CROSSROADS: SPIRIT GATE
-K. Elliott-fantasy
-445- a new world, a new adventure. I shall not be buying this series. To much unnecessary sexual innuendo. It just pervaded everything. I was really looking forward to this series too. Sigh...
ONE PIECE #11-13
-E. Oda-manga
-Captain Arlong is defeated, the crew finally make it into the Grand Line. I laugh so much reading this, it is SO silly. Great stuff
SHAMAN KING #10-11
-H. Takei-manga
-Yoh and the gang begin the journey to the Patch Village. But they come across another Indian who shows them that all is not what it seems. Hao, another contestant, is actually a 1000 year old shaman, intent on world domination. Journey across America continues.
FRUITS BASKET #3-5
-N. Takaya-manga
-Tohru-san meets more of the Sohma family. I am enjoying this series. It gets complicated with so many characters who all have nicknames and pet names though.
TALE OF TWO CITIES
-C. Dickens-fiction
-469- haven't read this in over 6 years, so its time. During the time of the French Revolution. A man goes to France to save an old vassal[he has renounced his holdings and aristocratic living though], is arrested and charged with death. Another man, a dissolute wastrel, who looks just like him, takes his place so that he can be with his wife and child. It showed the horrors of the French Revolution and just how self-gratification oriented it was.
RAGNAROK #1-2
-M. Lee-manwha
-a story about Ragnarok, the legendary "last battle" of the Norse gods, in which they will all die. Manwha is the korean variant of manga. Not suitable reading due to excessive sensuality.
BLEACH 1-2
-T. Kubo-manga
-a boy who can see ghosts becomes a Reaper, one who sends ghosts to their rest. Reminded me of Yu Yu Hakusho, with spirit power, ghosts, etc.
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME
-V. Hugo-historical fiction
-586-this was a very tough start. Hugo goes on and on and ON about architecture. He gives a whole chapter over to describing Paris, another chapter describing the Notre Dame Chapel and another one that waxed philosophical about architecture. Once you got passed those though, it was a truly Gothic tragedy. A mother and daughter separated 15 years ago. A Priest dedicated to knowledge. A terribly deformed man. 3 different aspect of love-casual lust, all consuming lust, selfless love. 3 different men, 1 woman. All but one die in the end. Sad, to see a man consumed by his lust, to see a selfless spirit trapped in a fallen body, to see a woman throw her love away on a libertine. Get rid of all the boring blabberings on architecture and this would be a fantastic read.
BLEACH #3-6
-T. Kubo-manga
FRUITS BASKET #6-9
-N. Takaya-manga
DOWN THE LONG HILLS
-L. L'Amour-western
-150-2 children survive an Indian attack on their wagon train. Face the Elements, Indians and 2 outlaws as they try to survive while the boy's father tracks them down.
HANGING WOMAN CREEK
-L. L'Amour-western
-151-a lone cowpoke outlives rustlers and vigilantes to inherit a man's stake and marry the man's sister.
PSYCHIC ACADEMY #1
-K. Aki-manga
-187-fan service.
HUNTER X HUNTER #10-13
-Y. Togashi-manga
-Gon finally gets into the Hunter Game "Greed Island".
FULL METAL PANIC! #1-8
-S. Gatou-manga
-fanservice. Funny though. and Gatou is a woman. Weird.
UTAH BLAINE
-L. L'Amour-western
-191-man takes on the management of a ranch, kills all the badguys and marries the pretty girl.
SHADOWMARCH: SHADOWPLAY
-T. Williams-fantasy
-641-So much happens, so many side by side threads, that to summarize it is really hard. Ok, Briony escapes, ends up alone, is in the process of making contact with a possible ally. Barrick, with companions, is captured by a demi-god, escapes. Quinnitan is recaptured by the Autarch.
THE KING'S FIFTH
-S. O'Dell-historical fiction
-264-about a young cartographer who finds gold, and everyone in his group, except him and a young native woman, die. His trial for failing to take the treasure and give the Spanish King his "fifth". Just shows how greed destroys a man from within.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Saturday, March 31, 2007
March '07
FLAME OF RECCA #1-3
-N. Anzai-manga
-Recca is a teen who wants to be a ninja. Gets his wish, is now the protector of a girl who has healing powers, he has flame powers himself. Reminds me of Yu Yu Hakusho, shinobi style. But there was some fan service and semi-nudity. So I'm done with it.
CASTLE ON THE HILL
-E. Goudge-fiction
-346-takes place in 1940's, during the height of the bombing of London. A 40 year old woman is displaced and ends up being the head of the household of a castle out in the country. I found this to be a tough book. People loving, people dying, people sacrificing for eachother. In the end, Miss Brown, who loved the owner of the castle, is rejected by him, but then is asked in turn by another man, and she sacrifices so that he, and some orphan children, can have a Home. Referred to as "Second Best" love. I would rather die alone than have a woman marry me out of some sense of pity, duty or friendship.
ONE PIECE #8-10
-E. Oda-manga
-no library had #7. and I don't feel like I missed a thing.
84, CHARING CROSS ROAD
-H. Hanff-non fiction
-113-the correspondence between a writer in NY and the workers in a Second Hand Bookstore in Great Britian. Very amusing as they get to know eachother.
STARWARS: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST
-T. Denning-scifi
-392-Denning, while not totally redeeming himself from the Darknest fiasco, has certainly gone a long ways toward it. Jacen is becoming more and more powerful, and sets up Lumiya and Luke & Mara to face off, to see what happens. Ben is becoming a little "yes man" for Jacen, Han and Leia are now hunted by Jacen for supposedly trying to assassinate Tenel Ka and Allana. Jacen is completely over the edge, the galaxy's "peace" means more to him than the individual, and it is hinted at that there might be a hidden Order of the Sith, in defiance of the One Master, One Student sith rule. Just hinted though...
THE DEAN'S WATCH
-E. Goudge-fiction
-383-A story about an old clockmaker, a Dean of a City, and several other people. Misc feel goodism's about "wuv, sweet wuv" and how everything would just be better if we all wuvved eachother. I don't know why I keep reading Goudge's books. They tend to irritate me with their rose tinted outlook.
OH MY GODDESS! #25
-K. Fujishima-manga
-173-Hild unleashes the Eater of Angels upon the household. Keiichi hosts an angel temporarily.
DEATHNOTE #10
-T. Ohba-manga
-188-Light has Misa pass her notebook onto another Kira worshipper. Light also begins to start a relationship with another woman to better control the "new kira" and in anticipation of getting rid of Misa. Shows just how cold hearted Light truly is.
THE PICKWICK PAPERS
-C. Dickens-classic
-759-the adventures of 4 englishmen as they go about the countryside "observing" different aspects. Originally a serial, so it is broken down into shorter chapters, with no over arching plot. Very funny! A good introduction to Dickens.
W JULIET #13-14
-Emura-manga
-Mako and Ito graduate, are accepted into a troop and end up marring eachother a year after graduation. Alls well that ends well.
STARWARS: ALLEGIANCE
-T. Zahn-scifi
-324-taking place between New Hope & Empire Strikes Back, this follows 3 different storylines and tries to tie them all together. Follows a young Mara Jade, as the Emperor's Hand, as she tracks down a traitor in the Imperial higherups. Follows Leia, Han and Luke as they carry out a mission for the Rebellion. Follows a group of 5 stormtroopers[recruits, not clones] who go AWOL after witnessing civilian slaughter per Orders of the Empire. Enjoyed this more than the Hand of Thrawn duology, but if he'd gotten rid of 1 storyline and focused more on the other 2, it would have been a better, tighter, story.
READ OR DIE #3-4
-H. Kurata-manga
-ok, so I lied. I thought it was a longer series, but its only 4 books. So I saw these 2 and figured I'd finish what I'd started. No fanservice like previously, but man, how dumb. I couldn't connect with the main character on any level and all I wanted to do was slap her.
FRUITS BASKET #1-2
-N. Takaya-manga
-A girl ends up living in a household where the people are the chinese zodiac. if they are hugged by someone of the opposite sex, they turn into the animal they represent. The lead female is a very "optimistic" and "cheerful" type. I enjoyed these two enough to keep on reading it for awhile anyway.
-N. Anzai-manga
-Recca is a teen who wants to be a ninja. Gets his wish, is now the protector of a girl who has healing powers, he has flame powers himself. Reminds me of Yu Yu Hakusho, shinobi style. But there was some fan service and semi-nudity. So I'm done with it.
CASTLE ON THE HILL
-E. Goudge-fiction
-346-takes place in 1940's, during the height of the bombing of London. A 40 year old woman is displaced and ends up being the head of the household of a castle out in the country. I found this to be a tough book. People loving, people dying, people sacrificing for eachother. In the end, Miss Brown, who loved the owner of the castle, is rejected by him, but then is asked in turn by another man, and she sacrifices so that he, and some orphan children, can have a Home. Referred to as "Second Best" love. I would rather die alone than have a woman marry me out of some sense of pity, duty or friendship.
ONE PIECE #8-10
-E. Oda-manga
-no library had #7. and I don't feel like I missed a thing.
84, CHARING CROSS ROAD
-H. Hanff-non fiction
-113-the correspondence between a writer in NY and the workers in a Second Hand Bookstore in Great Britian. Very amusing as they get to know eachother.
STARWARS: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST
-T. Denning-scifi
-392-Denning, while not totally redeeming himself from the Darknest fiasco, has certainly gone a long ways toward it. Jacen is becoming more and more powerful, and sets up Lumiya and Luke & Mara to face off, to see what happens. Ben is becoming a little "yes man" for Jacen, Han and Leia are now hunted by Jacen for supposedly trying to assassinate Tenel Ka and Allana. Jacen is completely over the edge, the galaxy's "peace" means more to him than the individual, and it is hinted at that there might be a hidden Order of the Sith, in defiance of the One Master, One Student sith rule. Just hinted though...
THE DEAN'S WATCH
-E. Goudge-fiction
-383-A story about an old clockmaker, a Dean of a City, and several other people. Misc feel goodism's about "wuv, sweet wuv" and how everything would just be better if we all wuvved eachother. I don't know why I keep reading Goudge's books. They tend to irritate me with their rose tinted outlook.
OH MY GODDESS! #25
-K. Fujishima-manga
-173-Hild unleashes the Eater of Angels upon the household. Keiichi hosts an angel temporarily.
DEATHNOTE #10
-T. Ohba-manga
-188-Light has Misa pass her notebook onto another Kira worshipper. Light also begins to start a relationship with another woman to better control the "new kira" and in anticipation of getting rid of Misa. Shows just how cold hearted Light truly is.
THE PICKWICK PAPERS
-C. Dickens-classic
-759-the adventures of 4 englishmen as they go about the countryside "observing" different aspects. Originally a serial, so it is broken down into shorter chapters, with no over arching plot. Very funny! A good introduction to Dickens.
W JULIET #13-14
-Emura-manga
-Mako and Ito graduate, are accepted into a troop and end up marring eachother a year after graduation. Alls well that ends well.
STARWARS: ALLEGIANCE
-T. Zahn-scifi
-324-taking place between New Hope & Empire Strikes Back, this follows 3 different storylines and tries to tie them all together. Follows a young Mara Jade, as the Emperor's Hand, as she tracks down a traitor in the Imperial higherups. Follows Leia, Han and Luke as they carry out a mission for the Rebellion. Follows a group of 5 stormtroopers[recruits, not clones] who go AWOL after witnessing civilian slaughter per Orders of the Empire. Enjoyed this more than the Hand of Thrawn duology, but if he'd gotten rid of 1 storyline and focused more on the other 2, it would have been a better, tighter, story.
READ OR DIE #3-4
-H. Kurata-manga
-ok, so I lied. I thought it was a longer series, but its only 4 books. So I saw these 2 and figured I'd finish what I'd started. No fanservice like previously, but man, how dumb. I couldn't connect with the main character on any level and all I wanted to do was slap her.
