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Title:
The Infinity Gate Series: Pandominion
#1 Author: Mike Carey Rating: 1 of 5
Stars Genre: SF Pages: 523 Words:
163K Publish: 2023
I
was intrigued by the writing and the storytelling. I stayed up late
one night, when I couldn’t really afford it.
Technically,
this is a duology. The reality is that it was one long book that he
just randomly cut in two and called it a duology. This just ended,
abruptly. No resolution, no closure, nothing. I was so pissed off
that I was on the edge of just abandoning the next book and sending
Carey to hell. Yes, you heard that right. I have that power. I have
chosen to be merciful and let him live though.
I
will also be reading the next book, hopefully enjoy it, mark it 1star
and also label Carey as an author to avoid. Authors who don’t know
how to actually write individual books within a series, even a
duology, are trash in my eyes.
★☆☆☆☆
From
the Publisher
Infinity
is only the beginning.
The Pandominion: a political and trading
alliance of a million worlds - except that they're really just the
one world, Earth, in many different realities. And when an AI threat
arises that could destroy everything the Pandominion has built,
they'll eradicate it by whatever means necessary, no matter the cost
to human life.
Scientist Hadiz Tambuwal is looking for a
solution to her own Earth's environmental collapse when she stumbles
across the secret of inter-dimensional travel. It could save everyone
on her dying planet, but now she's walked into the middle of a war on
a scale she never dreamed of.
And she needs to choose a side
before it kills her.
This was the third week I was with New Guy and I really felt like we were starting to gel. He's learning our procedures and we were starting to create that rapport that a field crew needs to function long term. I was pretty happy about it. Then on Wednesday the head of the Environmental Department came over and told him he would be starting work over in the Enviro Dep on Monday. That blindsided me and on Thursday I let my mouth run free on the job about it. Well, he took what I said seriously and was suddenly all worried about going over there, so he went to the head of the Survey Department and expressed his concerns. And in the process made the Survey Head think I was trash talking the Enviro Department. So I got a private talking to on Thursday. While it was couched nicely, it was obvious my boss wasn't happy with me about the situation. He's talking about us all being one company and being a team player. I just said yes sir, yes sir, but inside I was screaming "I DO this forsaken job BECAUSE I'm not a team player, you office dubber". The upshot is that I can't say anything to the new guy because I know he'll talk about it to whoever he comes into contact with. Man, I hate working with people people. Work itself was up and down too. Monday and Tuesday we had rain and snow. It was cold, in April. So wrong! Thankfully, the rest of the week was sunny, even if a bit chilly.
Man, getting chewed out, even nicely, just overshadows everything right now.
A Parental Pod flew up and she and Mrs B are heading over to a weekend ladies retreat starting tonight. While I joke about having a stag weekend, the reality is that I'm going to play some Magic on Saturday and then some more Magic on Sunday. That and eat pizza. Yep, Bookstooge really knows how to have a wild time ;-)
I hope your week went well. Feel free to tell me about it. No really, do. Good, bad or even blase. I'd appreciate some distraction for sure!
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Title:
The House on the Borderlands Series:
----- Author: William Hope Hodgson Rating:
3 of 5 Stars Genre: Horror Pages:
157 Words: 52K Publish: 1908
(This
book was recommended by Snapdragon
Alcove and the link goes to her review from 2023)
I
am putting the “horror” tag on this even though it could just as
easily go into the fantasy camp. Mainly because the story does start
out very horrifyingly. An old man is living with his aged sister at a
big old empty house and he starts seeing these horrible pigmen around
the place. They are trying to get into the house, he has to board the
place up, lock his sister into her room so she doesn’t accidentally
open a door and keep the pigmen at bay with his small arsenal of
guns. That part was genuinely scary. Then throw in the fact that the
author gives hints that maybe this is all happening in the head of
the main character and the “creep” factor rockets off the charts
for me.
Sadly,
then we get a section of out of body experience that was extremely
similar to the Time Traveller in Wells’ The Time Machine,
where he just watches the earth age and looks at things on a cosmic
scale. It was genuinely boring.
Then
Hodgson tries to throw in some sort of romance thing. It was the
worst part of the book because it was so hamhandedly handled. She
doesn’t even get a name, just “My former love”. Oh my goodness,
it was like reading something a twenty year old would have written.
It made me cringe. Then he went back to the cosmic journey thing and
I was bored again.
Thankfully,
the old guy comes back to earth with no time having passed (hence
another hint that it all might be in his head) and the pigmen assault
the place again. Creepy.
So
this read was a complete mixed bag. I enjoyed it enough to give it
3stars and decide to seek out a Complete Works of Hodgson’s stuff.
Public Domain is a wonderful thing. But I am tempering my
expectations because of his cosmic passage parts of the story. I
fully expect to be bored out of my skull by some of his dumbassery in
future books.
