tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336177992024-03-19T05:00:34.280-04:00Bookstooge's Reviews On the RoadWithout the Good Book, Life's Road is Hell
Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.comBlogger2562125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-63129765782509287762024-03-19T05:00:00.029-04:002024-03-19T05:00:00.133-04:00Mort (Discworld #4) 4Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifGsi4k6O9uBOSzX1Ts05i3HRjyj1wBHrgZG72O9F28o4YeE4X9rywIrVNXR72VLR_91tr1mZTbyz8NL0oup6hZiI4yNEgch5bUNJqgrDXkxSfxvLTtNGkIXsFbePXN52dZjTxcZTUE5qyZMEPP-yhO0Tx42qr6OFngsy3eeBg0sY3OhnD6sR2/s468/mort.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifGsi4k6O9uBOSzX1Ts05i3HRjyj1wBHrgZG72O9F28o4YeE4X9rywIrVNXR72VLR_91tr1mZTbyz8NL0oup6hZiI4yNEgch5bUNJqgrDXkxSfxvLTtNGkIXsFbePXN52dZjTxcZTUE5qyZMEPP-yhO0Tx42qr6OFngsy3eeBg0sY3OhnD6sR2/s320/mort.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<b><br /></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Title:</b>
Mort<br />
<b>Series:</b> Discworld #4<br />
<b>Author:</b>
Terry Pratchett<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 4 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b>
Fantasy<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 265<br />
<b>Words:</b> 73K</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></p><hr /><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">
This
was my 3<sup>rd</sup> time reading this. And I once again bumped it
up half a star. So another 8 years and I suspect I’ll be bumping it
up again, hahahahaa :-)</span><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In
this, we are introduced to yet another sub-series (or set of
characters) in the Discworld. This time it is Death. Death takes on
an apprentice who royally messes things up and in the end Death fixes
it all. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Death
is a jolly good fellow. Definitely shows what Pratchett’s thoughts
on THAT matter were (if his suicide wasn’t enough to convince you).
It works for a light and fluffy fantasy series. Which is all this is.
Except it isn’t. Does that make sense? Pratchett is not trying to
have his cake and eat it too with the Discworld series, he IS having
his eat and eating it. He gets to tell funny stories AND he gets to
spout off his own personal philosophies. It doesn’t get much better
than that for an author. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Thankfully,
as a reader, I too can pick and choose whether I want to read this
lightly or seriously. If I had been in grumpy mood I would have read
this seriously and taken Pratchett’s points about death apart one
by one, showing that his ideas were nothing but an illogical mishmash
of every other religions’ ideas on death and how he contradicted
himself at every turn. But I was in a good mood so I just ignored all
that and enjoyed Mort making a complete hash out of being Death’s
apprentice. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Hash
can be good, especially with beets. That’s called Red Flannel Hash
here in New England. A can of corned beef hash, a can of purple
beets, a frying pan and voila, a delicious meal that is healthy
because obviously the beets are vegetables and so that outweighs all
the fat from the corn beef hash. <br /><br /></span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1AU3w44Xj3YGY258X9gfWAB4IJDYl8XmIaUG_QnN3jSSh1G7JUIc6EG50Z1CfFNmG4WyPpaUtfUVOhnHtd0V_022wuZ9CTsPPQfd3GTUCYDRL1fveMaYtn5p9EGNwbGlUg9IgXrVD_v11n3-ZzR9EjYS23rEaYo3Npu-sAqJPjttLutSgjMw/s593/slicedbeets.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="382" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1AU3w44Xj3YGY258X9gfWAB4IJDYl8XmIaUG_QnN3jSSh1G7JUIc6EG50Z1CfFNmG4WyPpaUtfUVOhnHtd0V_022wuZ9CTsPPQfd3GTUCYDRL1fveMaYtn5p9EGNwbGlUg9IgXrVD_v11n3-ZzR9EjYS23rEaYo3Npu-sAqJPjttLutSgjMw/s320/slicedbeets.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">In
ending, you should read this book if for no other reason than I said
so and that it will be the literary equivalent of adding some beets
to your corn beef hash reading diet.</span></p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★★☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">From
Wikipedia.org</span></p>
<br />
<details>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">As
a teenager, Mort has a personality and temperament that makes him
unsuited to the family farming business. Mort's father Lezek takes
him to a local hiring fair in the hope that Mort will land an
apprenticeship; not only would this provide a job for his son, but it
would also make his son's propensity for thinking someone else's
problem. Just before the last stroke of midnight, Death arrives and
takes Mort on as an apprentice (though his father thinks he has been
apprenticed to an undertaker). Death takes Mort to his domain, where
he meets Death's elderly manservant Albert, and his adopted daughter
Ysabell. Mort later accompanies Death as he travels to collect the
soul of the King of Sto Lat, who is due to be assassinated by the
scheming Duke of Sto Helit. After Mort unsuccessfully tries to
prevent the assassination, Death warns him that all deaths are
predetermined, and that he cannot interfere with fate.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Later
on, Death assigns Mort to collect the soul of Princess Keli, daughter
of the murdered king, but he instead kills the assassin the Duke had
sent after her. Keli lives, but shortly after the assassin's death
people begin acting as if something had happened without knowing why,
namely what would be funeral preparations and acts of mourning. She
soon finds that the rest of the world no longer acknowledges her
existence at all unless she confronts them and even then only in a
confused manner which is forgotten immediately after. She
subsequently employs the wizard Igneous Cutwell, who is able to see
her as he is trained to see things that are invisible to normal
people (like death) to make her existence clear to the public. Mort
eventually discovers that his actions have created an alternate
reality in which Keli lives, but he also learns that it is being
overridden by the original reality and will eventually cease to
exist, killing Keli. While consulting Cutwell, Mort sees a picture of
Unseen University's founder, Alberto Malich, noting that he bears a
resemblance to Albert.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Mort
and Ysabell travel into the Stack, a library in Death's domain that
holds the biographies of everyone who has ever lived, in order to
investigate Albert, eventually discovering that he is indeed Malich.
They further learn that Malich had feared monsters waiting for him in
the afterlife, and performed a reversed version of the Rite of
AshkEnte in the hope of keeping Death away from him. However, the
spell backfired and sent him to Death's side, where he has remained
in order to put off his demise. During this time, Death, yearning to
relish what being human is like, travels to Ankh-Morpork to indulge
in new experiences, including getting drunk, dancing, gambling and
finding a job. Mort in turn starts to become more like Death,
adopting his mannerisms and aspects of his personality, while his own
is slowly overridden.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Death's
absence forces Mort to collect the next two souls, who are both
located on separate parts of the Disc (in the Agatean Empire and
Tsort, respectively), and due to die on the same night that the
alternate reality will be destroyed. Before he and Ysabell leave to
collect the souls, Mort uses the part of Death within him to force
Albert to provide a spell that will slow down the alternate reality's
destruction. After Mort and Ysabell leave, Albert returns to Unseen
University, under the identity of Malich. His eagerness to live on
the Disc is reinvigorated during this time, and he has the wizards
perform the Rite of AshkEnte in the hope of finally escaping Death's
grasp. The ritual summons both Death and the part of Death that had
been taking Mort over, restoring him to normal. Unaware of Albert's
treachery, Death takes him back into his service, the Librarian
preventing the wizard's escape.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Mort
and Ysabell travel to Keli's palace, where the princess and Cutwell
have organised a hasty coronation ceremony in the hope that Keli can
be crowned queen before the alternate reality is destroyed. With the
reality now too small for Albert's spell, Mort and Ysabell save Keli
and Cutwell from being destroyed with the alternate reality. They
return to Death's domain to find a furious Death waiting for them,
the latter having learned of Mort's actions from Albert. Death
dismisses Mort and attempts to take the souls of Keli and Cutwell,
but Mort challenges him to a duel for them. Though Death eventually
wins the duel, he spares Mort's life and sends him back to the Disc.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Death
convinces the gods to change the original reality so that Keli rules
in place of the Duke, who was inadvertently killed during Death and
Mort's duel due to the destruction of his lifetimer. Mort and Ysabell
– who have fallen in love over the course of the story – get
married, and are made Duke and Duchess of Sto Helit by Keli, while
Cutwell is made the Master of the Queen's Bedchamber. Death attends
Mort and Ysabell's wedding reception, where he warns Mort that he
will have to make sure that the original Duke's destiny is fulfilled,
and presents him with the alternate reality he created, now shrunk to
the size of a large pearl, before the two part on amicable terms.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
</details><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLd7RuzKf92zhsyc5sNESL3wMJhFn2OAIDKlkMHVjvIxf0Ags7KXPpUSqnJ-tA_2XNIe5wvWkn0XBU9akyJGEm4dB8HHr8motKgNBUKuZbdUpgpcZxFj-sACUQw-SNXB_Hc6BJHloWgZ8-Ls-d14fxuckskvtsMIrTnHyzpfD8LQ9Mib3yID7M/s208/Bookstooge4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="208" data-original-width="208" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLd7RuzKf92zhsyc5sNESL3wMJhFn2OAIDKlkMHVjvIxf0Ags7KXPpUSqnJ-tA_2XNIe5wvWkn0XBU9akyJGEm4dB8HHr8motKgNBUKuZbdUpgpcZxFj-sACUQw-SNXB_Hc6BJHloWgZ8-Ls-d14fxuckskvtsMIrTnHyzpfD8LQ9Mib3yID7M/s1600/Bookstooge4.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<ul>
<li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/2007/09/05/mort/">Mort
(2007 Review)</a></span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/2015/02/14/mort-discworld-4-buddy-read/">Mort
(2015 Review)</a></span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/discworld/">All
of My “Discworld” Reviews</a></span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/discworld-rincewind/">All
of My “Discworld: Rincewind” Reviews</a></span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/discworld-witches/">All
of My “Discworld: Witches” Reviews</a></span></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-53390292443849714262024-03-17T05:00:00.018-04:002024-03-17T05:00:00.148-04:00Lives of Christopher Chant (Chrestomanci #4) 5Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwscw3-Tgi30A1ytSMcXTSEAsjdzS0sInuaQWOTg4B9kZM7VKmuiGa7SZV0AIFM2ZJiDV-YNLjT9h1FOceXdSLQEZJgi2HmCVa15IU0tizvS8urN9DAroYauW9ap7Z0tT6bSErgp7-PhWahJ5BDqvgX9h8pekwD3PRt4DtiwvcttVg6l97D07k/s437/livesofchristopherchant.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwscw3-Tgi30A1ytSMcXTSEAsjdzS0sInuaQWOTg4B9kZM7VKmuiGa7SZV0AIFM2ZJiDV-YNLjT9h1FOceXdSLQEZJgi2HmCVa15IU0tizvS8urN9DAroYauW9ap7Z0tT6bSErgp7-PhWahJ5BDqvgX9h8pekwD3PRt4DtiwvcttVg6l97D07k/s320/livesofchristopherchant.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<b><br /></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Title:</b>
Lives of Christopher Chant<br />
<b>Series:</b>
Chrestomanci #4<br />
<b>Author:</b> Diana Jones<br />
<b>Rating:</b>
5 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b> Middlegrade Fantasy<br />
<b>Pages:
</b> 241<br />
<b>Words:</b> 88K</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Now
why can’t DWJ have written the rest of the Chrestomanci books like
this one? This was fun, engaging, lively, with just the right amount
of drama and even the badguys weren’t unpleasant jerks. They were
just bad. Here’s a longer quote from the book that encapsulates
the “feel” of the book.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><blockquote><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The
trouble was, school had also taught him that girls were a Complete
Mystery and quite different from boys. He had no idea what books
girls liked. He was forced to consult Oneir, who had an older sister.</i></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>All
sorts of slush,” Oneir said, shrugging. “I can’t remember
what.”</i></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Then
could you come down to the bookshop with me and see if you can see
some of them?” Christopher asked.</i></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I
might,” Oneir agreed. “What’s in it for me?”</i></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I’ll
do your geometry tonight as well as your algebra,” Christopher
said.</i></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>On
this understanding, Oneir went down to the bookshop with Christopher
in the space between lessons and tea. There he almost immediately
picked out The Arabian Nights (Unexpurgated). “This one’s good,”
he said. He followed it with something called Little Tanya and the
Fairies, which Christopher took one look at and put hastily back on
the shelf. “I know my sister’s read that one,” Oneir said,
rather injured. “Who’s the girl you want it for?”</i></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>She’s
about the same age as us,” Christopher said and, since Oneir was
looking at him for a further explanation and he was fairly sure Oneir
was not going to believe in someone called the Goddess, he added,
“I’ve got this cousin called Caroline.” This was quite true.
Mama had once shown him a studio photo of his cousin, all lace and
curls. Oneir was not to know that this had nothing whatsoever to do
with the sentence that had gone before.</i></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Wait
a sec then,” Oneir said, “and I’ll see if I can spot some of
the real slush.” He wandered on along the shelf, leaving
Christopher to flip through The Arabian Nights. It did look good,
Christopher thought. Unfortunately he could see from the pictures
that it was all about somewhere very like the Goddess’s own
Anywhere. He suspected the Goddess would call it educational. “Ah,
here we are! This is sure-fire slush!” Oneir called, pointing to a
whole row of books. “These Millie books. Our house is full of the
things.”</i></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Millie
Goes to School, Christopher read, Millie of Lowood House, Millie
Plays the Game. He picked up one called Millie’s Finest Hour. It
had some very brightly colored schoolgirls on the front and in small
print: “Another moral and uplifting story about your favorite
schoolgirl. You will weep with Millie, rejoice with Millie, and meet
all your friends from Lowood House School again . . .”</i></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Does
your sister really like these?” he asked incredulously.</i></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Wallows
in them,” said Oneir. “She reads them over and over again and
cries every time.”</i></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Though
this seemed a funny way to enjoy a book, Christopher was sure Oneir
knew best. The books were two and sixpence each. Christopher chose
out the first five, up to Millie in the Upper Fourth, and bought The
Arabian Nights for himself with the rest of the money. After all, it
was his gold sovereign.</i>”<br />
~page 65</span></p></blockquote><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
laughed my head off at that. And rest of the book had that fun tone
as well. Yes, there was some really dangerous things going on and
Christopher wasn’t in the best of circumstances and he doesn’t
always act like a good boy, but the thrust of the novel was all that
was good instead of focusing on the unpleasant and nasty, as was done
in <a href="https://bookstooge.blog/2024/02/01/witch-week-chrestomanci-3-2-5stars/"><i>Witch
Week</i></a>. This is what I want from a middle grade story. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
think it helped that Christopher is going to be the next Chrestomanci
and how it turns his world upside down and inside out. Chrestomanci,
as a position, is front and center and you can see how the
responsibility of it weighs down on both the young and the old. But
nonetheless, each bearer takes it up at the proper time and does
their duty. Ahhhh, that’s good stuff! Responsibility, putting
others above your own self, protecting the weak and helpless, facing
down evil, people NEED that in their fiction, especially nowadays.
And kids? It’s essential, sigh.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway,
this was the best Chrestomanci book so far and it showed just what a
splendid writer DWJ could be when she wanted. Highly recommended.</span></p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★★★</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">From
Wikipedia:</span></p>
<br /><details>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
novel tells the story of Christopher Chant's childhood in a magic
filled Victorian style era. Although both of his parents are powerful
practitioners of magic, the two are constantly at loggerheads;
his father (an enchanter, the strongest type of magic-user) is
entirely devoted to his work, to such a degree that the young
Christopher is afraid that he would not recognise him should the two
meet in public. On the other hand, his mother (a sorceress, the
second-strongest type of magic-user) is a social climber, and is
apparently only married to his father for his social connections.
Christopher finds solace in his uncle Ralph, but due to his
travelling job they rarely see each other.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
only escape that Christopher has is through his dreams, in which he
is able to escape to other worlds. While he is not the only person
with this ability, seemingly no one is able to do it so easily as he.
Christopher is able to bring items with him into the real world, and
after one of his many nannies discovers his hoard of items and
accuses him of stealing, he tells Uncle Ralph of his power. Uncle
Ralph is intrigued by this and has Christopher go on a 'test' to see
what he can bring back. In the place between worlds, which takes the
form of a valley, Christopher meets Tacroy who is supposed to guide
him on his uncle's orders, however the two discover that whilst
Tacroy is projecting his mind there Christopher is physically going
into the other worlds; something which is impossible.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Christopher
and Tacroy go on several of these trips, and on one to World 10 they
get separated. Christopher meets 'The Living Asheth' a girl his age
who is a vessel for Asheth, the Goddess of her world. He makes a deal
with her for one of her magic temple cats, Throgmorten, but as she
helps him escape he is speared by one of her many guards. After
waking up in his bed with Throgmorten, Christopher accidentally
causes a curtain rod to fall down and spear him through the heart,
although he survives. This experience prompts his parents to send him
to a boarding school where Christopher forgets to travel in his
dreams because he enjoys it so much. Several ordinary months go by
and Christopher decides to become a professional cricketer whilst his
parents divorce. His friend accidentally hits him in the head with a
cricket back, killing him. He wakes up confused in the morgue, where
he then falls asleep in the hospital. The current Chrestomanci named
Gabriel De Witt visits him, but disbelieves claims of him being an
enchanter. Christopher's father takes Christopher to several witches
and discovers that a silver coin Ralph insisted he always carry on
him was stopping him from doing magic.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Chrestomanci
realises Christopher is a nine-lived enchanter and brings him to his
castle to train to be the next Chrestomanci. He absolutely hates
living there and disobeys all of the rules even actively going
against them. He returns to travelling with Tacroy for his uncle and
returns the deal with The Living Asheth; giving her a series of books
about a girl named Millie at boarding school. The two become close
friends and she insists he call her Millie instead. Christopher dies
multiple times during these trips and always wakes up in his own
world only to die in freak accidents similar to the prior ones.
Millie discovers that when she grows to old for Asheth to use her she
is going to be sacrificed to her. Christopher sacrifices one of his
lives so that Millie can travel to his own world to hide.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Christopher
discovers that Chrestomanci is investigating a smuggler named 'The
Wraith' who somehow manages to bring illegal items from other worlds.
Chrestomanci reveals to every person in the castle that their close
friend Mordecai Roberts was working for the Wraith, and Christopher
is shocked to find Mordecai is actually Tacroy. Tacroy pretends not
to know Christopher and reveals to him that his uncle is the Wraith.
Ralph manages to kill Chrestomanci by taking his lives and scattering
them across worlds so nobody could find him. Christopher uses
Throgmorten to trap Ralph before Millie is able to subdue him. Millie
discovers that Asheth is too vain to actually give a mortal girl
magic and she is in reality one of the most powerful enchantresses in
existence.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Learning
that Mordecai is enchanted to work for Ralph, Christopher and Millie
travel to world 11 which is a mysterious place that only has one
timeline. Christopher and Millie are both able to outwit the ruler of
World 11 and free Mordecai, who willingly becomes a servant of
Chrestomanci. However, Christopher sacrifices another one of his
lives. Christopher's parents reveal to him they are getting back
together, but this time for love, and Christopher decides to continue
living at the castle with the newly revived Chrestomanci and Millie.
However, as Christopher attempts to travel he discovers he no longer
can, as he only has two lives remaining.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
</details><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMzvGKdt2w1tpqFkDSwNdPXWJUICHzXoAEeDRLTPt5RhEwN7iRzf_5DlgTmwQyQRE8xwzs9S9lAyrIo82KpZq9hs6RN5B9ZaTUZSBa-7Ua-mCLof-QQ6uVyLwl7TvrpGD0c0-zBheZVozi9jAt76RxcU-X6CK1wRW0cQRYP0ER2pQKSPrdR6eo/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMzvGKdt2w1tpqFkDSwNdPXWJUICHzXoAEeDRLTPt5RhEwN7iRzf_5DlgTmwQyQRE8xwzs9S9lAyrIo82KpZq9hs6RN5B9ZaTUZSBa-7Ua-mCLof-QQ6uVyLwl7TvrpGD0c0-zBheZVozi9jAt76RxcU-X6CK1wRW0cQRYP0ER2pQKSPrdR6eo/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">-
</span><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/diana-wynne-jones/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">All of My
“Diana Jones” Reviews</a></p><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-53794674795108761802024-03-16T05:00:00.016-04:002024-03-16T05:00:00.128-04:00Notes from Underground (The Russians) 1Star / DNF@10%<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGouanP4NAj7-Yu1-6gvAsezR-wmFewHp-MCuVA1FUacaHH4UvpglA2EOCWzEH-M6lK1fiA8EPrmxfEmKsr-9ZDwd33xqFXLhHxlcA52_WUZT-tqpB_KALYhzGhJ__cQA0ToyESLtkOa-plyO1iKeOVNNQoXBcR9zvjg8YJc7XE2QdWNqJf6dG/s467/notesfromunderground.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGouanP4NAj7-Yu1-6gvAsezR-wmFewHp-MCuVA1FUacaHH4UvpglA2EOCWzEH-M6lK1fiA8EPrmxfEmKsr-9ZDwd33xqFXLhHxlcA52_WUZT-tqpB_KALYhzGhJ__cQA0ToyESLtkOa-plyO1iKeOVNNQoXBcR9zvjg8YJc7XE2QdWNqJf6dG/s320/notesfromunderground.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">
</span><br />
<b><br /></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Title:</b> Notes from Underground<br />
<b>Series:</b>
(The Russians)<br />
<b>Author:</b> Fyodor
Dostoyevsky<br />
<b>Translator: </b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Garnett</span><br />
<b>Rating:</b>
1 of 5 Stars / DNF@10%<br />
<b>Genre:</b> Fiction<br />
<b>Pages:
</b> 186/19<br />
<b>Words:</b> 50K/5K<br />
<br />
<br /><br /></p>
<hr>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
I cannot stand when authors write nonsense and expect the readers to
parse sense out of it. Dostoyevsky was writing this novel in response
to some other popular philosophy book/idea at the time but he couched
it in a way that I hated.</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
So I’m not going to waste my time wading through deliberate
nonsense when he could have just stated “Reason X because of
reasons 1, 2 and 3”. I dnf’d this at the 10% mark when it became
evident what a sham this was. If you would like to waste your time
deciphering this, be my guest.</p>
<p align="left" style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★☆☆☆☆</span></p>
<hr>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">From Wikipedia.org</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The novella is divided into two parts.
