May '12

Mutineer by Mike Shepherd
Ebook, 400 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Plucky tall girl, with some deep family connections, goes into the military to make a difference, and does, gasp.

I enjoyed this, it was just a bit cliched. So I expect to like the sequels as well.




Into the Looking Glass by John Ringo
Ebook, 288 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Read 2008
Re-read 2012

[November 2008 Review]
Basically take Doom and parts of Starcraft, specifically the Zerg, add in some military hardware jargon and you've got this book. Some rogue physicist creates some kind of gate that throws out bosun particles, which allow gates to be opened to other planets. The dreen come through one and we go through another and meet some friendly aliens. The dreen take over planets and suck them dry of resources. The dreen are zerglike, growing creatures for specific needs.

Besides some profanity and some seriously over the top weapon specifications[it IS military scifi though], this was enjoyable. I plan on reading some more in this series 'cause this was a ton of fun.


[May 2012 Review]
Still gets 4 stars from me. Could have had a little more action and less eggheads discussing quantum mechanic theory.

But marines, aliens, guns and scientists. Plus Mimi and Tuffy. Just good stuff.




Ninja High School by Ben Dunn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A light romp through American manga.

Jeremy Feeple has to deal with aliens, ninjas and girls who don't like him yet do.

Many, many little instances of anime peeking through made this a much richer experience. I laughed my head off at every instance of Robotech that came forth.

I read a poorly scanned copy on my tablet, so can't really judge the quality, but it is good enough to keep my attention.






Ninja High School Pocket Manga #2 (Ninja High School by Ben Dunn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Still funny and harem'ish.

I have to say, I was surprised at the amount of nudity, even if it was not graphic. Probably one more reason why Dunn went the small press route.

Anyway. This just had several small, stand alone stories. No one storyline. Just Feeple and co interacting. Almost a slice of life, but manga parody style :)



Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
Ebook, 512 Pages
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Read February 2010
Re-Read May 2012

[February 2010 Review]
A world where humans have carved for themselves an empire in a hostile world. Led by the First Lord, humans have the powers of 'furies' to enhance them.

This follows one young man from his beginnings as a humble shepherd in the outer stretches of the empire as he saves the region, makes an alliance with a hostile race and is given patronage by the First Lord to attend the Academy.[ as a humble shepherd in the outer stretches of the empire as he saves the region, makes an alliance with a hostile race and is given patronage by the First Lord to attend the Academy. (hide spoiler)]

Very well done. Good characterization, intriguing novel plot and an overarching plot.


[May 2012 Review]
Still a 5 Star book. I wondered, right before I began, if I was doing the right thing in re-reading it; maybe it wouldn't be so good upon reflection, maybe the unknown made it better [see my review of Hunters of Dune], maybe, maybe, maybe.

Thankfully, Butcher is a consumate writer and this shines through.
Humor entwined with the horror of humanity [rape, even non-graphic, just makes me want to throw-up. To me it symbolizes everything that is wrong with humanity], action based around and on characters who persevere.

My appreciation for wordsmithing goes up this time. I didn't have the "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, this is so awesome!" feeling that I did in my first reading, BUT I really enjoyed how Butcher gives us just enough about the world to clue us in without either overwhelming us with info dumps or leave us completely feeling lost in a maze of a world (That's a smackdown to YOU, Steven Erikson)

And I like fantasy better than urban fantasy, so this suits my tastes MUCH better



Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Ebook, 289 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read this originally back in the 90's and remember being blown away, especially by the "twist" at the end.

Reading it again, it almost hurt.

How Ender is treated, used, etc, is just brutal. It is rationalized by the characters, but you can tell that the author isn't saying it is ok. The fights, the killings, the loneliness, the complete lack of sympathy, his awful brother, it just made me want to take him into my arms and cry for him.

Excellently written. Humanity on the cusp of extinction, yet preparing to self-destroy themselves the moment that cusp is behind them.

The reason I didn't give this 5stars is because of the ending. The rise of the Speakers of the Dead, the narrative was different enough, the subject matter so different, that I felt rather jarred reading it. Even though it made sense. It just didn't seem to fit with what came before.






Batman: Nine Lives by Dean Motter

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


While I am a BIG fan of the Elseworlds stories, I am NOT a big of Noir Comics. They are dirty, brutal, un-inspiring and for me, the storylines never catch my interest.

So we get to follow Dick Grayson, P.I., as he tries to solve the murder of Selina Kyle [based on the Ertha Kitt version of Catwoman] and ends up finding out that Bruce Wayne is batman.

