Thursday, June 30, 2016

RIP Leafmarks






Today is the last day that Leafmarks will exist. They started up right after the Free Speech debacle at Goodreads in '13. Sadly, while quite a few high rollers from GR came over, they just never stuck around. They all went back to GR where the people's adoration was. Throw in the fact that one of the co-founders left after a couple of months to concentrate on her own blog [and stay active at GR as well] and things were off to a rough start.  Sadly, it just never really took off after that.

I enjoyed the site mainly because it gave me Librarian experience, which I've used here. It also had an export function. Which has been a lifesaver recently when I wanted to start keeping my reviews in an offline format.

I downloaded all my top Leafs and made a collage of them. I have to say, collecting Leafs made things a lot more fun. It was also nice to be in the Top 100 of several categories. I know, "big" fish in a small pond, but for my ego, it was enough.

So thank you Leafmarks. You tried valiantly. It just wasn't enough.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Blowback (Scot Harvath #4) DNF@35%


Blowback  - 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Blowback
Series: Scot Harvath
Author: Brad Thor
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: Thiller
Pages: DNF
Format: Kindle digital edition







 
My Thoughts:

Scot Harvath is an arrogant ass hat of a main character. So when he just stayed that way, I realized that the author, Brad Thor, is deliberately writing him that way.

Therefore, I'm done. There IS a difference between being competent and being a jerk. Also, once again, all of Harvath's supposed former military training seems to have gone out the door. He doesn't ACT like a highly trained former SEAL, former Secret Service agent. He is not a fun character to read about. Half the action of this thriller seems to derive from his bad decisions.

It makes me wonder about Brad Thor.

Monday, June 27, 2016

The Devil's Novice (Brother Cadfael #8)


The Devil's Novice - 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: The Devil's Novice
Series: Brother Cadfael
Author: Ellis Peters
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 273
Format: Kindle digital edition








Synopsis:

A young man desires to join the monastery, with an incredible fervor.
At the same time, an emissary of the King is found dead, under mysterious circumstances.
Thankfully, Cadfael is on the case!

My Thoughts:

I vaguely recalled this from when I was watching the tv series. So I "knew" that things weren't all that they seemed and the path was twisty. I just couldn't remember when things turned left or right.

I enjoyed this more than the previous books. Most of that I suspect is BECAUSE I didn't know what was going on. I've found that most murder mysteries aren't good as re-reads. Not that I've read a lot of murder mysteries.

I am thankful that I picture Derek Jacobi as Brother Cadfael. The tv series definitely got that part down right.

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Shattered Spear (Lost Stars #4) (Lost Fleet)


Shattered Spear - Jack Campbell 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Shattered Spear
Series: Lost Stars
Author: Jack Campbell
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 350
Format: Kindle digital edition








Synopsis:

Iceni and Drakon deal with a plethora of threats. The Enigma's wipe out a near by system and begin to build up a base. The Syndics are sending more ships against Midway to take it back. A Warlord, who has personal enmity against Iceni, has arisen and is starting to build a systems wide group.
At the same time Roh AND Togo both appear to be going after the other's former chief, ie, Iceni and Drakon.
Thankfully, Drakon and Iceni make nice and get hitched at the end. Nothing says "Romance" like a nice contract while wearing battle armor and your former aide is trying to kill your lover.

My Thoughts:

Once again, Campbell does not disappoint with this latest Lost Stars book.

My only complaints are as such:
  • Stop including Syndic/Alliance stereotypes just so characters can renege them to show how much they've changed. We get it. Midway is trying to go its own way. Stop beating me over the head with that.
  • Give me more ground forces fighting. Having the Midway forces give up on taking the Enigma's base was realistic, but it wasn't fun to read about. Give me some room by room clearing action. Space shotguns, Doom style!