The title of the first part—"Underground"—is itself
given a footnoted introduction by Dostoevsky in which the character
of the 'author' of the Notes and the nature of the 'excerpts' are
discussed.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a name="Part_1:_"Underground""></a><a name="Part_1:_.22Underground.22"></a>
Part 1: "Underground"</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The first part of Notes from
Underground has eleven sections:</p>
<ul>
<li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Section I propounds a number
of riddles whose meanings are further developed as the narration
continues.</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sections 2, 3, & 4 deal
with suffering and the irrational pleasure of suffering.</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sections 5 & 6 discuss
the moral and intellectual fluctuation that the narrator feels along
with his conscious insecurities regarding "inertia"—inaction.</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sections 7, 8, & 9 cover
theories of reason and logic, closing with the last two sections as
a summary and transition into Part 2.</p>
</li></ul>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The narrator observes that utopian
society removes suffering and pain, but man desires both things and
needs them in order to be happy. He argues that removing pain and
suffering in society takes away a man's freedom. He says that the
cruelty of society makes human beings moan about pain only to spread
their suffering to others.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a name="cite_ref-8"></a><a name="cite_ref-9"></a>
Unlike most people, who typically act out of revenge because they
believe justice is the end, the Underground Man is conscious of his
problems and feels the desire for revenge, but he does not find it
virtuous; the incongruity leads to spite towards the act itself with
its concomitant circumstances. He feels that others like him exist,
but he continuously concentrates on his spitefulness instead of on
actions that would help him avoid the problems that torment him. The
main issue for the Underground Man is that he has reached a point
of ennui[7] (boredom) and inactivity.[8] He even
admits that he would rather be inactive out of laziness.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a name="cite_ref-:0_10-0"></a>The
first part also gives a harsh criticism of determinism, as well
as of intellectual attempts at dictating human action and behavior by
logic, which the Underground Man discusses in terms of the simple
math problem: two times two makes four (cf. necessitarianism).
He argues that despite humanity's attempt to create a utopia where
everyone lives in harmony (symbolized by The Crystal
Palace in Nikolai Chernyshevsky's What Is to Be
Done?), one cannot avoid the simple fact that anyone, at any time,
can decide to act in a way that might not be considered to be in
their own self-interest; some will do so simply to validate their
existence and to protest and confirm that they exist as individuals.
The Underground Man ridicules the type of enlightened
self-interest that Chernyshevsky proposes as the foundation of
Utopian society. The idea of cultural and legislative systems relying
on this rational egoism is what the protagonist despises.
The Underground Man embraces this ideal in praxis, and seems to
blame it for his current state of unhappiness.[9]</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a name="Part_2:_"Apropos_of_the_Wet_Snow""></a><a name="Part_2:_.22Apropos_of_the_Wet_Snow.22"></a>
Part 2: "Apropos of the Wet Snow"[edit]</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a name="cite_ref-Katz1989_2930_11-0"></a><a name="cite_ref-Katz1989_2930_11-1"></a>
The title of Part 2 is an allusion to the critic Pavel
Annenkov's observation that "damp showers and wet snow"
were indispensable to writers of the Natural School in
Petersburg.[10] Following the title there is an epigraph
containing the opening lines from Nekrasov's poem "When
from the darkness of delusion..." about a woman driven to
prostitution by poverty. The quotation is interrupted by an ellipsis
and the words "Etc., etc., etc."[10]</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Part 2 consists of ten sections
covering some events from the narrator's life. While he continues in
his self-conscious, polemical style, the themes of his confession are
now developed anecdotally.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The first section tells of the
Underground Man's obsession with an officer who once insulted him in
a pub. This officer frequently passes him by on the street, seemingly
without noticing his existence. He sees the officer on the street and
thinks of ways to take revenge, eventually borrowing money to buy an
expensive overcoat and intentionally bumping into the officer to
assert his equality. To the Underground Man's surprise, however, the
officer does not seem to notice that it even happened.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sections II to V focus on a going-away
dinner party with some old school friends to bid farewell to one of
these friends—Zverkov—who is being transferred out of the city.
The Underground Man hated them when he was younger, but after a
random visit to Simonov's, he decides to meet them at the appointed
location. They fail to tell him that the time has been changed to six
instead of five, so he arrives early. He gets into an argument with
the four of them after a short time, declaring to all his hatred of
society and using them as the symbol of it. At the end, they go off
without him to a secret brothel, and, in his rage, the underground
man follows them there to confront Zverkov once and for all,
regardless if he is beaten or not. He arrives at the brothel to find
Zverkov and the others already retired with prostitutes to other
rooms. He then encounters Liza, a young prostitute.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The remaining sections deal with his
encounter with Liza and its repercussions. The story cuts to Liza and
the Underground Man lying silently in the dark together. The
Underground Man confronts Liza with an image of her future, by which
she is unmoved at first, but after challenging her individual utopian
dreams (similar to his ridicule of the Crystal Palace in Part 1), she
eventually realizes the plight of her position and how she will
slowly become useless and will descend more and more, until she is no
longer wanted by anyone. The thought of dying such a terribly
disgraceful death brings her to realize her position, and she then
finds herself enthralled by the Underground Man's seemingly poignant
grasp of the destructive nature of society. He gives her his address
and leaves.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">He is subsequently overcome by the fear
of her actually arriving at his dilapidated apartment after appearing
such a "hero" to her and, in the middle of an argument with
his servant, she arrives. He then curses her and takes back
everything he said to her, saying he was, in fact, laughing at her
and reiterates the truth of her miserable position. Near the end of
his painful rage he wells up in tears after saying that he was only
seeking to have power over her and a desire to humiliate her. He
begins to criticize himself and states that he is in fact horrified
by his own poverty and embarrassed by his situation. Liza realizes
how pitiful he is and tenderly embraces him. The Underground Man
cries out "They—they won't let me—I—I can't be good!"</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After all this, he still acts terribly
toward her, and, before she leaves, he stuffs a five ruble note into
her hand, which she throws onto the table (it is implied that the
Underground Man had sex with Liza and that the note is payment). He
tries to catch her as she goes out to the street, but he cannot find
her and never hears from her again. He tries to stop the pain in his
heart by "fantasizing."</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">And isn't it better, won't it be
better?… Insult—after all, it's a purification; it's the most
caustic, painful consciousness! Only tomorrow I would have defiled
her soul and wearied her heart. But now the insult will never ever
die within her, and however repulsive the filth that awaits her, the
insult will elevate her, it will cleanse her…</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">He recalls this moment as making him
unhappy whenever he thinks of it, yet again proving the fact from the
first section that his spite for society and his inability to act
makes him no better than those he supposedly despises.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The concluding sentences recall some of
the themes explored in the first part, and he tells the reader
directly, "I have merely carried to an extreme in my life what
you have not dared to carry even halfway.”</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">At the end of Part 2, a further
editorial note is added by Dostoevsky, indicating that the 'author'
couldn't help himself and kept writing, but that "it seems to us
that we might as well stop here".</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0G5JakiheWPLtJDWT8mlIZJT-NFqXHJIiFlEvTz9NO_9FV7_aknCBpWcAn55-fxjEyymMQV3zsuRxZ63ljtJLZDaUAl2KwJjuz5qDXcOBnjp7Ze-UhvOjNhVT2hQvlrE5IuQz7mReeuamX6BT0RmSs-9N6YOcs-0QRbBPSJYEqYv-l_SWRzG/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0G5JakiheWPLtJDWT8mlIZJT-NFqXHJIiFlEvTz9NO_9FV7_aknCBpWcAn55-fxjEyymMQV3zsuRxZ63ljtJLZDaUAl2KwJjuz5qDXcOBnjp7Ze-UhvOjNhVT2hQvlrE5IuQz7mReeuamX6BT0RmSs-9N6YOcs-0QRbBPSJYEqYv-l_SWRzG/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><br /><ul><li><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><u><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/russian/"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
Russians</span></a></u></i></span></span></span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><u><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/leo-tolstoy/"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Leo
Tolstoy</span></a></u></i></span></span></span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><u><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/fyodor-dostoyevsky/"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Fyodor
Dostoyevsky</span></a></u></i></span></span></span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><u><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/ivan-turgenev/"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Ivan
Turgenev</span></a></u></i></span></span></span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><u><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/nikolai-gogol/"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Nikolai
Gogol</span></a></u></i></span></span></span></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-20926100855235207322024-03-14T05:00:00.021-04:002024-03-14T05:00:00.252-04:00Lockdown Tales #2 (Polity #23) 4Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4NDtyVqeHsl85aDlIw1ZpsxWCl_7o1WLz32pg568QVuMrqJS4KNmk2M8jVrajEnMlQzTUeqW3NfyrUYhu8_fp6azhZl6AlIYoG6mpyCE16umnnz3wJn-5rBRKDEfqDlSwW7Q1cVHFqr-5OPFdFOVSpUQGFbrtwfgEYVbi96W8EE45MWbzGPE/s426/lockdowntales2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4NDtyVqeHsl85aDlIw1ZpsxWCl_7o1WLz32pg568QVuMrqJS4KNmk2M8jVrajEnMlQzTUeqW3NfyrUYhu8_fp6azhZl6AlIYoG6mpyCE16umnnz3wJn-5rBRKDEfqDlSwW7Q1cVHFqr-5OPFdFOVSpUQGFbrtwfgEYVbi96W8EE45MWbzGPE/s320/lockdowntales2.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<b><br /></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Title:</b>
Lockdown Tales #2<br />
<b>Series:</b> Polity #23<br />
<b>Author:</b>
Neal Asher<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 4 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b>
SF<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 337<br />
<b>Words:</b> 150K</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
read the first set of <a href="https://bookstooge.blog/2021/06/09/tales-from-lockdown-polity-20-%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%9C%AC%E2%98%86/"><i>Lockdown
Tales</i></a> in ‘21. It was a strictly Polity universe set of
stories and I enjoyed them. This time around, not every story was in
the Polity universe. I’m still including this in my Polity
numbering for the series, but there are one or two that aren’t
Polity. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In
his intro, Asher really lets loose against Civil Authorities
overstepping the boundaries setup for them and how people just let
them. He sounded very much like me in fact, or I sound like him (he’s
older, so age before me). It made me laugh and cry because I
completely agreed and yet a majority of the world didn’t, as they
let fear, lies and manipulation determine their fate instead of
taking it into their own hands.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
went into this collection thinking I would try to take notes on each
story and write up my review that way, the way <a href="https://marzaat.com/about-me/">Marzaat</a>
(and others) do. However, that resolution didn’t last very long.
With nine stories, each is a bit longer than just a “short story”,
so I had to pay attention. I can’t read, pay attention, take notes
AND enjoy the story all at the same time. So something had to give.
Obviously, I just decided to not enjoy the stories and sacrifice my
enjoyment for your edification. Because nobody is as important as
you.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And
if you believe that, you need some serious help. No, seriously, get
some professional help. You rank about the same as monkey poop to me.
Honest.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Therefore
the notes went right out the window. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Xenovore
</i>was VERY similar to the previous book <a href="https://bookstooge.blog/2024/01/23/weaponized-polity-22-4stars/"><i>Weaponized</i></a>
and Asher even mentions that in his introduction. I was glad he did
or else I would have felt very gypped. It wasn’t the same story but
had enough of the same elements that I wished it had been shorter.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>An
Alien on Crete </i><span style="font-style: normal;">was a non-Polity
story about an alien coming to Earth to awaken Earth’s guardian,
blah, blah, blah. It didn’t engage me at all.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Skin
</i><span style="font-style: normal;">was a story about a Polity
citizen getting a new skin from a doctor who had run up against
Polity rules. Of course, things go horrifically wrong and the skin
ends up slithering away to the ocean. It was awesome.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Antique
Battlefields </i><span style="font-style: normal;">was a tale of the
Quiet War, when the AI’s took control. For me, this has always been
the achille’s heel of the Polity Universe. I regularly overlook it
every time I read a Polity book. The idea is that the AI’s are
better than us without our corruption. We created them and thus they
are inherently broken. That doesn’t fit Asher’s world view and so
he just ignores it. It was interesting to see a quick snapshot of the
war, but it really brought the aforementioned issue to my mind and so
I just couldn’t ignore it.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Ha,
would you look at that? I did ALL that without a single flipping
note. My brain is awesome, that’s all I have to say. Suck it AI,
you’ll never be anywhere near as talented in so many fields as I
am. </span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">There
was one story where Asher lets loose his hatred of religion, but it
was all of one sentence and in many ways felt more of an obligatory
thing than because he actually feels that way. I think he does, but
the fire is going out. </span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">And
that’s enough out of me. This is over 700 words now. Nobody needs
to write or read something that long!</span></span></p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★★☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Table
of Contents:</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">LOCKDOWN
TALES II An Introduction </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">XENOVORE
</span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">AN
ALIEN ON CRETE </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">THE
TRANSLATOR </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">SKIN
</span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">EELS
</span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">THE
HOST </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">ANTIQUE
BATTLEFIELDS </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">MORAL
BIOLOGY </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">LONGEVITY
AVERAGING</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99QQucwRQVTgP6Rd7jxzdS8xUX4K7CRpPQY2oB6Q7M0BmEEkckw38sEUt23XB0Ulwu3OIBG6aV6INfd3Nv3xJexIWQ2dds_xhyGsqhHzg7Ew3kXty9ZFodSaK4xrQr3dGueE_QyZsL_HWqdPLr2TLzY4Dya0NlzTb1vL3Zfu0Uq7pQ1vgUoVI/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99QQucwRQVTgP6Rd7jxzdS8xUX4K7CRpPQY2oB6Q7M0BmEEkckw38sEUt23XB0Ulwu3OIBG6aV6INfd3Nv3xJexIWQ2dds_xhyGsqhHzg7Ew3kXty9ZFodSaK4xrQr3dGueE_QyZsL_HWqdPLr2TLzY4Dya0NlzTb1vL3Zfu0Uq7pQ1vgUoVI/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><ul><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/polity/">All
of My “Polity” Reviews</a></span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/neal-asher/">All
of My “Neal Asher” Reviews</a></span></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-39262576183522642962024-03-12T05:00:00.014-04:002024-03-12T05:00:00.242-04:00Jet (Jet #1) 3Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGPswnFwdK1QrCc2fUU155yhXMwsenQ7Aaqe2_g-oJh4mrPDILRGgEIt5iXyeRMONttK_DV-YMDL2errFuQoWqePTkQPI0jX6osfdZiwSg-eHntnkaJGBOmOWLCj0huj73-ZA2x6JiI1aUDde0W7IPcEbz183gAgN88lDHl4PIrZwoJ-9y2H37/s480/Jet.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGPswnFwdK1QrCc2fUU155yhXMwsenQ7Aaqe2_g-oJh4mrPDILRGgEIt5iXyeRMONttK_DV-YMDL2errFuQoWqePTkQPI0jX6osfdZiwSg-eHntnkaJGBOmOWLCj0huj73-ZA2x6JiI1aUDde0W7IPcEbz183gAgN88lDHl4PIrZwoJ-9y2H37/s320/Jet.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<b><br /></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Title:</b>
Jet<br />
<b>Series:</b> Jet #1<br />
<b>Author:</b>
Russell Blake<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 3 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b>
Action/Adventure<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 260<br />
<b>Words:</b>
86K</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
gave a LOT of leeway to this book. If I was even a smidge less
generous at the moment, I’d knock this down to 2.5stars. But I am
feeling generous and have a stomach full of warm, yummy lasagna, so
the book gets pass. This time.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
basic story is your typical Special Forces agent tries to get out and
then is dragged back into the life, kicking and screaming. I was kind
of hoping for a female version of <a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/victor-the-assassin/">Victor
the Assassin</a>. What I got was a very messy amateur rendition of
Victor. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Jet
is supposed to be the TOP operator that Mossad ever had. We’re
talking so good that her instructors even told her to her face just
how good she was. But between Blake’s amateur writing (he
constantly switches between “clip” and “magazine”, sometimes
in the same paragraph for goodness sake) and Jet acting like an idiot
(in one instance she shoots someone and assumes they are dead. When
she walks up to them, surprise, they aren’t dead and almost kill
her) really made me question those qualifications. She was lucky at
least 50% of the time. That’s not skill, not even close. Victor
would have eaten this supposed agent at snacktime, forget even being
a meal. So that aspect was very disappointing.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Now,
as a brainless action/adventure book, this did have it. In spades.
Jet fights in some sort of Mardi Gras party, She gets ambushed in
Israel. And the grand finale is a massive fight on a super luxury
cruise yacht of a billionaire Russian. Lots of people die and gun
battles galore. It’s what I wanted.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Characterization
was pretty nil. The side characters were completely two dimensional
and Jet herself wasn’t much more than one of those franchise
fiction heroines like Annja from the <a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/rogue-angel/">Rogue
Angel</a> series. Speaking of franchise fiction, there are 10 books
in this series. I plan on taking these books one at a time though. If
the next one doesn’t improve however, that’ll be it. </span>
</p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★☆☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">From
the Publisher<br />
She faked her death......to save her life.<br />
The
plan almost worked.<br />
Her code name: Jet. A lethal operative for
the Mossad.<br />
Many wanted her eliminated. Spoofing her own death
was the only way to survive, but it didn't work out like she
planned.<br />
The past doesn't give up its secrets easily.<br />
The
tranquil island's beauty was shattered in an instant. The attack
forced her hand, and now she must make a decision. Will she stay
dead, or return to a world that wants to kill her? </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVpm9egjX9lHBzNSA3pE4TPNTWJvLYwGwi2M8SJGe4Q6fxf0-9E9q_E24421O11MiK8Mjx6DiA3xx9-NENyQJ7qQpfFP_DyMPCs9sgcTyQkEkHWD6BLHTEH4_UIx3Chk8XF5gH0zJ2hB5-ZwXHqguzPOUr7aE3lp98Vq1tM_cesei014VkanD/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVpm9egjX9lHBzNSA3pE4TPNTWJvLYwGwi2M8SJGe4Q6fxf0-9E9q_E24421O11MiK8Mjx6DiA3xx9-NENyQJ7qQpfFP_DyMPCs9sgcTyQkEkHWD6BLHTEH4_UIx3Chk8XF5gH0zJ2hB5-ZwXHqguzPOUr7aE3lp98Vq1tM_cesei014VkanD/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-44239299861664099142024-03-07T05:00:00.014-05:002024-03-07T05:00:00.134-05:00The Winds of Gath (Dumarest #1) 4Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWhps79xqcwA8hfVxPY7bk5JOXm9SeigbF337IGaEYWV3z0LllTpu_TMZiNPCVWMLg-SW280E8rI7rO0zoOM2mNJPblZHpX4qwZhP2WiUL-1pvN6rNvDUVPZJuhaeXKETM1ASp64seGAvAYsT5hePNSbbosX774gse2ONvoCNEDak1CPtOcbo/s498/windsofgath.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWhps79xqcwA8hfVxPY7bk5JOXm9SeigbF337IGaEYWV3z0LllTpu_TMZiNPCVWMLg-SW280E8rI7rO0zoOM2mNJPblZHpX4qwZhP2WiUL-1pvN6rNvDUVPZJuhaeXKETM1ASp64seGAvAYsT5hePNSbbosX774gse2ONvoCNEDak1CPtOcbo/s320/windsofgath.jpg" width="193" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<b><br /></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Title:</b>
The Winds of Gath<br />
<b>Series:</b> Dumarest #1<br />
<b>Author:</b>
EC Tubb<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 4 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b>
SF<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 168<br />
<b>Words:</b> 45K</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Another
short novel. I zipped right through it, enjoyed it immensely and then
had to sit back and try to figure out why I enjoyed it so much. The
story was ok. A young boy, Earl, stows away on a spaceship and
becomes a Traveler and ends up on a world with some mystical singing
stones. There’s a plot to replace an heiress and murder ensues and
some good old fashioned mayhem. All in all there was nothing here
that should have attracted me the way it did.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">But
upon some intense navel gazing and narcissistic mental contortions, I
realized that I actually appreciated the writing itself here. Not
because anything stood out, but because it was a totally smooth read
without a single interruption of an awkward word or a wrongly turned
phrase or a scene segue that was too abrupt. None of that happened.
It was like Tubb was, gasp, an ACTUAL EXPERIENCED AUTHOR!!!! Oh
Myrtle, say it ain’t so! I can be a picky reader. A word choice,
while acceptable, will give me that bump in the road feeling if it’s
not the exact correctly used word. It might not be the meaning but
how it flows with the words around it. Words are like Lego pieces.