Whoopee...






Batman: Nosferatu by Jean-Marc Lofficier

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Another Elseworld story.

While I thought the art was atrocious [it was purposeful, but that doesn't mean I have to like it], the story was engaging.

Especially how it contrasted and compared Superman to Batman, one a son of light, the other a servant of the dark.



The Anderson Tapes by Lawrence Sanders
Ebook, 300 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


If this is the book that launched Sander's career, then I have nothing but disgust for his fans.

Anyway, this was a voyeur's heaven. Listening in on partial conversations, twisted sex, crime planning, etc.

Wasn't much of an interesting story to me. Your mileage may vary.







Luna Marine: Book Two Of The Heritage Trilogy by Ian Douglas
Ebook, 416 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This author is phracked up.

Starts out with a scene of a 17 year old boy wanking off to his hacked A.I., which is why I gave this the sexually-graphic tag.

Then lots of swearing by marines at the beginning, which once again tapers off the more we go on.

Then lots of boringness. Seriously, do I need a whole page describing how the space marines are checking each other's suits? Or what a stupid space assault vehicle looks like, line by line?

Then the political/philosophical/religious chatter. Oh my goodness.

I wanted a good action story from this author and was lead to believe that was what I was going to get. Nope, not a chance. Instead, I get some pinhead's borked up attempt.

I will read the final book in the trilogy, but won't be reading more. Which I find sad, as I know there are at least 6 more books by this author, and regular scifi is hard to come by these days.



Orb Sceptre Throne by Ian C. Esslemont
Ebook, 605 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Segulah.

I thought they would be the untouchables. The perfect race of peoples untouched by the cloud of despair and shame that Erickson and Esslemont visited upon every other race.

I should have known better.

And yet another Tyrant rises. And we find it out WHY tyrants kept rising in Darujistahn. Which is good, because my first reaction to another tyrant was "great, a copy of the end of Gardens of the Moon".

And lots of other things going on. I do wish that Esslemont would stick to 2-3 plot threads. I prefer his writing that way. Let me get pissed off at Erikson for the big stuff...







Lords of the Middle Dark by Jack L. Chalker
Ebook, 300 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I have to wonder if Chalker just wants to see lots and lots of lesbian sex or something.
Not there was any graphic anything, but it seems like he [Chalker] is always turning his characters into females who are already with a female.

That or he has "boob envy".

Anyway. Think:
Skynet took over, but didn't wipe us out. It had to protect us, even from ourselves. But there is a master set of keys to turn off the Master System and release humanity back into its own control.

This book sets up the band of characters who will challenge Master Control [Tron reference for all you uninitiated].

Amerindian, Caribbean, Asian culture, with little to no European or African influence. Interesting.







Secrets by John Jackson Miller
Ebook, 32 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The last of the Lost Tribe of the Sith short stories.

What happens when the Sith run out of things to conquer? They fall apart. This story shows that in spades, and that the Sith leaders are aware of this weakness.

Kind of a fizzle of an ending to this little series however.



Apocalypse by Troy Denning
Ebook, 496 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


For such a drawn out series, with a whole planet of Sith and a being of almost immeasurable power, this just sizzled fizzled.

Abeloth never struck me as a good antagonist. It was over the top, silly and then completely beatable.

And then to find out it was all about wanting a family, a made up family? It was like someone took the worst Freudian example they could and stuck it in the Star Wars universe.

This series SHOULD have been about the Sith. And it wasn't. and it was disappointing.

I think that sums up my feelings for this whole Fate of the Jedi: Disappointing. I had strong hopes from the first book, but then it all just went downhill.



Her Majesty's Wizard by Christopher Stasheff
Ebook, 342 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This reminded me very much of Gordon R. Dickson and his dragon series.

Then you hit the theology/philosophy. If Stasheff isn't Catholic, then he's doing a fantastic job of pretending to be one.

And this book is a good example of why overt Spirituality in fiction doesn't appeal to everyone.

I believe in God, and this turned me off. Not in a bad way, but it just felt like Stasheff was preaching at me instead of telling a story. And I did not read this book to get preached at.

Doubt I'll read any more.



Night of the Soul Stealer by Joseph Delaney
Ebook, 189 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Considering that it hasn't even been a year, poor little Apprentice has had to put up with a lot!
And while he certainly makes some dumb mistakes, I don't get pissed off at him. He is 12/13, for goodness' sake. I blame Spook.  He never tells his apprentice anything fully, always shuts down his questions and then expects miracles out of him.