Considering that those are my only "complaints", I'm pretty happy. This is something like the 14th or 15th Lost Fleet Universe book by Campbell and I'm still not bored. I'm not mad at him for not finishing things up. I do hope that he wraps up individual story lines [like Jack "Black" Geary and the Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier series], but if he wants to keep writing spin off series/stories with new characters, I'd be great with that.

Finally, the cover. I've been really enjoying these Lost Stars covers and I hope that they keep the same artist for as long as the series runs. They are truly representative of the "feel" of these books.

Saturday, June 25, 2016

The Complete Stories #1


Isaac Asimov: The Complete Stories, Volume 1 - Isaac Asimov 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: The Complete Stories #1
Series: The Complete Stories
Author: Isaac Asimov
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 614
Format: Kindle digital scan








Synopsis:

A large collection of short stories from Isaac Asimov.

My Thoughts:

This was a fantastic collection. Last month Gregor Xane was pushing Short Story month/week and I ended up with this collection on my phone.

While not every story was a grand slam, I certainly enjoyed every story. This really showcased Asimov's ideas, his writing skills and the times that he lived in. In many ways, the optimism of the 50's just glowed through the words, like gold in a furnace. It kind of made me sad.

On the other hand, some of the predictions and working out of things really made me laugh. Multi-vac, Asimov's Supercomputer that will solve all the problems, is probably the best at showing this. Multi-Vac just gets bigger and bigger and in many ways becomes Asimov's Science God. And in one story, that is exactly what happens.

But even while living "in the future" and seeing how Asimov totally got some things wrong, it didn't lessen, even a tiny bit, the worthiness of this collection. Good writing and clever ideas will win through anything.

Something Myth Inc. (Myth Adventures #12)


Something M.Y.T.H. Inc. - 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Something Myth Inc
Series: Myth Adventures
Author: Robert Asprin
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 208
Format: Kindle digital scan








Synopsis:

In the process of getting the kingdom of Possiltum up to snuff, Skeeve had to raise taxes. Now, armed and dangerous groups are consorting how to bring Skeeve down and keep their money.
So the Myth Inc crew spring into action to solve the problem, all while keeping it from Skeeve.
And of course, the "dangerous" groups aren't and what ensues is yet another story narrated by Guido or Nunzio. I can't keep those 2 separate in my head.

My Thoughts:

My wife has read up to this point and told me when I started that Skeeve leaves the story at some point. This was the book. Which is good. Because honestly, like I've written in other reviews, he's not a good main character. So him leaving Myth Inc at the end to "go study magic" with Bunny as an assistant made me sigh in relief more than anything.

2 Books ago, Sweet Myth-tery of Life, it ended with Skeeve's pet dragon Gleep getting shot. Now, a year and a half later, I finally get around to seeing what was behind that and how it resolves. The tension was gone, it was lame and honestly, I simply didn't care. The humor of the tax revolters was a little bit funny, but I felt like an indulgent adult laughing kindly at some child's silliness rather than laughing because something was genuinely funny.

We'll see if Asprin turns this series around now that he can concentrate on other characters, or if it just stays more of the same. I've got 5 or 6 more books and I am am hoping to finish this out. Just for the completionist in me.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Venetia


Venetia - Georgette Heyer 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Venetia
Series: -----
Author: Georgette Heyer
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: Romance
Pages: 375
Format: Kindle digital edition








Synopsis:

Venetia, a young woman who has been kept cloistered her whole life, has an encounter with a Rake where she is almost raped.
So naturally, she falls in love with him.
Family and Friends drama ensue, Venetia throws herself at Damerel and he takes her in self defense. The End.

My Thoughts:

This was a journey into Madness. I was obviously delirious after my 2500th Review and the endorphins were in control. That is the only thing I can think of as to why I agreed to MurderbyDeath and BookCupidity's request. However, the whole experience was fun.  The updates were interesting. They also kept me going when I wanted to quit. So thank you everyone who read along.

