Friday, January 11, 2019

Croma Venture (Spiral Wars #5) ★★★★☆



This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Croma Venture
Series: Spiral Wars #5
Author: Joel Shepherd
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 477
Format: Digital Edition





Synopsis:

The Crew of the Phoenix, with the help of the alien Parren, have found a remaining stronghold of the machine race Drysine. Styx, the last surviving Drysine queen, begins making surreptitious work on the facility and ends up with a new queen. She gives the responsibility of negotiating with the Parren to this new queen, named Layla. Lizbeth Debogande is also the only human currently negotiating with the Parren and she and Layla form a friendship. Lots of politics happen and it turns out that the ruling house of the Parren made a deal with the Deepynines (another machine race that was very hostile to all organic life) and blamed lots of stuff on the currently rising House, the House that Layla is negotiating with. Betrayals happen and it is revealed to all the Parren that 25,000 years of their history was based on a lie. This leads to a huge powershift that allows the House both Layla and Lizbeth are dealing with to become the Head House.

The Tavali, another alien species that Humanity had been at war with, reveal that their whole civilization has been infiltrated by malicious genetic code. Probably by the Deepynine/Alo alliance. Humanity finds itself infiltrated as well. The only species that everyone knows about that can solve a problem of this magnitude are the Rhee. Unfortunately, the Rhee make everyone mentioned so far look like toddlers at a daycare. The Croma are at war with the Rhee and Erik Debogande, captain of the Phoenix, hopes to make contact with the Croma and see if they can get any information on this gene infiltration.

More politics ensue and factions come into play and the Phoenix is used by the Croma and one of their ally species, the Corbi, to further their own ends. This leads to an attack on a gene splicing station in Rhee territory where the Corbi and Croma have told the Phoenix that a huge database exists, which might have the cure for the gene infiltration. Major Trace Thakur is left behind when the Rhee counter-attack with ships just as good if not better than the Phoenix and Styx finds herself outmatched. Turns out the Rhee have gone the route of hybridization and are as much machine race as organic now.

The book ends with the Corbi letting the Phoenix know that they have an operation that can rescue Major Thakur, if Phoenix can get to the Rhee main world and pick her up.




My Thoughts:

I did enjoy this book. The action was great and even the politics were edged with action instead of being dry and dusty. I would consider this much closer in tone to the first book than book 4.

That being said, and despite rating it 4stars, I will not be continuing this series until it is finished. Shepherd shows in this book beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has no end-game scenario in play. There is no Final Goal, just the Next Goal. I guess I have more of an issue with the series than this particular book. Shepherd still goes on and on about descriptive scenery that I simply skimmed over. Since I still enjoyed the book, that means that descriptiveness was not at all necessary but a choice on his part.

Once Shepherd decides to get his act together and actually finish this series then I'll go and read the rest of the books. But until then, I'm done with this series and done with this author. I've enjoyed my reads but it is not good enough for me to be willing to keep being strung along.

★★★★☆





Wednesday, January 09, 2019

Oliver Twist ★★★★☆


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: Oliver Twist
Series: ----------
Author: Charles Dickens
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Classic
Pages: 508
Format: Digital Edition




Synopsis:

Oliver Twist is born in a work house to a single mother who immediately expires. He grows up with other workhouse orphans and when he reaches the age of 8 or 9, is apprenticed out. The authority's at the workhouse try to pawn him off onto a chimney cleaner, who has gone through several apprentices. Oliver is scared of the man and begs the civil magistrate to not make him go with him. This puts the workhouse Authorities in a bad light and they hold a grudge against Oliver for the rest of the book.

Eventually he is apprenticed to a coffin maker and funeral director. He is liked by the man and treated well, but the other apprentice and the wife both turn against Oliver and make his life miserable. The older apprentice makes some disparaging remarks about Oliver's mother and Oliver attacks him. He is locked in a room and the workhouse Authorities sent for. The wife and apprentice spin a tale about Oliver trying to kill them and the coffin maker has no choice but to believe their story. Oliver is locked up for a week. This decides him on running away to London.

On his way to London he meets up with a boy named Jack Dawkins, or the Artful Dodger. Artful hooks Oliver up with food and shelter and introduces to him to Fagin, a jew of apparent ill-repute. It becomes apparent to Oliver that he has fallen in with thieves and during one caper is mistaken for a thief himself. This puts him in the way of Mr. Brownlow.

Mr Brownlow takes pity on Oliver and takes him into his house. He begins to educate him and bring him back to full health. Fagin, however, knows something about Oliver and won't let him go. He sends his minions all over London searching for him and eventually a bullish brute named Sikes and his woman Nancy find Oliver. They kidnap him off the streets by pretending he is a runaway. Fagin begins working on corrupting Oliver so as to make him a common thief like his other kids.

