October '11

Sandkings by George R.R. Martin

Ebook, 80 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I actually only read the short story "Sandkings", not the entire book of short stories.

Anyway, what a deliciously gruesome story. It made me shiver with macabre delight :D



Daughter of Witches by Patricia C. Wrede

Ebook, 304 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Way, way, way, way to slow. I felt like I was wading through molasses to get the story. It was there, but barely.





Shadow of the Scorpion by Neal Asher

Ebook, 250 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While I enjoy Asher's Polity universe, this particular Agent Cormac prequel had enough graphic sexual content that I couldn't recommend it or truly enjoy it.

Lots of bloody action though.



Stealing Light by Gary Gibson

Ebook, 441 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Didn't work for me at all. Came across as a mix of cyberpunk and wannabe Neal Asher, and failed.






The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan

Ebook, 704 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Read September 2000

Re-read October 2011

Oct 2011 Review:

My initial remembrance of Path of Daggers is nothing happens and everyone is a bitch.

My reread confirms that, but with some very serious upgrades in like-ability. This was a setup book. Not a good book to read when first released, but when you've got the books after, you don't feel the pressure.

So many different storylines, lots of things happen but without resolving anything while introducing more questions. I had to make myself not immediately read the next book and wait until November.



An Emperor for the Legion by Harry Turtledove

Ebook, 336 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am now convinced Turtledove is a closet homosexual and afraid to say so.

I mean, two guys with "magic swords" "cross blades" and they are transported to another world? And in this book, they are afraid to "fight near each other" because they don't know "what might happen if their blades cross again?". Yeah, you don't need to be a board certified Psychologist to figure that one out. Harry, just say you want some sweet manlove and be done with it.

Other than that, this series so far has bored me to death. Very little magic, domestic troubles, etc, etc. Why no just read Roman Homemakers Monthly?



Germline by T.C. McCarthy

Ebook, UNFINISHED
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I got through 38% of this book and then just gave up in despair. It never got better.

If you like a reject of a human who can't be a responsible adult OD'ing on drugs and describing in detail his vomiting/withdrawal sessions, then you have got to read this book.



A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

Ebook, 231 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A good book showing the complete and utter hypocrisy of an age.

The way time shifted around took some getting used to, and I'd want to read this again, so as to figure out what went on in the "blank" spaces between chapters or breaks.

Glad that it went against the grain and turned out ok in the end.



Star Dragon by Mike Brotherton

Ebook, 352 Pages
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I am SO sick of women hating, irresponsible men and women who are either complete bitches or rugs.


And we get them all in spades here. Plus tons of boring info dumps that do not advance the story but simply seem to be there so the author can wax eloquent on his pet hobby.


Time Traders II: The Defiant Agents & Key Out of Time by Andre Norton

Ebook, 384 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First story bordered on the "ignorant rascism" for me, but maybe that is because I'm a product of the times and am overly sensitive [I suspect that is true].

Second story was more in the vein of the Time Traders I was used to. Enjoyed it very much.


The Hobbit or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien

Dtb, 256 Pages
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Read June 2000

Re-read October 2011

Fan-frakking-tastic!

I grew up on the Hobbit. I read it on trips, wrote a lengthy [for a highschooler] paper on the Hobbit and Tolkien, had it read to our class by a college professor and just generally loved it.

So when I saw a goodreads friend doing his annual LotR read, I thought to myself, "Derrick, it has been over a decade and you need to read Tolkien again".

This was aimed at children, and the little authorial asides reflect that, but with such gentle wit and clever wording, that it didn't feel "little kid'ish", or even young adult. But those groups, and adults, could both fully get into the story and love it.

There was adventure, action, thrills, quiet reflective moments, moralizing and a happy ending. And it was well written. At no time did I have to reread a sentence or a paragraph to try to figure out what the author was saying. It was clear, concise and straight-forward.

Completely and highly recommended to anyone who likes fantasy.


Battlestar Galactica by Jeffrey A. Carver

Ebook, 269 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A blanket word for word, action for action novelization of the miniseries and first couple of episodes [I think...].
Don't bother reading this. Just go watch the series, it is better on the screen.


Star Wars Fate of the Jedi #7: Conviction by Aaron Allston

Ebook, 367 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was tempted to give this book 4 stars, but then I realized it was because the previous books [by Denning and Golden] were so mediocre.However, Allston does a good job of writing an action novel here. I enjoyed almost every chapter.

My only gripe was when Boba Fett rescues Daala. It just didn't seem to make sense. Mando's rescuing her, I could see. She had sent them a lot of work recently. But Fett personally rescuing her just smacked of Name Dropping

The idea of Abeloth hasn't gotten any more palatable. It is still a big made up boojum that is a dumb literary device employed by Lucas Books. I still think a WHOLE FRAKKING PLANET FULL of Sith is more than enough for a series of this length [but I've said that in earlier reviews, so I'll try to not say it anymore]


Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan

Ebook, 384 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this. Not sure it actually deserves a 4 star rating, because everything was a bit simplistic as far as I was concerned and the 'badguy' wasn't so bad, at least until you realize he truly is small potatoes compared to the reveal at the end. Now that was cool!

Definitely going to be reading the whole trilogy...


Hexed by Kevin Hearne

Ebook, 246 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

You know, while I enjoyed this overall, several things made me glad I'm not paying hardcover prices for these.

Kinky sex. Why is it everytime Atticus jumps in the sack with some goddess who can destroy him, that it is abnormal? Either the actual act [sex magic to fix his ear? anyone?] or it is just a ruse by one deity on another? And then the apprentice. Atticus has sex, lots and lots it seems, with immortal beings of unearthly appeal.
AND HE CAN'T EVEN LOOK AT HIS APPRENTICE? Geez, what exactly is in his tea, stupid?

Along with that, I understand that the author is trying to make him relevant by giving him 21st century lingo and attitude. But just like in the first book, it doesn't work for me because it is outside the normal parameters of the human psyche. People DO NOT CHANGE on demand. Just look at an older relative [or yourself as the case may be] to see how humans adjust to change. Some do better than others, given, but 2100 years of constant change will destroy a human unless they have an inner core identity [and most people don't have a strong enough core to stand up to 2100 years.]

Thirdly, pop culture references. Pop culture changes to fast and to often to make so many references. Some went over my head. In 5-10 years[barely an eyeblink in literary terms], the target audience of this book will have little to no clue to at least half of the references. They are amusing to you and me, but will be a killer for anyone down the road. I know these are not meant to be ageless tomes alongside of Dickens and Dostoyevsky, but still, show a little longterm pride.

Ok, now that I've written everything I didn't like, here's my like.

Vampires trying to swear/talk slang. I laughed so hard that I had tears in my eyes.

Overall, a good action story. Lose the sex and faked "will he or won't he" romance angle and you have an enjoyable man story.


Jumper by Steven Gould

Ebook, 345 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I went into this expecting a simple ya scifi oriented story. This is so much more!

It is more of a coming of age than an adventure story. Davy goes from a young man scared for his life to a man dealing with love, hatred, fear, revenge and duty.

Very well done.


Gai-Jin by James Clavell

Ebook, 1248 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What a sprawling book. Not sure what to say.

I guess it will be interesting to see what the next book is like, since I couldn't see where the Noble House is going...


The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Ebook, 336 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The not knowing, the non-omniscience of the narrator, it all worked together to keep me interested.

I kept wanting to KNOW what was happening, what had happened and what was going to happen.


Killer by David Drake

Ebook, 193 Pages
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Could really have been predator. But the main protagonist, the hunter, I wished he had died.

Shallow and boring.



Finity by John Barnes

Dtb, 303 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Weird.






Monthly Summary
18 Novels
1 Short Story
1 Unfinished Novel
7029 Pages

The Hobbit

The Hobbit or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien

Dtb, 256 Pages
My rating: 5 of 5 stars




Read June 2000

Re-read October 2011

Fan-frakking-tastic!

I grew up on the Hobbit. I read it on trips, wrote a lengthy [for a highschooler] paper on the Hobbit and Tolkien, had it read to our class by a college professor and just generally loved it.

So when I saw a goodreads friend doing his annual LotR read, I thought to myself, "Derrick, it has been over a decade and you need to read Tolkien again".

This was aimed at children, and the little authorial asides reflect that, but with such gentle wit and clever wording, that it didn't feel "little kid'ish", or even young adult. But those groups, and adults, could both fully get into the story and love it.

There was adventure, action, thrills, quiet reflective moments, moralizing and a happy ending. And it was well written. At no time did I have to reread a sentence or a paragraph to try to figure out what the author was saying. It was clear, concise and straight-forward.

Completely and highly recommended to anyone who likes fantasy.

