Reviews and Comments

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Bryan L. Fordham Locked account

bfordham@books.infosec.exchange

Joined 1 year ago

Living in Richmond Hill, Georgia

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reviewed A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)

George R. R. Martin: A Game of Thrones (Paperback, 2005, Spectra)

A Game of Thrones is the first novel in A Song of Ice and Fire, …

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Really enjoyed this. I see some people are writing novels of their own, just to say hope much they hate it. Which is just weird.

There are no pure heroes. Some are better than others, but all the characters have their flaws. There is magic, but it’s wild and fairly uncontrolled. The politics and character flaws drive the story.

reviewed Gangsters of Capitalism by Jonathan M. Katz

Jonathan M. Katz: Gangsters of Capitalism (2022, St. Martin's Press)

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Highly recommend this book.

My dad was a marine, and took pride in that fact. I didn't know Much about Butler until I came across his "War is a Racket" speech. This book is a great biography.

It's not really about Butler, though. It's about the imperialism he fought for and then fought against. It's about how the US created a kitty of problems in the name of profit, and how we keep doing that.

reviewed Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Greg McKeown: Essentialism (Hardcover, 2014, Crown Business)

Essentialism isn't about getting more done in less time. It's about getting only the right …

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Some good idea, as long as you have the privilege to implement them. It aunt's you have other people to do the "non-essential" things you deem to be beneath you.

When I was a teenager I worked on my dad's construction crew during the summer. When I complained about the boring stuff I was doing, he said "You want to do exciting stuff, but i need you to do what's needed."

I think there's a reason most of his examples are executives. Quite honestly, most executives could just not show up and still be considered successful. Front line workers still have to actually do the work.

reviewed The Twelve by Justin Cronin

No cover

Justin Cronin: The Twelve (2012)

The Twelve is a 2012 horror novel by Justin Cronin and is the second novel …

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4.5 stars, rounded up.

I enjoyed this one once it got going. A good chunk at the beginning is giving the backstory to a lot of characters from the first book. A LOT of backstory. It was a bit much for my taste.

And some things were a bit too neat, but that's not an overall issue with this book. It's still an interesting mix of genres.

I'm looking forward to the conclusion

reviewed The Passage by Justin Cronin (The Passage, #1)

Justin Cronin: The Passage (Hardcover, 2010, Ballantine Books)

IT HAPPENED FAST. THIRTY-TWO MINUTES FOR ONE WORLD TO DIE, ANOTHER TO BE BORN.

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Very good, looking forward to reading the rest.

This thing is LONG, though kept my attention for the most part. Hard to describe the scope of it. There are a few places where I felt it was a wee bit predictable, but overall it avoided being too neat and tidy.

reviewed Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Mexican Gothic (Hardcover, 2020, Del Rey)

From the author of Gods of Jade and Shadow comes this reimagining of the classic …

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This one was fun. The protagonist Noemí is certainly not perfect, but very likeable and believable. The story itself is dark, and I really wasn't certain how it'd turn out in the end.

Having read two of Moreno-Garcia's books, I'm struck but how important color seems to be. Perhaps I'm imagining it, but colors representing certain things seems to be a common theme.