FRUITS BASKET #1-2
-N. Takaya-manga
-A girl ends up living in a household where the people are the chinese zodiac. if they are hugged by someone of the opposite sex, they turn into the animal they represent. The lead female is a very "optimistic" and "cheerful" type. I enjoyed these two enough to keep on reading it for awhile anyway.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
February '07
HUNTER X HUNTER #7-9
-Y. Togashi-manga
-Kurapika is on the hunt for the killers of his[and I'm still not convinced that "he" is a "he". either an extremely bishie guy or a female in disguise] clan, and in cahoots with Hisoka, who while a Spider himself, wants to kill the leader.
ONE PIECE #4
-E. Oda-manga
SHAMAN KING #7-9
-H. Takei-manga
-Yoh finishes the prelims, saves Ren and they become friends. The Tournament takes place in America and book nine ends with the Patch Jumbo Jet dissolving and dropping all the contestants at 40,000 feet, and if they survive the drop, they have 3 months to make it to the Patch reservation.
BROTHERS KARAMAZOV
-F. Dostoyevsky-russian classic
-822-man, I think I am done with russian classics for at least the next 6 months. Ok, this follows the Karamazov family. Father, 3 sons by 2 different wives, and one illegitimate son. The father is a dissolute, sensualist who amasses a great fortune, and tries to buy the affection of a loose young woman. This Woman is also being sought by one of the sons. But he is engaged to a young lady in town. This young lady, is in turn, loved by another brother. The 3rd brother is a monk, who comes out into the non-monastic life after his spiritual father dies. Eventually the illegitimate son kills the father, implicates the eldest son, and drives a wedge between the 1 and 2 son. The third son is the only good one of the whole bunch. I know now why I don't really like russian classics. They go on and on about subjects that have nothing to do with the story. Usually philosophical, religous or political speeches, stories or writings by a sub character. Ugh.
MEGATOKYO #1-3
-F. Gallager & R. Caston-Amerimanga
-follows the adventures of Piro and Largo. Starts with them going to E3[an electronics get together, super big, etc], being denied entrance and going on a drunken binge. They end up using the rest of their money to fly to Tokyo. About their adventures in Tokyo and trying to earn money to fly back to America.
THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE
-A. Niffenegger-scifi romance
-518-a man is able to spontaneously time travel. But he has no control over it. He always comes back to where he left. This is the account of his romance with his wife to be and his wife. The author[who is a woman] seems to be sex obsessed. That is my only problem with this book, there are enough graphic scenes that I can't recommend it to other singles. It is fantastically written, an emotional tour-de-force, compelling, it forced me to finish it, keeping me glued to it the entire time. I read it in 3 days. If I ever get married, I will buy this book. But not until then. Love Across Time.
FLCL VOL 1&2
-Gainax-manga
-the artwork is incomprehensible, so much so that I couldn't really follow the storyline. Something to do with a boy, a girl, some robots and just general weirdness. I have no desire to watch the anime now.
DEATH NOTE VOL 7-9
-T. Ohba-manga
-L dies, Light takes his name, but there is a whole orphanage filled with talented youngsters being trained as potential "L"s. The 2 front runners take over where L left off, in trying to uncover Kira. Another Shinigami enters the picture, but is dispatched quickly enough. The new two "L"s are young, and not truly "L"s, but one takes the name of "Near" and the other, who turns out to be a practical sociopath, goes by the name of "Mello".
CONGO
-M. Crichton-scientific fiction
-313-written in the early 80's, about the "greatness of computers" and a lost city in Congo. A new type of gorilla and blue diamonds. Gorillas trained to kill humans. Slower than Jurassic Park, but not nearly so as Andromeda Strain. I'd like to see the movie now.
BEOWULF'S CHILDREN
-L. Niven, J. Pournelle, S. Barnes-scifi
-382-sequel to Legacy of Heorot. The next generation, leaving the island of Camelot to explore the mainland of Avalon. New terrors, external and internal also. An intelligent grendel. Interesting.
OH MY GODDESS! #24
-K. Fujishima-manga
-Keiichi lets his dad win the race. Mom and Dad still don't find out that Bell is a goddess, and finally, Lind[a Valkery] sets a protective barrier around the house because some device was stolen in Heaven.
W JULIET #11-12
-Emura-manga
-graduation is only 2 months away. Makoto shows his talent in the school festival play, despite sabotage and a side story about criminals taking one of the players hostage. This series is almost saccharin sweet with all the believe in yourself's thrown around. But I still like the overall romance and the twist about Makoto :-)
ONE PIECE # 5-6
-E. Oda-manga
-Luffy saves the village, Usop joins the crew, and they all end up at the floating restuarant where things really start to brew.
CERES: CELESTIAL LEGEND #1-5
-Y. Watase-manga
-based on the Japanese version of the swan princess. A man steals a goddess's clothes, she marries him, and their children reveal where her clothes are hidden and off she goes back to heaven. Well, this centers around what happens if the goddess never found her clothes. Follows a family in which the original goddess reincarnates until she finds a suitable host. This series centers around that happening.
THE HARSH CRY OF THE HERON: THE LAST TALE OF THE OTORI
-L. Hearn-fantasy
-508-an unexpected, and final, tale of the Otori. Takeo is threatened by the Emperor, who is taking an interest now that the Three Countries are doing well, and also by Zenko Arai, who's life was spared by Takeo. Deals with his eldest daughter, twin daughters, and the son who is being raised by Akio, to fulfill the prophecy of his son being the only one able to kill Takeo. In the end, Takeo is betrayed by Kaede, allows himself to be killed, and through it all keeps the peace of the Three Countries. Sad but fulfilling. Not depressing.
MEGATOKYO #4
-F. Gallagher-amerimanga
-233-more of Piro and Largo. I love this series :-)
DEBT OF BONES
-T. Goodkind-fantasy
-119- short story sequel to the Sword of Truth series. About Zed and Abbey and how Zed raises the barriers between the lands. Interesting indeed.
TSUBASA RESERVOIR CHRONICLE #12
-Clamp-manga
-184-Sakura wins, but "Dr Kyle" shows up and proves that he too can travel between worlds. A drunk Mokona, black or white, is absolutely hilarious. Probably wouldn't let a younger teen read this because of its funny portrayal of alcohal. Not a good example for impressionable minds.
-Y. Togashi-manga
-Kurapika is on the hunt for the killers of his[and I'm still not convinced that "he" is a "he". either an extremely bishie guy or a female in disguise] clan, and in cahoots with Hisoka, who while a Spider himself, wants to kill the leader.
ONE PIECE #4
-E. Oda-manga
SHAMAN KING #7-9
-H. Takei-manga
-Yoh finishes the prelims, saves Ren and they become friends. The Tournament takes place in America and book nine ends with the Patch Jumbo Jet dissolving and dropping all the contestants at 40,000 feet, and if they survive the drop, they have 3 months to make it to the Patch reservation.
BROTHERS KARAMAZOV
-F. Dostoyevsky-russian classic
-822-man, I think I am done with russian classics for at least the next 6 months. Ok, this follows the Karamazov family. Father, 3 sons by 2 different wives, and one illegitimate son. The father is a dissolute, sensualist who amasses a great fortune, and tries to buy the affection of a loose young woman. This Woman is also being sought by one of the sons. But he is engaged to a young lady in town. This young lady, is in turn, loved by another brother. The 3rd brother is a monk, who comes out into the non-monastic life after his spiritual father dies. Eventually the illegitimate son kills the father, implicates the eldest son, and drives a wedge between the 1 and 2 son. The third son is the only good one of the whole bunch. I know now why I don't really like russian classics. They go on and on about subjects that have nothing to do with the story. Usually philosophical, religous or political speeches, stories or writings by a sub character. Ugh.
MEGATOKYO #1-3
-F. Gallager & R. Caston-Amerimanga
-follows the adventures of Piro and Largo. Starts with them going to E3[an electronics get together, super big, etc], being denied entrance and going on a drunken binge. They end up using the rest of their money to fly to Tokyo. About their adventures in Tokyo and trying to earn money to fly back to America.
THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE
-A. Niffenegger-scifi romance
-518-a man is able to spontaneously time travel. But he has no control over it. He always comes back to where he left. This is the account of his romance with his wife to be and his wife. The author[who is a woman] seems to be sex obsessed. That is my only problem with this book, there are enough graphic scenes that I can't recommend it to other singles. It is fantastically written, an emotional tour-de-force, compelling, it forced me to finish it, keeping me glued to it the entire time. I read it in 3 days. If I ever get married, I will buy this book. But not until then. Love Across Time.
FLCL VOL 1&2
-Gainax-manga
-the artwork is incomprehensible, so much so that I couldn't really follow the storyline. Something to do with a boy, a girl, some robots and just general weirdness. I have no desire to watch the anime now.
DEATH NOTE VOL 7-9
-T. Ohba-manga
-L dies, Light takes his name, but there is a whole orphanage filled with talented youngsters being trained as potential "L"s. The 2 front runners take over where L left off, in trying to uncover Kira. Another Shinigami enters the picture, but is dispatched quickly enough. The new two "L"s are young, and not truly "L"s, but one takes the name of "Near" and the other, who turns out to be a practical sociopath, goes by the name of "Mello".
CONGO
-M. Crichton-scientific fiction
-313-written in the early 80's, about the "greatness of computers" and a lost city in Congo. A new type of gorilla and blue diamonds. Gorillas trained to kill humans. Slower than Jurassic Park, but not nearly so as Andromeda Strain. I'd like to see the movie now.
BEOWULF'S CHILDREN
-L. Niven, J. Pournelle, S. Barnes-scifi
-382-sequel to Legacy of Heorot. The next generation, leaving the island of Camelot to explore the mainland of Avalon. New terrors, external and internal also. An intelligent grendel. Interesting.
OH MY GODDESS! #24
-K. Fujishima-manga
-Keiichi lets his dad win the race. Mom and Dad still don't find out that Bell is a goddess, and finally, Lind[a Valkery] sets a protective barrier around the house because some device was stolen in Heaven.
W JULIET #11-12
-Emura-manga
-graduation is only 2 months away. Makoto shows his talent in the school festival play, despite sabotage and a side story about criminals taking one of the players hostage. This series is almost saccharin sweet with all the believe in yourself's thrown around. But I still like the overall romance and the twist about Makoto :-)
ONE PIECE # 5-6
-E. Oda-manga
-Luffy saves the village, Usop joins the crew, and they all end up at the floating restuarant where things really start to brew.
CERES: CELESTIAL LEGEND #1-5
-Y. Watase-manga
-based on the Japanese version of the swan princess. A man steals a goddess's clothes, she marries him, and their children reveal where her clothes are hidden and off she goes back to heaven. Well, this centers around what happens if the goddess never found her clothes. Follows a family in which the original goddess reincarnates until she finds a suitable host. This series centers around that happening.
THE HARSH CRY OF THE HERON: THE LAST TALE OF THE OTORI
-L. Hearn-fantasy
-508-an unexpected, and final, tale of the Otori. Takeo is threatened by the Emperor, who is taking an interest now that the Three Countries are doing well, and also by Zenko Arai, who's life was spared by Takeo. Deals with his eldest daughter, twin daughters, and the son who is being raised by Akio, to fulfill the prophecy of his son being the only one able to kill Takeo. In the end, Takeo is betrayed by Kaede, allows himself to be killed, and through it all keeps the peace of the Three Countries. Sad but fulfilling. Not depressing.
MEGATOKYO #4
-F. Gallagher-amerimanga
-233-more of Piro and Largo. I love this series :-)
DEBT OF BONES
-T. Goodkind-fantasy
-119- short story sequel to the Sword of Truth series. About Zed and Abbey and how Zed raises the barriers between the lands. Interesting indeed.
TSUBASA RESERVOIR CHRONICLE #12
-Clamp-manga
-184-Sakura wins, but "Dr Kyle" shows up and proves that he too can travel between worlds. A drunk Mokona, black or white, is absolutely hilarious. Probably wouldn't let a younger teen read this because of its funny portrayal of alcohal. Not a good example for impressionable minds.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
January '07
TAILCHASER'S SONG
-T. Williams-fantasy
-326-a story about a cat, cats and their forebearers. It was an earlier book of Williams. I just found it boring. Maybe because I don't like cats anyway?
