Monday, March 04, 2019

[Manga Monday] Northern Pride (Shaman King #15) ★★★☆½


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Northern Pride
Series: Shaman King #15
Author: Hiroyuki Takei
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 200
Format: Digital Copy




Synopsis:

Volume opens with Dr Faust VIII watching over Manta who had fainted at the brutality of the last battle. Faust tells Manta that Team Funbari (Yoh's team) is up next and Manta gets all worried. Next we cut to Team Funbari who are letting off steam at a restaurant in various ways. Yoh reveals that he's confident enough in the training they've done that he thinks he can take the next team single handedly. Team Ren then has a little run in with Team Icemen, who are Yoh's next opponents. The Icemen show off a bit and then leave the restaurant.

The battle begins and Yoh reveals his big sword. Ohhhhh myyyyy. He tries to be friendly but the Icemen are having none of it and immediately attack Faust as the weak link. Faust shows how he's powered up by calling forth a gigantic demon version of his beloved Eliza. Team Icemen then attack Yoh but Ryu steps in and shows the burning power of friendship and literally melts their ice attack.

Eventually Yoh sets his team mates aside and lets the Icemen attack him directly. When he survives, they realize they simply don't have a chance. Yoh invites them to try again, not to win but so that they can lose with the pride of knowing they gave it their all. They accept and Yoh unleashes the new Amidamaru against them and destroys their attack. The connotation being that the Icemen used up all their mana in their final attack and since it didn't work, they lose.



My Thoughts:

This was a much shorter battle than I was expecting. It felt more like a showcase for the new and improved powers of Faust, Ryu and Yoh. The pride of the leader of the Icemen kept them from realizing how friendly Yoh was trying to be. It wasn't until the very end that the truth sunk in. Which was what Yoh was trying to do. He didn't want to create enemies as he climbed up the ladder to become Shaman King so he does what he can to show his opponents that they are not truly his enemies. Thankfully, the Icemen got the message. I suspect other teams later on won't care or won't believe it.

I think the fight is over, but it didn't explicitly show the Icemen officially losing. So I'm holding off judgement until the next volume. With only 32 volumes Takei can't stretch the fights out into Dragon Ball Z territory, thankfully!



★★★☆½







Friday, March 01, 2019

Death of a Citizen (Matt Helm #1) ★★★☆☆


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Death of a Citizen
Series: Matt Helm #1
Author: Donald Hamilton
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 240
Format: Digital Edition




Synopsis:

Matt Helm is now an author, married to the woman he loves with 2 children. What he used to be in World War II was a special forces assassin who took out ancillary targets to weaken the Axis war machine. But that is in the past.

Until the woman he used to love comes back into his life and gives him the signal that he's been reactivated. The target? Communists who are targeting our own scientists so as to destroy the United State's technological edge.

Things don't quite add up though and part way through, it is revealed that Slinky Seductress turned long ago and has been using Matt against the United States. Now, with his baby daughter kidnapped, Matt must save a nuclear scientist's life, rescue his daughter, prove he's not a communist to his old Section Chief and capture or kill all those who put him in this situation.

When there is nothing but guts and guns, there is no time for glory. And when you are Matt Helm, there is no time for weeping, sobbing, nancypants, mommas baby's angst.



My Thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed this with just a few caveats, so let's get them out of the way.

This was written in the 1960's about the 1960's. So the attitudes and cultural norms are going to be quite different from 2020 (yeah, yeah, I know it's 2019, but close enough). That didn't bother me but I suspect it will for the kind of reader that infests devilreads these days. So don't be surprised.

Second, and what did bother me, was how casually Matt Helm treated his wedding vows. He's on the run with Slinky Seductress (henceforth known as Slinky) and within a day has slept with her. I think the author writes something like:
 “and since I knew I was going to sleep with her, I figured I'd better get it over with so I could deal with the guilt so it wouldn't affect me later”
 And then his attitude is that his wife will take him back anyway because she loves him. Ugh. And that is why I knocked off 2 stars.

On to the good stuff.

Matt Helm is a man's man and whether it is with gun, car or fists, he's good. Not necessarily the best, but pretty close even after 15 years of retirement. He's pragmatic to the point of dishonor but he just doesn't care. He's a throwing knife that once thrown, goes straight to the target.

As much as I'm an introspective kind of guy, it is refreshing to read about a man who just does what needs to be done, period. At one point he kidnaps the man who had kidnapped his baby daughter. The kidnapper thinks he has the power since he knows where the girl is and Matt doesn't. Does Matt agonize and moan and beg? No, he shoots the bastard in the gut and stands over him while he takes hours to die, agonizingly. Now THAT is justice for a kidnapper of babies.

