Writer, Reader, Treckie, Whovian

I received a free copy of this book for my honest review from the Goodreads’ group; Lovers of Paranormal’s R2R.

I’ve been worrying over writing this review for a week now because I was undecided on what to say and what rating it deserved.

I thought the description of the book was great. I didn’t like the cover, but they say you shouldn’t judge a book by that, so I didn’t. However, upon finishing the first few chapters, I came to the realization that this book was not for me. Nonetheless, I persevered.

It was a tedious read in which I made many cringing faces of dislike and annoyance. Lesson learned, read the free sample on Amazon.com before agreeing to an R2R in the future. Had I done that, I would have known this book was not for me. That, however, is entirely not the author’s fault at all. It’s a matter of taste and preference. This book was obviously written by a manly man, with manly views of the world…sadly, I am a HUGE feminist. LOL

I did like the fact that I’d never read a story like The Godless before. It was quite unique and very imaginative. At times the author shows great skill in turning a phrase…other times the phrasing seems a bit awkward.

I didn’t much like Aren, the main character, at all. He seemed like just another manly sort of chauvinistic guy among many in the book, including the angels…while the only ladies were either sluts, whores or had a ring on their finger…Oh, I don’t know. It just seems like a book written for men—and women who “know their place.” It irked me from beginning to end, but if you like manly men shooting guns, gambling, drinking alcohol, fighting, chasing each other, threatening each other, talking about money and many many more manly things, this book is 100% for you. Happy Reading. ^_^

Like I said, I won’t dock points for taste’s sake. That was my fault. 3 stars, only because there were quite a few grammatical errors, the story dragged at times, and there were some inconsistencies in the story (one minute someone is a cousin of Aren's, few chapters later he's a brother to the main character) I hate stuff like that. 

The second installment in the Hellhound series had many of the same errors the first was plagued with; missing words, jumbled sentences, leaps in thought trains, too damn many 'as' as this, as that, as I, as he....I get it, a lot of stuff is happening at once. Overusing 'as' doesn't make the story sound fast paced, it makes the story teller sound redundant... But, hey, I pretty much knew what I was getting into when I bought the 2nd book, right? So why the harsh rating?

Well...it wasn't the book that hurt it's score. It was the sneak peek at the 3rd book that pissed me off. HUGE PLOT HOLE! Damn, I hate plot holes, and this one is a constant throughout the 3rd book...I'll write that review soon...Spoiler alert, it's less than one star...

Honestly loved the book!

What I loved:
The risky sexiness of it all.
The world building.
The fast pace

What I totally hated:
The constant errors and typos. There were a lot of missing words, mixed up sentences, missing commas. I was counting them at first, but I lost count...
The repetitive phrasing was annoying as all get out. Really just the 'as.' as, as, as, as, as this, as that, as I, as he, as she...You get the picture.
And it was far too short. I could totally point out areas that needed more explaining, whole chapters that would have done the book a world of good.
Also, there was a lot of telling, rather than showing, which makes it feel kind of lazy

BUT, like I said, I honestly loved the book. For all the things I griped about, I read it in a damn day. I would have done it in one sitting, but life...LOL It's totally worth a read, and I will be reading the next one. ^_^

Hey, if there are less typos in the next installment, I totally see a five star rating in its future.

Wow, a blast from my past. I read this book when I was 15 years old and I didn't realize until just now how huge an impact this book had on me.

The book opens on a space ship, where clones are being woken, paired up and readied for war. I don't remember much about the war, or who they were even fighting, but maybe that's because as well written as it was, as interesting and brilliant, I remember the bigger story better. I remember that Orion was a man once. Then gods changed him, used him as they saw fit. Toyed with him. He had to fight back. How many lives would he be forced to live? How many times would they place him in harms way, like an overly abused chess piece. There was so much struggle, so much love and hate. What I remember from this book, half a lifetime ago was that. I'll have to reread it and maybe edit this post a bit afterward. 

As a writer I get asked one question from time to time. Who is your favorite author or who has influenced you the most in your writing. Ben Bova, actually is one of my favorite authors, and I'd say he's had a large impact on me as an artist. Venus is a perfect example of why.

Venus is a fantastic futuristic novel and it seems so possible. Just one aspect of the novel is that global warming is having devastating effects on the planet, but politicians refuse to budge on the issue...sounds familiar already. Another aspect is that the rich can virtually live forever given the advances in medicine, but a broken healthcare system makes sure the poor live very short lives...yup, totally rings a bell. Besides all that, it's a very interesting and intriguing story all and all, based on science and human nature. Bova's books always have a rough around the edges hero, some brash romance and heaps of original ideas that boggle the mind.

As a writer I tend to stick with urban fantasy, paranormal romance and all the jazz, but as a long time fan of Bova's I'm compelled to back my supernatural bits with science, or something like it :-P I'm no scientist. I likely butcher it all to hell, but it's there...

I love authors who create whole new worlds and fill it with new beings and cultures. It's the height of creativity. Lisen is a wonderful three dimensional heroine who is torn from earth, the only life she's ever known and forced to her home world, Garla. There she must learn the culture, the people and come to terms with not only the loss of her Earthly life, but her Earthly body as well. It's a terribly descriptive, imaginative and intriguing book. Well written with great flow. Highly recommended for lovers of fantasy!