PLUM PIE
-PG Wodehouse-fiction
-252-a series of short stories about various Wodehousian characters. The first one is a Jeeves and Wooster, but the rest all deal with other such nimwits as seem to populate England :-) I didn't find these particularly funny, perhaps because I just couldn't get into mocking dumb people? I don't know.
TSUBASA RESERVOIR CHRONICLE #10
-Clamp-manga
-185- I have decided to include manga and graphic novels in my book reading list. Not as a way to artificially inflate my numbers, but just because they are books and this about all the books I read, period.
THE RIDDLEMASTER OF HED
-P. McKillip-fantasy
-222-the first in the Riddlemaster Trilogy. A destiny is forced upon the Landheir of Hed, a peaceful island of farmers. Stylewise, this was very prose. I could see the hints of her verse poking through, but nothing like some of her later books. Found this to be a little confusing and hope the next 2 books will shed more light on this new world.
TSUBASA RESERVOIR CHRONICLE #11
-Clamp-manga
-183-the race for Sakura's Feather continues. Only the top 6 make it through somebody's sabotage of the race so far. And I like the Black Makona in XxxHolic better. The White Makona is just too "wanna-be-cute". Of course, White can't hold his liqueur like Black, so that is hilarious.
THE CIRCLE: BLACK: THE BIRTH OF EVIL
-T. Dekker-fiction
-408-Thomas Hunter, the main character, goes between worlds in his sleep and perceives each as a dream of the other. In one world, our world, it is 2010 and a virus is about to be released that will destroy all humanity unless the demands of the evil villian, the only one with a vaccine, are met. In the other world, the world is divided between good and evil. An unfallen world in the good side, where the "first man" is tempted to fight the evil, on its own terms, and he loses, dooming his world to terrible slaughter, with only 7 enclaves of safety. And that is where Black ends. I am looking forward to the next 2, Red & White.
THE CIRCLE: RED: THE HEROIC RESCUE
-T. Dekker-fiction
-381-the adventure continues. In the Forest world, 15 years pass, in which Thomas becomes a warrior and defends the enclaves. The Enclaves fall, and Ellyon[God] comes as a man and saves a small remnant. In "our" world, Thomas saves Monique, but her antivirus doesn't appear to work and Thomas is shot by Carlos, point blank in the head and has been dead for 3 days when the book ends. I like Dekker. The "Books of History" are precursors to the books in Showdown. I find it interesting to see authors who use and reuse specific ideas and whatnot.
THE CIRCLE: WHITE: THE GREAT PURSUIT
-T. Dekker-fiction
-370-finishes up the series. Thomas dies in our world, giving his blood as the antidote, but in the other world, Rachelle dies, and a year later he meets the daughter of Qurong[Tanis] and falls in love and sacrifices everything[or so he thinks] to gain her. A picture of Justin's love for them, His bride. The books? They are not a precursor, but the real deal. Showdown is a direct sequel to this series in dealing with the Books of History. Now I want to go read it again.
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST #1
-H. Arakawa-manga
-183-just saw this at the library and wanted to see how it compared to the anime. Most instances if falls short, many scenes are not as fleshed out as in the anime, probably due to size constraints. Won't be tempted to buy it, that is for sure.
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION #1
-Y. Sadamoto-manga
-171-after watching the anime, I thought it was time to read the manga. A series as full of hopelessness and despair as the creator was during his 4 year mental breakdown. Rejects and castoffs trying to save the world. All hope and optimism are gone. I am going to try to read up to the current volume[#9 I believe]. Depends on if the local libraries have them or not.
BLINK
-T. Dekker-fiction
-389-as you can tell, I am on quite the Dekker kick. I like his stuff. A genius[IQ of 190 and Einstein was 165'ish] suddenly starts being able to see the possible futures. At the same time, a Saudi princess is embroiled in the schemes to overthrow the current king and install a hardline Muslim. Their paths converge and God is shown to be the One True God. A little romance, a little action, a little intrigue and a little worldwide action, and this is what you get. Thoroughly enjoyable.
ONE PIECE: ROMANCE DAWN
-E. Oda-manga
-207-Luffy D Monkey wants to be a pirate as a child. He can't be. He accidently eats the devils fruit and becomes a gum gum man[ie, he is elastic now], but is cursed with never being able to swim[a very bad thing for a pirate]. Fast forward several years. Luffy is now trying to be King of the Pirates by finding One Piece[the greatest treasure of all]. Starts out in a rowboat by himself. Starts trying to pick up crew. Hilarious! I just burst out laughing several times.
ONE PIECE: BUGGY THE CLOWN
-E. Oda-manga
-194-The continued adventures of Luffy. Has one pirate hunter on his "crew" and tries to pick up a girl for his navigator. She's a thief and that brings Luffy into conflict with Buggy, another infamous pirate, who also ate of the devils fruit, but he can separate his body at will and move the parts independently. Ends as they face off.
ONE PIECE: DON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN
-E. Oda-manga
-195-beats Buggy and is about to foil a plot to kill a rich heiress.
DEATH NOTE #1
-T. Ohba-manga
-195-ok, this is a seriously disturbing series. A shinigami[demon] drops a deathnote book, which shinigami use to kill humans to gain their life, and it falls into the hands of a teenage genius, who then starts killing criminals. A super investigator, also a supersmart teen, called "L" is called in to investigate. This series is a battle of wits between L and Light. The thinking that goes on reminds me of myself, in a scary way, not a complimentary way.
DEATH NOTE #2
-T. Ohba-manga
-197-non-criminals are now killed. Light has crossed the line. He will kill criminals, but also whoever attempts to apprehend him. This definitely deserves the Older Teen rating. The mind of a psychopath.
HEIR OF SEA AND FIRE
-P. McKillip-fantasy
-207-sequel to Riddle Master of Hed. Mainly about the woman he was betrothed to. Turns out she has shapeshifter blood. I don't remember much about it, and I just finished it today. That says something, not good.
DEATH NOTE #3
-T. Ohba-manga
-194-gets deeper into the battle between L and Light. But a new Kira appears on the scene.
DEATH NOTE #4
-T. Ohba-manga
-204-the new Kira turns out to be a model who is in love with Light. She has made the eye deal with her Shinigami. Turns out to be a hindrance to Light so she ends up giving up her deathnote, and hence all her memories about it are gone. Light ups the ante and requests lockdown for himself to prove he isn't Kira to L. Ends as he is going into his cell.
DEATH NOTE #5
-T. Ohba-manga
-200-Light gets Ryuk to get rid of his Deathnote, so he forgets everything concerning it. Rem gives Misa's deathnote to someone else to save her, per Light's orders. So "Kira" is now a business person amongst a group of 8, and L and Light[who is now dedicated to bringing Kira to justice since he doesn't remember that he WAS Kira] are trying to figure out who. I like this series. I was wondering how the author was going to stretch out the battle of wits between L and Light, but with this "give the Deathnote" away plot, it really is good. I will probably buy this unless the later volumes make that impossible.
R.O.D.-READ OR DIE #1
-H. Kurata-manga
-214-a woman with the power to manipulate paper as she wishes is in the employ of a english govt agency finding rare[read dangerous] books. I was not at all interested.
R.O.D.-READ OR DIE #2
-H. Kurata-manga
-194-read it because I'd gotten volumes 1 and 2 out, so I had them both at home. Won't be reading any more.
SHAMAN KING #1-6
-H. Takei-manga
-I really like the story line-a young boy is training to be a shaman and it is the time of the choosing of the new Shaman King[happens every 500 years]. I saw the anime, thought it was definitely Foxboxed[or f*boxed to be honest], but interesting. I like the story so far, but I will never buy it, the layout was pretty crappy. Cheap, scenes cut off at the bottom or sides was what I noticed the most. I'll keep reading it though.
HARPIST IN THE WIND
-P. McKillip-fantasy
-257-the finish up of the Riddlemaster Trilogy. I hardly understood a thing that was happening; it was much more poetically oriented like her later books. Morgon becomes the land-heir of the One and defeats the shapechangers, locking them into a mountain. It was just extremely confusing. I would not recommend this series as a first tryout for McKillip.
TRIGUN #1
-Y. Nightow-manga
-358-the anime covers this same territory. I liked the anime better.
HUNTERS OF DUNE
-B. Herbert & K. Anderson-scifi
-524-the immediate sequel to Chapterhouse. I liked it, a lot! Follows the escaped no-ship, which breeds some gholas of Dune's past, and Murbella, who rises to unite the Bene Gesserit and the Honored Maitres against the Enemy who drove the HM's into the Old Empire. Meet Norma Cenva, who is the Oracle of Time now, and Omnius and Erasmus, who survived and for the past 15,000 years have been building up forces to once and for all wipe out humanity. Very complex threads. The 2 prequel trilogies are a must read to fully understand the ending and certain references. I look forward to the concluding novel.
DEATH NOTE #6
-T. Ohba-manga
-217-the 3rd Kira is uncovered and Light's plan seems to be unrolling. Just don't have a clue what it is. Misa is dumb, period. Ends with the 3rd Kira being cornered.
HUNTER X HUNTER 1-6
-Y. Togashi-manga
-a young boy wants to be a Hunter, like his father. These volumes cover his, and the friends' he meets, trials to become Hunters. I like it. Optimistic, upbeat, but lots of fighting.
-T. Williams-fantasy
-326-a story about a cat, cats and their forebearers. It was an earlier book of Williams. I just found it boring. Maybe because I don't like cats anyway?
PLUM PIE
-PG Wodehouse-fiction
-252-a series of short stories about various Wodehousian characters. The first one is a Jeeves and Wooster, but the rest all deal with other such nimwits as seem to populate England :-) I didn't find these particularly funny, perhaps because I just couldn't get into mocking dumb people? I don't know.
TSUBASA RESERVOIR CHRONICLE #10
-Clamp-manga
-185- I have decided to include manga and graphic novels in my book reading list. Not as a way to artificially inflate my numbers, but just because they are books and this about all the books I read, period.
THE RIDDLEMASTER OF HED
-P. McKillip-fantasy
-222-the first in the Riddlemaster Trilogy. A destiny is forced upon the Landheir of Hed, a peaceful island of farmers. Stylewise, this was very prose. I could see the hints of her verse poking through, but nothing like some of her later books. Found this to be a little confusing and hope the next 2 books will shed more light on this new world.
TSUBASA RESERVOIR CHRONICLE #11
-Clamp-manga
-183-the race for Sakura's Feather continues. Only the top 6 make it through somebody's sabotage of the race so far. And I like the Black Makona in XxxHolic better. The White Makona is just too "wanna-be-cute". Of course, White can't hold his liqueur like Black, so that is hilarious.
THE CIRCLE: BLACK: THE BIRTH OF EVIL
-T. Dekker-fiction
-408-Thomas Hunter, the main character, goes between worlds in his sleep and perceives each as a dream of the other. In one world, our world, it is 2010 and a virus is about to be released that will destroy all humanity unless the demands of the evil villian, the only one with a vaccine, are met. In the other world, the world is divided between good and evil. An unfallen world in the good side, where the "first man" is tempted to fight the evil, on its own terms, and he loses, dooming his world to terrible slaughter, with only 7 enclaves of safety. And that is where Black ends. I am looking forward to the next 2, Red & White.
THE CIRCLE: RED: THE HEROIC RESCUE
-T. Dekker-fiction
-381-the adventure continues. In the Forest world, 15 years pass, in which Thomas becomes a warrior and defends the enclaves. The Enclaves fall, and Ellyon[God] comes as a man and saves a small remnant. In "our" world, Thomas saves Monique, but her antivirus doesn't appear to work and Thomas is shot by Carlos, point blank in the head and has been dead for 3 days when the book ends. I like Dekker. The "Books of History" are precursors to the books in Showdown. I find it interesting to see authors who use and reuse specific ideas and whatnot.
