Scan barcode
cmbohn's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Not what I was expecting. Very slow build up followed by lots of action at the very end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Violence, Grief, Animal death, Gun violence, and Murder
Minor: War
kristin_lapos's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
carolynf's review against another edition
3.0
Not as good as the previous two books in the series, but still pretty good. This book focuses on Mendoza in the Old West. She's in Hollywood, yes, but in the 1860s, when Los Angeles is just a bunch of shacks. She is with a new cyborg crew, all of whom are interesting people and actually have something to do, while she really doesn't. She gets a few botanical samples, but is mostly distracted by bizarre erotic death dreams about her dead martyr boyfriend. I won't give away the twist that this builds up to, but only say it comes too far out of left field for me to be satisfied with the book as a whole.
Mendoza and the others interact much less with society than they did on previous missions, so there is much less of a sense of the historical era. But there is quite a bit about the geographical area. Californians will probably get a kick out of it, but I think it is probably underwhelming if you haven't lived there yourself.
Mendoza and the others interact much less with society than they did on previous missions, so there is much less of a sense of the historical era. But there is quite a bit about the geographical area. Californians will probably get a kick out of it, but I think it is probably underwhelming if you haven't lived there yourself.
lisalark's review against another edition
4.0
To hit my goal of 180 books for this year, I need to read two books a day on average for the rest of 2014. Got a bit behind with a new job, etc. And today I did finish two books, so that's good!
This is the next installment in Baker's The Company series and I really liked it, better than Sky Coyote although maybe not as much as In the Garden of Iden. Laughed out loud many times and loved the way the characters serve to illustrate the best and worst of humanity. I adored the history of very early fills in Hollywood and the beginnings of LA. Not to mention baby condors and psychotic eagles.
Looking forward to more of the long plot arch developing in later Company books! Don't you love an author who can pull off a good long arch? So rare.
This is the next installment in Baker's The Company series and I really liked it, better than Sky Coyote although maybe not as much as In the Garden of Iden. Laughed out loud many times and loved the way the characters serve to illustrate the best and worst of humanity. I adored the history of very early fills in Hollywood and the beginnings of LA. Not to mention baby condors and psychotic eagles.
Looking forward to more of the long plot arch developing in later Company books! Don't you love an author who can pull off a good long arch? So rare.
katmarhan's review
4.0
8/10
So heartbreakingly bittersweet. A well-told tale, with the last section dumping a bit too much on the reader in terms of hints of things as yet unrevealed.
And do we know at this point what a Chrome generator is?
I think this series is going to be more complicated than it first appeared it be.
So heartbreakingly bittersweet. A well-told tale, with the last section dumping a bit too much on the reader in terms of hints of things as yet unrevealed.
And do we know at this point what a Chrome generator is?
I think this series is going to be more complicated than it first appeared it be.
canislatrans's review against another edition
3.0
This third book of Baker's Company series doesn't really get going until its latter third -- though then it takes off like a rocket. Denizens of Southern California might enjoy her desultory exploration of the Los Angeles area, circa 1860, a bit more than I did. But the final act made up for that!
wordnerdy's review against another edition
4.0
https://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2020/08/2020-book-145.html
The third Company book finds us back with the protagonist of book one, the botanist Mendoza, in 1860s California. One of her colleagues is a film buff, so there is a lot of interesting Hollywood history discussed (though I could have done without the lengthy chapter describing DW Griffith's Intolerance). Like with the first one, we know things are going to go wrong, but things don’t get intense till towards the end. Poor Mendoza. I like that we get more on Company history here, and I also really liked the young ornithologist character. This one has a rough ending but I am eager to keep reading! A-.
The third Company book finds us back with the protagonist of book one, the botanist Mendoza, in 1860s California. One of her colleagues is a film buff, so there is a lot of interesting Hollywood history discussed (though I could have done without the lengthy chapter describing DW Griffith's Intolerance). Like with the first one, we know things are going to go wrong, but things don’t get intense till towards the end. Poor Mendoza. I like that we get more on Company history here, and I also really liked the young ornithologist character. This one has a rough ending but I am eager to keep reading! A-.
unabridgedchick's review against another edition
2.0
The third and fourth books in Baker's light and entertaining Company series follow the further adventures of immortal botanist Mendoza. Located in the Los Angeles/Hollywood area, Baker lovingly recreates Civil War era California in Mendoza in Hollywood, where Joseph and his protege are reunited at a dusty, out-of-the-way stagecoach stop. While her fellow company agents keep busy, Mendoza is left own her own, still festering with hurt; it is unsurprising when the double of her long dead lover shows up and whisks her into a complex espionage plot.