September '11

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan

Ebook, 438 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a great book. I don't know if it is the last Ranger's Apprentice or not, but if it is, it ends on a very good note.

We basically get a taste of Japanese culture here. In some ways, greco-roman military themes and japanese samurai/bushido ideals were simplified to the point of losing what made each great, but it had to be done to appeal to a YA audience and so that the plot could advance. This is a novel after all, not a comparative on military types.

This is where Flanagan should end this series. It is on a high note and will leave a good taste in the readers mouth. I could see him starting another series following the further adventures of Will and Horace and wives, or a different YA series where Will and Horace have moved into the place that Halt occupied in The Ruins of Gorlan.

Either way, this whole series was fantastic. For those leery of magic, but wanting a relatively gore-free medieval read, this is it. Sadly, profanity started creeping in in the last few books, so I suggest a review if you are wondering about these for your kids.



Wintertide by Michael J. Sullivan

Ebook, 332 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very good addition to the Riyria Revelations series. [do you know difficult it is to remember how to spell Riyria everytime? I usually try about 4 different ways, then give up and copy and paste :)]

This definitely was a much tenser books than the previous 4. Where the other ones were more happy go lucky and madcap capers, this felt tighter, darker and a bit more serious. I didn't get the feeling that everything was going to turn out ok somehow in the end, like the others.

Now I can't wait for the final book. And I can't wait to see what the Boojum actually is...



A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan

Ebook, 896 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read September 2000
Read September 2011

September 2011 Review:

This is a very hard book to review, for me.

On one hand, I loved the introduction of yet another baddy-Moridin, of Lain and Nynaeve finally getting hitched, of Rand taking down another Forsaken, new One Power tools, more info about the True Power[even if extremely measily], and the gholam.

On the other hand, I didn't like the constant bickering between Men and Women. I didn't like the cliffhanger about Matt[even though I can read the next book next month], I didn't like that there was very little about Egwene[as I remember. There may have been and it got washed away in the deluge of other info? Feel free to correct me].

Overall, a fantastic read. It just seems that the characters are very immature for the amount of hardship they have gone through/endured. I know they are young, late teens, early 20's, but hard experiences tend to either make one grow up or kill you.


So You Want to Be a Wizard (digest): Young Wizards, Book One by Diane Duane

Ebook, 408 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Where to start? It is definitely aimed at the children crowd, and not children AND adutls. Some YA novels can do that. Not this.

A young girl and boy find a Wizards Primer, take an oath, and Presto-Chango, they are wizards. THEN they have to save the world, all by themselves.

That is what I had a problem with. 2 young kids face the ultimate baddy and where are the senior wizards? Do they even exist? That is fine for a kids book, appeals to them in fact. But it was just too unbelievable for me to stomach. Will not be reading any more in this series.


WWW:Watch by Robert J. Sawyer
Ebook, 368 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I can deal with an author who believes in Evolution.

[which from a philosophical standpoint doesn't actually make sense. The language used when talking about evolution is the same type of language used for a deity. That says all I need to know].

However, when someone starts using disparaging/abusive language about those who don't agree with their viewpoint, then we have an issue.

Go read Darwin's Black Box for a good look at why "Evolution" isn't the god some seem to think it is.

Emerging minds. AI, human, animal. Sawyer seems to like the idea of consciousness and what makes it. But he can't explain it, so he gives us the run around with scientific jargon and expects the reader to be blown away and not question what he extrapolates from fuzzy science.

Plotwise, this book was kind of blase. Webmind goes public, govt's are fearful and the young female lead keeps on saying how 1984 can't be. And the author shows a couple of people making good choices and using that to "prove" that humanity can bootstrap itself to a better "all togetherness".

Won't be reading the final book.


The New Age Movement and the Illuminati 666 by William Josiah Sutton

DTB, UNFINISHED
My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Ok, I only got through chapter 1, but both parts!

And I had 3 pages of handwritten notes of things that were either misuse of scriptures, speculation with no historical basis, historical "facts" based on outdated and 3rd hand sources, info dumps that simply confused the issue at hand, choosing to ignore certain sources when they conflicted with the authors own opinion and general fear-mongering in tone and language.

The author even admits, on page 63, for it is still not clear this number of doom, 666, will keep God's people from buying and selling. Now if he doesn't have an answer, why is he confusing the answer by throwing more chaff into the maelstrom of this subject?

Now, if this man wanted to simply speculate, I would simply have ignored this book and gone on about my life. However, he purports to be a "Christian Authority" and as such is invoking much greater weight than he actually has.

For a couple of new Christians in our church, this book brought nothing but guilt, condemnation and fear. It did not draw them nearer to Jesus or to create in them the desire to be more Christ-like. 2nd Timothy 1:7 states for God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control. ESV

That is damning enough for me.

Feel free to read for fun, but as a serious theological book, this is a joke and gives Christians a bad name.


Hounded by Kevin Hearne

Ebook, 239 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I classified this as "Urban Fantasy", but after thinking about it, I think it really comes down more in the "Para-normal" camp.

I hate & despise paranormal.

But a couple of my guy friends here on GR had given it high scores, so I had to try it.

It was ok. Atticus came across as a 200 year old badass, not some 2100 year old. I don't know if having the hormones and body of a 21 year old for 2000+ years does that to one, or what, but he did NOT seem that old.

Someone that old is going to have scars, emotional and mental, that can't just be shrugged off and ignored. Maybe it came from his usually running away? But if that were the case, he wouldn't have fought like he did in this book.

So a pretty good story. I definitely would have given it 4 stars, but for all the beautiful women who just can't seem to ignore him. It was completely ridiculous. Utterly gratuitous descriptions of goddesses & boink-worthy barmaids added nothing to the story and in fact detracted from the seriousness of the situation.

We'll see how the rest of the trilogy turns out.


T2: The Future War by S.M. Stirling

DTB, 368 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was a strong finish to the series. Not so nitty-gritty and one on one battles like the earlier two books [which is what we like, Mano E Terminatoro?], but a really good overall story about John becoming John Connor the great leader.
I personally enjoyed reading about Judgement Day and the immediate events before and after. The end was a bit rushed, with '4 Years Later', '7 Years Later', etc frequently popping up, but Stirling was not trying to encompass the whole war, just the beginning and the end.
What I really liked was the realization that everyone, terminators, Reese and Uncle Bob, all went through the time machine within minutes of each other. It wasn't a protracted, multiple time event. Time travel happened once, then that was it. Certainly makes it easier to understand the movies, even if it does go against the Comics canoninicalness.[which I don't think is even a real word.]


Mech by B.V. Larson

Ebook, 328 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was disappointed. I was hoping for a mech battle or something, along the lines of what Neal Asher does.

What I got was a recopy of Vang, The Military Form, but with more POV's to break the story up[which was NOT a good thing]. Copied stuff even down to the Two Ancient Races who destroyed each other thing. And the Mech? I'm not even sure what Mech the author was talking about!

It was just such a copy that I was extremely distracted. And Vang was published back in the '80's. and is WAY cooler.


Mech 2 by B.V. Larson

Ebook, 252 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Where Mech 1 was so distracting because of its plagairism of Vang: The Military Form, this book showed the weakness of the author. Weakness of ideas and execution.
The Mechs referred to in the title are side characters, barely there and almost sideshows. The main characters are ok, but how they are handled was not at all polished. One moment they are acting one way and then 2 chapters later they are acting in such a way that would be impossible for them if how they had been 2 chapters earlier was true. Almost like the author just made his characters be what he needed at that moment without either thinking it through or caring about continuity.
Then the side characters. A cowardly gypsy [Vlax Romani? come on], a psycho mech and the stupid Tulk Phryxx. And a bimbo and her new lover. It was a kaleidoscope of ridiculousness. I would call it a farce, but it obviously wasn't meant to be.
Then the plot. A ship that propels itself by lighting off nukes under? The invasion was almost pretty good, but it just lacked that oomph, that something to make you feel threatened.

In finish. I will not be reading any more by this author and do not recommend that you start. Like I said in my review of Mech, go read Vang: The Military Form for some really cool bio-aliens invading.


Neuromancer by William Gibson

Ebook, 288 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

What the frack? No wonder Cyberpunk died out. Japan rules the world and everyone is on drugs or about to kill someone.
Whatever.





