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dannilmp's reviews
63 reviews
Chapterhouse: Dune by Frank Herbert
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
And we finally reach the end. This series has been a long one for me this year, or at least it certainly felt like it took most of the year to read them. I found the ending of the book to be satisfying in a way, especially as it wasn't such a clear cut ending. It seems this world will always need Melange and therefore will always need Dune itself.
Being able to see the end finally made me see that pushing through the books I didn't like was worth it. Personally God Emperor of Dune was my least favourite book as I just couldn't get by Leto II's character at all. Either Chapterhouse: Dune or Dune would have been my favoruite books. I actually felt sad at certain characters deaths in this book compared to the first one as well.
I am glad its over now and I don't think I'll be pursuing a re-read any time soon. But I would advise at least giving Dune a read and if you've made it this far, well done and I hope you didn't find the journey too tiring.
Being able to see the end finally made me see that pushing through the books I didn't like was worth it. Personally God Emperor of Dune was my least favourite book as I just couldn't get by Leto II's character at all. Either Chapterhouse: Dune or Dune would have been my favoruite books. I actually felt sad at certain characters deaths in this book compared to the first one as well.
I am glad its over now and I don't think I'll be pursuing a re-read any time soon. But I would advise at least giving Dune a read and if you've made it this far, well done and I hope you didn't find the journey too tiring.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Moderate: Death and War
Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Now we have another time skip, to see the long lasting consequences of Leto II's final choice in God Emperpr of Dune. It was nice to finally move away from the Atreides family and focus on some other characters.
This book finally felt like the knive that split the series, with the loss of Leto II, all of our major players are finally dead and gone and this sets the stage for a new cast to rise up. However, not all of these new players were particularly brilliant and once again they were not written very well.
Herbert's ability to write women with the way he wrote the Honourned Matres was shocking to say the least, I'm not sure this man has written a decent female character in this entire series. If one does start to look they have slightly positive qualities it feels like this is instantly rectified in the next book and we're back to women as the bad guys again.
This book finally felt like the knive that split the series, with the loss of Leto II, all of our major players are finally dead and gone and this sets the stage for a new cast to rise up. However, not all of these new players were particularly brilliant and once again they were not written very well.
Herbert's ability to write women with the way he wrote the Honourned Matres was shocking to say the least, I'm not sure this man has written a decent female character in this entire series. If one does start to look they have slightly positive qualities it feels like this is instantly rectified in the next book and we're back to women as the bad guys again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
To be brutally honest? I think this book killed the vibe of the entire series for me. Not only are we now pushed forward with such a massive time gap that it feels as though the events of the first three books are so null and void, but now we have an even mopier Leto II in his brand new form.
It was hard to feel any connection to the characters as none of them were the ones we followed through the first books, only long long descendants of those characters. That and Leto II being one of my most disliked characters made it hard to find the want to follow and see how his story will end. I'm not entirely sure why I'll still read the last two books, most likely just to say that I've finished the series.
It was hard to feel any connection to the characters as none of them were the ones we followed through the first books, only long long descendants of those characters. That and Leto II being one of my most disliked characters made it hard to find the want to follow and see how his story will end. I'm not entirely sure why I'll still read the last two books, most likely just to say that I've finished the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
Children of Dune by Frank Herbert
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The third installment in the Dune series, and once again we start off with a sizeable time skip from the last events of Dune Messiah. The focus has shifted from Paul and his psychic abilities to his two children and their psychic abilities compared to their aunts capabilities. Once again this book involves another struggle for the Atredies to try and keep the throne from other families hands.
This series is starting to feel as though its dragging its heels now, I'm not sure we needed a third installment at all? It seems the character writing becomes sloppier the more books we progress through. If I'm being honest, I don't like either of the twins characters and this is not something that will change over the course of the rest of the series I'm sure. There was nothing really that captivated me about Children of Dune and I'll only be continuing the series because there's nothing worse than leaving a series half read.
This series is starting to feel as though its dragging its heels now, I'm not sure we needed a third installment at all? It seems the character writing becomes sloppier the more books we progress through. If I'm being honest, I don't like either of the twins characters and this is not something that will change over the course of the rest of the series I'm sure. There was nothing really that captivated me about Children of Dune and I'll only be continuing the series because there's nothing worse than leaving a series half read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Incest, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Minor: War
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book felt like a breath of fresh air compared to the long haul that Dune felt. Dune Messiah felt like a completely different novel with a whole new cast of characters. Following a large time skip from the final events of the previous book, here we see the fallout of Leto I's actions of the first book. Boy are they some severe consequences! In this section of the story, he will try to please everyone before making a final choice on who his actions will save.
