Tuesday, December 06, 2016

The Hermetic Millennia (Count to the Eschaton Sequence #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.com & librarything.com/catalog/BookstoogeLT by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.

Title: The Hermetic Millennia Series: Count to the Eschaton Sequence #2
Author: John Wright
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 400
Format: Kindle digital edition






Synopsis:

The smartest man in the world goes to sleep so he can survive until his wife comes back. However, his enemies, the Hermeticists, wake him up every couple of hundred years by running amok.
In the main story, Montrose is taken captive and used as a translator as his captors search for the Judge of the Ages, ie, Montrose. Montrose learns everything he can so he can wreak his awful and terrible vengeance upon these interlopers, only to realize in the very end that as smart as he is, he can still be outsmarted.
Ends on a cliffhanger.


My Thoughts:

I did not enjoy this as much as Count to a Trillion. Part of that was the dreamlike aspect of the sequence of time. It reminded me a lot of Wolfe's The Wizard Knight with it's asperger syndrome main character.  It was disconcerting to have chunks of time and events passed over and simply ignored, for no apparent reason.

The overview of humanity over 7000'ish years was really interesting. Each Hermeticist got their chance to create a humanity they thought were best. Each time Montrose was awakened and set forth events to combat their ideas, which led to the downfall of said race and the arising of a new. Finding out that he was being tricked each time to reveal a strand of super-duper-puper math was something else. While Montrose is the main character and you are kind of rooting for him, he's still an arrogant jerk so the schadenfreude was strong in me.

Make no mistake about this though, this was humanistic to its core. As such it reflects the base values of such a system. There were also times where it just felt like the author was indulging himself a little too much in his own fancy.

The cliffhanger ending was not appreciated. That was the main reason I bumped this down 1/2 star. Anyone who had read both the books so far is definitely going to continue the series. To end it like that smacked of one book being artificially broken up.

Monday, December 05, 2016

Open Season (Eyeshield 21 #11) (Manga Monday)

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.com by  Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Open Season
Series: Eyeshield 21 #11
Author: Riichiro Inagaki
Artist: Yusuke Murata
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 208
Format: Digital Scan









Synopsis:

The Devil Bats make it back to Japan in time to start the Autumn Football season, which will end with the Christmas Bowl, the aim of so many of the players. A lot of character growth goes on and we see the ups and downs as players realize their limits and what they can and can't do.
The Devil Bats first game is against the Amino Cyborgs and their super science football players. Sena is late and it is up to the rest of the team to hold the line until their star runner can make it to the stadium.



My Thoughts:

This one was not all happy skippy. Some of the devil bats who made it through the Death march weren't picked for the team, as they just weren't good enough. Other members of other teams were having teenage crisis's of their own as they came up against the barriers of their own bodies. It was all very drama'y but in a very shounen way.

Mamori takes one step further toward's becoming Hiruma's love interest, as odd as it is to think of him having a love interest. So much is made of Mamori being like an older sister to Sena that at this point I'm resigned to her and Sena never getting beyond that "sibling" level.

We also see quite a bit of family interaction, at least compared to earlier volumes. Sena's homelife is exactly what you'd expect from someone like Sena in volume one. His mother's a harridan and his father's a weak "yes dear" kind of husband. It is good to see Sena growing beyond the barriers put up by his upbringing.

The game with the Cyborgs starts out very interesting. The Cyborgs just muscle their way through until the Devil Bat's coach reminds them about how they pushed the truck and suddenly, their training comes into play and they just tear apart the Cyborgs. But even with that, the Devil Bats can't score consistently on only a passing game.

And finally, that is where Sena makes his entrance. He gets on the wrong bus, and has to be driven to the stadium by one of the rival teams who want to beat Hiruma. Sena gets catapaulted into the stadium and makes a 3 point landing [foot, knee and hand] and looks wicked cool. It made me smile. Now the game, in the next book, can really begin!

Saturday, December 03, 2016

Under Fallen Stars (Threat from the Sea #2) (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.com by  Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Under Fallen Stars
Series: Threat from the Sea #2
Author: Mel Odom
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 356
Format: Kindle digital edition






Synopsis:

Jherek continues to mope and feel bad, just about things. He does travel all over and have adventures, so at least he's preparing to fight against the Taker. The Taker continues his rise to power and using of the Sahugin. The priestess buries her doubts about the Taker doing Sekola's will. The old song guy gets more of the song in his head and hooks up with a peg leg dwarf [no, I am NOT kidding] and some old mystical elf. The various strands are starting to come together as each part moves closer to its final end. 


My Thoughts:

This wasn't a bad read but my goodness, Jherek and his whiny'ness got to be a bit much. It was just too true to life. Man, I'm glad I'm not a teenage boy anymore. Makes me wonder how my parents stood it.

