Thursday, December 30, 2021

The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) ★★★★☆

 

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 Well of Ascension
Series: Mistborn #2
Authors: Brandon Sanderson
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Pages: 656
Words: 249K





Synopsis:


From Wikipedia.org


The Final Empire is in turmoil as various regions descend into anarchy following the Lord Ruler's death and the disappearance of the Steel Ministry. Elend Venture has claimed the crown of the capital city, Luthadel, and attempts to restore order, but various hostile forces converge on the city. Three armies lay siege to Luthadel because of its rumored wealth of Atium and political influence. The first army is led by Straff Venture - head of House Venture, and Elend's father. The second army is led by Ashweather Cett, self-declared king of the Western Dominance. The third army consists of Koloss, massive, brutish blue creatures once controlled by the Lord Ruler, and is led by Elend's former friend Jastes, who is buying the Koloss' obedience with counterfeit coins.


Vin and Elend discover a set of discarded bones in their keep, and with help from Vin's shapeshifting Kandra, OreSeur, realize that another Kandra has taken the form and identity of one of Kelsier's crew to spy on them. Vin becomes increasingly suspicious of everyone around her. At night, she begins sparring with Zane, Straff's Mistborn son and Elend's half brother. In the South, Sazed has come across suspicious deaths that appear to be caused by the mists. Marsh – Kelsier's brother and a Steel Inquisitor – leads Sazed to a Ministry stronghold called "The Conventical of Seran," the former base of the Inquisitors. They discover an engraving that was authored by the Terrisman who once claimed to have found the Hero of Ages, which begins "I write these words in steel, for anything not set in metal cannot be trusted." They leave quickly, Sazed taking a charcoal rubbing.


The Terris keeper Tindwyl arrives at Luthadel to train Elend to be a better king. Despite his personal improvements, the Assembly votes to depose Elend, using the very laws written by Elend, and elect Lord Penrod as their new king. Zane pressures Vin to kill her enemies and flee with him, abandoning the city. Misting assassins attack Elend at an Assembly meeting, and when Vin kills them in front of Elend, their relationship deteriorates. At Zane's urging, Vin lashes out, slaughtering hundreds of Cett's soldiers at his temporary Luthadel mansion. She becomes disturbed by her actions and flees without killing Cett, who decides to leave the city and abandon his siege. Vin decides to choose Elend over Zane and refuses him. He tries to kill her, and reveals that the real OreSeur is dead, having been replaced by Zane's kandra, TenSoon. TenSoon has grown to like Vin, however, and he helps her kill Zane before returning to the kandra homeland. Feeling liberated, Vin accepts Elend's longstanding marriage proposal. Sazed and the rest of the crew scheme to get Elend and Vin out of the city before it falls, and Sazed creates a false map to the Well of Ascension, which Vin is convinced may be able to save them.


Straff withdraws his forces, allowing the koloss army to attack Luthadel, planning to rescue the city after the koloss have destroyed most of it and suffered casualties. Jastes loses control of his army; he flees and is killed. Vin returns to Luthadel just in time to save Sazed and most of the city's civilians, though Dockson, Tindwyl and Clubs are killed. She discovers that she can control the koloss using her Allomancy; she stops their slaughtering and turns them and Luthadel's army against Straff's army. Vin kills Straff and his generals as Cett decides to ally himself with Luthadel. Vin forces Cett, Penrod, and Straff's last general to swear allegiance as kings under Elend, whom she names emperor.


Vin realizes that the Well of Ascension is in Luthadel itself, and finds a hidden doorway in the Lord Ruler's castle that leads down to the underground Well of Ascension, where a man made of mist stabs Elend. Vin is tempted to use the power in the Well to heal him, but ultimately follows the instruction of Sazed's rubbing, releasing the power for the good of the world rather than seizing it for herself. The moment she releases it, a powerful entity escapes, shouting out that it is now free. The Mist figure encourages Vin to feed Elend a bead of metal she finds in the room, which makes him a Mistborn; his life is saved through Allomancy by burning Pewter. Sazed travels back to The Conventical of Seran and inspects the engraving. He discovers that the words of the rubbing have been changed, presumably by the mysterious entity working to secure its own release.



My Thoughts:


I can imagine Sanderson chortling to himself as he wrote this book. He had already turned the Epic Fantasy world on its head by having the badguy turn out to be the hero but who really wasn't and in this, he turns prophecy on its head as the hero of prophecy actually hasn't come yet and it's a woman, ie, Vin the Mistborn of the series. Of course, right at the very end of the book you find out that even the Prophecy turned on its head was just a fake out. I also happen to remember vague details from book 3 that makes it all even more inverted. Like I said, I bet he was chortling away as he wrote this. I think the impact of all that twisty inversion has the greatest punch upon the initial read but upon a re-read you pick up on the foreshadowing that he includes.


When I read this back in '07 I was in my late 20's and still single. What I was looking for in books was that sense of fantastic adventure coupled with a slight bit of romance and boy howdy, it delivered all of that back then. It still does this time around too. The problem is, I have changed quite a bit in the last 14 years and unlike some books (Way-Farer, Galactic Odyssey, The Hobbit, etc), this book has not weathered those changes as seamlessly. The angst of the love me/love me not has zero appeal, the uncertainty of youth and inexperience isn't comforting but annoying and I've read a lot of Fantasy, epic or otherwise, since then. While Sanderson has reset Epic Fantasy, much like Tolkien did back in his day, that has spawned so much copycat and wannabes that it makes finding an original story that much harder. That's not directly relevant to this story, but I see the effects this series has had and I have to admit that I don't like that effect, not at all. So it colors my enjoyment here and now.


The story itself is just great though. Multiple armies and monsters and Mistborns all flying around and killing. And the world going crazy with mists starting to kill people. It is good stuff!