But everything turns out ok in the end. Which is very important, cause it seems like things are going to get real bad soon...








Mindstar Rising by Peter F. Hamilton
Ebook, 383 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I had heard of Peter Hamilton and associated his books with huge tomes of Hard Science [fiction]. And some of the people who talked about him weren't the kind of people I really wanted to get book suggestions from, so I had put off reading him.

I am glad I chose this trilogy to start. I was really impressed with this book.

It was a good scifi action book that didn't overwhelm me. Greg Mandell came across as the worn out ex-specialist that he is. Him marrying, at the end, a busty redhead with a muscular body, who is almost half his age didn't hurt anything either.

Julia, billionaire heiress, was a good counter to Mandell's world weariness. Her youthful energy, drive and desire to overcome everything helped lighten the overall tone of the plot.

The overall plot, of the giving of a tech company over to Julia, while other consortia do their best to make her fail, and Mandell being all psychic [he has a gland that helps him to read other's surface thoughts] was thoroughly enjoyable.

While I gave this the cyberpunk tag, and I do think it deserves it, it is more along the lines of subdued England First cyberpunk. England is taking over the tech world, not the japanese. But all the other marks of CP are there: inflation, money, drugs, guns, computer hookups of all kinds; they just simply aren't as IN YOUR FACE as say Snow Crash. For which I am thankful.






A Quantum Murder by Peter F. Hamilton
Ebook, 384 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a classic "locked room" mystery. But on a much larger scale.

And it deals with implanting memories and is totally based on the premise that a mind can be recreated in another human and hence that human becomes the first person who's mind it was.
(Which is bogus, because we are more than our memories. But I digress.)

The Mandell's are farmers, enjoying the bucolic life, trying to forge a new life together. Then they get dragged into a murder mystery and wormholes, and FTL and psychic glands all get involved.

While sex was hinted at, not so subtly, in the first book, in this book we have a scene or two that stop just short of the explicitly graphic. Which doesn't bode well for Book 3.







Strata by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dtb, 192 Pages
If you ever wondered how Discworld came into existence [I mean, was God having an off day or something?], this is the book for you.

It is a science fiction book, much along the same lines as The Dark Side of the Sun, especially in that Pratchett's humor is noticeably toned down, to almost non-existent.

This was not a "funny" book. There were instances of humor, but overall it wasn't one rollicky joke after another.

Interesting to read, and if you are Discworld crazy, or a complete'ist, you'll have to read this. Otherwise, put it on your TBR list near the bottom.







Lilith: A Romance by George MacDonald

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Ebook, 220 Pages
I was confused for just about the whole book. It didn't help that I apparently read a poorly laid out gutenburg edition, I could never tell when scenes switched until a paragraph or two into the scene.

But overall, I was just bloody confused. I know MacDonald is a wordy son of a gun, and a supposedly deep theologian, but I simply could not follow this book.

I suspect that it would take 2-3 more readings for me to be able to piece things together. And I don't know if I want to put that much effort into it. That and the hints of Universal Reconciliation put me off a bit.





MONTHLY TOTALS
15 Novels
1 Short Story
4 Graphic Novels/Manga
5347 Pages

April '12

The Tenth Commandment by Lawrence Sanders

Dtb, 385 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The over-arching whine here seems to be that the main character is short; almost 5'4", or 162cm. So yes, he is short, but the way he describes it, he uses words like midget, etc and is always bemoaning his lack of stature or his small overall mass.

If you don't know me well, let me tell you why this really bothered me. I am 5'3". I've been the short guy since 7th grade. But did I whine about it? No. I DID something. Starting in highschool I worked out and by the time I ended college, I was benchpressing 175lbs, which when considering I weighed 125lbs, is something I am still pleased about. I ran and trained until I could jump high enough to touch the rim of a basketball net [dunks were out of the question], I could spike a volleyball [not well, but I was ABLE] and if anyone tried to physically intimidate me, I did what I needed to to even the odds and got right back in their face. [now, don't get me wrong, I wasn't going around picking fights, or looking for trouble, nor did I have the proverbial "something to prove", I just wasn't going to accept crap from anyone].

So when I read about someone who is smarter than me, taller than me, complaining about height and physical ability, it just doesn't ring true.

Now on to everything else.

