Saturday, November 25, 2017

The Dragon Never Sleeps ★★★☆ ½


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot, Librarything & by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Dragon Never Sleeps
Series: ----------
Author: Glen Cook
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 449
Format: Digital edition








Synopsis:

Humanity rules their part of space, The Canon. With the unstoppable force of the Guardships behind them, Canon forces enforce peace, their peace, whereever they go.

One House wants to stop that. One alien wants to stop that. One other branch of Humanity wants to stop that. But that House is ruled by a megolomaniac who wants to live forever through his forbidden clones. But that alien lives by a code of honor that is unbreakable. But that branch of humanity is enslaved to psychic mind leeches.

On the Guardship side of things, you have insane Guardships. You have nascent sentient Guardships. You have humans who live their lives over and over through cloning without ever remembering their past. You have a Humanity that is stagnating and possibling beginning the long road to its twilight.

And the stories take place with all of those characters and characteristics. Greed, War, Peace and Survival.



My Thoughts:

I had no idea of the background for 99/100ths of the time. I really enjoyed my time, but if you try to figure out the backstory or the history, you're sunk. It doesn't exist except in Cook's mind and he doesn't let slip hardly anything. This is a very “here and now” kind of story, even while taking years in story time.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself while reading this. I didn't feel like I had to understand anything. I just sat back, let the story unfold and let it roll over me. It was extremely complicated but since I wasn't trying to disentangle anything, it was actually rather simple. I was along for the ride. If I had been in an investigative mood I'm sure this would have driven me bonkers. But I wasn't, so it didn't.

I don't know that I could have told you that this was the same Glen Cooke who wrote the Black Company novels. It was a standalone book and even its style seemed standalone. I will say that it was dense and while it claims to be only 449 pages, it felt like the longest 449 pages I've ever read. Not a bad thing, but it was a long read.

★★★☆½





Friday, November 24, 2017

Deadhouse Landing (Malaz: Path to Ascendancy #2) ★★★★ ½


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot, Librarything & by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Deadhouse Landing
Series: Malaz: Path to Ascendancy #2
Author: Ian Esslemont
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover edition









Synopsis:

This time Wu, who takes on the moniker Kellenved part way through the story, and Dancer, set their sights on the Island of Malaz. Their eventual goal is to take over the island proper, but for now they're settling for taking over and running the black market. They buy a rundown inn as their headquarters and keep the staff on, a group of Napan renegades headed by one woman named Surly. Kellenved is continually exploring shadow and drags Dancer along with him. They tame the Hounds of Shadow, look for the Throne of Shadow and generally cause trouble and action wherever they go.

In the tradition of previous Malazan books, we also follow quite a few other characters and storylines.

Tayschrenn. He is an outstanding priest of D'rek but when his mentor dies, Tay's lack of political and human interaction dooms him when a corrupt Invigilator takes over. Ends with him fighting ALL the priests of D'rek and taking refuge in the Deadhouse on Malaz Isle under Kellenved's protection.

Tattersail is the lover of Mock, self-proclaimed Duke of Malaz. But while Mock is quite content with doing a little raiding here and there, or none at all if he can get away with it, Tattersail wants more. So when an alliance with the new King of Napan, Surly's brother, is proposed and a joint attack against a mainland town is the clincher, it comes as a surprise to all when Mock is gung-ho and Tattersail has deep reservations. And Tattersail is right, of course. It's a trap. She also finds out that Mock has been sleeping with the help over the years and so she leaves him to go to a battlemage school somewhere.

Surly and Company. They are tied tightly to Kell and Dancer's storyline but also have their own, as Surly still isn't convinced that she can't take the fight for the Kingdom to her brother and prevail. Mainly about them realizing they need to throw in fully with Kellenved and let their own imperial dreams either die or hybernate.

In a surprise to me, we also get a short little arc dealing with the rise of Kallor. That guy is one evil son of a gun!



My Thoughts:

Two or three issues I had with this book.
One, I tried to start this just reading it at my lunchbreaks at work. I was hoping to draw out how long I could read it so as to lengthen my enjoyment of it. That just wasn't working as winter is here and I'm not always at the van for lunch.
Two, I ended up binging on this yesterday on Thanksgiving, but even then it was interrupted by cooking and eating and walks and whatnot. So my brain felt as full as my stomach, which let me tell you, was VERY full.
Third, I had read some reviews at various places and they were nothing but fanboys squealing like little girls about how wonderful this book was. My instinctive reaction to that is to hate the item in review even while knowing nothing about it. It's the “It is popular so I hate it” reaction. Said instinct usually serves me well but sometimes it does lead me astray.