What It is Like to Go to War by Karl Marlantes

DTB, 256 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a good book, and I agreed with the author's overall assessment of the spiritual in regards to the armed forces.
But in specifics we definitely differed. Given that he is a rhodes scholar and a vietnam vet, while I'm a Fairwood Bible School graduate and a land surveyor, I'm not surprised :D
This book epitomized why I don't read that much non-fiction. I wanted to take notes upon notes for each chapter-why I agreed, why I disagreed, what I thought was good, what I thought was bad. And when I read, I want to escape life, not keep on fighting.
I think enough. I don't need more things to think about :D


The Legions of Fire by David Drake

Ebook, 368 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

While this was supposed to be a romping fantasy, several items really detracted from my enjoyment of it.
1: This was a Lord of the Isles remix[which I loved by the way], with several character types and personalities mixed around a bit and a very blase badguy. I was hoping for something original, but it felt like David Eddings The Tamuli, formulaic regurgitated rehash.
2: several sexual situations that added nothing but titillation to the story. They weren't necessary and it really felt like the story became gutter worthy because of them.
3: Snappy thoughts/comebacks. Too much, too many all the time. Nobody is always clever. Nobody.
So I can't really recommend this series unless you are in love with Drake and his style of writing fantasy. If you are in love with him, you'll probably eat this up and ask for more...


Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

Ebook, 336 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Complete and utter over the top brutality and selfishness. The main character simply does things to spite others. While you might have felt sympathy for him because of the horrible history he had, he uses that history to grow his hate and rage to commit as great, or even greater atrocities, thus becoming a ravening beast inspiring hatred and rage in others, and thus continuing an ever-downward spiral.

I will not be reading any more by this author.


Into the Storm by Taylor Anderson

Ebook, 400 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had no idea what this series was about, hadn't even read a blurb, before I started it.

So I was under the impression it was about super robots, or mecha, or ninja's or something. I mean, come on, Destroyermen? Sounds like an army of unstoppable killer thingies to me!

Little did I know I was wandering into the dark of Alt-History. Shudder.

However, it turned out ok. It was an interesting story, but it seemed a little too easier for them to solve their supply problems. The Spectre of Bestiality raises its ugly head, and that was one reason I only gave this 3 stars instead of 4.

I am looking forward to more in this series.


Crusade by Taylor Anderson

Ebook, 400 Pages
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was blown away.

This is a non-stop, seat of your pants, drag me along action sequence. It was exactly what I needed to de-stress today.

I was dragged along the emotional ups and downs right along with Cap'n Matt. Don't know why things resonated so, but I felt a real connection with his battle with despair against impossible odds.

As for the bestiality hinted at in the previous books, it is expounded on slightly in this book. I realized though, that it wasn't really talking about bestiality, because these are sentient creatures, and it IS sailors we are reading about. We'll have to wait and see how cross-species interaction works out. Definitely not over the top or lewd. It is just taking into account how deprived sailors, with no women, would react to females of another sentient species.


Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum

Ebook, 400 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Girl is not satisfied with almost perfect boyfriend. He is too "predictable". Enter the bad boy, who isn't actually bad, and can't do anything physically to the girl because of some ridiculously made up "rules".

Throw in a generous dash of the badboy telling the girl how "special" and "perfect" she is and you get this confectionary of girly fantasy.


The Eternal Champion by Michael Moorcock

DTB, 484 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Comprising 3 novels and 1 short story, this begins the lore of the multi-verse and the Eternal Champion.
2 stories deal with Erekose, 1 with a Von Bek and the short story deals with Tanelorn.

The Erekose stories were enjoyable as a foundation to the other Eternal Champion incarnations, and made the glimpses we see of Erekose in Elric and Corum that much deeper.

The Von Bek storyline dealt with the multiverse and the tone was scifi/psychological and didn't really fit, in my opinion. Also didn't seem to fit in with Moorcock's Law, Chaos and the Great Balance schtick.

Definitely would recommend as a start before Elric or Corum. Even though it definitely would give spoilers for those 2 characters.


Pantheon by John Jackson Miller

Ebook, 34 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars









MONTHLY SUMMARY
17 Novels
1 Short Story
1 Unfinished Novel
6595 Pages

August '11

TIFFANY ACHING: THE WEE FREE MEN
-T. Pratchett-epub-289
-fantasy-taking place in Discworld, but not necessarily in the Discworld series. A young girl by the name of Tiffany Aching has to defend her land against the queen of the faerie world. Mainly because Tiffany's grandmother is dead and so she can't do it. Tiffany is a witch in the making. Granny Weatherwax comes in at the end. It is called "Wee Free Men" because Tiffany gets help by the Nac Mac Feegles. Little blue pict'sies. Drunk, rowdy, almost indestructable but fun and lovable none the less. This was classic Pratchett WITH excellent writing, tight plot and everything was funny, not stupid. Best Pratchett ever!

DRESDEN FILES: PROVEN GUILTY
-J. Butcher-epub-557
-urban fantasy-Harry saves one of Michael's kids and takes her on as an apprentice. I felt like Harry is a complete idiot, and an arrogant one to boot. He always takes everything on his shoulders, without trying to spread the responsibility and then he whines and complains about how hard things are. He ALWAYS acts like he is the only one who can do anything. Well, he isn't. And one man can't do EVERYTHING! Get over yourself and your poor little pity party of the past.

TIFFANY ACHING: A HAT FULL OF SKY
-T. Pratchett-epub-299
-fantasy-Tiffany goes off to get some witchy training. Only a monster, a mindless Hiver, takes her over. She gets free, then has to defeat it. Has some help from Granny Weatherwax and learns some lessons about what being a witch really means. Not nearly as much about the Nac Mac Feegles, so this wasn't as funny. Still a solid book and very enjoyable.

WHEEL OF TIME: LORD OF CHAOS
-R. Jordan-epub-1223
-fantasy-I can feel the gears beginning to grind to a halt. Lots of "big ticket" things seem to be introduced, but go no where. Examples: the "super" Myrdrral-he appears to be more powerful than the Forsaken, but we really find out nothing about him. The Bowl of the Wind-appears to be the answer to all the weather problems, but it takes the WHOLE book for them to even start looking for it. Not nearly as enjoyable as the previous books.

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO: UNABRIDGED
-A. Dumas-epub-1606
-classic-this was my first time reading the Unabridged version. It was not good. Where as the Barnes and Noble abridged edition was a tight, thrilling story of vengeance and final redemption, this was a maundering convoluted monstrosity filled with "current pop culture" references that added nothing and detracted. Side stories kept pulling me away down dead end paths. I was very disappointed. Still a good story, but the story gets lost in Dumas's wordiness and love of conversations. I would never recommend the Unabridged version, that is for sure.


Dreadnaught by Jack Campbell

Ebook, 420 pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I dreaded this book, I have to admit. I didn't see how Campbell could continue the series WITH Geary without losing much of what I loved about the original Lost Fleet books.

Thankfully, I was hugely disappointed :) This was just as good as the previous books, and in some ways, better. There was not nearly as much explicit space battle tactics explained in painful detail. Whoohoo!

Geary is still Geary and dealing with a government that doesn't want him, balancing those who hate him, love him, want to use him and want to kill him. And he has a wife. A strong spirited woman. [I suspect a good strong spanking might work wonders, for both of them ;)]

We get lots of kind of info about the aliens, and new ideas about them and it is made real just how ignorant humanity is about the universe they live in.

Good stuff! Looking forward to the rest of these...



Wintersmith (Tiffany Aching, #3) by Terry Pratchett

Ebook, 341 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Liked it more than the second book, less than the first book.





Perfect Shadow: A Night Angel Novella by Brent Weeks

Ebook, 70 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


If you wanted more info about Durzo Blint, this short story will at least be a good appetizer. If you want totally unnecessary sex that doesn't advance the story in any way, this is for you. Take out the lust and hormones, and the page count goes down by at least half. However, it does let you know how Durzo turned into Durzo. So Night Angel fans will enjoy this no matter.


Skin Game by Max Allan Collins

Ebook, UNFINISHED
My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I felt like I had missed an entire book between the last and this. I just couldn't get into it and dropped it very quickly.




Shadow Magic by Patricia C. Wrede

Ebook, 256 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This reminded me of Andre Norton's older writings. It was dry, straight forward telling of an atypical fantasy.

Nothing really was bad, but it didn't draw me in, or make me laugh, or make me go "wow" like most of Wrede's stuff. I think this was her older series, so it is to be expected.

I'll be reading more in this series, but I'm not really excited about that fact :)



Stonewielder by Ian C. Esslemont

Ebook, 640 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is what I think all of Steven Erickson's book SHOULD have been like. Lots of action, a smidge of philosophy and just some down right wicked cool characters.

While Esslemont's Crimson Guard felt like it was just hanging out there all by itself, Stonewielder felt like an integral part of the Malazan Series. Part of it was several characters are from the Crimson Guard, so I wasn't introduced to a completely new set of characters, there was some continuity from CG. That went a long way towards making me more comfortable.