So, basically, there were little bits of humorous conversation gold that then were covered in excrement. Damerel's assault and declaration of would-be rape. The information that Venetia's mom was NOT dead but had simply married a rich man and been living abroad.

All of the various updates by people can be found with the "bookstooge lady romance project" tag added to this post.

Without a lot of detail, this was everything I thought a modern "romance" book would be.  A female wish fulfillment book. Heyer is NO Austen. The extensive overuse of comma's were just the gravestone on this book for me.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Swords of Exodus (Dead Six #2)


Swords of Exodus - Mike Kupari, Larry Correia 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Swords of Exodus
Series: Dead Six
Author: Larry Correia & Mike Kupari
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 608
Format: Kindle digital edition








Synopsis:

Valentine and Lorenzo are back in action. Of course, Valentine is being totally mind raped Majestic in a secret prison. Lorenzo is forced to rescue him, in exchange for information on his missing brother Bob.
Exodus recruits both of them to go after a new Warlord who enslaves whole village and then has the slaves become his devoted minions. Something otherworldly would seem to going on.

My Thoughts: Spoilers

Sadly, this suffers not only from "middle book" syndrome, but also from the death of Lorenzo AND the fact that there is no book after this. It felt like a project that got cancelled.

That really skotched my enjoyment of this. I don't mind when the good guys die or suffer a setback, IF they have the chance to come back and be victorious. But they didn't here and it doesn't appear they ever will. Also, I wish the supernatural element had played a much bigger part. Just like in the first book, this was a military escapade first with just a Hint of supernatural.

Meh...

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Jaguar Knights (A Chronicle of the King's Blades #3) (King's Blades #6)


The Jaguar Knights - 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Jaguar Knights
Series: King's Blades
Author: Dave Duncan
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover








Synopsis:

An attack on an outpost in Chivial, where the former Royal Mistress resides, leads to her kidnapping. An apparently new kind of magic that even the Inquisitors haven't seen before leads to Sir Wolfe being sent on a mission to far away Txiltia. With an Inquisitor as a wife!
Mix in Sir Wolfe's brother, who was the Blade protecting the Royal Mistress and a world based on the Aztecs and you have tale that drags you along!

My Thoughts:

With this being my 6th, and final, King's Blades book, I have realized that Duncan seems to delight in telling a completely different tale with each story. He also seems to like turning characters from former books on their heads.

This was brutal on so many levels. The blood magic of the Txlitians was definitely human sacrifice, harvesting bloody hearts to perform incredible feats of magic. It turned my stomach even while not being gone into detail. Then near the end where Wolfe's wife dies. That cut! Duncan did a fantastic job of making Dolores and Wolfe a real thing.

I also had NO idea where the story was going, or what the end would be until I got there. It was good.

Friday, June 17, 2016

Operation Chimera (Far From Home #?)


Operation Chimera - Matthew S. Cox, Tony Healey 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Operation Chimera
Series: Far from Home
Author: Tony Healey & Matthew Cox
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 223
Format: Kindle digital edition







Synopsis:

Humanity is in a war with some aliens called the Draxx. We have some alien allies of our own but the Alliance isn't doing so well. In a gamble, the Alliance creates a supership filled with experimental tech and the most qualified candidates to fill each position.  The Manhattan is being sent into a mysterious area along the Draxx border in hopes of striking a crushing blow against the Draxx and relieving the pressure on other fronts.

We follow one group of fighter pilots as they come aboard the Manhattan and experience their first "adventure" against the Draxx. Then the story ends.


My Thoughts:

Apparently this is some sort of prequel to the authors other works. None of which I noticed when I started this book. I usually page back [kindles automatically start you at chapter 1, grrrr!] to the cover and read all the boring stuff on the first pages, well, skim it anyway. I don't really care about the publisher info or what the library of congress number is or other such trivia. I usually do pay attention to the list of other books, because if I like the book I'm reading, I'll go look those others up. But like I said, I didn't notice any. Which led me to believe that this was a debut duet of a new series.