Other than that? SQUEEEAAAAAAALLLL!
Yeah, I'm fanboying with those other losers. Well, except for Powder&Page. She's not a loser :-)

This was just awesome. Tons of action, lots of characters who we know from later books are introduced. Almost too many for my taste, but since this is just a trilogy and Esslemont had 10+ books worth of characters to shove in, I'm surprised there weren't more.

Dancer and Kell weren't nearly so big a part of this story like they were in Dancer's Lament. But when we did spend time with them, it was almost ALL shadow related or dealing with the hounds. I am not a dog person, at all. But I've always liked the Hounds of Shadow and seeing more of them here was great. We're also introduced to ototoral and moranth munitions.

In some ways I felt like I was drowning in the non-stop action and go,go,go'ness of it all. Which was a good problem to have. I said it in my review of Dancer's Lament but I feel that Esslemont has really come into his own with this trilogy. These are different even from his Novels of the Malazan Empire in tone and style and it's for the better. Erikson might excel at writing lush, super-cryptic and despair filled books, but Esslemont is writing some fantastic action here.

I bought this on release day and have no regrets whatsoever about it. It was that good! Also another contender for Best Book of the Year.

★★★★ ½






Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Flight of Fancy (Spiderman 2099 #8) ★★★☆☆


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot, Librarything & Tumblr by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Flight of Fancy
Series: Spiderman 2099 #8
Author: Peter David
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comics
Pages: 23
Format: Digital Edition










Synopsis:

The conclusion to Spidey's fight with Vulture 2099. What more can you ask of 23 pages?



My Thoughts:

So, I wish I had read this with the previous 2 volumes that dealt with Vulture. This concluded Spidey's fight with Vulture and honestly, not much happens. They fly/web around and punch each other and Miguel reveals that he's a lapsed Catholic when the fight goes into a church, but other than, nothing really.

Mig's brother Gabe and his girlfriend Kasey hook up with some people [a comic book style group of tough mofos] who want to help Spiderman. Only Gabe knows who Spidey is, so his actions are a bit stilted and you know at some point in the future he'll reveal to someone that Miguel is Spidey.

I am reading these on my 15in laptop and I have to admit, it is a struggle to read some of the text. In some cases I just looked at the pictures of Spidey and Vulture fighting and ignored the teensy-tinsy bit of dialogue. Whenever I finish/give up this series, I plan on re-reading my Silver Sable collection that was the pride and joy of my collection back in the 90's. She had a 3 year run before being folded back into the general Spiderman universe. Then I shall see if the dialogue is still tiny. Basically, am I getting old eyes or is the digital a crap scan? * grin *

★★★☆☆ 







Tuesday, November 21, 2017

The Voice of Mars (Starship's Mage #3) ☆☆☆☆ ½ DNF@13%


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot, Librarything & Tumblr by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Voice of Mars
Series: Starship's Mage #3
Author: Glynn Stewart
Rating: 1/2 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 310/Abandoned
Format: Digital Edition








Synopsis:

DNF'd at 13%.



My Thoughts:

Due to some of the moral subject matter, I abandoned this book and will not be reading any more in the series.

☆☆☆☆½







Monday, November 20, 2017

Leader of the Pack (Oh My Goddess! #2) ★★★★☆ (Manga Monday)


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot, Librarything & Tumblr by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Leader of the Pack
Series: Oh My Goddess! #2
Author: Kosuke Fujishima
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 152
Format: Paper Copy








Synopsis:

Now life as a couple for Kei and Belldandy begins. They have to find a house/apartment for Megumi, stop Sayoko from trying to steal Kei to drive Bell away from Nekomi Tech, win a bet against another racing club with Bell as the the prize, deal with the System Force not working and no longer trying to keep Kei and Bell together and if ALL those things weren't enough, Family Problems.

Yep, Belldandy's older sister Urd is tired of watching Kei fumble around, so she comes to Earth to seduce him to give him the confidence to go all the way with Bell. She breaks a few rules and hence gets her goddess license curtailed and ends up having to live with Bell and Kei.

It doesn't appear that Kei will EVER get to be alone with Belldandy.



My Thoughts:

Cute. That's probably the best word to describe this volume. I did notice the chapter breaks in this volume, as each chapter was titled. Definitely showing its magazine roots. No over arching plot really, just adventures of the week type things. It works for now.