I
must also admit that this got a bit of a ratings bump just because of
the cover. I mean, how awesomely scary looking is that? Wicked, man…
★★★☆☆
From
Wikipedia
Two
men on a two-week fishing holiday in remote western Ireland are
surprised to discover a strange abyss. On a rock spur above this pit
they find ruins and buried in them a journal, which they read.
The
author of the journal introduces himself as an old man who has lived
for years in an ancient house accompanied only by his sister, who
serves as housekeeper, and his dog, Pepper. He has no contact with
the local inhabitants, who say he is mad. The house is circular in
form and its weird appearance includes peculiar decorations that
suggest leaping flames. It has had an evil reputation for centuries
and had been empty for many years when he purchased it. The diary
will record his strange experiences and thoughts.
Late
one night, as he was reading in his study, the light suddenly turned
green and then red. Pepper hid under his chair and he sat still,
frightened. The red light went low, and he was no longer afraid. The
far side of the room became a vision of a vast empty plain. He
floated like a bubble into space, leaving the earth and sun behind as
he travelled into utter darkness and despair. He reached the world of
the vast plain, whose sun is a wreath of red flame. He was brought to
an arena: an immense green jade copy of his own house, at the centre
of a circle miles across, circled by mountains containing hundreds of
huge idols of Beast-gods and Horrors. As he nears the huge building,
a humanoid creature with the repellent head and face of a huge swine
is trying to get into the House. The Swine-creature suddenly and
horribly moves toward him, but he is borne upward, then reverses his
travel through space to return to his study.
Several
months later, horrible man-sized creatures with dead-white skin
emerge from a nearby Pit and assault the House. The Swine-Things are
strong and intelligent but are unable to break in; after a night and
day in which the Recluse kills some of them they disappear. He is
terrified by the violent creatures and he waits several days before
leaving the House with Pepper to search the former gardens outside.
A
week later, he and Pepper explore the Pit that appears to be the
source of the Swine-Things. A tunnel leads to an immensely deep
abyss. Water flows down the tunnel and the struggle of wading against
it to get back out is exhausting. Two weeks afterwards the Pit has
become a lake. He revisits a trap door in the Cellar, realizing that
it opens to the bottomless abyss.
Asleep
in his study, the Recluse awakens into a place like a mist of light
and meets his lost love. She calls the place the Sea of Sleep, and
implores him to leave the evil House, but admits that they would
never have met again had he been anywhere else.
The
journal starts again, with the passage of time increasing in speed.
Days and nights pass more and more quickly, the sun and moon become
flickers and years blur. Pepper's body, then his own, crumble into
dust. The House falls, the world fades, time slowly grinds to a halt
and the solar system ends with his perception of an immense green
star, celestial globes, and another timeless meeting in the Sea of
Sleep with the lost love. He is brought again to the Arena and into
the great House. He is again in his own study, with time running
normally.
The
malicious Swine-creature from the Arena inflicts a luminous fungal
growth on a dog and the Recluse is barely able to stop himself from
letting it into the House. He has also contracted the disease, and
the manuscript ends with the man in his study as the creature comes
through the trap door in the Cellar.
The
two men recover from reading the journal and return to fishing,
making no attempt to revisit the horrible pit. Their driver
interviews an old man in the local village who remembers the evil
house that everyone avoided had once been occupied by an unsociable
old man and his elderly sister. Once a month, a man who told the
villagers nothing took supplies to the house; years went by until
suddenly that man excitedly reported that the house had disappeared
and there was now a chasm where it had been.
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Title: Empire’s Gambit Series:
Empire Rising #13 Author: David Holmes Rating:
3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: SF Pages:
515 Words: 204K Publish: 2022
Oh man, this was long. It felt long
too. The main issue is that Holmes needs an editor to hack and slash
and force him to write tighter. I’ve noted this in previous
volumes, where he goes into world building detail mode and suddenly,
5 pages later, the scene ends but the story is still at the same
exact place. World building should NOT be indulged in at the expense
of the overall story pacing. With this being the thirteenth book in
the series, I’m obviously not going to abandon it over this, but it
is a continual little irritant to me. I’m sure there are other
people out there who love it. Those people probably only read this
series, or stuff just like it, so they don’t care. I do care
however.
The other irritation is the flow of
time. This one could very easily be on me and thus I’m not knocking
any half stars off, but it really feels like almost no time has
passed since the first book. I “know” it has, and events prove
that (James losing his first wife, getting re-married, having a
child, now having twins) but James feels exactly the same as Emperor
as he did as the captain of a small ship. James’ voice hasn’t
aged or changed. I think that is what I’m picking up on here. Other
authors are guilty of this literary sin as well. Dean Koontz and his
Odd Thomas. Terry Brooks and ANY of his Shannara
characters. Dan Willis and his Alex Lockerby creation. A counter
example would be Simon, from Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow, Thorn
epic fantasy trilogy. You get the idea. Once again, it’s not
something I’m going to stop reading this series over, but it is a
weakness.
