Review: Hell Cop

Hell Cop by Astrid Amara
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's not a secret that most of the M/M "erotica" (which is just a nice word for "porn" in this context) is written mostly by women and for women. And Hell Cop is no exception. It's also wide known that women tend to get attached to characters they read about. I enjoyed the first part of the book, Next of Kin, about Jay and Brian, but when I turned the page and saw Michael Gold adjusting his pack I closed the book with an intension to never open it again. And that was back in December, in other words 10 months ago. I did eventually find it among my Kindle books and gave it a second chance. That's when I discovered that, though the three chapters are written by three different authors and about three different couples, the universe is the same down to details, the style is same, as well as character types and sexual fantasies. I wouldn't know it's three authors if not told. All in all, it's a solid example of the genre, even if the erotic part is a little mundane and not exciting enough.
Surprisingly, the second book in the series is the same threesome, but I doubt I'll be reading it - books about problems in relationships are very rarely good and never as good as those romantic accounts of falling in love.

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Review: Seven Skeletons: The Evolution of the World's Most Famous Human Fossils

Seven Skeletons: The Evolution of the World's Most Famous Human Fossils by Lydia Pyne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I won a copy of this book through the Goodreads Giveaways and was so looking forward to read it! Since I got it before the publication day, I made sure to clear enough days in reading "schedule" so I could post my review the day the book was officially out. Turned out I didn't set aside enough time, this reading took me more than a month instead of a usual week for 200-300 pages.

I was anticipating eagerly. Science and scientists desperately need that popularization element. We all need books that explain current research, make it a part of the paradigm the society lives in, inspire people to ask questions and seek answers. Unfortunately, lame attempts at all these things hurt the science more than no attempts at all.

My disenchantment started with a feeling that I'm reading a scientific paper - as if I don't read enough of them - and not a good paper at that. The same style, the same jumping thoughts and sloppy writing characteristic of bad papers that nobody wants to read, but everyone in the field has to, because (ten different reasons here). After page 25, where "the stereoscope expanded [research possibilities] in the same way that telescopes and microscopes expanded the visual possibilities for other sciences centuries before", my reading slowed down significantly. Because no, it didn't. The CT scan expanded possibilities for paleoanthropology the same way microscopes did, not stereoscopes. Could the author really not see the difference? How? Why? Should I read it?

By the end of chapter One, I resorted to highlighting, which I never do with books, only with papers. The last three pages of this chapter in my advanced copy was a jumble of several sentences repeated over and over again (at least 4 times) in different order. Very surprised, I decided to wait for the release date and continued reading the hard cover. At least this mess at the end of the Old Man chapter was fixed, which is a huge relief.

The part I liked best was a heroic saga "Australopithecus" by Dr. Walet Rose on the page 104. It is simply the best part of the book. Can you imagine my disappointment, when the reference given at the end turned out to be "Raymond Dart Archive", which basically means that there is no way I can read the whole saga?

I have lots of remarks about the content of this book, thanks to "scientific paper mode" of reading - I kept notes, highlighted, and wrote on margins, but each one of them is small and insignificant, untill you see them all together. The overall conclusion is depressing. What was it? A dissertation published as a book? It's written in worst possible way for the genre. The author gives bits and pieces. The moment writing turns into a story and becomes interesting, she changes the topic and keeps jumping the whole book. She doesn't give any conclusions, just piles up little facts in a way that suggests she waits for the reader to make the "right" conclusion, the one she has in mind. But the piled facts are too small to be interesting and the whole pile is not comprehensive enough to draw any conclusions. They are just hanging there, a messy pile of facts.

I'm very upset after reading this book, but give it three stars nevertheless, for the effort of popularizing paleoanthropology.

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Review: The Hobbit (Graphic Novel): An Illustrated Edition of the Fantasy Classic

The Hobbit (Graphic Novel): An Illustrated Edition of the Fantasy Classic by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As much as I love The Hobbit, this is not a good version of it. I chose to read it aloud to my son, thinking that it would be a great way to introduce the classic to him, but alas. The adapters apparently are as fond of the Tolkien's masterpiece as I am, and it made them cling to every word. As a result, there are far too many words for a graphic novel, and they are far too small and difficult to read, and out of proportion with the pictures. The pictures themselves are reasonably good, though not spectacular. Overall, I expected much more from a graphic novel based on The Hobbit.

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Review: Ellie's Fun Day at the Farm

Ellie's Fun Day at the Farm by Marci Fair
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received an advanced copy of this book from the author to review. But there is a catch - I never asked for it. The accompaning letter said that I "had previously won one of the Ellie books in a Goodreads giveaway". Yes, I did, the very first one. And I made sure to never enter giveaways of these books again. Just so I wouldn't have to write negative reviews. That's an excellent, textbook example of bad marketing! I did win a book in this series before, but did I give it a lot of stars? Did they bother to check?

The letter further prompted me to post a review on Amazon before the publication day, because they "could really use 50+ 5 star reviews". I wouldn't give a book like that five stars even in a good mood, but after reading it I was thoroughly annoyed. So here we go, two stars. At least I do it after the publication day.

As for the book itself, this fifth book is much better than the first one. I can see considerably more effort (and more photoshop skills :) ) put into its creation. It's also a bit more interesting for kids, with some activities and word-play. Still, the language is primitive and there is nothing in there that not in an average autumn-themed "let's go to the farm" picture book. Plus there is a picture of a hen labelled 'rooster'. In normal circumstances, I would check it out of the library, read it once, and give it three stars. even though I know that encouraging kid's creativity is really important, and the fact that a twelve-year old girl can publish books is amazing.

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Review: The Unfriendly Dragon

The Unfriendly Dragon by Brae Wyckoff
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Well, I actually bought into the colorful descriptions and positive reviews on GR. To think that I asked our library to buy a copy! But they did buy it :(
The book opens with a presentation of the hero, who is an "Ordakian" and "is very similar to a small human, but with really hairy feet". Does it sound familiar? So he with another "ordakian" and a dwarf goes on an adventure, without any mention of the original author or books anywhere (but there are several pages of "reviews", quite fantastic, and an "all rights reserved" statement).
Unfortunately, the heroes are the only thing that Mr. Wyckoff plagiarised. The content is very primitive in all respects: words, syntax, and ideas. I wouldn't recommend even for very young readers, after four it's simply out of the question.

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