Bookstooge's Reviews On the Road

Sunday, June 28, 2015

King Solomon's Mines (Allan Quatermain #1) (Classic)

Review:

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.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.

Title: King Solomon's Mines

Series: Allan Quatermain

Author: Henry Haggard

Rating: 3 of 5 Stars

Genre: Classic

Pages: 228

Synopsis:

An "old" elephant hunter leads out 2 other englishmen and one Zulu in search of the fabled diamond mines of Solomon.

One of the englishman is in search of his brother who has been lost these several years and the Zulu has his own secrets.

Fighting Nature, fighting Man, fighting for survival. It all happens in this book.

My Thoughts:

With my reading mainly taking place in the realms of SFF, action and adventure are a given. So this historical novel had to live up to those modern expectations.

Also, the cultural attitudes were very much of the times and hence the Europeans were simply better. In everything. I would call it negligent racism, as opposed to hostile racism.

Overall, glad I read this but I won't be reading any more in this series. I need at least dinosaurs eating people in my classic adventures these days, something more than just exploring the world.

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1191698/king-solomon-s-mines-allan-quatermain-1-classic

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Homeworld (Odyssey One #3)

Review:

Title: Homeworld

Series: Odyssey One

Author: Evan Currie

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Genre: SFF

Pages: 507

Synopsis:

The other Political Bloc on Earth has created their own FTL ship and sent it off to explore an earth like planet.

Said spaceship runs into the Drasin and leads them to Earth.

It is now up to the Odyssey and its crew to save the Earth. If that is even possible against 2,000 Drasin ships.

My Thoughts:

Bloody fantastic. And spoilers galore.

This was pretty much one ginormous battle. We see the handlers of the Drasin for the first time and we see how the Drasin are being controlled, or not. Horrific really. Sentients sure are stupid, thinking they can control things that they really can't.

The battle for Earth was awesome. Humanity pulling moves out of its collective butt and doing things that no other race has tried, and succeeding.

Which made the ending all the more poignant. If you've ever watched Titan, A.E., you know how this book ends. Or at least that is the impression the author gives. Earth falls, a remnant of humanity taking refuge with the Priminae and hope splutters out like a candle under a bucketful of water.

I am really looking forward to the final book in this series [even though there is another series Currie has started that takes place after this one and that series starts with King of Thieves].

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1191354/homeworld-odyssey-one-3

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Fireblood (Whispers from Mirrowen)

Review:

Title: Fireblood

Series: Whispers from Mirrowen

Author: Jeff Wheeler

Rating: 3 of 5 Stars

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 440

Synopsis:

The plagues continue to wipe out humanity. One man attempts to lead a talented group to the Scourgelands to wipe out what he thinks is the source of the plagues.

Only to fail horrifically and have everyone in his group but one wiped out.

Now, almost 20 years later, armed with the information gathered from last time, this man must try again, with the child of the final survivor and a disparate group.

But how can this group fulfill this mission when they don't trust each other, or even the man himself who set things in motion?

My Thoughts:

I really, really enjoyed Wheeler's Muirwood trilogy and so was looking forward to this a lot.

Unfortunately, the Young Adult really showed through in this. Wheeler is writing for the teen crowd and while nothing he does is wrong, it just isn't aimed at me.

A good adventure story with 3 semi-likable teens [and come on, anyone who has EVER had to deal with teens knows they aren't likeable all the time, no matter how great they may be] who are having their coming of age ordeal. The storyline is fun, the adventure fast paced and the characters interesting.

I just found myself wishing this was over too many times. I'll be reading the second book in this trilogy when I roll around to it again on my kindle. I'll be deciding if Wheeler is for me or not for the rest of time based on that book :-)

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1189164/fireblood-whispers-from-mirrowen

Friday, June 19, 2015

Deathstalker (Deathstalker #1)

Review:

Title: Deathstalker

Series: Deathstalker

Author: Simon Green

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Genre: SFF

Pages: 531

Synopsis:

Took this from the book page itself:

Owen Deathstalker, last of his line, is a quiet man, a historian, remote from the stench of corruption and intrigue surrounding the Iron Throne at the head of the galaxy-spanning, tyrannical Empire. And then, inexplicably, Deathstalker is outlawed, forced to flee from one end of the Empire to the other. And as he does so, he discovers that resistance is growing, everywhere, to the Iron Bitch on the Iron Throne.

That is actually a really good summary.

