review Archives - Irreverent Muse

Review: Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Michell

I first read the novel, Tunnel in the Sky when I was barely into my teens and it is a story that has always stuck with me. It tells the far-future tale of a school group that goes off-planet for their final exam. To pass, they need to survive several days in an unknown, alien environment filled will predators and prey (some of whom are human on both sides of the scale). There is a problem and the several days becomes a much, much longer period of time. The story fascinated me then and still does today for many of the same reasons. Surviving and even thriving when the odds are stacked up against you is a theme that resonates […]

Review: Dracula by Bram Stoker

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Michell

When I was in grade school I read everything. Or, at least, I tried to read everything. When I got to the “Classics” like Moby Dick, Three Musketeers, Don Juan and many others, I just couldn’t get through them. The language was too dense and odd to my teenage eye. Recently I started reading Dracula. I had nothing else to read at the time and decided to fight my way through it if for no other reason than to say I’d done it. I can now see why some people gravitate to the “Classics”. The language is rich, the characters are proper and polite and the detail makes the prose extremely vivid. You feel like you know the characters when […]

Review: Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Michell

Old Man’s War is one of those books that starts up with a totally unexpected premise and then goes on to tell a truly entertaining story that leaves you wanting more. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am a fan of this book. So much so that I’ve actually read it a few times. The book tells the story of John Perry, a 75-year-old man who enlists with the Colonial Defense Forces. His mission? To go to the stars and defend humanity against the numerous alien races that would do us harm. Not exactly a normal, everyday thing to happen or read about. John quickly learns that what he knew on Earth has very little bearing on the […]

Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Michell

I’ve got to make a confession regarding this book: I read it because the movie interested me. I also read it prior to the movie because I am well-aware movies often gloss over (or change) aspects of the book. For the record, there were some rather obvious changes to the movie. I’m not going to say what they were. Just that they exist (other than a condensed timeframe, of course). The Martian largely reads like a diary. Purposely done since most of the book has the main character, Mark Watney, living and working alone. The entries are sometimes very long and other times extremely short. There is often humour involved as the snarky character of Mark Watney (which I personally […]

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