THE CIRCLE: WHITE: THE GREAT PURSUIT
-T. Dekker-fiction
-370-finishes up the series. Thomas dies in our world, giving his blood as the antidote, but in the other world, Rachelle dies, and a year later he meets the daughter of Qurong[Tanis] and falls in love and sacrifices everything[or so he thinks] to gain her. A picture of Justin's love for them, His bride. The books? They are not a precursor, but the real deal. Showdown is a direct sequel to this series in dealing with the Books of History. Now I want to go read it again.
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST #1
-H. Arakawa-manga
-183-just saw this at the library and wanted to see how it compared to the anime. Most instances if falls short, many scenes are not as fleshed out as in the anime, probably due to size constraints. Won't be tempted to buy it, that is for sure.
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION #1
-Y. Sadamoto-manga
-171-after watching the anime, I thought it was time to read the manga. A series as full of hopelessness and despair as the creator was during his 4 year mental breakdown. Rejects and castoffs trying to save the world. All hope and optimism are gone. I am going to try to read up to the current volume[#9 I believe]. Depends on if the local libraries have them or not.
BLINK
-T. Dekker-fiction
-389-as you can tell, I am on quite the Dekker kick. I like his stuff. A genius[IQ of 190 and Einstein was 165'ish] suddenly starts being able to see the possible futures. At the same time, a Saudi princess is embroiled in the schemes to overthrow the current king and install a hardline Muslim. Their paths converge and God is shown to be the One True God. A little romance, a little action, a little intrigue and a little worldwide action, and this is what you get. Thoroughly enjoyable.
ONE PIECE: ROMANCE DAWN
-E. Oda-manga
-207-Luffy D Monkey wants to be a pirate as a child. He can't be. He accidently eats the devils fruit and becomes a gum gum man[ie, he is elastic now], but is cursed with never being able to swim[a very bad thing for a pirate]. Fast forward several years. Luffy is now trying to be King of the Pirates by finding One Piece[the greatest treasure of all]. Starts out in a rowboat by himself. Starts trying to pick up crew. Hilarious! I just burst out laughing several times.
ONE PIECE: BUGGY THE CLOWN
-E. Oda-manga
-194-The continued adventures of Luffy. Has one pirate hunter on his "crew" and tries to pick up a girl for his navigator. She's a thief and that brings Luffy into conflict with Buggy, another infamous pirate, who also ate of the devils fruit, but he can separate his body at will and move the parts independently. Ends as they face off.
ONE PIECE: DON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN
-E. Oda-manga
-195-beats Buggy and is about to foil a plot to kill a rich heiress.
DEATH NOTE #1
-T. Ohba-manga
-195-ok, this is a seriously disturbing series. A shinigami[demon] drops a deathnote book, which shinigami use to kill humans to gain their life, and it falls into the hands of a teenage genius, who then starts killing criminals. A super investigator, also a supersmart teen, called "L" is called in to investigate. This series is a battle of wits between L and Light. The thinking that goes on reminds me of myself, in a scary way, not a complimentary way.
DEATH NOTE #2
-T. Ohba-manga
-197-non-criminals are now killed. Light has crossed the line. He will kill criminals, but also whoever attempts to apprehend him. This definitely deserves the Older Teen rating. The mind of a psychopath.
HEIR OF SEA AND FIRE
-P. McKillip-fantasy
-207-sequel to Riddle Master of Hed. Mainly about the woman he was betrothed to. Turns out she has shapeshifter blood. I don't remember much about it, and I just finished it today. That says something, not good.
DEATH NOTE #3
-T. Ohba-manga
-194-gets deeper into the battle between L and Light. But a new Kira appears on the scene.
DEATH NOTE #4
-T. Ohba-manga
-204-the new Kira turns out to be a model who is in love with Light. She has made the eye deal with her Shinigami. Turns out to be a hindrance to Light so she ends up giving up her deathnote, and hence all her memories about it are gone. Light ups the ante and requests lockdown for himself to prove he isn't Kira to L. Ends as he is going into his cell.
DEATH NOTE #5
-T. Ohba-manga
-200-Light gets Ryuk to get rid of his Deathnote, so he forgets everything concerning it. Rem gives Misa's deathnote to someone else to save her, per Light's orders. So "Kira" is now a business person amongst a group of 8, and L and Light[who is now dedicated to bringing Kira to justice since he doesn't remember that he WAS Kira] are trying to figure out who. I like this series. I was wondering how the author was going to stretch out the battle of wits between L and Light, but with this "give the Deathnote" away plot, it really is good. I will probably buy this unless the later volumes make that impossible.
R.O.D.-READ OR DIE #1
-H. Kurata-manga
-214-a woman with the power to manipulate paper as she wishes is in the employ of a english govt agency finding rare[read dangerous] books. I was not at all interested.
R.O.D.-READ OR DIE #2
-H. Kurata-manga
-194-read it because I'd gotten volumes 1 and 2 out, so I had them both at home. Won't be reading any more.
SHAMAN KING #1-6
-H. Takei-manga
-I really like the story line-a young boy is training to be a shaman and it is the time of the choosing of the new Shaman King[happens every 500 years]. I saw the anime, thought it was definitely Foxboxed[or f*boxed to be honest], but interesting. I like the story so far, but I will never buy it, the layout was pretty crappy. Cheap, scenes cut off at the bottom or sides was what I noticed the most. I'll keep reading it though.
HARPIST IN THE WIND
-P. McKillip-fantasy
-257-the finish up of the Riddlemaster Trilogy. I hardly understood a thing that was happening; it was much more poetically oriented like her later books. Morgon becomes the land-heir of the One and defeats the shapechangers, locking them into a mountain. It was just extremely confusing. I would not recommend this series as a first tryout for McKillip.
TRIGUN #1
-Y. Nightow-manga
-358-the anime covers this same territory. I liked the anime better.
HUNTERS OF DUNE
-B. Herbert & K. Anderson-scifi
-524-the immediate sequel to Chapterhouse. I liked it, a lot! Follows the escaped no-ship, which breeds some gholas of Dune's past, and Murbella, who rises to unite the Bene Gesserit and the Honored Maitres against the Enemy who drove the HM's into the Old Empire. Meet Norma Cenva, who is the Oracle of Time now, and Omnius and Erasmus, who survived and for the past 15,000 years have been building up forces to once and for all wipe out humanity. Very complex threads. The 2 prequel trilogies are a must read to fully understand the ending and certain references. I look forward to the concluding novel.
DEATH NOTE #6
-T. Ohba-manga
-217-the 3rd Kira is uncovered and Light's plan seems to be unrolling. Just don't have a clue what it is. Misa is dumb, period. Ends with the 3rd Kira being cornered.
HUNTER X HUNTER 1-6
-Y. Togashi-manga
-a young boy wants to be a Hunter, like his father. These volumes cover his, and the friends' he meets, trials to become Hunters. I like it. Optimistic, upbeat, but lots of fighting.
Monday, January 01, 2007
2006 in Review
1. Prydain Chronicles-Lloyd Alexander
2. Star Wars: The Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader-James Luceno
3. Tales of the Otori: Brilliance of the Moon-Lian Hearne
4. Talion: Revenant-Michael Stackpole
5. Quadrail: Night Train to Rigel-Timothy Zahn
6. Enchanted Forest Chronicles-Patricia C. Wrede
7. Ivanhoe-Sir Walter Scott
8. Heart of Midlothian-Sir Walter Scott
9. Star Wars: Darknest Trilogy-Troy Denning
10. Spinneret-Timothy Zahn
11. Conclave of Shadows: Talon of the Silverhawk-Raymond Feist
12. Conclave of Shadows: King of Foxes-Raymond Feist
13. Series of Unfortunate Events: The Slippery Slope-Lemony Snicket
14. Umbrella Man-Roald Dahl
15. Star Wars: Outbound Flight-Timothy Zahn
16. The Prince in Waiting-John Christopher
17. Beyond the Burning Lands-John Christopher
18. The Sword of the Spirits-John Christopher
19. Conclave of Shadows: Exile's Return-Raymond Feist
20. Sense & Sensibility-Jane Austen
21. Pride & Prejudice-Jane Austen
22. Crown of Stars-Kate Elliot
23. Star Wars: Republic Commando-Karen Traviss
24. Elantris-Brandon Sanderson
25. Danny, Champion of the World-Roald Dahl
26. Wayfarer-Dennis Schmidt
27. Kensho-Dennis Schmidt
28. Satori-Dennis Schmidt
29. Sentenced to Prism-Alan Dean Foster
30. Wanderer-Dennis Schmidt
31. Mansfield Park-Jane Austen
32. Emma-Jane Austen
33. Flinx's Folly-Alan Dean Foster
34. Northanger Abbey-Jane Austen
35. Persuasion-Jane Austen
36. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Grim Grotto-Lemony Snicket
37. Sliding Scales-Alan Dean Foster
38. Blackcollar: The Judas Solution-Timothy Zahn
39. Exiles: Mageborn Traitor-Melanie Rawn
40. Postman-David Brin
41. Road to Dune-Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson
42. Angelfire East-Terry Brooks
43. The Dreamers: The Crystal Gorge-David and Leigh Eddings
44. High Druid of Shannara: Straken-Terry Brooks
45. The Age of Discovery: Cartomancy-Michael Stackpole
46. Star Wars: Tatooine Ghost-Troy Denning
47. Star Wars: Legacy of the Force: Betrayal-Aaron Allston
48. The Complete Book of Swords-Fred Saberhagen
49. The Mark of the Cat-Andre Norton
50. Lost Swords: The First Triad-Fred Saberhagen
51. Celtic Crusades: The Black Rood-Stephen Lawhead
52. Celtic Crusades: The Mystic Rose-Stephen Lawhead
53. Mistborn: Final Empire-Brandon Sanderson
54. The Complete Robot-Isaac Asimov
55. The Space Trilogy-CS Lewis
56. Lost Swords: The Second Triad-Fred Saberhagen
57. Pendragon Cycle: Taliesin-Stephen Lawhead
58. Pendragon Cycle: Merlin-Stephen Lawhead
59. The Dreamers: The Younger Gods-David and Leigh Eddings
60. 2001: A Space Odyssey-AC Clarke
61. 2010: Odyssey Two-AC Clarke
62. Chainfire: Phantom[Sword of Truth book 10]-Terry Goodkind
63. Lost Swords: Endgame-Fred Saberhagen
64. 2061: Odyssey Three-AC Clarke
64. 3001: Final Odyssey-AC Clarke
65. Pendragon Cycle: Arthur-Stephen Lawhead
66. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Penultimate Peril-Lemony Snicket
67. Invasion of the Sea-Jules Verne
68. Silvercall: Trek to Kraggen-cor-Dennis McKiernan
69. Silvercall: The Brega Path-Dennis Mckiernan
70. King Raven: Hood-Stephen Lawhead
71. Taken: Lost and Found-Alan Dean Foster
72. Iron Tower: Darktide-Dennis McKiernan
73. Armageddon's Children-Terry Brooks
74. Iron Tower: Shadows of Doom-Dennis Mckiernan
75. Star Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter-Michael Reaves
76. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The End-Lemony Snicket
77. Goddess of the Icerealm-David Drake
78. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire-Steve Perry
79. The Awakeners: Northshore-Sherri Tepper
80. The Awakeners: Southshore-Sherri Tepper
81. Monster-Frank Peretti
82. Paradise: Showdown-Ted Dekker
83. Master of the Cauldron-David Drake
84. House-Frank Peretti & Ted Dekker
85. Fortress of Glass-David Drake
86. Starwars: Darth Bane: Path of Destruction-Drew Karpyshyn
87. The Idiot-Fyodor Dostoyevsky
88. Iron Tower: The Darkest Day-Dennis Mckiernan
89. Temeraire: In the Service of the King- Naomi Novik
90. Star Song & Other Stories- Timothy Zahn
91. Thr3e- Ted Dekker
92. Obsessed- Ted Dekker
93. The Anubis Gates- Tim Powers
94. Perchance to Dream & Other Stories- Michael Stackpole
95. City of Pearl- Karen Traviss
96. Masks of the Outcasts- Andre Norton
97. Star Wars:Legacy of the Force:Bloodlines- Karen Traviss
98. Song for the Basilisk-Patricia McKillip
2. Star Wars: The Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader-James Luceno
