Pyramids (Discworld #7) 4Stars

 

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Title: Pyramids
Series: Discworld #7
Author: Terry Pratchett
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 253
Words: 88K

This is the first “standalone” Discworld novel. By that I mean that none of the characters in this book ever return as main characters nor do we ever go back to the country the main character is from. This is simply a “Discworld” novel. While having read the previous six books will give you a slightly better overall view of Ankh-Morpork, not very much of the story actually takes place there and a better knowledge of that city will not actually affect your enjoyment of this book. But just like I stated in the previous book, Discworld “should” be read in the order that Pratchett published them. It “can” be read in almost any order, but it is just better the other way.

I was hoping that more of the story would take place in Ankh-Morpork, mainly because I wanted to see more of the Assassins Guild. That didn’t happen. So I pinned my hopes that when Teppic went back to be king that I’d get assassin guild hijinks then. Still didn’t happen. Teppic sneaks around a bit, but that’s the extent of we see of his years of training. I was disappointed. Pratchett seemed more focused on taking his bile out on religion in general in this novel than in telling a fun and engaging story. It was still a fun story, but if he’d written more like some of the earlier books (the Death books in particular, where he tackles a controversial subject, but without coming across like an angry jackass), this could have been so much better. I suspect the acolytes of Scyenze would like this more, as that is/was Pratchett’s pet godling.

Now that I’ve vented MY bile, do I have anything left? That’s a good question. It colors every word in this review. Huh, just like the novel! Amazing, hahahahahaa.

I would not recommend this as a starting place for Discworld even though it is a standalone. The writing isn’t as on point, the humor isn’t as funny and this gives you a glimpse of the author Pratchett would fully turn into near the end of the series. Spare yourself. At the same time, it’s still fun, it’s still entertaining and I don’t feel bad about re-reading this. I do know I would never choose to read this for a third time on it’s own again though.

★★★★☆

From Wikipedia.org

The main character of Pyramids is Teppic (short for Pteppicymon), the crown prince of the tiny kingdom of Djelibeybi (a pun on the candy Jelly Baby, meaning "Child of the Djel"), the Discworld counterpart to Ancient Egypt. The kingdom, founded seven-thousand years ago and formerly a great empire which dominated the continent of Klatch, has been in debt and recession for generations due to the construction of pyramids for the burial of its pharaohs (primarily on prime agricultural land) and now occupies an area two miles wide along the 150-mile-long River Djel.

Young Teppic has been in training at the Assassins Guild in Ankh-Morpork for the past seven years, having been sent to bring in revenue for the kingdom. The day after passing his final exam by chance, he mystically senses that his father, Pteppicymon XXVII, has died and that he must return home. Being the first Djelibeybian king raised outside the kingdom leads to some interesting problems, as Dios, the high priest, is a stickler for tradition, and does not actually allow the pharaohs to rule the country.

When plans are being laid out for the old pharaoh's tomb, Teppic (now Pteppicymon XXVIII) mentions that his father did not wish to be buried in a pyramid; in reaction to Dios's rejection of this idea, Teppic ends up ordering the construction of a pyramid twice the size of the largest one previously built in Djelibeybi. Whilst the pyramid-building Ptaclusp dynasty work out how to build the pyramid within budget and on time (eventually taking advantage of the unfinished pyramid's premature temporal distortions), the late Pteppicymon XXVII spends his time observing the embalming of his mortal remains and taking an interest in the lives of his embalmers, Dil and Gurn.

After numerous adventures and misunderstandings, Teppic is forced to escape from the palace with a handmaiden named Ptraci, who was condemned to death for not wishing to die and serve the late pharaoh in the afterlife (effectively on Dios' orders since Teppic wished to pardon her). However, during the attempt, Dios discovers them and decrees that Teppic has killed the King (as the King is only recognised whilst wearing the Mask of the Sun and Dios reasons that Teppic's actions to save Ptraci would not be those of the King) and should be put to death. Meanwhile, the massive pyramid warps space-time so much that it "rotates" Djelibeybi out of alignment with the space/time of the rest of the Disc by ninety degrees.

After Teppic and Ptraci manage to escape Djelibeybi, they travel to Ephebe to consult with the philosophers there as to how to get back. Meanwhile, pandemonium takes hold in Djelibeybi, as the kingdom's multifarious gods (many of whom occupy the same roles, such as Supreme God, God of the Sun, or God of the Djel) descend upon the populace, and all of Djelibeybi's dead rulers come back to life. Also, the nations of Ephebe and Tsort prepare for war with one another, as Djelibeybi can no longer act as a buffer zone between the two.