I like how this book's title really gives away the ending. Matt Helm can't remain just a citizen after what happens. But how does he reconcile that with his family life? We don't get that answer in this book. Probably in the next one or two. But we do know that Matt Helm, author, is dead and that Matt Helm, special forces assassin, is back. I am looking forward to more of his adventures and to how the author will deal with the twin dynamics of Country and Family.

★★★☆☆





Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Never Forsaken (Kurtherian Gambit #5) ★★★☆☆


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Never Forsaken
Series: Kurtherian Gambit #5
Author: Michael Anderle
Rating: 3.of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 328
Format: Digital Edition




Synopsis:

Bethany Anne (henceforth BA), must deal with bringing the Were into her elite Guardian Group. Pete takes on that chore and he and another recruit slug it out at the end of the training for Alpha status. Pete takes it and BA finds out from TOM that the Were are actually another line of nano-tech from a competing Kurtherian clan. BA and Tom experiment with Pete to give him a man-beast form. They are successful

BA also deals with having a dog be in the medical pod and having TOM messing with it. It seems to be a battery for the Etheric and allow BA to travel 1000's of km at once instead of just mere kilometers.

BA also tracks down two of the top Forsaken in South America and deals with them. She rescues Michael in the process and as penance for not dealing with the Forsaken centuries earlier puts him in charge of South America.

The 2 scientists awake their AI. Bobcat begins working with a rocket scientist to develop a strike craft for both terrestrial and extra-terrestrial purposes.



My Thoughts:

Once again, I had a blast reading this. It still does feel like Anderle is putting too much of various characters into the books, hence cutting down the time we get with them. The balance isn't right.

Also, while I enjoyed this as much as the previous books, if not more due to BA taking out the 2 top Forsaken, the rushed nature of this volume really stood out. Several spelling errors, sentences that weren't cleaned up or had had 2 ways to go and weren't completed properly, little grammar things here and there. I'll keep reading as long as I enjoy the story but these little things make me leery of recommending the books because it screams “unprofessional”.

Lots of fun and excitement as long as you don't mind the indie lack of concern.

★★★☆☆







Tuesday, February 26, 2019

The Tiger and the Wolf (Echoes of the Fall #1) ★★★★☆


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Tiger and the Wolf
Series: Echoes of the Fall #1
Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 603
Format: Digital Edition




Synopsis:

In a world where people can “step” into animal form and they have all formed tribes from time immemorial, Maniye has been born with 2 souls. One of the Wolf from her father and one of the Tiger from her mother. Maniye's mother was killed right after the birth, as she was the Queen of the Tigers. Unknowingly, Maniye was trained up to use both of her souls so that when she came of age, her father could use her to claim the Tiger throne and complete the conquest that the Wolves had been working towards for a generation.

When her father's plans are revealed to her, her father says he'll marry her off to a strong wolf ally, the man who killed Maniye's mother. Maniye rescues a snake priest and together they escape into the wilderness to elude the Wolves. They take refuge for the winter with a Bear, who knows the man who killed Maniye's mother. This man, Broken Axe, has successfully tracked her but due to both friendship with the Bear and some other considerations, gives his word he won't bother Maniye until the Spring Solstice.

At the same time, we follow Asmander and his companions. Asmander is of the crocodile tribe from the far south, where a succession war is brewing. He has been sent north by his father to recruit the Iron Wolves, who are the only creatures known who can work iron and make it their weapon. He is helped out by the Horse tribe, traders across the whole land. Eventually, he is taken to a special holy place where he can meet Akrit, leader of the Iron Wolves and Maniye's father. This special meeting is for all the tribal priests at the Spring Solstice.

The Bear must attend the Solstice and Maniye and the priest accompany him, hoping to find a guardian at the rites from Broken Axe and Akrit, little knowing that both will be there. Everyone comes together and Akrit tries to take Maniye by force and she kills several of the wolf clan in a sacred circle. She escapes and makes her way to the Tiger's last standing city, where she finds that Broken Axe did not kill her mother but simply released her back to her people. Her mother rejects her as she can't get past the fact that Maniye is a child of rape. Maniye tries to fit into Tiger society, but her two souls are continually fighting and she shows as much Wolf as she does Tiger. She escapes her mother, who has decided to sacrifice her to the Tiger and is on the run yet again.