3. Tales of the Otori: Brilliance of the Moon-Lian Hearne
4. Talion: Revenant-Michael Stackpole
5. Quadrail: Night Train to Rigel-Timothy Zahn
6. Enchanted Forest Chronicles-Patricia C. Wrede
7. Ivanhoe-Sir Walter Scott
8. Heart of Midlothian-Sir Walter Scott
9. Star Wars: Darknest Trilogy-Troy Denning
10. Spinneret-Timothy Zahn
11. Conclave of Shadows: Talon of the Silverhawk-Raymond Feist
12. Conclave of Shadows: King of Foxes-Raymond Feist
13. Series of Unfortunate Events: The Slippery Slope-Lemony Snicket
14. Umbrella Man-Roald Dahl
15. Star Wars: Outbound Flight-Timothy Zahn
16. The Prince in Waiting-John Christopher
17. Beyond the Burning Lands-John Christopher
18. The Sword of the Spirits-John Christopher
19. Conclave of Shadows: Exile's Return-Raymond Feist
20. Sense & Sensibility-Jane Austen
21. Pride & Prejudice-Jane Austen
22. Crown of Stars-Kate Elliot
23. Star Wars: Republic Commando-Karen Traviss
24. Elantris-Brandon Sanderson
25. Danny, Champion of the World-Roald Dahl
26. Wayfarer-Dennis Schmidt
27. Kensho-Dennis Schmidt
28. Satori-Dennis Schmidt
29. Sentenced to Prism-Alan Dean Foster
30. Wanderer-Dennis Schmidt
31. Mansfield Park-Jane Austen
32. Emma-Jane Austen
33. Flinx's Folly-Alan Dean Foster
34. Northanger Abbey-Jane Austen
35. Persuasion-Jane Austen
36. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Grim Grotto-Lemony Snicket
37. Sliding Scales-Alan Dean Foster
38. Blackcollar: The Judas Solution-Timothy Zahn
39. Exiles: Mageborn Traitor-Melanie Rawn
40. Postman-David Brin
41. Road to Dune-Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson
42. Angelfire East-Terry Brooks
43. The Dreamers: The Crystal Gorge-David and Leigh Eddings
44. High Druid of Shannara: Straken-Terry Brooks
45. The Age of Discovery: Cartomancy-Michael Stackpole
46. Star Wars: Tatooine Ghost-Troy Denning
47. Star Wars: Legacy of the Force: Betrayal-Aaron Allston
48. The Complete Book of Swords-Fred Saberhagen
49. The Mark of the Cat-Andre Norton
50. Lost Swords: The First Triad-Fred Saberhagen
51. Celtic Crusades: The Black Rood-Stephen Lawhead
52. Celtic Crusades: The Mystic Rose-Stephen Lawhead
53. Mistborn: Final Empire-Brandon Sanderson
54. The Complete Robot-Isaac Asimov
55. The Space Trilogy-CS Lewis
56. Lost Swords: The Second Triad-Fred Saberhagen
57. Pendragon Cycle: Taliesin-Stephen Lawhead
58. Pendragon Cycle: Merlin-Stephen Lawhead
59. The Dreamers: The Younger Gods-David and Leigh Eddings
60. 2001: A Space Odyssey-AC Clarke
61. 2010: Odyssey Two-AC Clarke
62. Chainfire: Phantom[Sword of Truth book 10]-Terry Goodkind
63. Lost Swords: Endgame-Fred Saberhagen
64. 2061: Odyssey Three-AC Clarke
64. 3001: Final Odyssey-AC Clarke
65. Pendragon Cycle: Arthur-Stephen Lawhead
66. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Penultimate Peril-Lemony Snicket
67. Invasion of the Sea-Jules Verne
68. Silvercall: Trek to Kraggen-cor-Dennis McKiernan
69. Silvercall: The Brega Path-Dennis Mckiernan
70. King Raven: Hood-Stephen Lawhead
71. Taken: Lost and Found-Alan Dean Foster
72. Iron Tower: Darktide-Dennis McKiernan
73. Armageddon's Children-Terry Brooks
74. Iron Tower: Shadows of Doom-Dennis Mckiernan
75. Star Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter-Michael Reaves
76. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The End-Lemony Snicket
77. Goddess of the Icerealm-David Drake
78. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire-Steve Perry
79. The Awakeners: Northshore-Sherri Tepper
80. The Awakeners: Southshore-Sherri Tepper
81. Monster-Frank Peretti
82. Paradise: Showdown-Ted Dekker
83. Master of the Cauldron-David Drake
84. House-Frank Peretti & Ted Dekker
85. Fortress of Glass-David Drake
86. Starwars: Darth Bane: Path of Destruction-Drew Karpyshyn
87. The Idiot-Fyodor Dostoyevsky
88. Iron Tower: The Darkest Day-Dennis Mckiernan
89. Temeraire: In the Service of the King- Naomi Novik
90. Star Song & Other Stories- Timothy Zahn
91. Thr3e- Ted Dekker
92. Obsessed- Ted Dekker
93. The Anubis Gates- Tim Powers
94. Perchance to Dream & Other Stories- Michael Stackpole
95. City of Pearl- Karen Traviss
96. Masks of the Outcasts- Andre Norton
97. Star Wars:Legacy of the Force:Bloodlines- Karen Traviss
98. Song for the Basilisk-Patricia McKillip
Saturday, December 30, 2006
December 2006
LORD OF THE ISLES: MASTER OF THE CAULDRON
-D. Drake-fantasy
-Another island, another danger. Cashel goes to help his and Ilna's mother, Ilna and Chalcus go to rescue little Merota, and everybody else stays behind and fights. Hahahaha.
HOUSE
-F. Peretti & T. Decker-thriller
-oh man! This was creepy, scary, and awesome. A serial murderer traps 4 people in a house. He is either a demon or demon possessed and his House Rule is that they must kill one of their group to let the others live. There is also a little girl[an angel?] and some inbreds. It ends up being about their souls and hearts. I liked it a lot.
CROWN OF THE ISLES: THE FORTRESS OF GLASS
-D. Drake-fantasy
-a new trilogy wrapping up the Lord of the Isles Saga. 2 Magicians of cosmic power duke it out. Chalcus and Merota die, and in the end all the multiverses kind of come together into one new land. Very 2 dimensional, you don't feel a thing when people die, but it is a good fantasy yarn. Cheap fantasy is probably the term for this whole series.
STARWARS:DARTH BANE: PATH OF DESTRUCTION
-D. Karpyshyn
-scifi-1000 years before New Hope. A showdown between the Sith and the Jedi is taking place. The Sith have become a watered down version of the Jedi, espousing mutual help for mutual benefit. Into this comes a young man who takes on the name of Bane. Through his training he realizes the Sith have fallen from their original precepts and begins to plot. This book introduces us to the "modern" Sith idea of "One Master, One Disciple". And the Sith mantra, very opposite of the Jedi mantra. Overall, a good light read. Worth buying for its historical roots.
THE IDIOT
-F. Dostoyevsky-Russian Fiction
-the adventures of Prince Myshkin. A mental patient who is cured, falls in love with one woman, is scorned by her, falls in love with another young lady, the first woman intrigues to break them up just to show she can, he is forced to choose between them, chooses the first woman, she leaves him at the altar for a former lover, who then kills her in revenge, the second woman marries badly and becomes estranged from her family and the Prince ends up an Idiot back where he came from. Not uplifting at all in my opinion. I liked the story overall, but the author skipped whole months near the beginning and then would spend inordinate amounts of time recounting peoples speeches. There were times I wondered if I was reading some sort of political/theological diatribe, which to be honest, these writings are. It's under my belt, done with.
THE IRONTOWER: THE DARKEST DAY
-D. McKiernan-fantasy
-wrapup to the IronTower trilogy. Tuck ends up shooting the Myrkenstone, which destroys Modru and sends Gyphon back beyond the spheres. He is blinded. Ends up him marrying Merrile Holt and living out the rest of their lives as historians.
TEMERAIRE: IN THE SERVICE OF THE KING TRILOGY
-N. Novik-fantasy
-set in the era of the Napoleanic wars. Dragons are a part of life. The worlds' armies have learned to domesticate them and use them for warfare. A special group of the military, called Aviators, has come into being. Follows the adventures of Captain Laurence as he goes from being a British Navy Captain to an Aviator. First book, about him and Temeraire[the dragon] was good. Temeraire hatching, growing up, learning to fight, etc. It was a well written adventure yarn. The 2 following books, on the other hand, I didn't enjoy that much. Follows them to China and then as they make their way back to England. Political intrigue, dragon rights, etc, filled these stories instead of battle and action. I would have a hard time reading any further about Temeraire if future volumes[if there are any] continued in this vein.
STAR SONG & OTHER STORIES
-T. Zahn-scifi
-a collection of short stories by Zahn. Nothing to really write home about, but if I could find it for under $20 in hardback, I'd buy it.
THR3E
-T. Dekker-psychological mystery
-I am glad this was my third book by Dekker, cause it blew me away and now I have very high expectations for everything else I read. Tempered by what I've already read. Incredible! One man, 3 completely distinct personalities, battling it out. A psychological take on the Trey Nature of Man[at least according to Dekker]-ourself, our sin self and our regenerated self. I don't agree with his conclusions, for I believe that once a man is saved, he is Regenerated, a completely new being. The flesh is not a "nature", but an outergarment. But anyway, this was an excellent book even if I did want to kill Kevin for being such a wuss and stupid idiot throughout most of it.
OBSESSED
-T. Dekker-fiction
-Deals with Jews, Nazis and treasure, both of jewels and of people. An orphan Jew in the 70's finds his mother after she dies. She leaves cryptic clues leading to the Stones of David[the 5 David used to slay Goliath] and to the woman of his dreams. All the time pursued by a vengeful Nazi who uses Occultic practices. Dekker seems obsessed with using pathetic main characters. None of them yet have to be in the heroic mold. Just need to get used to it I guess.
THE ANUBIS GATES
-T. Powers-scifantasy
-an old, rich eccentric discovers certian portals in which it is possible to time jump. Takes a group back, one gets left behind, his story. Ends up fighting a bunch of crazy egyptians who want to change history so that Egypt rises again, while doing this he becomes a little known[in the future] poet. I had read this in highschool, so had a vague rememberance of what was going to happen, but it was still a nice surprise overall. Very enjoyable.
PERCHANCE TO DREAM & OTHER STORIES
-M. Stackpole-fantasy/scifi
-a series of short stories. Some interesting. Had one about the Dream Raids in The Dragoncrown War Cycle and one from Talion:Revenant. The 2 that stood out in a badway were one that told about the 4th Magi, who raised Judas, and one about God getting sick of everything and allowing all the other gods to make their play on earth, from the perspective of Loki and the Norse gods. Very mixed opinion.
CITY OF PEARL
-K. Traviss-scifi
-after reading her Republic Commando books, I had very high hopes. Which were dashed. This is about an eco-cop that goes on a mission to another planet. Finds humans and aliens and becomes a new type of alien. The book was about paganism and earth worship. It was not a pleasure to read and I shall be sticking to her Starwars stuff from now on.
MASKS OF THE OUTCASTS
-A. Norton-scifi
-consisting of Catseye & Night of Masks. Blase. I suspect that teens would enjoy this more than adults. It is geared toward a younger audience. Which is why I remember Catseye nostalgically. Should have left it that way :-)
STARWARS: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: BLOODLINES
-K. Traviss-scifi
-oh man. This was reading Episode III all over again. Jacen has completely fallen to Lumiya's lies about the Sith and is only one step from becoming a true Sith. Boba Fett looks for his daughter, finds his granddaughter. At least one of the ARC's[from RC] is alive, so Fett is trying to find him to find the anti-aging gene therapy he must have used. Ben is falling sway to to Jacen, but sees the evil in what Jacen is doing. The book ends without anything being wrapped up[of course, it is a 9 book series]. Jacen has come to think he must kill Tenel Ka and their daughter to become a Sith Lord able to save the galaxy from war. He is truly warped. I have no idea where this series is going to go. If LotF ends up being all Eastern and Everything is Right, Nothing is wrong, then I will be done with StarWars when this series ends.
