Epinions Recent Reviews for hbomb

End of the world might come quicker than the end of this book

Thu, 25 Apr 2002 14:31:02 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - Manifold: Time, is the first novel I've read by Baxter and I really didn't know what to expect. I'd heard Baxter's name mentioned quite a bit, especially when reading any kind of major award nomination list, which he seems to frequent quite a bit. (In...

Vanishing Acts: The many angles of extinction

Thu, 7 Mar 2002 13:41:44 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - Vanishing Acts is a compilation of short stories edited by Ellen Datlow. Datlow apparantley has a great track record of compiling quality collections, since every review I have read of this, she was one of the main reasons the readers grabbed this book...

When good ideas go bad

Fri, 18 Jan 2002 16:12:07 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - I picked this one up after following a few "this book was also bought by" links at Amazon.com and after reading the reviews there was intrigued enough to pick it up. This has basically become my equivalent of sitting in a bookstore and reading the back...

A Storm of a Series...

Fri, 10 Aug 2001 10:42:47 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - A Storm of Swords is the third installation of what is now an official 5 star series. It's a rare quality in a series, but this thing is getting better with each book. Funny thing about this one though, was that I read the entire book thinking this was...

Potential Reached.

Thu, 12 Jul 2001 15:22:19 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - If you read my review on MacLeod's debut novel, The Star Fraction, you'll know that while I enjoyed the book, it wasn't entirely there yet. However, it was painfully obvious that MacLeod could be something incredible. The potential and talent were all...

Certainly not Lethem's Best Work

Thu, 5 Jul 2001 17:30:10 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - If you've read any of my past book reviews, you've realized that I've grown into quite a Lethem fan. Up until A Girl in The Landscape he was 3 for 3 for outstanding novels. After reading this, unfortunately, I need to ding his average to 3 for 4.
...

Turning into one terrific fantasy series

Thu, 21 Jun 2001 00:34:07 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - A Clash of Kings is the second novel to what is becoming an incredible fantasy series. This is yet another monster 900 pager but was well worth the effort. For the most part it takes off exactly where the first book begins and just dives straight into...

Experience the dark underbelly of London

Tue, 17 Apr 2001 17:14:04 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - After reading Miéville's second novel, Perdido Street Station, I figured I had to give his first one a try. It wound up being a bit different than I expected.

It really isn't science fiction or fantasy to be honest. One of the reviewers on...

The start of what seems to be an incredibly promising writer

Sun, 15 Apr 2001 15:04:17 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - Star Fraction is Ken MacLeod's debut novel, the first of what is currently a three part series. The main reason I picked this one up is that I've seen Iain Banks raving about him in several reviews. If Iain likes him, well then I guess I've got to give...

Duped by the quotes from the back of the book

Sun, 18 Mar 2001 17:11:52 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - Realware is the latest book by Rudy Rucker, who while I've heard of, this is the first book I had read by him. I think it is safe to say it will also be the last. Basically I bought this on an impulse while browsing a local bookstore. The flashy cover...

Lies upon lies upon lies all wrapped up in a maze of madness

Sun, 4 Mar 2001 20:55:15 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - After being utterly blown away with this, a friend of mine lent me his copy of House of Leaves swearing up and down that I needed to read it. Finding it hard to resist a review like that, I bumped it up the long list of books I'm trying to read and dug...

Takes a while, but once there it is worth the effort

Sat, 17 Feb 2001 16:30:47 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - A Game of Thrones is the first in a three part fantasy series by George R. R. Martin. This is the first book I've read by him, so I didn't really know what to expect when I started this. It was awarded the Fantasy Novel of the Year when it came out, so I...

The 6160 with a flip

Fri, 29 Dec 2000 23:30:09 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - If you've read my previous cell phone reviews, you'll know that I had started with a Nokia 6160. I happened to truly love that phone. The problem was that due to a lot of travel that I do, I wanted to upgrade to a plan that offered no long distance &...

The start of a new direction for the Culture series

Sun, 17 Dec 2000 18:40:26 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - Excession is yet another science fiction novel set in the Culture world that Banks created back with Consider Phlebas. However, unlike the previous novels set in this world, this is really the first one that takes the focus off of the humans in the...

Not the best of NIN's remix albums

Fri, 15 Dec 2000 17:57:30 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - Things Falling Apart is the latest in a long string of remix albums released by NIN's. Reznor basically has released at least one for each of his studio albums. In general, these albums usually feature a new twist of the songs contained in the studio...

Madden NFL 2000 for PlayStation 1: Boom!

Mon, 11 Dec 2000 18:56:41 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - I recently just picked up a Playstation 1, figuring I'd take advantage of the price drop off now that the PS2 is out. While browsing through Half.com I saw someone selling Madden NFL 2000 for only $10 so I figured I might as well. I love football games...

Look to Windward: Another terrific Culture novel

Sun, 10 Dec 2000 02:41:29 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - Just a quick note. This link was Look to Windward and not The Business before the site change. Once books is updated I will put it back in the right place.

Look to Windward is the latest in a long line of incredible Culture novels by...

Is this series getting pulled down in the mud?

Fri, 24 Nov 2000 21:18:19 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - Winter's Heart is the 9th book of Jordan's Wheel of Time series. As I mentioned in my review of the series, this is one of the most complicated series I've ever read in terms of plot. The sheer number of plots, sub-plots, characters, cities, cultures and...

When did management decide their employees were children?

Wed, 22 Nov 2000 18:22:02 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - As it seems with most people who read this one, I was asked/required to read it for work. My company happens to be going through a lot of turmoil at the time, and upper management felt this was a great tool in comforting their employees around the change...

Another fine tale with a Lethem twist

Mon, 23 Oct 2000 21:31:14 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - While Motherless Brooklyn is not a science fiction or fantasy novel as most of my reviews are, Lethem's "Amnesia Moon" and "Gun With Occasional Music" (I still love that title) impressed me enough that I had to read this one. Well,...

Radiohead: Kid A: An incredible follow up to OK Computer

Thu, 5 Oct 2000 14:43:17 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - I'll admit that after Radiohead's last album, OK Computer I really wasn't sure how they could follow it up. OK Computer was simply amazing with critics even going so far as comparing it to Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. An album of the magnitude more...

This could be the series saver

Tue, 3 Oct 2000 12:02:06 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - Tad William's Mountain of Black Glass is the third installment to the Otherland series. If you've read my reviews on the previous two books you know that I went into this one a bit skeptical. The first book to the series was outstanding, while the second...

Well written tale but falls short of the original

Tue, 5 Sep 2000 23:21:04 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - A Deepness in the Sky (the real title of this book. No idea what Zones of Thought is) is the prequel to the very deserving Nebula Award winner, A Fire Upon the Deep. Like the original, this is another massive space opera tale of nearly 800 pages that...

Mercata: Think of it like the Price Club on the Web, with a twist

Sat, 2 Sep 2000 00:08:34 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - After hearing about a promotion to get $100 off of a Mercata purchase I figured it was maybe time to try this site out. I'll admit that upon entry I was a bit disappointed in finding out you can't use the $100 in total unless you were buying $500 worth...

Wrigley Field: The best 7th inning stretch I've ever taken

Thu, 31 Aug 2000 14:20:32 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbomb - I just recently returned from a weekend getaway to Chicago for the sole purpose of catching the Dodgers playing the Cubs in Wrigley Field. I was lucky enough to have wound up being able to catch a double header, both of which were played during a...