And I was wrong. When I visited the Amazon page, lots of other reviewers were raving about the authors' other books and that is how I found out this was a "written after the fact" prequel. And it sucked. For a first book, I would have been a bit more forgiving and willing to try a sequel. But with writing at this level, and to know it isn't the first, I certainly don't want to read anything written before it.

I don't have any problems with someone liking this story. We're all entitled to our own opinions about what is a "good" story. But when it comes to writing skill and execution, there are benchmarks, there are rules, there are standards. Anyone with a modicum of knowledge about writing and the brainpower to remember some of their highschool literature classes could tell you that this was not skilled writing, it was not executed well and it belonged in the rejected slush pile on some editors desk.

It felt like the authors thought they were flawlessly executing [man, I'm using that word a lot here] some intricate and deadly kata with a ninja sword but anyone looking on could plainly see they were a couple of drunks swinging broken branches while stumbling around and hollering.   Even most of the Forgotten Realms books I read were written with better skill than this.

The reason it's not getting a 1 star is because the "story" was fun. Space fighting is cool. It was almost a 3 Star story in fact, but with the abrupt non-ending and the evil saboteur almost literally steepling her fingers together and planning her next move, my eyes rolled right out of my head. Putting one's eyeballs back in is not pleasant.

I won't be reading any more by either of these guys. I like my eyeballs where they belong.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Dark Rising (Alex Hunter #2)


Dark Rising  - 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Dark Rising
Series: Alex Hunter
Author: Greig Beck
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 303
Format: Kindle digital edition








Synopsis:

An Iranian secret nuclear test group accidentally opens a black hole, which if controlled, would give Iran unlimited power. Since the President of Iran is an insane power monger who is convinced that he is the 12th Imam and he'll use this technology to destroy the world, Alex Hunter and the HAWK's are sent in.
Along with them are 2 Israeli's. One a Super Mossad Agent, the other a genius who might be able to figure out how to shut down a black hole.
And when humanity looks into the void, of course, something is looking back!

My Thoughts:

This was a good action/thriller with just a touch of horror.

Hunter being experimented on and his existence being fought over was an eye opener. He might be a super-soldier, but enough scientists would rather carve him up. He's certainly not living the dream.  Factor in that he and Aimee [lady from the last book] break up because of his rages and night terrors and you get a picture of a guy who almost literally lives to work.

The desert setting of Iran wasn't as enjoyable as Antarctica, but I certainly liked the monster drawn forth from the blackhole. A giant, semi-intelligent, bed bug that eats people. How can you beat that? Make it faster and more dangerous than even Alex Hunter and you up the "tense" factor.

The earth being almost destroyed by a madman was pretty cool too. The old title of this book was The Return of the Prophet. It certainly makes sense and yet even I'm PC enough to understand why Beck changed it to a more innocuous sounding title.

Even though I rated this the same as the previous book, I enjoyed it more. Part of that was that Hunter is more of a main character instead of just a killing machine. Also, there was very little to no romance. Which after his little dustup with Aimee, seems only wise. Potential, but not actualized.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Let Sleeping Vets Lie (All Creatures Great and Small #3)


Let Sleeping Vets Lie - James Herriot 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Let Sleeping Vets Lie
Series: All Creatures Great and Small
Author: James Herriot
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Non-fiction
Pages: 256
Format: Kindle digital scan








Synopsis:

Jim continues his apprenticeship and we get a good number of character sketches. This time around it is definitely about the people and not even the funny stories.

My Thoughts:

This book was just as fun as the previous two. However, this time around it felt more like a deeper look into what made up the people of the village that Jim worked in. Some were funny, some were rather sad [the young couple that failed at farming because of a disease that killed all their cows was the toughest] and some just "were".

