Shadowrealm (Twilight War #3) (Erevis Cale) (Forgotten Realms)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer

Title: Shadowrealm
Series: Twilight War, Forgotten Realms
Author: Paul Kemp
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 327


Synopsis:
Cale and Riven hook up with Rivalen, Prince of the Netharese, to stop the Shadow Storm from destroying all of Sembia. Revelations abound about Shar, Mask and Magadon's demon Father, Lord of the 8th Hell.

My Thoughts:
The end of Erevis Cale. He works with anyone he has to to recover Mask's missing piece of divinity and save Magadon's half soul.

Lots of fighting goes on, the End of the World Is Nigh goes on, Cale sacrifices himself for Magadon and general Forgotten Realm'ness goes on. Not a bad book to write a final review for 2014.

Of course, we never know for sure if Cale is really dead or just mostly dead [ha], but considering that his son has had an adventure in the last year or so with Riven and it's been 6 years since this book came out, I do think it is pretty safe to say that Erevis Cale is safely packed away :-)

Steadfast (Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier #4)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer

 Title: Steadfast
Series: The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier
Author: Jack Campbell
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 417


Synopsis:
Geary is being given the run-around by the Political Leaders, sent to put out one brushfire after another, in hopes to wear down his fleet and destroy him as a threat.
And Black Jack gets the job done but in the process discovers that Responsibility has been completely abrogated and a worse threat than the Enigma's maybe right in the midst of the both the Alliance and the former Syndic worlds.

My Thoughts:
I gave the previous book, Guardian, 3 stars because it felt kind of wishy washy to me.
Well, this book cleansed that feeling away in a wave of hell lance fire and pure awesome intrigue!

Geary continues to do his job while being actively worked against by his own government, even those friendly to him. The fact that he has not become Supreme Leader is a testament to Campbell's writing skills, as that would be the easy path and solve a LOT of problems.

Lack of overly detailed space  battles [like in the first 6 original Lost Fleet books] made this much more readable. It flowed easier, felt more polished and along with Imperfect Sword, really feels like Campbell [aka John Hemry] has come into his own as an author, almost like he's found his footing for his audience.

The ending. It was awesome! I'm sure more astute readers will pick up the foreshadowing, but it completely went over my head and so I was punching the air, almost yelling, when we find out about the new threat. I was just plain excited. Because Aliens are cool and all, but autonomous rogue A.I.'s have always had a soft place in my heart as being the best bad guys :-)

Crystal Soldier (Liaden)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer.

Title: Crystal Soldier
Series: Liaden Universe
Author: Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 400


Synopsis:
If you ever wondered HOW the Liaden Universe came about, what with the vague and cryptic hints we've received so far, this book begins to answer those questions.

My Thoughts:
Lee & Miller obviously have a thing for coupling tall women with shorter men. Makes me wonder if they've based their characters on themselves?

Anyway, I enjoyed this Liad book, just like all the others. Hint of romance, large dash of action, mix with some space & ground adventures, throw in some vagueness and slightly ominous hints and BAM, you have this book.

I was kind of hoping for a sequel to Balance of Trade, but this works. And I know that the next book will finish this duology and show the beginnings of the Liaden Universe.
Something to look forward to.

By Other Means (Hayden War Cycle #5)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer.

Title: By Other Means
Series: Hayden War Cycle/On Silver Wings
Author: Evan Currie
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 223


Synopsis:
The 'War' is over, Long Live the Cold War.
SOLCOMM is sending a ship and Diplomat to the Alliance, to hammer out the details of a cease-fire and to hopefully work towards a Peace.
Aida is sent along as Protection and to figure out how to exploit weaknesses in the Alliance so it doesn't turn its attention towards Sol and her children.
So how is Aida supposed to protect the Peace while at the same time trying to figure out how to get around said Peace?

My Thoughts:
First off, Currie has gone and officially changed the series name to On Silver Wings, and made the change retroactively to all the books.
Phrack Me! and gold-darn those Indies...

Second, the writing was MUCH improved and the run on sentences strung together by commas, while still present, were not in force like earlier books. However, sometimes Currie got a little too carried away and completely lost me in what he was trying to convey. He probably knew exactly what he was saying, but it sure didn't come across to me.

Thirdly, I liked the story. Not a lot of action, just like in previous books but enough to keep you reading. A bit of existential angst from Aida as she wonders how she will go on with all the death on her conscience, but it isn't to much and feels tacked on to give her 'character' or 'depth'.

Finally, I did enjoy this and do plan on reading more in the series as they come out. Wish Currie would release in other venues than just Amazon but I supposed that is where he's getting most of his money.

Sweet Myth-tery of Life [Myth Adventures #10)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer.

Title: Sweet Myth-tery of Life
Series: Myth Adventures
Author: Robert Asprin
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 136


Synopsis:
Skeeve must decide whether to marry the Queen of Possilton or take over the Kingdom. Goes on several dates to find out about women, brings the kingdom's finances up to snuff [with Bunny's help] and is generally very Skeeve-like.

