Wednesday, October 29, 2014

The Man-Kzin Wars (Man-Kzin #1)


The Man-Kzin Wars - Larry Niven,Stephen Hickman,Poul Anderson,Dean Ing 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: The Man-Kzin Wars
Series: The Man-Kzin Wars
Author: Larry Niven, Poul Anderson, Dean Ing
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 389


Synopsis:
Mankind meets the warlike Kzin [cat empire that is conquering everything they can] and we kick their freaking butts.
These 3 stories show First Contact and then some activities AFTER the war.

My Thoughts:
In all honesty, I was expecting more of the War and less whatever these stories were. Social commentaries or longwinded SFF monologues about science'y things. Boring, pointless and non-war oriented science'y things no less.

I was expecting something more like Alan Fosters trilogy, The Damned, where the fighting was what it was all about. This was just some rather generic space adventures. Not really sure how these 3 stories spawned over 10 books worth of stories.

It wasn't bad, it simply wasn't engaging or interesting enough. I won't be reading any more in this series.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Shadowstorm (Twilight War #2) (Erevis Cale) (Forgotten Realms)


Shadowstorm  - Paul S. Kemp 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: Shadowstorm
Series: Twilight War, Forgotten Realms
Author: Paul Kemp
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 352


Synopsis:
Erevis, Riven and Magadon make a deal with the Devil to escape hell and to prevent Magadon from being obliterated. This deal is what propels their actions for this book.

In Sembia, and specifically the city of Selgaunt, War happens. Shadow forces are at play and nothing is straight forward or as it seems. Shar, a goddess of dark, is ascendant and she uses, abuses and discards her servants as she sees fit.

Shadovar, long lost shadow sorcerers arise to combat the darkness, but they are servants as Shar as well.

My Thoughts:
Much like the first Twilight War book, Cale only plays a part, not the main part of the story and I find that rather unfortunate. The other characters, while driving the overall plot forward are not really people I am invested in. Cale, I am invested in. I've read the Sembia series [where he is a major character in the first 2 books and appears throughout the remaining 5] and the Cale trilogy. So 11 books I've invested in him.

Whenever I am reading a Forgotten Realms books, I have to remember to not get to excited about some big change that is coming because that is ALL the books are actually about, gods ascending/descending, the world changing, new conquerors/heroes/villains, etc.  Some of the smaller series/authors might be nice little side adventures [here's to hoping Castles or Rogues are more standalone] but most of the trilogies are always earth shattering events.

This one did get the Ultra-violent tag because what Magadon's father, the Devil, does to him. Graphic disemboweling while keeping him a live. And then eating half his soul.

The ending, where some sort of portal is opened between this world and a shadowrealm was pretty cool. Looking forward to how Cale & Co save the world and their friend Magadon, as with only half a soul he is sliding faster and faster toward his devil heritage.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Dixie Convoy (Executioner #27)


Dixie Convoy - 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.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer


Title: Dixie Convoy
Series: The Executioner
Author: Don Pendleton
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 129


Synopsis:
Mack heads to Georgia following a cocaine trail and comes across a huge mafia front which deals in laundering everything from money to automobiles.
With the help of the trucker community Mack crushes them and allows the Feds to roll the Mafia up like a rug.

My Thoughts:
Can't say I liked this one as much as the others. There was so much trucker/CB talk that half the time I had no idea what was going on, even when one of the characters took the time to explain it.
Other than that, this was a good fun book with lots of guns blazing and rockets blowing things up.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Tarkin (Star Wars) (ARC)


Tarkin: Star Wars - James Luceno 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.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer.





Title: Tarkin
Series: Star Wars
Author: James Luceno
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 289


Synopsis:
This book is the dual story about past and present of Tarkin. The past is about his beginning of life and rise to power and the forces that shaped him while the present story is a little adventure about the beginnings of the Rebellion and the Deathstar.
Which I believe completely throws the book Deathstar under the bus continuity-wise, but eh, what else is new in the Star Wars universe these days?

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed Kenobi but not this. It was bland, not that interesting and I found myself constantly checking my Kindle to see how much more I had before I would be at the end.
Which, to be honest, is how a lot of Star Wars book are but it used to be that I could ignore that and pick out whatever good I could because I really enjoyed the Extended Universe. But with Disney's eradication of the EU my fandom turned to distaste and hence my thoughts are no longer so charitable.