Eventually, Teppic re-enters the Kingdom and attempts to destroy the Great Pyramid, with the help of all of his newly resurrected ancestors. They are confronted by Dios, who, it turns out, is as old as the kingdom itself, and has advised every pharaoh throughout its history. Dios hates change and thinks Djelibeybi should stay the same. Teppic succeeds in destroying the Pyramid, returning Djelibeybi to the real world and sending Dios back through time (where he meets the original founder of the Kingdom, thereby restarting the cycle). Teppic then abdicates, allowing Ptraci (who turns out to be his half-sister) to rule. Ptraci immediately institutes much-needed changes, Teppic decides to travel the Disc, Death comes to ferry the former rulers of Djelibeybi to the afterlife, and Djelibeybi's former embalmers and pyramid-builders adjust to life without the pyramids.

• Wyrd Sisters (2007 Review)

• All of My “Discworld” Reviews

• All of My “Discworld: Rincewind” Reviews

• All of My “Discworld: Witches” Reviews

• All of My “Discworld: Death” Reviews

Neuromancer (The Sprawl #1) 1/2Star Hate Read

 

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Neuromancer
Series: The Sprawl #1
Author: William Gibson
Rating: 0.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Cyberpunk
Pages: 251
Words: 84K

Because this might be seen by more than the usual suspects, I spoil my reviews. So read at your own risk. But if you’re reading Neuromancer, you deserve whatever you get. No sympathy from me. This is a rage fueled hate re-read of this book and I plan on venting my spleen at John Wick levels, and I have pencils. You have been warned.

PART I
Chapter 1 – In which Bookstooge meets some Main Characters, and Hates them.

Having read this once before, back in 2011 (2011 Neuromancer Review) I was passably familiar with what I was getting into. My review back then left a lot to be desired, even by me, someone who is usually pithy and pointed and rather economical with my words. However, it bloody well sums up this whole first chapter to a flipping Tee. Maybe my pithy pointedness was more spot on than I realized.

We are introduced to Case, a drug addicted hacker who stole data from the wrong people (those employing him, dumbass!) and they burnt out his nervous system so he could never jack into the system (here called The Matrix. Hmmmmm, sound familiar?) again. Case is 24 and on such a downward trajectory that he’ll commit suicide by risky job within a month.

Everyone who Case knows, or comes into contact with, is as much a junkie and a loser as himself. We are talking scum of the Earth here. Case’s dealer is trying to steal from him, his ex-girlfriend lies to him to steal 3megabytes of RAM (oh, did I laugh out loud at THAT!!!). Case is so strung out that he can’t function without drugs.

Speaking of drugs, Gibson for sure was a damned junkie himself at some point. His use of terminology and slang is way too prolific to have been learned using a dictionary and thesaurus. I HATE drugs. They destroy the very essence of a person and leave them a shambling wreck that only causes pain and ruin to those around them. As far as I’m concerned, drugs are the physical embodiment of spiritual evil. And our main character Case has deliberately placed himself within that web of evil.

Rage fueled hate read? Oh, game on!

Chapter 2 – In Which Bookstooge meets some other characters

At chapter’s beginning we meet Case’s new employer, an Ex-Special Forces military guy and his crazy teched out assassin girl. Who has Wolverine style fingernails. Case gets his matrix jockey ability back, has sex with the tech assassin, watches his ex-girlfriend get whacked by a former employer and is disappointed that his new mods make drugs of no use to him any more.

Wow, what a bunch of scumbags killing each other. I wasn’t sad about that at all. Case proves what a man whore he is and between that and his former drug use, if he dies I’ll be happy. When you hate the main character from the get-go, and that hatred only grows in the second chapter, it just doesn’t bode well for the book as a whole.

Gibson really throws around a lot of tech terms in this chapter. I don’t know enough to tell if he was using some real terminology or if it was just mystical mumbo jumbo garbage. I think it was all complete bullshit, but then I’m not exactly unbiased about Gibson.

PART II

Chapter 3 – In Which Bookstooge reads a metric ton of technobabble and rolls his eyes a lot

I seriously thought of giving up in this chapter. Chase gets his online mojo back, has a lot of sex with Molly the ninja/assassin/thingy and finds out that he is biologically boobytrapped to help him stay loyal to his employer. Then Gibson throws around even MORE technobabble, to the point where it didn’t make any sense to me and my mind just skipped over it. And I didn’t feel like it made one iota of difference to the story.