Of all the books in the series, this one didn't stick out much to me so it's hard to think of anything I actually enjoyed while reading it as I write this review months after I finished the novel. Watching the plot against Leto unfold was quite interesting, due to Leto's character I didn't think they would be able to plot anything against him at all without him being able to detect and ruin it.
Sometimes, the writing in this book was not great, especially when it came to Leto I starting to monologue on certain mundane things. I know he has all these great powers now but, it seemed to me that he just enjoyed hearing the sound of his own voice by trying to philosophise all these little things. That or he just really didn't like talking to some people and wanted to bore them to sleep?
Of all the books in the series, this one didn't stick out much to me so it's hard to think of anything I actually enjoyed while reading it as I write this review months after I finished the novel. Watching the plot against Leto unfold was quite interesting, due to Leto's character I didn't think they would be able to plot anything against him at all without him being able to detect and ruin it.
Sometimes, the writing in this book was not great, especially when it came to Leto I starting to monologue on certain mundane things. I know he has all these great powers now but, it seemed to me that he just enjoyed hearing the sound of his own voice by trying to philosophise all these little things. That or he just really didn't like talking to some people and wanted to bore them to sleep?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Incest
Dune by Frank Herbert
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
While my rating of Dune isn't that high, I must admit that for a piece of sci-fi written so long ago this book certainly holds itself up well and through the test of time. Here we follow a complicated game of politics across multiple planets and factions while a young boy and his mother are just trying to survive Arrakis' harsh climate.
The world building in this novel is superb, the politics, religion, factions, and planets are very well fleshed out and don't leave you wanting for much more information. If you have all of your wits about you when you start this book then I think you'll be able to keep up with the plot quite well. The touch of the passages from different sources before each chapter was a good addition as at times they revealed more than the reader yet knew, so it really got me thinking about certain characters or plot points throughout.
On the other hand, I felt like the characters themselves were not given as much attention as the world around them, they felt very flat in comparision. At times I would have to re-read certain parts of the text to see if I had understood something and even then there were times I don't believe I had a full understanding, especially when it came to the politics plot points. So while the story and world were good, I think this book fell slightly on the delivery of those points.
The world building in this novel is superb, the politics, religion, factions, and planets are very well fleshed out and don't leave you wanting for much more information. If you have all of your wits about you when you start this book then I think you'll be able to keep up with the plot quite well. The touch of the passages from different sources before each chapter was a good addition as at times they revealed more than the reader yet knew, so it really got me thinking about certain characters or plot points throughout.
On the other hand, I felt like the characters themselves were not given as much attention as the world around them, they felt very flat in comparision. At times I would have to re-read certain parts of the text to see if I had understood something and even then there were times I don't believe I had a full understanding, especially when it came to the politics plot points. So while the story and world were good, I think this book fell slightly on the delivery of those points.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Death of parent
Carrie by Stephen King
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
For the start of my reading Stephen King in the order it was published TBR, Carrie is an excellent start. Here we follow a young girl through her most traumatic years (teenage years!) as she struggles both to fit in at school and at home while battling what she doesn't yet know to be her latent psychic abilities. Will she learn to control them or will they control her?
For being only a novella length book, Carrie really packs a punch in such a short number of pages. The use of mixed media from excepts, transcripts and newspaper clippings was a nice touch. Introduced before the reader has too much knowledge which helps to keep you on your toes just wondering how such catastrophic events come to be toward the end of the book. I am so glad that King's wife made him finish writing this novella.
Bullying is a topic close to my heart so I must admit some scenes made me quite uncomfortable but this didn't stop me from finishing the book. But boy, King sure does love hischild murder doesn't he?
For being only a novella length book, Carrie really packs a punch in such a short number of pages. The use of mixed media from excepts, transcripts and newspaper clippings was a nice touch. Introduced before the reader has too much knowledge which helps to keep you on your toes just wondering how such catastrophic events come to be toward the end of the book. I am so glad that King's wife made him finish writing this novella.