I don't like the cover for this edition. While pretty accurate (Vin carrying a big ass koloss sword) it just screams Young Adult. Plus, it's not the one that was originally released and that's what I read and so obviously that is the best one. Duh! I've included a small picture of the original. If you're really curious, just use Tineye.com to do a reverse image search for a big copy.





I don't regret selling my hardcovers for this series though. Which tells me the raw and gritty truth, that I've moved on and these books haven't. Now, where's my cane? And someone tell those bleeping kids to get off my lawn too! Kids, no respect these days. Back in MY day.....


★★★★☆








Wednesday, December 29, 2021

After Worlds Collide (Bronson Beta #2)

 


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: After Worlds Collide
Series: Bronson Beta #2
Authors: Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 193
Words: 75.5K





Synopsis:


From Wikipedia.org


Bronson Alpha, the larger of two rogue planets, collided with and destroyed the Earth, before leaving the solar system. However, its companion, the roughly Earth-sized Bronson Beta remained behind and settled into a stable, but eccentric, orbit around the sun.


In a desperate attempt to save a portion of humanity, the United States and several other countries feverishly constructed space arks to transport a select few to Bronson Beta. The Americans, under the leadership of Cole Hendron, managed to launch two space Arks, carrying hundreds of people, as well as the animals, plants and knowledge they will need to hopefully survive on the alien planet. Both American ships reach this new world, as do at least two others, though all four become separated and each is unaware of the fates of the others. There is a reference in When Worlds Collide to a French ship exploding in Earth's upper atmosphere shortly after launch.


The survivors of Hendron's own smaller Ark set out to establish a colony, aware (from a road they find) that an alien civilization once existed on Bronson Beta. Tony Drake and another associate scout out for suitable farmland, but during their return journey following the alien road, the two men come across a vehicle. After a mysterious disease strikes the camp, killing three colonists, Hendron forbids exploration, but some of the colonists defy him and strike out, bringing back wood from a distant forest. That night, an aircraft passes near the camp, beating a hasty retreat when the campfire is spotted.


Kyto, Tony's Japanese former manservant, finds a piece of blank paper blowing in the wind: watermarked in English, it provides a first clue that another group of Earth survivors have landed on Bronson Beta. It is revealed later in the story that a group made up of Germans, Russians and Japanese intend to establish a "soviet" called "The Dominion of Asian Realists."


At Hendron's order, an exploratory aircraft is built from remnants of the Ark and its rockets, and Tony Drake sets off with writer Eliot James. They follow the road and discover a domed city. Finding a native poster portraying a Bronson Beta female, Drake and James learn that the Bronson Beta natives were essentially humanoid and had considerably higher technology than humanity. This species built five such cities to survive their world's departure into interstellar space, but ultimately decided to simply become extinct after they were completed. Later in the story, once a linguist within the group deciphers the Bronson Beta language, it is learned that the five domed cities were named Gorfulu, Khorlu, Strahl, Danot and Wend by their builders.


The Americans explore the city (revealed to have been the one named Wend). Then they fly south and discover a searchlight in the dark. It comes from the second American Ark, which had a disastrous landing. There is a joyous reunion with its commander, Dave Ransdell. Ransdell's camp also encountered a mysterious aircraft.


Tony and Ransdell fly back to Hendron's camp, finding that Hendron is visibly deteriorating in health and mind. Tony is jealous that Ransdell apparently will become their new leader and will also have Eve, Hendron's daughter, as his wife. Eve, acting as Hendron's regent, sends Tony to deliver a radio to the Ransdell camp. The first message reports that Hendron's camp has come under some sort of attack. Tony and one of Ransdell's men investigate; they find everyone lying on the ground.


They discover everyone is alive, but drugged; they give the doctor antidotes and then hear an aircraft approaching, occupied by men with Slavic features. After the aircraft leaves, Tony prepares weapons (rocket tubes from the Ark) to defend the camp. An armada arrives soon afterward, but is totally obliterated.


The people gradually wake up. Hendron hands command over to Tony, to Ransdell's relief. Tony decides to occupy one of the alien cities, not the one they found, but another one nearby (Khorlu — later renamed Hendron-Khorlu); they follow the road there.


During the trip, they encounter an alien automobile driven by a British woman; she explains that a British ship also made it from Earth, but landed in a lake; they were found the next day by the "Dominion of Asian Realists" group, which Hendron nicknames "Midianites", and enslaved. The Midianites' society is structured like an ant farm, the colony being all important and the people nothing, but the top rulers live luxuriously.


Tony's group settle into the alien city, and tractors are sent to bring Ransdell's contingent. Tony names their new home Hendron (later renamed as Hendron-Khorlu after the language of Bronson Beta's original inhabitants is deciphered). Hendron himself died just as the convoy came into view of the city. The scientists manage, with the Briton's help, to figure out how to charge the batteries and operate the machinery. They also find hangars housing alien aircraft; some are armed and used for air defense.


Meanwhile, the planet is approaching aphelion, and nobody is entirely certain that it is in a stable orbit around the sun. The weather gets colder, and one night, the Midianites, who have settled in the largest domed city (Gorfulu, which also controlled power to the other four cities), disconnect Hendron-Khorlu's power supply. One woman defects to the Midianites, while four others attempt to reach Gorfulu using a high-speed car in an underground service tunnel. They are unsuccessful, but the female "defector" kills the Midianite leader, defeats his key people, and allows the British to take control.


The Dominion is defeated, and the victorious American/British coalition settles into the domed cities, along with the former Midianites. While challenges remain, their immediate needs for shelter, energy, and food are taken care of. The story ends on an optimistic note with a reference to the first pregnancy among the colonists, Eve and Tony's, and the confirmation that they have passed aphelion and are definitely locked into orbit around the sun.