One might do adequately, but another will fit better with its
neighbors and a good author knows how to work them together. Tubb has
that skill and that artistry. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">That
kind of thing can be subjective, so I know it’s not a big selling
point, but it gives me hope for the rest of the series (however long
it is. I believe it’s 30+ books?). Even if the stories themselves
aren’t the greatest, I’m hoping the writing itself will carry me
on through. If the stories are good, then that will be bonus! I feel
like I’m in a Win Win scenario here.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Score
for the Good Guys!</span></p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★★☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">From
Wikipedia.org<br />
Gath is a world with a unique tourist attraction:
a mountain-sized white noise amplifier. With no indigenous economy
other than the tourist slave labor trade, Dumarest struggles to break
free from this dead-end world. Dumarest becomes attached to the
retinue of the Matriarch of Kund and unwittingly finds himself
embroiled in the vicious and complex political intrigues of the
Matriarch's court. After some keen detective work from Dumarest and
the ensuing deadly battle with the Cyclan, Dumarest prevails and
escapes from the backwater planet. </span>
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkPzkKh7XFrkF4vv855sAQr4aXXjfySwBPoUXpzNenzghCZyRyYsNrX-tSlrKfUFwxxpLFId8nKnhtUWRceC-OMWt0E5phqhis5njfr-qzPgBxvgjqtxNtTRZSa0RjPUbZr-fvF4yFptOR2NVrjvIxEph6Q_QDsr7Y682C4v3eCe-YDfEuECzI/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkPzkKh7XFrkF4vv855sAQr4aXXjfySwBPoUXpzNenzghCZyRyYsNrX-tSlrKfUFwxxpLFId8nKnhtUWRceC-OMWt0E5phqhis5njfr-qzPgBxvgjqtxNtTRZSa0RjPUbZr-fvF4yFptOR2NVrjvIxEph6Q_QDsr7Y682C4v3eCe-YDfEuECzI/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-89271543726825642122024-03-05T05:00:00.021-05:002024-03-05T05:00:00.134-05:00Commodore Hornblower (Horatio Hornblower #4) 3Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cG0huduLOphIFwAFJnbKLGRfQhsK-LFa1qXMMxQ2f1W-1xPWtXRNg3vE50R5gbYKWpczMk4-Y28pUFo5C1Izj3w53fEsBMM9TNAcJXp0lyJv3rtCubLc9Ykm8xUZS9lE_t09FiBCDNBCSM1fKisy7L0cztiiT_AOnLsa47rm9YQ-LoQcjjz9/s450/commodore%20hornblower.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cG0huduLOphIFwAFJnbKLGRfQhsK-LFa1qXMMxQ2f1W-1xPWtXRNg3vE50R5gbYKWpczMk4-Y28pUFo5C1Izj3w53fEsBMM9TNAcJXp0lyJv3rtCubLc9Ykm8xUZS9lE_t09FiBCDNBCSM1fKisy7L0cztiiT_AOnLsa47rm9YQ-LoQcjjz9/s320/commodore%20hornblower.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<b><br /></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Title:</b>
Commodore Hornblower<br />
<b>Series:</b> Horatio
Hornblower #4<br />
<b>Author:</b> Cecil Scott Forester<br />
<b>Rating:</b>
3 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b> Historical Fiction<br />
<b>Pages:
</b> 251<br />
<b>Words:</b> 97K</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Hornblower
is now married to Lady Barbara, is the lord of some estate and is on
land with enough wealth to never need to work again. And he’s
miserable as sin. So when the Admiralty gives him orders to go to sea
again and wreak havoc on the French and try to cozy up to the
Russians, Hornblower’s protestations ring particularly hollow. He
also has a one time fling with some Russian
duchess/countess/whatever. But it is so downplayed and not blatantly
referred to that I wondered if it had actually happened. Quite the
change from the previous books and how Forester handled Hornblower’s
infidelities. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Now
that Hornblower is in charge of a fleet (a small one, but a fleet
nonetheless), the naval action is quite different. The focus isn’t
on one ship and its particular actions, but on the various ships and
this time we are treated to some bombers, which are light ships with
big mortars. Very different than a cannonade between sailing ships. I
appreciated the change in tactics that involved and even the type of
naval action was a welcome change. I don’t want each book to be a
naval clone of the previous one. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">We
also get a much more confidant Hornblower. He still has his doubts
about himself, especially when one of his decisions leads to the
death of a Lieutenant that was a favorite and was a stand-in
pseudo-son but those doubts weren’t at his core anymore like they
had been in previous books. I was glad to see that change. It felt
like Hornblower was finally growing up, now that he was in his 40’s,
sigh. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Even
though I enjoyed this more than the previous book and Hornblower’s
infidelities were down played, I’m forced to give this the same
rating. Forced you say? That’s right, forced. The High Admiralty
wrote me a letter and stated that if I rated this higher they would
put me on half-pay for the rest of my life. Which with inflation and
Bidenomics means I could buy one can of baked beans each week. So
yes, I think the threat of being forced to live on one can of Bush’s
Baked Beans each week qualifies as being forced. And if you
disagree, well, that’s mutiny and I’ll hang your scurvy necks
from the mast head as an example to the rest of you mutinous readers!
Arrrgh, grrrr, belay the wind in the foremast, avast! And other such
nautical’y sounding terms ;-)</span></p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★☆☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">From
Wikipedia.org</span></p>
<br /><details>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Having
achieved fame and financial security, Captain Sir Horatio Hornblower
has married Lady Barbara Leighton (née Wellesley) and is preparing
to settle down to unaccustomed life as the squire of Smallbridge in
Kent. He still yearns to serve at sea and accepts with alacrity when
the Admiralty appoints him a commodore, puts him in command of a
squadron and sends him on a diplomatic and military mission to the
Baltic. His primary aim is to bring Russia into the war against
Napoleon.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Hornblower
is shown dealing with the problems of squadron command, and using
naval mortars (carried on special ships known as bomb vessels) to
destroy a French privateer. This leads to the French invasion of
Swedish Pomerania. Later his squadron calls at Kronstadt, where he
meets with Russian officials, including Tsar Alexander I, who is
favourably impressed by Hornblower and his squadron. Hornblower
narrowly averts a major diplomatic incident when his secretary and
interpreter (a Finnish refugee assigned to him by the Admiralty)
attempts to assassinate the Tsar at a court function.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">After
Russia enters the war, Hornblower's squadron takes an important role
in the defence of Riga, which is besieged by French forces. The bomb
vessels again take an important role, and so do amphibious operations
under the protection of the squadron.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">At
the end of the novel, the French and Prussian troops abandon the
siege and retreat. Hornblower accompanies the pursuing Russian forces
until they meet the Prussian army, which has halted to form a
rearguard. Hornblower meets with the Prussian general - Ludwig Yorck
von Wartenburg and persuades him to change sides.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">At
this point it becomes clear to the accompanying Brown that Hornblower
is gravely ill, apparently with typhus. In some editions of the novel
the story ends here with the hallucinating Hornblower imagining
himself being greeted in Hampton Court by Lady Barbara and his infant
son. C.S. Forester however provided an additional chapter in which
the convalescent Hornblower returns safely to Smallbridge in time for
Christmas.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
</details><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4ws2a9QAcEoYTn3D943Y65KfNdO30FlSSX5BAl7_7nnsDlcYR_cCT-fETceF1xBgPcQZUpBGRomSLiy5wleKUW74haH3YDizrdqqChWYYWLAZUwLdcaw_EcAr1-9yAPmMzUzzvHS2Xv_XJH-ToVRt6esdSkVUT5GpkbwwMrp-Dym_BUMBdGJ/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4ws2a9QAcEoYTn3D943Y65KfNdO30FlSSX5BAl7_7nnsDlcYR_cCT-fETceF1xBgPcQZUpBGRomSLiy5wleKUW74haH3YDizrdqqChWYYWLAZUwLdcaw_EcAr1-9yAPmMzUzzvHS2Xv_XJH-ToVRt6esdSkVUT5GpkbwwMrp-Dym_BUMBdGJ/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><ul><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/horatio-hornblower/">All
of My “Horatio Hornblower” Reviews</a></span></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-88319719806522810792024-03-03T05:00:00.016-05:002024-03-03T05:00:00.244-05:00Legacies (Galaxy's Edge #11) 4Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsAaTQYjFtco6NljMs-IZT3rVFuW42MjePRLWz9mB3nI-tHzHe-wasVC-HeBCwPvClPgc9xChusekWjubTwhryoNTTfXIwThX8o84b8J-Yx76Ik34wEhoOpFWuINdzMfoSzbS3dtuykfBIpHpib23SyaQg1PD0QkFDT1TtcidyZCVEotVapw4/s424/legacies.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsAaTQYjFtco6NljMs-IZT3rVFuW42MjePRLWz9mB3nI-tHzHe-wasVC-HeBCwPvClPgc9xChusekWjubTwhryoNTTfXIwThX8o84b8J-Yx76Ik34wEhoOpFWuINdzMfoSzbS3dtuykfBIpHpib23SyaQg1PD0QkFDT1TtcidyZCVEotVapw4/s320/legacies.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">
</span><br />
<b><br /></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Title:</b> Legacies<br />
<b>Series:</b>
Galaxy's Edge #11<br />
<b>Author:</b> Jason Anspach & Nick
Cole<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 4 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b>
Space Opera<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 466<br />
<b>Words:</b>
155K</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /><br /></p>
<hr />
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I enjoyed this more than the first
book, even though it starts off with killing off one of the main
characters we were introduced to in the previous book. I was not a
huge fan of that but it help bring the focus back to Wraith/Ford and
then Prisma and her warbot minder, K88 I think its name is?
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">There was also a lot of jumping around
in both character perspective and in time. We meet Urmo again, the
evil yoda of this series. If I hadn’t recently read <a href="https://bookstooge.blog/2023/12/02/imperator-galaxys-edge-4-5-4stars/"><i>Imperator</i></a>
(back in December) I doubt I would have remembered who he was and I
would have been left scratching my head about his brief inclusion to
the story.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The main story is that Wraith has a
bounty on his head from the Assassin’s Guild and he has to track
the head of the guild down to find out who put the bounty out on him.
But to do this, he has to pretend to be Tyrus Rechs, who is dead (and
like, dead dead. Dying in a nuclear explosion will do that to even
immortals, surprise!). So Wraith is dressing up in Rechs old armor
and goes to the assassins guild to get the job to hunt Wraith, ie,
himself. But it all goes pearshaped when the Guild catches on and
sets an ambush for Wraith. But Wraith is good enough to survive and
now he has a lead.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The other storyline is about Prisma and
K88 and their adventures on a Savage mini-hulk that is tractor
beaming in random ships and using the passengers to run random war
game scenarios. They are hooked up with some Republic fighters and
one of them is from the same project that Wraith/Ford was in. Ravi
shows up in the flesh and helps them out. Prisma is hearing a woman’s
voice in her head, someone who can use the power who is nobody she
knows. Turns out it is a Savage and she has plans for Prisma.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">At the same time, Wraith, who is doing
that whole Rechs/Wraith thing, finds out that his dad was not his dad
but an old army buddy and that he, Wraith, is a long lived military
experiment meant to be the tip of the Legionaire’s spear. To
survive when the House of Reason took the project over, he had his
memory suppressed and his buddy pretended to be his dad so there
would be no record of him.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">All of this is happening at the same
time. POV’s are switching every couple of chapters and the forward
momentum is absolute non-stop and relentless. By the end of the book
I was begging for things to just stop and be in a bit more of an
orderly fashion. I can understand why they wrote the book the way
they did, but it was exhausting to deal with. As much as I complained
about <a href="https://bookstooge.blog/2024/01/18/takeover-galaxys-edge-10-4stars/"><i>Takeover</i></a>
not seeming to advance the plot from Season One, I couldn’t
complain about how the POV’s were handled. This just felt messier.
Add in the deaths of Carter (the character from the previous book)
and the apparent death (and if not, the complete disappearance of)
Leenah and I had some real issues with how they handled secondary
characters. I mean, why waste the entire first book of the series on
a character who isn’t going to be around?
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I know I have complained a good bit but
I was happy overall with the book. It’s taking much longer for the
authors to make apparent the path this second season is going to walk
and I want that foresight now. I’m just thankful that author Nick
Cole can’t narrate this series by some idiot who can’t tell a
good story. Ohhhh, I still get angry with how they handled the
Forgotten Ruins series. And look at that, I’m STILL complaining. I
think somebody needs a nap.</p>
<p align="left" style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★★☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">From
Galaxysedge.fandom.com</p>
<br /><details>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">With
his duty to the Legion satisfied, Wraith sets out to find a lost
member of his crew―the young girl, Prisma. But not only does the
journey bring with it more death and destruction―and loss―than he
ever imagined, it revives the shadows of a forgotten past… and the
only way forward is to follow the footsteps of the legendary Tyrus
Rechs.</span></strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Meanwhile,
as the galaxy struggles to steady itself following the fall of a
corrupt and bloated Republic, dangerous threats vie for power. These
enemies include both the exceedingly modern and the impossibly
ancient, awakening at long last to emerge from the darkness between
the stars.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
</details><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhVhpceJdQrMlltGGKsk2EGf3PR2Bc6cznQJbjgJyQJInqbz3R_iuP6MIseN81Ms-It1Qg_KF0iNFsRiqVhkSnBWtcNcvaL6YdHUs5AyEss1J_iWzHh4M54K5QtheG0CDji_0brhRR0xNefkZcU6bO8Wmq8ig4Jros0P9tKC3S6hbCPlc9ddkP/s1600/Bookstooge4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1514" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhVhpceJdQrMlltGGKsk2EGf3PR2Bc6cznQJbjgJyQJInqbz3R_iuP6MIseN81Ms-It1Qg_KF0iNFsRiqVhkSnBWtcNcvaL6YdHUs5AyEss1J_iWzHh4M54K5QtheG0CDji_0brhRR0xNefkZcU6bO8Wmq8ig4Jros0P9tKC3S6hbCPlc9ddkP/w189-h200/Bookstooge4.jpg" width="189" /></a></div><ul><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/galaxys-edge/"><i><u>All
My "Galaxy's Edge" Reviews</u></i></a></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/galaxys-edge-season-two/"><i><u>Galaxy’s
Edge: Season Two</u></i></a></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/galaxys-edge-season-one/"><i><u>Galaxy's
Edge: Season One</u></i></a></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/galaxys-edge-tyrus-rechs/"><i><u>Galaxy's
Edge: Tyrus Rechs</u></i></a></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/galaxys-edge-savage-wars/"><i><u>Galaxy's
Edge: The Savage Wars</u></i></a></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/galaxys-edge-order-of-the-centurion/"><i><u>Galaxy's
Edge: Order of the Centurion</u></i></a></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/galaxys-edge-dark-operator/"><i><u>Galaxy's
Edge: Dark Operator</u></i></a></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-33252258718056879952024-02-27T05:00:00.018-05:002024-02-27T05:00:00.137-05:00Conan the Formidable (Conan the Barbarian #16) 3.5Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rFeyc8vtoez138i45yPxrrIfqqWqlipSfpaXN5rWaDbYlKilNrnmmEJscWjv2BWyY3LdAjJSHp73YqjiuX0cqU948qyN3nFaPQjOQ66IycyZSRLo58CUmcEpGuzJBdz_42ciphSYM0o2sxZhVxX6q3dKffZnR-_CxFqSK95wJnqE0pbYq0GB/s499/conantheformidable-featured.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rFeyc8vtoez138i45yPxrrIfqqWqlipSfpaXN5rWaDbYlKilNrnmmEJscWjv2BWyY3LdAjJSHp73YqjiuX0cqU948qyN3nFaPQjOQ66IycyZSRLo58CUmcEpGuzJBdz_42ciphSYM0o2sxZhVxX6q3dKffZnR-_CxFqSK95wJnqE0pbYq0GB/s320/conantheformidable-featured.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">
</span><br />
<b><br /></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Title:</b> Conan the Formidable<br />
<b>Series:</b>
Conan the Barbarian #16<br />
<b>Author:</b> Steve
Perry<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 3.5 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b>
Fantasy<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 171<br />
<b>Words:</b> 62K</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
<br /><br /></p>
<hr />
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">First, the cover. There is a man with
four arms in this story, but he’s a scared little weakling who is
being used in a freak show. He’s definitely NOT a monstrous hulk
who takes on Conan. I don’t know who the woman is supposed to be,
because there’s not a normal woman amongst the group. Perry’s
predilection for monster women comes roaring to the forefront.
There’s a cat woman, a giantess and a young teen giantess and for
once, Perry doesn’t have Conan sleep with anyone. You could have
bowled me over with a feather, because Perry’s a perv and it has
shown through in all his previous Conan books. So the woman on the
cover is, ahem, artistic license.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">There is an evil sorcerer, but he’s
not 500 years old and he’s pretty dumb. His biggest ambition is to
run a big freak show and pimp the freaks for even more money. When
your highest ambition is to get some rich nobleman to be your patron,
and you have magic and freaks, well, I say you are aiming pretty low.
Said magician was the villain but he wasn’t a competent one, more
of just one more annoyance Conan has to deal with on his travels.
The magician does kidnap both some giants and a swamp dwarf thingy,
so that brings their dada’s into the action.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Those guys hate each other and even
though they work together to get their kids back, they both want to
kill Conan and everyone else in the freak show because they know the
location of their homes. Evil incompetent magician, traitorous and
backstabbing giant and dwarf and then a bunch of regular soldiers
hired to guard a rich nobleman. Conan and Co have a lot of killing to
do and Perry didn’t let me down. There was a lot of action and that
is what I liked most about this story. It didn’t hurt that at the
end the two Dada’s ended up killing each other by accident while
trying to be treacherous to each other. It was the perfect ending for
two such scum bags.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I’ve got one final Conan book by Perry to
read. I wasn’t going to after the last book (<a href="https://bookstooge.blog/2024/01/14/conan-the-defiant-conan-the-barbarian-2-5stars/"><i>Conan
the Defiant</i></a>) but this one gave me the strength for that final
lap. Much like that scene in the movie “Chariots of Fire” where
the main character gets knocked down and then gets back up and wins
the race, I too shall recover and take this reading race by the
throat and make Perry wish he’d never written a Conan story. Oh
wait, no. What I MEANT to say was that I’m going to push through
all the pain and suffering Perry has put me through with these
mediocre Conan fanfics and teach him that not even he can stop me
from reading Conan stories. Hmmm, that doesn’t quite right either.
Well, whatever. I’m going to read the final Conan book by Perry and
that’s inspiring and you should be hearing that music from Chariots
of Fire while reading this. Plus, you should be inspired to be more
like me so you can crowdfund a biopic movie about my life and how
great I am. Now THAT’S inspiring!</p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★✬☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">From Wikipedia</p>
<br /><details>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The novel opens with Conan walking into
Shadizar through the Karpash Mountains. He is ambushed by some
bandits in the mountains and rescued by a giantess named Teyle. She
leads Conan back to her village in the swamp they inhabit at the foot
of a mountain. The swamp is also inhabited by Vargs, who are
described as "Green dwarves" and act more
like goblins or orcs. Upon arriving, he is knocked out
by Teyle to be experimented upon by the request of Raseri, the
village chieftain and Teyle's father.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Conan awakens inside a cage made from
the bones of giants and finds he's being experimented upon by Raseri.
Raseri is performing research on the physical endurance of damage in
humans. Meanwhile, Dake the freakmaster is on his way to the giant's
village with his entourage of Penz the wolfman, Tro the catwoman, Sab
the four-armed man, and Kreg his assistant. Dake's mission is to
capture a giant and a "green dwarf" for his freak
show.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">On the way, Dake's freak show is
attacked by Vargs, but the creatures are scared off by a massive red
demon which Dake summons (which is an illusion). Penz captures
one of the Vargs at the behest of Dake. Dake promptly hypnotizes his
Varg into servitude. The Varg that is captured turns out to be
Vilken, the son of Fosull, a Varg chieftain.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Conan eventually escapes the cage in
which he is being held and sets fire to Raseri's hut, sending all of
his research on humans into flames. Conan escapes into the swamp,
running across some Vargs and killing several of them. Meanwhile,
Dake arrives at night in the hopes of capturing a giant for his freak
show with the help of Tro the catwoman's night vision. The flaming
hut distracts many of the giants and Dake is able to capture Teyle,
as well as Morja and Oren, who are also Raseri's children.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As Conan escapes, the giants release
their "Hellhounds", a massive beast with the appearance of
a cross between a bear and a wolf. The hellhounds, Vargs, and giants
are tracking Conan in that order of following. Soon, Conan slays all
the hellhounds. When the Vargs and giants find these corpses, they
are amazed. Conan finally escapes the swamp only to be magically
captured by Dake.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Figuring that more of his own kind will
attract too much attention, Raseri decides to leave the swamp to look
for his children by asking the local humans if they have seen a man
resembling Conan. Fosull decides on a similar plan, but coats himself
in mud (so as not to display his green skin) and follows the cart's
tracks, knowing what they look like. Fosull manages to get a ride
with a drunken wine seller in his cart. Dake forces Conan to display
his strength so that it may be measured. Dake learns that Conan is
stronger than all the rest of his freak show combined and sets Conan
to use as his strongman for the traveling circus.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Raseri eventually finds Fosull's wagon
and learns that the cart in front of him contains a Varg who is
tracking their children. Fosull learns that he is being tracked by a
giant, but knows not who. Dake exhibits his circus to a village.