I've been reading a lot of Forgotten Realms recently and the Star Wars books reminds me of those but not as fun. I guess I was looking for this book to redeem the actions that Disney took and it failed beyond belief in that regards and as a story was just a typical Star Wars book.

With that being said, I think I'm pretty much done with the Star Wars book universe. Doesn't mean I won't read the occasional one, especially once the sequel movies come out, but I certainly won't be waiting for each book to come out so that I can devour it.

A big fat 'meh'.

Friday, October 24, 2014

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Classic) (Short Story)


The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Washington Irving 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: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Series: -----
Author: Washington Irving
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Classic
Pages: 36

Synopsis:
Ichabod Crane, local school teacher and collector of local supernatural lore, is in love with a rich farmer's daughter.So is a brawny tough.
One night Ichabod meets the local Haunt of Sleepy Hollow, the Headless Horseman and is never seen in the area again.

My Thoughts:
This was a lot shorter than I was expecting. I thought it would be novella size instead of a short story.
It also wasn't scary, but funny. It simply had a lot of paranormal going on in it. And in the end, you find out that it wasn't even that.

However, I still really enjoyed this. Ichabod was SO your geeky booksmart guy who simply couldn't compete. And the lass involved was your typical backwoods small towner who Ichabod would have been smarter to ignore. But as we all know, sometimes the head doesn't lead down the same path as the heart.

I just chuckled away several times. Definitely going to be a story I read each year for from now one. It was just delightful!

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Fevre Dream


Fevre Dream - George R.R. Martin 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: Fevre Dream
Series: -----
Author: George Martin
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 440


Synopsis:
A riverboat Captain who is down on his luck, takes on a partner who builds him the finest riverboat on the Mississippi.
All this partner asks is to not be disturbed during the day and to be able to come and go, no matter the boat's schedule.

Of course, this turns out to be a battle between vampires and things never go well with that. This ends as you'd expect of a modern vampire novel ie, melancholic, sad and yet satisfying.

My Thoughts:
This was great writing. Some authors have it, that flair, some don't and Martin is one of those that do. You can't get around that.

This was moving slow up til about the 50% mark and I was enjoying it. It was just like riding on one of those riverboats. And then the badguy vampire leader shows up, cuts off a baby's hand and things went to hell.

I couldn't stand the idealist vampire, with his stupid naivety and I couldn't stand the vampire badguy, as he was beyond being a psychopathic monster. Thankfully the riverboat captain was a great narrator. But by the end of the book, he is a tired old man who is obsessed.

This started bright and vigorous and ended in the dark and tired. As good as this was, it just wasn't for me. I suspect that Martin as a whole just isn't for me. I did enjoy a different take on vampires however.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Witch's Canyon (Supernatural #2)


Witch's Canyon  - Jeff Mariotte 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: Witch's Canyon
Series: Supernatural
Author: Jeff Mariotte
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 274


Synopsis:
A 40 year Killing Cycle has begun and this time, the body count will be catastrophic. Only Dean and Sam have the knowledge and the ability to stop this cycle, for good.

My Thoughts:
Even though I gave this the same rating as the previous book, I enjoyed this a bit more and it definitely felt "more" like a Supernatural story.

First off, the body count/violence was WAY higher than the previous books. People are being offed left and right. No rhyme or reason at first and I loved being confused. The title obviously gives away who the main antagonist is, but even that is layered in mystery.

This really did remind me of an episode, it felt like it was scripted by Kripte. It gives me hope for the next couple of books. Whooha!

Monday, October 20, 2014

Amazing Agent Luna #6-10 (Manga Monday)


Amazing Agent Luna Vol 6 - Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, Shiei Amazing Agent Luna, Vol. 7 - Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, Shiei Amazing Agent Luna Vol. 8 - Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, Shiei, Defilippis Amazing Agent Luna Vol. 9 - Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, Shiei Amazing Agent Luna Vol. 10 - Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, Shiei
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: Amazing Agent Luna #6-10
Series: Amazing Agent Luna
Author: Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir
Artist: Shiei
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: ------

Synopsis:
Luna gets close to Anders, finds out about Nightfall, leaves the Agency, finds out Jennifer is her birth mother, is under a death notice from the Agency, gets back with Jonah and has to deal with the Bruckenstein's yet again.
And her little sister Terra has been decanted and is trying to kill her.

