thebookeatingdinosaur

I have a confession to make…..

I had never heard of the black market website Silk Road until sometime last year.

When an interpretation of the site was featured on Mr Robot’s second season, my friend sent me a message that said “DPR!” with no other explanation. When I mentioned that I didn’t know what he was referring to, he sent me to this wonderful article that helped bring me up to speed. And from then on, I was fascinated with this story.

When I found out that American Kingpin was yet to be released, I was so eager to read something by Nick Bilton, that I bought his other book, Hatching Twitter and loved it so much I immediately began worrying that this one wouldn’t stack up.

And it didn’t. Not quite.

I really think I did myself a disservice in reading extensively about the Silk Road and DPR before embarking on this book – as I knew all the twists and turns in this story ahead of time.

That is not to say that Nick Bilton doesn’t deliver a fantastic, if a little overwhelming, narrative of events in this. He does such a superb job of delivering facts, figures and tidbits of information that at times you might actually scratch your head and wonder how on earth he got his hands on this type of information. Never fear – he explains the entire research process at the end of the book which I found incredibly enlightening and mildly astonishing.

But what I enjoyed the most was that even though Ross Ulbricht was not talked to for this book, I feel like I know and understand the so-called mastermind behind Silk Road for having read it. His beliefs, trials and tribulations were woven together with such coherency that even though I knew how this story played out, I wanted him to triumph. I wanted the ending of this story to be different.

Nick Bilton sure knows how to tell a story. His attention to detail is incredible and even when explaining complex and overwhelming computer systems, coding and all sorts of other technological jargon, his writing style is so readable that you will zoom through the pages faster than you thought possible.

At first I wasn’t sure about how short some of the chapters were, and the ends of some of them didn’t leave me NEEDING to continue reading right away. But with so much of the story to be set up, it’s understandable why the story was written this way.

It’s a fascinating story that I will likely read again, because it very subtly makes you question your beliefs, morals and integrity as it paints you a portrait of a small idea taken to the grandest of scales and turned awry as a result of its successes.

I guess the most important part of me reading this book is that even though the entire thing was a giant neon flashing sign of Ross’s guilt – with his association to the sales of drugs, guns and anything else illegal that the Silk Road wanted to dabble in…. At the end of the day I am not entirely convinced that Ross Ulbricht is DPR. Because…

“There could be more than one Dread Pirate Roberts, like the old tale in The Princess Bride.”

4 Stars

Nick Bilton, I will read your shopping lists. You are a unicorn.

Full disclosure, I was a beta-reader for the second novel in this series and MY NAME IS IN THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OF THIS BOOK and I am still so humbled and amazed about this fact that it has taken me nearly five months to be able to recover from the shock and even function somewhere close to properly in regards to writing a review for this book…..

“Love makes blind slaves of us all.”

If ^^ is true, then call me a blind slave.

I LOVE THIS SERIES. It makes me so incredibly sad that more people have not seen the beauty of it. I WANT EVERYONE TO READ IT .

Seriously. If you pick up ONE indie book this year, make it the first book in this trilogy. You won’t be sorry. And if you are, then you clearly read it wrong.

But anyway.

This book. *happy sighs*

I put off reading it for a long time, because I was terrified of what was going to happen. And you know what, I was right to be terrified. There is so much happening in this installment! So many threads to tie off. All the balls in the air. HOW COULD IT POSSIBLY WORK?

I needn’t have worried. Ms. Wibberley and the glory that is RIECE made this an incredible adventure that was filled with angst, heartbreak, mystery and adventure. Yes, Clio is an idiot at some points, again. But even with her being idiotic, I positively FLEW threw these pages.

I saw many things coming, but I did not care! I LOVED every single second of reading this book and I wish I could go back in time to when I had not read it, so I could read it for the first time all over again.

Emily Wibberley. I bow down to thee. What a finale. I can’t wait to see what you do next.

LOVES! LOVES I TELL YOU!

4.5 i-need-you-Riece Stars

❤.❤

I never know what to expect when I go into an Adam Howe book.

Sometimes I giggle, sometimes I gag – he is a man of many talents. Just like this guy…..

Turns out this was glorious! It was made for me. It has two of my favorites things in the whole wide world, Nicolas Cage and a dinosaur mention.

In addition to my favourite things, it also has a former adult performing donkey with a giant peen like a fire hose.

*I’ll just let that sink in for a minute.*

How Adam manages to come up with the ridiculous, yet amazing, premises for these stories is beyond me. But it’s truly magical.

The action scenes were particularly riveting this time around, I felt my skin tearing and scraping when it was happening to Reggie on the page, and the only thing I wish there was more of, was the squick that I have come to know and love from Mr. Howe’s work. That’s my only criticism, however. Other than that, this was one of the funniest, most ridiculously entertaining stories I have read this year.

