Saturday, February 23, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Grimm Fairy Tales: Robyn Hood
author: Patrick Shand
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2013/02/21
date added: 2013/02/21
shelves:
review:
Young Robyn Locksley is forced to survive on the streets. Stealing medicine for her ailing mother, and dealing with and addicted father have made her street smart. She runs into the wrong crowd at high school and is attacked and left with a missing eye. At this point, a portal whisks her off to medieval England where she is given the task of killing King John. The usual cast of characters assists. She is promised a return to her home to exact revenge once this is accomplished.
Besides the gender bending of the lead character, there is a much darker edge to this story than your usual story of Robin Hood. Robyn has a very tough edge about her and is not above using cruelty to make a point. Perhaps this is a more realistic take on someone who is pushed around by authority to the breaking point.
The story is good, and is part of a larger story arc. The art is also good, except perhaps for the choice of a skimpy costume for the main character. For someone whose job is running around in the woods it seems pretty impractical, as well as being so different from everyone around her, that she can't help but stand out in any crowd. These are artistic choices, probably designed to make sales. In spite of this, the story manages to rise above and stay engaging throughout.
via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/539699026?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss
Sunday, February 17, 2013
A Little History of Science
author: W.F. Bynum
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.24
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2013/02/13
date added: 2013/02/17
shelves:
review:
Briefly comprehensive is the kind of strange oxymoron that would apply to this book. Written in short, digestible chapters, it attempts to explain human science from the development of numbers to the deciphering of the human genome.
Written for younger readers, it's the sort of book, I would have devoured easily when I was 12 years old (and would seem to be recommended for about that age). Nitpickers will always point out what is missing, but for a book of about 272 pages, the only thing that might have been helpful might be a reading list for those looking for further information. Of course, any 12 year old boy can use Google to do their own poking about, but a few formalized resources might have been a nice touch.
Easy to read, with some humor injected throughout (as well as some intriguing wood cut prints), it's an easy higher level look at a subject that humans have been studying for at least 4,000 years.
via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/445564126?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
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