fun if more time was dedicated to each region and we got better details about the ingredients, their defining characteristics and how they are used. So while the show is not bad, I feel the potential of this show is wasted and it ends up being average.

Rating: 2.5 / 5, Average. Worth picking if the style of cooking really interests you.

Book review: Titan by Ben Bova

Genre: Science fiction set in the near future.

Set in the near future (2095), the characters in this book are on a massive colony ship Goddard, that has made orbit around Saturn. Contained in this habitat are 10,000 misfits, people who are considered too risky to be kept on earth for political or social reasons. The pacing of the book is brisk and there are plenty of characters. Ben Bova does a great job of building up the characters without overwhelming the reader.

There are multiple story arcs in book with the major focus being on a malfunctioning probe on Saturn's icy moon Titan, a upcoming election and search for life in Saturn's rings. There are plenty of other dramas among the various characters in the book. The science and the descriptions thereof are interesting and cause the narrative to have a believable ring to it.

It is not necessary to read any of the other books in the series to enjoy this one, only reason to do so is if you want some continuity.

Rating:4/5, Recommended.

DVD review: Bugs! A rainforest adventure

Genre: Documentary about rain forest bugs. Nature show.

A cool movie that explores the life of bugs in the Amazon rain forest. This movie is technically impressive. As per the official blurb they magnify bugs up to 250,000 times their normal size. This creates some unique moments like being able to watch a bug hatch from its tiny egg.

A lot of the footage is staged and some digital effects are used like combining multiple shots into one. However the film is very well crafted and it all comes together very well. The DVD extras includes a "Making of" documentary which is as much fun to watch as the movie itself.


Rating: 5/5 , Highly recommended.

Reviews and recommendations

Welcome to Sparrow reviews and recommendations. Here you will find reviews and recommendations for DVDs, Comics and books.