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed these, even with all the teen drama and angst and hormones. However, I did find that about 1 manga a day was all I could handle. I read volumes 6 & 7 together and by the end of volume 7 I was almost ready to quit :-)

Count Bruckenstein is a great comedy villain. When Shiei draws him in chibi form, I want to laugh my head off. His wife, Elyse, on the other hand, is a true villain. Cold, calculating and pure evil.

The inclusion of Terra at the end of volume 10 is great. It helps to know that volume 11 is the last volume in the series.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Twin Cities Run (Endworld #3)


Twin Cities Run  - David   Robbins 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: Twin Cities Run
Series: Endworld
Author: David Robbins
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 212


Synopsis:
Alpha Triad finally makes it to the Twin Cities to pick up the medical equipment that Plato has requested.
Sadly, due to their complete and utter incompetence and total idiocy, the group gets separated and doled out among the various factions remaining in the city.
Thankfully, Brother Joshua brings them all together and peace and harmony float down like a gentle rain on them all.
And so they have a chance to get the equipment they need, but do they do that? Nope, they head right back to the Home to report the good news, because what difference can a month or 2 make, right?

My Thoughts:
This has moved far beyond silly or any such thing and has gotten into the down right stupid.
Alpha Triad takes Black Beauty with them back to the City, since she knows the lay of the land. But she doesn't advise them and they don't ask her any real questions. Then they decide it is a good idea to head into the city, on foot, at night.

From there, the decisions get even worse. The Triad, the different factions, all of them, just keep making the stupidest decisions one after another.The worst was right at the end when the group  has brokered a peace deal and decides to leave WITHOUT getting the equipment they came for. WHY?!?!? All that blood, death and fighting and now you just want to chuck it and do it later?


I wonder what Robbins was thinking when he wrote this stuff. In many ways, it seems like the logic of a 10 or 11 year old boy who has never actually even had a field trip but dreams up what he thinks an adventure would be like. My problem is that I can't even make fun of it anymore. They act that stupid. I guess I'll have to blame it on in-breeding because nothing else can account for such mental deficiencies.

One other issue that seems to be arising is that nobody ACTS like WWIII was 100 years ago. Everyone acts like it happened to their parents and they are just figuring out now how to survive in the world.

I'm giving this one more book to pick up even a half star's worth or I'm done. Campy or whatever I can deal with, but not stupid.

Robinson Crusoe (Classic)


Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe 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: Robinson Crusoe
Series: -----
Author: Daniel Defoe
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Classic
Pages: 271

Synopsis:
Robinson Crusoe, young and affluent, completely spurns the advice of his father and becomes a sailor and has various mishaps before being wrecked on a deserted island.

Survives on the Island for many years, finally gets rescued, becomes rich and then the book ends.

My Thoughts:
I read this book on my phone, so this was a filler when I only had a couple of minutes to read at a time.

I did not like Crusoe in the beginning of the book. He was young, arrogant and senseless. His actions were selfish, short sighted and in many cases just plain stupid.
However, once he was marooned on the island, he began to grow up and become someone with some sense.

Once he got off the island, he seemed to slip back into being a stupid man again. The book ends with his wife being dead and him deciding to head off to Brazil again and no mention of their children is made. Just boom, no wife, off he goes to adventure.
The other thing that bugged me was that Crusoe kept blaming his bad habits on fate, destiny, etc instead of taking responsibility for his own ass decisions.

I can see why this is a classic. A story of survival in the worst of circumstances and eventual rescue and riches. I doubt I'll read this again though.

Friday, October 17, 2014

The Gatekeeper's Son (ARC)


The Gatekeeper's Son - C.R. Fladmark 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.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer.





Title: The Gatekeeper's Son
Series: -----
Author: Chris Fladmark
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 313


Synopsis:
Junya [who I insist on calling Junior in my head] is the grandson of a billionaire, the son of a ninja and the Inheritor of a brand new power of the gods of light and darkness.
Another world is involved, lots of fighting, a cute chick and lots of YA'ness.