My Thoughts:
Not as amusing as I'd hoped. Skeeve is really an idiot and sometimes that translates into "Hilarious" but other times it translates into "Skeeve is an idiot".
This was one of those Idiot times.

Skeeve is a great apprentice archetype, but he doesn't do well as the Leader. It is obvious that Bunny has a thing for him and somewhere in that tiny brain of his it seems that Skeeve has a thing for Bunny.  But to drag the series out, nothing gets resolved, of course.

Skeeve keeps getting limited by the choices presented to him.  He forgets, doesn't realize, etc just how powerful he is and that he can make his own mold instead of conforming to the mold others have cast for him. He needs a stiffer backbone and some self-confidence.

Asprin does write a funny story and parts of this were pretty good [the date with a vampire for one] and the whole thing with Gleep is good as long as you don't mind getting smacked across the chops with a foreshadowing glove [and for the most part, I don't. Smack away, sir, smack away].

I will be reading the next book very soon, as this one ends with Gleep apparently dead or dying with an arrow in him. Spoilered! [kind of like 'Arrowed!!!', for you Homestar Runner fans]

Scattered Suns (Saga of the Seven Suns #4) DNF @1%

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer.

Title: Scattered Suns
Series: Saga of the Seven Suns
Author: Kevin Anderson
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: ---


My Thoughts:
I am done with Anderson. Nothing in the first chapters of this book drew me on and given the track records of the previous 3 books, I thought it best to simply Abandon this book, this series and Anderson as an author.

Wanted to clear out my Currently Reading list and get all the reviews out of the way before the New Years.  Not a review really, but everything by Anderson just bores me.

Passenger to Frankfurt

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer

 Title: Passenger to Frankfurt
Series: -----
Author: Agatha Christie
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 250



Synopsis:
A vast worldwide conspiracy of Youth and Neo-Nazism arise. A middle aged man meets a woman in Frankfurt and becomes part of the campaign against said Youth Movement.
And then things wrap up.

My Thoughts:
This felt very disjointed and badly put together. Part of that was because I was expecting a Mystery and this was a kind of Political Thriller.

The middle/end suddenly seemed to solve everything where as in the beginning the group was bewailing the fact that this Movement was completely unstoppable. The Benevolent Drug, not sure why ANYONE thought it would be a good idea.

And finally, BAM, they get married. And the circumstances were as rough as the previous paragraph and this one. It left me feeling like I had somehow missed a huge chunk of the book.

Not cool.

Hellhole (Hellhole #1) DNF @41%

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer.

Title: Hellhole
Series: Hellhole
Author: Kevin Anderson, Brian Herbert
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: DNF


My Thoughts:
Started out ok, a typical SF Epic'y type story.
But as I read on, it became obvious as the sun that this was nothing more than a copy and klug'ing of Anderson's Saga of the Seven Suns series and Herbert's Dune prequels.

I am in the middle of the Seven Suns series right now and not enjoying it, as it is drawn out and boring. This had some life [thanks to Herbert] but the blatant rewriting of their same old ideas didn't do it for me.
If I had read this trilogy before starting the Seven Suns, I might have let the Dune'esque copycatness stuff go and enjoyed this. But once again, Anderson screws me over. Ballz to that.

So I just stopped. Not worth the aggravation AND repetitiveness...

Command Strike (Executioner #29)

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 Title: Command Strike
Series: The Executioner
Author: Don Pendleton
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 127



Synopsis:
Bolan continues his strike against the new King that Would Be, trying to protect Leo Turin AND keep Brognola safe.
All while in New York City in the middle of a Mafia meet.

My Thoughts:
Bolan kills mafia members, sets up and brings down others and generally causes mayhem and chaos.
A slightly longer term plan is beginning to appear but also, Bolan seems to be wearing down, accepting the fact that he can never destroy the Mafia, because he can't change human nature.

These will continue to amuse and be enjoyable as long as they don't become too introspective. Keep it to the guns and action...

Uncharted Stars (Murdoc Jern #2)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer

 Title: Uncharted Stars
Series: Murdoc Jern
Author: Andre Norton
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 232


Synopsis:
Murdoc and Eet are blacklisted by the Patrol and the Guild, so how are they going to survive? Kidnap a drunk former space pilot, hook up with an alien and solve the puzzle of where the Zero Stones come from of course!

My Thoughts:
This had to be some of the most stoic writing ever.

And Murdoc continues to distrust Eet, afraid that he'll take over his mind or use him or "something". He makes several stupid decisions on this alone and gets the whole crew in trouble.
But in spite of that, things were kind of rolling along, right up until the end,

where Eet, with the power of a whole planet of Zero Stones, turns into HER original form and is of course, a beautiful woman.

(hide spoiler)
I could not believe that. Both books were focused on friendship, companionship, duty, etc, etc without even a hint of romance. And then that. It was like taking a big bottle of Heinz Ketchup and squirting the whole bottle on a fillet mignon steak, to "make it palatable for everyone".
Kind of glad there are no more Murdoc Jern books so I won't even be tempted to read them.