She meets up with Asamander and the snake priest and everyone is on the run from both Wolves and Tigers, who have resumed hostilities. Battles ensue and finally Maniye must try a forgotten ritual to resolve the conflict of having 2 souls. She travels to the Other World and chooses a third soul, one that bridges Wolf and Tiger and learns its form. It is a form stronger and more powerful than anything the northern tribes have ever seen. Broken Axe challenges Akrit for control of the Wolf clan and wins. Between him and Maniye, an uneasy peace is brokered but shamans, priests and fortune tellers are still predicting a doom that will engulf the whole world.



My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this. That being said, I wouldn't want to read this by itself as a standalone again. Maniye does nothing but run for 90% of the book and it became wearisome. She didn't have any choice, but still, it's not real fun to read about a character who just runs away all the time.

Once I see how this trilogy resolves, a re-read option will be on the table.

Tchaikovsky definitely brings his A-game to this story. Not so much in terms of excitement but in terms of working out how a society would turn out that has these abilities. He describes the fights in great detail and the way warriors slip between their animal and human form to give themselves advantages and their opponents disadvantages is great. Like the fact that the animal form can incorporate whatever the human form was wearing at the time. The Wolves have learned to have iron claws and built in armor. Tigers have brass claws, etc.

On a bigger scale, it is obvious something is coming. Whether it is a natural disaster (honestly, my first thought was an asteroid strike) or some new empire that will simply sweep over the land, it has all the inhabitants of the land seeing visions of war and fire and ruin, for everyone. I am looking forward to seeing what it turns out to be.

Now that Maniye has found her Champion form (the 3rd connecting soul), I suspect she won't be running in the next 2 books. Of course, knowing Tchaikovsky's penchant for lots of character arcs, it wouldn't surprise me if we go somewhere else and with a completely new set of characters for the the next book.

I might have enjoyed this more if I hadn't had such a streak of bad reading before it. But regardless, this was a good book and I enjoyed it.

★★★★☆






Monday, February 25, 2019

Waypoint Kangaroo (Kangaroo #1) ★☆☆☆☆


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Waypoint Kangaroo
Series: Kangaroo #1
Author: Curtis Chen
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 321
Format: Digital Edition




My Thoughts:

Due to some of the subject matter, I will not be reading any more by this author.

★☆☆☆☆





Friday, February 15, 2019

The First Name (Twilight of the Gods #1) ★☆☆☆☆ DNF@18%


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The First Name
Series: Twilight of the Gods #1
Author: Dennis Schmidt
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 307 DNF@18%
Format: Digital Scan




My Thoughts:

Due to there being 2 rape scenes which were graphic enough, I am done with this book.

★☆☆☆☆






Monday, February 11, 2019

The Outcast (The Empire's Corps #5) ☆☆☆☆½


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Outcast
Series: The Empire's Corps #5
Author: Christopher Nuttall
Rating: 0.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 443
Format: Digital Edition





Synopsis:

Due to some of the subject matter included by the author, I will not be continuing with this series nor with this author.



My Thoughts:

3 or 4 throw away sentences. That was it.

Gahhh, the hits just keep on coming in. February is turning into one sucky month for book reading.

☆☆☆☆½







Thursday, February 07, 2019

To Trade the Stars (Trade Pact #3) ★☆☆☆☆ DNF#1%


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: To Trade the Stars
Series: Trade Pact #3
Author: Julie Czerneda
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: DNF @ 1%
Format: Digital Edition




Synopsis:


“...leaving me cold along one side until I snuggled under the portion of sheet warmed by his body.”



My Thoughts:

This is not SF. This is now a woman's romance novel with spaceships. I don't want to read crap like this, thank you very much.

What a frelling let down, especially considering how much I enjoyed the first book. But this is exactly why I tend to stay away from women writers. They're always dragging in stuff like that that has zero interest to me. They are more than welcome to write it but don't fracking expect me to read it or to put up with it when I do make the mistake of stumbling across it.

★☆☆☆☆








Tuesday, February 05, 2019

The Crippled God (Malazan Book of the Fallen #10) ★☆☆☆☆


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Crippled God
Series: Malazan Book of the Fallen #10
Author: Steven Erikson
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 934
Format: Digital Edition





Synopsis:

Adjunct Tavore and the Bonehunters separate from their erstwhile allies as they make a 3 pronged attack on the heart of the recently arisen Forkrul Assail empire, which holds the Crippled God's heart. Along with gods, various elder races and even the dead, all conspire to set the Crippled God free to return him to his own world and thus begin the healing of their own world. The Perish Grey Helms turn traitor and massive amounts of people die.

At the same time an Ototaral Dragon is resurrected and set free. She is the opposite to all the other Eleint, dragons, who are at heart forces of chaos while she is a force of utter negation. The embodiment of Chaos, known as Tiam begins to manifest but the Ototarol Dragon is chained thus setting the Eleint free from their own frenzy, which dissolves Tiam's hold over them and dissipates her own Manifesting.

