Bookstooge's Reviews On the Road

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Rivers of London (Peter Grant #1) ★★★☆ ½

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Title: Rivers of London

Series: Peter Grant #1

Author: Ben Aaronovich

Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Pages: 396

Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Peter Grant is a constable in good ol' Merry England. Of course, he's not actually a very good constable. In fact,he's being shuffled over to the section that deals with all that nasty paperwork stuff, because there, he'll be “making a contribution”.

Until the night that he sees a ghost while guarding a murder scene.

He then is taken as the apprentice to the apparantly sole magical cop and starts hunting down the killer from the murder scene. With the help of the ghost, Father Thames and Mother Thames (who are having a turf war at the moment), his friend who he wants to be more than a friend and his “Master”.

Peter Grant solves the case, but not without several instances of random people beating each other to death with a 4foot club and then having their faces fall off. Oh,and don't forget the riot filled with all the cultured people from the opera, who go out for a night of looting, vandalism and a little murder on the side.

Along with all this, it is up to Peter, as part of his apprenticeship, to solve the problem of the Thames'.

That's asking a bit much from a loser like Peter who can't concentrate on one thing for more than 10minutes.

My Thoughts:

I read the Gollancz edition of this book, which is the proper English release. I kind of wish I had read the American release entitled Midnight Riot. One, I think that Midnight Riot is much more of an apt title for this book's specific villain and two, I would hope that some of the slang would be changed to make actual sense to someone who doesn't live in downtown London. It might have been English, but it wasn't the Queen's English, that is for sure.

And that was about my only complaint.

I don't enjoy Urban Fantasy for the most part, not even Harry Dresden. But every once in a while a book or series will transcend the inherent weakness in this sub-genre, the cliched banality, the soap opera level pointless dramatics, the “makes no sense whatsoever” so called romance and impress me. So I tend to be rather hard on the poor book when it comes from “that side of the tracks”. Oh, all those “quotes”? Another thing I hate about UF.

But this isn't a rant about me hating on UF. It is a review of a book that I rather enjoyed when I wasn't sure I was going to or not.

There was a lot more dry humor than I was expecting. For about the first 75% anyway. I enjoyed the style of humor and never found it boring or over the top. Then things got serious and the humor went away. I missed that. The magic system wasn't explained, but since I'm not a huge “give me the details” kind of guy when it comes to spaceships or magic, I was pretty ok with that. I know some people thrive on “world building” like that though, so be aware.

The Rivers of London bit was well done too. Every river having its own little godling? And it all being a family thing? Top notch. We'll see how, or if, it plays into the series in a bigger way or not. But considering that one of the nyads has a thing for old Petey and he's not saying no, and his friend/dream lover that will never be, is potentially out of the picture and that Peter pissed off one of the older nyads, well, there is just too much potential story there to let it all go to waste.

Glad I started this and I hope it continues strong. If the series stays as good as this story, I'll probably be bumping my ratings up to at least a 4star.

★★★☆ ½

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Sixth Watch (Night Watch #6) ★★★★☆

Series: Night Watch #6

Author: Sergei Lukyanenko

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Pages: 403

Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

A rogue vampire has started biting people in broad daylight and what's more, they're just taking a “sip” from each victim. Anton figures out that the vampire is sending a coded message to him using the initials of the victims.

Once he figures that out, ALL the prophets have the exact same foretelling. Something dealing with the numbers 1-6 and the End of All Life on Earth.

So both Watches, Night and Day, give all acting Authority to Anton to figure out what is going on. It turns out that an old Agreement by the Sixth Watch and the Twilight, in the personafication of the Two In One, has been breached and that gives the Two In One the right to wipe humanity down to 1%.

The solution is to invoke the Sixth Watch, which involves both Watches, the Witches, the Vampires and Other “Others”. Huge sacrifices are made by many people and the Agreement is null and voided. Humanity and the “Others” are all saved.

Anton is sacrificed and gives up his “Other” powers and becomes truly human. Thus ends his story in the Night Watch universe.

My Thoughts:

What a great end to this series. This was just as good as all the previous books and had that perfect mix of pathos, humor, tension, fear and maturity.