Also, Jim finally gets up the courage to make Helen his. Took him long enough :-)

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Icarus Hunt (Project Reread #6)


The Icarus Hunt - Timothy Zahn 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 Icarus Hunt
Series: -----
Author: Timothy Zahn
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 465
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:

My 2007 Review does a pretty good job of summing things up. Outlaw space captain, secret cargo, saboteurs, aliens on the hunt, shadowy Criminal Organization, mysterious crew members, The Fate of Humanity in fact.

My Thoughts:

When I read this back in 2000 & 2007, I was pretty impressed. I likened it to an Alistair McLean book. This time around though, I think I got more of a pulp noir vibe. It felt like the space captain, Jordan McKell, was a hard on his luck detective narrating his latest make it or break case.

It was interesting but really, it lacked some of the "goodness" that a first read has. Some of the punch was gone. It is inevitable with some books and it certainly was here. Which is why I knocked off half a star.

I think that this is my last time reading this. It felt like the kind of story where each time it would be less and less interesting. I liked this book and I like Zahn and I have no desire to read this into the ground. Determining this type of thing is why I am doing Project Reread.

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Chaos Unleashed (The Chaos Born #3)


Chaos Unleashed - Drew Karpyshyn 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Chaos Unleashed
Series: The Chaos Born
Author: Drew Karpyshyn
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 418
Format: Kindle digital edition








Synopsis:

The 4 Chosen Children of Chaos all work together to stop Daemron from destroying Legacy.
A book filled with Heroic mediocrity where everything is scripted out well in advance and you know how the story ends.
Girl that no one know what to do with, heroic sacrifice. Check
Boy and Girl who hate each other but love each other, get together. Check
Dispossessed Prince, with Barbarian Babe, decides to wander the world. Check.
Bad Guy loses. Dies at hands of vengeful minions. Check

My Thoughts:

If this had been a Forgotten Realms book, I might have given it 3 Stars. But because Karpyshyn supposedly came up with, and executed [ha, that is WAY to appropriate], this series on his own, there is no mercy.

This was rubbish. It was cliched, hackneyed ideas coupled with extremely mediocre writing that wasn't tense, brilliant, original or even greatly entertaining. It just "was". As I was reading along, I was actually embarrassed for Karpyshyn for writing this. I've enjoyed most of his other books in other Universes [Star Wars, Forgotten Realms, etc] and I could put anything I found dumb down to the universe and not him. But this? All I could think was "This is the best he can imagine?" I really hope he goes back to and stays with, other pre-created universes.

My other gripe was how the 4 Chosen worked AGAINST Daemron even though they were spawned directly from his own magic/life essence.  It just didn't ring true for me.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Speak to the Devil (Brothers Magnus #1)


Speak to the Devil - 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Speak to the Devil
Series: Brothers Magnus
Author: Dave Duncan
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 384
Format: Kindle digital edition








Synopsis:

In an alternate Europe, magic is real. Those who can use it are called Speakers and they believe they are talking to Saints. The Church has outlawed Speaking and claims that the Saints are actually devils in disguise. Of course, the Church has Speakers of its own, to find, corral and use/punish new Speakers.
This story revolves around the 5 brothers of the surname Magnus. Mainly dealing with Wulf, the youngest, who has just recently started Speaking, and his next eldest brother Anton, who has caught the Power Behind the Throne's Eye and made a Duke/Baron/Whatever and married off to a beautiful woman. Only Wulf falls in love with her and she with him and Anton can't really do anything for the king because he's been using Wulf's abilities for his own gain. Throw in an invasion, Church Speakers and the other Brothers Magnus and you have a great Adventure Story.

My Thoughts:

The blurb on the book page is full of crap. It makes Anton sound like he was along for the ride, whereas the reality is that he was the one pushing Wulf all the time to use his abilities on Anton's behalf, even when it physically incapacitated Wulf.

Wulf I have loved but Anton have I hated.