Sayoko is really setting herself up to be a rival to Bell and yet we as the readers know that she simply can't BE a rival since she's only human. She does show a few flashes of humanity so we do know she's not just a complete witch.

Kei is pretty spineless. His senpais make up a rule book for the beach and one of the rules is that he can't go into where the girls are staying, so he can't visit Belldandy. IT'S A MADE UP RULE!!!! Sigh, but he doesn't break it, nor does he show enough intelligence to work around it, until the very end of the stay. Eh, it just shows why he didn't have a girlfriend in the beginning and gives LOTS of room for character growth.

Bell is pretty and shows touches of jealousy, love and anger whenever the situation needs it, IF Kei is involved. In some ways she's just as oblivious and naive as Kei, even while being a goddess.


What ever guy wants, a beautiful woman to be concerned about him



We find out that Bell has family and Urd comes to visit. Without being salacious, Urd is just plain wicked hot. But she's a liar and doesn't think about the consequences of her actions, so you know she'll be providing some good comic relief. Also, her interest in Kei is really non-existent, so no family love triangle drama. Thank goodness for that!!!


★★★★☆ 







Sunday, November 19, 2017

The Rage (Forgotten Realms: The Year of Rogue Dragons #1) ★★★☆ ½


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot, Librarything & Tumblr by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Rage
Series: Forgotten Realms: The Year of Rogue Dragons #1
Author: Richard Lee Byers
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 356
Format: Digital Edition










Synopsis:

The Cult of Dragons is alive and well. They are trying to bring about a prophecy, interpretated by their found, Sammaster, that states the undead lichdragons will one day rule the world. Dragons go through a periodic phase of “Rage” where they lose all reason and kill and destroy mindlessly. That time is happening now across all of Faerun and the Dragon Cult plans to make the most of it.

Opposing them is a small group of adventurers who are sucked in against their will. Becoming allied with a shapeshifting dragon AND an undead vampirric dragon, this group starts out simply trying to save one town. This leads to the discovery that Sammaster is somehow controlling, and increasing The Rage, for his own purposes.

Now it is up to this ragtag group of human priest, halfling, arctic dwarf, human/golem hybrid and various dragons, to save humanity from an all encompassing slavery at the hands of eternal lichdragons.



My Thoughts:

Finally! Another enjoyable Forgotten Realms book. I was starting to think that I'd have to give up on FR altogether after my last couple of forays which encompassed The Night Parade, Blood Walk and Red Magic. Those were just plain bad. Thankfully, Byers has a pretty good track record with me and FR. I've never given his stuff below a 3star and his Haunted Lands Trilogy was a solid 3.5 across the board.

This lived up to past reads and my expectations for the future. It was a solid read. Given it is Forgotten Realms and some things are just part of that, Byers is still a good author and it shows in his storytelling here. I think that is one thing I've really enjoyed about Byers. Beyond his qualified writing, he can tell a good story. Too many FR books are just “conflict in a fantasy setting”. Byers tells stories that I want to read about.

I've ALWAYS wondered why the world wasn't overrun or ruled by dragons. It had to be something more than that they were rare. I believe this trilogy will clue us in as to why they are so rare and why they're not bigger players in the FR realm.

A disparate group that hates and loves itself and bickers constantly while they try to singlehandedly save the world? It works this time. I do have to wonder though, since Sammaster is a former Chosen of Mystra, will other “big name” Forgotten Realms characters become involved? Say Elminster or Blackstaff or Alustriel? Not really keeping track of the timeline,so those characters might have been gone for 100's of years for all I know.

Ok, going to add a Forgotten Realms date to these FR reviews from now. Man, as if real history isn't bad enough!

Date: 1373 DR (Dale Reckoning)

★★★☆½







Friday, November 17, 2017

The Monstrumologist (The Monstrumologist #1) ★★★★☆


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot, Librarything & Tumblr by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Monstrumologist
Series: The Monstrumologist #1
Author: Rick Yancey
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Horror
Pages: 452
Format: Digital Edition








Synopsis:

12 year old Will Henry has been taken in by Dr. Pellinore Warthrop, as both his parents died in a fire and Will's father worked for Dr. Warthrop. This is his story, recorded from a series of journals written much later.

Dr. Warthrop is a monstrumologist and he makes it his life to study monsters. When a graverobber brings the corpse of a headless monster to Dr. Warthrop, events from the past begin to catch up with the present. Dr. Warthrop's father was also a monstrumologist and it turns out he was trying to domesticate the anthropophagi and brought some to America. Now they have bred and attacked and killed a family in New Jerusalem.