Oliver is sent on a job with Bill Sikes and another man to rob a house filled with silver plate. Oliver intends to give the alarm once he is in the house but is shot by the butler instead. Sikes grabs him and all 3 make their getaway. Oliver is left to fend for himself in a ditch and returns to the house next morning seeking aid. He is presumed dead by Sikes.

Oliver tells his tale and Mrs Maylie and her adopted niece take pity on him. He has a long recovery time and once better they contact Mr Brownlow. Unfortunately, he has left for India and no one knows when he will be back.

During all of this Fagin has been in communication with a fellow named Monks and rages against Sikes losing Oliver. Lots of drama ensues and Sikes ends up killing his lover Nancy and goes on the run. Fagin and Monks are confronted by Mr Brownlow and it turns out that Monks is Oliver's older half-brother and that Oliver is supposed to inherit everything. Oliver and Monks split the inheritance, Monks heads off to the new world and Fagin and his crew are all chased down. Sikes ends up hanging himself while attempting escape and Fagin is hung in Newgate, the Old Bailey, where ever it is that criminals are hung.

Mrs Maylie's adopted niece turns out to be Oliver's aunt and she marries Mrs Maylie's only son. All the good people live happily ever after, the bad are killed and the in-between either reform or become very bad people and meet a just end.



My Thoughts:

This was a good Dickens book but by no means could I rank it as a favorite. I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a starting place.

For whatever reason, the “serial”ness of this story really hit me. In the books I've read so far I've not noticed that even though they too were all written serially. I can't point to anything that caused that notice but the more I read the more irritated (not really the right word, but that's the best approximation I can think of right now) I became. But really, that's about the only complaint I have about the book.

Well, I have to admit I didn't understand why Bill Sikes was so freaked out, and everybody else, by his murdering Nancy. Didn't murder go on all the time? So why would the populace be in such an uproar about it, especially for a whore? It would be nice to know murder statistics for London at that time as say opposed to now. I don't care enough to go do “research” though. * shivers *

Whenever Dickens uses a child as a main character, they tend to be rather passive in the story. Everybody else around them is doing everything and makes the story. Oliver was no Little Nell (from The Old Curiosity Shop) but he was not kicking ass and taking names. Pretty much he just recovered from being starved, shot, kidnapped, being sick, etc. He was the center spoke about which the whole wheel of the story revolved.

In his introduction Dickens states that he set out to show that the criminal element were not the jolly swags portrayed in some stories. He was afraid of evil being shown as wonderful and nifty and enticing the young people into a life of sordid squalor and death. Huh, evil being portrayed as good, sounds familiar doesn't it? Some things really don't change. Dickens does a fantastic job of showing just how vile the life of crime is. Between the cringing of Fagin to the bombastically violent Sikes, you see that crime isn't being Robin Hood and His Merry Band, not even close.

I also simply love Dickens' writing. You can tell he is being paid by the word, as some of his sentences, when boiled down, say something like “And the sun was shining” but he'll end up using several comma separated thoughts with an semi-colon to string things along. Normally that kind of padding bothers me and in other books I'll excoriate the writer to within an inch of their life, but when it comes to Dickens I'm not just ok with it, but I LIKE it. Weird, isn't it?

Man, this review has gone on way longer than I thought. So, I really enjoyed this book with a few caveats. Start somewhere else with Dickens and work your way towards this.

★★★★☆







Monday, January 07, 2019

Wrath of Angels (Shaman King #12) ★★★☆½ [Manga Monday]


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: Wrath of Angels
Series: Shaman King #12
Author: Hiroyuki Takei
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 200
Format: Digital Copy




Synopsis:

Boris, one of Hao's minions impersonating a vampire, begins fighting Ryu but starts monologuing about how his ancestor Vlad Tepes was actually a hero and that his reputation was ruined. Boris reveals that his family was being hunted down and it was due to Hao's intervention that allowed them Shamanic powers. Thus why he's loyal to Hao. Boris proceeds to kill all the innocent bystanders to pump up his powers with blood and Lyserg, still under his control, puts a sword to Yoh's throat so he can't interfere. To prevent the other Shamans in Yoh's group from ganging up on him, Boris has Lyserg prepare to cut his own throat if they move against Boris.Through the Power of Friendship, Yoh convinces the ghost controlling Lyserg to simply step aside while the 3 other Shamans (Ryu, Ren and Horohoro) begin the battle against Boris.

We get a flashback to Ryu asking Yoh's grandfather to train him as a shaman. After passing a test of endurance, Ryu is accepted for training.

The battle with Boris continues in the here and now. Ryu expends all his mana and blows Boris into a mountain. When Yoh goes to question Boris about Hao, a mechanical angel appears and stabs Boris to death. It is actually a spirit ally to a shaman who is part of a group called the X-Laws. The X-Laws are a group of Shamans dedicated to defeating Hao, not even bothering with the Shaman Fight. Their methods are brutal and concise. Hao, and anyone assisting him, must die. Each X-Law has an Angel as a spirit ally, a powerful spirit akin to a god of myth.