This volumes ends the War of Doom with
the karacknids. From the little chapter headers in previous books, I
know there will be a second War of Doom plus other wars with even
more insidious species. I also know there will be a civil war that
almost tears the Empire apart. This is a good stopping place. I
wondered, for several days, if I wanted to continue the series. Book
21 was just released in January, so there’s still a LOT of Empire
Rising ahead of me if I want it. I decided that I will continue. I
was not surprised by my own decision. As I’m sure you aren’t
either.
I have been reading this series for
over two years now. I read the first book (The
Void War) back in February of ‘23. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
If this series sounds like something you might enjoy, read my review
and then for a 180degree difference, read Nancy’s
Review. Between us, hopefully you can decide if starting this
series would be good for you or not.
★★★✬☆
From
the Publisher & Bookstooge
The Karacknid assault on Earth
has been turned back at great cost to both sides. Only the
intervention of the Kulreans saved Humanity’s homeworld from
certain destruction. Yet the Kulrean worldships cannot be used for
offensive operations. This means Humanity and her allies have only a
few months of respite before the Karacknids can make good their
losses. When they do, everyone knows they will resume the offensive
and Tanaka-lan will seek to end the war once and for all.
With
no way to compete with the Karacknids’ superior numbers and
industrial might, Emperor Somerville has proposed one final
stratagem. The Allied fleet must strike right at the heart of the
Karacknid empire in a last ditch effort to try and end the war. Yet
to do so would mean venturing into the enemy’s most fortified
systems and leaving the Allied worlds at the mercy of Tanaka-lan.
Risking everything, James has no choice but to attempt the
impossible. No sacrifice can be too great to save his people and his
family.
James
challenges the Imperator to a one on one duel, Imperator vs Emperor.
James wins and the karacknids immediately fall back along clan lines
and thus begins a civil war. This gives humanity and the Alliance a
chance to regroup and begin recovery. Empress Christine also gives
birth to twins, setting the stage for the next series of adventures
in the Empire Rising chronicles.
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When
we last left Dumarest, he was safely ensconced on a world where he
could be happy. So what happened? I’m not exactly sure to be
honest. The following is all we, the readers, get from the author:
“He
leaned back against the wall and allowed the hypnotic cadences to
wash over his conscious mind, dulling reality and triggering
sequences of unrelated imagery. A wide ocean beneath an emerald sky.
A slender girl seated on a rock, her hair a ripple of purest silver
as it streamed in the wind, the lines of her body the epitome of
grace. A fire and a ring of intent faces, leaping flames and the
distant keening of mourning women. Ice glittering as it fell in
splintered shards, ringing in crystal destruction. Goblets shattering
and spilling blood-red wine, the chime of chandeliers, the hiss of
meeting blades, harsh, feral, the turgid chill of riding Low.”
Not
much to go on, now is it? It feels like Tubb wasn’t sure HOW to
explain Earl leaving a place that could have been a new home to him,
so he didn’t. For that reason alone I docked this a precious
half-star.
The
book, by itself, was fun. It ends up being about a planetary mind
(much like the Star
Trek Episode Firewater recently reviewed) that falls in love with
Earl. Of course it does. Everybody falls in love with Earl. He’s
worse than Captain Kirk in that regards. I did check out the date and
this book was published in ‘73 while the Star Trek episode was back
in ‘68, so it is quite possible Tubb just lifted the idea
wholesale. Of course, the idea of a planetary intelligence was
bouncing around a lot, so Tubb might have just lifted it from the
generalized zeitgeist of his generation. Either way, he wasn’t
being original at all. But if you tell an exciting story, does it
really matter?
Make
no mistake, this was exciting. Tormyle (the planetary intelligence),
puts the group through quite a few tests that are life and death.
The
reveal at the end that Mayenne was a cyclan agent was not one I saw
coming. I probably should have, but it was just too preposterous to
consider, so I didn’t. The very end, with Tormyle sending Earl to
some random world was more on par with how Earl gets separated from
his various lady loves and didn’t bother me at all.
Thus
the Eye Rolling Adventures of Earl Dumarest, Male Gigolo, Continues!
Sadly,
the cover art changed. There are no more bubble spacesuits. Awwwwww….
★★★☆☆
From
Jeffbuser.com
This
one has very little to do with the arc story, and is almost a
stand-alone SF piece. An accident strands the ship on which Dumarest
is traveling in deep space. The eerie songs of Mayenne, a Ghenka
singer also on board, are accidentally transmitted over ultraradio,
and are received by a mysterious entity that eventually transports
the whole ship to an unknown planet at the very edge of the galaxy.