Eventually, Conan discovers that rage helps in weakening Dake's
spell. Soon, Penz reveals he knows a few of Dake's spells.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Fosull and Raseri form a temporary
alliance to rescue their children. Dake meets up with a caravan of
other merchants. They stop for the night and Dake sends Morja to the
leader of the caravan as a gift. Raseri and Fosull have managed to
sneak up secretly. This enrages Dake's slaves and they manage to
break the spell of entrapment set upon them. The former-slaves,
Raseri, and Fosull manage to rescue Morja before she arrives at the
merchant's wagon.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The group kills the merchant and
several guards in the ensuing battle. Oren throws a rock at Dake as
he's reciting his enslavement spell. The spell gets 2/3 done and
binds the ex-slaves, Raseri, and Fousull (except for Conan) before
the thrown rock smashes Dake's teeth preventing the final
articulation of the spell. Conan promptly slays Dake in the process.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Raseri is convinced that the group
should not be able to leave knowing how to get to his village of
giants. Raseri tells the group that he has a potion which will help
them forget how to get to his village. However, his potion is
actually a poison. Penz sprinkles a powder (stolen from Dake) that
turns all liquid to water into the cups of the slaves while Raseri is
not watching. Eveyone drinks the potion and Raseri reveals they are
about to die. Fosull, whose drink was not sprinkled with the magical
powder, kills Raseri with his poisoned spear and dies shortly
afterwards. Raseri's death also prevents the poison from taking
effect. Soon, Teyle decides to let the group leave and the book is
concluded.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
</details><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IIeCCgMB4xGuGsrdE1ZqkzwtEPK9NC_9Jmlxu2NTYqVhVE31upcy7SWD9CbKAEt8-1KbtvAnOLijSt5K2inkwkugyMMMkCPKv4e-C-VN-7iNUEdg16XL5f37U1Tz0nuM3HtP5dQpuiIBvVfNVtOO4Vn_xLdBq4rDVQXy8mjg1h9A406bCVkI/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IIeCCgMB4xGuGsrdE1ZqkzwtEPK9NC_9Jmlxu2NTYqVhVE31upcy7SWD9CbKAEt8-1KbtvAnOLijSt5K2inkwkugyMMMkCPKv4e-C-VN-7iNUEdg16XL5f37U1Tz0nuM3HtP5dQpuiIBvVfNVtOO4Vn_xLdBq4rDVQXy8mjg1h9A406bCVkI/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><br /><ul><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/essential-conan/"><i><u>The
“Essential Conan” Trilogy</u></i></a></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/conan-the-barbarian/"><i><u>All
of My “Conan” Reviews</u></i></a></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-13992401959223780922024-02-25T05:00:00.016-05:002024-02-25T05:00:00.242-05:00Phule’s Company (Phule’s Company #1) 4Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TqRR-7RvkL3rhxpV8zXvfSS8vV3mjCyZCydyjzo4GubaT7PhkqEYSS9-7YMZiDesRWpFRWbIdPIXptEXH4gw_2bxKmKvt0xw1WcYQSn2T2qvCFsiLah6rKDxW2WEc-vdV7LSO_uvWAqSW4lvGHFQEHiC9w8sQHgpVWBDSYKL3OnZPXGOeYiD/s464/phulescompany.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TqRR-7RvkL3rhxpV8zXvfSS8vV3mjCyZCydyjzo4GubaT7PhkqEYSS9-7YMZiDesRWpFRWbIdPIXptEXH4gw_2bxKmKvt0xw1WcYQSn2T2qvCFsiLah6rKDxW2WEc-vdV7LSO_uvWAqSW4lvGHFQEHiC9w8sQHgpVWBDSYKL3OnZPXGOeYiD/s320/phulescompany.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<b><br /></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Title:</b>
Phule’s Company<br />
<b>Series:</b> Phule’s Company
#1<br />
<b>Author:</b> Robert Asprin<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 4 of
5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b> SF<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 182<br />
<b>Words:</b>
77K</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">My
main knowledge about Asprin’s writing is through his “<a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/myth-adventures/"><i>Myth
Adventures</i></a>” series and his “<a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/thieves-world/"><i>Thieves
World</i></a>” anthologies. The Myth books were boooooring with a
few exceptions and the Thieves World books tended to be vulgar and of
dnf moral quality. So you can imagine just how dubious I was at
giving him yet another chance. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">But
something about the idea of a misfit millionaire in the military
turning other misfits into a semi-reasonable outfit just appealed to
me. I like a good underdog story and while Phule isn’t the
underdog, everybody else in the story sure is. But even Phule knows
that money can only go so far and in some cases can hurt more than
help. I found Asprin’s philosophy surprisingly thought out even
while disagreeing with Phule’s underlying thought that people are
basically good. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This
was fun, pure and simple. I had a blast reading this and found this
to be the most enjoyable Asprin I’ve read to date (even better than
<a href="https://bookstooge.blog/2013/11/22/m-y-t-h-inc-in-action-myth-adventure/" target="_self"><i>Myth
Inc in Action</i></a>, the best Myth book in my opinion). However,
given my past experience with Asprin I’m holding this series very
lightly and am putting no expectations on the next book. But for the
moment, this is a great book and I recommend it, even if I can’t
comment on the series as a whole (yet). </span>
</p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★★☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">From
Wikipedia.org</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
book begins as Willard Phule, a multimillionaire,
is court-martialed by the Space Legion for ordering
the strafing of a treaty signing ceremony. For his
punishment, he is given command of an Omega Company full of misfits
on Haskin's Planet, a mining settlement on the edge of settled space.
He quickly goes to his duty station and leverages his personal money
and a knack for managing people to get the company to come together
as a unit. His antics attract the attention of the local and
interplanetary press, but create a very cohesive unit of the
Legionnaires.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">When
a contract for an honorary duty is awarded to the Regular Army on
Haskin's Planet, Phule convinces the governor to leave the contract
up for competition between the Space Legionnaires and the Regular
Army. The Army sends some of their most elite troops to take part in
the competition, and through an impressive show of cooperation and
teamwork, Phule's company ties the regular troops. In the final
episode of the book, Phule's company encounters lizard-like alien
explorers from the Zenobian Empire. Quickly reverting to his business
instincts, Phule negotiates a business deal to sell swampland to the
creatures in exchange for new technologies. This again enrages some
of his superiors, but because of a show of support from the
Legionnaires for their commander and a complete conviction of his own
innocence, Phule evades court-martial again.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IIeCCgMB4xGuGsrdE1ZqkzwtEPK9NC_9Jmlxu2NTYqVhVE31upcy7SWD9CbKAEt8-1KbtvAnOLijSt5K2inkwkugyMMMkCPKv4e-C-VN-7iNUEdg16XL5f37U1Tz0nuM3HtP5dQpuiIBvVfNVtOO4Vn_xLdBq4rDVQXy8mjg1h9A406bCVkI/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IIeCCgMB4xGuGsrdE1ZqkzwtEPK9NC_9Jmlxu2NTYqVhVE31upcy7SWD9CbKAEt8-1KbtvAnOLijSt5K2inkwkugyMMMkCPKv4e-C-VN-7iNUEdg16XL5f37U1Tz0nuM3HtP5dQpuiIBvVfNVtOO4Vn_xLdBq4rDVQXy8mjg1h9A406bCVkI/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><br /><ul><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Al<a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/robert-asprin/">l
My “Robert Asprin” Reviews</a></span></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-71986322904837115232024-02-24T05:00:00.019-05:002024-02-24T05:00:00.241-05:00The Closed Worlds (Starwolf #2) 3.5Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQ6QvMoqe_CmZQwRLNp1DF9IGPFa93QCrphbkREiLy_PKbdP2o61uI7RWvjYQaJlYOqJZvD0SoP5KsZdywMNOG0vzfWKaOFSnST9hkpLUpesKKyrFsCYpVs0D13jVhA8nOuZZQlDXja2a1SuabS6OWqa_DgC6-kHpxzr6sYTyHFM906MiiX5D/s493/closedworld.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQ6QvMoqe_CmZQwRLNp1DF9IGPFa93QCrphbkREiLy_PKbdP2o61uI7RWvjYQaJlYOqJZvD0SoP5KsZdywMNOG0vzfWKaOFSnST9hkpLUpesKKyrFsCYpVs0D13jVhA8nOuZZQlDXja2a1SuabS6OWqa_DgC6-kHpxzr6sYTyHFM906MiiX5D/s320/closedworld.jpg" width="195" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<b><br /></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Title:</b>
The Closed Worlds<br />
<b>Series:</b> Starwolf #2<br />
<b>Author:</b>
Edmond Hamilton<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 3.5 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b>
SF<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 151<br />
<b>Words:</b> 46K</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This
was MUCH better than the previous story. This had all the adventure
and daring-do that I was expecting from a golden age SF writer. Chane
the Starwolf plays a part but not the central part. He is now
definitely part of the Mercenary group and not some Lone Wolf (ha!)
all by himself. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Most
of the action took place on the planet as the Mercs, led by one of
the woman of the Opposition, tried to find out a rich archeologist.
They ran into some decidely deadly created life forms several times
and I thought Hamilton did a great job of showing how deadly the
creatures were, either singly or in a massive pack. Of course, they
weren’t enough to stop Chane the Starwolf, but come on, he wouldn’t
be much of a hero if they had.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Another
aspect that I liked was that when Chane was caught in the Astral
Projection Machine, trying to rescue the woman, he fought tooth and
nail to get back to where his body was. He wasn’t just tough in
body, but in mind and spirit. During his time he visited the
Starwolves’ home planet, which set things up nicely for the final
book in this trilogy. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This
was just the right length, with just the right amount of spaceships,
just the right amount of jungle and freakish creatures and just the
right amount of hand to hand fighting. Had a very good time while
reading this and am now looking forward to more of Hamilton’s
works. </span>
</p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★✬☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">From
Wikipedia & Bookstooge.blog</span></p>
<br /><details>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">While
on Earth, Morgan Chane, captain Dilullo, Bollard, and others once
again team up to get a new mission. This time they are hired by a
wealthy earth businessman and trader James Ashton for $500k to find
his brother, Randall Ashton, who disappeared in the Closed Worlds.
The latter are notable for being so dangerous and so mysterious that
even starwolves don't dare to step their foot on - they have laws
that bar them from landing on Arkuu, the planet of the Closed World,
where natives don't wellcome anyone. The mercs accept the deadly
offer and leave for the Closed Worlds.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
Mercs find evidence of Randall and his crew. With the help of a woman
of the Closed Worlds who is in opposition to the policy, set out to
find the lost expedition. They are pursued by government forces. The
Mercs find Randall, who has re-discovered what the Closed Worlds were
trying to hide, an astral projection machine for the mind that
allowed the user to wander the universe as long as the body was taken
care of. It was destructively addictive and was the reason the Closed
Worlds shut themselves off from Galactic Civilization. The Mercs
rescue Randall against his will and the woman figures out a way to
make use of the machine that won’t be destructive. </span>
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
</details><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyfhlBCz72LdmO4Zik59AEjmiA6GcM_3_24WWA37WuoBrgaUF6KEdhlXwIDT_qfCHES4v5KX7SJEOLHwvtKJj8PqLEe5ost6G3FaZfFejQUz9dA4-aixMTfQpke1PTIBc8IY8F2WzrUTI9ihX_Pofq8q2fH1DZWxC3719dWJOcBdOFIS5x8tre/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyfhlBCz72LdmO4Zik59AEjmiA6GcM_3_24WWA37WuoBrgaUF6KEdhlXwIDT_qfCHES4v5KX7SJEOLHwvtKJj8PqLEe5ost6G3FaZfFejQUz9dA4-aixMTfQpke1PTIBc8IY8F2WzrUTI9ihX_Pofq8q2fH1DZWxC3719dWJOcBdOFIS5x8tre/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-48015256460027096202024-02-22T05:00:00.025-05:002024-02-22T05:00:00.253-05:00Arba and Dakarba (Groo the Wanderer #26) 3.5Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxZXcuvNfJZiX_lSx8GjNbq7OwZ1Y6vJsJZTCQMrkuK6gAzZivTjn3bVR2jtgd-5WRn1FPGetQGwTGDUaZhnFLnx5_H0VqR80eA6KFmomkICuocgSan2jNSDl6yME48yY7FwkeMhm9ke7zSD7xO3R6H9752GZs0gTjNRhwqX_-ZhDbTlfQH-4/s462/groo26.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxZXcuvNfJZiX_lSx8GjNbq7OwZ1Y6vJsJZTCQMrkuK6gAzZivTjn3bVR2jtgd-5WRn1FPGetQGwTGDUaZhnFLnx5_H0VqR80eA6KFmomkICuocgSan2jNSDl6yME48yY7FwkeMhm9ke7zSD7xO3R6H9752GZs0gTjNRhwqX_-ZhDbTlfQH-4/s320/groo26.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">
</span><br />
<b><br /></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Title:</b> Arba and Dakarba<br />
<b>Series:
</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Groo the Wanderer #</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">2</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">6</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span><b>Author:</b>
Sergio Aragones<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 3.5 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b>
Comics<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 23<br />
<b>Words:</b> 2K</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<hr />
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Hahahahaahaha, this was another laugh
out loud comic. Man, if Groo can DO something and yet still not do
it, he will find a way. I am in awe at how Aragones even comes up
with these ideas. What kind of mind is so fiendishly twisted that
something this funny, this amusing and this twisted is even thought
of? It’s just brilliant!</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It is one thing to be funny, it’s not
too hard to make Groo a complete idiot. But at the same time Aragones
has made him this completely unstoppable force of nature who simply
cannot do things as people want him to. Sure, he can stop an army. By
burning down a forest and destroying all the villages in it. Whatever
he is tasked with, Groo will do. But he will do it badly and in such
a way that comes back to bite the person who made the initial
request. Without fail!
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The page I’m including is the last
one. Groo has done his job but done it so wrongly that EVERYONE wants
to kill him. Classic!</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/scl/fi/if99691ccdi3r93jq72gs/groo26-1.jpg?rlkey=cbcjhcx0lmctni274v7qpti8o&" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="538" height="671" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/scl/fi/if99691ccdi3r93jq72gs/groo26-1.jpg?rlkey=cbcjhcx0lmctni274v7qpti8o&" width="451" /></a></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #29303b;">★★★✬☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">From Bookstooge.blog</p>
<br /><details>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Groo
is hired by two witches to recover an amulet from some tiny people.
The witches make Groo small and he attempts to steal the amulet. He
fails but is told if he steals ANOTHER amulet from a wizard that the
little people will let him have the first amulet. Both amulets end up
being a part of an Artifact of Power. Groo steals the wizard’s
amulet but in the process of giving it to the tiny people ends up
stealing the first amulet, thus owning both. He throws away the
wizard’s amulet, since “he” doesn’t need it any more and
gives the original amulet to the two witches. Who turn out to be
working for the wizard. The comic ends with the two witches, the
wizard and the entire tribe of tiny people waiting in ambush to kill
Groo for destroying all their plans. </span>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
</details><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmoiBIx1vFEj9jDjVyQnf9wPukKYTI-S5n79V3jEnBYFrT-FFDNQflk87a7jN6pXJMKYctE_2hOdoCKx6otELkqG-4ejoKhVlmaYeDwZOkyk0YY73ykOL4zzqYt6NkErxAkYHvPqKpWUizlhHENaB6_dl70r8VH3F3Zc2AqfY_nQhQ64APmJYj/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmoiBIx1vFEj9jDjVyQnf9wPukKYTI-S5n79V3jEnBYFrT-FFDNQflk87a7jN6pXJMKYctE_2hOdoCKx6otELkqG-4ejoKhVlmaYeDwZOkyk0YY73ykOL4zzqYt6NkErxAkYHvPqKpWUizlhHENaB6_dl70r8VH3F3Zc2AqfY_nQhQ64APmJYj/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><ul><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/groo-the-wanderer/">All
of My “Groo the Wanderer” Reviews</a></u></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-23621978805844045282024-02-20T05:00:00.014-05:002024-02-20T05:00:00.134-05:00The Blackmail Ring (The Shadow #13) 3.5Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bZ6UL7-V4li_0WEEmMjuDd5MfJsEWI5Er6jQ1quqafW4kTJtUujlsFoqWd0X9K2RCNJtLn1G980tx2rf7uLk1b9M4mqz8gMwPSq8YUbDdgKsG80dcZV3uOL8laCssvOOU7Y9MVNmt4alMTYmxXDGG59Z4WTk6ZkEjew1yC6KNbOBzsKIJkcH/s430/blackmailring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bZ6UL7-V4li_0WEEmMjuDd5MfJsEWI5Er6jQ1quqafW4kTJtUujlsFoqWd0X9K2RCNJtLn1G980tx2rf7uLk1b9M4mqz8gMwPSq8YUbDdgKsG80dcZV3uOL8laCssvOOU7Y9MVNmt4alMTYmxXDGG59Z4WTk6ZkEjew1yC6KNbOBzsKIJkcH/s320/blackmailring.jpg" width="223" /></a></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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
WordPresss & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">
</span><br />
<b><br /></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Title:</b> The Blackmail Ring<br />
<b>Series:</b>
The Shadow #13<br />
<b>Authors:</b> Maxwell Grant<br />
<b>Rating:</b>
3.5 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b> Crime Fiction<br />
<b>Pages:
</b> 146<br />
<b>Words:</b> 44K</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<hr>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
The Batman vibes were almost overpowering in this story. It’s a
decent story about a blackmailer using other blackmailers to do his
own dirty work and the Shadow catches wind of it and goes on an
international rampage taking out the limbs of the Ring before finally
cutting off the head.</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
He does detecting work.</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
He is very physically present in this story, with both fists, guns
and body checks. He’s not a skinny wimp relying on just scare
tactics. The Shadow knows how to fight and he does so.</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
He drives a souped up super car.</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
He flies his own little private airplaine.</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
Batman was most definitely based on the Shadow and the more I read of
the Shadow, the more I realize just how much Batman took from him. In
many ways, Batman is just an updated version for a new generation and
a new medium (comics vs books or radio drama). And yet only 9 years
separated the two and they ran concurrently for several decades.
</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
The Shadow gets another recruit and still has to rescue Harry
Vincent. I don’t understand Gibson’s continued use of him. He has
let other recruits slide into the background and barely mentions
them, so why can’t he do that with Harry? Some things just aren’t
to be I guess. Kind of like wishing that Coca-Cola would bring back
Vanilla-Orange Coke Zero. It ain’t happening. Now I am sad. I’m
going over to that corner over there and have a good cry.
