Review: Sanctuary: Joust #3

Sanctuary: Joust #3 by Mercedes Lackey

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



My wife loves this series and reads it at least once a year, so about 2 years I bought them in hardcover for our personal library.

I discovered Lackey when I was in highschool and during college. I liked most of her storylines [when you're 17, everything is new] but found a lot of her material to be objectionable from a Christian standpoint. So I ended up being extremely wary of her works, as I felt like I was walking through a minefield every time I read one of her books. Now, being a bit more mature, I feel like those "mines" are more like dog poop "mines". If I step on them, they won't kill me, but they make me feel disgusting and then I need to go wash my feet off :)

Now that I've got all that out of my system, let write about the book itself. This was right on par with the previous two. Same pacing, same characters acting the same way, same gushing about dragons, same badguys being all "baddy".

My first thought when starting this was "why are they keeping the dragons around?" The group in Sanctuary doesn't seem to be planning on using the dragons as an army, aren't going to attack anyone, yet they spend enormous resources, in manpower, time and materials, keeping these dragons around and planning for more. They are gigantic pets!

Then things get going with Alta and Tia and the mages and everything wraps up pretty neatly and nicely. And I know that there is another book yet. So I ask my wife about the whole "dragon" question and she told me that the next book addresses that very issue; I also asked her WHAT the final book could be about, as it felt like this one really wrapped the series up. She just told me that the story moves to a wider scope than previously but still wraps up ok.

So final word is if you liked the previous 2 books, you'll like this. If you didn't, don't bother, this isn't some how magically "better" than them, it is the same :)



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Review: Wives and Daughters

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Having heard a lot about Gaskell, I was prepared for something similar to Jane Austen.

And in many instances, Gaskell fulfilled that expectation. This was a romance with the pre-requisite class distinction, harsh societal rules and busy bodies.

Unfortunately, it also had Molly, the main character. I like a "good" character, but I also want to read about a character who has some spine, some spitfire. In other words, Elizabeth Bennett. Molly reminded me of the main character from [b:Mansfield Park|45032|Mansfield Park|Jane Austen|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1309203298s/45032.jpg|2722329], a milksop.

And the non-ending, while full of promise that is pretty clear, is abrupt. I didn't realize that Gaskell had died before finishing this book. I didn't like it any better this time than when I read [b:The Mystery of Edwin Drood|329957|The Mystery of Edwin Drood|Charles Dickens|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1353743676s/329957.jpg|3058467] or when [a:Robert Jordan|6252|Robert Jordan|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1175475715p2/6252.jpg] died part way through the Wheel of Time series.

So I realize that I'm complaining a lot, but I did enjoy it. Just not as greatly as I expected.



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Review: Dark Force Rising

Dark Force Rising by Timothy Zahn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



You know, upon re-reading this, it wasn't as great as I remembered when I was in my 'teen/20's.

Don't get me wrong, this is a great Star Wars book [well, with competition like [book:Dark Nest Trilogy (Star Wars)|359773], that doesn't mean QUITE so much]. It is also classic Zahn. I've come to realize that Zahn doesn't do action real well. That is not his strongpoint. Ideas, character interaction and cool ideas are however.

And these aren't NEW anymore. When these came out, Episode 1 hadn't come out. The Clone Wars cartoon didn't exist. There weren't 200+ already written Star Wars books. So this fed the Beast Within. Now? No matter how good a meal is, it ALWAYS tastes better when you are hungry. I'm filled up. The last 20'ish years have seen me glutted, on the good and the bad.

I think that is a good thing because it means that Zahn laid down a foundation that has held up the EU even through some seriously stinky novels [[book:Darksaber|513210], oh my goodness, make me puke RIGHT NOW!].



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Review: Washington I.O.U.

Washington I.O.U. by Don Pendleton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Bolan takes on the Mafia, who are poised to take over Washington DC.

This series is supposed to be over the top in many cases, but when the takeover of the United States by one middle mafia member is the story, and the taking out of that one mafiosi is how the whole plan falls apart, well, forgive me the excessive eye rolling.

