The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Author - Neil Gaiman

Genre - Fantasy, Coming-of-age

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 3 (specifically, a weak 3)

May 2014

Hmm, not satisfactory enough. You expect the sun and the moon from Neil Gaiman... I do. I'm a fan. And he does not quite deliver here. 

Philosophy and imagery and lovely passages and Facebook quotes are all well and good, but there just isn't enough meat in the story here. This is one Gaiman book that I will suggest for a non-fan to give a pass. And other fans like me will read it anyway -- so how did you like it?

Un Lun Dun

Author - China Miéville

Genre - Fantasy, YA, Coming-of-age, Message-fiction, Parallel-world

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 5

July 2013

Amazing, amazing! Put Harry Potter and Neverwhere together, mix it together, and then turn the whole concept around. You get Un Lun Dun. 
So you know that I am a bit of a Miéville fan. And I read YA fiction often. Put those together, and the expectation was high. The expectation was met, to say the least.
Just to add: like the best of message fiction, the messages come in to the reader subconsciously, never becoming even a slight bit preachy; and never interfering with the story. Pollution. Using lower countries as dumping ground for waste. The experience of a subcontinental-origin person in London. And the biggest hit for me was the sublime turnaround of the sidekick. The Neville Longbottoms of the world rise up to take their rightful position in this book, and how!

Dune

Author - Frank Herbert

Genre - Science-Fiction, Fantasy, fiction

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 4

July 2013

The fault is probably in my expectation that I didn't go absolutely crazy about this book. But this is immaculate, a work of high art. Frank Herbert has created the world of Arrakis and Caladan to perfection -- they are there somewhere, or will be. And are there greater creations in all of science fiction than the Fremen? The audiobook performance is brilliant. Paul Atreides is a little unreal, and the sequence of events are a tad predictable. But this is a high 4. I'd love to read the following parts.

Anita

Author - Keith Roberts

Genre - Fantasy, Magic, Fiction

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 4

May 2013

Fine, fun short stories. Sixties witch, a bit of a wild child, is this Anita. But good. Breezy read. 

The Graveyard Book

Author - Neil Gaiman
Genre - Fantasy

Source - Audiobook
Rating - 5

July 2011

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel

Author - Susanna Clarke
Genre - Fantasy

Source - Audiobook
Rating - 4

June 2011