Chapter 4 – In Which terrorists help our protagonist to steal something from a library

Booo! Stealing from a library, booo!!!!!! I don’t care if it’s some super duper secret locked down online only library, it’s just plain despicable to steal from one. Even if it’s a digital version of Case’s old mentor who taught him every cowboy trick he knew (apparently Gibson didn’t foresee that Brokeback Mountain would be a thing in the future and that we could make endless jokes about cowboys). While the graphic sex scene happened earlier in the book, there’s still pornographic levels of description included. Bad people, worse people, and then people I don’t know how to describe other than plain and simple evil, doing bad things, doing worse thing and doing evil things.

Chapter 5 – In Which Bookstooge learns that AI are really pulling the strings and Case meets the digital version of his old boss

I have such issues with how AI are used in stories and in popular culture. Digital selves as well. It all springs from the idea that our minds are self-existing containers and as long as you scoop all the info-goop, you can dump that goop somewhere else and still have that mind. I call it the harddrive fallacy. We are more than just containers for data. There is a reason every human is unique. Genes, dna, bits of broken biology, etc. It all comes together to make the person. We are our minds, our bodies and our wills/emotions/spirits. Take away one and it changes everything. Plus, the idea that sentience can come out of non-sentience is so bullshit that how any intelligent person can give it credence in real life is ridiculous. Most of the time I don’t mind, because it’s just a plot line like “aliens” or superheroes. We all know the X-Men aren’t real nor can they be. But imagine if people actually thought they could be and started irradiating themselves. And a whole culture lived that way. It would be madness. And our culture is descending into madness and the promise of “AI” is just one step down along that path.

Chapter 6 & 7– In Which Bookstooge just gives up.

I’m reading the rest of the book, but it’s not worth any more commentary than these blasted 1000 words I’ve already given it. Pure trash. Drivel. Garbage. Filth.

There, that’s three pencils in Gibson’s eye! I hope it hurts, a lot.

PART III

Chapter 8 – In which Bookstooge keeps writing

because that’s what I do. I don’t do drugs, or whore around or kill people. I write. So if I have to suffer this wretched book, then I’m going to make sure you suffer as much as I possibly can make you with my words. In fact, you are simply:

USELESS

LOSER

SCUMBAG

UNLOVABLE

WASTE OF SPACE

INSIGNIFICANT

STUPID

GULLIBLE

FAT

UGLY

STINKY

DIRTY

There, did I manage to hurt your feelings at all? I hope so. Now you don’t have to read this book and hurt your brain.

Chapters 9-16 - In Which Bookstooge wishes he was dead

This book is only 250 pages and it feels like I have spent a veritable eternity here. It’s horrible, just horrible I tell you! This is the book that simply will not end. No matter how much time I spend reading this, it just keeps going! It’s like I’m stuck in some sort of horror themed Dr Who episode where terrible things are happening just offscreen but the terror is palpable.

I guess, let me put it this way. Last month I had a needle stuck in each of my eyes. I would rather do that again than continuing this. But I am so tough, so macho, so manly and totally a man’s man that I’m going to cry like a little baby and keep on reading!

~strikes macho pose

Don’t even think about questioning my utter hatred of this absolute piece of moldering, maggot infested tripe. I hate this enough to finish it.

Chapters 17-End – In Which Bookstooge proves that nothing is more implacable than him.

I finished this. I finished this disgusting piece of shit and I feel bad. I feel terrible. I feel terrible that I wasted my time. I feel terrible that a person can exist whose mind is even capable of writing utter drivel and dreck like this. There is NO justification for this novel or it’s influence on Cyberpunk. But it explains why I’ve always hated cyberpunk. I probably blocked out the details of my previous read but my subconscious kept the truth just out of focus, but still there.

This is the exact scenario I imagine when I don’t listen to my gut and a read goes disastrously wrong. I knew I was going to hate this, based on my original read from years ago, but I had no idea it would be this bad. I know I haven’t given you analytical details. But when your eyeballs have been gouged out and your entrails are sliding out of your sliced up stomach, will you really tell someone “Oh boy, this really hurts. Gibson just scooped my eyeballs out, cut my abdomen open and is in the process of ripping my guts out.” No, you’d be screaming and clawing and too busy dying horribly. That is my experience with this book. Melodramatic? Absolutely! Is this is horrible book? Even MORE absolutely.

I have serious regrets about re-reading this book. It sucked all the joy out of reading for me for weeks on end. It has burned out my desire to write reviews and I don’t know when I’ll recover. But as I view the wreckage that is my literary self, I can cross my arms in satisfaction, KNOWING that I was tougher than this book. I beat it. I finished it. AND I BLOODY WELL WROTE ABOUT EVERY EXCRUCIATING EXPERIENCE. I am scalped, I am gutted, I am sliced to pieces but I stand here, screaming out into the internet, I STILL STAND!!!! I am tougher than this book. I am more determined than Gibson ever could be. I am victorious because I beat this book to a bloody pulp and it’s not getting up and walking away from this, while I am.

