Thursday, May 30, 2013

Review: The Last Jedi: Star Wars


The Last Jedi: Star Wars
The Last Jedi: Star Wars by Michael Reaves

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



When this book came out, I had just finished [b:Shadow Games|9993620|Shadow Games (Star Wars)|Michael Reaves|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320464709s/9993620.jpg|14888432] and wasn't really impressed. So I asked on the book page why I should read this book.
One of the authors, [a:Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff|247692|Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1226025599p2/247692.jpg], responded very nicely and encouraged me to read the book. I thought that was great.

So I read the book. It was ok. On par with the other Coruscant Night books. If you enjoyed the other Jax Pavan books, you'll like this. I certainly enjoyed I5 the most, just like the other books.



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Review: Galactic Odyssey


Galactic Odyssey
Galactic Odyssey by Keith Laumer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Absolutely love this book. Not a great tome, not some epic quest. Just a rousing adventure story of a man saving the woman he loves.

I had forgotten just how short this was. But that allows Laumer to give us the quick details and then move on. He allows us, the reader, to fill in the gaps. Instead of being a blowhard, Laumer trusts his audience enough that he doesn't have to write out every single detail of the entire adventure.

And that kind of attitude and writing, they are refreshing every once in a while. Clear the synapses, let the old noggin' rest from cogitating on the latest foundation stone by [a:Brandon Sanderson|38550|Brandon Sanderson|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1201547425p2/38550.jpg] or [a:Steven Erikson|31232|Steven Erikson|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1219169436p2/31232.jpg] or some such. It is quick, neat and precise writing.

Definitely a good once a decade book!



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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Review: Arms-Commander


Arms-Commander
Arms-Commander by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Another half decent book by Modesitt. I've enjoyed the Recluse books, and this one is as good as any of them.
A bit of man-hating, but considering that Modesitt has created a world of nothing but evil 'men', not surprising.
And thank goodness, we don't get bloviated descriptions of every meal :)



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Saturday, May 25, 2013

Review: The Scourge of Muirwood


The Scourge of Muirwood
The Scourge of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Absolutely loved this. I'm a sucker for happy endings and this delivered in spades.

Lia had to overcome many trials and tribulations and yet she continued on. Not whining. Not complaining. Not cursing. Not apathetic. Not with an attitude of futile resistance.
It was a real joy to read about a character that you wanted to emulate. Haven't had that in a while.

The story does wrap up nice and neat. As it should. This is the world after ours and our world's issues are over.



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Review: A Plague of Demons & Other Stories


A Plague of Demons & Other Stories
A Plague of Demons & Other Stories by Keith Laumer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Even though I put this on my "Short Story Collection" shelf, the first story, Plague of Demons is a novel unto itself.

Stories about space and man as either the mental underdog who overcomes all or the mental tyrant.
Not quite dystopia, but a bleak outlook even in the encouraging stories.



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Saturday, May 18, 2013

Review: Forge of Darkness


Forge of Darkness
Forge of Darkness by Steven Erikson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Well, I've put up with Erikson long enough. I'm done.

A whole world awash in hopelessness and despair.

I long for a power to wash away the worst that is in us,

War is a shout against futility, hostage, but its echo never last long


I no longer desire to immerse myself in this type of philosophy. There is Goodness. There is Hope. There is Love. There IS Meaning and Reason to Existence. Men can be Changed from their brokenness. There is a God who Cares and Who has taken Responsibility. There is Joy and Happiness and Greatness in Life.

And now I bow out.



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Review: Firestorm: Destroyermen


Firestorm: Destroyermen
Firestorm: Destroyermen by Taylor Anderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The war gets bigger. More characters. More technology. More tactics.

Lots MORE blah, blah, blah. One whole page described a plane taking off. Telling me every single boat's name in a fleet. Describing how the gun/bullet combo of THIS gun is different/better/worse than THAT gun/bullet combo. It wore thin.

But those who love mil/sff probably ate it up.

I enjoyed the story. Lots of fighting with new twists to screw things up. At the end lots of things happen that open up this world even more. I do feel that Anderson is moving ahead a little too fast. I just hope he doesn't let the story snowball out of control. Because I am really liking this overall storyline.



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Friday, May 17, 2013

Review: Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 6


Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 6
Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 6 by Yu Aida

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



For a "final" volume, this was sad. By sad, I mean pathetic, even by anime/manga standards.

I knew that most of the girls would have to die, to make the story end. But we never find out what happens to the 2nd gen cyborgs.

I would have felt better about the series if Aida had shown the Welfare Agency being wiped out at their headquarters, instead of just preparing for it. It left things extremely unsettled.

This really felt like a pen-ultimate volume. But as is the case with many manga, the author doesn't know how to end it, and so they don't. When I first got into anime, I thought they ended most anime the way they do because of some sort of cool "eastern philosophy" thingy. Now I realize they are just lazy and can't be bothered to wrap things up.

And most of the time, that doesn't bother me. But for this manga, it really did. I think some of that was because I wanted the sacrifices the girls had made throughout the series to be given the honor and respect they deserved. Instead, they are discarded like ragdolls...



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Review: Mother of Demons


Mother of Demons
Mother of Demons by Eric Flint

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This started out great. From the alien viewpoint. Reminded me a lot of Zahn's Conqueror Trilogy.

