"Epic" by Conor Kostick Review 1

Book Response 1: #32 (LA)Compare the book to other texts with the same themes or from the same genre.


I found this book, Epic by Conor Kostick, to be very similar to works by Cory Doctorow such as For The Win. Both stories have a strong video game background, and I think video game enthusiasts of any kind will enjoy both books immensely, particularly those who like playing MMORPG's.

"Rim" by Alexander Besher Review 1

Cover art for Rim
by Alexander Besher

Book Response 1: #30(LA) If your book was a work of fiction are the main characters realistic or believable? Give evidence, using both real life and the book.




While I felt the majority of the plot line of the story did not carry much weight, the characters did. While it was not enough in my opinion to make up for the somewhat disappointing time line, it certainly helped carry the book along and make it more enjoyable.

I felt each had their own unique persona, that really gave the book a well rounded feel. Every time a new character was introduced, you wondered with eagerness as to what this new person would bring to the story, and to the fate of the main character. For example, my favorite character, Simon Chadwick, was a jolly fun english chap. Or so you thought. He stumbles into the main character at a hotel and stumbles out of the story just as pleasantly as he came. Until he comes back, with a somewhat more pronounced appearance, but not quite enough to tell you for sure if he was going to stick around or keep hopping in and out. I won't spoil his true nature or intentions, but he is definitely unforgettable. All in all I think the author did a great job of character development, and it definitely improved the book for me.

"Rim" by Alexander Besher Review 2

Cover art for Rim
by Alexander Besher

Book response 2: #25(G) Would this book make a good movie? Explain why or why not.

I think this book would make an excellent movie. I would usually pride myself on being able to visualize certain abstract concepts and pictures very well, especially anything on the "techie" side of things. But with this book I struggled to grasp a well rounded idea of what the author was trying to portray more than I have with any other story that has a strong focus on technology and the future. I do not necessarily attribute this fact to any judgment of mine about the author's writing skills; based upon the story he seems to have a firm base of what he wanted to express and and it would seem he articulated his points and concepts well, except I could not grasp them. It is more than likely this book requires another read-through for me at a slower pace, taking care to focus on the concepts I struggled with the first time. In any case, I think this book could be an incredibly visually stimulating film, where the futuristic and technological concepts could be represented beautifully. It might also be a more effective medium for those like me who struggled with visually representing aspects of the book in their head. Regardless, I think this book would make an excellent stand-alone movie, not necessarily to portray the books concepts in a different manner. 

"I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson Review 2

Book Response 1: #32 (LA) Compare the book to other texts with the same themes or from the same genre.

There is one thing in my mind that sets this book dramatically far apart from other works within the genre of post-apocalyptic novels and that is the lethargic, depressing tendencies of the main character. It could also be with the category of a horror title, leaning towards an end of the world type fear with nasty creatures involved. While this very classic human, especially American trait of the main character is very realistic, it is not common in the hero of the story in books of this genre. The survivors are meant to be tougher than steel, incredibly resourceful, and unimaginably lucky. While our character somewhat fulfills two of these traits, tough is not the word I would use at all to describe him. Perhaps numb to the pain of living with a couple glasses of whiskey in him (which is frequent), but most definitely not tough. Frequently smoking, he retains many of his normal suburban lifestyle habits, as if battling vampires is his 9 to 5 job.

He struggles with day to day necessities, with the exception of brushing his teeth. While he manages to get important jobs done, his does it with much hesitation and procrastination. Most things he tells himself will get done another day, perhaps a rainy day. Does that sound the ultimate survivor, battling the odds of natural selection? The only thing he truly manages to battle valiantly is his cavities.

"I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson Review 1

Cover art for
"I Am Legend"
by Richard Matheson

Book Response 1: #21(LA) Does this book raise questions about society as a whole or of a particular culture? What view of the world and/or human beings does the author seem to be expressing?

If I had to guess what view the author of "I Am Legend" is trying to express with this post-apocalyptic novel and describe his feelings on humanity in one word, it would be simple: stubborn. Stubborn to break habits, stubborn to deal with change, stubborn to ignore insanity when it is apparent. But most importantly, stubborn to survive.