My Thoughts:

Space Opera! Pure, unalloyed, unadulterated, unashamed, Space Opera!

Corrupt Human Empire. Telepaths, other ESP'ers, clones, all without rights. Feuding lords. Rebels and Rebellion. Laser guns AND swords.

And just to make sure this was completely over the top, a spaceship that was also a stone castle. A Castle, In Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!

This was just fun to read. I did have to laugh, as the cover said something like "huge novel" or something [this was originally published in '95] and it was just over 500 pages.

Story-wise, this moved along very nicely from viewpoint to viewpoint and kept things fresh. Solid writing and good ideas made for a very good start to this series. And the revelations along the way promise to make the future books interesting as well.

I'm very satisfied with my read of this.

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1187056/deathstalker-deathstalker-1

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

The Yellow Silk (The Rogues #4) (Forgotten Realms)

Review:

Title: The Yellow Silk

Series: The Rogues, Forgotten Realms

Author: Don Bassingthwaite

Rating: 3 of 5 Stars

Genre: SFF

Pages: 320

Synopsis:

A trading ship is attacked by pirates and one of the traders has helped them.

Now a brother of said traitor must find out what happened and either kill his brother's killer or his brother himself.

And just to make things all ethnically ok, this is about a character from the eastern empire of Shou, where they just happen to have epicanthic folds, know martial arts and have all sorts of unusual weaponry.

So said Shou hooks up with a bard and they have an adventure.

My Thoughts:

Not bad at all. Token Asian character was so quick tempered and was always acting out that it pissed me off, but at least he wasn't some wizened Mr Myogi father figure.

It has been a while since I started this Rogues series so it is hard to compare this to the others, but I do know that I enjoyed this more than the previous one. This was an enjoyable one shot story that wrapped up just fine and was worth the time I spent on it.

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1185949/the-yellow-silk-the-rogues-4-forgotten-realms

Friday, June 12, 2015

The Zenda Vendetta (Time Wars #4)

Review:

Title: The Zenda Vendetta

Series: Time Wars

Author: Simon Hawke

Rating: 3 of 5 Stars

Genre: SFF

Pages: 210

Synopsis:

The Time Commando's head out to mop up the last of the time terrorists, who are hellbent on causing a time split and potentially ending the universe.

However, the Commando's don't have all the info, as their commander has held back some very personal revelations.

My Thoughts:

First book where I hadn't read the original book this was based on. To be honest, I don't feel like I missed a thing and I also have no desire to search and read The Prisoner of Zenda.

That rat Mongoose [how ironic] is finally killed for real.

This was mainly about the head of the Time Commando's, Forrester and how his past actions are coming back to bite him, and everyone else in his timestream, in the butt.

Passable action but not quite enough to take your attention away from the lack of characterization and overall b-list writing.

Mediocre is the best word I can use to describe this. Good enough to keep reading for awhile but it does mean that if things don't change, that this series' death knell has tolled.

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1183732/the-zenda-vendetta-time-wars-4

Thursday, June 11, 2015

The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft

Review:

Title: The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft

Series: -----

Author: H.P. Lovecraft, Leslie Klinger

Rating: 3 of 5 Stars

Genre: Horror

Pages: 1008

Synopsis:

A compendium of Lovecraft's stories with historical, geographical and misc data footnotes to make this a fuller experience.

My Thoughts:

First, I found the annotation to be completely useless. Being from New England myself, most of the geographic and historical data wasn't new to me and the bits that weren't, I didn't care about.

There were also pictures of places where stories took place. I don't care to see the "Fuller House, repaired in 1997".

A lot of the historical and literary annotations I knew about as well. I'm just well read and experienced enough that this stuff wasn't for me. I definitely wasn't the target audience for the annotations side of things.

Second, the quality of the stories varied so greatly that I wasn't sure what I was getting into from page to page. Some were incredible, some were just complete and utter stinkers. Sometimes I believed the horrorness of the "unnameable horror" and at other times I was rolling my eyes so hard that my glasses practically jumped off my face.

Thirdly, I really wish I had this back in my teen years. I found so many things that other books I've read referenced. It would have made for a much richer reading experience. However, better late than never and I look forward to finding future Lovecraftian influence in the horror books I read.

Finally, I don't regret the time I spent on this monster book but I do wish more of the stories had been of higher caliber.