Then it seemed to turn into either historical info dumps, or else evolutionist biology. Either way, boring.

The mother of demons is the historian of the human group. Who is tormented by guilt that she must show the younglings the secrets of warfare in order for them to survive.

So, while it was enjoyable, nothing in it made me want to read more of Mr. Flint's writing.



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Review: The Accidental Sorcerer


The Accidental Sorcerer
The Accidental Sorcerer by K.E. Mills

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Why [a:Karen Miller|87306|Karen Miller|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1263471699p2/87306.jpg] feels the need to write as another author, I don't understand. But that is truly neither here nor there.

Loved this book. A fast paced fantasy thriller about a lowgrade magician who magically gets bumped up and who has to deal with some serious problems.

Lots of magical'iness, a little angst, a little romance, lots of action and bam, you have this book. Almost more of a prequel, as I believe the series is called "Rogue Agent" and that aspect doesn't come into play until the very end of the book.

I just hope the series can stay powered up...



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Review: A Memory of Light


A Memory of Light
A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt like I was deluged by a tidal wave.

Then came the ending. It kind of made me feel "vanilla".

Sanderson did an excellent job of wrapping this up. I was in awe.

I look forward to re-reading the whole series in 5-8 years.

Edit:

I realized this morning that my words were on the light side. Considering that I've been reading WoT since '95 or '96, and have experienced the travail of my soul [When I heard that Jordan had died, I practically swore vengeance upon his barely cold corpse "how could he do this to me!?"] and then was raised to the clouds when I heard Sanderson [probably my favorite fantasy author now] was going to complete the series.

I have run the whole gamut of emotions with this series. Excitement, boredom [tugging of hair anyone?], rage and despair, hope and finally, satisfaction.

How does one encapsulate 17'ish years in a couple of paragraphs? I've gone from a highschool teenager to a married 30something security guard. So I don't write a review worthy of the NY Times, I write this little ditty to remind me that all things can be gotten through, that they end and that they can be good and bad.

This series will be something that sticks with me for the rest of my life. Nice to have something like that.



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Thursday, May 16, 2013

Review: A Memory of Light


A Memory of Light
A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt like I was deluged by a tidal wave.

Then came the ending. It kind of made me feel "vanilla".

Sanderson did an excellent job of wrapping this up. I was in awe.

I look forward to re-reading the whole series in 5-8 years.



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Sunday, May 12, 2013

Review: The Moving Finger


The Moving Finger
The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This was supposed to be a Miss Marple Mystery. Instead I read a murder/romance book in which Miss M appears VERY briefly.
If this had been a 3hr miniseries, she would have had about 5-10min of facetime.

Other than that, it was a typical Christie mystery, which I do enjoy.



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Saturday, May 11, 2013

Review: Lady Chatterley's Lover


Lady Chatterley's Lover
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



A sad story about an empty woman trying to fill the void within. She hates men, wants to be free of all restraints, despises her husband, needs the attention of a man and in the end, hopes that being with the aforementioned man will fulfill her.

A scathing book about materialism and how humanity attempts to fill the God-shaped hole within each of us. And yet at the end, the author tries to give the reader false hope by insinuating that Lady Chatterly would find meaning, in the near future.

Tenuous, vague and empty hope.

I am happy to have read this, to expand my classic repertoire, but this was a horrible book and one I never plan on re-reading.



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Saturday, May 04, 2013

Review: The Silver Chair


The Silver Chair
The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A good "quest" story.

I do have to admit that I came close to tears when Eustace and Jill silently requested to stay in Aslan's Country, but He had to tell them it wasn't their time yet. A moment of poignant longing for the Best of All to be right then.



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Friday, May 03, 2013

Review: Stardoc II: Beyond Varallan


Stardoc II: Beyond Varallan
Stardoc II: Beyond Varallan by S.L. Viehl

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



I was hoping that Viehl would move beyond the rape in a tasteful way.

But about 40 pages in, Cherijo tries to jump Reever's bones, and thinks of their "previous time" [ie, the rape scene in book one] as something sexually stimulating.

What kind of sick author is Viehl? The victim of rape is saying it was good for her too? In most cases of rape, the victim reacts 1 of 3 ways:

1)They blame themselves and turn inward.
2)They say it doesn't matter and then become sexual predators, of a sort, themselves
3)They can't accept what happened, and so think of it as a good experience, ie, deny reality.

Cherijo exhibits classic symptoms of a psychologically broken woman.

And I'm supposed to enjoy reading about this? This is sick, sick, sick. Shame on Viehl.



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Thursday, May 02, 2013

Review: Pathfinder


Pathfinder
Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



When your world gets filled with whiny, angsty, self-doubting, touchy-feely "men", then read this for a young man, more of a boy, who is one of those characters of self-reliance, assured and doubt-less.

It is really refreshing to read about characters like this once in a while. Provides a nice granite bedrock for the changable waves of most fiction.

Lots of timetravel blabber, medieval era society, and hints of what humanity might become.

I skipped paragraphs at a time when time 'movement' was discussed and I don't feel any less for it. But for those who like the convoluted, they might just eat it up.

And I really like how the first couple of paragraphs of each chapter deal with the very beginning of mankind traveling to this planet.



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