Thursday, April 28, 2016

The Iranian Hit (The Executioner #42)


Iranian Hit - Don Pendleton, Stephen Mertz 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 & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: The Iranian Hit
Series: The Executioner
Author: Stephen Mertz & Don Pendleton
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 182
Format: digital scan







Synopsis:
Mack must guard an Iranian scumbag, merely because he is bait so Bolan can wipe out a particular hit group of Iranians that dare operate in the United States.

My Thoughts:
Bolan starts to deal with politics in his war. It isn't pretty and it makes him just another cog in a machine. Instead of being a lone warrior vigilante with a cold eye and even colder steel, he just becomes a tool of the government.

He used to fight for the common man against an enemy who directly oppressed them. Now it is scaled up and it is for people in general. It is tough to articulate but it really comes across in this book.

One more book I've got on my kindle then I'm done with this. I'll probably track down an Executioner book released in '16 just to see how it compares, but it can't be impossible for me to be any more apathetic about it then I have been about these post-Mafia books.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Yukon Ho! (Calvin and Hobbes #3)


Calvin and Hobbes: Yukon Ho! - Bill Watterson 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 & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.











Title: Yukon Ho!
Series: Calvin and Hobbes
Author/Artist: Bill Watterson
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comics
Pages: 126
Format: Digital scan



Synopsis:
The further adventures of Calvin and Hobbes. With appearances by Suzy the girl next door, Rosalyn the babysitter from hell and Calvin's Mom and Dad.

My Thoughts:
I am still enjoying these. I did notice that there was more conflict between Hobbes and Calvin, More like brothers than best friends.

I have to admit, I don't know how Watterson wrote strip after strip, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. It is an incredible show of stamina. I don't know how his brain came up with all the ideas.

Other than that, since these are standalone comics, it is kind of hard to write anything about them.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

State of the Union (Scot Harvath #3)


State Of The Union  - Brad Thor 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 & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: State of the Union
Series: Scot Harvath
Author: Brad Thor
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 560
Format: Kindle digital edition







Synopsis:
Those damn Ruskies have been playing us for decades. Suddenly, Communism is about to take over and Russia is going to suitcase nuke 20 of our cities. At the same time, they have developed a super secret air defense so that no missiles can get into their airspace. ONLY Scot Harvath, hunk o' burning love macho secret agent man, can save the United States. Nobody else.

My Thoughts:
This was a huge step up from the previous book, but I think that was because Harvath keeps his trap shut and just goes around shooting people and blowing things up and being all manly. This time around he's not a completely arrogant ass hat. But don't worry, he tries.

These books are totally unbelievable and this is coming from a guy who reads mainly science fiction and fantasy.  For example, nobody knows where the suitcase nukes are at the beginning of the book. By the end, they know where they are and they roll up the people and the nukes without one going off.

This was the kind of book, and probably will be that kind of series until I quit, that I just enjoy to pick apart and make fun of. I consider this to be the man's version of Harlequin romances for woman. Sickening fluff with no substance that you hate even while you're reading it and yet you keep coming back for more after an appropriate break.  I feel dirty now, like a garbage disposal.

But my goodness, the action, THE ACTION!!!!
I am not a big fan of pictures in reviews, but I feel the following is true to this series.

Monday, April 25, 2016

The Many Faces of Evil (Non-Fiction)


The Many Faces of Evil (Revised and Expanded Edition): Theological Systems and the Problems of Evil - John S. Feinberg 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 & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: The Many Faces of Evil
Series: -----
Author: John Feinberg
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Non-Fiction Theology
Pages: 544
Format: Paperback




 


Synopsis:
How to reconcile an Omnipotent, Benevolent God with all the various evils in the world is a question that has plagued Christianity since it's inception.
Various answers have been put forth and various counters to those answers have also been set out.
Feinberg sets out to examine various answers and counters based on various denominational outlooks. Basically, Feinberg sets out to show how there can be various answers that all work, no matter your underlying sectarian tenants.