Man, this was just cool! The storm riders, the koreli, the Lady, Skinner the skumbag [at the end]. AND Leoman of the Flails!!!. I had always wanted to know what happened to him, and now I find out. Wicked!!

So basically, I enjoyed this a lot. and look forward now to more of Esslemont as his own writer instead of just an extension of Erickson. Way to go ICE...



T2: Rising Storm by S.M. Stirling

Ebook, 384 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Much more than even the first book.

John Connor is truly becoming the man who takes down skynet. Of course, I saw that Skynet would come about from Wendy's interference from a mile away but hey, mankind HAS to create Skynet, right?

More of the differential timeloops are talked about, so it will be interesting to see how Stirling wraps up that side of things. Looking forward to the final book.




MONTHLY SUMMARY

10 Novels
1 Unfinished Novel
1 Novella
6085 Pages

July '11

MEMORY, THORN AND SORROW: TO GREEN ANGEL TOWER
-T. Williams-epub-1374
-fantasy-the conclusion to the trilogy. Everybody meets up at Green Angel Towers after much trial and hardship; only to learn it is all a trap and that the prophecy of Nisses was a lie by Ineluki, who wanted to use the power of the swords to bring himself back. Everybody has a kum-by-ya moment and they all forgive Ineluki and he can't handle it and so all his plans go poof. Seriously. It was written a bit more epically than that, but that is what it boils down to. Simon turns out to be an heir of the original king of Hayholt and he marries Miriamelle and everybody starts the business of rebuilding. So many things I misremembered or didn't remember at all, made me glad for this reread.

BARDS OF BONE PLAIN
-P. McKillip-dtb-329
-fantasy-a bard misuses his power and is cursed to live without his music until he can fix his error. This was as pretty as any of her other books, but without so much mystery, so I found it easier to deal with.

ABOLETHIC SOVEREIGNTY: CITY OF TORMENT
-B. Cordell-epub-UNFINISHED
-fantasy-I am giving up on the Forgotten Realms universe. I just can't get into it. So I won't waste my time. I leave it to those who do like it. More power to them.

POLITY: HILLDIGGERS
-N. Asher-epub-505
-scifi-an alien entity is messing with 2 worlds. The Polity interferes in its own non-interfering way. I didn't find this very interesting. Not very much AI humor, or over the top brutal war. Oh well, Asher can't write to please me all the time I guess.

COBRA WAR: COBRA GUARDIAN
-T. Zahn-epub-388
-scifi- I came in with such low expectations after the first book that I actually liked this. Still seems a loose story and characterization is so spread between different people that I don't really care about any of them.

GREEN RIDER: BLACKVEIL
-K. Britain-epub-773
-fantasy/romance- I started this book fulling expecting it give it one star. I was uber-pissed about the length of time between book 3 and this. I didn't care about Britain's "reasons" given on her blog or anything else she had to say.
As the story went on, I got over that. This was a half decent story with some real interesting possibilities and I was thinking, OK, this deserves 3 stars 'cause I'm liking this.
Then things got all romance'y. And by romance'y, I mean angsty, poke my eyes out with the characters whining about their love or lack thereof. And the consumation scene? Next thing you know, the next book will be a soft porn romance, sigh. A lot of things felt like they were thrown in because the author would have liked something like that, not because it was integral to the story.
Finally, the ending cliffhanger. Britain really needs to wrap this series up. Instead, she keeps making this bigger and bigger. If I have to wait another 4+ years before the NEXT book, and it isn't the final book, then I will not be reading it. Period.
Miss Britain, get over yourself and wrap this thing up. You want to write more, fine. Do it with another series. I'm just about ready to get rid of my 3 previous hardcovers in the series and be done with you. I can't recommend your Greenrider series anymore because I don't know when it will end and I will not put others through this same path of daggers that I have gone through.

DARK ANGEL: BEFORE THE DAWN
-M. Collins-epub-291
-scifi- Having never seen Dark Angel, just heard of it, I was interested in the books. If the books were interesting, I'd probably check out the tv series [even with the incomplete ending].
Standard prequel. A child super soldier escapes into a post-apocalyptic world and grows up trying to escape her former captives and trying to find her brothers/sisters.
Nothing superduper about this book, but I certainly didn't feel like I'd wasted my time. I'll definitely be checking out the tv series based on my reading of this book.

RANGER'S APPRENTICE: KINGS OF CLONMEL
-J. Flanagan-epub-357
-ya fantasy- Even though Will is a full fledged ranger, he is still working with/under Halt.
In this story, we find out a lot about Halt's past. Will, Horace and Halt are called together as a new task force for dealing with threats outside of the Kingdoms borders.
Once again, tension was just right, laughs were just right. Just a touch of naive'ness and simplicity that makes it a YA title.

RANGER'S APPRENTICE: HALT'S PERIL
-J. Flanagan-epub-348
-ya fantasy- The finishing of the story begun in The Kings of Clonmell. Pretty much the same comments as for Kings of Clonmell. These 2 books really should have been one.

THE LAST DAY
-G. Kleier-dtb-484
-fiction-a book written right before the Y2K craze. A woman is the begotten daughter of god and everything takes place on and around the New Year of 2000. At first I thought it was blasphemous, but several comments made me realize the author didn't know a thing about Christianity and was just kluging popular ideas together. My main tipoff was his off the cuff reaction of the 7th Day Adventists to this "new messiah". He simply didn't have a clue. Second was the repeated references to "church/temple of the self. God is inside." Antithesis to true Christianity. Everything else fell pretty flat as well. Characterization came out candy thin and by the end everyone was all 'lets love everybody and do the right thing' without any real change or reason for change. Romance was forced onto us like an ugly old relative wanting a kiss on the mouth. The plot relied on action sequences driven by mega-maniacal authority figures that made me cringe with their fakeness. Overall, this is one book I really should have not finished, but I had to so I could call it the utter, complete piece of trash it is. AVOID AT ALL COST!

WHEEL OF TIME: THE FIRES OF HEAVEN
-R. Jordan-epub-877
-fantasy-Intensity ratchets up and we get the famous "Who Killed Asmodean?" scene. A wicked cool battle between Rand and Rhavin, involving bale fire and portals. Matt starts using/acknowledging his martial memories. Moiraine and Lanfear disappear through a Sangreal/Terangreal and seem to die. Rand is starting to fight the madness, which seems to be a mixing of wills with Lews Therin, the former Dragon. The badstuff-every female seems to be so angry. I mean counseling angry. Jordan really let the ball drop in the characterization department with this. It is a real turn off.

GRIMM DRAGONBLASTER: A MAGE IN THE MAKING
-A. Alistair-epub-264
-fantasy-10,000 years in the future. Humanity has almost destroyed itself, then recovered. Magic has come forth and male magic become dominant. A talented mage killed his leader and was banned. Now his grandson is on trail to becoming a mage. We find out that a witch was responsible, behind the scenes, for the grandfather killing the leader, and she is interested in Grimm now. Basically covers from 7-17 years of Grimm's life. I really didn't care for this. I'll keep the rest around for a year or so, but if I don't read any more, I'll get rid of them.

STAR WARS: OLD REPUBLIC: LOST TRIBE OF THE SITH: SENTINEL
-J. Miller-epub-27
-short story-the direct sequel to the story before. The jedi marooned hooks up with a sith and they decide to turn their backs on their respective orders and live in the wilderness.

T2: INFILTRATOR
-S.M. Stirling-dtb-513
-scifi-follows Terminator 2. In many ways this reminded me of the Sarah Connor Chronicles tv show. No time jumping or friendly terminator though. The Connors meet up with the man the T800 was based on. And a more organic terminator, called an Infiltrator, is sent back to try to change things by creating Skynet instead of trying to kill the Connors. Even though that is still a mission priority. The Connors take her down, but she has a replacement hidden away for the next book. Her name was Serena and many of the situations were similar to the T:SCC but John was more charismatic, mature and starting to bear the burden of being mankind's next savior, instead of being a whiny teen with responsibility issues.

STAR WARS: OLD REPUBLIC: DECEIVED
-P. Kemp-epub-348
-scifi-another stand alone novel in the Old Republic era. Basically a Sith engineers the downfall of Coruscant, only to have it be taken away by political intrigue by his sith 'allies'. he kills a jedi master and that Master's former padawan, now a Jedi Knight, comes to Coruscant to take revenge. There is a side story about some smuggler and his crippled daughter. Overall, the last Old Republic book I'll be buying. It was so blase and the characters had no time to get any real depth. It felt like the Star Wars universe was turning into a Forgotten Realms kind of place. Hack and Slash writing with completely forgettable characters.