It is quickly revealed that the planet itself is the entity Tormyle,
which proceeds to eliminate passengers and crew in “10 Little
Indians” fashion while performing a series of experiments to
understand the nature of human emotion. Tormyle notices and tests
the love between several sets of passengers, including the budding
romance between Dumarest and Mayenne. By the time the cast is down
to five, Tormyle is desperate to make Dumarest love it, and reveals
that Mayenne and another passenger are actually agents of the Cyclan.
Dumarest kills the man and Mayenne kills herself before Tormyle
allows the other two to escape in the repaired ship. Finally alone
with Tormyle, Dumarest convinces it that a human (at least Dumarest)
simply cannot fall in love with a planet, and Tormlye releases him.
I am writing this post because it struck my fancy, that's it. No deep revelations about the human condition will be revealed. You won't learn how to attract 10,000 followers with "this one simple rule". You certainly won't make any money out of this. And finally, to be honest, you might not even be happy by the end of this post. So with all of that out of the way, let's get on with things!
Personality 101: How to have one.
First off, I realize I am not the most qualified to be speaking on this subject. I tend to the narcissistic and thus make everything about me. I have followed people like myself and had to stop because their ego was too big and I didn't like it. So I understand if people feel the same way about me.
But that is where personality as a blogger comes in. You may not like me, you may not follow me, but if you've interacted with me, you will not forget that experience. I have Blogging Personality.
The thing with blogging personality is that you have to have your own. You have to create it, grow it, be it. You can't copy it from someone else. If you do, you are a phoney and it will come crashing down at some point as the weight of being someone else will crush you to death. Being yourself is hard enough, so don't make it harder. Even if you are one of those bloggers who do nothing but follow the herd and read the same books as everyone, watch the same movies as everyone, do the same blogging prompts as everyone, you can still stand out and not be a little bowl of vanilla pudding that tastes like nothing and just sits there and jiggles.
Jifflypuff
You don't have to be a lion and dominate the scene. You can be a quiet, gentle lamb. But you have to be unique. That means having an opinion about something and sticking to it. Don't hem and haw and try to please everybody. You don't have to go out of your way to offend people, but remember, it is YOUR blog and everyone else can go slag off.
Now where do your opinions come from? Your mind of course. So think. Think for yourself. Don't parrot everybody around you. The world is filled with idiots and sadly, the world includes bloggers. If you remember that most bloggers are idiots, it will help you examine what they are saying and force you to think for yourself instead of just regurgitating their idiotic pap.
I hope this post has been helpful to you. If not, I will gladly refund your money. Or throw you in a big bowl of vanilla pudding. People pay to watch that kind of thing, so I bet I could clean house with a Pay-Per-View of you sloshing around in a swimming pool of vanilla pudding while an alligator tried to eat you!
Journal #29, Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. Considering I'm currently on Journal #23, well, it will be quite some time before I get to this one. But having it all ready to go takes that miniscule amount of pressure off of my shoulders and as an inveterate long term planner, that means a lot to me.
I've only got a few more journals to showcase before I'm caught up. Of course, Paperblanks is always bringing out new ones and since I have to buy 4 to get free shipping, well.... The alternate is to buy them individually on Amazon and just order 2 to qualify for free shipping from there. It never fails to amaze me how that kind of thing works. Why doesn't Paperblanks offer free shipping over $35 on their own website, since that is what they are actually doing when they sell through Amazon? I'd much rather buy direct. The mysteries of commerce I guess.
But back to this specific journal, ahem. I read Frankenstein back in '12. I am glad I read it and I can see why it is a Classic, but it is not a book I've been tempted to re-read. I thought maybe seeing this journal would kindle a little ember of interest in re-reading it, but so far, nada. Considering it will be several years before I ever get around to writing in this, maybe by that time I'll be ready for a re-read. I remain doubtful of myself though. Some books speak to you on multiple levels over the years (Dickens for me) but Shelley's book just didn't seem to have that power when I read it. That is ok though, not every book has to be like that.
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copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions.
Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission Title:
The Dracula Tape Series: The Dracula Files
#1 Author: Fred Saberhagen Publish:
1975 Rating:
3 of 5 Stars Genre: Fantasy Pages:
186 Words: 76K
When
I was looking around for another series to add to my tbr, I ran
across these and didn’t really pay attention to the author. I
probably should have, as I haven’t had the best luck with
Saberhagen for the most part. However, it has been over 8 years since
I last read a book by Saberhagen, so when I realized this series was
by him, I figured I’d give him another chance.
Back
in ‘14 I called his Berserker book dry and pedantic and
“workmanlike” (and not in the good way). This was very much in
the same vein. What saved it from an ignominious 2star rating and
series abandonment was reading about Dracula try to justify
everything that took place as chronicled in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
He’s an unreliable narrator and what’s more, he’s a big fat
whiny loser. It was hilarious. I don’t know if Saberhagen intended
things to turn out that way, but my goodness, watching Dracula
perform mental contortions of unfathomable proportions to justify
himself was better than going to the circus.