I have not read much in the 'mystery' genre. It is too much like real life and I read to escape for the main part. But I was with my wife in the library and had forgotten my ereader at home, so I just grabbed a random book off the shelf and began to read. I'd read close to 50 pages by the time it was time to go, so I just checked it out.

Interesting, but not interesting enough that I'll go seek out more by the author. The main character seemed to do nothing but work, or go out and eat and drink with one girl or another. And in the end ends up with some tall girl, which he makes a big deal about. Geez, if you love someone, do you really notice that kind of thing? Other people might, but do you?

I found the 'mystery' to almost be the smallest part of everything. It was tangential to everything, so it had an excuse to hang around. But the double murder/scam/etc,etc, etc, wasn't brilliant or thought provoking or even really 'mysterious'. Maybe I don't know enough about mysteries? Wouldn't surprise me, to be honest.

So I don't feel like I wasted my time, not at all, but next you see me, I won't be talking your ear off about this great mystery book I just read :)



Star Wars: Riptide by Paul S. Kemp

Ebook, 199 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While Crosscurrent had some originality, this story was nothing but a whore-story for the Fate of the Jedi sub-series.

Part of me didn't mind, because it fleshed out the baddy in FotJ, but Kemp kept throwing around "Thrawn-era" like it was a magic term and would make us the readers love his story through word-association instead of for its own merits.

And since the ending was so open ended, it will either have another book after it, or something in Apocalypse will make this necessary reading for the hardcore Star Wars fan.



 
Predator: Cold War by Nathan Archer
Ebook, 190 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Half the book seemed to be taken up with memories of the previous book, or the movie Predator II. I don't know which, as I haven't read Concrete Jungle nor seen PredII. Either way, it felt like Archer was just padding the wordcount.

Very little action between humans and predators. I think there was more fighting between humans. The predators were almost ancillary to the story, and since it is their name emblazoned across the cover, they should have played a bigger part.

This wasn't poorly written, just dashed together with little thought. Kind of like how an expert house painter might rush things for his poor relative-not a bad job, but not a real good job either. Just "meh".



Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, Volume 02 by CLAMP

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I thought my heart would break when Sakura woke up and asked "Who...Are You?"




Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney
Ebook, 158 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I first saw the cover, my first thought was Ranger's Apprentice! but for magic?

So I kind of went in with high expectations because the Ranger's Apprentice series was fantastic.

This turned out to be pretty good. At first I was kind of surprised by the actions of the main character,but I just kept reminding myself that he was what, 11, 12 or 13? And as long as I reminded myself of that, it was no longer surprising.

I think Delaney does a fantastic job of showing us the sad and lonely side of the life of a Spook. When his sister-in-law talks to him near the end, it really crashed home, for the character as well as for the reader. Spooks are alone, period.

I also liked the possibility of redemption hinted at for the young witch. Redemption themes always get points from  me.



Small Favor by Jim Butcher
Ebook, 432 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


While Harry got his ass handed to him SEVERAL times, and just generally got the snot kicked out of him, the tone wasn't as fatalistic as some of the previous books.

I enjoyed this, but not enough to reread or buy. So about on par with the others.




Jumper: Griffin's Story by Steven Gould
Ebook, 286 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Unfortunately, though Gould decides to write another Jumper story, this was pretty much a copy of the earlier Jumper books, but with more death, violence and sex.

Deals with 9 year old Griffin, who can jump. He is being targeted for elimination by a mysterious group. Needless to say, he ends up moving out by his lonesome into the middle of the desert.

And right at the end, when he's 17'sh, he starts taking the fight back to the enemy. and then bam, it just ends.

Since this was written in '07, I doubt we'll be seeing any more if a sequel hasn't come out by now. Which is too bad, cause it would have been nice to see a violent psychopathic Jumper kick some Secret Society Butt.



Curse of the Bane by Joseph Delaney
Ebook, 201 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

We find out much more about Tom's mother, the Spook's past and there are more collisions/intersections with Alice.

The only thing that kind of pissed me off was the continual downing of the priests. Spook keeps saying "let them stick to what they know and are good at" but that is never specified. Just a continual bombastic blast against them.

If I was reading this with a young person, that above point would be a wonderful springboard for talking about some deep theological issues though. So it isn't necessarily bad.


Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, Volume 03 by CLAMP

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Now we know why CLAMP is drawing everyone with such freakish'ly long legs, so they can have leg battles and not have to worry about drawing more indepth whole body battles.