I think what I liked best about this book and the series, even while I'm opposed to it, is the fact that Anton goes from an idealistic Light One to a pragmatic Human. I suspect I enjoyed his journey because in SO many ways it mirrors my own journey through life.

I also liked how Anton's sacrifices include having his family make sacrifices. The load wasn't all on his shoulders and there was nothing he could do about it. Watching his 16year old daughter choose to sacrifice her future as a Zero Ultimate Other, man, that's tough.

While there are a lot more stories to be told in the Watch series, I suspect that Lukyanenko has reached the end of his interest and thus chose to wrap things up nice and neat. Anton has always been the center of the stories and with his story done, I think the flavor would irrevocably change, enough so to affect any future stories.

This is one of the few Urban Fantasies that I've been able to stomach over the last couple of years and I think that speaks well to Lukyanenko's skill. I also think it shows that somewhere I've got some Russian blood in my past. That or I'm the reincarnation of Turgenev. Haha.

★★★★☆

Friday, September 15, 2017

Ready Set Hut (Eyeshield 21 #37) (Final) ★★★★★

Title: Ready Set Hut

Series: Eyeshield 21 #37

Author: Riichiro Inagaki

Artist: Yusuke Murata

Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

Genre: Sports Manga

Pages: 200

Format: Digital Scan

Synopsis:

The Power of Team Work. Every single player on Japan's team begins to really play their strengths as part of a team instead of as the “ace” of the team. And they tie the game at 45-45 and no time left. Instead of going into overtime, the NFL player who called the game decides to call it a draw. Nobody from either team is happy and they all go back on the field to play, unsanctioned, to decide who is the best. We never find out the outcome.

The book and series ends 2 years later, when all those players are now in college. Hiruma, Kurita and Musashi have all gone their separate ways, bent on fighting each other as only best friends can. Sena actually was accepted at the Notre Dame Highschool for his last year and makes his comeback to Japan as the fastest runner out there. Everyone else has gone to their various colleges and become stable members of their colleges' football teams. And now the focus of everyone is The Rice Bowl.

The End.

My Thoughts:

I am glad that they didn't show the ending of the game between Japan and America. No matter the outcome, it would have been the wrong way to end the series. We got to see 2 great teams battle it out and the battle was what we were supposed to see.

The final chapter, 2 years later, was just so full! Trying to fit in double digit characters lives was well done but it felt very rushed and I for one would have appreciated just a bit more of their personal lives being shown. However, it was good to see so many characters shown and the people I've grown to know over 37volumes moving on to their secondary education.

Thoughts on the Series as a Whole:

This series had NO bad volumes. Some weren't quite as good as others, but not a single one left a bad impression in my mind. I think the manga-ka did a great job of balancing the individuals, especially Sena as Eyeshield 21 with the group. Football is a team sport and no ONE person is good enough to drag the team to victory. I would have like to see a bit more outside of the football stadium but considering what I got inside it, I'll be thankful instead of wishing for something else. It was good.

I thought I would be writing a lot more when I decided to do this “series as a whole” thing, but honestly, I don't have much to say. I'm a casual football fan and this still got me excited and entertained me. I read this series for a whole year from start to finish. I'm not sure what else can be really said.

I think the following picture really encapsulates what I liked about this manga. Its self-determination and can-do attitude.

I am also including ALL the previous volume reviews down below.

★★★★★

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

House of Chains (Malazan Book of the Fallen #4) ★★★★☆

Series: Malazan Book of the Fallen #4

Author: Steven Erikson

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 1044

Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Plot Line One:

Karsa Orlong, a young Teblor, sets out on an adventure with 2 of his friends. They discover out in the wide world that the Teblor are enslaved and an insular people. Karsa vows to become the warleader his people needs, even if he has to fight each and every Teblor. Along the way he gets involved with Leoman of the Flails and becomes Shaik's bodyguard. Read Deadhouse Gates to see how that turns out. At the same time, the Teblor gods reveal themselves to Karsa and he bursts the bonds holding his people enthralled. Karsa's plotline ends with him becoming the Knight of the House of Chains and everyone who knows him saying that the Broken god will regret doing so.