Dr. Warthrop brings in a professional monster hunter, Dr. Kearns and they, along with Will Henry and some former soldiers from the town of New Jerusalem must seek out and kill the nest of anthropophagi. Led by a cunning matriarch, the anthropophagi won't succumb easily. It doesn't help that Kearns appears to be an immoral killer who lives for the thrill of it. Who will live and who will die? Nobody important to the continuation of the series dies, if that's any comfort.

More importantly, are these journals true or is the old man claiming to be Will Henry just a nutcase who died alone and ungrieved?



My Thoughts:

Lovecraftian through and through. While not cosmic horror, it is horror meant to be beyond that of mortal ken. It is also written to mimic someone writing from the 1880's'ish, so if you don't like Dickens, you might have some issues with the style and pacing.

Horrific, brutal and harsh. Mentally, emotionally, physically.

Will Henry might be 12 years old, but this book is in no ways meant for a 12 year old. Blood, brain matter and gore. Warthrop is the worst sort of person, forgetting his own humanity and never recognizing it in others. He is the quintessential Mad Scientist and I hated him. Will is going to grow up with scars so deep that he'll probably end up dying while doing his duties. Much like his father, who probably died due to Warthrop's hidden experimentation.

It was really hard to read this book and enjoy it. Will is abused by Warthrop mentally and emotionally and pushed beyond his physical limits, not because Warthrop is out to hurt him,but because Warthrop is obsessed. This was a true Horror genre book to me.

It was well written and since I enjoy Lovecraft AND Dickens, the style didn't bother me one bit. In some ways it reminded me of a version of Frankenstein, but with all the gore and violence noted. I can't quite put my finger on why, but it just seemed very Frankenstein'ish to me.

I'll continue the series on but I'll be taking note of the tone of the series and adjust myself accordingly.

★★★★☆ 





Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Heretics of Dune (Dune Chronicles #5) ★★★★☆


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot, Librarything & Tumblr by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Heretics of Dune
Series: Dune Chronicles #5
Author: Frank Herbert
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 484
Format: Digital Edition







Synopsis:

1500 years have passed since Leto II, the God Emperor of Dune, has died and relaxed his iron grip on humanity. After his death came the Hard Times and the Scattering. Humanity spread out to stars beyond count. Only now, they are returning and they want control of the Old Empire. Ix has produced mechanical space navigating machines and the Tleilaxu produce the Spice by the ton from their axlotl tanks.

The Bene Gesserit are still playing their genetic game. They have been continuing the line of Duncan Idaho gholas through a connection with the Tleilaxu. They have also been keeping their hand in the Atreides gene line and their top protector, Supreme Bashar Miles Teg, is an Atreides who's mother was Bene Gesserit. She also trained Teg in the Bene Gesserit ways.

At the same time, a young girl named Sheena starts communicating with the worms. She comes under the Bene Gesserit's control and they're plan is for her and the latest Duncan Idaho to mate and have lots of little worm talkers. Things don't quite go as planned.

Honored Maitres, some of the returning forces, attack several Bene Gesserit worlds and put Sheena, Duncan and Teg all in danger. Teg is captured, levels up under torture and escapes. He rescues Duncan and eventually Sheena and they go off in a No-Ship. No-ships are invisible to guild navigators and other prescient beings.

The book ends with the Bene Gesserit planning on being conquered by the Honored Maitres and planning on subverting the Tleilaxu for their own purposes.



My Thoughts:

I was able to appreciate just how this is the beginning of a new Dune trilogy. The first, Dune, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune all form a tight weight on one side of the see-saw. God Emperor of Dune is really the pivot point and here we begin to see the other side of the balanced weight. It is almost exciting to realize such a literary device.

There is a lot of talking going on in this book and I mean a lot. Monologuing, diatribes, half-finished sentences, blah, blah, blah. Herbert gives us all the unnecessary in excruciating detail while completely ignoring a fantastic action story. But hey, that's typical Herbert for you. In many ways, this could have been as exciting a novel as Dune with its huge scope and action scenes. Teg and Duncan are running from a planetary invasion of Honored Matres for goodness sake. Sheena is balancing between the Sisters and the Rakian Priesthood and the Bene Gesserit are dealing with Face Dancers that can mentally imprint and BECOME that person, to the point that the Face Dancer loses its own self-identity and forgets that it is a Face Dancer. Those are all completely awesome ideas.

