Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Berserker (Berserker #1)


Berserker  - Fred Saberhagen This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer.

Title: Berserker
Series: Berserker
Author: Fred Saberhagen
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 179


Synopsis:
Humanity has spread through the stars and every intelligent race is so ultra-peaceful that when an ancient set of planet size killing machines wake up, Humanity is the last chance of All Life in the Entire Universe.

My Thoughts:
I read this back in highschool and all I can remember from that time was that I found the overall tone rather dry.

Well, this time through I STILL found this dry and bordering on the line of plain old boring. A series of short stories that were tangentially related through various characters. Of course, each story is dealing with the Berserkers.

Berserkers, left over machines from an ancient race so old that there isn't even a record of them except for the Berserkers, were created to be death dealers in a war so vast that it got out of control and the Berserkers wiped out their masters.  And now they are OUR problem.

This should have been cool, thrilling and edge of your pants exciting. But it wasn't. Saberhagen seemed to do his best to be pedantic and putting his words together like he was building a brick wall instead of a thrilling roller coaster. There was no menace, no real sense that the End of Everything is upon us. The narrator was an alien, but that was no excuse for how text-book like this was.

There are several more books in the Berserker series, but I certainly will not bother with them. I don't want to take a drink of water with every chapter I read.

Monday, July 28, 2014

xxxHolic #17, 18 & 19 (Manga Monday)


xxxHolic, Vol. 17 - CLAMP,William Flanagan
xxxHolic, Vol. 18 - CLAMP
xxxHolic, Vol. 19 - CLAMP,William Flanagan
This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer

Title: xxxHolic #17, 18 & 19
Series: xxxHolic
Author & Artist: CLAMP
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 165-185'ish

Synopsis:
The series wraps up with several clients showing up and showcasing how powerful and comfortable Watanuki has become as the shop owner.
And it all leads to one final dream, Yuko's dream.

My Thoughts:
During the whole time that I was reading these 3 volumes, I was simply shaking my head in wonder and amazement. Gone are the silly arguments between Watanuki and Domeki, gone are the times of Watanuki making a complete fool of himself for Himawari's sake and gone is Watanuki's self-effacing timidness.

Time is the main casualty in these volumes. We never know how much time has passed and while CLAMP sometimes shows things [Himawari &  Watanuki talking on the phone about her marriage for example] happening that take time, nothing is truly concrete.
CLAMP does try to show changes in some of the characters, Kahone-chan for instance, but the art style doesn't lend itself toward subtle changes and so everyone pretty much looks like their starting ages.

One thing that I REALLY liked was that Watanuki grants a wish to the Tsubasa crew so that the quest they began at the end of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles appears to be near the end.

Speaking of endings, another thing that I really liked in this series was that things were wrapped up. Himawari gets married to someone else and is actually happy. Domeki and Kohane-chan, who is no longer really a "chan", are on course to get together and are happy. Mokona is still drinking like a sponge and is happy. Maru and Moro are still sustaining the shop and are happy.

And most important of all, Watanuki sees Yuko's last dream and hence gets to see her for one last time and sees how she has confidence in him. And he is happy. I am satisfied with how this series has ended. I am seriously considering reading xxxHolic: Kei now.

To whit, this series is one of the best manga I've read to date. It has some action, enough humor, is supernatural, a tiny bit of terror, awesome characters, a convoluted plot and most of all, it has Yuko the Time/Space Witch.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

The Art of War, With No Commentary (Classic)


The Art of War - Sun Tzu This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer


Title: The Art of War
Series: None
Author: Sun Tzu
Translator: Lionel Giles
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Non-fiction
Pages: 256

My Thoughts:
This edition, the Falls River Edition, ISBN #9781435136731, is still the Lionel Giles translation. Thankfully, this has a No Commentary part.

The plain text of Sun Tzu's writings are short, pithy, to the point and yet are vague and general enough that anyone can apply them almost however they want. I can see why this book is popular. I kept wanting to write my own commentary on each of the verses.

I'm glad to have finally read this, unalloyed by others' thoughts and inane comments.

Saturday, July 26, 2014

The Ramal Extraction (Cutter's Wars #1)


The Ramal Extraction: Cutter's Wars - Steve Perry This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer.

Title: The Ramal Extraction
Series: Cutter's Wars
Author: Steve Perry
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 262


Synopsis:
Cutter, leader of a group of mercenaries, hires out to find a kidnapped daughter of a powerful leader on an out of the way world.
Cutter and Co must navigate local politics, galactic military law and a hidden enemy's agenda.
And nothing is at it seems.