For
this book to work, you really need to have read Dracula, not
just know the basic premise but have read it and be familiar with it.
Which leads to the biggest drawback, for me, in regards to this book.
I knew, roughly, what was going to happen and was bored. Dracula’s
re-writing of the events aren’t different enough to make this book
stand out as something truly new. Kind of like watching an actor’s
commentary track on a movie. Sure, it is a little different and you
get a slightly different view, but it is not a different movie. Same
with this book, and since it wasn’t in epistolary format, it
automatically wasn’t nearly as good as the original.
With
all of this complaining, I’m still giving this 3stars. Dracula is a
great story and even Saberhagen couldn’t cover that up. I’m
really hoping that the next book is more original though, or I’ll
have to dnf the series.
★★★☆☆
From
Fandom.com
The
Dracula Tape is a novel by Fred Saberhagen where Dracula tells his
version of the events in the Dracula novel.
Dracula
tries to paint himself in a better light and while some of his claims
ring true (like the issue of blood type and the blood transfusions
Lucy Westenra received) others (such as what happened on the Demeter)
have an unreliable narrator quality about them.
According
to this novel the final events of Dracula took place in early
November 1891.
Per
this novel the fates of the other characters are:
Jonathan
Harker - dies of apoplexy in 1938 while raging at Neville
Chamberlain.
Mina
Harker - dies of old age in 1967; rises as a vampire her youth
restored in the "present" day
Lucy
Harker (Mina's daughter) - still alive
Quincey
Harker (Mina's son) - killed in the Battle of the Somme, 1916
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Title:
The Amazing Quest of Doctor Syn Series:
Doctor Syn #5 Author: Arthur Russell Thorndike Rating:
3 of 5 Stars Genre: Historical Fiction Pages:
164 Words: 81K
In
previous books, the Scarecrow had refrained from killing government
people because of the problems it would bring down on his head. In
this book, he throws that all to the dungheap and kidnaps and hangs a
Revenuer in the public square. He also kills several other men in the
process of rescuing one of his confederates. The reasons given were
spurious and cheap.
The
“Amazing Quest” only takes up about the last third of the book. I
was expecting more. The other “despicable smuggler” let me down
too. Dr Syn defeats him so easily that it made me wonder how the
Revenuers had any problems with him in the first place. I wanted a
battle of wits and I didn’t get one. Some of the government men
down in Romney Marsh put up a smarter fight than this guy did.
I
think most of what I’d like to talk about are the covers. The
little one I used as my featured image shows some white haired
gentleman with an eyeglass. I’m guessing it is supposed to be Dr
Syn? But the reality is that it is an Uncle to the kidnapped girl and
said Uncle gets pushed off that stone he’s sitting one and
splattered all over the ground by the Despicable Smuggler. Then I saw
this black and white wood cut style cover. These are the first
edition versions and you know, I really like them.
Syn
is showing his age here and yet you look at his arms and you know he
can swing that sword with the best of them. And looking at his face,
that is the Scarecrow and not one shred of the Reverend Doctor Syn. I
see the entity that hung a Revenuer, kidnapped families and exiled
them to France and generally thinks he is above the law.
★★★☆☆
From
Bookstooge
Doctor
Syn, as the Scarecrow, battles it out with revenuers and dragoons and
kills at least one of them. Due to this, he heads to Wales to
investigate another smuggler who has kidnapped a young girl. Money is
involved. Doctor Syn plunders and kills the other smuggler and gives
the money to the girl so she can marry the man she wants. Who is a
revenuer. How Ironic.
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all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing
without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at
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Permission
Title:
The Wild Adventures of Cthulhu #2 Series:
Cthulhu Anthology #22
Editor: Will
Murray Rating: 1 of 5 Stars Genre:
Cosmic Horror Pages: 210 Words:
77K
The first story in this anthology ends
like this:
“All mysteries are contained in
the Great Mystery. The Great Mystery has authority over all lesser
mysteries. Lesser mysteries have no power over the Great Mystery.
Wakan Tanka is far more powerful than they. I walk with Wakiya
medicine. So I partake of that power.”
Thus, the Great Spirit is elevated so
far above Cthulhu and his ilk that humanity doesn’t need to worry.
Then you have a later story about a preacher of Christianity and it
goes as you’d expect. God and Jesus are denigrated and spit upon
and shown to be impotent and powerless before Cthulhu.
I’m stopping reading these
anthologies. The hypocrisy shown here finally pushed me over the
edge. I’ll revisit the idea of reading more cosmic horror later
this year or early in ‘26.
Not exactly the way I wanted to start
the month.
