Reading.....

I love George R.R. Martin. The way he can string together a few words and paint a picture in my head amazes me. I am a full on fangirl when it comes to reading his fire and ice series; I spout family words, recognize sigils and argue conspiracy theories with fellow fans boys and girls.

Knowing how much I enjoy his writing has led me to his other works and short stories which often combine paranormal and science fiction. His Fevre Dream is a great read with an interesting take on vampirism. His short story, skin walker from Night Visons 5 is supposedly one of the best werewolf tales ever written. So, I being the obsessive fangirl, black girl nerd, or BGN have been on the hunt for this book since I finished the last S.4.F.&I, almost two years ago.

NV5 is not offered on Kindle and I am completely opposed to ever buying an actual book again. One, I really hate dusting and having books on my shelves just makes more work. Two, I like that I can carry my books with me wherever I go in case I need to re-read a passage, or Hulk out on some loser that challenges my knowledge of a particular book. Three, I hate all the necessities that go along with reading a physical book, like light (Kindle HD has a backlight), turning noisy pages (hubby complains that I'm making too much noise) and the inevitable stain that ruins the pages. Yes, I eat and read. Don't JUDGE!

So.......

I finally found the story in a George RR anthology, Dreamsongs II and the library let me borrow it! Yay!! Fist pumps and happy dance!!! "No, I'm not having seizure" Hubby asks me the strangest questions sometimes :)

Amped: An "average" novel by Daniel H. Wilson

Set in the future, "Amped" tells the story of a world where people can be enhanced by technology; have ADHD? Amp it up and you'll be the brightest kid in your class; want to be the next Jordan? Amp it up and they'll give you the extra height and motor skills you'll need. The only problem? All the pure humans who will hate you for your new abilities. Which is exactly where the protagonist, Owen Gray, a high school teacher with a simple brain implant that cured his childhood Epilepsy finds himself when the war between humans and amps begins.

The Good: It begins with a splat and continues on an uphill roller coaster ride for half of the book. Technically the writing is good, character descriptions and scenery are nice and easy to see in my mind. I enjoyed some of the characters more than others, like Lyle, a great bad guy. I love "good" bad guys, they make a good book to me; and I was not disappointed with Lyle, ruthless, cunning, and this side of sane. Nick was another standout for me, good sidekick.

The Bad: Pacing in the second half of the book is slow moving; details of construction work by exoskeleton wearing amps was a little boing. And, I found the book was overly convoluted with metaphors, for example, "Zenith" mode sounds so cool and I kind of imagined it like watching Neo in the matrix trilogy, but it wasn't near as fun; 3-2-1 eyelids flutter and lame high school teacher becomes an expert fighter. Seriously, by the time I read the final fight scene I was struggling to care about the characters and reading through to the end of this book like walking through a swamp, slow and trudging.  though many of the characters including the protagonist were underdeveloped.

Overall it's ok.





Want to check it out? Amped:A Novel