The other Brothers are a mixed bag, which works out REALLY good. They aren't a bunch of saints or wizards or idiots or geniuses. They are a family and the dynamics are great. The various plot lines dealing with the Church, the invasion and the love thingy [it's not a triangle, since Anton doesn't love his wife, just wants her for what she represents] all worked surprisingly well.

I was kind of hoping for a bit more to happen, since this is only a duology, but we'll see how Duncan wraps this story up in the next book. I've had a good run with him recently and am hoping that he doesn't disappoint like in The Great Game trilogy. In many ways this book feels like a Michael Stackpole book from the 90's, which is a good thing!

Monday, June 06, 2016

Armageddon Bound (Demon Squad #1)

Armageddon Bound - Tim Marquitz 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Armageddon Bound
Series: Demon Squad
Author: Tim Marquitz
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 219
Format: Kindle digital edition








Synopsis:

Frank Trigg, nephew of the devil, once candidate for the Anti-Christ, is now living in a post-God/Devil world. Only the demons and angels are left. Some of them want the status quo, some want to become Top Dog and some want the Cessation of All, ie, Armageddon.

My Thoughts:

Trig was born 500 years ago. No details are given, which is pretty par for this book. Things are just "told".  He has a cousin, who is an angel. Who he has redneck desires for. An ex-wife who is a succubus, who betrays him at every turn.

Then you have his inner thoughts. Which mostly consist of Trig commenting on how hot some woman is, or how horny he is. It is the thoughts of a 23 year old, not a supercentenarian.

Add in the ridiculous ideas about God and the devil, which mostly consisted of the fact that both God and the devil got sick of humanity, so they walked off into the void, or non-existence and you have the depths of this book.

The action was like the old video game Doom. Trig runs around like a chicken with his head cut off and shoots things and gets shot and pretty much chewed up. Then he gets a "power up" and gets healed, just in time for it all to happen again.  A fun ride if you don't mind be immersed in a 23 year old males mind.

From a purely technical standpoint, this was indie all the way. It was the story Marquitz wanted to tell but it lacked depth, skilled writing, polish and that indefinable something that all good books have. I'm planning on reading the next one just to see if his writing improves; if not, then this is one to avoid.

Sunday, June 05, 2016

Age of Myth (Legends of the First Empire #1) (ARC) DNF@13%


Age of Myth - Michael J. Sullivan 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Age of Myth
Series: Legends of the First Empire
Author: Michael Sullivan
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: DNF
Format: Digital ARC





My Thoughts:

Due to the inclusion and normalization of homosexuality, I will not be continuing this book or series.

Brilliance (Brilliance #1) DNF@16%


Brilliance - Marcus Sakey 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Brilliance
Series: Brilliance
Author: Marcus Sakey
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: DNF
Format: Kindle digital edition








My Thoughts:

Due to the inclusion and normalization of homosexuality, I will not be continuing this book or series.

Friday, June 03, 2016

16 Years of Book Recording


In April 2000 I began tracking what I read. I started with a little Mead 3x5 spiral notebook, much like one of these:


In it, I simply noted the date/day, title, author and genre.  Mind you, this was before Goodreads was even a thought [that I'm aware of] and reviews tended to be either word of mouth or by professionals in a newspaper. I wasn't reviewing but simply recording what I'd read, so that I wouldn't spend "precious" reading time reading the same thing over by mistake. That had happened several times in Bible School. As my mortality was now within my gaze (I did a lot of growing up during those 3 years], I realized that I didn't have time to accidentally re-read books, and this was before the plague of indie dreck inundated the reading world. It was also a natural outgrowth of my journaling every day during those 3 years.

In 2004-5, blogging hit my social group and we all began our own blogs and for about a year it was an explosion of words. Things began to wind down and I thought about how else I might make use of blogger. It was also at this point that my notebook began falling apart and I realized I needed to replace it. The thought of writing it all down, AGAIN, was not a nice prospect. So I decided to start typing it, at least that way it would stay online.