TIME TRADERS
-A. Norton-epub-400
-scifi-a book with 3 separate short stories all tied together by common characters. Basically, humanity finds the ability to time travel and the Americans are going through history trying to find the Russians, who seem to have found some advanced tech way in the past. Turns out it was from an alien spaceship. The russians get all their bases destroyed and the americans start tiptoeing. Ends with a group of americans finding an intact spaceship and making a trip to the aliens world. The alien empire seems to have fallen and humanity looks to have a free hand.
I really enjoyed this. Norton writes in the classic scifi style and it was nice to have some straight forward adventure stories without all the psychological baggage.

STARSHIP: MERCENARY
-M. Resnick-epub-338
-scifi-The Crew become mercenaries and win battle after battle, usually through brain, not brawn. Clever, witty. Same as the previous books. If you liked them, you'll like this.

WWW: WAKE
-R. Sawyer-epub-388
-scifi-a young blind girl is given sight with some new tech, and along the way a young AI is born, and they come into contact. And some story line about the chinese killing off 20,000 of their own people to stem the start of a H1N5 super flu. Must tie together in the later books. It was interesting, well written and the characterization was very well done. But it wasn't captivating. The birth of the AI isn't explained, it just kind of spontaneously happens.

VLAD TALTOS: ORCA
-S. Brust-epub-313
-fantasy-Vlad tries to save an old ladies land in exchange for healing the boy who helped him from the previous story. In the process, corruption is found to the top level, but nothing can be done about it. And we find out that Keira is Sethra Lavode and that Vlad has a son by Cawti, who he doesn't know about.

MONTHLY SUMMARY
17 Novels
1 Short Story
1 Unfinished Novel
8317 Pages

June '11

ABOLETHIC SOVEREIGNTY: PLAGUE OF SPELLS
-B. Cordell-epub-290
-fantasy- taking place sometime soon after the death of Mystra [recorded in the Lady Penitent trilogy], the world has changed. A blue fire plague has changed the land, the magic and made it possible for ancient evils to possibly return. Deals with one small sample of the twisted magic that can recall the Aboleths. Having a new set of characters for each sub series in the Forgotten Realms doesn't sit well with me. I understand it, but the only continuity provided is on a world wide scale, which is too big for me. I'll keep plugging away at the Forgotten Realms books, but as backups, not as primary reads.

WHEEL OF TIME: THE SHADOW RISING
-R. Jordan-epub-907
-fantasy-fantastic! Some really cool storylines. Forsaken are starting to be real characters instead of just non-entity bogeyman. Rand is starting to explore his powers on a very large scale. Perrin is back in Two Rivers, becoming the Lord he is destined to be. Matt is still Matt, running from responsibility while searching money, girls and drink. The women are becoming the arrogant characters that they hated in Morraine.

ACACIA: THE OTHER LANDS
-D. Durham-epub-504
-fantasy- I really enjoyed this. Where War with the Mein took me a while to get into, I was already hooked and ready to go from page 1 with this book. Follows the 3 royals and the consequences of the Guild poking its nose into business it doesn't understand. Basically, another war is coming to Acacia, with ALL the clans of the Other Lands instead of just 1. Magic, the book of Elenet, the Santoth and hinted consequences are integral to the story as well. Looking forward to the final book.

DISCWORLD: THUD!
-T. Pratchett-epub-297
-fantasy-a dwarf is murdered and Vimes must solve the crime before a war breaks out between the dwarves and the trolls with Ankh-Morpork caught in the middle.

5 NOVELS
-D. Pinkwater-dtb-648
-ya fiction-5 different novellas by Daniel Pinkwater. All dealing with teens or early teens and written for teens. Some ya books are written for ya AND adults. Not so this. Still well written and funny, just not AS funny as I remember :-)

RANGER'S APPRENTICE: ERAK'S RANSOM
-J. Flanagan-epub-327
-ya fantasy-Erak, oberjarl of the Skandians, is betrayed by one of his own. Will and company attempt to free him. With lots of difficulty and near death experiences they do. Ends with Will becoming a full fledged ranger. Laughter and tension in equal measure underpinned by a new environment. Also, truly Will's coming of age story, where he must act on his own without help from Halt.

MONTHLY SUMMARY
6 novels
2973 pages

May '11

WHEEL OF TIME: THE DRAGON REBORN
-R. Jordan-epub-595
-fantasy-Matt gets caught up with the girls. Perrin is back with Moirane. Rand is on his own, trying not to kill anyone with his new burgeoning powers. Everyone ends up at Tear, where Rand takes Callendor, a sword of the one power, and fulfills a part of the dragon reborn prophecy. More people are being introduced and things are starting to get complicated. Each of the main characters, the 3 male and the 3 female are starting to form their own subgroups. Really wanted to break my one a month rule and read the next one, but I'm holding it off.

CIRQUE DU FREAK: LORD OF THE SHADOWS
-D. Shan-epub-97
-ya fantasy-Darren finds out that a Lord of the Shadows will turn the world into a wasteland, and the Lord of Shadows will either be him or Steve. So either way, Darren loses. Turns out Mr Tiny is an agent of chaos who does what he can to cause problems and stir the pot.

CIRQUE DU FREAK: SONS OF DESTINY
-D. Shan-epub-125
-ya fantasy-Darren kills Steve, but then allows Steve's dying lashout to kill him, in an attempt to foil Mr Tiny. Mr Tiny's daughter plots with Darren and they concoct a plan to change things to allow the vampires, vampaneze and humans to all survive and eventually become one race. I was glad the series was over. After the 5th or 6th book, the story lost its shiny newness and became much darker than what I was enjoying.

DRESDEN FILES: DEAD BEAT
-J. Butcher-epub-386
-urban fantasy-Harry has to fight some necromancers. The White Court of Wizards is pretty much wiped out and Harry is made a Warder. Typical Dresden.

POLITY: SPLATTERJAY: ORBUS
-N. Asher-epub-361
-scifi-An old captain, a war drone and a Polity ship head to a neutral zone between Polity and the Prador kingdom. The prador from the previous Splatterjay books turns into what the king is, a mutated prador. In the process, it is revealed that the splatterjay virus is actually a form of Jain tech, which emerges and is barely headed off by the King of the Prador, who dies. Closer ties are hinted at between the Pradors and Polity. Fantastic book, and not a single "human" character in it. Asher can write.

RANGER'S APPRENTICE: SORCERER OF THE NORTH
-J. Flanagan-epub-230
-ya fantasy-Will is sent to a quiet castle after his adventures in Skandia. However, he is immediately dispatched on a secret mission to the North to check out claims of sorcery going on. Finds out a nephew of a Duke is trying to take over and make an alliance with the Picti. Alice is involved, and gets captured.

RANGER'S APPRENTICE: SIEGE OF MACINDAW
-J. Flanagan-epub-236
-ya fantasy-the conclusion to the story. Horace is sent north and the 3 friends overcome and win the day. Overall, this story arc captured in a nutshell why I like this series: flashes of humor when things start getting dark, determined heroes who won't give up and right winning over evil.

MEMORY, SORROW AND THORN: THE DRAGONBONE CHAIR
-T. Williams-epub-824
-fantasy-a young scullion boy, who is a hopeless clutz, ends up becoming embroiled in a plot by an elder race to supplant the humans. Rereading this so soon after finishing Williams Shadowplay series, it is real easy to compare. This series holds up much better than the Shadowplay series. Simon, the main character, is likeable. Yes, he has his annoying traits, but he is growing into someone the reader can cheer for. So many of the same ideas in this series are taken to greater depths, but you can see where Williams is starting to repeat himself. I was fearful that this wouldn't hold up to the memories, but just like the Otherland series, this was even better the second time around.

STARHAMMER
-C. Rowley-epub-277
-scifi-the human race meets the Lowan, and become enslaved. One human hooks up with a resistance group and they find the Starhammer. An ancient weapon meant to fight the Vang, it destroys stars at a time. Ends rather abruptly with the humans dictating terms to the Lowan.

STAR WARS: OLD REPUBLIC: KNIGHT ERRANT
-J. Miller-epub-310
-scifi-follows one young jedi knight who is stranded in the Sith empire. She runs around causing havoc and ends up rescuing a bunch of kids while facing down several different sith lords. Very abrupt shifts from sith lord to sith lord. Felt forced and I didn't really enjoy it.

MEMORY, SORROW AND THORN: THE STONE OF FAREWELL
-T. Williams-epub-727
-fantasy-A lot happens. Now that is an understatement. The history of the 3 Swords is starting to be revealed as well as why Ineluki is doing what he is. Simon gets stranded with the elder race in their bastion of peace, until Ineluki attacks them as well. Princess Miriamelle is gadding about and not helping. Josua and company make to the Stone of Farewell and begin figuring out what they can do. This is epic, and not just in size. I blew through it and really wanted to read the next book right away, but I think I'll enjoy the final book more with some space between.