★☆☆☆☆
Table
of Contents
Introduction 5
God General Nakji 7
Evacuation Day 31
The Hindmarsh
Abomination 46
Moonday 60
Smoking Mirror 88
In The Lightless Chambers of Hellish
N’gah-Kthun 100
I had bought a sunlamp in the middle of February and by the beginning of March really hadn't noticed a difference. I was told that it could take up to a full month to notice any difference, so I didn't just give up in despair. I got this from Amazon and it's an 11,000 lux version with variable color and brightness levels. I have kept it at its yellowest color and on the brightest setting. I use it as a "regular" floor lamp while sitting on the couch, so use it a good 2-4hrs after work. I did notice a big difference by mid-March. Unfortunately, that also coincided with warmer temps outside and more sunshine, so it might not have been the lamp itself. I guess a true determination will have to wait until this Fall and Winter when I can start using it from the get-go of the season. It would be really nice to not feel like I did this year, that's for sure.
Mr Zip had his 40th birthday this month and I enjoyed celebrating that with him. Good food, good drink, good friends and lots of books to choose from. Doesn't get much better than that. Except by adding a big ol' banana cream pie to the mix!
Our Kia (car) passed inspection for another year. With about $1800 worth of help, sigh. Our State House of Representatives just passed a bill that would do away with state inspections. I am all for that. Still has to go through the State Senate and be signed by the Governor, but things are looking up in that regards.
Cover Love:
Ruin by Nate Crowley wins the cover love award hands down. Much like Jimbo, I too have a thing for axes.
Jimbo says "Bring it, Necrons!"
Plans for Next Month:
Same old, same old. I still want to find a long term series to blog about, but right now I'm flailing and not coming up with much of anything.
Hiei, Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko and Botan (the Grim Reaper)
Title: The Dark Tournament Saga
Series: YuYu Hakusho (1992 Anime)
Episodes: 26-66
My Thoughts:
Forty episodes of pure shonen fighting. When I watched this story arc when it originally came out on dvd, I remember it dragging. It was long, the fights never ended, blah, blah, blah. This time around? Holy smokes, this was some tightly edited story telling! It felt like the tournament was over before it began. That's a good thing, really. It means the story telling never stumbled or stuttered and I was never bored.
There were also some genuinely sad moments too. It was always leavened with humor though. This is NOT a grim anime that makes you want to kill yourself. One example is when Kurabara (the tall guy on the left with the pompador style hair) pretends to die. He does it because he knows it is the only way to get Yusuke into the fight mentally and emotionally. So you have this really sad moment when everyone (including those watching) thinks he is dead and Yusuke gets all pumped up. Then Kurabara pops his head up, does his stupid grin and gives Yusuke a big thumbs up. It was hilarious and moving all at the same time.
The one thing that did annoy me though was the "accents" of the leaders of the teams that they fight. They are demons even though they look mostly humanoid. So to differentiate them, they get "accents", terrible, horrible, no-good accents at that. One guy gets some sort of Irish/Scottish pixy brogue thing. It embarrassed me just to listen to it! Another leader used a drunken master style of fighting. He was put with an australian accent. Ever hear some American try to sound like a drunk australian? It is not pretty. Then you had this kid. He was voiced by the same voice actor who did one of the girls and they didn't do much to disguise her voice. So you have this pipsqueak fighter who uses yo-yo's who sounds just like Botan (the blue haired girl in the picture above, who happens to be the Grim Reaper). There's a reason I eventually started watching my anime subtitled.
Other than that though, I had an absolute blast watching this. Everything was bigger than life and I liked that. This was also the longest arc in the series, so it's all kind of coasting after this. I am looking forward to the next story arc.
The Departure to Hanging Neck Island (Manga Chapters 51-53, Anime Episodes 26-27)
Yusuke goes on a date with Keiko (against his will), meanwhile in spirit world it is revealed that Toguro threw his fight with Yusuke to give SakyoTarukane's fortune. After the two discuss Yusuke's potential Toguro kills an insanity driven Tarukane and heads off. Toguro meets Yusuke and forces him to come with him. Toguro then reveals 60% of his power, scaring Yusuke and Kuwabara who was watching from a distance. Yusuke then agrees to the Dark Tournament as Hiei and Kurama were also watching. In preparation Yusuke goes to train some more with Genkai, while Hiei and Kurama train Kuwabara. The quartet reunites at the boat for the Dark Tournament, while a fifth unknown fighter joins. The five head onto the boat and Yusuke falls asleep due to his training. The host then reveals that only one team will be allowed to go to the Dark Tournament and the attendees have a battle royale where Team Urameshi ends up being the last ones standing.
