It's okay, but it's not "Optic Nerve".
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Review of 'Scenes from an Impending Marriage' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
Will Sargent rated Love Is Hell: 4 stars
Will Sargent reviewed The Unincorporated Man by Dani Kollin
Review of 'The Unincorporated Man' on 'Storygraph'
1 star
This book... made me itch.
It reads like a 1950s potboiler. The characters are cardboard stereotypes. The plot is hackneyed. And the central conceit, a system of incorporation, is a problem, because a) it's silly (WHY was this solution considered? HOW did it get introduced?) and b) social forces would have acted far sooner to challenge the central premise, without requiring the figurehead. The ridiculous figurehead.
Justin Cord is basically John Galt, frozen and petrified. The book reads like Ayn Rand fanfic, and the only bits which are truly original and compelling -- the VR plagues and the destruction of the old world -- are sidelined for a truly stupid fight between Justin and Hektor. And most of the time I was rooting for Hektor. If anything Hektor is the real protagonist in the novel, because he's fighting for a system he believes in against the inexorable force of the …
This book... made me itch.
It reads like a 1950s potboiler. The characters are cardboard stereotypes. The plot is hackneyed. And the central conceit, a system of incorporation, is a problem, because a) it's silly (WHY was this solution considered? HOW did it get introduced?) and b) social forces would have acted far sooner to challenge the central premise, without requiring the figurehead. The ridiculous figurehead.
Justin Cord is basically John Galt, frozen and petrified. The book reads like Ayn Rand fanfic, and the only bits which are truly original and compelling -- the VR plagues and the destruction of the old world -- are sidelined for a truly stupid fight between Justin and Hektor. And most of the time I was rooting for Hektor. If anything Hektor is the real protagonist in the novel, because he's fighting for a system he believes in against the inexorable force of the plot.
I think part of the reason I dislike this book so much is because it could have been great. The writing could have been better. The protagonist could have been more human (no-one gets to be Justin Cord without a little collateral damage), and the female interest could have been less of a cardboard cutout. The sidekick could have been anyone but a salty down to earth miner. More than that, the society isn't fully thought out -- yes, the VR precepts argue against true insanity, but a world 300 years in the future would resemble something out of Transmetropolitan than it would anything a present day human would understand.
As it is, it's a book by people who aren't writers, who make up a straw world, argue against a system that doesn't even hold up to cursory examination, then want you to act surprised when a godlike marysue character makes it falls over. Unimpressed.
Will Sargent rated The Walking Dead, Vol. 11: 4 stars
The Walking Dead, Vol. 11 by Robert Kirkman, Cliff Rathburn, Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead #11)
No one is safe in the aftermath of the most shocking Walking Dead storyline yet! The remaining survivors continue the …
Will Sargent reviewed The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond
Review of 'The Third Chimpanzee' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
It's a good book, but Diamond does present a bunch of detail that really is more distracting than it is informative. After the 15th anecdote, I really just wanted him to get to the point.
Will Sargent rated The Fermata: 3 stars
The Fermata by Nicholson Baker
Nicholson Baker's new novel is the story of Arno Strine, a temporary typist, who has perfected the knack of stopping …
Will Sargent reviewed Whiteout by Greg Rucka
Review of 'Whiteout' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
Okay, but not up to the standards of Whiteout.
Will Sargent reviewed Ultimate Spider-Man. by Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spider-Man (9))
The Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Electro, and Kraven the Hunter escape from a S.H.I.E.L.D. …
Review of 'Ultimate Spider-Man.' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
It's superheroes, so there's a limit to how different it can get -- but the plot is coherent, the characters are strong, and the Avengers takes front and center as the people who are making everything work.
Will Sargent reviewed Super Crunchers by Ian Ayres
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Review of 'Super Crunchers' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
Good introduction, but very, very basic if you work with computers. Data analysis has been done for a while now.
Review of 'A Few Perfect Hours And Other Stories From Southeast Asia And Central Europe' on 'Storygraph'
1 star
I wanted to like this book. I didn't.
There's something about tourism that annoys me -- not the act of going from place to place and being a tourist, but the desire to be authentic. The idea that, because you have some vague understanding of the country, you're "less of a tourist" is what leads to the most cringe inducing bits in this graphic novel.
The scene where they accept the blessings of buddhist monks and cringe at the baptists is one of them. The scene where an ice cream seller is given his own internal monologue based on what he thinks the two travellers are thinking. The trip through the caves that, ironically, has some benefit in at least pointing out to them that they have odd ideas about the thrill of danger.
And, of course, their muted outrage at their typecasting of bit parts on Singapore TV. I …
I wanted to like this book. I didn't.
There's something about tourism that annoys me -- not the act of going from place to place and being a tourist, but the desire to be authentic. The idea that, because you have some vague understanding of the country, you're "less of a tourist" is what leads to the most cringe inducing bits in this graphic novel.
The scene where they accept the blessings of buddhist monks and cringe at the baptists is one of them. The scene where an ice cream seller is given his own internal monologue based on what he thinks the two travellers are thinking. The trip through the caves that, ironically, has some benefit in at least pointing out to them that they have odd ideas about the thrill of danger.
And, of course, their muted outrage at their typecasting of bit parts on Singapore TV. I mean, what were they expecting?
So, yeah. Travel can be good, travel books can be good. But this... it's holiday snap masturbation, and it shows.
Will Sargent reviewed The Walking Dead, Vol. 10 by Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead #10)
Out on their own, danger lurking around every corner, our ragged band of survivors tries …
Review of 'The Walking Dead, Vol. 10' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
LOVE IT.
Introducing the first eight volumes of the fan-favorite, New York Times Best Seller series collected …
Review of 'The Walking Dead, Compendium One' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
LOVE IT.
Will Sargent reviewed The Rules of Life by Richard Templar
Review of 'The Rules of Life' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
It's a good book, but there are some things that I think are big failings in it.
1) it does not have all the rules added up at the end of the book
2) when dealing with work, this book is very, very wrong. Office gossip and politics is not something that can be ignored -- you can choose not to participate, but you should at least be aware of it.
Other that, I liked it, I think it's practical and not "new age".