My Thoughts:
I can not say that I loved this book. However, it fulfilled its purpose.

First, it made me realize that when I [and many other people] ask "How can God allow..." they are actually asking "WHY would God allow...".  The difference is immense. Feinberg is a totally logical person and shows the various ways that that "How" can work out. It was an enlightening but frustrating read.
I have to admit, I felt pretty stupid in reading a lot of the stuff. There is an underlying assumption that the reader knows "X" or is at least familiar with it. Maybe in a couple more re-reads I'll be familiar enough that I won't have to re-read pages at a time.

Thankfully Feinberg does address the "Why", which is the "Religious Problem of Evil" in the last chapter.  He opens up about the experience he and his wife dealt with in learning about a condition she had. It devastated him and no amount of head knowledge made things easier for him.

This book took me months to read. I'd read 5 or 10 pages, then have to digest and think about it for a day or two. It will be a book that I plan on re-reading just to refresh and encourage myself during the dark times.

Highly recommended if you've ever thought about God and evil.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Beneath the Dark Ice (Alex Hunter #1)


Beneath the Dark Ice  - Greig Beck 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 & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Beneath the Dark Ice
Series: Alex Hunter
Author: Greig Beck
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 321
Format: Kindle Digital Editions




 


Synopsis:
A plane full of rich folk crash into Antarctica. Rescue teams of medical and military groups have all disappeared without a trace.
So the United States sends in a team of scientists guarded by an elite of the elite military team.
Potential oil reserves are involved so the Russians gets involved. Mainly with mercenaries who have a grudge against one of the Elite of the elite.

There is also a monster and a whole "pre-historic" world under the ice. Almost everybody dies and a lot get eaten. We also learn who Alex Hunter is and that maybe Amygdala [from the Batman comics] isn't so out of the realm of possibility.

My Thoughts:
Passionate about Books recommended this to me and I am glad she did. This was a lot of fun with a great amount of people getting eaten by a monster. I just love it when people get eaten in stories. Dinosaurs are my favorite way but monsters will do in a pinch.

The titular hero, Alex Hunter, while the main character, is not a dominating main character. The whole story was about him and the scientist chick. The side characters, while fodder, felt as much a part of the necessary story as those two. We get a brief shotgun blast of info about Hunter and why he is pretty much superhuman now.  Having read some Batman comics, I am aware of the amygdalia so Beck's discussion wasn't news to me.

I did roll my eyes however. Come on, getting shot in the head turns you into a superhuman? I think I'd take my chances with outerspace radiation [Fantastic 4], nuclear spiders [Spiderman] or even a gamma bomb [the Hulk]. My only other eye roll quibble was how fast the linguistics scientist decoded the picturegrams that were 10K years old.  So if you can deal with those two issues, everything else is just fine.

The writing was a little unpolished but not in a "I'm an indie and I don't give 2 ***** because I'm an AUTHOR" way. I think this might have been Beck's first book? If so, that would certainly explain it.

I'm definitely hooked and will be reading more of this series as I can.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

The Sanctuary Sparrow (Brother Cadfael #7)


The Sanctuary Sparrow  - Ellis Peters 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 & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: The Sanctuary Sparrow
Series: Brother Cadfael
Author: Ellis Peters
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 289
Format: Kindle Digital Editions




 


Synopsis:
A young jongleur is accused of theft and murder. Taking sanctuary in the church grounds, he has 40 days for the law to determine his guilt or innocence.
Brother Cadfael is convinced of his innocence and sets out to help prove it.

My Thoughts:
Mysteries aren't my favorite things but I still like to occasionally read them just to keep up the slight variety in my SFF world.

What I don't like is that information is doled out, or not in many cases, to the reader and not much actually happens.The writing was excellent but this just wasn't my thing.

