The Fiction Class Book Review

Advantages: A Great Book For Writing Tips.
Disadvantages: The Story Itself isn't That Strong.

...Is it a novel or a book of writing tips? It's both actually, if you want it to be. On her website, the author says it came out of "discussions I had with my mother". So it is about a writer and her mother, but also about a creative writing class. Since Breen herself has taught such a class, parts of it are autobiographical, although she declares there is a lot of fiction woven in. The story is...

PinkyPurple246 02.05.2013 16:17 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of The Fiction Class - Susan Breen

Another horrible, twisted book - but this time not in a good way.

Advantages: Four stories that are not too bad.
Disadvantages: Ranges from dull and boring to disturbing and depressing.

...at all what one would expect from the title - but it is not different in a a good way. I won this book as part of a collection of Christmas books from Oxford - so perhaps I am being cheeky complaining about a book I received for free. I am just very thankful that I read this book myself before sharing it with my children. It arrived very close to Christmas, so I wanted to skim through and pick out...

Marge3781 31.12.2012 21:29 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of The Oxford Book of Christmas Stories - Dennis Pepper

Mammoth Book of 20th Century Science Fiction

Advantages: Some real gems
Disadvantages: Some dross

...The book, The Mammoth Book of 20th Century Science Fiction is edited by David G. Hartwell. It boasts on the front cover: that it is: "The biggest and best science Fiction Anthology Ever Published". And there, as they say, is the rub. Is it? Although I acknowledge that there are a great many good science fiction stories in this anthology, I would have to argue against it being the best. And as...

Martinscholes 12.11.2005 00:10 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Mammoth book of 20th Century Science Fiction Volume Two