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1183305/the-new-annotated-h-p-lovecraft

Tuesday, June 09, 2015

Dark Intelligence (Transformation #1) (Polity)

Review:

Title: Dark Intelligence

Series: Transformation, Polity

Author: Neal Asher

Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars

Genre: SFF

Pages: 416

Synopsis:

Penny Royal, a rogue A.I. that went black after the Human/Prador war, is back. It should be dead.

One man and one woman, working with and against each other and Penny Royal, seek it out to find out what has happened.

But how do you fight an A.I. that can turn you into another creature or change your very memories?

That is what Spear and Satomi must figure out if they want answers to their questions and an end to their quest for vengeance against Penny Royal.

My Thoughts:

I love Neal Asher's Polity books. Hard Technology [as opposed to High Fantasy] and ultra-violence all wrapped into a thrill ride where you don't know which way is sideways or how you'll get there.

I always know I'll enjoy these books and hence tend to save them. But at some point I just have to start eating and then I enjoy every minute of it.

Even though the book is ostensibly about Penny Royal, everything is through the eyes of Spear and Satomi, both whom have been wacked by Penny in one way or another. So it starts out as a Quest for Vengeance type story but as you read along, both Spear and Satomi realize that things don't quite add up. By the end of this book [it is supposed to be a trilogy] it appears that this story is a story of Redemption and making things right. However, my experience with Asher leads me to believe that the convolutedness of this story is JUST beginning and that I still don't have a clue as to the End Game.

I did knock off half a star for the 2 unnecessary sex scenes. They weren't "explicit" but were graphic enough that I thought noting them was necessary. I also added the "Ultra-Violent" tag, but to be honest, I had to stop and think about it. So I'm either getting jaded or Asher is getting mellow.

To end, a really fun book that continues my love affair with Asher's Polity Universe.

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1182496/dark-intelligence-transformation-1-polity

Sunday, June 07, 2015

Visitors (Pathfinder #3)

Review:

Title: Visitors

Series: Pathfinder

Author: Orson Scott Card

Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars

Genre: SFF

Pages: 609

Synopsis:

Rigg, Noxon, Umbo and the others all do their own things to try to save the planet Garden.

Noxon returns to earth. Rigg and Umbo try to save one of the Walls and set things up for yet another wall and the facemask'ers.

Time and Causality bend, change, trade places and generally act in such a way that I am thankful we humans don't have to deal with those actions and their consequences.

My Thoughts:

It has been 2 years since I read Ruin but to be honest, it feels like 2 months ago. I knocked off a half-star because I'm not sure how these books overall will stand up to re-reads.

Some of the other reviews I'd read stated that the readers were disappointed in the ending and so I was not really excited about this. Thankfully, this was on the same level as the previous 2 books, finishes the trilogy very nicely and still gave me lots of action and rationalistic beings acting rational.

Thank goodness.

Card put a lot of thought into the exigencies of time travel and how it would work AND what the moral implications of such would be. Like I said about the other books, this was a cool rush of cold water. Especially when I see all the crap out there about teens and romances and such. I want to scream out "Use your brains!!!" but obviously the characters in aforementioned books can't do such, because their authors aren't using theirs.

And if you're thinking that is slam, it certainly is.

A lot of ideas from Ender's Game are present, such as genocide, right and wrong, absolutes vs morals of the moment, etc. Also, if you're expecting tense expectation, forget it. We're dealing with multiple time travelers here, all of who want the same thing and are working towards the same goal.

Overall, I enjoyed this trilogy, am glad I bought them in hardcover and am glad that Card can still write some good stuff.

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1181400/visitors-pathfinder-3

Monday, June 01, 2015

May '15 Roundup

This month was a great month because I set myself the goal of deliberately DECREASING my reading goal and I wasn't sure how it was going to go. However, I was successful and only read 10 books. Considering that 3 of those were manga as well, I feel really good.

I was hoping to keep it in the single digits, but Memorial Weekend did me in, as I had lots of time to do nothing.

So without further ado...

1) The Last Aerie 3 Stars

2) Wednesday's Wrath 3 Stars

3) xxxHolic: Rei Vol. 1 3 Stars

4) xxxHolic: Rei Vol. 2 3 Stars

5) Lyon's Pride 1 Star

6) Disciple of the Wind 4 Stars

7) To War, MSG:O Vol. 6 4.5 Stars

8) Thermal Thursday 3 Stars

9) Crystal Dragon 4 Stars

10) War of the Sons 2.5 Stars

So overall, this month was a net gain and not a net loss star-wise.

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1177705/may-15-roundup