In 2007 I joined Goodreads but didn't really start utilizing it until 2009. Even then, I never made more than a literal handful of friends and I think it stayed in the single digits. However, in '13, with the free speech ban, I left GR. I came to booklikes, along with a lot of other people and made my home.

And let's be honest. In the 2 1/2 years that I've been there, I've dealt with and dealt out, more drama than in the last 13 1/2 years. People I've insulted, people insulting me. Some on purpose, some by accident. Seeing people come, seeing people go.
Making friends. Making a LOT of friends. For those who are introverted, you know what I mean.  Of course, with the uncertainty of recent times at Booklikes and with Leafmarks shutting down, I've been wondering if I'd have to move again.

Thankfully, that won't be the case as long as Booklikes stays open. I am starting to backup my reviews using a separate Calibre Library filled with empty books, so I'll be able to back them up and not have to worry about losing them online.

So to wrap up this little maudlin interlude, a lot has changed in 16 years and a lot has stayed the same. And please ignore me as I go up and down here at Booklikes. I review the books I read, everything else, well, I guess that is part of being human.

The Cursed (2500th Review)


The Cursed - 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: The Cursed
Series: -----
Author: Dave Duncan
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 512
Format: Kindle digital edition








Synopsis:

In a world where the 7 gods have 2 aspects, blessed and cursed, we follow a group of people who are caught up in Destiny with restoring an Empire.

My Thoughts:

Duncan is a good author. I don't always like his stuff (his Great Game trilogy comes to mind) but I can't complain about his writing. Thankfully.

This book was more about the "journey" than the destination. The whole restoring the Empire happens in the epilogue and is not the main focus. It focuses on Gwin and her struggle to survive. From being a widowed innkeeper to the wife of the prophesied Emperor to being the Leader of the Blessed [Blessed and Cursed all depend on who is referring to them. Each god touched individual has a power that has 2 sides, following the nature of the system Duncan has set up in this world], we follow her and how she deals with the role her destiny has literally called her to.

Duncan seems to like to explore some of the odd combinations that could happen with powers instead of just writing an action/fantasy adventure. I'm pretty ok with that, since it isn't what I usually read.

Finally, this is my 2500th review.  I wouldn't be able to keep track of review numbers on just blogger, which is why I like  being part of a social booksite like Booklikes.

Thursday, June 02, 2016

Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey (The Death and Return of Superman #4) 1...


Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey - Brett Breeding, 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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey
Series: The Death and Return of Superman
Author/Artist: Dan Jurgens, et al
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comics
Pages: 151
Format: Digital Scan








Synopsis:

Doomsday is not dead, nor doth he sleep, but he shall fail while Supes prevails [ha!]
Yeah, Doomsday isn't dead and with what Superman finds out about him, it appears impossible that Kal-El will be able to defeat him again.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this. Which came as a surprise to me because I remember it being the weakest of the 4 books and hence "remembered" not liking it nearly as much. Man, me and my Remembering.

While it was much shorter than Return of Superman, it still managed to pack in a lot of info and action. The Cyborg is back as well and sadly, his part was WAY too short and was almost a plot device just to keep him around for later use.  That was to bad because I think the Cyborg is one cool bad guy.

I think my nitpick was how Superman kept trying to deal with Doomsday. With the revelation of Doomsday's evolving nature, it seemed kind of stupid that Superman just kept on hitting him, just like in the previous encounter. Find a blackhole and toss him into one of those. Mother Computer's solution of sending him to the end of the universe and time, where Entropy would destroy him, felt like a copout but at the same time really manifested just how powerful and dangerous Doomsday was.

The action was good. Even while I was mentally tsk, tsk'ing Superman for just hitting Doomsday, it was still pretty cool. And Superman's little Kryptonian battle gear, sword and all, definitely made the visuals better. Nothing like Superman as a knight.