SONG FOR THE BASILISK
-P. McKillip-fantasy
-utterly mesmorizing. This was even more Poetry and Silk than her others. I have no idea how she does it, but her words are so fascinating, drawing me in like nothing else I've experienced before. I shiver at her power.
-D. Drake-fantasy
-Another island, another danger. Cashel goes to help his and Ilna's mother, Ilna and Chalcus go to rescue little Merota, and everybody else stays behind and fights. Hahahaha.
HOUSE
-F. Peretti & T. Decker-thriller
-oh man! This was creepy, scary, and awesome. A serial murderer traps 4 people in a house. He is either a demon or demon possessed and his House Rule is that they must kill one of their group to let the others live. There is also a little girl[an angel?] and some inbreds. It ends up being about their souls and hearts. I liked it a lot.
CROWN OF THE ISLES: THE FORTRESS OF GLASS
-D. Drake-fantasy
-a new trilogy wrapping up the Lord of the Isles Saga. 2 Magicians of cosmic power duke it out. Chalcus and Merota die, and in the end all the multiverses kind of come together into one new land. Very 2 dimensional, you don't feel a thing when people die, but it is a good fantasy yarn. Cheap fantasy is probably the term for this whole series.
STARWARS:DARTH BANE: PATH OF DESTRUCTION
-D. Karpyshyn
-scifi-1000 years before New Hope. A showdown between the Sith and the Jedi is taking place. The Sith have become a watered down version of the Jedi, espousing mutual help for mutual benefit. Into this comes a young man who takes on the name of Bane. Through his training he realizes the Sith have fallen from their original precepts and begins to plot. This book introduces us to the "modern" Sith idea of "One Master, One Disciple". And the Sith mantra, very opposite of the Jedi mantra. Overall, a good light read. Worth buying for its historical roots.
THE IDIOT
-F. Dostoyevsky-Russian Fiction
-the adventures of Prince Myshkin. A mental patient who is cured, falls in love with one woman, is scorned by her, falls in love with another young lady, the first woman intrigues to break them up just to show she can, he is forced to choose between them, chooses the first woman, she leaves him at the altar for a former lover, who then kills her in revenge, the second woman marries badly and becomes estranged from her family and the Prince ends up an Idiot back where he came from. Not uplifting at all in my opinion. I liked the story overall, but the author skipped whole months near the beginning and then would spend inordinate amounts of time recounting peoples speeches. There were times I wondered if I was reading some sort of political/theological diatribe, which to be honest, these writings are. It's under my belt, done with.
THE IRONTOWER: THE DARKEST DAY
-D. McKiernan-fantasy
-wrapup to the IronTower trilogy. Tuck ends up shooting the Myrkenstone, which destroys Modru and sends Gyphon back beyond the spheres. He is blinded. Ends up him marrying Merrile Holt and living out the rest of their lives as historians.
TEMERAIRE: IN THE SERVICE OF THE KING TRILOGY
-N. Novik-fantasy
-set in the era of the Napoleanic wars. Dragons are a part of life. The worlds' armies have learned to domesticate them and use them for warfare. A special group of the military, called Aviators, has come into being. Follows the adventures of Captain Laurence as he goes from being a British Navy Captain to an Aviator. First book, about him and Temeraire[the dragon] was good. Temeraire hatching, growing up, learning to fight, etc. It was a well written adventure yarn. The 2 following books, on the other hand, I didn't enjoy that much. Follows them to China and then as they make their way back to England. Political intrigue, dragon rights, etc, filled these stories instead of battle and action. I would have a hard time reading any further about Temeraire if future volumes[if there are any] continued in this vein.
STAR SONG & OTHER STORIES
-T. Zahn-scifi
-a collection of short stories by Zahn. Nothing to really write home about, but if I could find it for under $20 in hardback, I'd buy it.
THR3E
-T. Dekker-psychological mystery
-I am glad this was my third book by Dekker, cause it blew me away and now I have very high expectations for everything else I read. Tempered by what I've already read. Incredible! One man, 3 completely distinct personalities, battling it out. A psychological take on the Trey Nature of Man[at least according to Dekker]-ourself, our sin self and our regenerated self. I don't agree with his conclusions, for I believe that once a man is saved, he is Regenerated, a completely new being. The flesh is not a "nature", but an outergarment. But anyway, this was an excellent book even if I did want to kill Kevin for being such a wuss and stupid idiot throughout most of it.
OBSESSED
-T. Dekker-fiction
-Deals with Jews, Nazis and treasure, both of jewels and of people. An orphan Jew in the 70's finds his mother after she dies. She leaves cryptic clues leading to the Stones of David[the 5 David used to slay Goliath] and to the woman of his dreams. All the time pursued by a vengeful Nazi who uses Occultic practices. Dekker seems obsessed with using pathetic main characters. None of them yet have to be in the heroic mold. Just need to get used to it I guess.
THE ANUBIS GATES
-T. Powers-scifantasy
-an old, rich eccentric discovers certian portals in which it is possible to time jump. Takes a group back, one gets left behind, his story. Ends up fighting a bunch of crazy egyptians who want to change history so that Egypt rises again, while doing this he becomes a little known[in the future] poet. I had read this in highschool, so had a vague rememberance of what was going to happen, but it was still a nice surprise overall. Very enjoyable.
PERCHANCE TO DREAM & OTHER STORIES
-M. Stackpole-fantasy/scifi
-a series of short stories. Some interesting. Had one about the Dream Raids in The Dragoncrown War Cycle and one from Talion:Revenant. The 2 that stood out in a badway were one that told about the 4th Magi, who raised Judas, and one about God getting sick of everything and allowing all the other gods to make their play on earth, from the perspective of Loki and the Norse gods. Very mixed opinion.
CITY OF PEARL
-K. Traviss-scifi
-after reading her Republic Commando books, I had very high hopes. Which were dashed. This is about an eco-cop that goes on a mission to another planet. Finds humans and aliens and becomes a new type of alien. The book was about paganism and earth worship. It was not a pleasure to read and I shall be sticking to her Starwars stuff from now on.
MASKS OF THE OUTCASTS
-A. Norton-scifi
-consisting of Catseye & Night of Masks. Blase. I suspect that teens would enjoy this more than adults. It is geared toward a younger audience. Which is why I remember Catseye nostalgically. Should have left it that way :-)
STARWARS: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: BLOODLINES
-K. Traviss-scifi
-oh man. This was reading Episode III all over again. Jacen has completely fallen to Lumiya's lies about the Sith and is only one step from becoming a true Sith. Boba Fett looks for his daughter, finds his granddaughter. At least one of the ARC's[from RC] is alive, so Fett is trying to find him to find the anti-aging gene therapy he must have used. Ben is falling sway to to Jacen, but sees the evil in what Jacen is doing. The book ends without anything being wrapped up[of course, it is a 9 book series]. Jacen has come to think he must kill Tenel Ka and their daughter to become a Sith Lord able to save the galaxy from war. He is truly warped. I have no idea where this series is going to go. If LotF ends up being all Eastern and Everything is Right, Nothing is wrong, then I will be done with StarWars when this series ends.
SONG FOR THE BASILISK
-P. McKillip-fantasy
-utterly mesmorizing. This was even more Poetry and Silk than her others. I have no idea how she does it, but her words are so fascinating, drawing me in like nothing else I've experienced before. I shiver at her power.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
November 2006
KING RAVEN: HOOD
-S. Lawhead-historical fiction
-what Lawhead did for Arthur with his Pendragon cycle, he is now doing for the legend of Robin Hood. Taking place in the 1100's, in Wales, it follows a displace Cymry Prince who turns to outlawry to survive, and ultimately protect his people. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to the next 2 in this trilogy.
TAKEN: LOST AND FOUND
-AD Foster-scifi
-the first in the TAKEN trilogy. A man is kidnapped by aliens, held in a ship along with many other lifeforms, to be eventually sold as a "novelty" piece of entertainment to the highest bidder. A dog has also been taken and given enhanced intelligence to boost his price. These 2, along with 2 other aliens, stage a revolt and break free. Get in contact with a good force of aliens, but have no idea where their homeworld is, so they can't go back to earth. Ends with all 4 companions vowing to leave the aliens homeworld and search for their own homeworlds. Light, but crass humor dragged it down. I ordered the trilogy omnibus from the SFBC, but I'm not sure that order made it, so if I replace the order, I'll leave the trilogy out. Not worth buying.
IRON TOWER: THE DARK TIDE
-D. McKiernan-fantasy
-I read these in highschool and my second year of Bibleschool. My initial reaction was "total Tolkien ripoff". Now I'm not so sure. It is a Tolkien knockoff of Middle Earth, with elves, dwarves, men, warrows[hobbits, just a bit more warlike] and the such, but the story is a bit more unique I can see this time through. Evil Modru is stalking the land, and his minions are protected from Adons ban[death by sunlight] by the Dimmendark. Follows 4 warrows in their adventures, as they start together in the Boskeydells and to their separation at the Fall of Challeron Keep. Don't think about Tolkien[ie, comparing it] and you'll enjoy this. If you compare them though, this doesn't come off very good. So don't :-)
GENESIS OF SHANNARA: ARMAGEDDON'S CHILDREN
-T. Brooks-fantasy
-this is the first in trilogy that ties the Word and the Void Trilogy to his Shannara series. This was a well written book. Dark enough like the W&V series but without as much of the hopelessness of it. The future envisioned by John Ross is here. Demons and once-men roam the world while humans hide behind walls in enclaves that are slowling falling to the demons onslaughts. Follows one Knight of the Word as he is sent to find and protect Nest Freemark's son, the gypsy morph, who has not aged in the last 80+ years. Another Knight[and these 2 seem to be the last 2 alive, all the others falling prey to the Demon Gask's machinations] is led to protect a group of elves who are on a quest to find the Elven lodestone, in which the Elcrys can hide and survive the coming destruction. The final focus is on a group of kids[teens and early 20's] who have banded together and are led by a youngman named Hawk, who has a vision[and who is the gypsy morph, it is revealed at the end]. I enjoyed this, without the emotional problems I had with the W&V series.
IRON TOWER: SHADOWS OF DOOM
-D. McKiernan-fantasy
-Lots of happenings. 2 of the warrows return to the Boskey to warn their folks, only to find they have to fight Modru's forces their. The other warrow throws in his lot with a dwarf, an elf and the new Highking, as they seek to gather the Southern forces to march north and defeat Modru. Walk through the Deeve[Kraggen-cor] and defeat the Gargon[a reptiled biped, who freezes victims with fear]. Ends with them going into a battle as they journey back North for a small scale assault on Modru's Iron Tower. Modru is Gyphon's servant and Gyphon was Adons adversary.
STARWARS: DARTH MAUL: SHADOW HUNTER
-M. Reaves-scifi
-An immediate prequel to Episode One. Follows Darth Maul as he hunts down a Neimoydian who is trying to sell info about the upcoming Trade Embargo for Naboo. Maybe a fan of Darth Maul would like this a lot, but I found it very blase. I am going back and forth as whether to buy it or not, for it is the immediate events leading up to Episode One. We'll see if I can find a cheap bookclub edition somewhere.
A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS: THE END: BOOK THE THIRTEENTH
-L. Snicket-juvenile fiction
-the series ends. much as it began. It seems everyone in VFD is an orphan, no matter what side of the schism they are on. The Baudelaires end up taking care of Kit Snickets baby[Kit dies], Olaf dies and reveals that he was always in love with Kit, and the story ends with the Orphans sailing off a deserted island to go live in the world, as normal people.
GODDESS OF THE ICEREALM
-D. Drake-fantasy
-latest installment of the Lord of the Isles saga. I rather enjoyed. Another Ilna from an alternate world is trying to take over everything. Lots of battles and as generic as the others, but I enjoyed it anyway. Magic, magic, everywhere.
STARWARS: SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE
-S. Perry-scifi
-taking place between ESB and RotJ, it focuses on a battle between Vader and the leader of the crime organization Black Sun, both of whom want Luke. Vader wants him alive, Xizor wants him dead. Call it an immediate prequel to RotJ. Ok. I'd buy it in hardcover if I would find it for under $5.