Lots of other things happen.

Tavore and the Malazans and their allies are able to free the Crippled God and he returns to his own world. Shadowthrone and Cotillion hint at each other that everything has been part of an even bigger plan but mention zero details or anything concrete.

As good an ending as one can hope for with the author's known penchant for deliberate obfuscation and outright misdirection.



My Thoughts:

I read over my review from 2011. Eight years later, not one single thing has changed in my mind about this book. It is remains a piece of trash where the author masterbates to his own supposed cleverness with words and is nothing but a dungheap of rubbish pseudo-philosophy.

I finished this and all I could think was “Why did Erikson even bother writing this?” The battle scenes were incredible and show that the skill in writing the first book was no fluke. Which makes my question even more pertinent, as it means he wrote such pointless reams of words on purpose. FOR NO PURPOSE.

What a killjoy way to end a series that started out so promising 2 years ago. And this re-read did not change my mind about the series overall, as I was hoping it would. Well, it does reinforce that I'll not read another book by Erikson, no matter what. He wrote this book and ended the series this way, he doesn't deserve any more of my money, time or attention. I almost feel like I'm doing a disservice to book bloggers everywhere by even bringing attention to his name now. Bleh.

★☆☆☆☆







Friday, February 01, 2019

The Black Pearl ★★★★★


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Black Pearl
Series: ----------
Author: Scott O'Dell
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: MG Historical Fiction
Pages: 96
Format: Paperback Edition




Synopsis:

A young man, Ramon Salazar, recently turned 16 is made a partner in his father's pearl business. He learns to grade and buy and sell the pearls the small fleet his father owns brings in each trip. However, what he really wants is to go diving with the fleet. His father allows him to come out with the fleet but only as a handler, not a diver.

The best pearl diver in the fleet is jealous of the opportunities that Ramon has and constantly needles him about not being a diver. This “Sevillano” claims to come from Spain and spins stories of all the exploits he has done. Eventually, it gets to Ramon and when the fleet makes a week long trip, he heads out to an Indian diver and begs him to teach him. Ramon learns how to be a diver and is shown a cave where Manta Diablo supposedly lives. The Indian tells him to not dive in the cave, as Manta Diablo will come after anyone who takes something from him.

Ramon can't resist the lure and gets a huge clam which gives up a huge perfect “black” pearl. The Indian warns him that he is now cursed by Manta Diablo. Ramon heads home and gives the pearl to his father to show that he is a great diver, and to get back at the Sevillano for all his jibes. The father haggles with the local merchants and in a fit of pique at their stinginess, gives the pearl to the local Roman Catholic Church.

The next week the fleet is destroyed by a huge storm and only the Sevillano survives. This convinces Ramon that the pearl is indeed cursed and he steals it back from the church to take back to Manta Diablo's cave. The Sevillano catches him and forces him to go to Mexico City where they can sell it for a huge fortune.

On their way, they are overtaken by a huge manta ray. After several incidents, the Sevillano harpoons the manta and eventually jumps on it to knife it to death. A rope wraps around him and he and the manta plunge into the depths never to be seen again. Ramon rows back to his village, returns the pearl to the church and realizes that he has grown up.



My Thoughts:

I had read and bought this back in elementary school at a book fair I believe. I enjoyed it a lot as a kid so I was kind of hesitant to dive into again and potentially ruin it. Kind of like how I got fed up with Lucky Starr by the end of the series. Some childrens books just aren't meant for adults. However, since it was only 96 pages I figured I could pitch on in and rip through it at lunch times. Which is what I did.

What a great book!

This is the kind of adventure story that can capture the imagination of a young boy. O'Dell knows how to write for a youthful audience without churning out simplistic slop. Ramon deals with some huge issues and O'Dell gently guides the reader along that journey and makes a youngster think about what might change in their life and how would they respond? I love, Love, LOVE the fact that at no point is Ramon an angst-ridden whiny baby. O'Dell doesn't buy into the lie that young people have to be coddled and that anything “tough” will destroy them. He shows that THROUGH adversity is how a man is forged. Phrack, it is refreshing to see that in a middle grade book.

Keeping in mind the target audience, I loved this story. O'Dell writes a character that inspires the reader instead of pandering to them. It is no wonder that O'Dell won so many awards and honorable mentions back in his heyday.

First 5star review of the year. While probably not a real contender for best book of the year, I think that a 96 page story about a 16 year old young man that can inspire a 40 year old like this deserves some attention. Ramon's quiet fortitude and steady action is what is needed in more books today.

★★★★★