I also think that this was the last tv episode I watched back in '13, so I mostly knew what was going on right from the get go.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Bloodmatch (Batman versus Predator #2)


Batman Versus Predator II: Bloodmatch - Paul Gulacy, Terry Austin, Doug Moench 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 & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Bloodmatch
Series: Batman versus Predator
Author/Artist: Doug Moench, et al
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Graphic Novel/Comic
Pages: 144
Format: Digital scan







Synopsis:
A rogue Predator comes to Gotham to take on Batman. A group of Rule Keepers [for lack of a better word] is after the Rogue Predator.
At the same time, a group of Super Mercs have been hired to take out Batman.
So you have Predator versus Predator, Predator versus Batman, Predator versus Mercs and Batman versus Mercs.
If that isn't complicated enough, the Huntress is hunting down the criminal who hired the mercs and gets involved herself.

My Thoughts:
This wasn't as enjoyable as the previous battle. Part of it was the novelty was gone but part was the story itself. The Huntress just didn't fit in and it made things awkward.
Also, I had forgotten just how sexualized women usually are in comics. My goodness, talk about a lot of cleavage, leg and butt.

The "bad ass" rogue Predator wasn't. He just kills a lot.
*wave hands and make scary ghost noises*

This was just 'meh' for me. It didn't appeal. I didn't hate it, but I sure wasn't loving it.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

A Call to Arms (The Damned #1) (Project Reread #3)


A Call to Arms - Alan Dean Foster 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 & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: A Call to Arms
Series: The Damned
Author: Alan Dean Foster
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 343
Format: Kindle digital edition







Project Reread:
I am attempting to reread 10+ books in 2016 that I have rated highly in the past. I am not attempting to second guess or denigrate my younger self in any way but am wanting to compare how my tastes have changed and possibly matured. I am certainly much more widely read now [both in the good and bad quality sadly] than then.
I will hopefully be going into the reasons for any differences of opinions between then and now. If there is no difference of opinion, then it was a hellfire'd fine book!
Links may link to either Booklikes or Blogspot, depending on when the original review was.

Synopsis: (Copied wholesale)
For eons, the Amplitur had searched space for intelligent species, each of which was joyously welcomed to take part in the fulfillment of the Amplitur Purpose. Whether it wanted to or not. When the Amplitur and their allies stumbled upon the races called the Weave, the Purpose seemed poised for a great leap forward. But the Weave's surprising unity also gave it the ability to fight the Amplitur and their cause. And fight it did; for thousands of years.

Will Dulac was a New Orleans composer who thought the tiny reef off Belize would be the perfect spot to drop anchor and finish his latest symphony in solitude. What he found instead was a group of alien visitors; a scouting party for the Weave, looking. for allies among what they believed to be a uniquely warlike race: Humans.

Will tried to convince the aliens that Man was fundamentally peaceful, for he understood that Human involvement would destroy the race. But all too soon, it didn't matter. The Amplitur had discovered Earth...

My Thoughts:
Originally read this back in 2005. Enjoyed it enough that I went out and bought the whole trilogy in hardcover. It has since sat on my bookshelves for over a decade. So it was a prime candidate for Project Reread.

Thankfully, I liked this just as much this time around as I did last time.  Which means I had awesome taste back in '05 and still have it today :-D

The biggest surprise to me, this time around, was how much time was spent dealing with the Amplitur and the Weave before ever coming to Earth. I had remembered the Weave/Human interaction as the starting point, and it wasn't.

The other main thing I noticed was Foster's idea that killing non-humans, for humans, was something that they could deal with without guilt or side effects. It forms the whole philosophical basis of this book, ie, Humans are killing machines but hadn't found the proper outlet yet. I think that he is wrong this time around. I concur that humans can fight [not just killing, but the conflict] and in many cases enjoy it. However, seeing how war [Gulf II, Irag, Afghanistan, etc] has affected our soldiers [even the ones who keep it together], I am not so blithely sure that humanity can engage in conflict without consequences. Most of the difference, I know, stems from the fact that I am a Christian and I'm pretty sure Foster is an atheist.