My Thoughts:
I really, really, really enjoyed this book. I am not a huge fan of military SF most of the time, mainly because the authors get all A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.'y and totally gun porn'd and both of those things annoy the bejabs out of me. Perry does a little, just enough to make it feel Military, but not so much as to annoy me.

The plot was fast, furious, twisty [well, it was meant to be twisty but I think we all see the reality a klick away] and just the right amount of character and adventure.

Characters got me confused as to who was who, except for the alien. But considering that the military terms for people ALWAYS confuses me, no matter the book or series, I simply gloss over the names and enjoy them doing things. Background was given to the main characters in story form, as they each recall the first time they killed someone.

Plot was simple Rescue Kidnapped Princess while being Screwed by Somebody. Once you realize that things aren't on the up and up, it is pretty easy to see who the mastermind is, even if you're not sure why. And he gets his in the end.

Honestly, I'm not sure this deserves 4.5stars, but I enjoyed it enough that this time around it gets that from me. When I re-read this in a couple of years [5 to 10 in all probability] we'll see if the like'ability was just my initial impression or something longer lasting.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Only A Shadow (Fated Blades #0.5)


Only A Shadow: (An eSpecial from Roc) - Steve Bein This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer.

Title: Only A Shadow
Series: Fated Blades
Author: Steve Bein
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 61


Synopsis:
A ninja clan must disgrace a local leader whose goal is to wipe them out. They must steal his Fated Blade, which will then allow them to destroy him.

The old crafty ninja-master is training a young man and part of the training is out-smarting the young man so he'll realize that wisdom takes time to accumulate.

My Thoughts:
This was a fun little short story about one of the Fated Blades.

It was an adventure story with the stealing of the Blade. It was a teaching tale with the old ninja out-smarting the double-crossing young man. And finally, it was a Fated Blade Story, enough said.

The page count is a little mis-leading, as the story ends around page 45 and the rest was an excerpt from the first Fated Blade book, Daughter of the Sword. I really dislike when those type of things happen, even while I understand why the publishers keep doing it.

There was NO fantasy element to this story, nor any cross-over to present time with Mariko. I was a little disappointed, as I like the Mariko storylines more than the historical ones. However, this was still a great story and to be honest, I'd recommend someone trying this short story out if they weren't sure of starting the series.

Bein is a good writer, and sadly, that is more of a compliment than it should be. However, it is refreshing to read a well written short story that isn't boring or full of cardboard characters.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

The Weight of Blood (Half-Orcs #1)


The Weight of Blood (The Half-Orcs, #1) - David Dalglish This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer.

Title: The Weight of Blood
Series: Half-Orcs
Author: David Dalglish
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 228


Synopsis:
2 Half-orc [half-orc, half-elf] brothers team up with an avatar of death. One becomes a physical titan, hewing down all who stand before him. The other becomes a master of necromantic powers and plots to remove the avatar and take his place.
And in the end they go their separate ways, mainly because of an elf woman.

My Thoughts:
When I read A Dance of Cloaks by Dalglish I was not impressed with his non-use of any type of hero, but I did want to give him another chance with another series.
In the afterword Dalglish says this series is about redemption.
That might be the case, as the more physical of the brothers ends up regretting all the death he has caused, right at the end of the book. However, the first 95% of the book simply follows them as they slaughter, kill and commit other unsavory acts to further their own ends.

It left a very bad taste in my mental mouth and after Cloaks I am not willing to give Dalglish a 3rd chance. I am not, never have been and hopefully never will be, a fan of dark, gritty fantasy. I like my heroes to inspire me to be better, not drag me down in the blood, filth and muck.

Monday, July 21, 2014

xxxHolic #15 & 16 (Manga Monday)


xxxHolic, Vol. 15 - CLAMP
xxxHolic, Vol. 16 - CLAMP
This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer

Title: xxxHolic #15 & 16
Series: xxxHolic
Author & Artist: CLAMP
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga

Synopsis:
Volume 15 is all about Watanuki saying goodbye to Yuko even though he doesn't realize it at the time. However, we the readers do and that makes it all the more poignant.
Volume 16 is about Watanuki taking over the shop and dealing with his first real customer on his own.

My Thoughts:
This series continues to impress me [I hesitate to say "astound", but honestly, it is really reaching that level].
The emotion between the characters, the emotion from the situations they are in, I have a hard time believing that a manga can do this to me.