At first I thought the imprisoned magical entity was another version of Yuko, ultra-thin, ultra-bust.



Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, Volume 04 by CLAMP

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
We begin to see the price Syaoran is going to have pay. So melancholy.







Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, Volume 05 by CLAMP

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Syaoran doesn't have one eye, and his memories stop before a certain point. Hmmm, sounds like something the Time/Space Witch Yuko would do, doesn't it?





Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, Volume 06 by CLAMP

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While I understand that Sakura has lost her memories, why does she have to be such a non-character? In CCS she was a little spitfire with a can-do attitude.

It feels like Syaoran is more the main character. Which maybe he is?






Caught in Crystal by Patricia C. Wrede
Ebook, 294 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I definitely enjoyed this story the most of all the Lyra novels I've read so far.

There didn't seem to be so much a tie in with the other novels though. I wasn't sure when this was taking place.

And once again, this seemed like Wrede was copying Andre Norton's style, for fantasy.





Monster Hunter Vendetta by Larry Correia
Ebook, 450 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Where as Monster Hunter International started off with a bang and then kind of just petered out, Vendetta starts with bang and then relentlessly pounds the reader with one battle after another until the very end, where there is a great big mother-phracking battle. Almost one long, ongoing battle.

And I loved it.

There was no gun porn, no contrived romance'y stuff, nothing that wasn't essential to the story. I felt like my backside was kicked the whole time. And Owen steps up and stops whining.

Agent Franks. Even when the reveal happened, I didn't get the play on words with his name until AFTER I was done the book. Very clever, in a simple punny way.

Overall, this was a much more enjoyable read than the first one. Looking forward to the final book now...




High Lord by Trudi Canavan
Ebook, 544 Pages
My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Dannyl and Tayend. Enough said.








The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven
Ebook, 560 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A first contact novel.

I liked that humanity was not portrayed as either the evil brainless aggressor or the helpless victim.
We deal with another sentient race that is as clever and duplicitous as we are. And we win, apparently.

Not a fast paced action book. Almost more along the lines of Rendezvous With Rama, where it is more about ideas than the action, but there was some action. Enough to keep me interested anyway. Probably will read the sequel, The Gripping Hand this year.




Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, Volume 07 by CLAMP

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I started getting bored and nothing really stuck out. Which is how I seem to remember the series going. Hopefully I have mis-remembered.




Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, Volume 08 by CLAMP

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The stories are starting to be broken up among the volumes, ie, we get the last of Story X in the beginning of Volume 8, then are only partway through Story Y at the end of Volume 8.

I realize it will help with the sale of the books, but it really makes it hard to remember specific lands when it is broken up across multiple books.

If it weren't for white mokona, the characters would be pretty flat and uninteresting.



Semper Mars by Ian Douglas
Ebook, 384 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


When I first started this, the profanity/obscenity word count was so high that I wondered if I would be able to finish the book.
Then it just dramatically dropped off, for no reason. I am glad it did, but I wish the author had started that trend earlier, like at page 1.

Anyway, if you like the military, hate the U.N., think the United States, Great Britain and Russia are the cat's pajamas AND think aliens are cool [whether they be benevolent or malevolent], then this book is FOR YOU!

Many instances of the author going into detail about something [a gun, a maneuver, some world politic idealogy] that didn't really interest me. Just tell me the gun shoots caseless bullets. I don't care that it can shoot XXXX number per second and go through XXXX in XXXX minutes. And I really don't care about the details of how you fight on Mars [lower gravity] or a Space Station by using your gun as a weapon AND a propellant. Just tell me you do it and I am satisfied.

Now on to why I actually liked this.

This was a setup book. We are introduced to a world that many Right-wing Americans [me included] foresee and fear.

Mars is the new frontier with the discovery of an ancient civilizations ruins.

And it all comes down to: are United States Marines as bad ass in space and on Mars against corrupt United Nations bootlicking soldiers as they are on Earth?

The answer is a resounding YES!

From multi-week hikes across the Martian desertscape to Beer Bombs [and those made me laugh out loud], nothing can completely beat down a United States Marine. And don't you forget it.

Thankfully there are several main characters that are family, so it looks like the series will be about a family, which provides nice continuity. Looking forward to the rest.



Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight
Ebook, 384 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A fantasy story from the Dragons' perspective.

I found this coming of age story very interesting. Our protagonist does lots of travelling, giving the reader a much broader view of the world that EE Knight has created. Elves, dwarves, blighters, humans and dragons.