However, it is during this story that Bolan helps out and accepts help from Brognola, and the situation is setup for the future if Bolan decides to work for the gov't on a secret level.



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Review: Goblin Hero

Goblin Hero by Jim C. Hines

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



As much fun as the first book was, this wasn't quite as fun, but it explored another goblin character almost as much as Jig.

A fat gobliness who wanted to be a magician and hated Jig because he wouldn't teach her magic. And pixies, those evil little balls of light. I mean, who DOESN'T hate pixies? Grrrrr. Bad pixie, bad!

All in all, even though I didn't find this as "fun" as the first book, I did enjoy it just as much. Definitely have the 3rd and final book in my TBR pile...



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Review: The Emperor's Soul

The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Even though this was touted as a "novella", at around 100 pages, this is just as long as some of the Elric novels by Moorcock.

And I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've been on a roll recently with good books and for that I'm thankful. The afterwords by Sanderson places this in the [b:Elantris|68427|Elantris|Brandon Sanderson|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1316637512s/68427.jpg|2908871] universe, but it had been so long since I read it that I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. Even with all the runing going on :)

There is also a list of other short stories by Sanderson and this has whetted my appetite to track them down and read them as well.



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Review: And Then There Were None

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I've got a bunch of Agatha Christie books that I'm working my way through this year. And I randomly chose this one to read now.

It felt extremely familiar. And then I realized, I'd read this before. Back in the late 90's. Only, it was called 10 Little Indians. I don't know why the name changed, but I suspect the evil touches of Political Correctness.

Anyway, this was awesome! Murder, murder, murder. And all based on a nursery rhyme. And even on this re-read, it was just a lot of fun to see the story unfold again. Extremely recommended.



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Review: Captain's Fury

Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I originally read this back in '10 [ My First Review ] and thought it was fantastic.

This time, I just flew through this book. It was great. I enjoyed the danger, the fighting, the tactics, the relationships and the story.

I love the fact that Butcher makes Tavi act outside the circumstances set up for him by others. Of course, it pisses me off when Tavi is maneuvered into impossible situations by people who call him on breaking laws while they themselves are grossly violating the laws.

Huh, kind of like liberals. Dang, maybe Butcher will make me political yet!



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Review: Ruins

Ruins by Orson Scott Card

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



As good as the first book was, I wasn't sure if this book would live up to the premise of the first book, or lead me to a destructive crash like the starships from the first book.

Freaking fantastic. The same things that I liked about the first book are still here in this book. Rational people, figuring out their problems, figuring out WHAT their problems are and then doing something smart about it.

I was in the middle of [b:Wives and Daughters|383206|Wives and Daughters|Elizabeth Gaskell|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348267609s/383206.jpg|816009], and the estrogen floating in that book made my brain boil. So the cool, calm, calculating rationalism in this book was like a cold refreshing drink on a hot humid day. It might not be totally fair to base my rating on THIS book on how I was reacting to another book, but you know what? Anything that bumps UP a book is a good thing in my eyes.

Not that any of the characters in Ruins are perfect, far from it. There is plenty of interpersonal problems, lots of cat fighting [hahahahaha, you'll get just how amusing THAT statement is once you've read the book] and plenty of humanity showing in the group.

The intricacies of the plot, twisted even more so by Card's indepth look at Time Travel, is great. I've really enjoyed this and am looking forward to the rest of the series. I just hope doesn't pull a Jordan and die on us before he finishes the series, because I don't see a Sanderson waiting in the wings to wrap things up.



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Review: Eight Skilled Gentlemen

Eight Skilled Gentlemen by Barry Hughart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I enjoyed this book. I probably would have enjoyed it more and given it 5stars but for a few things.

All the versifying. Turned me off with it's repetition. Hostetler Tu's food rants. They were too long to be funny after the first one. They were just annoying.

Other than that, I really liked this book. Started out with a bang with monsters and vampires and plots, oh my! Reminded me a lot of the first book. I found the political intrigue just as interesting as the monster/myth hunting.

If you liked the previous books, you'll most likely like this one as well.



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