THE AWAKENERS: NORTHSHORE
-S. Tepper-fantasy
-this is a really weird book. It drops you into an unknown world, into the middle of a story without any explanation. I've been able to glean the following: man came to this new world, which was already inhabited by sentient flying beings, who were on the verge of extincting themselves by over eating their foodstock. We were poisonous to them, but their blood gave humans longevity. So a system was setup where our dead become their food, and people "disappear" as live food. In exchange, select few humans are given the longevity treatment. Basically at the flashpoint where the people are beginning to realize what is going on. Really hard, because there is so much new stuff that you have to extrapolate.
THE AWAKENERS: SOUTHSHORE
-S. Tepper-fantasy
-This concludes this series. One group flees Northshore to the Fabled Southshore, another group rises up in revolt, a third group also rises up in revolt, but clashes with the second group over the first. It was just an odd series. Nothing to recommend.
MONSTER
-F. Peretti-fiction
-started out REALLY scary, then just got all non-scary. A good tale about bigfoot, a christian couple and mad scientist trying to prove evolution. I wanted more scary though. Very enjoyable though. Much more researched and thought out than The Oath and it really showed.
PARADISE: SHOWDOWN
-T. Dekker-fiction
-my first Dekker book. Heard a lot about him. Now I've read him. I like it. About a Battle for the town of Paradise between children using Books of History[in which the writer's writings come true]. The Story of Christ told all over again. It reminded me of the Visitation a good bit.
-S. Lawhead-historical fiction
-what Lawhead did for Arthur with his Pendragon cycle, he is now doing for the legend of Robin Hood. Taking place in the 1100's, in Wales, it follows a displace Cymry Prince who turns to outlawry to survive, and ultimately protect his people. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to the next 2 in this trilogy.
TAKEN: LOST AND FOUND
-AD Foster-scifi
-the first in the TAKEN trilogy. A man is kidnapped by aliens, held in a ship along with many other lifeforms, to be eventually sold as a "novelty" piece of entertainment to the highest bidder. A dog has also been taken and given enhanced intelligence to boost his price. These 2, along with 2 other aliens, stage a revolt and break free. Get in contact with a good force of aliens, but have no idea where their homeworld is, so they can't go back to earth. Ends with all 4 companions vowing to leave the aliens homeworld and search for their own homeworlds. Light, but crass humor dragged it down. I ordered the trilogy omnibus from the SFBC, but I'm not sure that order made it, so if I replace the order, I'll leave the trilogy out. Not worth buying.
IRON TOWER: THE DARK TIDE
-D. McKiernan-fantasy
-I read these in highschool and my second year of Bibleschool. My initial reaction was "total Tolkien ripoff". Now I'm not so sure. It is a Tolkien knockoff of Middle Earth, with elves, dwarves, men, warrows[hobbits, just a bit more warlike] and the such, but the story is a bit more unique I can see this time through. Evil Modru is stalking the land, and his minions are protected from Adons ban[death by sunlight] by the Dimmendark. Follows 4 warrows in their adventures, as they start together in the Boskeydells and to their separation at the Fall of Challeron Keep. Don't think about Tolkien[ie, comparing it] and you'll enjoy this. If you compare them though, this doesn't come off very good. So don't :-)
GENESIS OF SHANNARA: ARMAGEDDON'S CHILDREN
-T. Brooks-fantasy
-this is the first in trilogy that ties the Word and the Void Trilogy to his Shannara series. This was a well written book. Dark enough like the W&V series but without as much of the hopelessness of it. The future envisioned by John Ross is here. Demons and once-men roam the world while humans hide behind walls in enclaves that are slowling falling to the demons onslaughts. Follows one Knight of the Word as he is sent to find and protect Nest Freemark's son, the gypsy morph, who has not aged in the last 80+ years. Another Knight[and these 2 seem to be the last 2 alive, all the others falling prey to the Demon Gask's machinations] is led to protect a group of elves who are on a quest to find the Elven lodestone, in which the Elcrys can hide and survive the coming destruction. The final focus is on a group of kids[teens and early 20's] who have banded together and are led by a youngman named Hawk, who has a vision[and who is the gypsy morph, it is revealed at the end]. I enjoyed this, without the emotional problems I had with the W&V series.
IRON TOWER: SHADOWS OF DOOM
-D. McKiernan-fantasy
-Lots of happenings. 2 of the warrows return to the Boskey to warn their folks, only to find they have to fight Modru's forces their. The other warrow throws in his lot with a dwarf, an elf and the new Highking, as they seek to gather the Southern forces to march north and defeat Modru. Walk through the Deeve[Kraggen-cor] and defeat the Gargon[a reptiled biped, who freezes victims with fear]. Ends with them going into a battle as they journey back North for a small scale assault on Modru's Iron Tower. Modru is Gyphon's servant and Gyphon was Adons adversary.
STARWARS: DARTH MAUL: SHADOW HUNTER
-M. Reaves-scifi
-An immediate prequel to Episode One. Follows Darth Maul as he hunts down a Neimoydian who is trying to sell info about the upcoming Trade Embargo for Naboo. Maybe a fan of Darth Maul would like this a lot, but I found it very blase. I am going back and forth as whether to buy it or not, for it is the immediate events leading up to Episode One. We'll see if I can find a cheap bookclub edition somewhere.
A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS: THE END: BOOK THE THIRTEENTH
-L. Snicket-juvenile fiction
-the series ends. much as it began. It seems everyone in VFD is an orphan, no matter what side of the schism they are on. The Baudelaires end up taking care of Kit Snickets baby[Kit dies], Olaf dies and reveals that he was always in love with Kit, and the story ends with the Orphans sailing off a deserted island to go live in the world, as normal people.
GODDESS OF THE ICEREALM
-D. Drake-fantasy
-latest installment of the Lord of the Isles saga. I rather enjoyed. Another Ilna from an alternate world is trying to take over everything. Lots of battles and as generic as the others, but I enjoyed it anyway. Magic, magic, everywhere.
STARWARS: SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE
-S. Perry-scifi
-taking place between ESB and RotJ, it focuses on a battle between Vader and the leader of the crime organization Black Sun, both of whom want Luke. Vader wants him alive, Xizor wants him dead. Call it an immediate prequel to RotJ. Ok. I'd buy it in hardcover if I would find it for under $5.
THE AWAKENERS: NORTHSHORE
-S. Tepper-fantasy
-this is a really weird book. It drops you into an unknown world, into the middle of a story without any explanation. I've been able to glean the following: man came to this new world, which was already inhabited by sentient flying beings, who were on the verge of extincting themselves by over eating their foodstock. We were poisonous to them, but their blood gave humans longevity. So a system was setup where our dead become their food, and people "disappear" as live food. In exchange, select few humans are given the longevity treatment. Basically at the flashpoint where the people are beginning to realize what is going on. Really hard, because there is so much new stuff that you have to extrapolate.
THE AWAKENERS: SOUTHSHORE
-S. Tepper-fantasy
-This concludes this series. One group flees Northshore to the Fabled Southshore, another group rises up in revolt, a third group also rises up in revolt, but clashes with the second group over the first. It was just an odd series. Nothing to recommend.
MONSTER
-F. Peretti-fiction
-started out REALLY scary, then just got all non-scary. A good tale about bigfoot, a christian couple and mad scientist trying to prove evolution. I wanted more scary though. Very enjoyable though. Much more researched and thought out than The Oath and it really showed.
PARADISE: SHOWDOWN
-T. Dekker-fiction
-my first Dekker book. Heard a lot about him. Now I've read him. I like it. About a Battle for the town of Paradise between children using Books of History[in which the writer's writings come true]. The Story of Christ told all over again. It reminded me of the Visitation a good bit.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
October 2006
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Penultimate Peril-Book the Twelfth
-L. Snicket-juvenile fiction
-The Last Safe Place is safe no more. All the "noble" adults let the Baudelaire orphans down. Ends with the Baudelaires sailing away with Count Olaf. I have to say, Sunny's words are not just gibberish. I almost want to go back and read them again to see if I can pick up more stuff. In this one, the author lets their political leanings show. The word was "scalia" and it was interpreted as "it seems nonsense to interpret it literally". Justice Scalia is one of the few who still believe in Original Intent in regards to the U.S. Constitution. Whatever...
Invasion of the Sea
-J. Verne-scientific fiction
-scientific fiction is the perfect description. His stuff sure isn't scifi. In this novel the French are attempting to make an inland sea in the Sahara desert by digging a canal and are opposed by a tribe of muslim nomads. Basically follows the engineer as he inspects it. Ends with an earthquake making it all happen in one day instead of 5 years. BORING!!!!
The Silver Call: Trek to Kraggen-Cor
-D. McKiernan-fantasy
-ever wonder what dwarves do? As much as this is a cutout Tolkien wannabe, I still found it very interesting. Analogous to the dwarves taking back the Mines of Moriah. Extremely slowpaced, ends with the main army arriving at the Dusk Door. But I rather enjoyed it. Just detailed, very lulling.
The Silver Call: The Brega Path
-D. McKiernan-fantasy
-dwarves successfully take Kraggen-Cor, but at fearful loss. The 2 Warrows learn the pain and heartache of war, and end up being historians after the war is done.
-L. Snicket-juvenile fiction
-The Last Safe Place is safe no more. All the "noble" adults let the Baudelaire orphans down. Ends with the Baudelaires sailing away with Count Olaf. I have to say, Sunny's words are not just gibberish. I almost want to go back and read them again to see if I can pick up more stuff. In this one, the author lets their political leanings show. The word was "scalia" and it was interpreted as "it seems nonsense to interpret it literally". Justice Scalia is one of the few who still believe in Original Intent in regards to the U.S. Constitution. Whatever...
Invasion of the Sea
-J. Verne-scientific fiction
-scientific fiction is the perfect description. His stuff sure isn't scifi. In this novel the French are attempting to make an inland sea in the Sahara desert by digging a canal and are opposed by a tribe of muslim nomads. Basically follows the engineer as he inspects it. Ends with an earthquake making it all happen in one day instead of 5 years. BORING!!!!
The Silver Call: Trek to Kraggen-Cor
-D. McKiernan-fantasy
-ever wonder what dwarves do? As much as this is a cutout Tolkien wannabe, I still found it very interesting. Analogous to the dwarves taking back the Mines of Moriah. Extremely slowpaced, ends with the main army arriving at the Dusk Door. But I rather enjoyed it. Just detailed, very lulling.
The Silver Call: The Brega Path
-D. McKiernan-fantasy
-dwarves successfully take Kraggen-Cor, but at fearful loss. The 2 Warrows learn the pain and heartache of war, and end up being historians after the war is done.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
September 2006
The Lost Swords: The Second Triad
-F. Saberhagen-fantasy
-The first book deals with Farslayer and 2 Clans at war with eachother. Zoltan is still pursuing Blackpearl, but loses her in the conflict. The second book is about Coinspinner and deals mainly with Mark and Kristin's oldest son Adrian; who is growing up to be, quite possibly, the greatest magician the world has yet seen. And the third book deals with the Mindsword. I didn't like this one at all. Kristin comes under its spell, becomes devoted to Prince Murat, divorces Mark by royal fiat and at the end of the novel throws herself over a balcony when Murat dies. We don't know if she lives or dies. I'll have to find out in the final books. The Mindsword was a terrible sword and this story was not grand or great. It was very bleh. I didn't like the fact that mere "magic" could overcome all of what a person knew to be right and wrong.
The Pendragon Cycle: Taliesin
-S. Lawhead-fantasy
-A Christian look at the Arthurian legend. This starts long before Arthur though. It starts with the destruction of Atlantis. It continues with an unknown Prince, who was prophesied to be the Summer King, marrying an Atlantean Princess[refugees settling in Briton] and ends with the birth of their son Merlin who Taliesin gives his life in exchange for. Taliesin gave up being the Summer King so that his son could live, and usher in the True Summer King. I haven't read this series in over 6 years and I still cried when Taliesin died. Powerful stuff.