</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
And that’s how I’m going to end this review, sitting in a corner
crying for something that will never exist again. Ahhh, the pathos is
real in this review. Weep, minions, weeeeeeeeep I say.</p>
<p align="left" style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★✬☆</span></p>
<hr>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">From
the Publisher</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The
Shadow follows a bloody trail of extortion and murder that leads from
the back alleys of Paris to the country homes of New England to
confront "The Blackmail Ring".</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9WA9NfPwUm3Tc5NbHUseutVz2lqQExd_Ce5WamDZSjMrsB0YvfixdiPqQd_b9cEyOxbmXjwizhyphenhyphenqOqq1bobJoTo5wee9o-pYWza15SuW0elLMZSWiEHXsxy4DzVh5iasQl-U2EUd_r5NluM-FZbR80eigfxB4VzvmAK6TMZfVFLx2aqN0Jf-/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9WA9NfPwUm3Tc5NbHUseutVz2lqQExd_Ce5WamDZSjMrsB0YvfixdiPqQd_b9cEyOxbmXjwizhyphenhyphenqOqq1bobJoTo5wee9o-pYWza15SuW0elLMZSWiEHXsxy4DzVh5iasQl-U2EUd_r5NluM-FZbR80eigfxB4VzvmAK6TMZfVFLx2aqN0Jf-/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><br /><ul><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/the-shadow/"><i><u>All
of My “The Shadow” Reviews</u></i></a></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-38952121074146992272024-02-18T05:00:00.018-05:002024-02-18T05:00:00.141-05:00Killer’s Payoff (87th Precinct #6) 3Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9arV15rmOyT44igUqVdRjNcl5GIpzsyS6WipxrehAzNlC9D02mWDSG3epYFwfib79SuRN4_8cb15h_wov4Dh-lZcBogEAu6YhSPiFIGTusFpkxf9hEm5YTAx1OMg2Z-UMVyvEqz0ygAHAjjU104_7yqvWjZreUpHSRv4nWr_FWVScKiyIeij/s500/killerspayoff.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9arV15rmOyT44igUqVdRjNcl5GIpzsyS6WipxrehAzNlC9D02mWDSG3epYFwfib79SuRN4_8cb15h_wov4Dh-lZcBogEAu6YhSPiFIGTusFpkxf9hEm5YTAx1OMg2Z-UMVyvEqz0ygAHAjjU104_7yqvWjZreUpHSRv4nWr_FWVScKiyIeij/s320/killerspayoff.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">
</span><br />
<b><br /></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Title:</b> Killer’s Payoff<br />
<b>Series:</b>
87<sup>th</sup> Precinct #6<br />
<b>Author:</b> Ed
McBain<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 3 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b>
Crime Fiction<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 118<br />
<b>Words:</b>
53K<br />
<br /><br />
</p><hr />
Wow, it’s been a while since I read
an 87<sup>th</sup> Precinct book! I was thinking I had stopped in
November of ‘23, but looking at the the blog, it turns out it was
back in June with <i><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/2023/06/22/killers-choice-87th-precinct-%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%9C%AC%E2%98%86/">Killer’s
Choice</a>. </i><span style="font-style: normal;">Man, time really got
away from me on this series. That’s ok though, as these are
essentially standalone stories with just little tidbits connecting
them to any previous books. </span>
<p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Cotton
Hawes was introduced in the previous book and he’s the main
character here. He literally sleeps with some woman every other
chapter and is the main reason this didn’t get 3 ½ stars. It’s
not graphic or anything, but McBain makes it a point and by the end,
it’s almost a joke. But that kind of thing isn’t a joke.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I
found the idea of the police working hard to apprehend the killer of
a scumbag blackmailer to be morally repugnant but that is how the
Rule of Law works. It doesn’t get to play favorites based on your
personal choice of who you like or don’t like. Either the Law
applies to all or it applies to none. I didn’t delve into that
aspect in my own head very deep because I didn’t want to go down a
ranty path where I sounded off about various social ills caused by
Big Government either ignoring the Law or actively working against
it. But it peeped out. Like a ray of ranty sunshine ;-)</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I
still love the fact that these are so short. I read this in one
sitting and when I was done, I just sat back and enjoyed the fact
that I had a complete story under my belt and didn’t have to spend
the next week wading through purple prose and over descriptiveness
and so much detail that nothing was left to my imagination. </span>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Overall,
I was happy with this story and the continuing adventures of the
police of the 87</span><sup><span style="font-style: normal;">th</span></sup><span style="font-style: normal;">
Precinct. Cotton Hawes will be the main character for at least one
more book, so I’m prepared now for him to be a total manwhore. I do
hope though that he gets married and settles down. </span>
</p>
<p align="left" style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★☆☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;">From
the Publisher</span></span></span></p>
<br />
<details>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sy
Kramer, a blackmailer, is shot dead in a 1937-style drive-by
execution. But it is 1958 and Cotton Hawes and Steve Carella have to
find out who killed him. It could have been Lucy Mencken, a rich and
respectable lady with a past that included some very unrespectable
photographic portraits, or it could have been Edward Schlesser, a
manufacturer of soda pop. Or perhaps it was one of the members of a
hunting party that went very wrong. </span></span></span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
the end, it was the 3 hunters. They had accidentally killed a man,
were seen by Kramer and he was blackmailing them. He squeezed them
too hard and so they decided to simply kill him. </span></span></span></strong>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
</details>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVCKe54TB9qXgsE-ryyi3CZZNnLwK7TfMKacGSWwbAzeUMX8-g9BQChi08ETZlrDhzqEh8HBkR2aPmdJ9fcej-YLzRvrsUjVoPuXPA1nsAEBPjdz4PEmvyuW_p3AfN_UELfrJZXCGEiCNRz9piUjPAD-Rs0nakAWhHqssjeB8G4Q1OjMi50Yj/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVCKe54TB9qXgsE-ryyi3CZZNnLwK7TfMKacGSWwbAzeUMX8-g9BQChi08ETZlrDhzqEh8HBkR2aPmdJ9fcej-YLzRvrsUjVoPuXPA1nsAEBPjdz4PEmvyuW_p3AfN_UELfrJZXCGEiCNRz9piUjPAD-Rs0nakAWhHqssjeB8G4Q1OjMi50Yj/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><ul><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/87th-precinct/">All
My “<i>87</i><sup><i>th</i></sup><i> Precinct</i>” Reviews</a></u></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-22025219880145861332024-02-17T05:00:00.021-05:002024-02-17T05:00:00.131-05:00The Expanding Universe #1 1Star<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCligkBnKxX2L0fCIrm3gs2D0UfillQtNkxKFafeyZdUJsx9r0MsnjwB77eNte-FHP-plyS4pQj0vebPswMQPUrG98ljLQdKPWCDmn-J9R729JRGzPXXU7UcMdXsYQ4Zr0eKJ1w3BimU2s_N2yjSAsS4wZMO-Rm6UIvuGaxPUNzJcjqz3gxTan/s450/expandinguniverse1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCligkBnKxX2L0fCIrm3gs2D0UfillQtNkxKFafeyZdUJsx9r0MsnjwB77eNte-FHP-plyS4pQj0vebPswMQPUrG98ljLQdKPWCDmn-J9R729JRGzPXXU7UcMdXsYQ4Zr0eKJ1w3BimU2s_N2yjSAsS4wZMO-Rm6UIvuGaxPUNzJcjqz3gxTan/s320/expandinguniverse1.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<b><br /></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Title:</b>
The Expanding Universe #1<br />
<b>Series:</b> <br />
<b>Edit</b><b>or:</b>
Craig Martelle<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 1 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b>
SF<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 432<br />
<b>Words:</b> 178K</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
<hr />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Where
do I even start? That’s the thought that kept running through my
head as I waded through this pile of utter drek. Every new story
would bring me hope that maybe “this” writer would write a good
story and then the first paragraph would show me they were just as
much a talentless hack as the previous writers.</span></div>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
had seen Martelle’s name in the Larry Correia collection <a href="https://bookstooge.blog/2023/06/04/no-game-for-knights-%E2%98%85%E2%98%86%E2%98%86%E2%98%86%E2%98%86-dnf22/"><i>No
Game for Knights</i></a>. I am always on the lookout for SF
anthologies of short stories and thought I’d give this a try. It
was a big mistake.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">My
first clue to the impending disaster to come was the big fat
inclusion of Michael Anderle’s name on the front cover. He wrote
the introduction If you don’t know, Anderle is a whore who writes
bad space vampire fiction and will put his name on anything, written
by anybody. He has no talent, no shame and no limits. But he just
wrote the introduction I reasoned, I can’t blame the other authors
for that. I do now. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This
was published in 2016, and Martelle hadn’t written anything on his
own before ‘16 as well. He’s one of those turn and churn authors.
But even a mediocre author can be a decent editor, or so I thought.
Martelle also belongs to an organization of Indie Writers who support
each other. Apparently, what that means is that if one of them edits
an anthology, they will automatically include stories from other
writers in the organization, no matter how terrible or badly written
those stories might be. Martelle could have gone to any Science
Fiction forum on the internet, copy/pasted some of the fan fic on
there and he couldn’t possible have done a worse job than he did
with these stories.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Another
issue was that almost all of these stories took place in existing
universes or storylines of the writers and were not standalone
stories at all. They were prequels, sequels, side stories, to already
established storylines and were nothing more than advertisements by
the writers waving their wares obnoxiously in my face. Over half of
these had some sort of “and if you want to find out how the story
resolves, read the writers other books”. That really got my goat.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Another
issue is that many of these stories were not actually science
fiction. They were modern dramas set on a spaceship or had some
fantasy element. Putting a spaceship into a story doesn’t
automatically make it a science fiction story. I’m afraid that all
of these authors do not understand that very fundamental concept and
I’m also afraid that they will never learn it. Because they are all
chowderheads with no talent.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
lack of skill here was atrocious. I mentioned internet forum fan
fiction early and this is that level of writing. These stories are
the things you write when you are practicing to learn the very basic
basic of writing. None of these stories should have seen the light of
day. Some were definitely better than others, but not a single one of
them deserved to be in print. There’s a reason these writers belong
to that organization that Martelle belongs to. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Then
you had the moral content. I knew going in that since this was
published in 2016, that the chances of at least one of these authors
would be some woke dill head pushing a perverted agenda was high. I
made it almost to the end and was pleasantly surprised that
perversion hadn’t reared its ugly head when bam. Sho’ nuff, one
writer just had to add it to their story, for no apparent reason
either. It was the literal expression of “check box” writing. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Finally,
I want to highlight the worst two of the stories here. <br />
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Taken
for a Walk </i><span style="font-style: normal;">describes itself
thusly:</span></span><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Worlds
Revealed </i><span style="font-style: normal;">has this for its intro:</span></span></p><p></p><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">The
short story that follows is Justin’s teaser for a novel he hopes to
one day write in what he thinks will be something like Alien meets
The Matrix meets Braveheart. The short story is at times silly, but
leads into a very serious moment and situation”</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">The
only good thing about this story was that I think it was the shortest
of the collection. It was just plain bad. <br /></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">This
is a brand new story in the Alpha Alien Abduction Tales series. It
starts out with the couples we know from the first two books in the
series, Worlds Away and Worlds Collide. But it quickly goes back to
the summer of 1947 when a spaceship crashed in Roswell, New Mexico.
Venay’s grandfather was the Commander of the ship that was involved
in that nightmare. But it wasn’t the V’Zenians, or even the
Zateelians, who crashed on Earth! You can expect to learn the true
story of the Roswell Aliens, and who they really were.”</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">When
I read that intro, I immediately made a note in my kindle along the
lines of “Frak No!” Aliens abduct human women, use their mind
powers to make them fall in love with them and then marry and mate
them. Just for the record, the author is a woman. This is not some
man’s fantasy, it’s a woman’s fantasy. </span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">To
end, I had several of these collections lined up, but after this
Titanic level of reading disaster, I’m dumping them like a pile of
nuclear waste.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★☆☆☆☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Table
of Contents</span></p>
<ul>
<li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Fear
Peace - Craig Martelle</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Taken
for a Walk Justin Sloan</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Fall
to Earth TJ Ryan</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Blue
Eyed Devil Spencer Pierson</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Those
Who Breathe Under the End James Osiris Baldwin</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Pilgrim
Andrew Dobell</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">DROP
Andrew Broderick</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Worlds
Revealed J.L. Hendricks</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Within
a Phrygian Sky Jim Johnson</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And
the Kat Came Back RJ Crayton</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
Signal and the Boys Felix R. Savage</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Smuggler
for Hire Bradford Bates</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Light
in the Dark H.J. Lawson</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Origins
of the Gemini Project E.R. Starling</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">An
Attitude Adjustment Taki Drake</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
Iron and the Mud James Aaron</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
Last Human: Fire of Truth E.E. Isherwood</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">New
Beginnings Paul C. Middleton</span></p></li></ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZnbzG9bERPsATrkT77JdN7awJgOFflwl6QAPjMObkuTPXgJ4E-RqDi_8_78qgU0TCxeMh0QNeiep-_xhfPW3r6lbgDEMXv6DsfSdOS9-sHJxdYsghFyjyhohTDENtwHo3EkWbAC-y-WUQRRRPr96obpO8fRttDGY0vYAKYlRNIHHXFKRdFQh/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZnbzG9bERPsATrkT77JdN7awJgOFflwl6QAPjMObkuTPXgJ4E-RqDi_8_78qgU0TCxeMh0QNeiep-_xhfPW3r6lbgDEMXv6DsfSdOS9-sHJxdYsghFyjyhohTDENtwHo3EkWbAC-y-WUQRRRPr96obpO8fRttDGY0vYAKYlRNIHHXFKRdFQh/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-60721559401211134482024-02-15T05:00:00.022-05:002024-02-15T05:00:00.147-05:00Deal Breaker (Myron Bolitar #1) 3Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWblYCtSN1AwXih5KWg13QDwUAeSWkaLPiYQlIHdxS5f8FA6a3MUDw50GhdQ1ha4gIEGrgqwuzdLEI1lCnUpTSl4IWTj1Ncy8LCOUvd7ZX4MibtQXSJWXwusbfcvMrb4JDf5fudLkCHXylIaO0i_bETGSeV46d5gK9GOhlwKCTn_z7hD5qFDex/s450/dealbreaker.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWblYCtSN1AwXih5KWg13QDwUAeSWkaLPiYQlIHdxS5f8FA6a3MUDw50GhdQ1ha4gIEGrgqwuzdLEI1lCnUpTSl4IWTj1Ncy8LCOUvd7ZX4MibtQXSJWXwusbfcvMrb4JDf5fudLkCHXylIaO0i_bETGSeV46d5gK9GOhlwKCTn_z7hD5qFDex/s320/dealbreaker.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<b><br /></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Title:</b>
Deal Breaker<br />
<b>Series:</b> Myron Bolitar #1<br />
<b>Author:</b>
Harlan Coben<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 3 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b>
Fiction<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 291<br />
<b>Words:</b> 88K</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
<br /><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">
</span></span></p><hr /><span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">
This is the
first book in a series about Myron Bolitar (hence the series name), a
man who was an up and coming basketball star, only to have things
come to a complete crashing halt when his leg gets shattered in his
first game. So he goes to school, becomes a lawyer and then becomes a
sports agent. He also apparently did some super-secret black ops
stuff for the government with a man who is now one of his best
friends and business partner. But this book isn’t about those
events at all. They are just alluded to and form a bigger picture of
who Myron Bolitar is.</span></span><p></p>
<div style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This is a
Harlan Coben novel through and through. It has all the elements from
the standalones that I’ve read so far (except for the absence of
the Witness Protection Program. I just kept waiting for that to pop
up and it never did. I was surprised!) but reworked deftly enough
that I was never quite sure what the picture was that I was looking
at. It was like seeing things when your eyes are dilated. You can
generally tell what you are looking at but even the middling details
get a bit muddled.</span></span></div>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I was
generally happy with this read and as long as Coben can keep his
stories original with the character of Myron, I’ll happily feed at
the trough even if it’s not 5star material.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">That does
bring me to Myron himself though. He was one of the reasons this
didn’t get to the 3.5star rating. He’s a semi-successful business
man in his early 30’s I think, but he still lives in his parents
basement and participates in their family life, ie, eating breakfast
with them, etc. What a loser. I mean, what a complete and utter loser
who deserves to have his face ground into the dirt for being such a
loser. His parents don’t need his help, he doesn’t make their
life better, he complains in his head about both of them, but he
won’t move out even though he has the means to. What a scumbag. I
hope in one of the later books some mobster shatters his other leg to
teach him a fething lesson about growing up. In that same vein, there
was also a page where he complains about his parents naming him
Myron. What 30 year old is still worrying about his name? I can see a
highschooler doing that, but not a grown man. And that is the crux of
the matter right there. Coben has written Myron Bolitar as a mix of
little boy and grown man and it grates on me, almost like Coben took
a cheese grater to my washboard abs.</span></span></p><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.coM/scl/fi/yhnb8yc8h1xq1zzgxit2y/cheesegrater.jpg?rlkey=rv6kfkzhxa2l2e2l4327casik&" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="237" height="499" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.coM/scl/fi/yhnb8yc8h1xq1zzgxit2y/cheesegrater.jpg?rlkey=rv6kfkzhxa2l2e2l4327casik&" width="237" /></a></div><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #29303b;">★★★☆☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">From
Wikipedia and Bookstooge.blog</span></p>
<br /><details>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Investigator
and sports agent Myron Bolitar is poised on the edge of the big-time.
So is Christian Steele, a rookie quarterback and Myron's prized
client. But when Christian gets a phone call from a former
girlfriend, a woman whom everyone, including the police, believes is
dead, the deal starts to go sour. Suddenly Myron is plunged into a
baffling mystery of sex and blackmail. Trying to unravel the truth
about a family's tragedy, a woman's secret and a man's lies, Myron is
up against the dark side of his business—where image and talent
make you rich, but the truth can get you killed.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In
the end, facing down mob bosses, angry dead dads and corrupt sports
stars, Myron figures out one of his sports athletes participated in
the events that led to a young woman’s death and another of his
athletes committed the crime itself.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
</details>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZnbzG9bERPsATrkT77JdN7awJgOFflwl6QAPjMObkuTPXgJ4E-RqDi_8_78qgU0TCxeMh0QNeiep-_xhfPW3r6lbgDEMXv6DsfSdOS9-sHJxdYsghFyjyhohTDENtwHo3EkWbAC-y-WUQRRRPr96obpO8fRttDGY0vYAKYlRNIHHXFKRdFQh/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZnbzG9bERPsATrkT77JdN7awJgOFflwl6QAPjMObkuTPXgJ4E-RqDi_8_78qgU0TCxeMh0QNeiep-_xhfPW3r6lbgDEMXv6DsfSdOS9-sHJxdYsghFyjyhohTDENtwHo3EkWbAC-y-WUQRRRPr96obpO8fRttDGY0vYAKYlRNIHHXFKRdFQh/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><ul><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/harlan-coben/">All
My “Harlan Coben” Reviews</a></span></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-78194664132079278642024-02-14T05:00:00.024-05:002024-02-14T05:00:00.134-05:00Pride and Prejudice 5Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjWRv1tneRI52I7PJXCcKaGfPsKJhwTx0J5vLJKANSlgglrDaeYTUIJYHRG7QdwEko3S9kjloTxH7B5_PtcOhQsvqE3GJFz5m1GxcFHp2R2YbMOrf3hj9ghSSr2j1HZI2RfChh0Lt0QpdPImd9quhCvTc_SAN1PMIaFkcYUGWu7knKoe3nrL_/s500/prideandprejudice.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjWRv1tneRI52I7PJXCcKaGfPsKJhwTx0J5vLJKANSlgglrDaeYTUIJYHRG7QdwEko3S9kjloTxH7B5_PtcOhQsvqE3GJFz5m1GxcFHp2R2YbMOrf3hj9ghSSr2j1HZI2RfChh0Lt0QpdPImd9quhCvTc_SAN1PMIaFkcYUGWu7knKoe3nrL_/s320/prideandprejudice.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<b><br /></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Title:</b>
Pride and Prejudice<br />
<b>Series:</b>
----------<br />
<b>Author:</b> Jane Austen<br />
<b>Rating:</b>
5 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b> Classic<br />
<b>Pages: </b>
275<br />
<b>Words:</b> 124K</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">This
will be a bit different from my usual review. Lashaan and I did a
buddy read of this and we used a series of questions I found online
to help us talk about the book. There were 11 questions in total and
I chose to answer 7 of them. I found the other 4 stupid, insipid,
insulting or just plain not a subject I cared one whit for. After
the questions I have some general thoughts. And I’ve included a
link to Lashaan’s review at the end. Please visit his review when
it goes live to see another whole take on this book :-D</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">
<b>1.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in
possession of a good fortune,</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>must
be in want of a wife.” This first line has become one of the most
famous in English</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>literature.
In addition to setting the narrative in motion, how does this line
alert us to the</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>tone
of the novel and our role, as readers, in appreciating it? What does
the line imply</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>about
women? </b></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I'll
work backwards on this. Addressing that last question first.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">When
you talk about the opening line, you have to also use the second to
put it into context:<br />
<i>"However little known the feelings
or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood,
this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families,
that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other
of their daughters."</i></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">So
what the opening implies about women, and then about men, is that
they are both playing pieces for their elders. It's not about gender
(despite what the questioner is trying to force into this). Both are
pawns are on the chessboard of marriage.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
role of the reader is whatever the reader wants it to be. It doesn't
matter what the author thinks, or tries to do. The reader is an
independent being and a good author acknowledges this and simply
writes their story without forcing their reader into the slavery of
being "in a role". Only Message writers do that.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">As
for the tone of the novel, I'd say it it sets a jolly good tone!
Funny, amusing and yet acknowledging the foibles of the culture the
author is living in.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">So
there we go. My first set of ranty answers to the first question :-D</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>2.
Elizabeth is upset to learn that Charlotte has accepted Mr. Collins’s
marriage proposal. Do</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>you
think Charlotte should have married Mr. Collins? Did she choose him
or did he choose</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>her?
What do you think influenced her decision to accept him? Is Charlotte
a romantic? Is</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Elizabeth?</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">At
27, being plain, poor and unconnected, Charlotte didn't have much
choice if she didn't want to end up being a burden to her family.
While I suspect she will regret in the future her choice of Mr
Collins, tempermentally she seems fit to deal with his particular
brand of pride and false-humility. And now she is mistress of her own
establishment with greater things to come. Her children won't be in
her circumstances and thus will hopefully be able to have more
choices open to them.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I'd
say Charlotte definitely chose Mr Collins. He was just wafting around
like a butterfly, looking for the first open flower. She saw him
coming a mile away. Besides, Mr Collins seems to stupid to do any
real choosing :-D</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
think my answer to the first question also answers this. Material
stability goes a long way towards making a relationship stable.
Charlotte knew what her future held and so she did what she had to to
change it, for the better.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
don't see Charlotte as romantic at all. She's just super
realistic. Elizabeth on the other hand is fully infected with the
"Love is Our Guiding Light" idea. Of course, given what
Elizabeth sees between her father and mother, one can forgive her for
wanting some genuine love in a relationship.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>3.
How does Pemberley play a role in Elizabeth’s change of heart? Does
she really fall in</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>love
with Darcy after seeing his estate? Trace the development of her
feelings for him.</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Why
is Darcy attracted to Elizabeth? Trace the development of his
feelings for her.</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
think this question is a bit too "school report" like for
my taste. Plus, you know, feelings. Seeing Pemberley was just another
check mark in the positive side for Darcy. Not because it was all big
and rich, but because of the character it displayed and thus by
extension, Darcy's character. You can tell a lot about a person by
their living quarters. And by the people they keep around them. So it
simply helped Elizabeth begin to change her feelings towards Darcy.
She saw another side of him displayed through Pemberley. She was
discerning enough to see that and to look beyond the wealth itself. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>4.
What might have happened if Elizabeth had accepted Darcy’s first
proposal? Do you think</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>he
really expected her to accept? How does the first proposal change
their feelings for, and</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>opinions
of, each other?</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
think their marriage would have ended in disaster. He wouldn't have
respected her and she never would have loved him him. They both
needed to change themselves and see the other in a more accurate
light before their marriage could have worked.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
do think Darcy expected an acceptance. I'm pretty sure when they are
talking about it later he says something like "you had
everything to gain and nothing to lose by accepting my proposal. At
least that is how I saw it at the time".</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
think Darcy's proposal opened Elizabeth's eyes to the fact that Darcy
did love her. He wasn't just attracted to her, but he loved her. That
allowed her to realize that her feelings of prejudice might need to
change. And Darcy got a good earful from Elizabeth and he needed that
to set him on the path of seeing her as an equal in any marriage
endeavor and not just an emotional and sexual outlet.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>7.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet do not agree on very much, especially when it
comes to their</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>daughters’
futures. Who is the better parent—Mr. or Mrs. Bennet? What role
does family</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>play
in this novel?</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Neither
of them is the better parent. Mr Bennet is the least worst though.