Bullying is a topic close to my heart so I must admit some scenes made me quite uncomfortable but this didn't stop me from finishing the book. But boy, King sure does love his
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying and Fire/Fire injury
'Salem's Lot by Stephen King
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
You would think a novel with Salem in it's title would be about witches, but here you would be very wrong. A refreshing vampire read compared to the novels I grew up with during my teenage years (looking at you Twilight, vampire academy and the Morganville Vampire series). King takes what should be a dark topic and makes it even more so. We follow a young man recovering from personal loss as he ventures back to the town he once spent time in as a child. Except now new men have moved in and the mood has certainly changed.
It is King's ability to write a good atmospheric horror setting that makes me enjoy all of his work so much, the descriptions of the vampires, of their creation, their impact on the town and the rest of the living is so stomach churning,especially the description of the smells these vampires leave behind Honestly I think the priest was one of my favoutire characters for this novel.
I must say I wasn't a fan of the epilogue section of the novel, I thought this dragged out, didn't really add much more to the story but also didn't help to make the ending of the novel any clearer. In fact I think the epilogue muddied the experience and put me off of any ideas of a re-read any time soon.
It is King's ability to write a good atmospheric horror setting that makes me enjoy all of his work so much, the descriptions of the vampires, of their creation, their impact on the town and the rest of the living is so stomach churning,
I must say I wasn't a fan of the epilogue section of the novel, I thought this dragged out, didn't really add much more to the story but also didn't help to make the ending of the novel any clearer. In fact I think the epilogue muddied the experience and put me off of any ideas of a re-read any time soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Car accident
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I put off reading these books for a long time as I didn't think they would be of any interest for me. Boy was I wrong. While the writing in A Game of Thrones may be misogynistic, uneccesarily violent and gory, involve far too may assult scenes of all kinds, I still enjoyed this novel and the setting of the world.
I think it's the otherworldy mysteries of Beyond the Wall and dragons and remnants of magic that mostly kept me interested in this book. Had it been just a plain world setting as the backdrop I would have put this book down long before the last pages. I enjoyed following through the different perspectives of all the characters and almost getting a dragon's eye view of the entire world rather than just one small section.
On the other hand, the writing is very dark at times, uneccesarily so and involves far more rape, murder and pillaging that I think is ever needed in any series. But it does convey such a sense of darkness to the world and ensures the reader is fully aware that this will not, in any way shape or form, be a happy world.
I think it's the otherworldy mysteries of Beyond the Wall and dragons and remnants of magic that mostly kept me interested in this book. Had it been just a plain world setting as the backdrop I would have put this book down long before the last pages. I enjoyed following through the different perspectives of all the characters and almost getting a dragon's eye view of the entire world rather than just one small section.
On the other hand, the writing is very dark at times, uneccesarily so and involves far more rape, murder and pillaging that I think is ever needed in any series. But it does convey such a sense of darkness to the world and ensures the reader is fully aware that this will not, in any way shape or form, be a happy world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism
The Shining by Stephen King
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What I have always come to think of as a Stephen King classic, The Shining does not disappoint as a gripping, terrifying novel. Here we join the Torrence family as they move to an isolated hotel during the winter season while Jack works as the caretaker. In typical King fashion, things start to go wrong and Jack begins to change while Danny is left to deal with his own developing psychic capabilities.
While I didn't like Jack Torrence's character, I must commend King on being able to write a character that I hate but love at the same time? Jack's character is very well written and watching his descent into madness while caring for the hotel made shivers crawl down my spine. Certain scenes made me put the book down to process, including both the bathtub scene andthe scene where Jack still drags himself around despite his stab wound I haven't read many King books yet but I feel like the ending to The Shining was actually sort of pleasant compared to other books that I have read.
I don't think Wendy got enough character development, or at least she seemed like the least important member of the family during their stay. I still think she was well written regardless, but I would have liked to have seen some of the supernatural in her as well as the boys.
While I didn't like Jack Torrence's character, I must commend King on being able to write a character that I hate but love at the same time? Jack's character is very well written and watching his descent into madness while caring for the hotel made shivers crawl down my spine. Certain scenes made me put the book down to process, including both the bathtub scene and
I don't think Wendy got enough character development, or at least she seemed like the least important member of the family during their stay. I still think she was well written regardless, but I would have liked to have seen some of the supernatural in her as well as the boys.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Alcohol