Mendoza in Hollywood maintains Baker's quick and sarcastic tone: her characters are pat and quirky, and the plot has nice mix of Company mystery and historical drama. Next to Elizabethan England, California clearly holds a place in Baker's heart, who relishes the chance to have her characters (and the reader) share her passion. This trick takes a tragic turn, however, when Baker devotes 22 pages to describing D.W. Griffith's film Intolerance and her characters' reactions to it. Mind-numbingly boring doesn't come close to articulating how painfully dull this chapter is; fortunately, once past this hump, the story resumes it's silly, breezy pace. Mendoza runs into a spy who is the physical double of her long dead lover, and unsurprisingly, drops everything to be with him, even aiding his espionage work. To her surprise, seemingly banal Catalina Island off the coast is key to her lover's mission, and she discovers, with devastating result, that even the Company is intensely interested in the island.
The Graveyard Game takes up hundreds of years in the future; Mendoza has disappeared from the historical record, and Joseph is discovering that the future--especially the years after 2355--may not be the utopia that the Company is promising. Meeting up with Lewis, Mendoza's friend from Sky Coyote, the two begin tracking down other immortals that have gone missing. More serious than Baker's other three novels, The Graveyard Game greatly elaborates on the mystery and mythos of the Company, introducing a darker, doomsday feel to this fairly easy series.
I liked both of these books, although I found Mendoza in Hollywood slow-moving at times. I've come to count on this series for when I need a quick, entertaining read and these two books fill that need well.
Mendoza in Hollywood maintains Baker's quick and sarcastic tone: her characters are pat and quirky, and the plot has nice mix of Company mystery and historical drama. Next to Elizabethan England, California clearly holds a place in Baker's heart, who relishes the chance to have her characters (and the reader) share her passion. This trick takes a tragic turn, however, when Baker devotes 22 pages to describing D.W. Griffith's film Intolerance and her characters' reactions to it. Mind-numbingly boring doesn't come close to articulating how painfully dull this chapter is; fortunately, once past this hump, the story resumes it's silly, breezy pace. Mendoza runs into a spy who is the physical double of her long dead lover, and unsurprisingly, drops everything to be with him, even aiding his espionage work. To her surprise, seemingly banal Catalina Island off the coast is key to her lover's mission, and she discovers, with devastating result, that even the Company is intensely interested in the island.
The Graveyard Game takes up hundreds of years in the future; Mendoza has disappeared from the historical record, and Joseph is discovering that the future--especially the years after 2355--may not be the utopia that the Company is promising. Meeting up with Lewis, Mendoza's friend from Sky Coyote, the two begin tracking down other immortals that have gone missing. More serious than Baker's other three novels, The Graveyard Game greatly elaborates on the mystery and mythos of the Company, introducing a darker, doomsday feel to this fairly easy series.
I liked both of these books, although I found Mendoza in Hollywood slow-moving at times. I've come to count on this series for when I need a quick, entertaining read and these two books fill that need well.
juliemawesome's review against another edition
3.0
This is book 3 of The Company novels. It's not bad. Mendoza is in Los Angeles during the Civil War. It's rather amusing to see all the parallels between it and the modern Los Angeles. The mix of people, the bad weather/climate, the eccentrics, etc.
The Immortals even have their own film festival, watching old movies (well, future movies!) that were filmed near where they're stationed. And that's a particular point where the book drags. We get a play-by-play of a 9 hour movie. And I can't say it's irrelevant or misplaced, but it sure did go on and on.
We find out a bit more about The Company, especially at the end. But we're left with more questions than we had after reading the first book.
Yea, I'll keep going now. I need to learn more.
But perhaps a bit of a break first.
The Immortals even have their own film festival, watching old movies (well, future movies!) that were filmed near where they're stationed. And that's a particular point where the book drags. We get a play-by-play of a 9 hour movie. And I can't say it's irrelevant or misplaced, but it sure did go on and on.
We find out a bit more about The Company, especially at the end. But we're left with more questions than we had after reading the first book.
Yea, I'll keep going now. I need to learn more.
But perhaps a bit of a break first.
leighryks's review against another edition
Mendoza in Hollywood: A Novel of the Company (Company (Paperback)) by Kage Baker (2006)