The Caustic Critic

Thanks very much! Always happy to run across ano...

2012-05-17T11:31:37.279-04:00

Thanks very much!

Always happy to run across another Deadwood fan!

I just found you through CBR4 and am enjoying the ...

2012-05-17T11:16:58.073-04:00

I just found you through CBR4 and am enjoying the hell out of your reviews.

I'd like to punch David Milch for stopping Deadwood to make his surfing Jesus series and not giving us even half a season to wrap things up.

F. Paul Wilson is well worth reading. However, I ...

2012-03-22T07:00:02.310-04:00

F. Paul Wilson is well worth reading. However, I don't beleive he ever wrote a follow-up book. As he has been concentrating on the Repairman Jack and The Adversary storys he may return to Midnight Mass.

I read The Passage last winter, and I think I had ...

2012-02-21T15:31:25.848-05:00

I read The Passage last winter, and I think I had a really similar reaction, only in inverse proportions--while I really liked the first section and the last leg, the middle section was so jolting and uninteresting after I got invested in the present-day stuff that I just felt really alienated from the book as a whole, like I couldn't trust the author anymore.

Of course, the interesting thing is that when I heard a sequel is supposed to be published this year, I was far more interested than I would ordinarily be for a novel I was lukewarm on. I suppose that says something for how engaging the good parts were.

Anyway, interesting, as always, to read your thoughts. I hope you're well!

Gee, my tens of followers are going to miss your i...

2012-02-18T14:23:54.352-05:00

Gee, my tens of followers are going to miss your insightful criticism.

Hundreds of reviews. For the tens of followers. I ...

2012-02-18T11:36:10.952-05:00

Hundreds of reviews. For the tens of followers. I think its your lack of diversity that makes you dislike this book. All your reviews are biased and the ones who hold high on your list are novice reads.

I came across this post as I was looking for a review on the book but not a review by a egocentric pariah with a keyboard.

No, unfortunately I didn't make it. I stalled ...

2012-01-04T10:59:12.141-05:00

No, unfortunately I didn't make it. I stalled out in Oct/Nov and never got caught up again. Oh well, 99 is still pretty good. Plus, there's always next year!

Did you finish your last one?! Did you? Even if y...

2012-01-03T21:38:09.190-05:00

Did you finish your last one?! Did you?

Even if you didn't, 99 books is pretty damn impressive. Congrats!

This sounds really interesting - I might have to p...

2011-12-31T16:36:20.740-05:00

This sounds really interesting - I might have to pick it up. There are just way too many books I want to read and not nearly enough time.

I definitely recommend it for you if you get a cha...

2011-06-20T19:13:17.059-04:00

I definitely recommend it for you if you get a chance. It's interesting and full of history, but not at all dry.

I was just looking at this one a few weeks ago on ...

2011-06-20T19:10:02.930-04:00

I was just looking at this one a few weeks ago on Amazon - I'm going to the UK for vacation soon, so I went on a spree buying books on English history (which I haven't read yet since I had to have them sent to my parents because I was between addresses) and then this popped up in the recommended for you list.

I very much enjoyed Koontz's Phantoms, ...

2011-05-25T15:20:49.375-04:00

I very much enjoyed Koontz's Phantoms, and I liked the first two Odd Thomas books. But the rest have all been blah at best. I keep picking up his books because I have some vague idea that I like them, and then I'm just disappointed all over again.

It's the same thing I do with candy corn every year.

I read two Koontz novels and just never went back....

2011-05-25T12:30:27.569-04:00

I read two Koontz novels and just never went back. I really liked the one, and can't remember anything about the second one, but I've just never really felt drawn to read more of his. I love King, though, so your analysis definitely helps explain why, even if I never really reflected upon it.
Oh, I just went to the MWR and got more used, free Gerritsen novels.

This is out? SWEET! I'll read the review later...

2011-05-11T20:26:35.156-04:00

This is out? SWEET! I'll read the review later, right now I gotta go order it!

You should try The Count of Monte Cristo as well -...

2011-04-24T11:26:37.657-04:00

You should try The Count of Monte Cristo as well - it is also a pretty exciting and complex read. I love Dumas, thanks for the review!

You know, I knew that looked weird, and I could no...

2011-04-22T13:26:35.023-04:00

You know, I knew that looked weird, and I could not figure out what the problem was. Thank you!

Erm. It's MuskEteers. 'Cause, you know, th...

2011-04-22T11:18:01.577-04:00

Erm. It's MuskEteers. 'Cause, you know, they sometimes use muskets?

I love the Disney version too. "You can't have any; you're too young." is a very frequent quote around our house, particularly since we have a 5 month old. :)

I highly recommend any of Stephen Ambrose's wo...

2011-03-13T19:43:20.484-04:00

I highly recommend any of Stephen Ambrose's work--they're all just like this one...well written and intensely researched by speaking to the sources.

I'm definitely gonna look out for this one. I ...

2011-03-13T16:05:11.727-04:00

I'm definitely gonna look out for this one. I have a thing for WW2 books ("Enemy at the Gates" was amazing) and this one sounds right up my alley.

Great book, but I couldn't disagree more with ...

2011-02-16T12:45:39.265-05:00

Great book, but I couldn't disagree more with your opinion of "Roadwork". The comparison to "Hitchhikers" must be a joke. The stories are similar because they both have bulldozers? Are you serious? The tale is about a father's decent into madness, juxtaposing the loss of his home and business with the death of his son. Damn good straight fiction from the King of horror.

I liked this first one, but the weaknesses you des...

2011-02-15T00:02:19.143-05:00

I liked this first one, but the weaknesses you describe just get more pronounced with each one - he starts spending too much time on the quirkiness of it all, and the plot becomes almost secondary. Glad to see I'm not the only one since everyone else raves about this series, not just the first novel.

I felt almost exactly the same way you did: the fi...

2011-02-12T11:20:31.734-05:00

I felt almost exactly the same way you did: the first is meh, the second's great (and still haunting), the third is completely forgettable and the fourth is just flat-out amazing.

I love this book! Three of them are some of my all...

2011-02-12T03:43:43.813-05:00

I love this book! Three of them are some of my all-time favorite King books, but I also couldn't get into Roadwork. I found an old copy in a thrift store that included "Rage". I didn't know it was out-of-print!

The only one I read was The Long Walk, which I had...

2011-02-11T18:04:13.949-05:00

The only one I read was The Long Walk, which I had an individual copy of for some reason. It was the first Stephen King book I ever read and it was so unnerving that I had to find some more of his books. I'll look for the others now.

I've also read quite a few books on the subjec...

2011-01-08T15:49:12.604-05:00

I've also read quite a few books on the subject since I was a kid - it all started when my parents took me to KZ Dachau when I was in third grade. I might have to check this out eventually - have you read Explaining Hitler? It doesn't so much offer an explanation of Hitler but collects the different ways people have tried to explain him and analyzes what the explanations say about us - the English major in me thought it was fascinating. I'm sure I reviewed it on my blog somewhere . . .