Round One - Team Urameshi vs. Team Rokuyukai (Manga Chapters 54-60, Anime Episodes 28-32)
Team Urameshi and Team Rokuyakai are the first match, where Yusuke is still fast asleep. A boy named Rinku steps in and agrees to fight. He is pitted against Kuwabara. The two fight and Kuwabara managed to wound the boy, but sadly he is caught in his yo-yo's and ultimately loses the fight when he stays out of the ring for 10 seconds. With 0 - 1, Kurama steps in and is pitted against Roto, who reveals that he knows about his alias and fake mother. Roto then forces Kurama not to fight back as he beats him savagely and begins to torture him, but Kurama throws a pebble at him and after more torture Roto begins to feel pain and Kurama reveals that when he threw the pebble he also threw a seed in and when Roto asks Kurama to lick the scum off his boots he starts to feel pain and Kurama's death plant begins to grow, as Roto begs for mercy he learns Kurama doesn't show any and dies. The score is 1 - 1 as the third match involves Hiei being pitted against Zeru. The two fight and it seems Zeru has the upper hand, until Hiei unleashes the Dragon of the Darkness and disintegrates Zeru, but at the expense of his right arm. Hiei wins the match and the score is 2 - 1. After witnessing Kurama and Hiei's abilities Gaou and Imajin attempt to flee, but are killed by Chu for such a cowardly act. Chu then steps in to fight as his alcoholic smell finally wakes the long sleeping Yusuke who steps into fight. The two prove to be an even match, until they both emit all of their spirit energy and decide to have a knife-edge death match, where the two savagely beat each other, until Yusuke finally wins and the score is 3 - 1, making Team Urameshi the winners.
Round Two - Team Urameshi vs. Dr. Ichigaki Team (Manga Chapters 61-65, Anime Episodes 33-36)
After their first fight Yusuke is left unable to use his spirit gun, while Hiei's right arm is too injured to even grip a sword. Kurama meanwhile watches the other teams and how strong they are. A group of demons then attempt to kill Yusuke, who is left helpless as he is unable to use his spirit gun. He is saved by another demon who wishes to fight Yusuke properly. After Yusuke and Kuwabara arrive they find Toguro fighting alone against 5 other demons. Toguro then reveals 45% of his power to them and easily beats them before pinpointing Yusuke in the audience. The next day, Hiei and Kurama are ambushed and struggle due to Hiei's injury. Meanwhile, Yusuke, Kuwabara and the masked fighter face the Ichigaki team 3 on 3. Although the team refuses to fight due to learning that the fighters are under Dr. Ichigaki's control. The Urameshi team initially falls back, until the Masked Fighter frees them from the mind control and Yusuke finishes Dr. Ichigaki.
Quarter-Finals - Team Urameshi vs. Team Masho (Manga Chapters 66-76, Anime Episodes 37-43)
A nurse named Ruka asks Hiei and the Masked Fighter to come to the tent to be treated, but oddly doesn't ask Kuwabara (most likely not seeing him as any immediate threat). This turns out to be a trap as Hiei and the Masked Fighter are trapped behind a barrier, leaving only Yusuke and Kurama able to fight. Yusuke and Jin agree to 5 wins. The first match pits Kurama against Gama. Gama at first overwhelms Kurama, who seems to be done for, but Kurama then uses his rose whip to kill Gama. In his second match Kurama is still at a disadvantage, but manages to win, but had to use a death plant to save himself. Next a fighter named Bakken steps in and takes advantage of the unconscious Kurama, beating him savagely until Risho stops him as Yusuke was about to kill him. After that Yusuke steps in the ring and at first is lost in Bakken's sweat fog, but Yusuke uses his spirit gun blast to clear the arena and easily defeats Bakken for what he did to Kurama. Meanwhile, Ruka's barrier begins to not only wear off, but heal Hiei's arm as well. In the next match, Yusuke is then pitted against Jin. Jin at first gets the best of Yusuke, but he is able to win with his spirit wave technique. However the match is called a draw on behalf of Yusuke being out of the ring more than 10 seconds, the committee having been bribed by Butajiri. Just as all seems lost the injured Kuwabara steps in and defeats Risho, keeping the team safe from elimination. Before the semi-finals Yusuke's spirit egg hatches and reveals a spirit beast that is loving and gentle, much to the rest of Team Urameshi's amusement. Friction grows between Yusuke and the Masked Fighter, who step outside. The Masked Fighter is then revealed to be Genkai, who gives Yusuke one final test to kill her to gain her power.
Semi-Finals - Team Urameshi vs. Team Uraotogi (Manga Chapters 77-87, Anime Episodes 44-50)
Yusuke refuses to kill Genkai and thereby passes her test. Genkai then gives Yusuke his final lesson in the form of her spirit orb and he must either endure the pain or die. Koto is replaced due to her ineptitude as a referee and Team Urameshi is pitted against Team Uraotogi. Hiei then claims that he wants to fight every match. However Shishiwakamaru decides to roll dice and determine the fight. Hiei is first pitted against Makintaro, who he easily defeats. Then he fought Momotaro, who Hiei struggles more with, but ultimately defeats. Around this time Genkai decides Yusuke will die if her test continues and decides to remove her power, however Yusuke refuses to give up and endures yet more pain. Kurama is then initially overwhelmed by Ura Urashima, but after having his age reversed it is enough to release Yoko Kurama to kill Urashima. Genkai later shows up to fight Shishiwakamaru, who had defeated Kuwabara earlier. The final match against Suzuki fought with Kuwabara representing Team Urameshi once more, but the match ends in a carbon copy, while Genkai defeats him in the next match.
