Wulf's Book Reviews

Distantly Falling Stars by Berengaria Di Rossi My rating: 5 of 5 stars How do I review the novella of a (Goodreads) friend? “Never again” or “very, very carefully” immediately came to my mind when I pondered reading Berengaria Di Rossi's “ Distantly Falling Stars ”. Especially since Berengaria with a down-to-earth attitude, sensible reviews and interesting reads as well as - obviously - an impeccable taste in (Goodreads) friends, has long earned my respect. So it was with a healthy portion of trepidation that I started reading this - and quickly started breathing freely because, thankfully, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this short novella. Seti, a “puny scribe” from ancient Egypt is forced on an expedition to recover some “distantly falling stars” in a race against (or possibly negotiating with) the Babylonians. There are some supernatural aspects which I usually don’t like but these made sense in the setting of the novella and weren’t too intrusive. The stor...

Baumgartner by Paul Auster My rating: 2 of 5 stars Let’s start with the good: Paul Auster still is a great author and his mastery of language is second to none. He is extremely empathetic and feels with his characters. Auster is very near to them and allows us in a masterful way to share in their feelings, ideas, and worries. Especially the ageing Baumgartner who reads a bit like Auster’s alter ego is an amazingly life-like character who reminisces about his life - married for decades to his late wife Anna, an intensive relationship with another woman, rejection and recovery: Auster takes us on a journey through Baumgartner’s life. And this is where the cookie - for me - crumbles: While Baumgartner is a wonderful character, he has led an unremarkable life. Not only Baumgartner himself but most people around him as well, it seems. Consequently, the story Auster tells us is lacking in sheer substance and is, as such, nothing very special. I can relate to many of the aspect...

System Collapse by Martha Wells My rating: 3 of 5 stars I was so looking forward to reading this and I really wanted to love it… I didn’t, though, since I was dropped right into the middle of the action - of the aftermath of “ Network Effect ”, an earlier novel in the series , which I don’t remember at all. I felt confused for a long time because there were lots of references to the earlier book that I simply didn’t get. I finally got somewhat into the flimsy excuse for a story at around the half-way mark - and still felt let down by Murderbot's anti-climatic “redacted” event and a story that felt like an “extension”, an add-on. “ System Collapse ” should have been published as part of “Network Effect” because as it is, it’s just like Wells recovered the “missing chapters”. Yes, I knew part of that before even starting to read this one but I don’t re-read and an author should make an effort to get me up to speed. Three out of five stars - and even those feel slightly...

The Inn Crowd by Melody Rush My rating: 1 of 5 stars Rarely have I read a novel that has no redeeming qualities to at least alleviate the pain from its issues. “ The Inn Crowd ” by Melody Rush is such a rare exception. It starts with the title which is a painful pun on the inn, run by the heroine and her past as an in-girl (“ Janey Dee ”) and influencer. It continues right on the cover below the title: Can someone explain why neither Haden nor Sarah Jane have eyes? Did the money for the artist run out before the eyes were done? Did the artist know they had no talent for painting eyes? Did the poor artist maybe actually read the novel and wished they had no eyes afterwards? The story is also… challenged: Former social media influencer Sarah Jane Darby has accidentally live-streamed her then-boyfriend and herself when the former confronted her with her sex toys, accused her of cheating him by using those and dumped her. In their world, Sarah Jane’s fans take his side and h...

The Case of the Left-Handed Lady by Nancy Springer My rating: 3 of 5 stars I read “ The Case of the Left-Handed Lady ” to see if Nancy Springer's Enola Holmes series would improve with the second instalment. When I came upon » Chapter the First «, though, I had an inkling about how this review would read because just like the ridiculous chapter titles, this is The Case of Even More of the Same that Didn’t Work for Me the First Time Either : Springer’s writing style still resembles that of a middle-grade school teacher who wants to provide material for her pupils. She still taints the legacy of Holmes; here in a discussion with Mycroft who states… » The only rational way to reform her into some semblance of decent young womanhood!” interrupts the older brother with asperity. “You, of all people, should see the logic – ” « To which Springer let’s Sherlock Holmes answer: “Logic is not everything.” and Mycroft rightly replies: “Certainly this is the first time I have ...

The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer My rating: 3 of 5 stars Thankfully, this was almost as short as it was disappointing: In “ The Case of the Missing Marquess ” by Nancy Springer we first witness Enola Holmes’ flight from her older brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft. Yes, it’s another case of a contemporary author trying to make a few bucks from the legacy of another… This uneventful flight takes up an entire half of the novel and it’s just plain boring. The writing is simplistic, the language is old-fashioned but not in the way of Arthur Conan Doyle’s historic works but reimagined by Springer, whose primary research material was colouring books… For example, Doyle would never (and indeed never did, I checked!) write about a lady’s “unmentionables” (as in undergarments) like Springer does several times. As a matter of fact, authors of the Victorian era, including Conan Doyle, would often employ various techniques to allude to and mask such sensitive subjects r...

The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith My rating: 5 of 5 stars I finished reading this novel about five minutes ago. I’m sitting at my desk to write this review but I don't know how. I want to sing its praises because the latest instalment of the Cormoran Strike novels is by far the best one in the series. This time, Strike and Robin deal with a religious cult, its charismatic leader and everything surrounding these. I will not mention any more plot details because it’s probably best to go into this novel without too much knowledge or ideas… I will say, though, “ The Running Grave ” is without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most suspenseful novels I’ve ever read. Not in a cheap, flashy, and/or sensationalist way, but subtly and almost elegantly. The feeling of a permanent latent danger is omnipresent and mercilessly tugs at the nerves of the reader. I felt like biting my nails (which I don’t do) and it triggered the worst of my nervous habits and yet I felt like devo...