This was a crucible experience and now I am on the other side. Let the healing begin.

This post was brought to you by SciFiMonth2024 and hosted by various individuals. I’ll hold Bookforager responsible this time though ;-)

✬☆☆☆☆

From Wikipedia

Henry Dorsett Case is a low-level hustler in the dystopian underworld of Chiba City, Japan. Once a talented computer hacker and "console cowboy", Case was caught stealing from his employer. As punishment, Case's central nervous system was damaged, leaving him unable to access the virtual reality dataspace called the "matrix". Case is approached by Molly Millions, an augmented "razorgirl" and mercenary on behalf of a shadowy US ex-military officer named Armitage, who offers to cure Case for his services as a hacker. Case agrees, and his nervous system is repaired, though sacs of poison are placed in his blood vessels. If Case completes the job, Armitage will have the sacs removed; if not, they will burst and cripple him again.

Armitage has Case and Molly steal a ROM module that contains the saved consciousness of one of Case's mentors, legendary cyber-cowboy McCoy Pauley.

Case and Molly discover Armitage's former identity as Colonel Willis Corto. Corto was a member of "Operation Screaming Fist," meant to disrupt Soviet computer systems. As his team attacked a Soviet computer center, EMP weapons shut down their flight systems. He and a few survivors escaped over the Finnish border, but their helicopter was shot down, killing everyone except for Corto. After months in a hospital, Corto was visited by a US government official, who returned him to the United States to receive psychotherapy and reconstructive surgery. After providing what he came to realize was false testimony, misleading the public and protecting corrupt military officers, Corto snapped, killed the official who contacted him, and disappeared into the criminal underworld, becoming Armitage.

In Istanbul, the team recruits Peter Riviera, a sociopathic thief and drug addict. The trail leads Case to Wintermute, an artificial intelligence created by the Tessier-Ashpool family. The Tessier-Ashpools spend their time in cryonic preservation at Freeside, a cylindrical space habitat which functions as a Las Vegas-style space resort for the wealthy.

Wintermute reveals itself to Case and explains that it is one half of a super-AI entity planned by the family. It has been programmed with a need to merge with its other half, Neuromancer, and has recruited Armitage and his team since it cannot achieve this goal by itself. Case is tasked with entering cyberspace to pierce the software barriers with an icebreaker program. Riviera is to obtain the password to the lock from Lady 3Jane Marie-France Tessier-Ashpool, the CEO of the family's corporation.

Armitage's personality starts to revert to the Corto personality as he relives Screaming Fist. It is revealed that Wintermute had originally contacted Corto through a computer during his psychotherapy, creating his Armitage persona. As Corto breaks through, he is uncontrollable, and Wintermute ejects him into space.

Riviera meets Lady 3Jane and tries to stop the mission, helping Lady 3Jane and Hideo, her ninja bodyguard, capture Molly. Under orders from Wintermute, Case tracks Molly down. Neuromancer traps Case within a simulated reality after he enters cyberspace. He finds the consciousness of Linda Lee, his girlfriend from Chiba City, who was murdered by one of his underworld contacts. He also meets Neuromancer, who takes the form of a young boy. Neuromancer tries to convince Case to remain in the virtual world with Linda, but Case refuses.

With Wintermute guiding them, Case goes to confront Lady 3Jane, Riviera, and Hideo. Riviera tries to kill Case, but Lady 3Jane is sympathetic towards Case and Molly, and Hideo protects him. Riviera flees, and Molly explains that he is doomed anyway, as she had spiked his drugs with a lethal toxin. The team makes it to the computer terminal. Case enters cyberspace to guide the icebreaker; Lady 3Jane is induced to give up her password, and the lock opens. Wintermute unites with Neuromancer, becoming a superconsciousness. The poison in Case's bloodstream is washed out and he and Molly are profusely paid, while Pauley's ROM construct is apparently erased at his own request.

Molly leaves Case, who finds a new girlfriend and resumes his hacking work. Wintermute/Neuromancer contacts him, claiming it has become "the sum total of the works, the whole show" and is looking for others like itself. Scanning recorded transmissions, the super-AI finds a transmission from the Alpha Centauri star system.

While logged into cyberspace, Case glimpses Neuromancer standing in the distance with Linda Lee, and himself. He also hears inhuman laughter, which suggests that Pauley still lives. The sighting implies that Neuromancer created a copy of Case's consciousness, which now exists in cyberspace with those of Linda and Pauley.