Plot Line Two:

Adjunct Tavore sets out with a green army to subdue Shaik's Rebellion, not knowing that Shaik is now her younger sister Felisin. The green army has a handful of seasoned warriors, one of which is Fiddler, who is now going by the name Strings. Shaik the goddess is trying to control some bit of magic and in the process control the desert Raraku. The desert rebels and lots of ghosts rise up and destroy Shaik's army. Tavore's army does a tiny bit of fighting, but more mop up than anything. Tavore kills Shaik in single combat, never realizing it was her sister Felisin.

Plot Line Three through Fifteen: (actually not kidding, really)

Tisten Liosan, white skinned bastards, are looking for their god Osric/Osserc/etc. They get they're butts handed to them on several occasions and decide to go home.

Various Imass do various things, like chasing after renegades, fighting with Liosan's and defending the true Shadow Throne.

Cutter and Apsalar take service with Cotillion and end up going their own separate ways because they love each other too much to hurt the other with the duties they have to perform.

Lots of other stuff that had no immediate import and might not have any at all. Impossible to tell.

My Thoughts:

I am at the point where I am disgusted at Erikson's choice of storytelling mode. He is fragmenting his overall storyline just because he can. I can't assign a real motive to this mode of telling, so I'm going to call him out for just being a jerkwad.

Each successive book that I go into this Malazan re-read it gets harder and harder to overlook how deliberately obfuscated Erikson makes his story. A good story will only go so far and he's fast approaching that breaking point where I give up in disgust. When I was originally reading this back in '10, it was at this book that I basically gave up trying to keep track of what was going on for a synopsis because the story fragmentation really started to spread here. I am no longer seeing this approach as a positive thing like I originally did.

This was an engaging story and that is the only thing going for it. Part of that was because the first 23% of the book dealt strictly with Karsa Orlong and getting him from when he was a wee young lad of 100 or so to where we met him in Deadhouse Gates. He's not a particularly bright or likable fellow but at least I was able to follow one complete story narrative for a long period of time.

I was having a hard time giving a crap about some of the storylines because they were such small fragments of the overall book. How do they tie in? You mean I have to wait for 3 more books to find out? No thank you.

The philosophizing got a little ridiculous. Felisin the younger, an adopted waif by Felisin, is kidnapped by one Felisin's major allies, a twisted wizard. He destroys her. Sexually, emotionally, psychology. And when she gets rescued and is secretly recovering, she waxes loquacious on the subject of how her mother needs the wizard and so her rescuer's vengeance needs to be put on hold. And she is 14. I just about threw my kindle on the couch at that. Girls who are raped and tortured don't calmly discuss why their attackers are justified or how the greater needs of a geographical area outweight their own personal needs.

My main issue now is when does the story no longer outweight the twin sins of soapbox preaching and story fragmentation? I am going to do my best to read the whole series, but will definitely be noting the point where the balance finally does tip.

★★★★☆

Sunday, September 10, 2017

Threshold (Chess Team Adventure #3) ☆☆☆☆ ½ DNF@39%

Series: Chess Team Adventure #3

Author: Jeremy Robinson

Rating: 1/2 of 5 Stars

Genre: Action/Adventure

Pages: 351

Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Did Not Finish at 39%

My Thoughts:

“So, what, Christianity is founded on a magical charlaton?” (Jack Sigler)

“Jesus spent his childhood in Egypt, as did Moses, so it's possible both men found some ancient source of knowledge and used what they learned to perform amazing miracles.” (Hercules)

Yeah, I'm done with this.When Christ's Divine Nature is denied, then I stop reading. I will also not be reading any more by Jeremy Robinson.

☆☆☆☆ ½

Monday, September 04, 2017

Sena vs Panther (Eyeshield 21 #36) ★★★★☆

Title: Sena vs Panther

Series: Eyeshield 21 #36

Author: Riichiro Inagaki

Artist: Yusuke Murata

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Genre: Sports Manga

Pages: 192

Format: Digital Scan

Synopsis:

The Final All-Star Game is here. There are several confrontations between players of each team as they test the other out in various ways. And all the outcomes are the same: the Americans win.

