lunes, 29 de mayo de 2017

Reseña: Pyromantic (Firebug 2)

Pyromantic 

by  

Lish McBride

 336 pages
Published March 21st 2017 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
ISBN:0805098631 (ISBN13: 9780805098631)
Edition Language:English
Series:Firebug #2


BLURB: Ava is having a rough time. Getting rid of Venus didn’t set her free—she’s still part of the magical mafia called the Coterie. Her new boss seems like an improvement, but who knows if he’ll stay that way—the Coterie life changes people. And since Ava’s currently avoiding her friends after (disastrously) turning down a date with Lock, well, everything kind of sucks. And that’s not even taking into account the feelings she might have for him.

But when a mysterious illness starts to affect magical beings, it’s up to Ava and her team to stop its spread…or else one of them might be next.

My rating: 2.75 melting stars


Realmente queria que este libro me gustara mucho más, pero Ava, la prota, lo intenta demasiado. Trata demasiado de ser graciosa, de no caer en sentimentalismos, pero igual termina interactuando de modo forzado. 

La trama es interesante, y se lee bastante rápido.

sábado, 20 de mayo de 2017

Reseña: Army of Darkness / Xena, Warrior Princess: Forever and a Day (comic)

+Digital-copy gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review+

Army of Darkness / Xena, Warrior Princess: Forever and a Day 

by  

Scott Lobdell

146 pages
Expected publication: July 25th 2017 by Dynamite Entertainment
ISBN:1524103519 (ISBN13: 9781524103514)
Edition Language:English
 

My rating: 3.3 loopy stars


bookshelves: netgalley, fantasy, graphic-novel, media-tie-in, adventure, necromancy, tv-serie-based,  x-over, from-movie-to-graphic-novel


Follows the weird and silly fashion of some episodes of Xena. This is an adventure starting with a major event -Gabrielle and Xena in big trouble- and asking the help of Ash Williams (from Army of Darkness).

AODXena033

jueves, 11 de mayo de 2017

Reseña: Maneki Neko

by  

Bruce Sterling


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


When freeware network seems to put people really nervous.

Tsuyoshi Shimizu is living content with his pregnant wife and small business , when a errand takes a twist .

Tsuyoshi blinked. “I’m just living my life.”
“Well, your network gift economy is undermining the lawful, government approved, regulated economy!”
“Well,” Tsuyoshi said gently, “maybe my economy is better than your economy.”
“Says who?” she scoffed. “Why would anyone think that?”
“It’s better because we’re happier than you are. What’s wrong with acts of kindness? Everyone likes gifts.

-------------------
Relato corto que terminó sorprendiéndome de manera agradable.

No soy nada de fan de los famosos 'gatitos de la suerte' (que dan nombre a esta historia) y que empezaron a proliferar hace unos años, desplazando al elefante, asi que esto me dio cierto resquemor. Pero la imagen es sólo una forma de aunar todo un movimiento que actua en una suerte de cadena de favores.

Primer cyberpunk que leo que no contiene el pesimismo y truculencia que caracteriza en gran parte el género, asi que hasta vacilo en calificarlo como tal.
Lo pueden leer aqui


sábado, 6 de mayo de 2017

Reseña: Prophets of the Ghost Ants (Antasy #1)

+Digital copy gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+
BILINGUAL REVIEW/Reseña Bilingue

by 

Clark Thomas Carlton

608 pages
Published January 24th 2017 by Harper Voyager Impulse (first published June 17th 2011)
ISBN:0062429752 (ISBN13: 9780062429759)
Languaje: English

BLURB: Both familiar and fantastic, Clark T. Carlton’s Prophets of the Ghost Ants explores a world in which food, weapons, clothing, art—even religious beliefs—are derived from Humankind’s profound intertwining with the insect world. 
In a savage landscape where humans have evolved to the size of insects, they cannot hope to dominate. Ceaselessly, humans are stalked by night wasps, lair spiders, and marauder fleas. And just as sinister, men are still men. Corrupt elites ruthlessly enforce a rigid caste system. Duplicitous clergymen and power-mongering royalty wage pointless wars for their own glory. Fantasies of a better life and a better world serve only to torment those who dare to dream. 

One so tormented is a half-breed slave named Anand, a dung-collector who has known nothing but squalor and abuse. Anand wants to lead his people against a genocidal army who fight atop fearsome, translucent Ghost Ants. But to his horror, Anand learns this merciless enemy is led by someone from his own family: a religious zealot bent on the conversion of all non-believers . . . or their extermination.
 

A mix of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Shadow of the Apt, Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor, and Phillip Pullman’s Golden Compass, this is a powerful new addition to the genre.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


{Note: If you are squeamish about bugs and eating bugs, this is so not your book ;P}


Este es uno de esos libros que resulta algo dificil de encasillar dentro de un sólo género, parte diciendo que un meteorito cayó en la tierra y desaparecio la civilización, dejando sólo bichos gigantes y los humanos se achicaron. No. No es broma. Ahora si dejamos de lado la parte en que hay que creer que todos los mamiferos desaparecieron dejando solamente seres humanos ... es bastante entretenido. Por eso es que a algunas personas les parece que esto tal vez tendria mayor sentido si fuera en un planeta ajeno a la tierra. Y claro, después en lo que avanza la historia nos encontramos con una fantasía heroica en la que sólo esta ausente la magia.

Bueno, los diminutos humanos han sobrevivido atando sus vidas a los grandes insectos organizados. Relación simbiótica, domesticación, parasitismo todo ello cabe aqui.

Los humanos han establecido todo un panteon de dioses: hormiga, abeja, cucaracha, mantis, langosta, termita, etc. Su cultura esta entrelazada y basado en sus vidas, y una estratificación social rígida con reinas , sacerdotes, soldados y esclavos. No hay tecnologia, y la sociedad es una suerte de despotismo/hierocracia . La casta alta son de piel 'clara y amarilla'.

Anand , el protagonista, es un muchacho de la casta más baja dentro de los Slopeites, y es fácil identificarlo con la casta de los intocables que continua cargando excrementos hoy en dia. Esta 'contaminado' y , horror, su piel es oscura. Su cultura adora a la Reina Hormiga de los cortadores de hojas.

miércoles, 3 de mayo de 2017

Reseña: Battlestar Galactica: Folly of the Gods (Novela Grafica)

+Digital copy gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+

Battlestar Galactica: Folly of the Gods 

by  

Cullen Bunn


Expected publication: May 23rd 2017 by Dynamite Entertainment
ISBN: 1524103144 (ISBN13: 9781524103149)
Edition Language: English

My rating: 2,5 deep space stars.

Shelves ciencia-ficcion, comics, graphic-novel, media-tie-in, netgalley, space-opera, tv-serie-based
This is a 'Classical Battlestar Galactica' adventure (1978), where the Galactica is thrown into a spatial divergence -and can we say spatial cliche here- a black hole. The bumpy travel of the starship have cost some problems, and Adama is unsconcious.
Apollo, Starbuck and Sheba goes to explore some planet with a ring of debris were found a few surprises. Not the pleasant kind.