A very complicated world with the balance of powers constantly shifting and each race in some way created to counter-balance the others. Humans are doing what they do best, taking over. So why the other races don't just band together to stop them is beyond me. but of course a "real" world wouldn't be that simple now would it?

So you get factional fighting as well as racial wars. And this one dragon has to survive it all.



Dragon Avenger by E.E. Knight
Ebook, 384 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Follows the other sibling who survived the initial assault by the Firewheel dwarves.

This book seemed to really bring home just how chaotic everything is. Nations falling apart, uprisings, villages becoming new kingdoms, etc, etc.

And lots of betrayal. It made my wonder why the dragons hadn't setup their own kingdom by now and even though an ancient dragon kingdom was touched upon, it just didn't seem "right" that they hadn't tried to band together.

The whole "stallion syndrome" is explained. But I have to say, if a creature won't change, it deserves to die. Makes it really hard to empathize with the dragons to be honest.



Wild Cards I by George R.R. Martin
Ebook,  496 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I like the premise, about aliens using our planet as a testing lab and the results.

Didn't care so much for a jaded alt-history left leaning retell.

This just reminded me of Watchmen, in that the super powered are simply flawed humans. I don't like that.



Lio's Astonishing Tales: From the Haunted Crypt of Unknown Horrors by Mark Tatulli


A collection of comic strips.

Some made me laugh. But the lack of text didn't work so well for me. There were multiple times where I had no idea what the artist was trying to do and had to resort to the commentary [bleh].

Definitely my kind of humor though.



Hunters of Dune by Brian Herbert
Dtb, 528 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Read 2007 4 Stars
Read 2012 3 Stars

[2007 Review]
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.


[2012 Review]
I feel like I am being generous in giving this a 3 star for this re-read.
Now that the "Oh Wow, a Finish!" shine has been wiped from my eyes/mind, the mechanics of the writing shine through.
And that is NOT a good thing. Baby Herbert and Anderson are simply not the wordsmith's that Frank Herbert was.  Not to say that it is terrible writing, but it is blase and doesn't have the gravitas that Frank's writing did.

Storyline-wise, it is plodding with some excitement. If one had not read the prequel books by Baby Herbert and Anderson, the reveal about the ancient enemy would have fallen completely flat or gone over your head. It seems to me that Frank would have brought about this in a completely different way, as there were no references to any specifics about the robot empire of the Butlerian Jihad era.


Overall, I don't know if I want to read this book again, as I would be afraid I degrade it another star upon that reread.



Wild Cards II: Aces High by George R.R. Martin
Ebook, 336 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Instead of dealing with old lefty politics, we move up to the Eighties and an alien invasion.

Find out a bit more about the bigger universe this storyline inhabits.

The short story format just isn't really working for me. To much jumping around, with lots of details simply inferred. There were times I had to backup to make sure I hadn't missed a whole story or something.

I'll probably read one more as I am enjoying this series, just not really enjoying it. And I'd rather try new books





Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Ebook, 86 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I saw the movie first, let me be clear. So I was continually comparing the book to it.

On the whole, this was a creepy little story for children. I wonder if part of the creepiness is because as an adult, I find anything that a child has to deal with as creepy.

I also wonder if I would read this to my [hypothetical] child.

this was a stripped down story, as opposed to the movie. I actually like the movie better :)
but it was a good introduction to Neil Gaiman [as opposed to [book:American Gods|4407]]






The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie
Ebook, 466 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This started out very funny, Wodehouse'ian humor. Then it ruined it for me by getting all serious and political.

And the entire Ronny/Sarah thing [ie, who does he choose], the "does she love me, does she not love me", just turned me off.



Monthly Summary
19 Novels
8 Manga/Graphic Novels
6763 Pages

March '12

The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1) by J.R.R. Tolkien

Ebook, 480 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I went into this reading with more of an eye towards "does it live up to the its fanboy hew and cry and my memories of over a decade ago?".

My first re-impression was how much like a history this was, as opposed to a modern/typical fantasy.
There are lots of songs, poems, characters declaiming whatever. I did not remember that.
History lessons kept interrupting the plot flow. You'd start down a rousing good path and then bam!, someone would start talking about something or somebody thousands of years ago that has a very tenuous connection to what is going on now. It might give greater depth to the world, but I felt like things like that could have been inserted a bit less jarringly.