My Thoughts:


The last two times I recorded that I read I gave it 4stars. This time around it wasn't so lucky. I suspect almost all of that change is completely on my part though.


This was a good sequel and it fit well with the first book. My main issue was how some of the characters reacted to the alien cities and the leftovers from their civilization. The biggest example of this was Tony Drake. In the first book he was Cole Hendron's chosen successor and without Drake, it is doubtful the group would have made it over to Bronsen Beta. In this book, his role of leader hasn't been confirmed yet but he's out exploring one of the cities and he's as nervous as a school girl about the aliens. He keeps expecting them to pop up and introduce themselves OR he's obsessing about where all the bodies are. And Beta has supposedly been sailing through space for millions of years. For a hard headed, powerful man, Tony was acting out of character. I wish the authors had used someone else to display this fear instead of Tony.


The Axis and Allies thing going on between the groups was ok and was far enough removed in time to not bother me. Really, the authors didn't spend much time on much sort of action in this book. The focus was on exploring the city and learning about the Beta's. And that did get a good hard eye roll from me. In mere weeks or months at most, both groups had decoded an alien language and civilization well enough to not only work their cities but to understand them. And the aliens looked almost like humans, just “advanced”, ie, they didn't wage war and had mastery of technology. It was a very 1930's attitude for sure.


The other big thing for me was that the day and night on Beta were twice as long as what had been for Earth. And the humans just kind of roll with it. They go to bed late, get up early and ho-dee-hum, it's business as usual. There's also a throwaway line about how the Beta's were used to such a long day and night. I've worked the night shift and trust me, it doesn't take much to throw your whole life out of whack if your sleeping patterns are shifted. We were made for a 24hr cycle and to just shrug off the change is unbelievable to me. The part about the Beta's is even more unbelievable because a day/night cycle is based on the rotation of a planet around its sun and we're supposed to believe that Beta spin here in our solar system is the same as it was when it circled its original sun? Epic Eye Roll.


The overall story was good, but the tension of the world ending wasn't there, the heroism caused by such tension wasn't there and there were no cool “cataclysmic” scenes like in When Worlds Collide. If I re-read this series again, I'll definitely be reading this sequel. When & After are a matched pair, just not equal.


★★★☆☆




Monday, December 27, 2021

Where There's a Will (Nero Wolfe #8) ★★★★☆

 

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: Where There's a Will
Series: Nero Wolfe #8
Author: Rex Stout
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 171
Words: 61.5K






Synopsis:


From Wikipedia


The famous Hawthorne sisters — April, May and June — visit Nero Wolfe in a body to ask his help in averting a scandal. After the shock of their brother Noel's death three days before, they have been dealt another shock at learning the terms of his will. May, a college president, insists that Noel had promised to leave $1 million to her school; however, the will leaves each sister nothing but a piece of fruit and passes almost all of Noel's estate to a young woman named Naomi Karn. The sisters want to hire Wolfe to persuade Naomi to turn over at least half of the inheritance so that Noel's widow Daisy will not bring a case to court that would cause a sensation.


Daisy's unexpected arrival interrupts the conference. She wears a veil at all times to cover the disfiguring scars left after Noel accidentally shot her with a bow and arrow. She discovered that Noel was having an affair with Naomi and now hates the entire Hawthorne family as a result. Wolfe assures her that he will consider her interests in addition to those of the sisters and attempt to negotiate with Naomi on their behalf.


Later that day, Inspector Cramer interrupts another meeting with the news that Noel had in fact been murdered. He had been killed by a shotgun blast while hunting on his country estate; it was assumed that he had tripped and discharged the weapon, but further analysis of the evidence has led the police to discard this theory. Archie is called away to help Fred Durkin keep an eye on a man whom Fred had been tailing - Eugene Davis, a partner at the law firm that drew up Noel's will, who had been seen in a bar with Naomi. Davis is now drunk and passed out in a run-down apartment.


On Wolfe's orders, Archie travels to the Hawthorne mansion on 67th Street, where he finds Wolfe, the family and other associated individuals gathered to meet with the local police. Archie finds, to his surprise, that there are apparently two Daisy Hawthornes in the house. One is meeting with Wolfe and accusing April of the murder, based on the fact that a cornflower was found next to the body and April had had a bunch of them with her. The other is speaking to Naomi in the living room. The one meeting with Wolfe turns out to be the real Daisy, and Wolfe later determines that the other was actually April in disguise, trying to get information out of Naomi about the will and the relationship between her and Noel.


Later in the day, Archie finds Naomi strangled to death, her body hidden in an alcove next to the living room. Wolfe slips out of the house without telling Archie and has Orrie Cather drive him back to Wolfe's brownstone on 35th Street. After being confronted by the Hawthornes, Daisy spitefully claims to the police that April is the murderer, and she is arrested by the authorities. Meanwhile, June's daughter Sara tells Archie that someone has stolen her camera. The film it contained had already been sent off to be developed, and Wolfe and Archie later retrieve the pictures. After examining them, Wolfe warns Sara that her life will be in danger if she returns to the estate and has her stay at the brownstone. Cramer threatens to arrest Wolfe as a material witness to Naomi's murder, but Wolfe counters by threatening to turn evidence of the murderer's guilt over to a local newspaper instead of the police.


With all of the principals assembled in his office, Wolfe accuses Davis of switching Noel's actual will (which left generous bequests to Daisy, his sisters and May's college) with a forgery that leaves nearly the entire estate to Naomi, in a plot to win her affections, and of killing Noel and Naomi. When Glenn Prescott, another of the law firm's partners, agrees with this theory, Davis angrily accuses him of the murders. Wolfe then reveals his evidence: one of Sara's pictures, which shows Prescott wearing a wild rose in his lapel, a flower that he could not have obtained in the city. He had picked it at the scene of Noel's murder, discarding the cornflower he had worn (later found near the body), and had only remembered after Sara had taken the photograph. Prescott is placed under arrest, and Archie decides to keep the material witness warrant as a souvenir.