RESIDENT EVIL: CALIBAN COVE
-S.D. Perry-epub-134
-game novelization-sucky to the sucky'th degree. I barely made it through this nauseatingly predictable and boring book. The attempts at characterization were so badly executed that it would have been better if Perry had left it alone. Maybe a HARDCORE fan of the Resident Evil games would enjoy this, but I can't imagine anyone else who would.

ASIAN SAGA: TAI-PAN
-J. Clavell-epub-655
-historical fiction-Wow. I really enjoyed Shogun, but this was on another level of greatness. Follows one English trader who is trying to get into the chinese market and is lobbying for Hong Kong. Tons of drama and excitement. Political and cultural adventures. Family and Foes. The main character's strength of will dragged you the reader along with him. I felt excited when he was excited, sad when he was sad, etc, etc. Definitely a favorite now.

EMERALD EYES
-D. Moran-epub-217
-scifi-a disjointed and confusing novel about the emergance of a new genetic line of Homo Sapiens. Telepaths, who appear to be the ancestors of time travellers. Who are popping in and out of the story and making things even more confusing. Story segments were not segued well and it felt very herky-jerky. I guess this is a series, but I won't be reading any more.

STARSHIP: PIRATE
-M. Resnick-epub-165
-scifi-the captain and crew decide to pirate other pirates. By the end of the story they realize that that won't cut it and are thinking about becoming mercenaries. Resnick's universe is full of historical character references and this one was with Dickens. I loved it.

MALAZ: BAUCHELAIN AND KORBAL BROACH
-S. Erikson-epub-180
-fantasy-3 short stories about how Emancipor Reese becomes the man servant to the "evil" duo. They are almost side characters in each story, just giving a little push here and there to influence things. I found this amusing.

MALAZ: CRACK'D POT TRAIL
-S. Erikson-epub-154
-fantasy-1 story. A bunch of poets fall in with some bounty hunters who are chasing Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. The poets have to tell a story and whoever gets the least votes gets eaten [they are going through inhospitable lands]. Very lyrical and I still don't understand the ending very well at all. To confusing for my taste.

POLITY: PRADOR MOON
-N. Asher-epub-173
-scifi-the first contact/fight between the Polity and the Pradors. Shows the beginnings of the higher end augs/human mix that blur the line between man and machine. Very violent, mainly because of how the prador eat everything.


MONTHLY SUMMARY
18 Novels
5846 Pages

April '11

STARSHIP: MUTINY
-M. Resnick-epub-163
-scifi-taking place in the same universe as the Santiago books, this is about a misfit Space Navy guy who is so disgusted at his superiors, for punishing him for doing a good job because it wasn't by the book, that he convinces a ragtag crew to turn pirate with him. I guess there are several more books in the series. I'm going to try to find them.

CIRQUE DU FREAK: KILLERS OF THE DAWN
-D. Shan-epub-129
-ya fantasy-the 3 hunters, Crepsley, the Vamp Prince and Darren, hunt down the lord of the vampaneze. Crepsley kills him at the cost of his own life and the others escape. Only to find out that Steve was the Lord all the time. So Mr Crepsley died for nothing.

CIRQUE DU FREAK: LAKE OF SOULS
-D. Shan-epub-161
-ya fantasy-Harkat Mulds is going to die. So Mr Tiny allows him and Darren to go on a quest to find out who he was in a previous life to save himself. Darren and Harkat go through adventures and find out. Then they come back and prepare to start doing stuff again in our world.

WHEEL OF TIME: THE GREAT HUNT
-R. Jordan-epub-618
-fantasy-the women go to Tar Valon to become Aes Sedai and the men go after the Horn and the dagger, otherwise Mat is going to die. The Black Ajah is revealed as a real thing, Artur Hawkwing's armies come back. Rand starts channeling for real and is pretty much recognized as the Dragon Reborn by a small group of men. He has an epic battle with Ba'alzamon and defeats him, but at the cost of taking an unhealable wound. This was fantastic. Even better, imo, than the previous book. Lots of epic'ness and glimpses into a world that is older, more mysterious and intriguing, than we can truly imagine. I am simply enjoying this without thinking of the future books, cause that would spoil things. These beginning books are the reason this series is so fantastic. It has a solid foundation.

CASTLE BRASS: QUEST FOR TANELORN
-M. Moorcock-epub-80
-fantasy-the end of the Eternal Champion series. Hawkmoon, along with Corum, Elric and Erekose [the eternal champion who remembers all his incarnations, unlike the others] must battle 2 sorcerers from outside the multiverse who want to take all its energy [hence destroying it] and use it to become greater in their own dimension. Much like the time in Elric, all 4 become 1 and defeat them. In the process, Law and Chaos and the Balance are destroyed and humanity is left to fend for itself. Hawkmoon finds his children at Tanelorn. He goes back to Castlebrass with them and his wife to live out his life instead of staying in Tanelorn. I have read the stories of Hawkmoon, Elric and Corum and after reading this, am tempted to go find out Erekose's story. A good ending to this universe of Moorcock's.

LOLITA
-V. Nabokov-epub-363
-fiction-the story of Humbert Humbert, a pedophile who is telling his own story after killing a man who lured Lolita away from him. Gist of the story-Humbert, who is european, marries a widow with a young daughter to be near the daughter. The mother dies, Humbert takes Lolita traveling around the U.S. for 2-3 years in an effort to completely possess her. She slips away. He gives up trying to find her. She comes to him for money, married and pregnant. He finds out how she slipped away. He goes and kills the man [not her husband, who is the father of her baby] and is writing his memories down to present to the jury and judge. He is a nutcase, so he writes all over the place. He is deluded, thinking he is perfectly fine and doing the best for Lolita. So it is obvious that you, the reader, cannot take at face value what the writer, Humbert, is writing. Overall, a disgusting book that gives more weight to the idea of simply killing all pedophiles instead of sending them to jail.

OTHERLAND: SEA OF SILVER LIGHT
-T. Williams-epub-1002
-scifi-the finale to the Otherland story. Dread takes over the network and wreaks havoc. The group offline figure out a way to communicate with the Other, which turns out to not be an AI, but a telepath in a satellite in earth's orbit. It destroys itself, Dread is in a life coma, Lando Gardiner is alive online only, and Mr Sellars has created a new lifeform, an electronic form, which takes off into space. The otherland Network survives as a pale imitation and is hidden away by the group until it can be integrated easily into the existing networks of the world. And there are shocking revelations about Paul, but it works out all good. Overall, a good wrap up to each storyline.
As a re-read, this series held up. It was slow going at first, confusing, but then all the threads started coming together and forming on awesome story. Since this series held up so good, I think I will go and re-read Memory, Sorrow & Thorn with a lot less trepidation.

PET SEMATARY
-S. King-dtb-411
-horror-A story about a cemetary that brings things back to life. A very long build up about a family of 4 who move to Maine, befriend an old yankee who tells the father about the cemetary. The family cat dies, so the father buries it and it comes back, but it is "off". Then the young son [pre elementary school] dies and the father buries him secretly. The son comes back possessed by whatever evil powers the cemetary and kills the wife and old neighbor. The father kills the son, burns down the neighbor's house to cover his tracks and buries his wife immediately, because he believes that the time gap is what accounted for things not working for his son. Ends with his wife coming back into the house, and the rest is left to our imagination. Now, the last 50 pages deal with the horror. The first couple of hundred are the build up and yet, that build up was just as enjoyable, if not more, than the ending. Hints about the evil of the burial ground were given, vague stories by the old yankee neighbor, myths about the Indians who created it. A sense of dread was quietly building up the entire time and you knew the son was going to die and be brought back and that nothing good would come of it. Fantastic, keep me glued to the pages, kind of writing. Makes me wonder what King could have written if he'd gone into another genre.

MECHWARRIOR: WARRIOR: EN GARDE
-M. Stackpole-epub-388
-scifi- I was really looking forward to Stackpole's writing and hoping he would make this universe interesting. I will probably not be reading any more in the mechwarrior series. I'll keep them in my library, but not on my reader. The blow by blow mech fights did nothing for me, I couldn't connect with the characters, and the multiple storylines were just wicked confusing.

MOBY DICK
-H. Melville-epub-UNFINISHED
-classic- I got half way through this and then just couldn't stomach any more. The story was interesting. The problem was that there were more chapters akin to National Geographic articles on whales than chapters dealing with the plot. Maybe someday I'll read a condensed version that has all the useless crap [and yes, chapters going into details about whales and how they are made up, or the process of catching a whale, or skinning a whale, or "whatever" a whale, are USELESS in regards to the plot] gone and I'll be able to actually read a story, but not with this version.