Junya must fight the minions of Light AND Dark, as he is the cross between them. He must save his grandfather, save his mother, destroy an evil monster and keep a legion of other worldly super ninjas from killing him, all at the same time.

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this for what it was, a boys' fantasy novel. I don't think I'll be reading any more by this author but that isn't a negative on his part. It just means that it is a bit too YA for me to handle.
It takes consummate skill to write a novel for both men and boys and as this is Mr Fladmark's debut novel, he deserves credit for writing a very good boys novel.

Lots of fighting, your prerequisite cute girl, secrets out the wazoo, ninjas and a badguy who helps Junya for his own ends, *insert evil laughter*. That was the good stuff.

The 2 main issues for me were as follows:

1) Junya goes from being a shy, almost cowardly boy, to this strong young man who can manage a multi-billion dollar company with no real in between phase. It felt very awkward to me.

2) Junya's father. He is in the story, but is so token that the reality is that Junya might as well have been raised by a single mother. He is supposed to be with them and part of their family, but he plays such a small part, even emotionally, that he comes across as a prop more than a real character.

Other than that, no real issues worth discussing. This is the beginning of a series, but it ends up just fine that I don't feel the need to read any sequels. And the Series title is missing because Fladmark hasn't given it one yet.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Sword of the Archon/Cadman's Gambit (Shader #1) DNF


Sword of the Archon  - D.P. Prior 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: Sword of the Archon/Cadman's Gambit
Series: Shader
Author: D.P. Prior
Rating: 1/2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: Did Not Finish


Synopsis:
Completely unable to tell what the heck was going on.

My Thoughts:
First thing. Turns out this is an Indie writer and in typical Indie *&^%$# fashion, Prior screws his readers over by releasing a "second edition" of this book, but with a completely different title and no indication inside that these are the same books.

That was enough to make me want to rage quit before even starting.

Then, the plot and characters. For perspective, I was confused but able to follow Erikson's Gardens of the Moon but this? Forget it. I was lost and wasn't able to figure out where, when or what was going on by the 25% mark.

And final nail in this novels coffin was the graphic rape scene. It wasn't explicit but it was brutal, horrible and completely outside the bounds of anything I ever want to read. It revolted me, it sickened me and it completely put Prior on my Authors to Avoid list.

This was a big fat Did Not Finish.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Acapulco Rampage (Executioner #26)


Acapulco Rampage (Executioner Series) - D. 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.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer


Title: Acapulco Rampage
Series: The Executioner
Author: Don Pendleton
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 126


Synopsis:
Mack heads to Acapulco to take out a fledgling movement, the New Mafia, headed by a Jew.
Said Jew doesn't like the Old Mafia telling him what to do and Mack makes a deal with him, be Unaffiliated and The Executioner will leave him alone until he crosses the line.
Sadly, the Old Mafia isn't going to take this lying down, so complete and utter mayhem ensues, Mack Bolan Style.

My Thoughts:
I can't get enough of these books. Mack crashes a luxury yacht into the New Mafia's headquarters, hijacks and lands their jet in the ocean and finally blows their base off the side of a mountain and into a bay.

How much more awesome do you need? And the super hot chick being the bad guy, cool beans.

Shallow, truly plotless, characterization is zero but so much fun. Kind of like how I imagine bungee jumpers justify their actions :-)

Monday, October 13, 2014

Vanity's Brood (House of Serpents #3 Final) (Forgotten Realms)


Vanity's Brood  - 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.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer.

Title: Vanity's Brood
Series: House of Serpents, Forgotten Realms
Author: Lisa Smedman
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 320


Synopsis:
Arvin must rescue Karell before she gives birth. At the same time, he must prevent Sybil from freeing the Serpent God and becoming its Avatar.

My Thoughts:
The maundering end to this trilogy.

Arvin pretends to not know which way he wants to react for most of the book and the reader is expected to go along and then act surprised when he makes it.

The romantic angle between Arvin and Karell is milked for all it is possibly worth. Arvin's heritage is revealed and that makes everything ok between him and Karell.