Adventure-wise, this was a cracking good one. Sahugin and pirates invade a city, a ship battle between pirates, an attempt to capture someone in a crowded tavern. Brawls, fights and maneuvers abounded!

There were a couple of references to the downfall of the Elven empire millennia ago and it made me want to search out to see if any books dealt with that. I do know that some of the Elminster books take place during that time, but I can't stand Ed Greenwood so I won't be reading any by him and I don't know if anything else was ever written. Forgotten Realms books are written about the era currently happening.

Friday, December 02, 2016

The Parasite

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.com by  Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: The Parasite
Series: -----
Author: Neal Asher
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 134
Format: Kindle digital edition





Synopsis:

Jack is a space miner and in the process of getting some space ice, gets infected with something. Something that heals him, makes him stronger, makes him smarter but also something that will control his reactions in dangerous situations. Problem is, the parasite thinks that any fear from Jack is a dangerous situation.
Jack was supposed to go into quarantine, but the head honcho didn't want the space ice to go into quarantine as well, so Jack walked free. Now the World Health is after him, as well as the Head Honcho trying to cover up his tracks. Because Jack is contagious, contagious beyond belief and people are dying by the bucketload.


My Thoughts:

This novella exemplifies everything I like and don't like about Asher, all boiled down into one little story. On the hand, we have action and violence literally exploding everywhere. Asher does Ultra-Violence with a deft hand that while occasionally making me cringe never feels overboard to me, unlike say the Jack Reacher books. On the other hand, you get the interminable whining about Free Will from at least one, if not more, character.

For me, just because I am not choosing to make my heart beat but it does it on its own, doesn't mean I don't have free will. Non-Total Autonomy doesn't negate Free Will for me. I suspect the differences we hold on Free Will boil down to our views and thoughts on God. Surprise :-D

On the story itself. If you've ever wondered about trying Asher but were intimidated by the 14'ish books divided up into sub series and so threw up your hands and never tried, THIS is the story to try to see if you'll like him or not. It is self-contained but show cases his writing style and his ideas in one easy to digest sitting.

Glad I got around to reading this because I have to wait until March of '17 for his next Polity book to come out.

Thursday, December 01, 2016

November '16 Roundup & Ramblings



This month was pretty good, in the scheme of things. Made my way through 20 books, 4 of which were manga and 1 graphic novel.

I did have 3 DNF's, which is higher than usual, but each was for a different reason, so that helped soften the blow of wasting my time on something I didn't/couldn't finish. To balance that out, I did have One 5Star read and Five(!!) 4Star reads. Getting even a single 5star is a good accomplishment and to have so many 4's is wonderful.

After 6 months I finally got Superman: Doomed scratched off my list. That was a real weight off my shoulders. I'd left it on the couch arm where I sit to remind myself to keep on trying to read it, even a page here or there. That just never happened, so I had to dive in, seize the beast by the throat and just choke it into submission.

In general terms, I solidified the next years reading plans, started the move from Booklikes to Wordpress and continued my reading of Don Quixote. All of which made for a busy but satisfying month.

In finishing, here are my two picks of the month for cover love:


I LOVE hooded figures on covers. They are just cool.



I have always been, and most likely always will be, a Superman fan. Even though I was disappointed by the storyline, the Idea of Superman and Doomsday as one is wicked cool.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Alien Morning DNF@20%


Alien Morning - Rick WilberThis  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.com by  Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Alien Morning
Series: -----
Author: Rick Wilber
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: DNF
Format: Hardcover edition









My Thoughts:
 
Rick Wilber chose to include a lesbian couple that were "married" in the storyline. I abandoned the book at that point and will not be reading more by this author.


Tuesday, November 29, 2016

The Warrior's Path (Sacketts #3)


The Warrior's Path - Louis L'Amour 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.com by  Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: The Warrior's Path
Series: Sacketts #3
Author: Louis L'amour
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Western
Pages: 240
Format: Kindle digital edition








Synopsis:

Kin Sacket and his brother rescue a girl and young woman who were taken by indians. However, it turns out they were taken by white slave traders and that the head of said traders is a prominent man in the local community.
It is up to Kin, and Diana, to track down another kidnapped woman and get her sworn statement to bring the slaver to justice legally. But he isn't going down without a fight and it may be God's justice that he faces and not man's.


My Thoughts:

I gave this the "western" tag, as the Sackett boys are considering moving West by the end of the book, but it is more of a bridge between the historical fiction chronicled in Barnabas's story [their father] and the truly Cowboy Westerns later on.