Lydia is exactly like her mother, so it shouldn't have come as any
surprise to anyone at her running away with Wickham and not caring at
all about getting married. Mr Bennet could have helped guide his
wife's character growth at the beginning of their marriage but chose
not to fight that battle and he reaped the harvest with a selfish,
vain, silly woman for a wife.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Family
plays a huge role! The Bennetts. Darcy's sister and Aunt. Mr
Bingley's sister. Elizabeth's Aunt and Uncle. Even Wickham is a
pseudo-family of the Darcy's. You can't go very far without a family
interaction.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>8.
Darcy says that Wickham tried to elope with Georgiana for revenge.
Does revenge play a</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>part
in his elopement with Lydia?</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
don't think it does at all. I think Wickham needed an out and Lydia
provided the easiest and most comfortable out. I have to admit,
Wickham running away with Lydia still puzzles me.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>11.
Why is this novel so popular? Why do readers keep coming back to it,
even after the</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>original
suspense is gone and they know how it ends?</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Because
it's a girly romance and there are more women in the world than men. </span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Is
my off the cuff, flippant remark, hahahahaa.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">My
serious answer would be that the Initially Thwarted Romance between
Jane and Mr Bingley and the Enemies to Lovers Romance between
Elizabeth and Mr Darcy speaks to a lot of women. "I" like
it because it's a romantic story that shows some real human foibles
and it's some very fine writing.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
skipped a bunch of questions because they pissed me off. I hate
social media so wanted to nothing to do with that question. I
dlsliked the leading question about Irony because I don't like being
led down a certain path by somebody else. finally, I don't care two
figs for what it might have been originally titled. It is called
Pride and Prejudice and that' that. It's overthinking things for the
sake of overthinking to do any more on the title.</span></p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Bookstooge’s
General Thoughts:</b></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
must admit, I did not like this format of Question and Answer. I felt
stifled, hemmed in and like I was back in highschool with a teacher
looking over my shoulder. While it made writing a review much easier
(I pasted/copied the questions and my answers from my emails to
Lashaan), I totally did not enjoy the reading process itself. My
brain did not have the freedom to wander down the byways because I
was focused on trying to "pay attention" to the story so I
could answer the questions.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">It's
not that the Q&A is a bad way of doing things, especially for
younger people who haven't been trained to think for themselves yet.
It gives them a framework within which to work, otherwise they'd be
left floundering and their thoughts would be "I liked this"
or "I didn't like this" without any further explanation.
But I am not a kid any more. Sadly, I haven't been for a long time
and I have much vaster reading experience now than I did back when I
was a teenager (even as well read as I was then). For me, the reading
experience itself is part of the process. I simply flow into the
story, absorb it and let it knock around my brain like a pair of
dice. Then I release it and see what happens. That's how I read and
review now. It's been quite the revelation to me to come to that
realization.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
am also glad that "I" am the one that chose the questions,
that way I have nobody but myself to blame, hahahaahahaa.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Overall,
while this Q&A was quite the different approach, and one that I’m
happy to have applied, it won’t be happening again. </span>
</p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★★★</span></p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Lashaan’s
Review</span></span></p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Complete
Set of Questions:</span></p>
<br /><details>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">1.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in
possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” This
first line has become one of the most famous in English literature.
In addition to setting the narrative in motion, how does this line
alert us to the tone of the novel and our role, as readers, in
appreciating it? What does the line imply about women? (From the
Chicago Public Library’s One Book, One Chicago pamphlet on Pride
and Prejudice, 2005)</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">2.
Elizabeth is upset to learn that Charlotte has accepted Mr. Collins’s
marriage proposal. Do you think Charlotte should have married Mr.
Collins? Did she choose him or did he choose her? What do you think
influenced her decision to accept him? Is Charlotte a romantic? Is
Elizabeth?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">3.
How does Pemberley play a role in Elizabeth’s change of heart? Does
she really fall in love with Darcy after seeing his estate? Trace the
development of her feelings for him. Why is Darcy attracted to
Elizabeth? Trace the development of his feelings for her.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">4.
What might have happened if Elizabeth had accepted Darcy’s first
proposal? Do you think he really expected her to accept? How does the
first proposal change their feelings for, and opinions of, each
other?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">5.
Several letters are reproduced in full in the text. What is the
effect on you as a reader when you read a letter instead of getting
the information contained in it from the 3rd person narrator? Why do
you think Austen might have used letters so often in this novel?
(There are 59 references to letters in the book.)</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">6.
How does the title Pride and Prejudice relate to the original title
Jane Austen used for the novel, First Impressions? Do you think Pride
and Prejudice is a better title? Why? How does it relate to
Elizabeth? Darcy? Does it relate to other characters in the novel?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">7.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet do not agree on very much, especially when it
comes to their daughters’ futures. Who is the better parent—Mr.
or Mrs. Bennet? What role does family play in this novel?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">8.
Darcy says that Wickham tried to elope with Georgiana for revenge.
Does revenge play a part in his elopement with Lydia?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">9.
Lady Catherine’s visit to Elizabeth to persuade her not to marry
Darcy actually has the opposite effect and propels them toward the
final conclusion, their marriage. What is it about this use of
dramatic irony that is so appealing to readers? What other examples
of irony do you find in the novel?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">10.
The novel has many universal themes that make it relevant today and
inspire contemporary spin-offs and adaptations. Imagine the Facebook
pages of each of the Bennet daughters. Who would be most active on
Facebook? How would their entries differ from each other? Would any
of them choose not to be on Facebook?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">11.
Why is this novel so popular? Why do readers keep coming back to it,
even after the original suspense is gone and they know how it ends? </span>
</p>
</details><br />
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">From
Wikipedia.org</span></p>
<br /><details>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In
the early 19th century, the Bennet family live at their Longbourn
estate, situated near the village of Meryton in Hertfordshire,
England. Mrs Bennet's greatest desire is to marry off her five
daughters to secure their futures.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
arrival of Mr Bingley, a rich bachelor who rents the neighbouring
Netherfield estate, gives her hope that one of her daughters might
contract an advantageous marriage, because "It is a truth
universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good
fortune, must be in want of a wife".</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">At
a ball, the family is introduced to the Netherfield party, including
Mr Bingley, his two sisters and Mr Darcy, his dearest friend. Mr
Bingley's friendly and cheerful manner earns him popularity among the
guests. He appears interested in Jane, the eldest Bennet daughter. Mr
Darcy, reputed to be twice as wealthy as Mr Bingley, is haughty and
aloof, causing a decided dislike of him. He declines to dance with
Elizabeth, the second-eldest Bennet daughter, as she is "not
handsome enough". Although she jokes about it with her friend,
Elizabeth is deeply offended. Despite this first impression, Mr Darcy
secretly begins to find himself drawn to Elizabeth as they continue
to encounter each other at social events, appreciating her wit and
frankness.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Mr
Collins, the heir to the Longbourn estate, visits the Bennet family
with the intention of finding a wife among the five girls under the
advice of his patroness Lady Catherine de Bourgh, also revealed to be
Mr Darcy's aunt. He decides to pursue Elizabeth. The Bennet family
meet the charming army officer George Wickham, who tells Elizabeth in
confidence about Mr Darcy's unpleasant treatment of him in the past.
Elizabeth, blinded by her prejudice toward Mr Darcy, believes him.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Elizabeth
dances with Mr Darcy at a ball, where Mrs Bennet hints loudly that
she expects Jane and Bingley to become engaged. Elizabeth rejects Mr
Collins' marriage proposal, to her mother's fury and her father's
relief. Mr Collins instead proposes to Charlotte Lucas, a friend of
Elizabeth.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Having
heard Mrs Bennet's words at the ball and disapproving of the
marriage, Mr Darcy joins Mr Bingley in a trip to London and, with the
help of his sisters, persuades him not to return to Netherfield. A
heartbroken Jane visits her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner in London to
raise her spirits, while Elizabeth's hatred for Mr Darcy grows as she
suspects he was responsible for Mr Bingley's departure.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In
the spring, Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr Collins in Kent.
Elizabeth and her hosts are invited to Rosings Park, Lady Catherine's
home. Mr Darcy and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, are also visiting
Rosings Park. Fitzwilliam tells Elizabeth how Mr Darcy recently saved
a friend, presumably Bingley, from an undesirable match. Elizabeth
realises that the prevented engagement was to Jane.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Mr
Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, declaring his love for her despite her
low social connections. She is shocked, as she was unaware of Mr
Darcy's interest, and rejects him angrily, saying that he is the last
person she would ever marry and that she could never love a man who
caused her sister such unhappiness; she further accuses him of
treating Wickham unjustly. Mr Darcy brags about his success in
separating Bingley and Jane and sarcastically dismisses the
accusation regarding Wickham without addressing it.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
next day, Mr Darcy gives Elizabeth a letter, explaining that Wickham,
the son of his late father's steward, had refused the "living"
his father had arranged for him and was instead given money for it.
Wickham quickly squandered the money and tried to elope with Darcy's
15-year-old sister, Georgiana, for her considerable dowry. Mr Darcy
also writes that he separated Jane and Bingley because he believed
her indifferent to Bingley and because of the lack of propriety
displayed by her family. Elizabeth is ashamed by her family's
behaviour and her own prejudice against Mr Darcy.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Months
later, Elizabeth accompanies the Gardiners on a tour of Derbyshire.
They visit Pemberley, Darcy's estate. When Mr Darcy returns
unexpectedly, he is exceedingly gracious with Elizabeth and the
Gardiners. Elizabeth is surprised by Darcy's behaviour and grows fond
of him, even coming to regret rejecting his proposal. She receives
news that her sister Lydia has run off with Wickham. She tells Mr
Darcy, then departs in haste. After an agonising interim, Wickham
agrees to marry Lydia. She visits the family and tells Elizabeth that
Mr Darcy was at her wedding. Though Mr Darcy had sworn everyone
involved to secrecy, Mrs Gardiner now feels obliged to inform
Elizabeth that he secured the match, at great expense and trouble to
himself.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Mr
Bingley and Mr Darcy return to Netherfield. Jane accepts Mr Bingley's
proposal. Lady Catherine, having heard rumours that Elizabeth intends
to marry Mr Darcy, visits her and demands she promise never to accept
Mr Darcy's proposal, as she and Darcy's late mother had already
planned his marriage to her daughter Anne. Elizabeth refuses and asks
the outraged Lady Catherine to leave. Darcy, heartened by his aunt's
indignant relaying of Elizabeth's response, again proposes to her and
is accepted.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
</details><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6JquHx6eHvVqqNlyp1E1BxiyynURpOP3-wl9q1OGepAY0CsIrenvrAEqXPQDdBWFmuftXTR2r48gUJYXjBV5jC1aSnCD71RKOBI-nr19Wi1fIN9HtTXfkF8VXwGCe9pE9EvdZ8bB8NR4PVaq-9SwNWIYsg3ZTw9OC2ixr0dlVaBRp83yY5M0H/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6JquHx6eHvVqqNlyp1E1BxiyynURpOP3-wl9q1OGepAY0CsIrenvrAEqXPQDdBWFmuftXTR2r48gUJYXjBV5jC1aSnCD71RKOBI-nr19Wi1fIN9HtTXfkF8VXwGCe9pE9EvdZ8bB8NR4PVaq-9SwNWIYsg3ZTw9OC2ixr0dlVaBRp83yY5M0H/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><br /><ul><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/2006/04/25/pride-and-prejudice/"><i>Pride
and Prejudice</i> (2006 Review)</a></span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/jane-austen/">All
My “Jane Austen” Reviews</a></span></p></li></ul><br /><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-8518805571526703672024-02-13T05:00:00.022-05:002024-02-13T05:00:00.239-05:00Making Love Last Forever 4Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBbB0yBDB0s-ErcMBrH4_Q8T0yF8LHp-E4rbYkIYXZqh5R32lE2CxxmpDwt5AHO35UWspc7k0hKMxkAoT5Uzzn9QjrdEFn-Y5n6LRNul4H0qYc5-WQzBACefoM6_B8RL1XSi18i61bZ9B3sGKw2xyJwAbwbf9SLEkogubpahV1rxQCOUOcjlX/s465/makinglovelastforever-wp.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBbB0yBDB0s-ErcMBrH4_Q8T0yF8LHp-E4rbYkIYXZqh5R32lE2CxxmpDwt5AHO35UWspc7k0hKMxkAoT5Uzzn9QjrdEFn-Y5n6LRNul4H0qYc5-WQzBACefoM6_B8RL1XSi18i61bZ9B3sGKw2xyJwAbwbf9SLEkogubpahV1rxQCOUOcjlX/s320/makinglovelastforever-wp.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<b><br /></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Title:</b>
Making Love Last Forever<br />
<b>Series:</b> <br />
<b>Author:</b>
Gary Smalley<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 4 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b>
Non-Fiction<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 304<br />
<b>Words:</b>
99K</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></p><hr /><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">
First,
lets get the elephant in the room out of the room. That cover is pure
90’s Self-Help and it doesn’t do the book any favors whatsoever.
I know that Smalley is not a vain man (more than any other man I
mean) but this makes him look like some greased up shyster on a used
car lot. It is too bad because this is a very helpful book on a lot
of levels. I also have thought ALL these years that Smalley was the
author of one of the books that changed my life, <a href="https://bookstooge.blog/2000/10/11/the-5-love-languages/"><i>The
Five Love Languages,</i></a> so I gave him a lot of leeway. Upon
finishing this book I realized that a “Gary Chapman” had written
that book and that Smalley had nothing to do with it. Oh, what a let
down that was. </span>
<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Smalley
is a professional counselor and does/did counseling in an office, in
seminars, through video series and in books. He set out to reach as
many people as he could and I think he succeeded in his mission.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Smalley
is a Christian but his principles are general-use and while geared
towards those who believe in Jesus, are still effective and
ecumenical enough for anyone. He also only brings God into things as
a “and if you want it to work even better, try….”. I never felt
that he was a pushy Evangelical writing a theological treatise under
the guise of a self-help book. Smalley genuinely cares for people and
couples and wants what is best for them. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
book is filled with anecdotes from his own life, from people he has
counseled and from other situations he has been in. While he might
seem to go on tangents at time, he is always very good about bringing
things right back to the theme of that particular chapter. He also
has very good generalized advice and everything is aimed at the
reader of the book. It’s not about trying to change your spouse, or
make “them” better. Smalley says Love starts with us and it is
our responsibility to carry out the duties of Love even if things are
bad. This delves a lot into attitudes and stuff going on inside of a
person. Which I must admit sometimes annoyed me because I wanted a
Concrete List of things To Do. And what do you know, at the end of
each chapter he has a list of things that Forever Love does, or does
not do, that tie into the theme of that chapter. By the end of the
book there were close to 150 bullet points in the list. That is
exactly what I wanted. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
liked the fact that was so focused on the reader. In my marriage, the
only thing I can truly change is myself. I can try to control Mrs B,
or our circumstances or events, but that will destroy things quicker
than anything. Plus, it’s exhausting trying to live two people’s
lives. Smalley brings out that it simply isn’t viable, besides the
fact that it goes against everything that Love actually is. So what
can I do in my marriage to make things better? Focus on those things
and don’t worry about what you can’t. I’m sure other people
reading the book will get different things, but that is what stood
out to me.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve
written about Love (Smalley uses the term Forever Love) here but
wanted to define just what that is. Otherwise it becomes a nebulous
“whatever” that can be manipulated. The following comes from the
first book of Corinthians, chapter 13:</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Love
is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or
resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the
truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things. Love never ends.</i></span></p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★★☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">From
the Publisher</span></p>
<br />
<details>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">For
years Gary Smalley has helped millions of couples throughout North
America enrich their relationships and deepen their bonds of love and
companionship. In this extraordinary book, he shows you how to stay
in love through all the stages of life. From first attraction to
lifelong commitment, Gary's proven techniques and practical advice
show you how to pursue and keep the love you want, and how to
energize your relationship with enduring, passion-filled love.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In
this book you'll learn how to:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Understand
and use love's best-kept secret</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Deal
with the number one enemy of love</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Turn
headaches into more love</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Increase
your energy to keep loving</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Find
the power to keep on loving your spouse</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Use
normal conflicts as doorways to intimacy</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Read
a woman's built-in marriage manual twelve ways</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Divorce-proof
your marriage</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Develop
the five vital signs of a healthy marriage</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Respond
to your partner's number one request</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Find
the powerful secret to great love</span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Bring
out the best in your maddening mate</span></p>
</li></ul>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">With
humor, empathy, and insight, Gary Smalley inspires you to fall in
love with life and enjoy the deep satisfaction of a lifelong love.
Down-to-earth examples, touching personal experiences, and inspiring
spiritual principles will motivate you to bring about positive
changes in your marriage-whether or not your mate is a willing
participant. You'll learn how to tap resources at hand to help you
follow through with your journey-and make your love last forever.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
</details>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCIww3sipBQiFHVWLCRC72Z52eurDc8eCkJPM_p7hMHXKd9Mcr6nwRWd0L7dQfVd5KvUMhzeZUbEF5juiE6f4ULydCRO5u59t93lDczP79Rovzdr2Ist3-saqJjcodah75o1QA2lTgJf7hckzeWCW0kRep2mmtlXNqvPZYVtwRzSuW3tcJewO/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCIww3sipBQiFHVWLCRC72Z52eurDc8eCkJPM_p7hMHXKd9Mcr6nwRWd0L7dQfVd5KvUMhzeZUbEF5juiE6f4ULydCRO5u59t93lDczP79Rovzdr2Ist3-saqJjcodah75o1QA2lTgJf7hckzeWCW0kRep2mmtlXNqvPZYVtwRzSuW3tcJewO/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-33706124675248225862024-02-11T05:00:00.019-05:002024-02-11T05:00:00.330-05:00Enemy of the State (Mitch Rapp #16) 3Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwAOmMoWZTVZWdEmIEbLvDI6TwD2-1eFj5Rpo022AjRqTWTEvvNvu0H9iaua8WwCXFLCvJ_pe4OlPbdZClYF9gN1THGsrndGKg31xeCrRLkfrxni1bb8PAcks4ip95xsoGPzEngvZ6MyjDHfuHuWtLg2ZsntGpWvjpXw6pNWdKml9TwvL7Uua8/s462/enemyofthestate.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwAOmMoWZTVZWdEmIEbLvDI6TwD2-1eFj5Rpo022AjRqTWTEvvNvu0H9iaua8WwCXFLCvJ_pe4OlPbdZClYF9gN1THGsrndGKg31xeCrRLkfrxni1bb8PAcks4ip95xsoGPzEngvZ6MyjDHfuHuWtLg2ZsntGpWvjpXw6pNWdKml9TwvL7Uua8/s320/enemyofthestate.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">
</span><br />
<b><br /></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Title:</b> Enemy of the State<br />
<b>Series:</b>
Mitch Rapp #16<br />
<b>Author:</b> Vince Flynn & Kyle
Mills<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 3 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b>
Thriller<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 331<br />
<b>Words:</b> 103K</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /><br /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p><hr />The US President is tired of the
Saudi’s continuing to fund terrorism while taking our money to
supposedly fight it themselves. So he sends Mitch Rapp on a mission
to start killing the Saudi Royalty as a way to show they can no
longer be safe as terrorist proxies. Things go south and Rapp becomes
disavowed by the US government. One of his old enemies is co-opted by
a corrupt Saudi working for ISIS to hunt Rapp down. And just in case
that isn’t enough, Rapp’s new girl wants to start working the
logistics side of supporting him in the field.
<p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Kennedy, the Director of the CIA and
Rapp’s boss, is barely in this story. I don’t think Mills knows
how to truly utilize her and so he just has pushed her to the
background. He’s also turned Mitch Rapp into the crazy killing
machine everyone thought he was (but wasn’t) when the original
author Vince Flynn was writing him. Mills has a much heavier hand and
there’s no nuance or suggestion. It’s not a terrible change but
it makes Rapp a much less interesting character and limits the scope
of what he is capable of.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The action/adventure side of things is
definitely all there. It was good. It is what is keeping this series
from descending into mediocre territory since Mills just can’t seem
to handle Mitch Rapp as a character. I’m going to continue to read
these book, I’m going to continue to enjoy them but I am definitely
going to continue to complain about Mills’ handling of the
characters.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After writing that, I thought about it
for a bit. I realized that it isn’t so much that Mills doesn’t
“get” Rapp, but that he doesn’t have the same sense of the
political that Flynn did. It feels like Mills is colorblind in this
regards while Flynn had an eye for various shades of the same color,
thus able to subtly bring out aspects you’d never expect. Mills
simply can’t do that because of his limitations. Part of me thinks
I shouldn’t pick on the poor gimpo, but he is the one who chose to
pick up the brush of the master and try to continue his work. I am
never going to compare Mills to other books by Mills because I have
zero interest in his other works. I will always be comparing him to
Flynn, because Flynn started this and created a masterful canvas to
work on. Mills just isn’t as good an author as Flynn was. In his
defense, he never whines or complains in the forwards or afterwards.