Kurita is knocked out for the first half of the game and the Americans are winning 28-8. Sena is outrun. Monta is outcaught. Gaou is outpowered. Even Hiruma is outmaneuvered!

My Thoughts:

This volume, while good, was lacking in both heart and humor. I didn't laugh nor did I feel that rush of emotion, either up or down. THIS is what I was expecting from this story arc and sadly, it gave it to me in spades. We'll see how the final volume plays out.

One of the characters said it best. There has never been a japanese player in the NFL. I'm not sure if there has been since this manga was written, circa 2009, but honestly, it is no surprise. Football players are some of the biggest people in this country. Trickery and feints and whatnot will only take you so far.

★★★★☆

Sunday, September 03, 2017

The World is Mine (Eyeshield 21 #35) ★★★★★

Series: Eyeshield 21 #35

Author: Riichiro Inagaki

Artist: Yusuke Murata

Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

Genre: Sports Manga

Pages: 200

Format: Digital Scan

Synopsis:

The All-Star games turn out to be another championship set of games from top players all across the world. Not just American and Japan. And the NFL player who is sponsoring the whole thing is offering a $3million reward to the MVP of the championship AND a signing contract to his team.

The Japanese team is assembled and includes Agon. He does his sneaky stuff and gets a bunch of second stringers on board and then in the first game makes it so they play and not the actuall All-Star Japanese team. His purpose? To look good and win the MVP so he gets the $3million. Things work out and Japan blows past Russia, Militaria (yeah, what a name right?) and then Germany. Lots of fun and giggles.

Japan makes it to the finals, where they are facing off against the American Team, the “gods” of highschool football.

My Thoughts:

Ok, I was totally wrong. I thought this All-Star story-arc would suck but it was probably one of the most humorous volumes yet. There was no serious emotional moments like in the previous volume, just fun moments where each player shows their talent and the manga-ka have fun. I laughed quite a bit.

Each game leading up to the finals simply showcased a couple of players and how the overall Japanese team played. I didn't think it could work but it totally did. I kept being surprised by goodness left and right and my star rating kept creeping up a half star at a time. I started it at 2 stars because I was just unhappy with the whole concept but the manga-ka just kept making things better and better. I absolutely LOVE it when low expectations are blown away completely and you end up with something fantastic. The thing is, this volume would not stand on it's own. It relies on the whole of the previous series so far. Much like a real football team, one player may shine for a moment, but it is only due to the collective work of the whole team. This volume shone spectacularly but only because of the solid foundation of the previous 34 volumes!

Not much else to say beyond the fact that I am impressed. I now am looking forward to the final 2 books again. Much like a football game with its ups and downs and setbacks and comebacks.

★★★★★

Saturday, September 02, 2017

The Last of the Deimon Devilbats (Eyeshield 21 #34) ★★★★ ½

Series: Eyeshield 21 #34

Author: Riichiro Inagaki

Artist: Yusuke Murata

Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars

Genre: Sports Manga

Pages: 216

Format: Digital Scan

Synopsis:

The Christmas Bowl is completed.

The Devilbats pull off miracle after miracle. Sena outruns Yamata. Monta outcatches his opponent. They catch up 34-42. Then the Alexanders score 2 points and make it 44-34. 10 Point difference. Impossible to overcome. Fans leave the stadium.

And Hiruma, who has finally believed in each player this game, lies his ass off about a grand plan he has and everyone believes right back at him, even while knowing it is a lie. Only thing is, he wasn't lying. They make another touchdown, then grab the ball from a short kick off and now, everything rests of Musashi's shoulders, or really, his foot. Can he do the Magnum Kick, 60 yard kick, something no one in a highschool league has done? Of course!

And the Devilbats WIN!!!

And then things rush through the post-game celebration and suddenly there is an All-Star Game on the horizon versus some American players. Well, at least I know what the final books will be about.

My Thoughts:

Holy smokes!!!!! What a volume!!!!! [please notice all the exclamation points. I mean every single one]

This was a seat of your pants will they/won't they kind of storyline. Right to the last second everything was in doubt. I mean, even when Musashi kicked, the manga-ka drew things out so you weren't sure, with the ball hitting the goal posts. Whooooo!