In vol 15, Yuko explains to Watanuki why she must leave and yet at the end of the chapter, he ends up making the very same type of promise to wait for her return that set the events in motion that we read about in Tsubasa and xxxHolic. And it does seem that Yuko is now dead, but not truly gone. But it does seem that if anyone knew the dangers of making such a wish, it would be Yuko and she'd warn Watanuki against it. Maybe I'm mis-reading his wish however?

Watanuki takes over the shop in a pretty smooth transition from Yuko. He inherits her weird fashion sense, smokes her pipe and in many ways seems to be trying to emulate her actions and how she ran the shop. Time is another thing that isn't quite the same for us the readers now, as Watanuki has stepped outside of time and into the shop and so we don't see much what is happening outside or how time is flowing.

Very much looking forward to the final 3 volumes of xxxHolic!

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Present Tense (The Great Game #2)


Present Tense - Dave Duncan This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer.

Title: Present Tense
Series: The Great Game
Author: Dave Duncan
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 418


Synopsis:
Edward comes back to our world, after 3 years in Next Door. Only now, because of his acceptance of the Filoby Testament, he is in greater danger here than he ever was over in Next Door. So his friends convince him to go back.
While planning out the steps for returning to Next Door, Edward tells them about the last 3 years and what has transpired.

My Thoughts:
This time around, the story was all about Edward. There was no Eleal or other secondary character. One storyline was about him in England, the other about him in Next Door.

This was a good solid read. Duncan knows how to spin a tale that is engaging but without a lot of wind and bluster. Nor do you get your heart rate up by screaming at the idiotic characters. Can't stand that when an author does that and thankfully Duncan stays away from it.

The ideas of Free Will & Pre-Destination are mentioned, but they aren't really explored. Edward, his father and others, have all tried to break the Filoby Testament and have only made it happen and in the end of the book Edward seems to have basically given up and just accepted that what it says will happen.
The whole FreeWill/Pre-Destination debate has been going on for Millenia, so I didn't expect Duncan to solve it, but I guess I was expecting a little more philosophizing about it.

Finally, and most importantly. absolutely nothing Nacreous ever showed up. I was pleased.

Friday, July 18, 2014

The God King (Heirs of the Fallen #1)


The God King - James A. West This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer

 Title: The God King
Series: Heirs of the Fallen
Author: James West
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 393

Synopsis:
A mercenary, along with his 2 bestest buds ever help a young spoiled nobleman reach a hidden temple. Upon which the young nobleman unleashes hell itself thinking he's gaining absolute power.
For no apparent reason said Mercenary gets some of the power and becomes the Nobleman's Nemesis!
Battle across the Continent, some girl gets involved and then things turn out as you expect and there is lots more to the series as the world now has demons to contend with.

My Thoughts:
I had this on my TBR list, so somewhere, sometime I saw a review of it that either made me want to read it or I trusted the reviewer. Probably a good thing I can't remember who recommended this to me.
It was a stinker.

"Nacreous" things happened. The sky was "azure". Those are both code words for Synonyms dot com.  And cheesy Forgotten Realms. I like Forgotten Realms however.

The Mercenary was not a compelling character, his friends were stereotypes that never really got past the 2d stage, insta-love girl was just an ornament and the badguy was just a stupid idiot.

I might have had a much better time of things if it wasn't almost 400 pages long. It really should have been 150-200 pages. What is it with indie authors and their insatiable need to spew on and on and on? Sanderson can write a tome for every book if he wants too, but you, Mr West, are absolutely no Brandon Sanderson, not by a long shot.

And I'm removing one star because I'm grumpy. Yep, I can do that. I also won't be reading any more by this author. One book was enough to show the lack of skill level that I expect from my reading experience.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Hawaiian Hellground (The Executioner #22)


Hawaiian Hellground (Mack Bolan The Executioner #22) - Don Pendleton This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer


Title: Hawaiian Hellground
Series: The Executioner
Author: Don Pendleton
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 142

Synopsis:
Mack ends up in Hawaii chasing down a Mafia lead, only to discover a MUCH bigger game that involves the Chinese and nuclear warheads capable of reaching the West Coast. Things are big enough that he teams up with a shadow ops group put together by Brognola.

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this a bit more than some of the previous mainly because just instead of the Mafia we also get the PRC Military involved. Given, he's a rogue, but introducing a different element into the familiar story is like adding a pinch of spice into a yummy yet familiar recipe.

Seeing the Shadow Ops team in action was pretty cool too. A "modern" [remember, these were written in the 70's and 80's] take on the 4 man hit squads from Vietnam. Capable killers with the intelligence to gather intel and make use of it independent of
Authorized Authority.