My Thoughts:


Here I am at the eighth book in the Nero Wolfe series and I am having a hard time not simply reading these one after another. I am REALLY enjoying these. What I find amusing is that the “mystery” of each book I can totally take it or leave it. I don't try to solve what is going on or even care. I like the interactions between all of the various characters whether main or side.


Archie is still pretty starchy and it's not worn on me at all. Wolfe continues to be as peremptive, eccentric and fat as ever and THAT hasn't worn on me at all either. I am surprised he hasn't died from a heart attack but some people have all the luck I guess. Each book introduces side characters who are great. In this one we have the fore-runner of the Hollywood Glam-Mom. Each of the Hawthorne sisters, while sharing a certain something, are not just 3 names give the author more room to maneuver. They are key individuals in the story and each one reacts differently and has different situational pressures on them. One is a mom, one is married to a high ranking political man and another is an actress. And then you have the lawyers Prescott and Davis. Oh, they are everything you want in lawyers in a mystery story like this. It was like giving someone a one-two punch and then doing a Rocky Balboa dance around the ring to read about them. And finally, the cops and various law enforcement officers. They have hassled Archie and Wolfe in every single book and most of the time Wolfe just throws utter defiance back in their face. While I am a law-abiding citizen and believe in law and order and that the officers of the law are to be obeyed and respected, I also like seeing citizens knowing their rights and using them properly. The Law IS at a disadvantage because it has to abide by the laws in place, and that has consequences. Badguys will get away or manipulate things, but once the Law starts changing itself to suit the situation, that way leads to tyranny. And revolution and bloodshed, which is not a good thing. So the first step to prevent that is an informed citizenry and Wolfe and Archie are stirling examples of that. Bravo boys!


Now, the one thing that bugged me. We have been told time and again that Wolfe is eccentric and won't leave his house. We've seen examples of this. But so far, in these eight books, Wolfe has ended up leaving his house more times than he's stayed. In this book he goes to the Hawthorne house and ends up doing most of his work there before running back to his house to keep out of the hands of the law. It isn't a big thing, but all of these “exceptions” make it hard to accept that it is a big deal for him to leave the house. And that's about my only problem with this book :-D


★★★★☆



Friday, December 24, 2021

The Secret of Father Brown (Father Brown #4) ★★★★☆

 

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 Secret of Father Brown
Series: Father Brown #4
Author: G.K. Chesterton
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 218
Words: 63K





Synopsis:


Table of Contents



  • "The Secret of Father Brown" (framing story)

  • "The Mirror of the Magistrate"

  • "The Man with Two Beards"

  • "The Song of the Flying Fish"

  • "The Actor and the Alibi"

  • "The Vanishing of Vaudrey"

  • "The Worst Crime in the World"

  • "The Red Moon of Meru"

  • "The Chief Mourner of Marne"

  • "The Secret of Flambeau" (framing story)




My Thoughts:


Wikipedia totally let me down for this book. While it has had synopses for the previous book collections of short stories, there was no entry for this compilation. Makes me wonder how the people there can sleep easy at night, knowing they abandoned me in my hour of need. Not only that, they also let down every single one of you who is reading this. You expected a snapshot of the stories contained in this book and what do you get? Just a lousy TOC. My goodness, I hope you are properly outraged at this disturbing display of laziness and lack of hard work. I know I am!


Shame, shame, shame.


As I noted in my “CR&Q: The Secret of Father Brown” post, this book felt like it encapsulated the essence of Father Brown and what Chesterton was trying to convey through him. While Chesterton and I disagree on some things, maybe even big things (he was a staunch Roman Catholic and I'm a 7th Day Adventist), our views on God certainly do align. And not just on God the Father but the entire Trinity, which is how it should be.


Therefore as I was reading these stories, instead of viewing them as a mystery story, or a story about Justice Here and Now (which is one of the issues Chesterton and I differ on), I viewed them through the lense of knowing people as individuals and not as a class or type. As is written in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”


Once someone realizes their proper place before God and what Christ's sacrifice has truly done, how they interact and view the rest of humanity is going to change. But the significance of Christ's sacrifice is absolutely essential. If I just take the first part, that we are all sinners and cannot live up to the perfect standard that God has requires (it's not an arbitrary line He drew in the sand, it is part of His very character), then chances are that I'll either start enslaving other humans, because why not, they're scum destined for hell so why not start hell a little early for them, OR I'll become an arrogant asshat thinking how much better I am than them (ie, the Pharisee who prayed and thanked God that he wasn't like “that” tax collector next to him). But once I realize the universe shattering revelation of Christ's sacrifice, every person I meet has to be treated like the object of God's love and sacrifice, because they are.


Christians can spend their entire lives learning this lesson and letting the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity) imprint it on their hearts and minds. Some of us do better than others. But this collection of stories reminded me, again, that Christ didn't die just for me, but for every single individual person in the entire world, past, present and future. It is humbling and encouraging all at the same time.


The fact that this book got me thinking along these lines is why it got 4stars. It was better than some of the so-called devotionals I've read in the past.


★★★★☆



Thursday, December 23, 2021

Asterix the Gladiator (Asterix #4) ★★★★☆

 

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: Asterix the Gladiator
Series: Asterix #4
Authors: Goscinny & Uderzo
Translators: Bell & Hockridge
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comics
Pages: 51
Words: 3K





Synopsis:


From Wikipedia.org


While stopping at the Roman Camp of Compendium, Prefect 'Odius Asparagus' wants one of the indomitable Gauls as a present for Julius Caesar. Because none of the others can be captured, Centurion Gracchus Armisurplus decides on Cacofonix the bard. Soldiers sent by the centurion, although driven away by Cacofonix's singing at first, counteract this by stuffing parsley in their ears and capture him easily. A young boy named Picanmix from the village raises the alarm to Asterix and Obelix, and the Gauls attack Compendium; but learn that the prefect has already left in his galley with Cacofonix.