"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy Review 2

Charlize Theron plays the mother
and wife in "The Road"

Book Response 1: #2 (LA) Write down one quote or short passage that you really loved, you reacted strongly to, or made you stop and think. Write your reaction to that passage.

//Insert blockquote here//

 If that doesn't give you the feeling of living in a black hole, your emotions could be comparable to that of a 1st year dentist anesthetizing his patient with what he thought was the correct dosage of Novocaine but in reality it could fool an elephant into thinking he was having a lethal stroke. 

Author Info: Cory Doctorow

Author info for Cory Doctorow

"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy Review 1

Cover Art for "The Road"
by Cormac McCarthy

Book Response 1: #32 (LA) Compare the book to other texts with the same themes or from the same genre.

While this book could definitely be categorized as a post apocalyptic novel, it's originality and unique perspective of what a possible future after a cataclysmic event could be sets it a mile apart from any book I've read under this genre. In a good way. "The Road" is a story of a father and son struggling to survive in a world where almost everything is dead, except for bloodthirsty cannibals. They are constantly on the move in order to find food and water, or on "The Road", traveling to some distant coastline where they hope the world holds a little bit more forgiveness. While most stories within this category, whether the medium is book, movie, or video game form, almost always glorify the perspective in some way. Such as living in a land where most of the population has perished as well as all forms of government and civility along with it, the heroes of these stories give the word "survival" a new meaning. But most of these stories do not seem to depict realistic projections of what the world would be like after something like unstoppable deadly viruses, mass rioting, complete civil unrest, nuclear war, etc. Then again, we are not living in such a state of existence, (yet) so whose to say what the world would be like or not be like? In any case, Cormac McCarthy does an excellent job of depicting a brutal, savage world in which the "Heroes" struggle everyday in every way imaginable to survive where every minute detail is as interesting and important as the next.

"Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk Review 2

Movie Cover for "Fight Club"

Book Response 2: #25 (G) Compare and contrast the book to the movie version.

I cannot tell you how much I love the movie fight club. After watching it once all the way through it instantly become one of the best movies I have ever seen. I would recommend anyone and everyone to watch it regardless of background, personality, or even age. 

After reading the book, the movie seems like a home-made amateur movie made in a basement somewhere by kids with way too much time on their hands and active imaginations.

"FIght Club" by Chuck Palahnuik Review 1

Cover art for "Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk

Book Response 1: #21(LA) Does this book raise questions about society as a whole or of a particular culture? What view of the world and/or human beings does the author seem to be expressing?


This is a perfect response question to this book because of how many great questions about society and human beings it brings up. You could look at the entire book as a critiquing of the human race, but I don't think thats exactly what the author was intending. Either way he definitely raised a great number of questions and brought the current conditions of our society into an entirely different light for me.

"Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" by Cory Doctorow Review

Cover art for 

"Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" 

by Cory Doctorow

Book Response 1: #2 (LA) Write down one quote or short passage that you really loved, you reacted strongly to, or made you stop and think. Write your reaction to that passage.
Passage from book, page 14 paragraph 2:

"I'd get him to concede that Whuffie recaptured the true essence of money: in the old days, if you were broke but respected, you wouldn't starve; contrariwise if you were rich and hated, no sum could buy you security and peace. By measuring the thing that money really represented- your personal capital with your friends and neighbors- you more accurately gauged your success."

The concept of "Whuffie" went "whooshing" over my head the first time I read through this ( haha ). After several re-readings and delving deeper into the book, I found that it's a beautifully simple theory. In the futuristic time period this book takes place in, you could say Whuffie has replaced money, but it is much more than that. As stated in the book and above, it represents your personal capital among anyone and everyone you interact with in every way. You can give it away at will, as well as lose it through negative actions or inaction. It's measured or can be earned through things like favors, jobs you perform, and your overall popularity. 


But it can go both ways. For example someone could hire you to kill someone.