Finally, Bolan is let off the hook by Brognola. Sets things up for Brognola to keep trying to bring Bolan into the fold. A sanctioned assassin for the United States.

Monday, July 14, 2014

xxxHolic #13 & 14 (Manga Monday)


xxxHolic, Vol. 13 - CLAMP,William Flanagan
xxxHolic, Vol. 14 - CLAMP
This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer

Title: xxxHolic #13 & 14
Series: xxxHolic
Author & Artist: CLAMP
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga

Synopsis:
Watanuki helps out Kohane-chan and gets her to a safeplace away from her mother.  In volume 14 the story takes on the over-arching idea of who and what Watanuki is, the price he has paid in the past without realizing it and how he, Li and Sakura are all tied together.

My Thoughts:
I almost cried at the Kohane-chan story. Seeing a young girl attacked by her own mother because the mother hates her ex-husband is just sad. Thankfully, with her wish to be happy and her giving up her powers, which turn out to be based on one of Sakura's feathers, Kohane can start to have a normal childhood. Surrounded by friends, she can learn what love really is.

Volume 14 was a little more esoteric and non-plot centric. Lots of little conversations between various people that advance what is happening to Watanuki and Sakura and Co over at Tsubasa.

And we are getting little hints that not everything will be ok with Yuko. She has not been so rambunctious and we keep seeing bits of melancholia in her expressions.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

The Art of War, With Commentary


The Art of War - Sun Tzu This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer


Title: The Art of War
Series: None
Author: Sun Tzu
Translator: Lionel Giles & Bob Sutton
Rating: 1/2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Non-fiction
Pages: 155

My Thoughts:
This version,the Kindle Free Edition  [ASIN #B0084B050M], is the Lionel Giles translation [which seems to be 'just' about all there is out there] with his commentary and commentary from random Chinese literary figures.

My 1/2 Star rating was because the text was almost a solid wall of text, not differentiating in any way Sun Tzu's writings and the commentaries. Nor were there paragraph breaks, nor real chapter breaks. These formatting factors made it almost impossible to read this.

The other main reason I gave this 1/2 Star was because of the commentaries themselves. Giles is an ass, period. I suspect he was an insufferable bore back whenever he was alive and that tone comes through in his commentary. Thank goodness he is dead and not ruining more historical texts today.

I am not in any way rating, reviewing or commenting on Sun Tzu's actual work, as it was impossible to do so with this edition. That being said, I did pick up another edition at Barnes and Noble's that has the non-commentary version included. Not quite the version I was looking for, but good enough for now. Hopefully with that edition I can actually talk about the text itself.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

The Garden of Stones (Echoes of Empire #1) (ARC) DNF


The Garden of Stones  - Mark T. Barnes I received this copy from the publisher through Netgalley.com and that in no way has influenced my opinion in regards to this review.

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer


Title: The Garden of Stones
Series: Echoes of Empire
Author: Mark Barnes
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 506


My Thoughts:
Due to the inclusion of certain subjects, I will not be finishing this book for religious and moral reasons.

Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Past Imperative (The Great Game #1)


Past Imperative  - Dave Duncan This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer.

Title: Past Imperative
Series: The Great Game
Author: Dave Duncan
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 444


Synopsis:
One young man, by name of Edward, gets mixed up in a prophecy from another world, learns that his father and mother are from there, goes to the other world, meets with a young actress, who is also in prophecy and basically is the pawn of the gods of that world.

Thing is, Edward hates God, all gods and every form of institutionalized religion. And now,in this other world, he has the power to be a god. Will he survive, take his place in the pantheon or try to destroy the existing order?

My Thoughts:
Slow.
This starts out very slow, with a story in our world following Edward and another story in World2 about Eleal, the little cripple actress.
Each storyline takes its time to grow and mature, allowing us to see what makes the characters tick and just to see the worlds as they are.
They converge probably at the 75% mark and things actually start to happen then.

Sometimes a "slow" book doesn't work for me. I want to rush in, growl, shake the plot like a rat and then rush off again. However, just like in his King's Blades  books, Duncan is a consummate writer and I was glad to take it slow. It was nice to mosey along with the characters and not feel impatient to get to the end.

Edward is a stupid, honor ridden, young english chap, so that got annoying. But he was very well balanced out by Eleal, a curious 12 year old girl who gets into trouble and eavesdrops at the drop of a hat.