Now, this book makes clear how much a wordsmith Tolkien was. Sentences, paragraphs, etc, flowed like water over stones. Tolkien used his words to great effect, in creating the underscored terror of the Nazghul, to the cheek and courage of the hobbits, to the weariness of Strider, to the overweening pride and lust of Boromir. What made Tolkien write those songs/poems mentioned above was what ennabled to him write these characters so that you BELIEVED they were real. You love them, you laughed at them, you groaned at them, you howled in outrage at them. But they were not cardboard and 2 dimensional.

Another aspect I liked was how Tolkien hints at a MUCH vaster history of the world but does not hint in such a way as to distract from the main plotline. And since I know about The Silmarillion, The Book of Lost Tales, Part OneThe Book of Lost Tales, Part Two, and Christopher Tolkien, if I so choose, I can go exploring Middle Earth another time, albiet in a much drier way.

I also found myself wishing I had a dictionary handy [I read it on my Sony 505, which has no built in dictionary] as Tolkien used words that were either out of style or 'english' [as opposed to 'american']. I was able to figure most things out by context, but his writing is getting old enough, and he was a lover of old languages anyway, that a dictionary would be helpful.

Compared to The Hobbit, this was definitely not as whimsical, as childlike nor as happy go lucky.

This book is definitely 2-3 steps above maturity-wise. And that is a good thing. We the reader are dealing with a much greater plot of import than in the Hobbit, and so the tone is appropriate.

So, while it doesn't live up to the ZOMG! hype, it lives up to my expectations as a serious, well written [most important in my book, hahahaa] fantasy story with defined lines of good and evil.



Wizard's Hall by Jane Yolen

Dtb, 133 Pages
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was completely charmed by this book. I know part of this was because I was a bit tired and jaded from some of the rather heavy tomes [physically and philosophically] I've gone through in the past couple of months.

This was just a breath of fresh, simple air after the heavy perfumes and extremely complicated "smells" of other books. A simple draught of clean spring water after a surfeit of wine, beer, ale and sparkling juices.

Henry is a poor schlup who just tries, and succeeds. No epic quests, no hidden evil cousin/father/son/mother/aunt, etc, etc hidden in the wings to pop out and extend the story.

A simplistic story about a boy that made me grin. I don't know if I'll ever read this again, but I am glad I came across this little gem.



The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

Ebook, 336 Pages
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Where Fellowship of the Ring felt like a history in many respects, Two Towers just kicked butt.

Chases, battles, hoards of orcs, warriors, Gollum. It felt like a whirlwind of action. I especially enjoyed Strider, Legolas and Gimli's chase of the hobbits.

One thing I noticed. In the movie, the orcs blow a hole in the wall at Helm's Deep, and I was like "Yeah, whatever. Not in the book, but cool". Well blow me down, but it IS in the book. Very understated and all, but there none-the-less. [tip 'o the hat to Mr Jackson]

So my verdict on this book? Better than the previous and a jolly well written book!



Chapterhouse: Dune by Frank Herbert

Dtb, 436 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ahh, Frank, to think this was your last book. The mysteries of Dune just beginning to truly unfold and you leave us.

So, this book delves even deeper into Herbert's sexual obsession. Everything in this story revolves around sex, or some sort of sexual perversion [addiction, child rape, etc].

If you can get past all that, there is actually a good story. Humanity has scattered into the great unknown after Leto II's stifling influence is removed. Now a part of that scattered humanity has returned, bent on conquest and domination: The Honored Matres.

But as the story unfolds, we learn that all is not as it seems. Do the Honored Matres return for pure dominance? Or is there another, a deeper, more chilling reason? One that the Million Worlds SHOULD be very afraid of?

Just as the tension ratchets up, the Bene Gesseret's plan for survival enacted, the book ends. And we are left hanging, wondering.

I can remember reading this in highschool, and feeling betrayed and wondering how an author could do such a thing as dying with a series unfinished. Ahh, the naivete of youth. Robert Jordan hadn't died, Rand Al'thor hadn't been in my mind yet. So this was my first experience with Story Interrupted.

And I stoically accepted it and let it scar my soul.



Percepliquis by Michael J. Sullivan

Ebook, 344 Pages
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Everything wraps up nicely. A dramatic buildup AND a happy ending.

And none of this "I'm happy, so somebody somewhere must be getting a knife in the back to compensate" angst.

Percepliquis was exciting. It was tense. And while critics and others might have analyzed things and realized things before I did, I had a great trip of discovery.

Man, I am SO glad the SFBC carries these in hardcover. They are a story worth being in hardcover!