HULL ZERO THREE
-G. Bear-epub-256
-scifi-a man wakes up in a spaceship with little to no memory and completely disoriented. He has to figure out what is going on, to stay alive, and hook up with other "wake up"ers and make a choice that will affect the whole colony ship. This was confusing to read, a deliberate style by the author. Part way through everything you thought you knew was turned on its head. Who are the good guys, who are the bad guys, what in the world is going on, who am I? I didn't realize Greg Bear had written this before I read it and it reminded me once again that I just don't care for his stuff.

THE MAGICIANS
-L. Grossman-epub-390
-fantasy-a 17 year old is taken to an academy where he finds out magic is real and he has the gift. A coming of age story, but from the viewpoint of someone who is self-centered. All he wants is to be happy, but he is always thinking the next "thing" will make him happy. Ends with him realizing he has to make his own happiness, or some such thing. It started out really cool, but then kept descending into a depressing swirl of meaninglessness. A good look at someone with power who has no anchor point, no real meaning with their life. Not recommended.

THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS
-J. Wyndham-epub-196
-scifi-a new kind of plant is discovered/invented, one that is mobile, carnivorous, and filled with all sorts of new useful oils/chemicals. Then one night there is a meteor shower and the next day anyone who watched it is blind. Follows one man as he tries to survive the collapse of civilization. This actually had almost nothing to do with the triffids, the plants. More about the collapse of civilization as 99% of the world dies off in blindness. The triffids are just a bogeyman that appear once in a while and a future threat. Blardy, blardy blar...

MONTHLY SUMMARY
12 novels
1 unfinished novel
4157 pages

March '11

SHADOWMARCH: SHADOWHEART
-T. Williams-epub-738
-fantasy-the conclusion to the Shadowmarch tetralogy. A god is resurrected, but not the god Sulepsis [the mad monarch] thinks, the god is defeated. Brionny and Ferris get together, Barick becomes the leader of the Qar for its last generation and everyone else just kind of survives. I wasn't impressed, sadly. I doubt I'll ever re-read this series.

STAR WARS: CLONE WARS: GAMBIT: SIEGE
-K. Miller-epub-UNFINISHED
-scifi-ugh. What can I say? The 2 Gambit books should have been 1 and heavily edited. I just got so bored with Siege that I gave up. More Anakin whining, more stolid Kenobi, lots of nothing happening. Yeah.

STAR WARS: FATE OF THE JEDI: ALLIES
-C. Golden-epub-314
-scifi-Luke and Ben make an uneasy alliance with some of the Sith to go after Aboleth, some sort of super powerful force using bogey-woman, Skywalkers to destroy her, Sith to use her. She just keeps switching bodies, so when it seems that Luke has her dead to rights, oops, nope, now she's somebody else. While this is happening, Daala is losing it about the Jedi defying her control. Jaina and Jag break off their engagement. And all the insane jedi are now sane, since Abeloth isn't exerting such control over them. Enjoyable but nothing fantastic.

STAR WARS: FATE OF THE JEDI: VORTEX
-T. Denning-epub-360
-scifi-more chasing and fighting from the Skywalker/Sith/Aboleth group. And the jedi decide to take their future into their own hands instead of allowing Daala to do that for them. Sets things up for a huge confrontation, or even a total withdrawal of the jedi from the Galactic Alliance.

THE WHEEL OF TIME: STRIKE AT SHAYOL GHUL & RAVENS
-R. Jordan-epub-35
-fantasy short story-2 short stories. Strike is a historical fragment telling a barebones about the sealing of the Dark One and the Breaking of the World and Ravens is about Egwene, at 9 years old, on a shearing day. Neither add huge amounts to the WoT world, but just little interesting bits.

STAR WARS: LOST TRIBE OF THE SITH: PURGATORY
-J. Miller-epub-30
-short story-a jedi is on the sith world, having crashed. He takes in a disgraced Sith, who finds out he is a jedi. It ends with the appearance of the Sith about to betray him to gain her status back.

AMAZING AGENT LUNA #1-6
-DeFilippis & Weir
-manga-volume 6 was new to me. Not nearly as engaging as the first several volumes. Glad to see it out however and since DeFilippis and Weir are american, maybe we'll see a nice close to this story, but not holding my breath.

ONCE A HERO
-M. Stackpole-dtb-513
-fantasy-a good reread, but, doesn't hold up as well simply because the convergence of the past and present is already known to the reader and so much of the suspense of the story depends on the reader NOT knowing that. Still a fantastic fantasy book, just not as interesting on the 4th or 5th reread :-)

PERCY JACKSON: BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH
-R. Riordan-epub-243
-ya fantasy-Percy and Co have to find Daedolus, the creator of the labyrinth, in order to get him to help them close it down so that Camp Half Blood can't be invaded. Kronos takes over a body and is now corporeal and things aren't looking good for the Olympians.

WHEEL OF TIME: NEW SPRING
-R. Jordan-epub-317
-fantasy-the prequel to the WoT series. Having read it before, and up to book 9 or 10 of Wot, I could read it first. For a first timer, it should definitely not be read until at least after book 8 simply because I'm sure it reveals things quickly that are teased out in the series. And it is a nice light read without most of Jordan's literary "quirks" that drive us batty. A good start to a long series.

MALAZAN BOOK OF THE FALLEN: THE CRIPPLED GOD
-S. Erikson-epub-953
-fantasy-the end of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. It was about 500 pages of existential whining, much like the previous book or 2, then it got serious about the action and things happened. But that first 1/2 to 2/3 of the book were just plain torture. Why does it take Erikson 5 pages of monologuing build up to accomplish something that he writes in 2 paragraphs? It was worse than Ayn Rand. It was a great story, the action was fast, furious and violent, the characters were all intertwined fantastically, but I can't recommend this series because Erikson ruined it with his need to bash us over the head with his philosophical viewpoints. Pages upon pages upon pages of them! That being said, it did end well. I was satisfied with the ending and felt like I had closure.

RANGER'S APPRENTICE: THE ICEBOUND LAND
-J. Flanagan-epub-222
-ya fantasy-Will and the Princess are taken as slaves for Skandia and Will becomes addicted to some drug. Princess makes a deal with the kind hearted Skandian who originally captured them and she and Will escape to a mountain hut for the winter. She weans Will off the drug. Meanwhile Halt insults the king and gets thrown out of the kingdom so he can search for Will. Ends with them all finding eachother but with a horde of mongols ready to invade Skandia.

RANGER'S APPRENTICE: BATTLE FOR SKANDIA
-J. Flanagan-epub-238
-ya fantasy-Halt, Will and the others are trapped in Skandia by the mongol horde. They make an uneasy truce with the Skandians to provide training so the Skandians don't get their butts handed to them on a platter. They defeat the horde at a terrible cost and the main group survives and gets home, with a treaty with the Skandians.

SCHOOL RUMBLE #1
-J. Kobayashi-epub
-manga-a converted cbr file. It read ok on my 505, but I didn't really like it. Hoping the original cbr's are much more readable on my new 10.1 Android tablet.

WHEEL OF TIME: EYE OF THE WORLD
-R. Jordan-epub-702
-fantasy-a re-read in preparation for the final novel in the beginning of next year. Incredible. The scene in the beginning where Rand sees the dark horseman and everything is winter dead and the atmosphere is dreadful, it really got me. It was good writing. The story was cool and there was so much that I just didn't remember. There were times that I didn't like characters, but I know more of that is coming, so I tried to let it go. But it is really hard to not want to kill Matt for being a complete asshole in the middle of Shadar Logoth. Definitely going to go slow with this series, one every couple of weeks, no back to back readings, so as not to burn out. And I really like the new TOR covers as well :-)

OTHERLAND: THE MOUNTAIN OF BLACK GLASS
-T. Williams-epub-749
-scifi-things really start to come together in this book. We found out the ultimate aims of the Grail and the Circle. Paul Jonas has a bit revealed about his past and the group makes it back together. Fantastic writing, tons of action. Dread is a great bad guy.

DISCWORLD: AMAZING MAURICE AND HIS EDUCATED RODENTS
-T. Pratchett-epub-170
-fantasy-a group of mice become sentient, so does a cat and they hook up with a little boy who plays the pipes. They run scams to get rid of "rats". At one village they come across something bigger, a king rat, and take him down and at the end try to come to terms with the village. Make peace, as it were. Amusing and light and easy.

PERCY JACKSON: THE LAST OLYMPIAN
-R. Riordan-epub-234
-fantasy-the wrap up of the series. Kronos and Co. almost take over. Luke redeems himself in the end, lots of info is learned about lots of people and things settle down, for a little bit. Rachel is the new Oracle and Annabeth and Percy hook up. A new "great" prophecy about the end of the world pops up right at the end. So it ends on a good note, but with the chance for more if the author feels like it.