If you haven’t read anything by Adam Howe yet, what are you doing with your life?

I hereby announce my desire for the third installment of Reggie’s misadventures please, Adam. Get on it, stat. I will read any and all the words you write.

4.5 donkey-schlong Stars

ARC kindly provided by Mr. Howe in exchange for an honest review.

“Do you have any idea what it feels like to try to hate someone you love? It’s agony. Beyond agony. It’s like there’s something deep inside you, eating away at your insides. I couldn’t do anything, I was so full of anger. Every day it got worse. Because it goes against my very nature to hate you. Hating you – it’s like trying not to breathe.”

“I thought back to holding you in that Temple, to finally pressing my lips to yours. I think about that every night, and yes it hurt to think I might never have that again, but even the pain was sacred because it was proof that I had something worth living for, worth dying for.”

“Mother, I am in love with a robot.”

Excuse me while I sploosh everywhere. And then worry about the sploosh tarnishing the robot’s gears and machinery. 

This is the story of Jane, a sixteen year old sheltered, pampered and wishy-washy young woman, who falls in love with a robot called Silver. Silver, however, is not a normal robot. He has been designed to be better than human in every way and is so lifelike that Jane never sees him as anything other than a human man, except when she is at her most vicious. 

This love story is heartbreaking. This story is told through the eyes of Jane, so we see Silver purely through her eyes and experience him through her, and what an experience it is. He has some amazing , swoon worthy lines. Dude’s got so much game. And he isn’t even human. Would bang. Get in the dungeon.

Jane’s progression as the story develops is particularly well done. The start of this story is terribly melancholy and Jane is not likable in the slightest. But as she falls further and further in love and learns to live her own life away from the constraints of her family and so-called friends, she really blossoms and becomes a better person. 

Her friends and family are all selfish assholes and giant pieces of shit. I want them all to die. They are a horrid group of people and they deserve nothing short of the fires of hell for eternity. But Jane’s naivete and willingness to forgive even the most horrible of trespasses, is actually pretty awe inspiring. 

This was a wonderful story. It took a while to get going, for me, but about a hundred pages in everything started to click and I couldn’t put it down. I even hid in the change rooms at work so I could read the final few chapters, in tears. 

I do have to say, for a while there I thought there was going to be a twist where it is revealed that (view spoiler) but alas, that was not to be.

This is a story about love in all it’s forms. It showcases the way love can help you become the best version of yourself, and how it can bring out the worst in others, too.

I truly had no idea what to expect going into this book. But I’m so glad with what I found. A wonderful story full of character progression, love, trials, tribulations, heartbreak, hopelessness and forgiveness. 

I look forward to reading the second one, as soon as it arrives in the mail. Tanith Lee is a word wizard and I hope to read much more of her work in the future. 

“Jane, Jane, a pane of crystal, the sound of rain falling on the silken grain of marble, a slender, pale chain of a name.”

4 silver-nail-through-the-heart Stars

Thanks for putting this book on my radar and buddy reading with me Heather and Karly!

This was a wonderful installment in what I can already see is going to become one of my favourite series of all time. 

I had a much better experience with this one than the first book; I only read seven other books in the time it took me to get through this, compared with the twenty-six I went through in my adventure to get through the first book. 

No spoilers – because I know a bunch of you are yet to experience the wonder of this and I don’t want to ruin anything for you.

Character run down:

Rand – Is such a ladies man. I love it. He’s adorable. And he wasn’t as much of an idiot this time around. Except when he was thinking about Egwene. Stop thinking about Egwene please. 

Nynaeve – IS THE BEST IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD . She is one of the strongest, best and most amazing female characters I have ever read. I love her SO MUCH. Badass sassypants to the rescue.

Min – Yas. I love dis bitch.

Elayne – I think I know what your future holds and I am super excited to see if I am right. 

Egwene – Is still THE WORST and needs to die. But Selene is pretty stiff competition for most loathed character now.

Selene – I don’t like you, I don’t trust you. I saw you for who you really were a mile off, I just hope Rand will open his eyes and see it too. 

Moraine – I wonder what strings you have been pulling?

Lan – I miss you, my warrior swordsman. 

The ensemble cast had some wonderful new additions this time around and I can’t wait to dive into the next book as I continue on my quest to demolish this series by the end of next year. 

This was a heartbreaking journey. I had to put this down three separate times, because I was bawling my eyes out. I can’t believe the level of connection I feel to these characters.

The social commentary in this is often hilarious and spot on, and I have to say I really enjoy the way women are represented in this series. No shrinking violets here. Women know what they want and will fight to get it and keep it. And they drop so many truth bombs, its fantastic!