The Pendragon Cycle: Merlin
-S. Lawhead-fantasy
-A Christian look at the Arthurian legend. This follows the immortal son of Taliesin and Atlantean Princess Charis, Merlin. From young prodigy to Kingmaker. This is the immediate precursor to the Arthurian legends. But it takes all the sordid and evil things about Merlin and retells it in such a way as to make you weep and hope that this tale was true. Jesus is a large part of this story.
The Dreamers: The Younger Gods
-D. & L. Eddings-fantasy
-I was 100% disappointed in this ending of this series. I picked up about 4 different phrases that were completely overused. This whole series seemed to be about being as shallow as possible and overusing specific phrases. Once again, I place all the blame squarely on Leigh's shoulders. She has ruined the Eddings reputation in the fantasy circle as far as I'm concerned.
2001 : A Space Odyssey
-A.C. Clarke-scifi
-Evolutionistic thought disguised, more like thongwearing, as a scifi novel. Superintelligence messes with our ancestors and starts them on the path of developement. Leave a calling card on the moon, which directs us to Saturn. The man chosen to go ends up becoming a Star Child, and returning to earth. We'll see how the rest of the novels carry this out.
2010 : Odyssey Two
-A.C. Clarke-scifi
-this follows the movie, not the book, as a sequel. So the Monolith is at Jupiter instead of Saturn and is about 10times larger. Life is discovered on one of Jupiter's moons and Jupiter itself is turned into a second sun. Starchild has very little to do with this novel at all. And HAL joins Starchild at the end, scary if you ask me.
Phantom-Chainfire part 2[Sword of Truth book 10]
-T. Goodkind-fantasy
-Oh man. Kahlan is captured by Jagang but doesn't have her memories. Richard disbands the D'Haran army to destroy the Old World instead of facing the Imperial Order. Richard loses his magic, all of it, is captured by the Witch Woman Six and ends up as a prisoner of the Imperial Order, and joins a Ja'La league to vent his hatred of the Order. Goodkind is such a fantastic author! I can't wait for the conclusion of this series. At least once it is done I won't be tempted to buy them anymore. Why must he put in what he did to ruin this? Homosexuality, graphic acts of violence and such, while furthering the story, make it impossible for me to own these. Which is too bad, because this is some of the best writing I've read in a long time.
The Lost Swords: Endgame
-F. Saberhagen-fantasy
-things go into overdrive to wrap this series up. Kristin's healing is completely underplayed. Wood[the Ancient One] is killed by Swordbreaker. Vilkata comes back and dies, and in the process all the swords but Woundhealer are destroyed and that is how it ends.
2061 : Odyssey Three
-A.C. Clarke-scifi
-this is either blase hard scifi or just boring scifi. Ship crashes on Europa, gets rescued even with the interdiction. Haywood is "uploaded" to the non-physical plane, but is also left in his body. So there are 2 of him, I think. Boring and weird.
3001 :Final Odyssey
-A.C. Clarke-scifi
-Frank Poole didn't die, but hybernated in deep space. Gets rescued in 3001. Mankind destroys the Monoliths, which, according to Halman[the amalgamation of Dave Bowman and HAL which were NOT the next step but merely co-opted as extra sensors] were going to destroy humanity because it had been found wanting. So it ends with Humanity having 900 years to figure out the next step. The whole Odyssey series was so blase! And whole chapters were taken from former books, it got very boring and repetitive. Glad I read them, but I don't plan on reading them again unless there is some Need, which I can't imagine there ever being one.
The Pendragon Cycle: Arthur
-S. Lawhead-fantasy
-The conclusion to this fantastic Arthurian legend. Arthur fights, becomes High King, brings peace, is wounded in a battle initiated by a traitor, is born away by Merlin ot be healed, and then all the Fairfolk[Atlanteans] and Arthur disappear. This is so much better than Mallory's Le'Mort de Arthur.
-F. Saberhagen-fantasy
-The first book deals with Farslayer and 2 Clans at war with eachother. Zoltan is still pursuing Blackpearl, but loses her in the conflict. The second book is about Coinspinner and deals mainly with Mark and Kristin's oldest son Adrian; who is growing up to be, quite possibly, the greatest magician the world has yet seen. And the third book deals with the Mindsword. I didn't like this one at all. Kristin comes under its spell, becomes devoted to Prince Murat, divorces Mark by royal fiat and at the end of the novel throws herself over a balcony when Murat dies. We don't know if she lives or dies. I'll have to find out in the final books. The Mindsword was a terrible sword and this story was not grand or great. It was very bleh. I didn't like the fact that mere "magic" could overcome all of what a person knew to be right and wrong.
The Pendragon Cycle: Taliesin
-S. Lawhead-fantasy
-A Christian look at the Arthurian legend. This starts long before Arthur though. It starts with the destruction of Atlantis. It continues with an unknown Prince, who was prophesied to be the Summer King, marrying an Atlantean Princess[refugees settling in Briton] and ends with the birth of their son Merlin who Taliesin gives his life in exchange for. Taliesin gave up being the Summer King so that his son could live, and usher in the True Summer King. I haven't read this series in over 6 years and I still cried when Taliesin died. Powerful stuff.
The Pendragon Cycle: Merlin
-S. Lawhead-fantasy
-A Christian look at the Arthurian legend. This follows the immortal son of Taliesin and Atlantean Princess Charis, Merlin. From young prodigy to Kingmaker. This is the immediate precursor to the Arthurian legends. But it takes all the sordid and evil things about Merlin and retells it in such a way as to make you weep and hope that this tale was true. Jesus is a large part of this story.
The Dreamers: The Younger Gods
-D. & L. Eddings-fantasy
-I was 100% disappointed in this ending of this series. I picked up about 4 different phrases that were completely overused. This whole series seemed to be about being as shallow as possible and overusing specific phrases. Once again, I place all the blame squarely on Leigh's shoulders. She has ruined the Eddings reputation in the fantasy circle as far as I'm concerned.
2001 : A Space Odyssey
-A.C. Clarke-scifi
-Evolutionistic thought disguised, more like thongwearing, as a scifi novel. Superintelligence messes with our ancestors and starts them on the path of developement. Leave a calling card on the moon, which directs us to Saturn. The man chosen to go ends up becoming a Star Child, and returning to earth. We'll see how the rest of the novels carry this out.
2010 : Odyssey Two
-A.C. Clarke-scifi
-this follows the movie, not the book, as a sequel. So the Monolith is at Jupiter instead of Saturn and is about 10times larger. Life is discovered on one of Jupiter's moons and Jupiter itself is turned into a second sun. Starchild has very little to do with this novel at all. And HAL joins Starchild at the end, scary if you ask me.
Phantom-Chainfire part 2[Sword of Truth book 10]
-T. Goodkind-fantasy
-Oh man. Kahlan is captured by Jagang but doesn't have her memories. Richard disbands the D'Haran army to destroy the Old World instead of facing the Imperial Order. Richard loses his magic, all of it, is captured by the Witch Woman Six and ends up as a prisoner of the Imperial Order, and joins a Ja'La league to vent his hatred of the Order. Goodkind is such a fantastic author! I can't wait for the conclusion of this series. At least once it is done I won't be tempted to buy them anymore. Why must he put in what he did to ruin this? Homosexuality, graphic acts of violence and such, while furthering the story, make it impossible for me to own these. Which is too bad, because this is some of the best writing I've read in a long time.
The Lost Swords: Endgame
-F. Saberhagen-fantasy
-things go into overdrive to wrap this series up. Kristin's healing is completely underplayed. Wood[the Ancient One] is killed by Swordbreaker. Vilkata comes back and dies, and in the process all the swords but Woundhealer are destroyed and that is how it ends.
2061 : Odyssey Three
-A.C. Clarke-scifi
-this is either blase hard scifi or just boring scifi. Ship crashes on Europa, gets rescued even with the interdiction. Haywood is "uploaded" to the non-physical plane, but is also left in his body. So there are 2 of him, I think. Boring and weird.
3001 :Final Odyssey
-A.C. Clarke-scifi
-Frank Poole didn't die, but hybernated in deep space. Gets rescued in 3001. Mankind destroys the Monoliths, which, according to Halman[the amalgamation of Dave Bowman and HAL which were NOT the next step but merely co-opted as extra sensors] were going to destroy humanity because it had been found wanting. So it ends with Humanity having 900 years to figure out the next step. The whole Odyssey series was so blase! And whole chapters were taken from former books, it got very boring and repetitive. Glad I read them, but I don't plan on reading them again unless there is some Need, which I can't imagine there ever being one.
The Pendragon Cycle: Arthur
-S. Lawhead-fantasy
-The conclusion to this fantastic Arthurian legend. Arthur fights, becomes High King, brings peace, is wounded in a battle initiated by a traitor, is born away by Merlin ot be healed, and then all the Fairfolk[Atlanteans] and Arthur disappear. This is so much better than Mallory's Le'Mort de Arthur.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
August 2006
The Lost Swords: The First Triad
-F. Saberhagen-fantasy
-follows the adventures of 3 of the Swords. Zoltan, Mark’s nephew, is being setup as the main character. A new threat arises in the form of an ancient[ie, from right after the change], evil sorceror who is no longer quite human.
Celtic Crusades: The Mystic Rose
-S. Lawhead-fantasy
-Somehow I forgot to write down that I read CC:The Black Rood. That was the 2nd book. Rose is the final. Murdoch’s granddaughter is pledged to find the Grail. Her adventures finding it. I liked Iron Lance the best of the 3.
Mistborn: The Final Empire
-B. Sanderson-fantasy
-this kid is FANTASTIC! This was better than Elantris and is the start to a series, length unknown. End of the earth. Mankind united under the Lord Ruler, a man who saved humanity from something called “the Deepness”. Allomancy[the ability to burn metals internally to gain greater powers] is now common among the nobility. Skaa form a workforce. This book is about a rebellion to dethrone the Lord Ruler[who is, seemingly, unkillable]. Great characters, and nice twist at the end.
The Complete Robot
-I. Asimov-scifi
-collection of his robot short stories. Easy reading.
Space Trilogy:
Out of the Silent Planet
Perelandra
That Hideous Strength
-C.S. Lewis-scifi
-pre-spaceflight Christian scifi. First book was a short adventure story. Second was a poem in prose form about the beginning of life on Venus and the battle between Good and Evil for its mind. Third was a climactic battle on Earth itself between the Forces of Good and Evil. No Dualism here, but Straight, Hard Christianity! This was a nice drink of cool water, extremely refreshing
-F. Saberhagen-fantasy
-follows the adventures of 3 of the Swords. Zoltan, Mark’s nephew, is being setup as the main character. A new threat arises in the form of an ancient[ie, from right after the change], evil sorceror who is no longer quite human.
Celtic Crusades: The Mystic Rose
-S. Lawhead-fantasy
-Somehow I forgot to write down that I read CC:The Black Rood. That was the 2nd book. Rose is the final. Murdoch’s granddaughter is pledged to find the Grail. Her adventures finding it. I liked Iron Lance the best of the 3.
Mistborn: The Final Empire
-B. Sanderson-fantasy
-this kid is FANTASTIC! This was better than Elantris and is the start to a series, length unknown. End of the earth. Mankind united under the Lord Ruler, a man who saved humanity from something called “the Deepness”. Allomancy[the ability to burn metals internally to gain greater powers] is now common among the nobility. Skaa form a workforce. This book is about a rebellion to dethrone the Lord Ruler[who is, seemingly, unkillable]. Great characters, and nice twist at the end.
The Complete Robot
-I. Asimov-scifi
-collection of his robot short stories. Easy reading.
Space Trilogy:
Out of the Silent Planet
Perelandra
That Hideous Strength
-C.S. Lewis-scifi
-pre-spaceflight Christian scifi. First book was a short adventure story. Second was a poem in prose form about the beginning of life on Venus and the battle between Good and Evil for its mind. Third was a climactic battle on Earth itself between the Forces of Good and Evil. No Dualism here, but Straight, Hard Christianity! This was a nice drink of cool water, extremely refreshing
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