Asterix and Obelix therefore board a ship with Ekonomikrisis the Phoenician merchant, who agrees to take them to Rome after they save him from the pirates. In Rome, after Cacofonix has subjected the slaves in the prefect's galley to his bad singing, the prefect presents him to Julius Caesar; but when Caius Fatuous, the gladiators' trainer, declares Cacofonix unfit to serve as a gladiator, Caesar decides to throw the bard to the lions. Upon arrival in Rome, Asterix and Obelix befriend Instantmix (a Gaulish chef working in Rome) and visit the public baths. There, Caius Fatuous decides they would be perfect candidates for the gladiators' fights in the Circus Maximus, and he arranges to have them captured. That night, Asterix and Obelix visit Instantmix in his insula, where he identifies the location of Cacofonix. The next morning, the Gauls' first attempt at rescuing the bard fails when they raid the Circus prison and discover that Cacofonix has been transferred to a lower basement. Caius Fatuous has his men try to ambush them in groups of three, but Asterix and Obelix defeat them with ease, and apparently without taking notice.


Caius Fatuous then offers a reward of 10,000 sestertii to any citizen who captures Asterix and Obelix; but the two of them volunteer as gladiators to infiltrate the following Games, and Fatuous places them in training under his assistant Insalubrius. Soon, the Gauls demoralize Insalubrius and irritate Caius Fatuous by having the other gladiators play guessing-games instead of training. Later, when Fatuous plans the Games to Julius Caesar, the Gauls go on a stroll, with Caius Fatuous (reluctantly) as their guide. On the eve before the games, Asterix and Obelix visit Cacofonix in his cell and inform him of their intentions to free him and the gladiators.


The next day, during the chariot races, Asterix and Obelix substitute themselves for an inebriated contestant, and win the race. As Cacofonix is put into the arena to be killed by the lions, he sings to the Romans, and thus frightens the lions into retreat; whereupon Caesar orders the gladiators' competition to begin. When Asterix, Obelix, and the gladiators introduce Caesar to their guessing-game, and Caesar insists on a martial contest, Asterix challenges a cohort of Caesar's own guard, and the two Gauls win easily. Seeing that the audience are amused, Caesar releases the three Gauls and grants them Fatuous as a prisoner. Soon afterwards, the four men meet back up with Ekonomikrisis, and Asterix surprises him and his men by having Caius Fatuous row the ship back to the Gaulish Village alone. After a brief journey (plus a second run in with the pirates, which sinks their ship), the Gauls arrive home and Ekonomikrisis keeps his promise to return Caius Fatuous to Rome. The villagers then celebrate the return of their heroes with a banquet, only with Cacofonix having to sit it out bound and gagged after offering to sing a song to celebrate his triumphant return.


This book is noteworthy in the Asterix series as the first in which Obelix says his famous catchphrase "These Romans are crazy!"



My Thoughts:


Fun. Cacofonix the Bard gets kidnapped, only to be shut up time and again every time someone hears him sing. Even Asterix and Obelix threaten to not take him back to Gaul if he tries to sing to them at the end of the book. How can that not make you laugh?


The running gag for this story is Obelix playing a game of “hit the romans” and using their helmets as proof that he knocked them out. You seem him constantly with a huge pile of roman helmets lined up like soup bowls in his arms every time he meets a new group of them. There were a couple of word plays that went right over my head, as I didn't see what what was supposed to be funny, but missing a joke here or there isn't necessarily a bad thing.


Overall, a good way to spend the evening.


★★★★☆



Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Twice in Time ★★☆☆☆

 

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: Twice in Time
Series: ----------
Authors: Manly Wade Wellman
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 168
Words: 47K





Synopsis:


From FictionDB.com


While vacationing in Italy, 19-year-old Leo Thrasher rashly experiments with a radical new science. The result: he "reflects" himself 500 years back in time and must deal with life in the middle ages as he strives to return to the present. And in the 20th century, the memoirs of Leonardo da Vinci are unearthed.




My Thoughts:


This was my third foray into the works of Manly Wade Wellman and I have to admit, I've been nothing but disappointed. Unless I can get my hands on the Silver John series or the John Thunstone series, I'll not be reading anything else by Wellman.


This book was stupid. The main character, Leo Thrasher, goes back in time, without giving it any thought and turns into Leo da Vinci. Makes me wonder if Tim Powers read this story and if it influenced his Anubis Gates any? If not, it's a remarkable coincidence.


So, Leo. He descibes his time mirror and goes into detail of what went into the making of it (super rare elements, machined metal parts measured down to the micrometer, etc, etc) and he somehow expects to be able to make one to return, in Italy in the 1500's? What kind of idiot is he? A big ultra-stupid idiot, that's what kind. It was just one ridiculous situation after another that either had me rolling my eyes or shaking my fist. I realized what Wellman was doing (ie, Leo was Da Vinci) about halfway through and I probably should have seen it much sooner. But I was distracted by all the stupid idiotic stuff going on.


I had higher hopes from Wellman. But the three books I've read by him have all been juvenile, simplistic, stooooopid and not entertaining. Adios amigo and don't let my lightsaber hit you where the Good Lord split you.


★★☆☆☆



Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Jack Four (Polity #21) ★★★★☆

 

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: Jack Four
Series: Polity #21
Authors: Neal Asher
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 334
Words: 139K





Synopsis:


From the Inside Cover



Created to die – determined to live . . .