I think my favorite part was when the most useless player, the school nerd, who only ran pass formations, was ignored. He had never caught a pass before. He only stayed in the formation, distracting other players. But this time? He was ignored. And he got a touch down!!! It was great.

This was the perfect volume of the series so far. It had tension, it had great plays. It had players overcoming their natural weaknesses. It had the emotions.

So I had to ding a half star when the volume ends with an All-Star game coming up. I don't like All-Star games. An All-Star game is where the best players get together, form 2 teams and then play each other. I was in this for the Devilbats, not the other star players from other highschools. Throw in that their opponents seem to be Americans and well, it just isn't appealing. I am suddenly not looking forward to the final volumes.

I wish the series had ended here. It was perfect.

★★★★ ½

Hand of Mars (Starship's Mage #2) (★★★★☆)

Series: Starship's Mage #2

Author: Glynn Stewart

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Genre: SFF

Pages: 279

Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Damien is sent to a planet, as an Envoy under the tutelage of a full Hand. They are ostensibly looking into terrorist activity but in reality are on planet to arrest the governor who is corrupt as they come. What the Hand nor Damien realize is that the Martian Navy personnel have been co-opted by the governor as well.

This all leads to the death of the Hand, the destruction of her ship and crew and Damien on the run in a hostile world where his only allies are the “terrorists” he was publicly investigating. He has to survive the governer and his forces, the Martian navy and it's corrupt Captain and the rebels.

Making an alliance with the rebels, Damien gets off a message to the King, who sends out a force of sufficient size to handle the rogue Navy. Damien must take care of the governer and his forces so that the arriving Navy, with its marines, don't have to invade the planet. Things get complicated when one of the governer's loyal generals has nukes planted under 7 of the major cities and threatens to blow them all up if the Martian Navy doesn't leave.

Damien “does magic” and things get all straightened out.

Dang. I was hoping to “play a game of Thermonuclear War”. That Broderick was a pansy and I would have shown him up by WINNING the game I played!

My Thoughts:

I actually enjoyed this more than the first book, mainly because this was one single novel instead of 4-6 “episodes”. However, I kept it at the same rating because Damien has power jumped so high, so fast that the suspense wasn't really there.

I am really enjoying this mix of magic and technology. Stewart has combined them in a way that doesn't annoy me or set my teeth on edge. It is also just fun. The story is full of fighting and trials and battles.

There really isn't much else to say. I enjoyed this, it was fun and Damien is a bit too powerful.

And speaking of too powerful, now I'm off to read some Eyeshield 21 manga, ha!

I could have totally won that game!

★★★★☆

Starship's Mage (Book 1)

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Bloodwalk (Forgotten Realms: The Wizards #2) ★☆☆☆☆

Series: Forgotten Realms: The Wizards #2

Author: James Davis

Rating: 1 of 5 Stars

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 320

Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

A blood witch is planning on taking over a forest and then some towns, or something. She fools the local oracles who have foiled past plots by pretending to be their god. She raises necromantic forces to take over.

Concurrently, a man with angelic blood in him, a devotee to Hoar, the god of justice [you have NO idea how much I laughed at that] is a wandering justice dispensor. He wanders into the situation and is attempting to stop the blood witch.

Finally, you have 2 sisters, one an oracle, one a hunter who are both fighting to protect their town from complete and utter devastation. Enemies within and without make the job that much harder. Plus dead parents and all the baggage that means.

My Thoughts:

This was trash. It was a poor storyline, poorly executed and poorly written. Davis knows his grammar rules, thankfully, so there were no aggregious misuses of your/you're, etc. But telling the story? My goodness. The motivation for everyone was clear as mud.

I completely skimmed the last 25% and STILL had a tough time finishing. It didn't help that I was coming off a book that I also didn't like, so this was like rubbing salt in the wound.

It did force me to decide if I wanted to continue this Wizards sub-series and the answer was a resounding “NO!”. Sometimes Forgotten Realms books are just junk and you have to chuck them out the window to keep your sanity.

★☆☆☆☆

Blackstaff (Book 1)