This was fun. Kin ends up going to the Jamaican Islands and having adventures with pirates and then fighting off rogue slavers back at the Sackett settlement.  A good adventure story.

There is the trademark L'amour monologuing which I think I have accustomed myself to, but I still feel like rolling my eyes at it. I can only take so much of it. Zoom through it and everything is ok though.

Monday, November 28, 2016

Is There A Loser in the House? (Eyeshield 21 #10) (Manga Monday)


Eyeshield 21, Vol. 10: Is There a Loser in the House? - Riichiro Inagaki, Yusuke Murata 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.com by  Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Is There A Loser in the House?
Series: Eyeshield 21 #10
Author: Riichiro Inagaki
Artist: Yusuke Murata
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 208
Format: Digital Scan







Synopsis:

The Devil Bats begin their 1200mile training course from Texas to the city of Las Vegas. Along the way Sena meets a cute roller blade girl and her brother, who are wrapped into the storyline. Sena accidentally tries out for the NFL. The team as a whole gets a lot stronger [duh, pushing an 18 wheeler 1200 miles tends to do that].

Meanwhile, back in Japan, Shin begins extra training at Mt. Fuji. Panther shows up to test himself against Shin and realizes that he is an ant compared to Shin. Shin continues his non-ability to interact with electronics.


My Thoughts:

Another solid read. I found this volume to be very balanced between "Inspiration!" and humor.  Shin training himself and rating Panther's ability in an eyeblink was the former. The 3 clowns from the Devil Bats pawning ALL the clothes so they could gamble [and being escorted from the casino by burly guards whilst unclothed] was very much the latter.

At Las Vegas we see Mamori in a cocktail gown and while it was just one little frame, it made it very obvious that Mamori is a young woman, not a girl. Not fan service'y at all but more that she could carry it off. Part of her emerging maturity is the fact that she is seeing how hard Hiruma is pushing the team, and himself. She is seeing beyond the "psycho gun toting madman" facade to the hardcore dedicated player and can appreciate it without making a big deal of it. It is also shown up with the emergence of Suzuna, the roller blade girl. She's Sena's age and is presented as such. I hope that the 2 of them have larger roles in the future.

The book ends with them winning all the money they need at the casino and getting ready to head back to Japan. The volumes about America have made me laugh because it is a view that is distorted yet just recognizable enough that I know where the distortion is coming from. Like looking in a fun house mirror.


Sunday, November 27, 2016

Riotous Assembly (Piemburg #1)


Riotous Assembly - Tom Sharpe 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.com by  Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Riotous Assembly
Series: Piemburg #1
Author: Tom Sharpe
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Historical, Humor
Pages: 258
Format: Kindle digital edition








Synopsis:

The misadventures of the Afrikaaner Van Heerden, head of the police force in Piemburg, South Africa, as he investigates the killing of a Zulu cook by the local (socially) ruling British matron.
Along the way there are police ambushes, latex fetishists, hand to paw combat with a doberman, hangings and a play by the local madhouse which ends with the shooting of some artillery that blows up.

Madcap


My Thoughts:

A bit of context was necessary before I got very far into this. Sharpe was in South Africa during apartheid and was a very vocal opponent of it. Eventually he was deported for his writings against it. Once you have that in mind you realize that what you are reading is not a raging rascist going for the humor angle, but a satirist at his most biting.

This was hilarious. I was wheezing in several places and my wife had to ask me if I was ok. I was more than ok in fact.

Every character was incompetent, looking out for themselves and bumbling. It made for some serious misadventures. One such was when one police underling is told to guard the gate and he takes an elephant gun with him. He hides in a bunker, it is dusk and some other plainclothes policemen are coming onsite. He starts shooting, they start shooting, armoured cars get involved and in the end 21 policeman are dead and the underling is desperately trying to figure out how he can spin it so it isn't his fault. That sums up this book.

There was a lot of crassness involved [anything to do with latex fetishists seems to go that way] and some unnecessary sexual details. Other than that, this was an uproariously fun read.

Friday, November 25, 2016

Demelza (Poldark Saga #2) DNF@6%


Demelza: A Novel of Cornwall, 1788-1790 - Winston Graham 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.com by  Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Demelza
Series: Poldark Saga
Author: Winston Graham
Rating: Unrated
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: DNF
Format: Kindle digital edition








My Thoughts:

This DNF was definitely a "me" thing and not because there was something truly wrong or outrageous with this book.

I tried at least 4 times to get into it and each time I found myself simply not caring one whit about any of the characters or the situation they were in. Not a dislike but a complete apathy that you could drown in. So I gave up. Forcing myself to read something is just going to waste my time and I'll end up writing a completely scathing review and wasting emotional strength that I need to save for something real.