And Frank shoves them off to the side to talk about control and sex and government and esoteric religious ideas. Don't get me started on the sex. Not graphic, but it is underlying everything. Reading my review from '12 when I last read this, it was obvious that that was what stood out to me then. This time I was able to look past it a little, but still, it is like the Spice. It is in everything, it is everywhere and you can't get away from it.

It doesn't get much more Freudian than THAT!



The main reason this gets a 4star rating and not a 4/12 or 5, is because so many of the ideas are cloaked in half-sentences and unfinished thoughts. That kind of writing infuriates me. If you have a clever idea, or a big idea, or just a plain old hum drum idea, state it! Don't hint at it, don't take an upskirt photo surreptitiously, don't hem and haw around the edges. Grab that sucker, throw it down on the bed and ravish it! As you can tell, Frank's freudian obsession with sex has overcome me and now everything I say or do will have some sort of sexual connotation.

So I'm going to end this review. Read this book ONLY if you've read the previous 4 and liked them all. Not liked them a little bit, but liked them a lot. You're going to need that “like” to get you through.

★★★★☆ 










Thursday, November 09, 2017

The Player of Games (The Culture #2) ★★★☆ ½


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot, Librarything & Tumblr by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Player of Games
Series: The Culture #2
Author: Iain Banks
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 417
Format: Digital Edition








Synopsis:

Gergeh, the greatest game player, of any game in The Culture, is bored. His materialistic and hedonistic lifestyle is wearing thin and since the Culture is all about materialism and hedonism, he's in for a bad time.

Thankfully, Gergeh gets in touch with Contact, a branch of the non-government that deal with contact between The Culture and other spacefaring races. A newly contacted race is an actual Space Empire, something the Culture doesn't want around because an Empire is full of violence and dangerous ideas. Thankfully, this Empire is completely bonkers over a Game.

Gergeh is the Culture's Representative in the Game that will decide who the next Emperor will be. It is a purely symbolic gesture for Gergeh, as he cannot become Emperor. But the Empire wants to show its citizens that no outside “Culture” can tell them what to do or beat them at their own game.

Of course, Gergeh beats them all, by the skin of his teeth, sets in motion the downfall of the Empire as its very psyche is shattered and once back in Culture Space, suddenly all is well with Gergeh and he's satisfied with his inane, empty and completely meaningless life. Score one for The Culture!



My Thoughts:

First, Neal Asher's Polity Universe has been likened to Banks' The Culture novels and after reading this, I can see why. However, where Asher gives us characters who are in the thick of things and have a brain and have a modicum of moral backbone, Banks gives us characters who have been coddled since before birth and live a life of ease and pleasure so stultifying that it made me feel stupid just reading about it.

Now, onto what I really thought of this.

This is all based on the assumption of humanistic materialism. Basically, there is nothing but matter and the interactions of matter. There is no God, there is no soul, there is no afterlife, there is no Meaning. Everything is pointless drivel in the end because you just die and become somebody's snot. If I was a believer in this, I'd just go around and kill as many people as I could for the pure thrill of it and the adrenalin rush.

Gergeh, the main character, is just about at that point. But he's had all bad things removed from his genes, because obviously anything bad must have a material cause and it must be in the genes.

I was told over and over how great the Culture was, how so many advances had been made, how gene-tweaked everyone was to make them better people in all ways. And yet Gergeh is a bored, selfish, narcissistic (I like that word and use it a lot) bastard. His every thought, desire and action gives lie to what we're told about the Culture. At least Asher is a bit more honest in his Polity books about people wanting to swan off after about 300 years or so.

I was recommended this as the first Culture book to read and I'm glad I did. It was engaging and fun once Gergeh started playing the Game in the Empire, But that didn't happen until almost the 40% mark. That first 40% was a killer for me.

I plan on reading more, but if I continue to react to the rest of the books like I did this one, I probably won't last the entire series. I feel like I broke out in a bad case of “Righteous Judgement” while reading this.

Maybe I completely read this wrong and Banks is being a satirist about The Culture? But I don't get that vibe.

★★★☆ ½





Monday, November 06, 2017

Wrong Number (Oh My Goddess! #1) ★★★★☆


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot, Librarything & Tumblr by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Wrong Number
Series: Oh My Goddess! #1
Author: Kosuke Fujishima
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 160
Format: Paper copy








Synopsis:

Keiichi Morisato dials the wrong number from his dorm room and ends up on the Goddess Hotline. Thinking it is a joke by his seniors, he wishes that the young woman who appears before him be his girlfriend forever. Belldandy is a real goddess and Keiichi's wish comes true. He and Bell are now part and parcel.