The Old Gods Waken (Silver John #1) 3Stars

 

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Old Gods Waken
Series: Silver John #1
Author: Manly Wade Wellman
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy
Pages: 161
Words: 57K

First off, I have no idea what genre to call this. I was going to go with “Folk Fantasy” because it really felt like the hillbilly cousin of Urban Fantasy, but this stuff by Wellman hit the scene long before UF was ever a thing. I was looking through my tags and saw “Paranormal”. That definitely fits, as we’re dealing with druids, blood demons, ancient indian spirits and mountains demons of the Appalachia. I tagged on “Fantasy” just to make it official. None of this magical realism garbage that authors today use as a crutch because they can’t tell a good story.

Very, very, very low key. John, who plays a guitar with silver strings (hence the series name of Silver John), hooks up with an indian chief/shaman and they attempt to take down the bad guys who are bringing the bad juju to the region. But there’s no wild spell battles or fights, just John and the shaman pushing on through the various barriers erected by the two druid brothers. It’s almost more of a catalog of what is useful against Magic X, Y or Z. Considering there is pagan druidism, indian mysticism and straight up devil black magic, there’s a lot of choices to use and to counter. The ending is pretty anti-climactic too. John furrows the ground with an iron plow and that brings lightning because of some old curse and voila, all the bad guys get crispy fried to nothingness. It is like watching two fighters who are locked down and can only fight each other with their fingers. Every move is small but significant.

I remember seeing some of these Silver John books in our library back in the early 90’s and they were iconic enough to stick in my head ever since. Never read them, but I saw them. Pictures have power. So I’m including the full size cover here for your viewing pleasure.

★★★☆☆

From the Publisher

In the wilds of Southern Appalachia, lies Wolter Mountain—a sacred place for the Indians and for their predecessors. But the land atop the mountaintop, taken over by two Englishmen, Brummitt and Hooper Voth, is undergoing frightening changes.
Strange and evil rumblings begin to happen around the mountain—man-like creatures prowling around, mysterious voices reciting evil incantations that terrorize Luke and Creed Forshay who live at the foot of the mountain. Then a wandering minstrel, known only as John, learns that the Yoths are Old World druids who are hell-bent on reawakening the pre-Indian spirits that sleep at the summit of Wolter Mountain. Armed with his own arsenal of personal powers, John and an Indian medicine man must fight their way through the druids' sorcerous defenses to rescue their friends from certain death at the hands of the blood sacrificing priests.

Monster Hunter Alpha (MHI #3) 5Stars

 

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Monster Hunter Alpha
Series: MHI #3
Author: Larry Correia
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 402
Words: 148K

When I originally read this back in 2012, I remember loving it. Nothing changed in the intervening 12 years :-D

This was non-stop werewolf action. The main badguy werewolf ends up with a magic doohickey that allows him to become a 20foot tall werewolf. How awesome is that? It’s pretty awesome, that’s how awesome it is. Throw in the snow shredder scene (where Earl and one of the Good Town Folk literally harvest a crop of werewolves with it) and man, this was just awesome. Are you getting the idea that maybe I really liked this book? Good. Because I did!

For those of you who might not know what a snow shredder is, I’m including a picture so you can visualize it chewing through a whole pack of evil, insane and psychopathic werewolves.

I had forgotten this is where we are introduced to the werewolf who is supposedly now the love of Earl’s life. I can’t remember if she makes any more appearances after she’s whisked away by Special Task Force Unicorn at the end of this book. Another reason to do re-reads.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun reading this and it was even better than my previous read and everything here only firmed up my resolve to keep up this re-read. The series is fun monster killing and I thoroughly enjoy it from beginning to end.

★★★★★

From MHI.Fandom.com

Earl Harbinger may be the leader of Monster Hunter International, but he's also got a secret. Nearly a century ago, Earl was cursed to be a werewolf. When Earl receives word that one of his oldest foes, a legendarily vicious werewolf that worked for the KGB, has mysteriously appeared in the remote woods of Michigan, he decides to take care of some unfinished business. But another force is working to bring about the creation of a whole new species of werewolf. When darkness falls, the final hunt begins, and the only thing standing in their way is a handful of locals, a lot of firepower, and Earl Harbinger's stubborn refusal to roll over and play dead.

Plot

Earl Harbinger lost some of his memories during his encounter with the demon he nicknamed "Rocky" at the end of Monster Hunter Vendetta so he started writing them down in the form of journals in order to learn the extent of his loss. This book contains the third of the journals which focuses on his experiences as a werewolf. We also learn more about how the Alpha is designated and what it means to be the Alpha werewolf. Monster Hunter Alpha opens with Earl going off on his own to take care of personal business with Earl's backstory interspersed.

