Review: Paul of Dune

Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



For a McDune novel, it is not bad. This covers a period of time after the first Dune and the (not so strong) Dune Messiah. The plot includes some classic machinations of Hakonnens vs. Atreides, some aspects of the relationship between Paul and his father, and most importantly, Muad'Dib's growth into the ruler of the known universe. There are two or three near climax moments in the story that provide some excitement and keep you going, but overall, it's a bland book that you don't regret and don't celebrate having read.



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Review: Death Note, Volume 1: Boredom

Death Note, Volume 1: Boredom by Tsugumi Ohba

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Even having seen the whole anime series and knowing what is going to happen, it's still fun to read.



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Review: Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning

Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning by Gary Marcus

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Interesting book, though not quite what I wanted to read. Gary Marcus is a PhD in cognitive psychology who decides to pick up the guitar (and to learn music) later in life. The part of learning music and learning to play an instrument late in life is what drew me to this, since it's pretty much my own story. Marcus writes precious little about his personal journey and much more about the scholarly, cognitive aspects of the endeavour, which were interesting to read about. I got to understand better how humans are (or rather, how they are not) wired with a music instinct, how our brains evolve as we are trying to learn an instrument, how one can be an expert musician without knowing how to read music, and many other interesting points on cognition. Although all this material made for a very interesting intellectual read, I fear that the lasting lessons for my journey as a musician wannabe can be summarized in few words. In short, it's an interesting work in making psychology more accessible to the masses, but not terribly helpful to a guitar student.



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Review: Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning

Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning by Gary Marcus

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Interesting book, though not quite what I wanted to read. Gary Marcus is a PhD in cognitive psychology who decides to pick up the guitar (and to learn music) later in life. The part of learning music and learning to play an instrument late in life is what drew me to this, since it's pretty much my own story. Marcus writes precious little about his personal journey and much more about the scholarly, cognitive aspects of the endeavour, which were interesting to read about. I got to understand better how humans are (or rather, how they are not) wired with a music instinct, how our brains evolve as we are trying to learn an instrument, how one can be an expert musician without knowing how to read music, and many other interesting points on cognition. Although all this material made for a very interesting intellectual read, I fear that the lasting lessons for my journey as a musician wannabe can be summarized in few words. In short, it's an interesting work in making psychology more accessible to the masses, but not terribly helpful to a guitar student.



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Review: Ferran The Inside Story of El Bulli and The Man Who Reinvented Food

Ferran The Inside Story of El Bulli and The Man Who Reinvented Food by Colman Andrews

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Really interesting biography of the man behind a revolution in cooking. It evokes vivid images of the scenes it describes and makes you feel that you got into Adriá's mind.



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Review: Shadow's Edge

Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Not particularly impressed by the writing or the plot. As with the first book in the series, I found this a fun and shallow read. It's a fluffy fantasy series, in the tradition of most of those filling the shelves in bookstores. Medieval setting, warring knights, troubled nobles, and best of all (for my taste, at least), plenty of magic. Kylar is a repenting assassin (or "wetboy") trying to mend his ways and restart life as a herbalist, when "they pulled him back in" to a large conflict between nations and a fight against evil. If it sounds like standard fare, it's because it is. I keep reading fantasy searching for that experience of being 18 and reading Raymond Feist's Magician for the first time, but it hardly ever pays off. Some that came close were Garth Nix Abhorsen and Carol Berg's Rai Kirah. Tad Williams' Memory Sorrow and Thorn was immensely satisfying in so many ways. The Night Angel series, though, I find fun and somewhat forgettable at the same time.



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Review: The Pillars of the Earth

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



It's a gripping read, from beginning to end. Character development is excellent; even if some of them seem a bit cookie cutter, they have plenty of background and you empathize deeply with them. At some point, perhaps half-way through, I started to think that the author was jerking me around with too many twists and turns. Something ultimately bad happens just to set the stage for something utterly blissful. And then it reverses. You have something beautiful followed by a horrifying event. It's like driving along a road with one switch back after the other - it felt tiring for a moment or two. But... it's so well done that you just have to get to the destination, so I let myself go and in the end, really enjoyed the ride. I turned the last page a couple of hours ago; I'm still grieving not having those characters in my life anymore.



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