Jack Four – one of twenty human clones – has been created to be sold. His purchasers are the alien prador and they only want him for their experimentation program. But there is something different about Jack. No clone should possess the knowledge that’s been loaded into his mind. And no normal citizen of humanity’s Polity worlds would have this information.

The prador’s king has been mutated by the Spatterjay virus into a creature even more monstrous than the prador themselves. And his children, the King’s Guard, have undergone similar changes. They were infected by the virus during the last humans-versus-prador war, now lapsed into an uneasy truce. But the prador are always looking for new weapons – and their experimentation program might give them the edge they seek.


Suzeal trades human slaves out of the Stratogaster Space Station, re-engineering them to serve the prador. She thinks the rewards are worth the risks, but all that is about to change. The Station was once a zoo, containing monsters from across known space. All the monsters now dwell on the planet below, but they aren’t as contained as they seem. And a vengeful clone may be the worst danger of all.



My Thoughts:


Asher has never been shy about biological functions in his stories, what with jain tech invading like a cancer or the spatterjay turning someones tongue into a leech that wants to eat you to giant crabs mating. But in this book he seems to have an obsession with poop and the main character, Jack Four, is constantly voiding his bowels and Asher lets us know about it more than is necessary. Maybe Asher was having issues of his own and so it was on his mind? I don't know but if you do read this book, be prepared for bowel voiding like it is some sort of contest, hahahaha!


In this story, Asher brings most of his most dangerous creations (Jay Hoop level of hoopers, hooders and other monsters from his various books) altogether and has a prador scientist messing around with them trying to make them even more dangerous. The biggest scary was the prador trying to re-weaponize the hooders as war machines and thralled under prador control. It is scary as all get out but also immensely satisfying when the hooders overcome the thralling and turn on everybody.


It is pretty obvious (at least to me) who Jack Four was based on once you meet the template early on. I was wracking my brains to see if we'd been introduced to any Jacks who were ECS agents in earlier books but there my mind fails. I could probably go find some sort of Polity character list but I don't care THAT much.


By the end of the book I was exhausted. This felt like it was a non-stop ultra violent sprint. From Jack Four's awakening to the very end, the pace is relentless and Jack is on the run. With the runs a lot of the time (if you know what I mean) BA DUM TISH!


While I am pretty sure this is supposed to be a standalone Polity story, it is possible that this will turn into a trilogy. I hope it doesn't though. Asher is pretty good about telling one book stories and this is just fine the way it is.


★★★★☆



Monday, December 20, 2021

[Manga Monday] The Legend Begins (One Piece #12) ★★★★☆

 

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 Legend Begins
Series: One Piece #12
Arc: East Blue #12 & Baroque Works #1
Author: Eiichiro Oda
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 191
Words: 8K





Synopsis:


From Wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_One_Piece_chapters_(1_186)



"The Legend Begins"

"Reverse Mountain"

"And Now, the Grand Line"

"The Whale"

"Cape Promise"

"Log Pose"

"The Town of Welcome"

"Moonlight and Tombstones"

"100 Bounty Hunters"


As the Straw Hats try to flee the island, Smoker gets in their way. Luffy fights him, but is quickly pinned to the ground. With the help of a man named Dragon, he escapes. The Straw Hats enter the Grand Line by crossing Reverse Mountain, where they are swallowed by the giant whale Laboon. In its stomach they meet Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday (who try to kill the whale to feed their village) and Crocus, Laboon's caretaker. Crocus shows them the way out, telling the whale's story, and introduces the Straw Hats to navigating the Grand Line. Luffy impulsively gives Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9 a ride to Whiskey Peak, their home village. Their arrival is celebrated by the townspeople, who are bounty hunters for Baroque Works. With his comrades fast asleep after the party, Zoro must fight the roughly 100 bounty hunters himself.





My Thoughts:


When I started originally reading this series back in '07, it wasn't obvious that there were different story arcs going. Thankfully, with this re-read and new editions, it is stated right on the front cover, or inside cover, when an arc ends and a new one begins. I am finding it extremely helpful in terms of what to expect.


This volume ends the East Blue arc, where Luffy and Crew sailed around preparing to enter the Grand Line. It also begins the Baroque Works arc, which appears to have the Crew going up against an Organization known as Baroque Works. When I was reading way back when, this change kind of caught me by surprise because the storyline also changes. Knowing there are going to be changes sets me in the right frame of mind to accept those changes.


The end of the East Blue arc sees the Crew escaping Captain Smoker (who has eaten of some sort of fruit that gives him powers as well) as well as Alvida and Buggy. But it looks like all three of them will be chasing after Luffy so it seems Luffy will have old enemies as well as new once he reaches the Grand Line.


Then the crew makes it onto the Grand Line and come to a Cactus Island, where they are feted and pass out from food and drink. Only Zoro stays sober and ends up fighing against the whole town, who are bounty hunters who take down pirates before they get too big on the Grand Line. With Luffy's 30 million berry reward, he's worth the effort. Zoro tests out his new swords and shows why he was the best swordsman on East Blue. He defeats all the ordinary bounty hunters so some of the bigger honchos have to get involved, namely Mister 8, Miss Monday and maybe some others. Obviously Baroque Works was running short on ideas when it came to secret names BUT it makes it super easy on me as a reader to figure out just who is where on the Power Ladder and who needs to be defeated in what order.


This volume ends with Zoro getting ready to go head to head. I suspect he'll beat a couple then get whipped by somebody higher up on the food chain and then Luffy will get involved, blah blah blah. Should be fun :-)


Oh, on a complete side note, anyone have any ideas how I can make the titles for these a bit cleaner? I'm stuffing in manga monday, the title and the series and then the rating and it just looks super messy to me. But I don't know how to convey all that info in the title without it being messy. Any thoughts would be appreciated.