Earl meets with an old handler from his time in Vietnam and learns of the presence of an old enemy, Nikolai Petrov, in Northern Michigan. It turns out that Nikolai is not the only issue in Copper Lake, MI however. There is another person who is angling to be the Alpha and he has some extra help in the form of a magic amulet and then some.

• Monster Hunter Alpha (2012 Review)

• All of My “MHI” Reviews

Mrs Pollifax on Safari (Mrs Pollifax #5) 4Stars

 

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Mrs Pollifax on Safari
Series: Mrs Pollifax #5
Author: Dorothy Gilman
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 161
Words: 57K

Much like the Nero Wolfe books, I have come to realize, albeit much sooner than with Wolfe, than I am thoroughly enjoying these books enough to bump them up to a standard 4star level. They meet all of my criteria for 4stars and I realized I needed to stop being so stingy with my ratings. I’m not going to go broke if I rate a series higher for goodness sake. While I am not going to go all Fraggle and read these back to back to back, I can totally see myself re-reading these in several years. And that “re-readability” is usually the tipping point from 3.5 to 4 stars. Not always, but usually.

Mrs Pollifax is roped into another assignment for the CIA and once again is promised it will be a cakewalk. All she has to do is go on a Safari in Africa and while taking pictures on the safari, take pictures of everyone on the safari. Because one of them is a ruthless, unstoppable assassin. So of course everything goes straight to pot and derails like a freight train plunging off a cliff and Mrs Pollifax does a LOT more than just taking pictures.

I know I say this for every book, but Gilman is an absolute master at upping the ante very organically for Mrs Pollifax. Nothing that happens is so outlandish that it makes me suspend my belief in the story or feel like it is Authorial Fiat/Machina Ex Deus. It takes a really good author to write that way and to go from Point A to Point Z, hitting the rest of the alphabet on the journey without making one feel like a lamb being led to the slaughter.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book and I continue to thoroughly enjoy the series. I don’t know how much more of a recommendation I could give. Thankfully, I’m not trying to sell this to you. I’m simply chronicling my enjoyment. If you don’t read this series, that’s fine. It’s your loss alone :-)

★★★★☆

From Wikipedia.org

Mrs. Pollifax is called upon by the CIA to undertake another mission, this time to photograph members of a safari in Zambia, one of whom is an international assassin nicknamed Aristotle. She innocently posts an ad in the local newspaper trying to contact her old friend Farrell from the first book. This leads to major complications, as Farrell is involved with the freedom fighters across the border and has made some enemies. Another entertaining outing and with a bit of romance as a fellow traveler takes a fancy to Mrs. Pollifax.

• All of my “Mrs Pollifax” Reviews

The Romanoff Jewels (The Shadow #19) 3.5Stars

 

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 WordPresss & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Romanoff Jewels
Series: The Shadow #19
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 142
Words: 43K

Commies, Czar’ists and The Shadow all collide! Man, this was a weird read. Russian Royalty simply hasn’t been a part of our world close to 100 years now and so to read a story about it just after its heyday, still a force to be reckoned with, really threw me. It was kind of hard to take seriously too.

The Shadow really plays up the human factor in this story. He’s fully Lamont Cranston as much as he is the Shadow and he gets shot and beaten up and generally manhandled as any one person would in these circumstances. I’m used to The Shadow utterly triumphing, not surviving by the skin of his teeth.

I’ve never heard of the Romanoff Jewels, so everything about them, (a fabled stash of jewels representing the sum wealth of the Czars that was hidden away for their eventual return) was brand new and any info in the book I just took at face value. I did have some problem with the revelation that they were all fakes at the end. I had to roll my eyes at the naivete and stupidity of both commies and czarists thinking they were real. One jeweler is all it would have taken to prove things. It was shown that The Shadow’s ghirasol ring WAS one of the originals, and while it seems to have no purpose or function, it has a mystical mystique about it that in turn conferred such a feeling on the rest of the horde (that turned out not to exist). It would be like finding out that my food pantry was made up of a piece of wood from the Ark of the Covenant and that Putin and Kamala Harris were both after it.

Another good read and I enjoyed it. Overall, I don’t ever see myself re-reading these Shadow books, but that’s ok. Not every book is written to be re-read. Once and done is sometimes ok...

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher

The lofty towers of the Kremlin loomed like spectral spires against a darkened sky. Senov – master spider in a web of espionage – was about to ensnare America in the most nefarious deal of all time: behind the guise of a trade detente, he and his treacherous American trusties will swap the Romanoff jewels for help in restoring the ancient Russian monarchy! Only a certain black-clad form, swept like the shroud of night itself across the oceans and mountains of a desperate world, could hope to challenge such global enemies... and from the mysteries of New York's Cobalt Club to the thrills of a breathtaking submarine voyage the Shadow carves a dark and hidden path for the forces of justice: beware The Shadow as you beware the darkest unknown!