In '05 I noted that I stayed up until midnight to finish this. This time around I stayed up until 3am. And did I pay for that the next day! 3hrs of sleep is nowhere near enough for me these days. I find it interesting to note my physical changes in my book reading habits. Ha.

Finally, the cover of this Gateway edition is butt ugly. I liked the hardcover edition covers that were all colorful and showed aliens and weapons. I would WANT to read those. This one, not so much based on the cover alone.

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Kingfisher


Kingfisher - Patricia A. McKillip 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 & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Kingfisher
Series: -----
Author: Patricia McKillip
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 352
Format: Kindle Digital Editions




 


Synopsis:
A fairy tale taking place in a modern world similar to Maine. Magic, motorcycles and cooking all collide.
A young cook, a young bastard prince and an evil rogue magician king duel it out for this world's version of the Holy Grail. And because it is McKillip, it is like reading a dream, a wonderful silky dream.

My Thoughts:
I read McKillip's last book, Bards of Bone Plain, back in '11. She had moved from a fantasy era to a 1920'ish style of era while keeping the magic. In Kingfisher she moves on to a fully modern world. Cell phones, motorcycles, personal lasers [!] and limos abound. But McKillip, in her inestimable way, weaves it effortlessly into a magic fairytale dealing with King Arthur, his knights [on motorcycles no less] and the Holy Grail.

There is nothing new in this book that will draw you to McKillip if you don't already like her style. If you do like her lyrical poetry, then this offers more of the same. I was mesmerized, after I got into the rhythm of her writing, and was quite surprised when I looked down and saw I had read 95% of the book. That was a good "surprised", just to be clear.

I like her writing, I like her stories and so I don't have much else to say. This did make me want to re-read all the other stuff of hers that I read years ago. We'll see.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

The Return of Superman (The Death and Return of Superman #3)


Superman: The Return of Superman - Mike Carlin, Karl Kesel, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Dan Jurgens 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 & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: The Return of Superman
Series: The Death and Return of Superman
Author/Artist: Dan Jurgens, et al.
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comics
Pages: 480
Format: Paper Graphic Novel




 


Synopsis:
4 Supermen have appeared in Metropolis. One is a young clone with all the attitude and haircut of the 90's. One is a man encased in steel who makes no claim to be Superman. One is a violent vigilante who has Superman's powers but not his heart. Finally, one is a cyborg who claims to have been mysteriously rebuilt from kryptonian tech.
One of these is a traitor bent on the destruction of Humanity. Can they figure out which one of them is the traitor and stop him?
Only the real Superman can stop the destruction of the world [again].


My Thoughts: Spoilers Ahead Matey!
A fitting conclusion to the whole story arc.

The first thing that struck me when I pulled this book off my shelf yesterday was just how the garishly primary colors dominated everything. Nothing but Blue, Red and Yellow. That is one thing that makes comics stand apart from graphic novels.

My second impression was just how fast things developed. Now given that I read this in one afternoon from one book definitely helped that along. But all the pretenders are revealed and while the world is still reeling from trying to figure out which, if any, are the real Superman, the Cyborg suddenly is about to turn the world into a new War World?

Third, the utter ridiculousness of it all. The pure absurdity. However, that level is needed to pull something this big off. This story arc spanned multiple comics for months. It HAD to be over the top to keep the teens interested and wanting to spend their money.

Fourth, I still enjoyed this. It was fun, it was explosive, it was garish, it was high octane. It was everything I expect a comic book to be in other words. I don't expect comic books to be on the same level as The Count of Monte Cristo. Reading this also brought me one step closer to reading Superman: Doomed which I bought back in January. I have not read that before. It is just as big and I think I'll be able to judge it more objectively than I did Return of Superman.

In conclusion, this was just as big as I remembered while definitely belonging to my younger days.