Glad I read this, but definitely not worth buying the hardcovers, unlike some of Smedman's other Forgotten Realms works.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Walden & Civil Disobediance (Classic)


Walden and Civil Disobedience (paper) - Henry David Thoreau,Jonathan Levin 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: Walden, Civil Disobediance
Series: -----
Author: Henry Thoreau
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: Classic
Pages: 326


Synopsis:
Thoreau moves to Walden pond to live as a squatter for 2 years and rhapsodizes, as all scatterbrained, out of touch with reality poets are want to do, about how wonderful Nature is and how the Simple Life is the best.

In Civil Disobediance, Thoreau shows how him going to jail for a week because he wouldn't pay his tax is the height of him being completely independent. He also tries to make the case that any group of rational human beings really don't need a government because the Milk of Human Kindness will naturally flow between them all.

My Thoughts:
What a monumental tome of total Prickness.

Thoreau is an ass and every line he writes in this book simply confirms that fact. Nothing he writes has a true bearing on reality, everything is colored, warped and distorted by his belief that Nature is Pure and Kind and can Teach us Lessons. (and yes, the caps are on purpose, you can practically hear them)

I am glad I read this but no more Thoreau for me.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

The Bacta War (X-Wing #4) (Star Wars)


The Bacta War - Michael A. Stackpole 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: The Bacta War
Series: X-Wing, Star Wars
Author: Michael Stackpole
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 350

Synopsis:
Wedge, Coran and Co fight Isard and kill her in the end. Coran and Mirax get married and Mirax's dad, Booster Terrik, gets a hold of a Star Destroyer for his personal gad about the universe.

My Thoughts:
I really did enjoy this. It is just recently my desire to write reviews has plummeted, so I'm mailing these in and keeping track that I read them.

Thursday, October 09, 2014

The Invaders Plan (Mission Earth #1) DNF


The Invaders Plan: Mission Earth Volume 1 - L. Ron Hubbard 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


authored by L. Ron Hubbard.

Read this back in junior high. This time around, I couldn't take the utter incompetence of the main character, who is a lackey for the villains.

Written that way on purpose, but it was just embarrassing and I was very uncomfortable.

Did not finish and will stick to Battlefield Earth & Final Blackout if I feel the need for some Hubbard.

Monday, October 06, 2014

Colorado Kill-Zone (The Executioner #25)


Colorado Kill-Zone (The Executioner, #25) - 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.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer
 
Title: Colorado Kill-Zone
Series: The Executioner
Author: Don Pendleton
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 104


Synopsis:
The Mafia hires a rogue army general [who happens to HAVE an army] who almost flawlessly executes a Bolan Trap. Emphasis on "almost".
Plus, there's a plot to kidnap the President of the United States for a Billion dollars in gold.

My Thoughts:
Sometimes I feel that is really unfair to give these books 3 stars because I enjoy the heck out of them. But there is more than simple enjoyment in rating a book.

I guess if this was food, I'd consider it a soda or an energy drink. Tastes good, feels good but a steady intake of such will hurt you.

So Mack gets suckered in by an old Vietnam buddy who has gone rogue. Fake military making Mack think he has crossed the line and killed soldiers who are just doing their job. A psychological tactic that comes this -- close to working. Thankfully, Mack's friends in the Mafia and the Government give him the heads up and so he can start thinking tactically again.

There is just so much awesome mano-e-mano gun battles that it makes my Manly Ego growl with delight.

Please excuse me as I go punch out some walls now...

Sunday, October 05, 2014

The Fatal Tree (Bright Empires #5 Final) (ARC)


The Fatal Tree - Stephen R. Lawhead 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.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer.





Title: The Fatal Tree
Series: Bright Empires
Author: Stephen Lawhead
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 360


Synopsis:
All the Universes are ending, since Arthur bringing his wife back to life with the Spirit Well pretty much buggered up everything.
Now there is a Fatal Tree guarding the Well so the group can't get to it and stop Arthur and set the Universe back on track.
Burleigh has a change of heart and tries to help the group.
In the end, everything gets back on track and Evolutiongod can continue its plan.

My Thoughts:
Thankfully, this series ends.