My one complaint is that there were a few times that characters were introduced and it seemed like I was just supposed to know who they were… But I didn’t actually know who they were (without consulting the glossary) and so some scenes didn’t pack quite the punch that I am sure they were intended to.

The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills. I am a part of the pattern and look forward to continuing the journey of this series.

4 i-sure-wish-Lan-would-give-me-a-ring Stars

(please let it be a happy ending)

Last year I went to my ten year high school reunion. I honestly thought I had left the awkward teenage years behind me, but the instant I was surrounded by my entire high school class, I became the same awkward teenager I was throughout my entire time at high school. Not popular enough to matter, not unpopular enough to get picked on, just somewhere in the middle where it’s easy to be invisible and forgettable, I felt like regardless of what I had accomplished in the ten years since graduating high school, it didn’t matter anymore. It was one of the most eye opening experiences I have gone through in recent times and this book flashed me back to my awkward teenage years in much the same way that going to my reunion did.

(please let it be a happy ending)

While I did not have anywhere near as hard of a time in high school as Carrie did, I empathized with her so much it made my heart hurt. The jokes. The embarrassment. The not knowing if this time someone was being serious, or if they were waiting to laugh at you as you failed at something yet again. Mr. King was playing my heartstrings like a bloody concert violinist. 

(please let it be a happy ending)

The first two thirds of this book were heartbreaking and the ominous sense of foreboding leading up to the climax of the story was done so well that I actually put the book down for nearly a whole day, because I did not want to see how this was all going to end. I would have been happy to just leave the story with them going to Prom and having a lovely time. End of story, drive off into the sunset, happily ever after.

(please let it be a happy ending)

But it was not meant to be. There is no happy ending here. And I’m sad to say that the third and final act, while it was still dramatic, didn’t quite live up to the sense of foreboding that was built up the entire way through the book. The point of view swapping was a little confusing at the end and made it fall a little flat for me. Although that last chapter was awesomely creepy!

(please let it be a happy ending)

Another thing that hampered my reading experience was the overabundance of parenthesis () throughout the text. The editing student in me was screaming every time I saw them. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn’t, but the problem was that they broke the text up on the page and acted like a hurdle that my eyes had to jump, which was a little frustrating. 

(please let it be a happy ending)

I have to say that I never, ever thought that a book that starts with a teenage girl experiencing her first period would be something that was not only accepted widely, but has become so popular. Yes to books about periods! 

(please let it be a happy ending)

This was my first Stephen King book and it will not be my last. I am looking forward to more creepy stories in my future. 

3.5 please-let-it-be-a-happy-ending Stars

Unlike this giant door stopper of a book, I am going to keep this review as short as I can.

I started this book at the end of August and I read 26 other books before I managed to finish this behemoth.

Truth be told, for the first 50% of this, I didn’t see what the fuss was about. I very nearly gave up on it several times. If someone else had have put a hold on this giant book and I was unable to renew it at my library, that would have been it, I would have happily said “I tried!” and returned it and never looked back.

But having just finished the last 50% I can now say that I am invested in this story and although it is a freaking big commitment to make, I am in this series now and I will finish the other thirteen books, even if it kills me. 

Quick character run down:

Rand is the best. He’s my buddy. We had a bit of a roller coaster ride and I wanted to slap him a lot. But now, I love him and I can’t wait to see where he goes and what he does and who he ends up with. I have my theories but I will keep them to myself. 

Egwene. Piss off and die bitch. I really don’t like her at all. Especially her hypocrisy questioning Rand about other girls, when she was getting all chummy with that Traveller guy. GO AWAY EGWENE. 

Nynaeve. LOVES. She is my favorite. More of her in the next books please. 

Mat is an idiot. Plain and simple.

Perrin. You’re alright. I like that you seem to think Rand has a way with girls, and Rand thinks the same of you, but really, neither of you have any idea.

Lan. Yes, hello my strong warrior swordsman. Loves. 

Moraine. You remind me of Kahlan Amnell from The Sword Of Truth series and that is a very, very good thing. YAS. 

This was a journey. It was an adventure. It was a bloody SLOW burn for the first half and then when it all started to come together, it was beautiful and I can completely see why this has the adoration it does. 

I have so many theories about where this series may go and who Rand actually is… I cannot wait to see if I am right. 

I will be diving into the next book as soon as I can get it from my library. 

Simply wonderful, this has renewed my faith in epic fantasy.

4 i’d-plait-my-hair-for-you-rand Stars

Buddy read with Samantha, even though she seems to have forgotten all about it. It’s worth it Samantha! Keep going!


I have set myself a challenge to finish the rest of this series by the end of next year. Thirteen books in fourteen months. Want to join me on the journey? Hit me up on Goodreads and let me know, the more the merrier!