tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70143398492409867452012-01-29T17:58:01.760-08:00      <b>Judging books beyond their covers</b> <br><br> Want to know which books to read? Fantasy, science fiction, and books from various other genres are critiqued for your reading pleasure - right here at ReviewInk.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.comBlogger241100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-75662618947575940322020-09-14T04:46:00.000-07:002012-01-09T06:24:02.154-08:00

ReviewInk is back for 2012! Hi everyone, I know it's been a while, but ReviewInk is back! This year I'm going to be taking part in the 'Australian Women Writer's Challenge 2012', so expect a lot of female Australians to pop up in the review list. Although my favourite genres are science fiction and fantasy, I'll be participating in the 'Franklin fantastic Dabbler' challenge. This means that

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-51334790264173922412018-07-07T02:32:00.000-07:002009-05-03T23:38:42.188-07:00

Have you ever had a pile of books to read but can't decide which ones are worth the effort? Has a book been recommended to you by a friend - but you're not sure if they know your taste? Have you been reading reviews that promise a fantastic book that turns out to be rubbish? Have you read a series by an author that you like, then find out that their next series would be better off used as

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-17267696016974437582015-05-26T18:00:00.000-07:002009-04-28T19:39:31.412-07:00

Please be aware that the reviews here are my opinion only. I try to show why a book was given a certain rating and not just say it was "good" or "bad". If any authors happen to visit this site, I'd appreciate it that you take my reviews in terms of constructive criticism and not "book-bashing" in any way, shape or form.I also try to avoid spoilers, but sometimes you just have to use them. If I

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-34816264926277811862012-01-23T20:24:00.001-08:002012-01-23T20:28:12.327-08:00

I found this book to be disappointing compared to Anne McCaffrey’s other work. The novel follows the oft-used theme of humans seeking a way off a used-up and crowded Earth. A suitable uninhabited planet (Doona) is discovered and volunteers are sent out to colonise it. However, things start to get interesting when the humans discover a mysterious cat-like race (the Hrrubans) living nearby. This

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-59420902450289449912011-12-08T02:32:00.000-08:002012-01-09T05:57:49.944-08:00

I always like it when a novel has an interesting magic system. In Debris everything in the world is made up of semi-sentient magical yellow pions, which everyone can see and control to some extent. A skilled pion binder can build, move and change matter into different forms, and are employed to keep the amenities of the city of Movoc-under-Keeper running. Tanyana is a powerful pion

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-91835571791444634872011-08-15T01:23:00.000-07:002011-08-15T01:23:58.160-07:00

Because I am such an avid reader, I tend to buy a lot of books and then run out of places to put them. Since I don’t like to waste space, I occasionally do a bit of a stocktake and put some of my older (or least favourite) books aside to be sold or given to friends. I was doing this the other day and came across White Tiger by Kylie Chan. I was a bit confused as to what it was doing in my

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-91600168141931153412011-07-19T19:37:00.001-07:002011-07-19T20:58:39.534-07:00

I always like it when a novel has an interesting magic system. In Debris everything in the world is made up of semi-sentient magical yellow pions, which everyone can see and control to some extent. A skilled pion binder can build, move and change matter into different forms and they are employed to keep the amenities of the city of Movoc-under-Keeper running.  Tanyana is a powerful pion

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-68867594593818289062011-06-05T03:27:00.001-07:002011-06-05T03:47:22.225-07:00

So I've been watching Masterchef for a while now (mostly because it's just something I can sit down and turn my brain off for) and I thought it would make it more interesting to have a Masterchef drinking game. I prefer to use non-alcoholic drinks! Please feel free to add comments to this as I'm sure I've missed a lot. * indicates a suggestion that I found at http://klaused.blogspot.com/ One

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-49228784894457770952010-02-14T18:01:00.000-08:002012-01-19T10:13:48.786-08:00

I’m sure we’ve all had the same experience with sequels whether they appear in books, TV shows or movies. They are (almost) never as good as the first part of the series (or initial trilogy). I have had, on several occasions the urge to shriek “Get out of your comfort zone!” when reading a particular series (naming no names) but thankfully this doesn’t apply to Naamah’s Kiss. Following on from

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-57444285201429556652010-02-04T21:32:00.000-08:002012-01-19T10:05:06.186-08:00

Since the Twilight phenomenon you can’t walk into a bookshop without being hit over the head with a novel about vampires or werewolves or both. Unfortunately due to the current popularity of this genre, authors have jumped on the bandwagon and are churning out books that should not have passed the editing stage. Luckily for us, there are many good quality supernatural books out there, and this is

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-45733918022690137212009-10-25T02:09:00.000-07:002012-01-19T09:58:33.376-08:00

What I love about Anne Bishop’s worlds is how intricate they are. It doesn’t matter if I don’t like the writing style or the characters (which has only happened once), the worlds are so well created that I’ll just keep coming back. The other good thing about her stories is that she doesn’t spend forever describing the universe before we get to any action – we learn about it as we go. Her

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-65974278746424256332009-06-17T05:02:00.000-07:002012-01-19T11:13:33.045-08:00