★★★★☆




Sunday, December 19, 2021

Department 19 (Department 19 #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: Department 19
Series: Department 19 #1
Authors: Will Hill
Rating: 1.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Pages: 379
Words: 133K





Synopsis:


From the inside cover


Jamie Carpenter's life will never be the same. His father is dead, his mother is missing, and he was just rescued by an enormous man named Frankenstein. Jamie is brought to Department 19, where he is pulled into a secret organization responsible for policing the supernatural, founded more than a century ago by Abraham Van Helsing and the other survivors of Dracula. Aided by Frankenstein's monster, a beautiful vampire girl with her own agenda, and the members of the agency, Jamie must attempt to save his mother from a terrifyingly powerful vampire.


Department 19 takes us through history, across Europe, and beyond - from the cobbled streets of Victorian London to prohibition-era New York, from the icy wastes of Arctic Russia to the treacherous mountains of Transylvania. Part modern thriller, part classic horror, it's packed with mystery, mayhem, and a level of suspense that makes a Darren Shan novel look like a romantic comedy.




My Thoughts:


I went into this hoping for a rollicking good ride of monster killing. Instead, I get the following:


  • there was no profanity EXCEPT taking God or Jesus' name in vain. It was a constant barrage of breaking the 4th Commandment. It had me close to dnf'ing on that alone

  • whiny 16 year old boy “knows things” (not even psychically, but just because he said so) so they must be right and everybody acts on it, even when they say they won't

  • He's never fired a gun in his life and has been physically bullied by other teens, but once he's had 24hrs of training, he's a vampire killing machine that sets a new record in the “simulation”

  • a vampire girl is supposed to kill him and then lies and deceives him for her own purposes, but she really loves him and they make out, so she's all ok

  • a 200 year old super secret military organization just lets him requisition troops, guns, helicopters, whatever and ignores him instead of locking him up whenever he throws a teenage tempter tantrum “because of his mom”


I think that's enough. I knew this was Young Adult (definitely not middle grade due to the graphic nature of some of the violence) but I was kind of hoping it would be Monster Hunters International for teens. Nope. What I got was Anakin Skywalker (mommy issues and all) hunting vampires. The final nail in the coffin (because a book this bad needs at least one good/bad joke) was how Jamie kills the boss vampire in the end. Now, you have to remember that vampires have been shown, IN THIS BOOK, to have super hearing, are super fast and strong and can survive being dropped from an airplane and crashing headfirst into the ground. So Jamie uses a crossbow to pull a big cross onto the most powerful vampire in the world and the vampire doesn't realize what he's doing, doesn't hear the cross creaking and falling, nor does he move out of the way and once it brains him, he just lies there, dead. It was the most ridiculous thing I had (almost) ever read.


I don't recommend this for Christians because of the blasphemy, I don't recommend this for teens because of the graphic violence and I don't recommend it for adults because of how stupid it is.


So much for this series!


★✬☆☆☆


Friday, December 17, 2021

Sharpe's Triumph (Sharpe #2) ★★★✬☆

 

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: Sharpe's Triumph
Series: Sharpe #2
Authors: Bernard Cornwell
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 279
Words: 118K





Synopsis:


From Wikipedia.org


Sergeant Richard Sharpe and a small detachment arrive at an isolated East India Company fort to transport 80,000 recovered rounds of stolen ammunition to the armory at Seringapatam. Whilst Sharpe and his men rest, a company of East India Company sepoys arrive under the command of Lieutenant William Dodd. Dodd abruptly has his men massacre the unsuspecting, outnumbered garrison. Sharpe is wounded and feigns death, allowing him to escape Dodd's determination to leave no witnesses.


Back in Seringapatam, Sharpe's friend, Colonel McCandless, whom Sharpe met four years earlier during the siege of Seringapatam (Sharpe's Tiger), questions him about Dodd. Dodd deserted the East India Company, taking with him his sepoys, and McCandless has been tasked with bringing him to justice, lest it give others similar ideas. McCandless orders Sharpe to accompany him since he can identify Dodd.


Dodd joins Colonel Anthony Pohlmann, commander of Daulat Scindia's army, at the city of Ahmednuggur and is rewarded with a promotion to major and command of his own battalion. Since the Mysore Campaign, the British have been pushing further north into the Maratha Confederacy's territory. Scinda is one of the Maratha rulers who have decided to resist the British advance. Scinda orders Pohlmann to assign a regiment to defend Ahmednuggur, so Pohlmann gives Dodd command of the unit and instructions to inflict casualties on the British, but most importantly, withdraw and keep the regiment intact.


Meanwhile, Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill correctly guesses that Sharpe killed the Tippoo Sultan four years earlier at Seringapatam and looted the corpse. Hakeswill frames him for an attack on his former company commander, Captain Morris. Given a warrant to arrest Sharpe, Hakeswill recruits six cutthroats to help him murder Sharpe, so they can steal the treasure.


Sharpe and McCandless travel to the British army, escorted by Syud Sevajee, the Maratha leader of a band of mercenary cavalrymen working for the East India Company. They reach the army, now under the command of Major General Arthur Wellesley, Sharpe's former regimental commander and the future Duke of Wellington. Upon arrival at Ahmednuggur, Wellesley quickly launches a risky escalade without the usual days-long artillery bombardment, in a bid to take the enemy by surprise. He quickly captures the poorly fortified town, to the amazement of Dodd, who has a poor opinion of Wellesley. Despite this, Dodd manages to extract his troops from the rout and retreats to Pohlmann's army, much to McCandless's anger. In the chaos of the battle, Sharpe rescues Simone Joubert, the French-Mauritian wife of a French officer in Dodd's regiment. Under the pretext of returning Madame Joubert to her husband, McCandless hopes to be able to reconnoitre the Maratha army. They do not leave immediately, however, and Sharpe spends the night in Ahmednuggur with Simone.