It felt VERY fluffy and it was hard to feel connected to any of the characters. My last book by Lawhead. Sometimes you just don't want to review a book and this is one of those times.

Saturday, October 04, 2014

Horizon Storms (Saga of the Seven Suns #3)


Horizon Storms  - Kevin J. Anderson 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: Horizon Storms
Series: Saga of the Seven Suns
Author: Kevin Anderson
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 672


Synopsis:
Surprisingly little happens in this volume.
The Roamers make an alliance with the Wentals [water elementals] and with the Free Planet of the Green Priests. They also find out that the main Human Empire has been pirating their space fuel and so cut them off, which brings reprisals.
The klikiss robots advance their plans to wipe out humanity and the ildarans.
The hydrogues and the faeros are duking it out and continue to destroy worlds and suns in the process.

My Thoughts:
Thankfully, this book didn't drag like the last one. However, not nearly as much happened. Got to the end of the book and went "huh? that is it" but not in a good way.

I consider books like this to be like eating frozen pizzas. They satisfy your hunger, don't disgust you and do what they are supposed to, but you'll never pull out the candles, the good china and silver and hire your neighbor to act as a waiter so you and the Mrs can eat a "le' frozen pizza".

Anderson is a b list author who has made a name for himself but I don't consider him to be a "good" author, merely a competent writer. His storylines leave a lot to be desired as do his characters and general blaseness.

I'll keep reading stuff by him and I'll probably lambast it each time as well. Hopefully that will help you if ever decide to read something by him.

Friday, October 03, 2014

Bitter Night (Horngate Witches #1)


Bitter Night (Horngate Witches #1) - Diana Pharaoh Francis 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: Bitter Night
Series: Horngate Witches
Author: Diana Francis
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 270


Synopsis:
Max, warrior leader that protects a witch she hates, must overcome all her issues to save her coven from being destroyed by the Guardians, super witches who command Angels as their warriors.
And Max must open up to a new man in her life who is just as strong as she is and completely understands her and knows her better than anyone she has ever met in her whole life.


My Thoughts:
I knew going into this that this was a female book by a female for females so I was prepared for the female equivalent of a Mack Bolan book.
What I was not prepared for was how many conversations took place inside Max's head with herself. And what pushed this into total female wish fulfillment was just how perfect the male MC was from a woman's perspective. He's never met Max before but he knows, by a twitch of her eye or an uplifted shoulder, exactly what she is thinking and feeling.
The feelings! It was like drowning in a bathtub of Feelz for the entire book.


There was no sex, graphic or otherwise and that saved this from a DNF.


With all that being said, this clocked in around the 270'ish page mark and it was really 50-75 pages too long. Many mundane things were seriously over written [1 ½ pages describing buying cheeseburgers at the beginning of the story?]. It didn't come across as padding for word count but more like the author thought this junk info was necessary to the story when it completely wasn't.


This book confirmed what I suspected already, that I don't like this kind of book. Now I KNOW.

On a completely random note, I have a coworker who looks very similar to what you can see of the Main Character. Except she is a real woman and not that idealized impossibility splashed across the cover.

Thursday, October 02, 2014

Secret of the Slaves (Rogue Angel #8)


Secret of the Slaves - Alex Archer 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: Secret of the Slaves
Series: Rogue Angel
Author: Alex Archer
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 253


Synopsis:
Annja Creed is approached by a Bono/U2 based Billionaire Activist who is after some super tech created by a hidden society in South America.
At first this hidden society seems bad, as they kill everyone around Annja but then we see the light about how good they are because they "shared" in the past.
And Mr Activist is shown for the horrible, horrible person he really is and in the end everyone gets what they really deserve.


My Thoughts:
I still don't understand how a group of escaped slaves somehow turns into a super advanced society that can hide itself from satellites, etc? Sharing culture with those they escaped to doesn't suddenly make them into supermen.


I go into these stories with my believe-o-meter turned all the way to zero, or so I think and yet I still get shocked each time. I guess when the author writes so heavy handedly it can't be helped.


Other than that, this was typical Rogue Angel with guns and punching and swords and exotic locales. And plenty of new side characters to kill off. I have to admit, I love that part, I really do.