This book has also been published as I Am The Messenger. Our protagonist, Ed Kennedy is no-one’s idea of a hero. He drives a taxi, owns a dog that smells like Foul Ole Ron from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld [1], plays cards with his friends, and argues with his mother. He is in love with one of his closest friends, Audrey, but is so far into the “friend zone” that he’s too nervous to tell her

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-36872710680582739192009-05-27T21:28:00.001-07:002009-05-27T21:30:57.622-07:00

Thoughts? Questions? Comments?Feel free to email me at:reviewink@gmail.com

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-54797219641986000562009-05-14T21:24:00.000-07:002012-01-19T10:23:27.396-08:00

Yes, you guessed it, it's Sex in the City with sex demons, greed demons and the Prince of Darkness thrown in for good measure. Our protagonist Lily (short for Lilith [1]), is one of the four Chosen of Satan. She, along with Desi, Sybil and Eros are tasked with delivering souls to Hell. As a succubus [2], in order for Lily to deliver a victim’s soul to Satan she has to make him orgasm. If the man

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-84954609690282149112009-05-03T21:23:00.000-07:002009-05-03T21:36:43.684-07:00

I know that a lot readers skip over the thanks and dedications when they're starting a book. However, despite the fact that this isn't a book, there are some people who need to be acknowledged.The people at Dymocks Burnside, who let me write reviews for them:Kate, Rosie and Mark.The Discworld Mudders who helped me with coding, and brainstorming ideas:Siilaan, Twiddle, Batflower, Kate and

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-63390250967513472902008-08-17T05:28:00.000-07:002012-01-19T10:19:44.614-08:00

It's quite upsetting when an author that you like brings out a book that you don't (especially if you know them personally). I'm not sure if Saturn Returns was published before or after House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds because some of the character and plot elements are eerily similar. It really doesn't matter anyway, since Saturn Returns is a poor man's version House of Suns [1]. Having read

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-42020562499410841022008-07-30T22:33:00.000-07:002012-01-19T11:24:52.078-08:00

1. Night Watch 2. Day Watch 3. Twilight Watch 4. Last Watch (as yet unread) It's taken me a while to write this review because I've been thinking a lot about how to do it. When I read Night Watch I thought it was a well written book with a typical fantasy fiction basis. You've got the 'good guys' (the Night Watch) and the 'bad guys' (the Day Watch). Each of the watches were formed to keep

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-45770604651310263902008-07-08T20:58:00.000-07:002012-01-19T11:03:51.699-08:00

Wow. This is a really cool book. The blurb says that it's somewhere between The Memory Keeper's Daughter and The Sixth Sense. I haven't seen either of those but from what I've heard from other people the description is pretty accurate. This book is not fantasy. It's about Towner Whitney, whose family is described as being "five generations of crazy". For the most part, the book is written from

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-68246238024733756732008-06-24T04:59:00.000-07:002012-01-19T10:08:47.558-08:00

This book was recommended to me by a friend who likes his books to be (and this description is woefully inadequate) 'British'. He enjoys books such as Three Men In A Boat (which I'll admit I haven't got around to reading yet) and others in that particular style of writing ('Tally ho!' etc.). I'm not too enthused about the genre, but when he told me the nature of the narrative used by Pynchon I

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-75209015664253368442008-06-17T23:01:00.000-07:002012-01-19T11:28:30.519-08:00

Where would you find rubbish-bin ninjas, sentient milk-cartons and an evil Smog that must be defeated? In UnLondon of course - where the lost and broken things of London end up. Unfortunately for the poor citizens they've got no defense against the Smog. Except of course the prophesied Chosen One - who isn't in condition to do anything, let alone save an entire civilisation. I picked up Peridot

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-18208559599336738072008-06-14T05:55:00.000-07:002012-01-19T10:26:21.400-08:00

I used to think that chicklit was a light and fluffy genre. The type of book that you could just drift through and not have to pay much attention to. The sort of story that you could read on long flights without caring too much about the plot or characters. I was disabused of that notion when I started reading books by authors such as Marian Keyes (whose books deal with drug abuse, depression

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-24643459795564332042008-06-08T19:12:00.000-07:002009-05-03T01:26:59.421-07:00

Wow, wow, wow. Once in a while a book comes along that is so good that it's difficult to describe what makes it fantastic.This is one of them. When I started reading it, I was prepared for a typical fantasy. Scary things attack people, the innkeeper turns out to know about the monsters but keeps it a secret because it's something to do with his past, eventually you find out about it, etc etc.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-60167787606873015342008-06-05T01:39:00.000-07:002012-01-19T10:37:38.907-08:00

I picked this up at the library when I went to collect another book that I had on hold. I always have a look at the new fiction section, and this book caught my eye. The dust jacket said that it was inspired by the Nairobi Camel Bookmobile, so I thought I'd give it a try. Everything started out well - the prologue was very descriptive and emotional - so far, so good. However before long the

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014339849240986745.post-15565448371741044062000-05-27T17:52:00.000-07:002009-04-28T19:39:14.331-07:00

This is how it all began.....Once upon a time, in a land called Australia, there was a girl who was seldom found without a book in her hand. Although she was sometimes tempted to throw the aforementioned book at people, she found it was much more fun to read it instead.As she grew, the girl continued to read, and began to develop opinions on the various texts available. She joined a book-club

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04121748854155384200noreply@blogger.com0