This leads to many hijinks, as the Ultimate Power does whatever it has to to keep them together.

Belldandy becomes a student at Nekomi Tech, where Keiichi is learning to become a mechanic/engineer/something. Suddenly, Keiichi has gone from Zero to Hero with the beautiful Belldandy at his side. Sadly, it's not all fun and games as jealously rears it head.

But between Keiichi just being a nice guy and Belldandy actually loving him and being a goddess, they'll work things out. But can Keiichi keep everyone from finding out that Bell is a goddess? And when the book ends, his little sister has just moved in with them.



My Thoughts:

This was just pure fun. It was light and fluffy and romantic and pretty much what every single guy wants to happen to him. Back in the day, this hit my romantic spot right on target, as I was short, thought I was a really nice guy and knew a couple of young ladies who I thought were goddesses.

Now, being married for just under a decade, this was still just as fun. I laughed out loud several times. Being written by a guy, about a guy, I think this will appeal to males more? It is really tough to tell though. I'd certainly recommend at least reading this book to check out if you like the over-arching idea.

The art is a little rough, but in the kind of way that gives it character and uniqueness, not in a slap-dash kind of way where it seems the manga-ka was drunk that day and couldn't be bothered. The piece I've included here is a great representative of the art style for this volume. Bell and Kei sitting on the roof of their temple/home. I'm going to try to include a sample from each volume so you can see the evolution of the art style as Fujishima grows more into his role as a mature manga-ka.

I LIKE black and white manga. It just works for me.


It is episodic. This was written chapter by chapter and released in a weekly or monthly magazine in Japan. Darkhorse just published the chapters in one book and there aren't clear dividing lines at all between chapters. In fact, there aren't chapters at all. Which can make it feel almost whiplash'y as you jump from one adventure straight into another. But hang on and you'll have a good time. A lot of info is thrown at you, such as Keiichi being at a tech school, having a sister, etc, etc, but it is never overwhelming. Belldandy is the bell of the manga and she always takes center stage.

I am really glad this was so fun.

★★★★☆





Friday, November 03, 2017

The Cygnet and the Firebird (Cygnet #2) ★★★★ ½


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot, Librarything & Tumblr by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Cygnet and the Firebird
Series: Cygnet #2
Author: Patricia McKillip
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 315
Format: Digital Edition









Synopsis:

Taking place 2 weeks after the Sorceress and the Cygnet, we follow the continued adventures of Nyx Ro and Meguet Mervaine.

A magician invades Ro Holding looking for a hidden key of Chrisom's. Nyx and Meguet foil him. At the same time a magical firebird that turns everything to jewels and gold with its cry comes to Ro Hold. Nyx figures out it is an ensorcelled young man and in her studies he, she and Meguet all go to the land of Saphier. Where the first magician lives as well.

Saphier is ruled by the son of a magician and a dragon and he, Draken, wants ALL THE POWER. And he wants Ro Hold. It is up to Brand (the ensorcelled young man, who happens to be Draken's son), Nyx, Meguet and Rad (the first magician) to put a stop to Draken's quest to conquer all of time and space.

The dragons solve it all because the humans are annoying them.

The End.



My Thoughts:

SO MUCH BETTER THAN The Sorceress and the Cygnet. There is no Corleu. In fact, there are no stupid characters; confused, unsure and discombobulated characters, but not an idiot in sight! And that pushed this book right into traditional McKillip territory. Beautifully worded phrases, symbols and pictures with much deeper meanings, lyrical prose that you have to follow like a song. It was everything that I like about McKillip.

I found this more polished, more lyrical and more fantastical than Sorceress. Sorceress was a rough fairytale told by farmers after a tough season of haying. Firebird felt more like a courtly bard singing a story before the entire court. Obviously, with me being King Bookstooge, I prefer the latter.

I was glad to have read the duology so close together. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed Firebird so much if I didn't have the immediate taste of Sorceress still on my mental tongue.

This, along with Austen, is the kind of romance that not only can I stand but actively enjoy. It is understated but powerful, much like a current in a river. Too many authors rely on the rapids of the river for their romances and it always upsets my literary canoe and tosses me into the drink. I don't like that. But this, this is like gliding down the Mississippi on a shady day. You can't ask for much better.

★★★★ ½