Toguro vs. Genkai (Manga Chapters 88-92, Anime Episodes 51-53)
Later on Genkai tells Kuwabara to make sure Yusuke stays asleep as she goes to confront the Younger Toguro. Meanwhile, Karasu, Bui and the Elder Toguro fight another team and defeat them. Kurama watches and is later confronted by the trio. Karasu then claims that one of Team Urameshi's team is going to die, worrying Kurama. Genkai beats Toguro down, but he ultimately wins with his demonic powers. Yusuke wakes up and heads after Genkai after learning of what she is doing. Genkai then says goodbye to Yusuke before dying and Yusuke angrily strikes Toguro, breaking his fingers. News of Genkai's death reaches Botan and Koenma and they begin to mourn. Meanwhile, Team Urameshi trains to rival Team Toguro, with Suzuki giving Kurama and Kuwabara gifts for their match because he doesn't like them, but he hates Toguro. Hiei strengthens himself to prepare to release the Dragon of the Darkness Flame without crippling his arm again. Yusuke tests his new Spirit Gun power and shoots a much more powerful spirit gun blast for Genkai's sake.
Finals - Team Urameshi vs. Team Toguro (Manga Chapters 93-110, Anime Episodes 54-64)
The Dark Tournament finals start off with the first match between Team Toguro's Karasu and Team Urameshi's Kurama. Although Kurama narrowly defeats Karasu before passing out, in a twist, the fight is deemed a win for Team Toguro (Kurama passed out for a 10 count before Karasu died). The next match is between Hiei and Team Toguro's Bui. After a long match, Hiei chooses to spare Bui's life, earning him the first victory for Team Urameshi. The third match is between Kuwabara and the Elder Toguro. It is revealed in the beginning of the fight that information pertaining to Genkai's death was withheld from Kuwabara. After obtaining his Spirit Flyswatter, Kuwabara takes the second victory for Team Urameshi. The final match between Yusuke and Toguro takes place shortly afterward. Genkai, possessing the body of Pu, tells Toguro that in order to bring about Yusuke's true fighting potential, he must kill the one closest to him. Kuwabara rushes towards Toguro, intending to be the sacrifice needed in order to help Yusuke attain the power needed. Toguro then proceeds to impale him in the chest, presumably killing him. Yusuke's power is finally brought to the surface, turning the tides in his favor. However, it is revealed that Toguro has considerably held back against him up until this point.
After a heated battle with Toguro using his true power, Yusuke uses his remaining spirit energy to fire one last Spirit Gun. In the end, Toguro manages to successfully catch the Spirit Gun, only to die afterward. With Toguro defeated, it is revealed that Kuwabara, in fact, faked his death in order to trick Yusuke into going all-out. It is implied that Toguro had purposely avoided Kuwabara's vitals, as he was only interested in fighting Yusuke in his prime.
Shortly after the defeat of Toguro, Koto and Juri officially declare Team Urameshi the winner of the Dark Tournament. However, Sakyo appears and informs them that he intends to destroy the tournament arena, along with himself and his work. With the press of a button, a bomb set by Sakyo is to detonate within 15 minutes, blowing up both his underground lab and the Dark Tournament itself.
With no time to spare, everyone makes a break to get out of the crumbling arena, save for a few. Keiko is traumatized and is unable to consciously react to the situation, prompting Yusuke to literally slap some sense back into her. In the anime, Kuwabara's sister Shizuru, follows Koenma to Sakyo's underground lab, in order to convince him to reconsider taking his life.
It is through his conversation with Sakyo that it is revealed that he intends on taking his ambition to create a portal between demon world and human world with him. Before he is crushed by the ceiling, Sakyo flicks his lighter to Shizuru as a momento to remember him by. Heartbroken, Shizuru is evacuated from the room, and the gang manages to escape with their lives as the arena explodes behind them.
Although relieved that it's over, Yusuke is still torn over the loss of Genkai. It is shown later that after Toguro's defeat, he specifically requested Koenma to assign him to Hell for the afterlife (or "limbo" in the Funimation English Dub) as he feels that he is unable to ever atone for his sin. As he is approaching his destination, he comes across Genkai at the crossroads. She is however, unsuccessful in changing his mind, and the two part ways once more.
As the gang gets ready to depart off of Hanging Neck Island the next day, they are surprised when a revived Genkai appears to get on the ferry with them. The ferry takes it's leave, as everyone looks out to the ocean, setting the story in motion for what's to follow.