The next day, they reach the Maratha army. Pohlmann deduces McCandless's real intentions, but knowing that his army vastly outnumbers the British, allows McCandless to see everything he wants. At the same time, Pohlmann tries to recruit Sharpe, offering to make him a lieutenant. He tells Sharpe of the various successes that lowly Europeans have had in India, including his own rise from East India Company sergeant to commander of Scinda's army. That evening, Sharpe considers defecting, but, before he can make a decision, his and McCandless's horses are stolen, with McCandless being wounded. Sharpe apprehends one of the thieves, who turns out to be one of Dodd's men. Both Sharpe and Pohlmann suspect that Dodd ordered the theft, but Pohlmann only has the thief executed. Meanwhile, Hakeswill takes his request to arrest Sharpe to Wellesley, who informs him that Sharpe will not return for some time. He assigns Hakeswill to the baggage train in the meantime, infuriating the impatient sergeant.


The Maratha army moves on, leaving McCandless behind, at his own request. Sharpe decides to look after the wounded colonel, which he uses as a reason to refuse Pohlmann's offer. Nevertheless, he begins to wonder about how he might become an officer. Recognizing the ambition Pohlmann has stoked in the sergeant, McCandless cautions Sharpe. At the time, almost all of the officers in the British Army came from wealthy families and paid for their commissions. Those exceptional few who rose from the ranks were resented and had little chance of advancement. Whilst McCandless recovers, Syud Sevajee locates them and delivers McCandless's report to Wellesley.


When McCandless is recovered enough, he and Sharpe rejoin the army as it advances towards Borkardan. Using some of the Tippoo's jewels, Sharpe buys one of Wellesley's horses for McCandless, though he pretends to Wellesley that McCandless is the purchaser. The surprised McCandless learns about Sharpe and the Tippoo's death. The next day, Hakeswill attempts to arrest Sharpe, but McCandless smudges the ink on the warrant so that it reads "Sharp", not "Sharpe", and refuses to let him take Sharpe.


After weeks of aimless marching, the Maratha leaders meet and finally decide to engage the British near Assaye. Pohlmann is given overall command. The British have two forces, one under the command of Wellesley and the other under Colonel Stevenson. Pohlmann plans to fight and defeat them separately, before they can join forces. Wellesley discovers that the enemy is closer than he thought and fully aware of the situation, but is still determined to attack.


Pohlmann sets a trap. He deploys his army at what he is told is the only usable ford of the River Kaitna, but Wellesley deduces that there must be another one between two villages on opposite banks of the river. Using the second ford, Wellesley crosses the river to try to launch a flank attack, but Pohlmann redeploys to face him. Wellesley's aide is killed, and Sharpe takes his place. Back with the baggage, McCandless confronts Hakeswill about the warrant and warns Hakeswill that he knows he lied and that he will inform his commander. On the British left, the 78th Highland Regiment and the sepoys advance through heavy artillery fire and rout much of the Maratha infantry. On the right, however, the 74th and some picquets advance too far towards the village of Assaye and are forced to form square against attack from Maratha light cavalry. Dodd's regiment then attacks the two pinned-down units.


Meanwhile, some Maratha gunners retake their guns and fire them into the rear of Wellesley's men, so Wellesley orders a cavalry charge. During the fight, he is unhorsed alone amidst the enemy. Sharpe launches a savage attack, saving his commander and single-handedly killing many men. Friendly troops arrive, and a shaken Wellesley leaves. With the collapse of the Maratha right, Dodd is forced to retreat. Hakeswill finds McCandless alone and kills him to save himself.


As the Maratha forces flee in disarray, Sharpe comes across Pohlmann, but does not apprehend him. He also finds Simone Joubert. Dodd killed her husband during the retreat, so Sharpe takes her under his protection. Eventually, he catches up to Wellesley's staff and is astonished when Wellesley rewards him by giving him a battlefield promotion, making him an ensign in the 74th. Afterward, Hakeswill tries again to arrest Sharpe, but Sharpe's new commanding officer points out that the warrant for Sergeant Sharpe is useless against Ensign Sharpe. Sharpe forces Hakeswill, who initially refuses to acknowledge Sharpe's new rank, to address him as "sir".



My Thoughts:


I've been trying to think what to say about this book and author. I enjoyed my time reading this. Cornwell can write and write well and engagingly. The people, the situations, they're all quite fleshed out and drew me in.


At the same time, the titular character, Richard Sharpe, is a godless, immoral jackass with an attitude. It makes it very hard for me to want to like him and I don't want to read about a character who I don't like. Cornwell, who I have gathered has a thing against Christianity, never cross the line. But he's exactly like that annoying kid in the back seat who puts his finger ON the line and starts denying that he's done anything wrong. The only real Christian character is an old doddering man who is so uptight that he could run a grandfather clock for a decade. It isn't that that isn't inaccurate, but it is that that is the only example Cornwell chose to use. Like I said, finger on the line.


I was introduced to Sharpe by Inquisitor Jenn. So when she read a much later book (Sharpe's Rifles) I asked her if Sharpe still had his attitude on. Apparently, he still does. Which means the finger is staying on the line and it's going to feel like Cornwell is going “neener, neener, neener” to me while I holler at our parents “Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad, make Bernard stooooooooop” and he's screaming “But I'm not touching him!”


With all of this, I'm going to read the next book and see if Sharpe's attitude bugs me still. It might just be that it bothered me this time because like Scrooge, I had a sandwich with too much mustard or something. Or it could be that Sharpe IS a real jerk. I'll be making up my mind next book.


★★★✬☆