And I would like to thank Liviu for introducing me to this series with his review of the first book, the Crown Conspiracy.

So Michael J. Sullivan, Thanks! It has been a great ride and I hope to be privileged enough to read more stories by you in the future.



The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

Ebook, 512 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This would have gotten a 5star except for the Appendices.

A great end fraught with danger, determination, steadfast loyalty, overwhelming odds and over it all the hero's tinge of melancholy.

Then I start in on the appendices. Tolkien let his History Buff streak break loose and I was so bored.



Star Wars: Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon by L. Neil Smith

Dtb, 181
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ok, this was more Lando and less Star Wars.
this book was written in '83. In what movie do we see Jabba the Hutt in all his ingloriousness and what year did that movie come out?
I am asking because one of the villians, while humaniod, really could have been almost a double for Jabba in how he was described.

So anyway, I am trying to figure out the plot of this story. From what I can gather, Lando gets invited to a super-casino, wins and is then double crossed somehow to help bring down a rich drug addict.
All the while trading english sounding banter with his robot friend.
This was not eye-rolling like say The Truce at Bakura, but you'd have to really like Lando a lot to recommend this to others.

I'll try to find the other 2 and see if the whole trilogy as a whole is blase, better or stinko!

And the ending? Can anyone say Han Solo Envy?



Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia

Ebook, 478 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Urban fantasy with Cthulthuic overtones and gun porn.

The action is incredible. The first chapter had me from the get-go. Hand to claw fighting? In a skyscraper office? Bring it on!

Then we get introduced to a 100+ year old organization dedicated to bringing home the monster bacon. However, they don't really seem to have learned much, as most of their tactics are along the "grab them by the balls and pull, HARD" variety instead of strategic plans meant to outthink their opponents.

The characterization was 2D, and because of that, so was the little romance side story.

The writing was amateurish, without polish. But I did not have to re-read sentences several times to try to figure out what the author was saying.

Gun porn. In spades. I almost went catatonic with boredom several times. But if you like knowing the spec's of guns, you will love this. And Christmas even comes TWICE for the main character.

Baddies. Mainly seem to deal with variety's of undead, which seem to be all in the Vampirric family, from the zombie who wants to eat brains, to the master vamps, who can practically be incinerated and still regenerate.
The main baddie has the Cthulthu tentacle thing going on, and you found out more about a different dimension, and Ancient Evil Ones. " A cthulthu by any other name...."

So I enjoyed this, but I doubt I will ever re-read it. I will read the final 2 books in the trilogy, as I want to know about the In-laws and Lycanthropes.



The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead

Ebook, 342 Pages
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Leylines made this fantasy for me.

While I enjoyed this overall, it seemed like the main male character didn't change AT ALL, while his erstwhile lost girlfriend seemed to become a completely different character all together.

And what the heck is up with Great-X-Grandpa not telling our little hero what the blazes is going on or how to use his power? Seems Gramps might have lost a couple of brain cells with all his jumping around.

I wouldn't buy this in paper. Not worth the room it would take up. But a fun romp for an afternoon's read on your ereader.



The Wicked Day by Christopher Bunn

Ebook, 363 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A big battle, people becoming Anbeorun, it all came together kind of fast.

But I still enjoyed this as much as the first one. In a different way. Where as The Hawk and His Boy, was focused on small events, Jute, this focused on all of Tormay and the battle against the dark.

And as is common among dual'istic fantasy, there is no final victory, only a staving off. Which leaves the author plenty of room to tell more stories, should he choose.



Tsubasa: Sakura and Syaoran Return, Vol. 1 by CLAMP

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Since the series is finished now, now I can read the whole thing without having to wait months or more for each book.

Having really enjoyed the CCS anime, seeing Sakura & Syaoran as young adults was great.

CLAMP does spectacular artwork here, even if it is a bit "line busy" for my taste.

And White Mokono makes me laugh almost as much as Black Mokono from XXXHoLiC Volume 1



Others by James Herbert

Dtb, 512 Pages
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I went into this expecting a horror story, as I had formed the impression that that was what Herbert wrote.

This was just sad. A mis-formed detective starts having dreams, visions about something horrible.

But it is so long leading up to that that I was bored. Then things get really rushed and then it ends.

There was nothing scary. There were some horrible things described, but nothing scary. So I am disappointed and doubt I'll read more by this author.


Monthly Summary
11 novels
1 graphic novel
4117 Pages