Friday, April 08, 2016

Madame Bovary (Classic)


Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert, Lydia Davis 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 & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Madame Bovary
Series: -----
Author: Gustave Flaubert
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Classic
Pages: 365
Format: Ebook digital edition






Synopsis:
Emma Bovary is married to Dr. Bovary and is the "Madame Bovary" of the title. The story starts out with the Dr though and gives us in a chapter or 3 his history until he marries Emma. Once married, we get the story from Emma.
And what a story it is. A story of discontent, selfishness, betrayal, greed, lust and the ultimate end of all of those things.

My Thoughts:
I read this on my phone, so it was read a page at a time, here and there, now and then. I did not read large chunks at a time. I suspect that helped my enjoyment of this immensely.

If you had told me that reading about Emma's self-destructive spiral leading to her suicide would be enjoyable, I most likely would have drummed you out of whatever establishment we both were inhabiting at the moment and made sure that you weren't drunk, high or mistaking me for somebody else.  But I did enjoy this a lot. Part of it was the writing. Flaubert handled words like a master wordsmith. When somebody is skilled at something, it shows and it makes it easier to watch/read/partake of whatever they are offering.

Like I said at first, reading this in tiny chunks just worked out really well. I got a taste of how horrible Emma was, and let me tell you, a shallower, vainer, stupider and down right pleasure seeker was never written but it was never overwhelming or despair inducing because it was read in manageable chunks. Most classics I plow through and this would have been like getting dumped on by a manure tractor. But instead I simply got splashed by a car passing by and then went home and changed clothes. It made all the difference.

It also made a difference that Flaubert didn't glorify what Emma was doing. He simply let the results of her actions catch up to her. I'm a big advocate of moral cause and effect and while some of that can be seen on a personal level, more of it is on a macro level and not seen for a generation or two on a national level. So seeing it work out the way it did was actually encouraging instead of discouraging.

On a personal level, reading this book has made me even more grateful that I have learned to be content and that I have a wife who loves me and is content as well. It doesn't mean I don't dream or want to improve our lot in life but it means that if I can only afford a 20 year old used car, then so be it. Reading this also reminded me that thoughts lead to actions and have consequences.

I think I have said enough. I'm not sure I'd want to read this again because I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much.

Thursday, April 07, 2016

The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn #6)


The Bands of Mourning - Brandon Sanderson
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.blogspot.com & Bookstooges Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: The Bands of Mourning
Series: Mistborn
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 448
Format: Kindle digital edition




 


My Thoughts:

I have known since 2007, what Sanderson's personal views on homosexuality are. Until now, he had kept that viewpoint out of his books, at least as far as I could tell.

With this latest Mistborn book Sanderson has joined the ranks of modern authors to fully embrace homosexuality as something normal and ok. Not as a sin but as a viable lifestyle. This idea has been roaring into SFF more and more and it is something that I cannot allow into my entertainment.

I've had this happening more and more and at each instance I have to wonder, do I need to stop my wholesale reading of SFF?  At what point will this inundation of wrongful thinking affect my own thoughts and views? I try to avoid authors of this viewpoint, but it feels like a minefield.  Reading along for books and books and then suddenly, bam, 1 paragraph, a page, a chapter, whatever.

I feel like I am on a cusp. I have to decide.  I just don't know how to proceed. Giving up SFF entirely seems almost like an over reaction, but is it if I keep filling my mind with ideas that are contrary to God's commands?  If I do give up SFF, what do I fill my reading time with? Do I cut down my reading time overall? If so, what do I fill my time with instead?

I LIKE SFF but not enough that I'm willing to compromise. I do enough of that already. I've been thinking about this since Monday when I finished this book. I don't want to take any rash actions but neither do I want to do nothing.