He has a cash cow and he’s thankful for every squeezing it gives
him.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I just wish he’d make some of that
wonderful caramalized onion cheddar instead of the straight up sharp
cheddar.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">★★★☆☆</p>
<hr />
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
From
Kylemills.com/books/enemy-of-the-state/</span></span></span></span></strong></p>
<br /><details>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
the #1 New York Times bestselling series’ latest installment, Mitch
Rapp finds himself alone and targeted by a country that is supposed
to be one of America’s closest allies.</span></span></span></strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">After
9/11, the US made one of the most secretive and dangerous deals in
its history—the evidence against the powerful Saudis who
coordinated the attack would be buried. In return, King Faisal would
promise to keep the oil flowing and deal with the conspirators in his
midst.</span></span></span></strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">When
the king’s own nephew is discovered funding ISIS, the president
suspects that the Saudis never intended to live up to their
agreement. He decides that the royalty needs to be sent a message and
that Mitch Rapp is just the man to deliver it. The catch? America
can’t be seen moving against an ally. Rapp will be on his own.</span></span></span></strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Forced
to make a decision that will change his life forever, Rapp quits the
CIA and assembles a group of independent contractors to help him
complete the mission.</span></span></span></strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">They’ve
barely begun unraveling the connections between the Saudi government
and ISIS when the brilliant new head of the intelligence directorate
discovers their efforts. With Rapp getting too close, he threatens to
go public with the details of the post-9/11 agreement between the two
countries.</span></span></span></strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Facing
an international incident that could end his political career, the
President orders America’s intelligence agencies to join the
Saudis’ effort to hunt the former CIA man down.</span></span></span></strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Rapp,
supported only by a team of mercenaries with dubious allegiances,
finds himself at the center of the most elaborate manhunt in history.
It’s only a matter of time before he’s caught or killed. Will it
be enough to turn the tables on the Saudis and clear his name?</span></span></span></strong></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></strong></p>
</details>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxO3UarAEQWTKhwL7vP5Ch-rS2CeekmpP6RVF1TWcIp347KsuxIIdJEiraoNMzdVN76ymJquXk6IoPs_BWhy7Fk503-cpgmvi-adm6v9SAUhid_GyRTwAo3MhGfYAkLe-5gi_ZgjrFKlWiBj0RFEgwPbGKKUyVhe6hQc5ZNOYcwGYriy5Jrqq/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxO3UarAEQWTKhwL7vP5Ch-rS2CeekmpP6RVF1TWcIp347KsuxIIdJEiraoNMzdVN76ymJquXk6IoPs_BWhy7Fk503-cpgmvi-adm6v9SAUhid_GyRTwAo3MhGfYAkLe-5gi_ZgjrFKlWiBj0RFEgwPbGKKUyVhe6hQc5ZNOYcwGYriy5Jrqq/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><br /><ul><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/mitch-rapp/"><i><u>All
My “Mitch Rapp” Reviews</u></i></a></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-42840858107021026752024-02-08T05:00:00.016-05:002024-02-08T05:00:00.406-05:00The Doctor and The Kid (Weird West Tales #2) 2.5Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4p800-LmuEmuqbqEDd6D6wBbxActUSeEnYjLbS9n4I1C-ACJ1kF7VO0xxaGmCHwRHISbO8nQyZ3pTIEbh665ZvbR7K4ipxDXOShUGd7tnbnAHkuR7ECia2cdzF0GuhHyjo8hBhYVySGpY_kh4tNpE8zC-rZ5Uh1MDmionuTOSyuwGx-kmUAVK/s452/doctorandthekid.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4p800-LmuEmuqbqEDd6D6wBbxActUSeEnYjLbS9n4I1C-ACJ1kF7VO0xxaGmCHwRHISbO8nQyZ3pTIEbh665ZvbR7K4ipxDXOShUGd7tnbnAHkuR7ECia2cdzF0GuhHyjo8hBhYVySGpY_kh4tNpE8zC-rZ5Uh1MDmionuTOSyuwGx-kmUAVK/s320/doctorandthekid.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">
</span><br />
<b><br /></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Title:</b> The Doctor and The Kid<br />
<b>Series:</b>
Weird West Tales #2<br />
<b>Author:</b> Mike Resnick<br />
<b>Rating:</b>
2.5 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b> Steampunk<br />
<b>Pages: </b>
235<br />
<b>Words:</b> 77K</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
<br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p><hr />Another lacklustre series by Resnick.
This was Book #2 in the Weird West Tales series and you might wonder
why I read and reviewed this instead of the first book, <i>The
Buntline Special</i>. I would recommend you sit down. If you have a
weak heart or are given to vapors, please, stop reading now. I didn’t
read the first book BECAUSE, da da dum, it wouldn’t open on my
kindle oasis.
<p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Shock</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Gasp</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Wince</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Vapors!</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I know, I know. It shocked me to the
core as well. I even reconverted the azw3 file with calibre and it
still wouldn’t open. Since I had stopped caring about Resnick since
his pathetic outing on the John Justin Mallory series, I
pre-emptively didn’t care about book 1 of this series either. So on
to book 2 it was.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sadly, I made the right choice in
pre-emptively not caring.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Doc Holliday is a bastard, pushing away
everyone near to him. At one point he deliberately says some really
nasty things about his best friend’s wife just because he’s
feeling ornery. And Holliday even likes the poor lady. He’s just
the worst that humanity has on tap.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Resnick does his patented “He said,
He did” style of writing and what could have been a real
interesting idea (Geronimo and other Indian shamans have kept the US
bottled at the Mississippi River and the US Government has hired
Thomas Edison and Ned Buntline to try to find a way to break their
magic using technology coupled with Doc Holliday taking down Billy
the Kid) turned into a drunken, consumptive asshole killing some
people and telling everyone he meets he can’t wait to die.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Inspiring stuff! I was thrilled beyond
belief.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It wasn’t terrible. It just wasn’t
any good. But I have given Resnick enough passes and so I am done
with him as an author.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Next!</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;">★★</span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;">✬</span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;">☆☆</span></span></span></p>
<hr />
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">From the Publisher</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Welcome to a West like you've never
seen before! With the O. K. Corral and the battle with the thing that
used to be Johnny Ringo behind him, the consumptive Doc Holliday
makes his way to Deadwood, Colorado. But when a gambling loss drains
his bankroll, Doc aims for quick cash as a bounty hunter. The biggest
reward? Young, 20-year-old desperado known as Billy the Kid. With a
steampunk twist on these classic characters, nothing can be as simple
as it seems.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxO3UarAEQWTKhwL7vP5Ch-rS2CeekmpP6RVF1TWcIp347KsuxIIdJEiraoNMzdVN76ymJquXk6IoPs_BWhy7Fk503-cpgmvi-adm6v9SAUhid_GyRTwAo3MhGfYAkLe-5gi_ZgjrFKlWiBj0RFEgwPbGKKUyVhe6hQc5ZNOYcwGYriy5Jrqq/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxO3UarAEQWTKhwL7vP5Ch-rS2CeekmpP6RVF1TWcIp347KsuxIIdJEiraoNMzdVN76ymJquXk6IoPs_BWhy7Fk503-cpgmvi-adm6v9SAUhid_GyRTwAo3MhGfYAkLe-5gi_ZgjrFKlWiBj0RFEgwPbGKKUyVhe6hQc5ZNOYcwGYriy5Jrqq/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><br /><ul><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/mike-resnick/"><i><u>All
of My “Mike Resnick” Reviews</u></i></a></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-63925241620539316732024-02-07T05:00:00.015-05:002024-02-07T05:00:00.454-05:00Bar the Doors 3Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOkl3ymQMZCp01hBJrYD_BNIucte9qsq-MWTTNHMSRh8LLXfPS4NsIdCbETGB3wHfrAIvBKpLdkrqiKA6IiyNSiHyBarRuYYv29lYWY2TA7nWA6NKQcFYQRpw1s5VF3NpN0jOGqVOfqHjcilE6XokQaXIy1nLCaz5rYLRl4JEiQmNYU8kupUCd/s455/barthedoors.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOkl3ymQMZCp01hBJrYD_BNIucte9qsq-MWTTNHMSRh8LLXfPS4NsIdCbETGB3wHfrAIvBKpLdkrqiKA6IiyNSiHyBarRuYYv29lYWY2TA7nWA6NKQcFYQRpw1s5VF3NpN0jOGqVOfqHjcilE6XokQaXIy1nLCaz5rYLRl4JEiQmNYU8kupUCd/s320/barthedoors.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">
</span><br />
<b><br /></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Title:</b> Bar the Doors<br />
<b>Series:</b>
----------<br />
<b>Editor:</b> Alfred Hitchcock<br />
<b>Rating:</b>
3 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b> Crime Fiction<br />
<b>Pages:
</b> 198<br />
<b>Words:</b> 59K</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
<br /><br /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p><hr />The subtitle for this book is “<i>13
Great Tales of Terror by Masters of the Macabre”. </i><span style="font-style: normal;">This
collection uses a lot of short stories that didn’t appear in
Hitchcock’s own mystery magazine and it shows. Not that they are in
any way bad, but they don’t have that “curated by Hitchcock”
feel that I get from other collections. </span>
<p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Also,
while I have kept this in the “crime fiction” fiction, the tales
of terror subtitle is much more accurate. Not all are supernatural.
Some are blatantly physical, such as The Storm, in which a woman
comes home a week early only to find her husband is out. And she
finds a woman’s body in a moving trunk with a distinctive ring on
it’s finger. The story ends with her being gaslit by her husband
and seeing that same ring on his finger. It was just plain creepy but
nothing supernatural. Then you have Pollock and the Porroh Man which
is ALL about the supernatural. A man takes a voodoo man’s woman and
then tries to kill the voodoo man and in the process gets cursed. He
then kills the voodoo man, so there is no way to lift the curse. The
head of the voodoo man follows him back to England and haunts him
until he goes insane and he kills himself. Lovely, eh?</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I was
particularly interested in this collection because of the inclusion
of two authors, Ambrose Bierce and Augustus Derleth. Both were small
time contributors to the King in Yellow and Cthulhu mythologies and I
was hoping that these stories would give me a taste of what they were
like. I was not impressed. Derleth’s story, The Metronome, was a
simple ghost story about a murdered boy murdering the step-mother who
had killed him. I actually had to go and read the story again before
writing this because I had completely forgotten what it was about a
mere week after reading it. It wasn’t bad but there wasn’t a
single memorable thing about it. Bierce’s The Damned Thing, was
about an invisible monster that killed a man in front of his friend
the story is the friend relating it all at the inquest. The inquest
ends with the jury deciding the man who was killed was killed by a
mountain lion. While nothing spectacular, it did have that fatalistic
feel of “nothing I say or does matters” which I’ve come to
associate very strongly with Cosmic Horror. </span>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I did
have a bad scan of this, as it was quite apparent that someone had
simply scanned the pages from the original paperback and sent it out
into the wild without cleaning it up at all. So there would be random
“Authors Name Page X” or “Story Name Page X” scattered
throughout the text. That detracted from the flow of reading through
this smoothly. Kind of like hitting a nail in tree while chopping it
down using a chainsaw. If you’ve ever had that experience, you’ll
know exactly what I mean. </span>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Finally,
the cover. The version I had originally came with some lame picture
of Hitchcock in a rain coat in the rain at a doorway about to enter.
It was blasé. I chose this cover because it’s very creepy looking
and is actually semi-related to the story “The Kill”. </span>
</p>
<p align="left" style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★☆☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Table of Contents:</p>
<ul>
<li><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">SPEAKING OF TERROR Alfred Hitchcock</span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">POLLOCK AND THE PORROH MAN H. G. Wells</span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">THE STORM McKnight Malmar</span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">MOONLIGHT SONATA Alexander Woollcott</span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">THE HALF-PINT FLASK DuBose Heyward</span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">THE KILL Peter Fleming </span>
</p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">THE UPPER BERTH F. Marion Crawford</span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">MIDNIGHT EXPRESS Alfred Noyes</span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">THE DAMNED THING Ambrose Bierce</span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">THE METRONOME August Derleth</span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">THE PIPE-SMOKER Martin Armstrong</span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">THE CORPSE AT THE TABLE Samuel Hopkins Adams</span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">THE WOMAN AT SEVEN BROTHERS Wilbur Daniel
Steele</span></p>
</li><li><p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">THE BOOK Margaret Irwin</span></p></li></ul>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeS7I5rKFT3PNd7EoaC1EyovHLyMNd-bAqZWVuszd3ct4ZhRHhc0bn8CM8F60f0TCjEr4sRzoYRYUChBYhmIWwatampyznB9ac0RAaycJpfsxMhhaQ4viebmbfc7H43kDsLjUFCyLAPNZKtiHY0JjwMNG1FGZoJ8NSwJjyGZ8rV5kD35fUuDI8/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeS7I5rKFT3PNd7EoaC1EyovHLyMNd-bAqZWVuszd3ct4ZhRHhc0bn8CM8F60f0TCjEr4sRzoYRYUChBYhmIWwatampyznB9ac0RAaycJpfsxMhhaQ4viebmbfc7H43kDsLjUFCyLAPNZKtiHY0JjwMNG1FGZoJ8NSwJjyGZ8rV5kD35fUuDI8/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><ul><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/alfred-hitchcock/">All
of My “Alfred Hitchcock” Reviews</a></i></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-44010496211379196942024-02-06T05:00:00.016-05:002024-02-06T05:00:00.133-05:00Three Witnesses (Nero Wolfe #26) 4Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3a1HxgBLmyl64KNMLZoLQBzr_Kb6FtQBCM78_yvuDtJ88E1bOed7g1tWAOiv522OCqnKnwTecq23TApoTb79XBvnAyB-HRaZXs97YVH13UN9ejxfV8TGwSwF-IEDzmBUi7OEmRQGntbj7DRQNz_DP3JX_d9PDzGRMaTcvATNOcaGv_G2V1YJ8/s487/threewitnesses.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3a1HxgBLmyl64KNMLZoLQBzr_Kb6FtQBCM78_yvuDtJ88E1bOed7g1tWAOiv522OCqnKnwTecq23TApoTb79XBvnAyB-HRaZXs97YVH13UN9ejxfV8TGwSwF-IEDzmBUi7OEmRQGntbj7DRQNz_DP3JX_d9PDzGRMaTcvATNOcaGv_G2V1YJ8/s320/threewitnesses.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission</i></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">
</span><span style="font-size: 8px;"><i><br /></i></span>
<b>Title:</b> Three Witnesses<br />
<b>Series:</b>
Nero Wolfe #26<br />
<b>Author:</b> Rex Stout<br />
<b>Rating:</b>
4 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b> Mystery<br />
<b>Pages: </b>
176<br />
<b>Words:</b> 66K</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
<br /><br /></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
</p><hr />
Knowing this was going to be a collection of short stories, I
deliberately set out to enjoy myself and to focus on the positives
instead of whining about what wasn’t there. And it worked. I
enjoyed the daylights of these stories.
<p></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
Having three shorter stories really fit my mood this time around. I
enjoyed the brisk pace of it all. Instead of meandering along while
Archie casually pinches the police’s snozz, he does a quick snatch
and grab and dashes off again to slap some hysterical broad.
</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
Wolfe doesn’t get as much time to complain either. It’s like
getting concentrated Wolfe in pill form.
</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
I wouldn’t click the synopsis open if I were you. It’s close to
2000 words long.</p>
<p align="left" style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★★☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">From Wikipedia:</p>
<br /><details>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Next Witness</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin are in
court, having been subpoenaed to testify for the prosecution in a
murder trial. Leonard Ashe has been accused of trying to hire Bagby
Answers, Inc., a telephone answering service, to eavesdrop on his
wife's calls, and of killing employee Marie Willis when she refused
to cooperate. The prosecutor intends to call Wolfe and Archie to
testify that Wolfe turned down Ashe's attempt to hire them to spy on
his wife, actress Robina Keane.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Clyde Bagby, owner of the business,
testifies that Marie had complained to him about Ashe's request and
was planning to tell Robina. Bagby tried unsuccessfully to dissuade
Marie; later that same night, he learned from the police that she had
been strangled to death at her switchboard. Wolfe abruptly exits the
courtroom, followed by Archie, who reminds him that they are under
subpoena and will almost certainly be charged with contempt of court
for leaving. Wolfe, however, is convinced of Ashe's innocence and
wants to have no part in convicting him.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">They visit the premises of Bagby
Answers, finding the business to be located in an apartment with a
bedroom for each operator due to employment regulations. Wolfe makes
himself as obnoxious as possible in order to see how much incivility
the employees will tolerate, and the detectives take notice of an
original Van Gogh painting on a wall and a stack of racing forms on a
table while questioning operators Bella Velardi and Alice Hart. From
them, Wolfe and Archie learn that Helen Weltz, another operator, is
spending the afternoon at a cottage in Westchester that she has
rented for the summer.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Arriving at the cottage, they find a
new Jaguar parked in front. Helen is accompanied by Guy Unger, an
acquaintance of several of Bagby's employees. Unger describes himself
as a broker, but gives only a vague description of the business he
transacts. Helen privately admits to Archie that she wants to get out
of an uncomfortable situation, but is too frightened of Unger to give
details. Archie persuades her to call Wolfe's office that evening,
then learns from Wolfe that Unger tried to pay him to drop the
investigation into Marie's murder.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Wolfe and Archie return to the city,
but cannot go to the brownstone because a warrant has been issued for
their arrest. They take shelter at Saul Panzer's apartment for the
night, and Wolfe meets with Robina to persuade her to visit Ashe and
take him with her. She agrees, promising not to tell Ashe's attorney.
Archie gets a call from Helen, relayed to him by Fritz Brenner, and
picks her up from Grand Central Station in order to interview her out
of Unger's presence. Wolfe and Robina meet with Ashe shortly before
the trial resumes the following morning.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Once called to the witness stand, Wolfe
tricks the prosecutor into asking a question that both allows him to
explain his theory of the crime and forces the judge to dismiss the
contempt charge. Based on the operators' behavior during his visit
and the evidence of their lavish spending, he concluded that Bagby
and Unger were using the answering service to blackmail clients by
having the employees listen in on calls and gather compromising
information. Helen had confirmed these facts to Archie the previous
night. However, the plan would only succeed if every operator took
part; anyone who showed hesitation could potentially expose the
scheme. When Marie acted against Bagby's orders and turned down
Ashe's request to spy on his wife, one of her co-workers strangled
her to keep her quiet. Wolfe suspected Bagby of committing the murder
and luring Ashe to the office so that he would be found with the body
and arrested.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Bagby, Unger, Helen, Bella, and Alice
are detained for questioning, Ashe is acquitted, and Bagby is
ultimately convicted of Marie's murder without the need of any
further testimony from Wolfe. Archie reflects that Wolfe's exit from
the courtroom may have been motivated less by a desire to see justice
done than by the discomfort of having to sit next to a woman wearing
too much perfume.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">When A Man Murders</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sidney Karnow has returned from the
dead. In 1951 he enlisted in the Army and was sent to Korea as a
soldier in the infantry. Injured in battle, he was left for dead by
retreating American forces, but in fact was only stunned. Karnow was
taken prisoner by the enemy, but after a couple of years he escaped
to Manchuria and lived there in a village until the truce. Then he
made his way to South Korea and was sent home by the Army.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Unusual enough by itself, but Karnow
was also a millionaire. He had inherited money from his parents but
felt that he should serve in the military. Before enlisting, he had
met and married Caroline, who now calls on Wolfe along with her new
husband, Paul Aubry. Caroline and Paul are in a terrible spot:
Karnow's return from the dead apparently voids their marriage, and
they have spent a large portion of Caroline's inheritance to set Paul
up in business as a car dealer. They have decided to offer what is
left of the inheritance, plus the dealership, to Karnow in return for
his consent to a divorce.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Paul has gone to Karnow's hotel room to
put the proposition to him, but got cold feet before knocking on the
door. He discusses the situation once again with Caroline, and they
decide to come to Wolfe for help. Wolfe explains that he is a
detective, not a lawyer, but Aubry replies that "We want you to
detect a way of getting Karnow to accept our proposition."</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Ignoring Aubry's diction, Wolfe sends
Archie, along with Aubry and Caroline, to the Hotel Churchill to put
the proposition to Karnow. Archie leaves the clients in the bar and
goes upstairs to Karnow's room, gets no answer to his knock, tries
the doorknob and finds it unlocked. When he enters, he finds Karnow,
shot dead, and a gun lying a few feet away. Archie leaves the room as
he found it, collects the clients and returns to the brownstone,
where Purley Stebbins soon shows up. Archie, Paul and Caroline were
seen at the hotel where Karnow's body was just found.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Stebbins takes Paul and Caroline for
questioning (although Wolfe and Archie insist that he do so from the
sidewalk: Wolfe will not tolerate a client, even a potential client,
being taken into custody inside his house). Archie follows shortly
thereafter, and as he is waiting to meet with the DA, he encounters
Caroline's in-laws: Karnow's Aunt Margaret, cousins Anne and Richard,
and Anne's husband Norman Horne. With them is Jim Beebe, Sidney's
lawyer and executor. Archie learns nothing from them except that Anne
Horne has a facetious sense of humor.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Archie has no information for ADA
Mandelbaum and Inspector Cramer, and shortly after he returns home
Caroline rings the doorbell. She brings the news that the police have
arrested Paul for Karnow's murder, and she wants to hire Wolfe to
clear him. Wolfe accepts, but needs to knows more about Karnow's
relatives. They had received bequests in Karnow's will, stood to lose
those bequests when he turned up alive, and therefore had motive.