• All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

The Pirates of Salgari (Groo the Wanderer #33) 3.5Stars

 

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, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Pirates of Salgari
Series: Groo the Wanderer #33
Author: Sergio Aragones
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comics
Pages: 27
Words: 2K

Well, it turns out that Rufferto the dog is some sort of anti-kryptonite for Groo. If Rufferto is on a ship, it can’t sink, even if Groo is on board. But as soon as Rufferto leaves, if Groo is still on board, sploosh, that’s it for that poor ship!

This was a great misadventure of Groo ending up fighting for both sides and not having a clue, as usual. And the ending was just SO GROO. People are fighting, so he just jumps in, hahahaha.

I included this picture because of the first two panels specifically. It was SO expressive of just what was going on. It is simplistic but it conveys everything needful of that situation. From Groo (who isn’t even pictured but is kicking butt!) to the Leader of the Pirates to the onlookers. You read those two panels and you know exactly everything everyone is doing and feeling. How incredible is that? And I think that is why I keep reading this comic. Aragones is good at telling a short story and making his art support it every step of the way.

★★★✬☆

From Bookstooge.blog

A town is plundered by pirates and offers a reward for the return of all their goods. Groo hears about it and with his dog Rufferto’s help, sails to the pirate island, where he inevitably becomes the leader of the pirates. And leads a raid on the town who is offering the reward. Groo doesn’t get his reward and goes off to sulk. Soldiers from the king attack the pirates cum villagers and Groo ends up attacking everybody. The End.

• All of My “Groo the Wanderer” Reviews

Doctor Syn Returns (Doctor Syn #3) 3Stars

 

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Doctor Syn Returns
Series: Doctor Syn #3
Author: Arthur Russell Thorndike
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 154
Words: 74K

Syn is not so bloody thirsty and hypocritical in this one, but I still had serious issues with the liqueur smuggling going on. While I’m not a fan of the government taxing the soul out of us (one of the reasons America kicked the Brits ass back in ‘76 after all), I don’t feel that the smuggling of alcohol is in any way justified. Alcohol is almost as evil as drugs and I’ll go so far as to say that it IS a drug, as bad as meth, crack or marijuana. While we have the God given right to defend ourselves (why I AM in favor of gun running, ghost guns and other such libertarian ideals that are opposed to a tyrannical dictatorship run by a woman who was not actually elected), He did NOT give us the right to get shit faced drunk. So do yourself a favor and get rid of it.

This was the story where The Scarecrow is given life and while we only see him in action once or twice, he’s as great a character as Captain Clegg was. Considering they are both Syn, it’s no wonder.

I’m still on the fence about this series. I can see myself waffling about it right up until I finish it and I can see myself just throwing it away in disgust and dnf’ing at a moment’s notice. Taking this one book at at time.

Even if I do finish the series, it’s not one I’ll ever recommend.

★★★☆☆

From Wikipedia & Bookstooge.blog

It tells the story of Syn, who has tired of piracy, tries to settle down as the vicar of the little town of Dymchurch in Kent, England.

Syn's attempt to live an obscure life fails when he is drawn into the local smuggling trade. To protect his parishioners from the agents of the King's Revenue, Syn becomes the masked Scarecrow of Romney Marsh and becomes leader of the smugglers.

During this time, he falls in love with the oldest daughter of his best friend only for her to die. He also finds his wife, who is on death’s door. She has a daughter by her lover. Said lover pretends to be the Pirate Captain Clegg and dies so that Syn will take care of his baby daughter.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (June 2012) 3Stars

 

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
Series: June 2012
Editor: Linda Landrigan
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 123
Words: 47K

Slightly better than the previous magazine, but not by much. Weighing in at only 120+ pages, this doesn’t feel like a collection; which to be fair, it isn’t, it is a magazine. But that has made me realize that I’m not a fan of magazine length collections of stories.

Also, these really feel like reject stories that weren’t good enough for anywhere else. My bias is definitely playing a big part of that, but these stories just don’t have the verve, the snap, the creepiness that the stories in the old “Alfred Hitchcock Presents…” books had. Part of that is because the stories are trying to ape those by using the 1920’s through the 1980’s as their setting but with 2010’s sensibilities. You can’t do that successfully and none of these authors did.

I’ll read the rest of what I’ve got available for this magazine, but after that I’ll go deep diving on the dark net and dig up whatever old collection of Alfred Hitchcock’s collections from back in the day that I can find.