Wednesday, April 06, 2016

Myth-ion Improbable (Myth Adventures #11)


Myth-ion Improbable - Robert Lynn Asprin 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 & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Myth-ion Improbable
Series: Myth Adventures
Author: Robert Asprin
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 198
Format: Kindle







Synopsis:
Taking place quite a while, chronologically, before the previous book.
Skeeve buys a magic treasure map and with help from Aahz and Tananda pursues it across the dimensions.
Little does he know that vampire cows, a shapeshifter and some serious amounts of gold are all involved.

My Thoughts:
I was pretty confused at first, since when I'd read my latest Myth book back in '14, Skeeve was practically king of Possiltum.

Overall, this was ok. It wasn't super funny but it was a good filler read. I don't have much else to say.

Tuesday, April 05, 2016

The Covenant of Genesis (Wilde and Chase #4)


The Covenant Of Genesis  - Andy McDermott 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 & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: The Covenant of Genesis
Series: Wilde and Chase
Author: Andy McDermott
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 594
Format: Kindle







Synopsis:
Nina is kicked out the UN agency at the instigation of the President of the US because of her actions retarding his progress in the previous book.
At the same time she uncovers ancient artifacts that could drastically change what people think about the beginning of humanity.
And she runs afoul of a Super Secret, Super Powerful, organization called the Covenant of Genesis.
Without backing, without funding, Nina and Eddie must save the Garden of Eden.

My Thoughts:
This book is where I part ways with McDermott.

He pretty much pummels monotheistic religions and then once they're down, stomps on their hands and ribs. With a few kicks in the balls for good measure.  I get enough of that in real life without having it be part of my entertainment.

I must also mention the violence. I have a very high tolerance for violence in books. But this got the ultra-violence tag and really should have had an "ultra ultra ultra violence" tag. Pirates attack Nina and Eddie and it is brutal. Heads cut off, spearings, guts, etc, etc. Then Eddie hunts the pirates down and offs them all, once again graphically. I noticed this before the religious ball stomping began by the way.

Monday, April 04, 2016

The End of the Battle (Yu-Gi-Oh! R #5) (Manga)


Yu-Gi-Oh! R, Vol. 5: The End of the Battle - Akira Ito 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 & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: The End of the Battle
Series: Yu-Gi-Oh! R
Author/Artist: Akira Ito
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 296
Format: Kindle







Synopsis:
Jonouchi duels it out with the resurrected Bandit Keith, as this whole thing was instigated by Keith as revenge for his death at Pegasus' hand.
Yugi continues his duel with Yako. It is god card against evil god card. Can Yugi and the power of the cards break through the evil god cards' influence on Yako?
Either way, there are some great duels ahead.

My Thoughts:
This was a long volume. At almost 300 pages, it allowed for 2 duels that were both book length in and of themselves.

Neither duel had the impact on me that previous ones had. Part of that was that the ending of each duel was the typical Yu-Gi-Oh ending. Lots of friendship and caring and heart of the duelist. I'd actually say that Ito took this further than his predecessor, Takahashi the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh.

Anzu always played a very small part in this franchise but in this series it felt like Ito didn't know how to make use of her and so relegated her to a non-existence. Someone with that short a skirt should definitely have more page time!

Overall, I really enjoyed this series. Enough so that I'll start saving up to buy these in paper.  If you liked the original series or the Duelist series, you'll definitely like this.

Friday, April 01, 2016

March '16 Roundup & Ramblings






Another strong month for 2016.

21 books, although I had 3 DNF's. I also only read 4 comics [manga, graphic novels and comics] where I was hoping for close to twice that number.

Project Re-read went on a Hiatus, as one week was so busy that I didn't read at all and I wanted to concentrate on new reads. Definitely going to be making that a priority this coming month though.

My most enjoyable book of the month was Dead Six.

My average rating was 3.14, if you include the 2 dnf'd but unrated books. If you take those out, it goes up to a whopping 3.47.

My idea from last month of adding books to a draft post as I read them didn't work out. Not sure if I want to try it for April. So lets all read some more good books in April!