Caroline knows little about them except that they had always depended
on Karnow's support, and have not managed their inheritances
prudently. Wolfe sends Archie to bring them to the office.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Archie tries Beebe first but can't
corral him, and has no better luck with Karnow's Aunt Margaret and
his cousin Richard. When he calls on cousin Anne, he gets more of her
persiflage. Trying to draw her out, he lets her read his palm – and
then her husband Norman returns to their apartment. Anne slows Archie
down just enough that Norman, unencumbered, can clip Archie in the
jaw. Then Archie decks Norman, and leaves.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Finally Wolfe hears from Saul Panzer,
who has been investigating a different side of the problem. Wolfe has
Archie phone Inspector Cramer, and gives him the choice of bringing
all involved to Wolfe's office, or declining to cooperate and letting
Wolfe work through the DA's office. Cramer chooses the former option.
In the traditional meeting with the suspects in Wolfe's office, Wolfe
makes public what Saul has turned up: an unwitting but crucial
witness to the motive for Karnow's murder.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Die Like A Dog</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It's a rainy day in Manhattan, and
Richard Meegan has grabbed the wrong raincoat after getting the
brushoff from Nero Wolfe. Meegan came to the brownstone to hire
Wolfe, apparently on the sort of marital matter that Wolfe won't
touch. Now Archie Goodwin wants to get his raincoat back: it's newer
than the one Meegan left behind.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As Archie approaches Meegan's small
apartment house on Arbor Street[1] in the Village, he sees police
near the front, including Sgt. Purley Stebbins. Opting for
discretion, Archie starts back home when he realizes he's being
tailed by a friendly black Labrador. It's windy enough that Archie's
hat blows off his head and across the street, but the dog risks its
life retrieving it. After that, Archie can't bring himself to shoo
the dog, so he takes him back to the brownstone.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">And there, in the office, Archie
discovers that Wolfe likes dogs. With what passes in Wolfe for
fondness, he recalls that he had a mutt in Montenegro, one with a
rather narrow skull. This Labrador has a much broader skull – Wolfe
asserts that it's for brain room, and decides that the dog is to be
named Jet. Then Fritz reports that Jet has excellent manners in the
kitchen. Wolfe has one-upped Archie once again: he would enjoy
keeping the dog, but can blame Archie for any problem it causes.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Now Cramer appears at the front door,
wanting to know about a dog. A man named Philip Kampf was murdered in
the Arbor Street apartment house. Kampf had owned a black Labrador,
and a policeman noticed that the dog left with Goodwin. Hence
Cramer's questions: Meegan, who saw Wolfe that morning, lives in the
apartment house where Kampf was murdered, and Archie has Kampf's dog.
Wolfe and Archie describe the day's events for Cramer, who wants more
but will wait until the next day.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">That evening, looking for a rationale
to keep Jet, Wolfe sends Archie for Richard Meegan. But Meegan
doesn't answer the buzzer, and when another man leaves the apartment
house, Archie follows him.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Archie catches up, introduces himself,
and points out that the man's being followed by a police detective.
Grateful, the man introduces himself as Victor Talento. Archie wants
to know where he's going, and Talento tells him that he's meeting a
young woman. Her name is Jewel Jones, and Talento asks Archie to go
in his place, and tell her that Talento couldn't make it – Talento
doesn't want the police to see them meet.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Archie agrees, meets up with Miss
Jones, and since he can't bring Meegan to Wolfe, brings her instead.
When they enter Wolfe's office, all three get a surprise: Jet, who
has been keeping Wolfe company, runs to Miss Jones and stands in
front of her, wagging his tail.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So she knows Jet, and therefore Kampf,
and Wolfe pries it out of her that she knew him intimately – and in
fact lived for almost a year in the Arbor Street apartment house
where Kampf was killed. She knows, less well, three of the men who
live there: Talento, Jerome Åland, and Ross Chaffee.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Archie interviews Åland, Meegan and
Chaffee separately. From Meegan he learns more about his reason for
seeing Wolfe: Meegan comes from Pittsburgh, and his wife left him –
completely disappeared – about a year earlier. Not long ago Meegan
saw a painting of a woman in a Pittsburgh museum, and he's sure it
was his wife. He tracked down the artist, Ross Chaffee, and asked him
about the model he used. Chaffee couldn't remember the model, but
Meegan did not believe him and, to stay close by, rented the empty
apartment in the Arbor Street building where Chaffee lives.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Archie takes a blind, but successful,
stab at finding the painting and learns that it belongs to a
Manhattan collector. He calls on the collector, gets a look at the
painting, and sees in it a woman who looks a lot like Jewel Jones.
Archie brings her to the office. Informed that she sat for the
painting, and is therefore Meegan's missing wife, Wolfe speaks with
Chaffee by phone. He threatens to turn Miss Jones over to the police
but gives Chaffee the option of bringing the other three tenants with
him to Wolfe's office.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">With the Arbor Street residents
collected, Wolfe zeros in on the murderer, and along the way explains
the dog's strange behavior, particularly that it followed Archie from
the apartment house.</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br />
</p>
</details><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTA3-XJiyBSpq0MdwSrqgvOW8RpsuerwsVQor6eBp4YyLANDVSvIbFgxuLApfBXYD3sXm-cLEgdFfjtG7TUaZuiiSlojsZTIGXUFnvfEsLVx_D8pK3bZQ3RNdUtn3yg5QF6Rc8clTUH-7CmkufekLk4SBwdHZrjt5UD7P45UWjXp-JHUhoiP_x/s1600/Bookstooge4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1514" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTA3-XJiyBSpq0MdwSrqgvOW8RpsuerwsVQor6eBp4YyLANDVSvIbFgxuLApfBXYD3sXm-cLEgdFfjtG7TUaZuiiSlojsZTIGXUFnvfEsLVx_D8pK3bZQ3RNdUtn3yg5QF6Rc8clTUH-7CmkufekLk4SBwdHZrjt5UD7P45UWjXp-JHUhoiP_x/w189-h200/Bookstooge4.jpg" width="189" /></a></div><ul><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><u><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/nero-wolfe/">All
My “Nero Wolfe” Reviews</a></u></i></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-29338162871211877542024-02-04T05:00:00.016-05:002024-02-04T05:00:00.134-05:00Shotguns V Cthulhu (Cthulhu Anthology #15) 4Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5-6Gv2jpq_E1beGHeCf5wWyc17s4zrtKLUPcWciRB7Bky1uQRj8B60SA5-1VpljK_V2V89dyJqaNJ5tIlhb2jTusmb4leopqofqT0H9EQY3001cg_88TyyaFMZ-XeIKIWaWx7gzw1SAfdolMSOzDUzGVaE-r1EftJmbJbJLzZayKZ-jcIfRO/s457/shotgunsvcthulhu.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5-6Gv2jpq_E1beGHeCf5wWyc17s4zrtKLUPcWciRB7Bky1uQRj8B60SA5-1VpljK_V2V89dyJqaNJ5tIlhb2jTusmb4leopqofqT0H9EQY3001cg_88TyyaFMZ-XeIKIWaWx7gzw1SAfdolMSOzDUzGVaE-r1EftJmbJbJLzZayKZ-jcIfRO/s320/shotgunsvcthulhu.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<b><br /></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Title:</b>
Shotguns V Cthulhu<br />
<b>Series:</b> Cthulhu Anthology
#15<br />
<b>Editor:</b> Robin Laws<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 4 of 5
Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b> Cosmic Horror<br />
<b>Pages: </b>
242<br />
<b>Words:</b> 94K</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
<br /><br /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p><hr />
This was how my final King in Yellow
book should have gone! This had shivers running up my spine. This had
my mind revolting. This had me questioning why I enjoyed the twisted
stories so much. It was everything I expect in a Cosmic Horror story.<p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Now, I had read a King in Yellow
anthology edited by <a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/robin-laws/">Robin
Laws</a> and it wasn’t very good. So I went into this with lowered
expectations. Thankfully, I was disappointed in my expectations.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">And that’s all I write because I’m
tired of writing right now.</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;">★★★</span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;">★</span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;">☆</span></span></span></p>
<hr />
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Table of Contents:</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
</p>
<ul>
<li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Robin D Laws Preface: Save a
Barrel for Yourself</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Kyla Ward Who Looks Back?</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Rob Heinsoo Old Wave</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Dennis Detwiller Lithic</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Chris Lackey Snack Time</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Dan Harms The Host from the Hill</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Steve Dempsey Breaking Through</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">A. Scott Glancy (based on an idea
by Bret Kramer) Last Things Last</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Chad Fifer One Small, Valuable
Thing</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Nick Mamatas Wuji</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Natania Barron The One in the
Swamp</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Kenneth Hite Infernal Devices</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Dave Gross Walker</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Robin D. Laws And I Feel Fine</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Larry DiTillio Welcome to
Cthulhuville</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Ekaterina Sedia End of White</p></li></ul>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAx0dsnJ5NgYIXAf51HVRNB5rxmSIgJ1dRwfFjkmduw0rvRiBFFjivrdaelyxsaZMPNnwBRw0OXg-AUvS4YE6Z1zV4s64CPRJJInCKx3VyJMgvqt18I8YRR4bRe66cDv4XT1s8VnqlC_u6CewFrien0phePmDjyTsw8dG65Q3twfEvHVwipUx/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAx0dsnJ5NgYIXAf51HVRNB5rxmSIgJ1dRwfFjkmduw0rvRiBFFjivrdaelyxsaZMPNnwBRw0OXg-AUvS4YE6Z1zV4s64CPRJJInCKx3VyJMgvqt18I8YRR4bRe66cDv4XT1s8VnqlC_u6CewFrien0phePmDjyTsw8dG65Q3twfEvHVwipUx/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><br /><ul><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/cthulhu-anthology/"><i><u>All
of My “Cthulhu Anthology” Reviews</u></i></a></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-7814084269988961192024-02-01T05:00:00.001-05:002024-02-01T05:00:00.136-05:00Witch Week (Chrestomanci #3) 2.5Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJh9cnUoWZMkCEysgI0bI2a2airmuHdhUri0V6osybSKFrx3VPFLIdIqQmYogJz1HxzMbZ41fIgItvF00izjLWQ8M2MDC4CAkb3D4FkO-RO9BgiFRa9pwAKCY3M3jV06QlJy56Zxqwnni2hVwi09ZhjsIi_obDUTplup6kv_CdJQmKt4o_4AFl/s400/witchweek.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJh9cnUoWZMkCEysgI0bI2a2airmuHdhUri0V6osybSKFrx3VPFLIdIqQmYogJz1HxzMbZ41fIgItvF00izjLWQ8M2MDC4CAkb3D4FkO-RO9BgiFRa9pwAKCY3M3jV06QlJy56Zxqwnni2hVwi09ZhjsIi_obDUTplup6kv_CdJQmKt4o_4AFl/s320/witchweek.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission</i></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: 8px;"><i><br /></i></span>
<b>Title:</b>
Witch Week<br />
<b>Series:</b> Chrestomanci #3<br />
<b>Author:</b>
Diana Jones<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 2.5 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b>
Middlegrade Fantasy<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 185<br />
<b>Words:</b>
73K</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
have heard the question “Why isn’t DWJ as famous as JK Rowlings”
punted about over the years. It might seem like a legitimate
question, but I think this book answers it quite aptly.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Namely,
this was a scary book for kids about bullies, meanness and very
unlikeable people. None of the beautiful people are nice, none of the
adults (except Chrestomanci, when he shows up for the last 10%) are
decent and even the main characters are some really nasty pieces of
work. Some of this might be VERY true to life and some kids might be
able to identify with it all, but that’s not the goal. It’s not
enough to just identify with a character, but to have characters that
your readers want to emulate to be better people. This is DWJ’s
failure in this book.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Until
Chrestomanci shows up and begins setting things aright, I was
questioning why DWJ even bothered to write this and why I was
continuing to read this. While I know intellectually this so called
“Chrestomanci Series” really isn’t, I do wish that that DWJ had
made more of an effort to weave him into the overall story instead of
making him such a small part. It’s as lame as calling Jubilee from
the X-Men a real superhero (she can throw sparkles or something from
her hands, whooooo). </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
guess I will have to change my expectations for the rest of the
series but if I come across any more that are as unlikeable as this,
I’ll just stop this series and start in on my next middle grade
read, the Westmark trilogy by Lloyd Alexander. </span>
</p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★✬☆☆</span></p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">From
Wikipedia:</span></p>
<br />
<details>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Witch
Week is set in an alternative modern-day Great Britain, identical to
our world except for the presence of witchcraft. Despite witches
being common, witchcraft is illegal and punishable by death by
burning, policed by a modern-day Inquisition.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">At
Larwood House, a boarding school where many of the children of
executed witches are sent, a note claiming "Someone in this
class is a witch" is found by a teacher. This launches an
internal investigation of the more unpopular students at the school
(Nan Pilgrim and Charles Morgan), who are gradually coming to terms
with the fact that they are witches. Mayhem gradually ensues as magic
is used to make birds appear in the classroom, to rain shoes, to
curse a classmate into having his words always be true, and other
pranks. When the magic gets totally out of control, one of the
students runs away, leaving notes that blame the witch for
controlling him. The headmistress of the school calls in an
Inquisitor to find the missing student and locate the source of the
trouble.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Four
more of the students flee the school and two seek help from an
"underground railroad" system that is known to save witches
by sending them to a world where they are not persecuted. Instead
they are given a spell to summon unknown help and all five students
converge where they are able to use it, summoning the enchanter
Chrestomanci. He and the children conclude that their world diverged
from 12B (ours) by a particular historical accident. They work to
outwit the local inquisition and to merge their history, thus their
world, with ours. It turns out that most of the schoolchildren are
witches and all must lose any such powers by revising history in that
way.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
</details>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStWo9lrzhyphenhyphenTKj4vii7qEAZy6wE8kdc4I6huaxCEFIED8dewwnqm4M8Ineo0dQnYxnV0DLVZ1SUEKQFfmlFe0czc-CDFqV__lWPgG4mPViUbfBWwNzV1dmLDEWeYYMqE_9JDQf_j6bBeL-0zWVjIzPvjjMvVlTRAzY5VtYxoZijvF1n0PH4nUs/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStWo9lrzhyphenhyphenTKj4vii7qEAZy6wE8kdc4I6huaxCEFIED8dewwnqm4M8Ineo0dQnYxnV0DLVZ1SUEKQFfmlFe0czc-CDFqV__lWPgG4mPViUbfBWwNzV1dmLDEWeYYMqE_9JDQf_j6bBeL-0zWVjIzPvjjMvVlTRAzY5VtYxoZijvF1n0PH4nUs/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">-
</span><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/diana-wynne-jones/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">All of My
“Diana Jones” Reviews</a></p><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33617799.post-29804808570943150862024-01-30T05:00:00.026-05:002024-01-30T05:00:00.145-05:00Equal Rites (Discworld #3) 4Stars<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2ZrI7M5naQkrs_RY88kPvnTuWB89IWWYwa3VvhGsqJPcyqLWg9XMwrZszPYe-sVDzxYZHIWl11rc9ofxvnx1dnId62DZWLvzISSynHBCGe6dOPLD72HpNosQCgmkwR6iTkszJ1Afpxv40zU_rJ_O0sn-XXOsIeARYErfTVhQ56PAaoS-Hd0G/s478/equalrites.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2ZrI7M5naQkrs_RY88kPvnTuWB89IWWYwa3VvhGsqJPcyqLWg9XMwrZszPYe-sVDzxYZHIWl11rc9ofxvnx1dnId62DZWLvzISSynHBCGe6dOPLD72HpNosQCgmkwR6iTkszJ1Afpxv40zU_rJ_O0sn-XXOsIeARYErfTVhQ56PAaoS-Hd0G/s320/equalrites.jpg" width="201" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<b><br /></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Title:</b>
Equal Rites<br />
<b>Series:</b> Discworld #3<br />
<b>Author:</b>
Terry Pratchett<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 4 of 5 Stars<br />
<b>Genre:</b>
Fantasy<br />
<b>Pages: </b> 162<br />
<b>Words:</b> 67K</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></p><hr /><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">
When
I first read this in 2007, I was fresh off the Rincewind books and
was expecting more of the same. <i>Equal Rites </i>is the first of
the Witches sub-series and as such, while humorous, IS different and
I wasn’t ready for that difference back then. Instead of the
insane, zany and just plain ridiculous humor that typifies Rincewind,
The Witches series is much more sardonic and relies on the humor
inherent in opposites. All of that was just to say that I enjoyed my
read this time much more than I did 16 years ago.</span><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
also did this as a buddy-read with Dave. He had a lot of other stuff
going on at the time, so there wasn’t a lot of back and forth on
the book as we read along. I’ll be linking to his review after the
star rating and before the synopsis.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
enjoyed this on a completely different level from the previous two
books. Granny Weatherwax (the main character despite this being about
the little girl Esk) isn’t silly and stupid but she’s also not
some omniscient Paragon of Everything. Pratchett is definitely poking
fun at the genders (male and female) and Granny isn’t a bra burning
feminazi. She’s crotchety, gets things mixed up, makes bad
decisions but ultimately has the good of Esk in mind. She’s a
wonderful character in fact. I loved reading about her. It is almost
scary to me how 16 years of life experience can make that kind of
change in me. I still like Rincewind and the complete chaos that he
is, but I now appreciate Granny much more than I could have back
then. That’s good. We should change as we mature and get older. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
have talked about this before (<a href="https://bookstooge.blog/2018/03/04/why-i-re-read/">Why
I Re-Read </a>from ‘18) but that change in perspective is the EXACT
reason why I am such a re-reader. What I experienced reading </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Equal
Rites </i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">this
time around I simply could not have back in ‘07. And if I had never
re-read it now, I would be stuck with that ‘07 memory of it. Which
isn’t bad, but it’s not as full and rich as my memories of the
book now. As a serious reader, growing is important. A reader should
be a tree, ever growing, not </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">a
karesansui garden </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">(one of
those japanese gravel gardens) which stays static unless an outside
force acts upon it. A reader’s growth should be from within,
affecting the outside, not the outside affecting the growth within.
It is the difference between an oak tree and a bonsai tree. One acts
upon the landscape while the other is acted upon. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">So
to end. I am VERY happy I re-read this. I enjoyed it more than I
originally did and I am thankful I have a better memory of the book
now. </span>
</p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;">★★★★☆</span></p>
<p style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #29303b;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Dave’s
Review</i></span></span></p>
<hr />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">From
Wikipedia.org</span></p>
<br /><details>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
wizard Drum Billet knows that he will soon die and travels to a place
where an eighth son of an eighth son is about to be born. This
signifies that the child is destined to become a wizard; on the
Discworld, the number eight has many of the magical properties that
are sometimes ascribed to seven in other mythologies. Billet wants to
pass his wizard's staff on to his successor.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">However,
the newborn child is actually a girl, Esk (full name Eskarina Smith).
Since Billet notices his mistake too late, the staff passes on to
her. As Esk grows up, it becomes apparent that she has uncontrollable
powers, and the local witch Granny Weatherwax decides to travel with
her to Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork to help her gain the
knowledge required to properly manage her powers.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">But
a female wizard is something completely unheard of on the Discworld.
Esk is unsuccessful in her first, direct, attempt to gain entry to
the University, but Granny Weatherwax finds another way in; as a
servant. While there, Esk witnesses the progress of an apprentice
wizard named Simon, whom she had met earlier, on her way to
Ankh-Morpork. Simon is a natural talent who invents a whole new way
of looking at the universe that reduces it to component numbers.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Simon's
magic causes a hole to be opened into the Dungeon Dimensions while he
is in Esk's presence. The staff, acting to protect Esk, strikes Simon
on the head, closing the hole but trapping his mind in the Dungeon
Dimensions. Esk throws the staff away, believing that it attacked
Simon. While attempting to rescue him, Esk ends up in the Dungeon
Dimensions. The extreme cold there causes the staff, now washed out
to sea, to create a huge ice sheet, causing a storm that floods the
university as well as the surrounding city.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Esk
and Simon discover the weakness of the creatures from the Dungeon
Dimensions—if you can use magic, but don't, they become scared and
weakened. With the help of Granny Weatherwax and Archchancellor
Cutangle, who have retrieved the staff, they both manage to transport
themselves back into the Discworld. Esk and Simon go on to develop a
new kind of magic, based on the notion that the greatest power is the
ability not to use all the others.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p>
</details><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyV9l-KCbRfOiDW5ZOzWxlGp1f4pOGLowWkGyUJcTsETq3lvAOGGeNha-hG_c6j7lXGOcJAlE9kh4BihmW9hM3tlGgnEtvBM4xZDJPKd9RMksrpD6tGf575cE-gMG0__dQdhe7mpe8D8mptCTDKIldJ-LVGcYv_MtmDDfMp-DOiz7ex-MRxxyT/s2818/ProfilePicturePhoto" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2818" data-original-width="2818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyV9l-KCbRfOiDW5ZOzWxlGp1f4pOGLowWkGyUJcTsETq3lvAOGGeNha-hG_c6j7lXGOcJAlE9kh4BihmW9hM3tlGgnEtvBM4xZDJPKd9RMksrpD6tGf575cE-gMG0__dQdhe7mpe8D8mptCTDKIldJ-LVGcYv_MtmDDfMp-DOiz7ex-MRxxyT/w200-h200/ProfilePicturePhoto" width="200" /></a></div><br /><ul><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/2007/11/20/equal-rites/">Equal
Rites (2007 Review)</a></span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/discworld/">All
of My “Discworld” Reviews</a></span></p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://bookstooge.blog/tag/discworld-rincewind/">All
of My “Discworld: Rincewind” Reviews</a></span></p></li></ul><p></p>Bookstoogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16059110063509922530noreply@blogger.com0