MONTHLY SUMMARY
13 novels
1 unfinished Novel
2 short Stories
7 manga
5818 Pages

February '11

ATLAS SHRUGGED
-A. Rand-epub-1360
-fiction/philosophy-a bare outline of a story covering the philosophic underpinnings of the objectivest movement. One man, John Galt, removes the best and brightest from the world so that they cannot keep being preyed upon by the "looters". Ends with the collapse of the country [possibly world, but we never actually know] and the thinkers getting ready to take their country back. This was not necessarily an enjoyable book to read, mainly because the characters were simply avatars of ideals that the author holds and every couple of chapters one would start spouting the objectivest viewpoint, in expansively great detail, completely shattering the flow of the story. But like I said, this wasn't really a story, just a cover.
Now to discuss the philosophy part. It posits that there is no God, no afterlife, nothing spiritual, just the material. Hence, the goal of man is to make himself happy. Rand states that each man doing his best to make himself happy will, in the end, make many more people happy as well. Trickle over happiness. Responsibility is a point that is hugely stressed and greatly needed in our day and age. Overall though, this is not something that a Christian could subscribe to. Parts of it, yes. I realize this book delves a lot deeper than what I just wrote, but I don't want to write a treaty myself.

FISHERMAN'S CHILDREN: PRODIGAL MAGE
-K. Miller-epub-UNFINISHED
-fantasy-the sequel to the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology. 10 years later. I couldn't stand this. While Asher was a joy to read about before, now he and Dathne are just nagging people who are completely, willfully, blind to their children's emerging talent. I realize that is a large thrust of the story, but when I just want to throttle every adult character, well, that ruins the reading experience.

POLITY: SPLATTERJAY: VOYAGE OF THE SABLE KEECH
-N. Asher-epub-412
-scifi-10 years after the events of Skinner. A surviving prador gets infected with the hooper virus and ends up going back to Prador space to challenge the king. Also deals with a bunch of reifs who are trying to recreate Sable Keech's resurrection. All ties together and stuff.

BARTIMAEUS: RING OF SOLOMON
-J. Stroud-epub-344
-ya fantasy-Bartimaeus around the time of Solomon. Nothing noteworthy or worth writing about.

OTHERLAND: CITY OF GOLDEN SHADOW
-T. Williams-dtb-770
-scifi-a near future where online is almost as real as rl. Some rich people, however, are creating an online world to rival the real world. Various characters get sucked into the story line, even if we, the reader, don't know where they fit into the overall picture. A very good job of building the story up, reaching a satisfactory conclusion, while keeping the plot wide open. I read this in the bookclub hardcover edition, which, while hardcover, isn't as big as a first edition. Man, what a pain! I had to constantly use 2 hands, rest the book on something, etc, etc. It was unwieldy. I will be reading the rest of the series on my ereader for sure!

CIRQUE DU FREAK: ALLIES OF THE NIGHT
-D. Shan-epub-130
-ya fantasy-Darren runs into Debby, and she gets taken by Vampaneze and the group has a run in with the Vampaneze Lord.

DRESDEN FILES: BLOOD RITES
-J. Butcher-epub-344
-urban fantasy-Harry goes to work as a bodyguard/investigator for a small time porn film producer. The White Court is involved, Harry finds out he has a half-brother and it looks like he and the female cop could end up hooking up.

MECHWARRIOR: MERCENARY'S STAR
-W. Keith-epub-371
-scifi-Gray Death Legion is hired by a planet to help throw off a Great House's yoke. Lots of "then he fired his PPC, then the massive 125mm chaingun until the..." blah blah blah. These are interesting little war stories, but nothing that I ever would get really excited about.

SHADOW WAR: SHADOW MOON
-C. Claremont-epub-UNFINISHED
-a sequel to the movie "Willow". I got about 3 pages in and then realized I just didn't care about this at all, nor was I interested.

THE TWO JUNGLE BOOKS
-R. Kipling-epub-309
-fiction-the name is really misleading. There are several short stories about Mowgli and his adventures in the Jungle, but there are just as many short stories about seals, eskimoes, etc, and TONS of stupid 'songs' that I really couldn't enjoy this like I did Kim.

CASTLE BRASS: COUNT BRASS
-M. Moorcock-epub-83
-fantasy-5 years after the events of The Runestaff. Hawkmoon is happily living with his wife and 2 children at Castlebrass. Then 3 friends appear from the dead, and it turns out that one of the Dark Empire Techno-mages is still alive and dimension hopping and trying to topple the new regime. Hawkmoon deals with him, but all his friends die, again, and when Hawkmoon wakes up, it turns out everything of the last 5 years was a delusion and he had been mad. Never had a wife or kids [she died at the last great battle against the Dark Empire] and imagined everything.

RANGER'S APPRENTICE: RUINS OF GORLAN
-J. Flanagan-epub-195
-ya fantasy-a foundling is taken into the Ranger trade and saves his master and becomes a good ranger. This was actually quite well done. From the beginning to end, I found the main character open, engaging and a good stereotypical hero type. I like those :-) A good plot, with hints and then some real meat, about an overall danger to the kingdom and you know the main character will be playing a pivotal role to save the kingdom. And it deals with knights, monsters, etc, etc, so it is all cool.

PERCY JACKSON: LIGHTNING THIEF
-R. Riordan-epub-237
-ya fantasy-Percy Jackson is a delinquent. Kicked out of schools every year, failing almost every grade, etc, etc, but not a troublemaker. Turns out he is a son of a Poseiden and a human. Someone stole Zeus's thunderbolt and everyone thinks it was Percy. So he has to find it, return it, clear his name and stay alive while every godling tries to kill him. Really enjoyable and Riordan does a fantastic job of explaining Greek mythology without boring the reader and bringing it up to the 21st century.

PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS
-R. Riordan-epub-181
-ya fantasy-turns out Kronos is trying to take back the universe from the gods. So Percy and Co. have to set out to find the golden fleece to heal their camp. Only it turns out it was a long term trap by Kronos. Turns out one of the children of Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades will forever change the world of the gods on their 16th birthday. However, those three had agreed to have no more kids with mortals. Only they lied. Everyone thought Percy was the only one, but the fleece brought back to life a daughter of Zeus.

MECHWARRIOR: PRICE OF GLORY
-W. Keith-epub-327
-scifi-Gray Death Legion gets suckered. They fulfill a contract to get a world of their own as a base. Only it turns out the world has a secret Lost Library and Com Star [a supposedly neutral techno-religious group, which acts like a secret 6th Great House] wants that library. So lots of backstabbing, betrayals and fighting. The Legion survives, barely.

ARTHURIAN SAGA: THE CRYSTAL CAVE
-M. Stewart-epub-338
-fantasy-another Arthur saga. This is about Merlin, obviously. Lots of non-christian god stuff and setting the historical stage for Arthur. I didn't really care for this and the story just never drew me in.

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
-L. Montgomery-dtb-309
-fiction-fantastic story. A little orphan girl comes to live with 2 old people [brother and sister] on Prince Edward Island. She forever changes their lives with her personality, etc. Extremely engaging, well written, great characterization, never boring and a story that has such a timeless plot of love and change, that I can see this becoming a "classic" in the future. It should anyway :-)

OTHERLAND: RIVER OF BLUE FIRE
-T. Williams-epub-768
-scifi-the group gets split up, then comes back together, all the while we're finding out more about the Grail Society and hints of what is going on with the Otherland Network.

PERCY JACKSON: THE TITAN'S CURSE
-R. Riordan-epub-196
-ya fantasy-Percy and Co have to deal with yet another prophecy and have adventures and it turns out that a son of Hades is alive, he was just stuck in a hotel that warped time. But Thalia [daughter of Zeus] joins Artemis, so she will never turn 16, so the prophecy won't apply to her.

RANGER'S APPRENTICE: THE BURNING BRIDGE
-J. Flanagan-epub-212
-ya fantasy-Will ends up on a mission with Horace to stop a surprise attack by Morgarath on the kingdom. He and some girl, who turns out to be King Duncan's daughter, are kidnapped by Scandians and the last scene is of Halt seeing the boat take off with them aboard.

CASTLE BRASS: CHAMPIONS OF GARATHORM
-M. Moorcock-epub-80
-fantasy-Hawkmoon is convinced to go on a mission and he ends up giving his soul to another champion for a short while on another quest. And his wife returns and she remembers their children too. So something is up. Oh yeah, seems to be some sort of cosmic smackdown going on, Lords of Chaos and Law are fighting for their existences.

MONTHLY SUMMARY
19 novels
2 unfinished novels
6966 pages