A very different book, in terms of plot, from his King's Blades books but enjoyable nonetheless. Looking forward to the rest of this trilogy.

Monday, July 07, 2014

xxxHolic #11 & 12 (Manga Monday)

xxxHolic, Vol. 11 - CLAMP,William Flanagan
xxxHolic, Vol. 12 - CLAMP,William Flanagan
This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer

Title: xxxHolic #11 & 12
Series: xxxHolic
Author & Artist: CLAMP
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga

Synopsis:
Watanuki has several dream times with various people, does alot for Kohane-chan, gets attacked by various things and people and in general is well on his way to replacing Yuko.

My Thoughts:
Where Tsubasa tended towards "lets couch everything in as mysterious terms as possible", xxxHolic seems to be a bit more straightforward.

I also find the pathos to be much more endearing, heart-wrenching and "real". I care what is going to happen to Watanuki, Yuko and the others in a way that I simply didn't about the Tsubasa group. I also have to admit that the stories dealing with Kohane-chan really get to me. A little girl should be protected by her mother, not exploited. I'm just glad Watanuki and Domeki are around.

A lot of what is talked about in Watanuki and Sakura's dream really helped me understand what was going on.

The artwork continues to amuse me. Yuko,for example, can be this totally voluptuous vixen in one panel and then you see in another and she is a stick. CLAMP certainly has fun just portraying people however they want.

Saturday, July 05, 2014

Rules of Ascension (Winds of the Forelands #1) DNF


Rules of Ascension  - David B. Coe This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer.

Title: Rules of Ascension
Series: The Winds of the Forelands
Author: David Coe
Rating: 1/2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy


My Thoughts:
Due to the inclusion of certain subjects, I will not be finishing this book for religious and moral reasons.

That subject being homosexuality portrayed as normal and good.

Thursday, July 03, 2014

The Twelve (The Passage #2)


The Twelve - Justin Cronin This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer.

Title: The Twelve
Series: The Passage
Author: Justin Cronin
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Synopsis:
The post-apocalyptic world continues, as well as stories about the fall.
All of the Twelve, along with Amy, meet up for the next step in their growth. Only this has been planned for and the rebellion takes advantage of it.
Which leaves only Amy and Zero as representatives of the Vampire race.

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this a bit more than The Passage, as I didn't find the middle half boring, but I was very frustrated with Cronin's introducing large groups of characters only to throw them away a chapter later, or to write 5 chapters about them and only  make it tangentially related.
Lots and lots of little side rabbit trails.

The pseudo-religiosity also got on my nerves as well. It was forced and even more damning, it FELT forced.

And like I had written in my update, I kept getting this mixed up with del Toro and Hogan's The Strain trilogy. I mean, how different can "vampires because of some plague-type thing" be anyway? It is all the same in my mind.

I'll finish the next book, but if this goes on longer than a 3rd book, then I'll be done. This just confirms that while I loved Dracula, vampires do something to authors that make their books unpalatable to me.

Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Venom's Taste (House of Serpents #1) (Forgotten Realms)


Venom's Taste  - Lisa Smedman This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer.

Title: Venom's Taste
Series: House of Serpents, Forgotten Realms
Author: Lisa Smedman
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis:
Arvin, human rogue working for the Thieves Guild, is caught up in a plot between a cult of Death and Poison, a resistance group that wants to re-assert human supremacy and a Yuan-ti [snake masters of the region] who wants to shake up the current crop of leaders and take their place.

My Thoughts:
I went in to this hoping for something a bit "more", as it was dealing with the Yuan-ti, a race of snake'y people. And while I got "different", it wasn't really "more".

Arvin was your typical cardboard cutout of a human character who had "past" issues that helped and hindered him. All the groups were pretty typical of what you'd expect from a Forgotten Realms novel and the plot was unexceptionally FR as well.

I did like having a completely new race to find out about, but they barely made it into the story. We find out the Yuan-ti rule, can be snakelike in various ways, can be "psionic" [ie, direct mind magic without rituals or scrolls, etc. To be honest, I'm not really sure how it is different from regular magic] and ruthlessly rule, just like every  other class that rules all across the world.

I did read a tiny bit about Skullport, which I am familiar with through the Erevis Cale books, but that was the only familiar thing. Everything else was completely new. Geography-wise I wonder if the Powers that Be from Wizards of the Coast have mapped out Faerun [the whole world, as I understand it] or if they just let things kind of exist willy nilly.

I'll definitely be reading the rest of the trilogy, but I won't be expecting anything great, just the typical FR adventure story.