I guess this magazine just leaves a faint aftertaste of disappointment in my literary mouth.

★★★☆☆

Table of Contents:

Department: EDITOR'S NOTE: CRIME TIME by Linda Landrigan

Department: THE LINEUP

Fiction: THE SELLOUT by Mike Cooper

Fiction: THEA'S FIRST HUSBAND by B.K. Stevens

Fiction: CUPS AND VARLETS by Kenneth Wishnia

Fiction: LAST SUPPER by Jane K. Cleland

Department: MYSTERIOUS PHOTOGRAPH

Fiction: THE POT HUNTERS by David Hagerty

Department: BOOKED & PRINTED by Robert C. Hahn

Mystery Classic: AFTERNOON OF A PHONY by Cornell Woolrich, Selected and Introduced by Francis M. Nevins

Department: THE STORY THAT WON

Department: COMING IN JULY 2012

• All of My “Alfred Hitchcock” Reviews

Enter a Murderer (Roderick Alleyn #2) 3Stars

 

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Enter a Murderer
Series: Roderick Alleyn #2
Author: Ngaio Marsh
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 163
Words: 57K

The next in the “Inspector” Roderick Alleyn books. I enjoyed this more than the first book, but it still had that “edge” that unsettled me in the first book so I’m not raising my rating, not yet anyway.

This time around we’re dealing with a group of actors (stage actors, not movie actors, because of the times this is taking place in), but they are just as insufferable, arrogant and in general as much jackasses as any actor today. They are almost without fail horrible people and I didn’t feel sorry a single one of them at the inconviences, etc they had to endure while the investigation went on. It also didn’t help that Nigel, one of the characters from the first book, was here and basically being a complete idiot at every turn. Alleyn had to handle him without appearing to handle him. It was like watching a master craftsman turn a lump of turd into a turd statue. Not exactly pleasing, but still, shows skill.

I enjoyed the writing itself this time. There is something that pleases me down deep when an author shows their complete grasp of the English language and it’s multitudinal rules. It is an art and it is an art that I can actually intrinsically appreciate. Probably because “words” is my primary love language, so seeing them used absolutely correctly just pleases me.

Murder mysteries are a window into the heart of darkness and it never ceases to amaze me what people will murder for. Yes, this is fiction, but anything that some author can “think up’, well, the reality is that that has actually happened in some form or another. I don’t want to become jaded but at the same time I know I can have a rose tinted view of just what people can actually do, so it is good for me to be reminded of the reality of fallen human nature. Because if you think people are basically good, then they don’t need to be saved. And if they don’t need to be saved, then they don’t need a Savior. And if someone doesn’t think they need a savior, they will never consider turning their life over to Jesus. And that decision has eternal consequences I’m afraid.

★★★☆☆

From Wikipedia

Journalist Nigel Bathgate accompanies his friend Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn to a production of "The Rat and the Beaver" at the Unicorn Theatre. The star of the show is Felix Gardener, a friend of Nigel's, who plays the titular Rat. The production is fantastic, and Alleyn and Bathgate's eyes are glued to the stage. In the climactic scene, the Rat makes a dramatic entrance and shoots the Beaver, played by Arthur Surbonadier. The Beaver stares angrily at the Rat and drops dead. Only, this is not part of the show. Surbonadier really is dead, having been killed because the prop bullets in the Rat's gun were secretly replaced by real ones.

Alleyn takes control of the investigation and learns nearly everyone in the cast hated Surbonadier. He fought with Gardener about several things, most importantly actress Stephanie Vaughn. The prop bullets were stored in a desk and must have been switched when the lights went out before the play began. Everybody seems to have an alibi. A pair of grey woolen gloves are found, smeared with stage makeup. The prop bullets have a similar substance on them. Alleyn learns very little from his interviews but suspects that Props, the prop manager, knows more than he lets on.

Alleyn, aided by Bathgate and Inspector Fox, begins to look into Surbonadier's personal life. The actor's uncle, Jacob Saint, owns the Unicorn and was once the target of a libelous accusation of being involved in a drug smuggling ring. The letter was allegedly written by a journalist named Edward Wakeford, but many people believe Arthur wrote it himself as an attempt to blackmail his wealthy uncle. When Alleyn searches the actor's flat, he finds a what looks like a sheet of paper used to practice forging Wakeford's signature. Alleyn arrests Saint, but is coy publicly about what the exact charges are.

Alleyn asks for a recreation of everyone's movements backstage before the play began. The night before the recreation is to take place, a police deputy tracks a suspect back to the Unicorn, where he is soon found dead. Although it looks like suicide, Alleyn knows it is murder and uses the reaction from his prime suspect to the discovery of the body to prove that it was murder.