Two more of Hao's minions attempt to stop Yoh's group and the X-Laws as a diversion while a third makes an attack on them. The X-Laws wipe him off the face of the earth. Yoh steps in to prevent any killing. He directly opposes the leader of the X-Laws, who shoots Yoh's sword and breaks it. The X-Laws walk away and warn Yoh to never go agains them again.

Anna, Manta and others land in a helicopter and are immediately confronted by Hao. Hao wants them to succeed though, as that will mean that Yoh will get immeasurably stronger and hence be of greater assistance to Hao in the end.

Yoh and Co head to an underground cave and find out that only one path will lead them to the Patch Village. All other paths will lead to death. They must use their shaman powers to determine the right path.



My Thoughts:

This was a very dramatic volume, but I found the X-Laws to be a bit heavy handed and unintentionally hammy in their attitude. A group of adults who command Arch-Angel level spirits are going to be the disciplined kind of people who don't fly off the handle, but that is exactly what the leader of the X-Laws does here. I mean, it is on purpose by the manga-ka but it jarred me a bit.

The “fight” with Boris was a bit anti-climactic but it helped showcase just how powerful the X-Laws are.

I think I enjoyed the flashback of Ryu beginning his training the most. For whatever reason, I definitely resonate the most with Ryu.

Overall, this was a decent read but there was no breathless thrills like in previous volumes nor was I tempted to rush right into the next volume.


★★★☆½





Friday, January 04, 2019

Redemption Ark (Revelation Space #3) ★★★★☆



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: Redemption Ark
Series: Revelation Space #3
Author: Alastair Reynolds
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 708
Format: Digital Edition





Synopsis:

The Inhibitors have arrived in force in the area of the planet Resurgam. It is up to 2 former pirate Ultras to get the 200,000 people scattered about Resurgam shuttled to the only vessel in near space that can hold them all. Said ship is fully engulfed by the melding plague which consumed its Captain, who now IS as much the ship as he is himself.

The Conjoiners have been aware of the threat of the Inhibitors for several centuries and have been working on a “quiet” inertialess drive that will allow them, and only them, to run away and hopefully escape notice from the Inhibitors. One man decides that isn't right and goes after the cache of weapons on board the Ultras ship orbiting Resurgam. The main set of Conjoiners set off in pursuit of this man to get the weapons for themselves and to stop him from informing the rest of humanity, which would cause widespread panic.

The Inhibitors take apart several moons and a planet to create a weapon to make the system's sun into a flamethrower. Resurgam is destroyed and only a couple thousand people make it off the planet. The renegade Conjoiner figures that the Inhibitors were supposed to be shepherds, not butchers and that with the wear and tear of the billions of years that their programming has slipped.

And some storyline about an independent freighter captain who gets involved in it all.



My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this while I was reading this but as soon as I was done it promptly left my mind. Part of it was the storyline with the Ultras, from the first book. They came across as pansies for whatever reason.

The whole Conjoiner and Inhibitor storylines was interesting to read, but once again, as soon as the book was done, so was I. It didn't grab me. It didn't leave me bored by any means, but it just didn't force me on.

Definitely the weakest of the Revelation Space series so far. Still was a good book, mind you. Just not as engaging as the previous two. Nor is it an auspicious start to the year...

★★★★☆







Friday, December 28, 2018

Hogfather (Discworld) ★★★★★



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: Hogfather
Series: Discworld
Author: Terry Pratchett
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 304
Format: Digital Edition





Synopsis:

It is Hogwatch Night and the Hogfather is flying across the world in his red suit and white beard and 4 jolly boars delivering gifts to all the children. However, this Hogwatch Night the Hogfather is looking a little different. He's a bit bony in the face, he has to stuff a pillow up the suit to give him that jolly fat look and his ho ho ho's are more like HO, HO, HO! Yes, Death has taken over being the Hogfather for the night.

Now, where did this all start? The Auditors. Of Reality. They hired the Assassin's Guild to kill the Hogfather. The head of the Guild, thinking it an impossible job, assigns it to Mr Teatime, an assassin who has been causing problems lately with how much he's been killing. He's got no style, you know? So the HAG (Head of the Assassins Guild) gives the job to Teatime. Either he'll succeed and the Guild will get a cavern of gold or Teatime will fail and they can let him go and be done with him. Teatime has thought about just this kind of situation and he has answers.

And that is why Death is pretending to be the Hogfather. He can't interfere with the Auditors directly but he sets his granddaughter Susan on the case. She tracks down Teatime, who has used the power of the Tooth Fairy make children NOT believe in the Hogfather. She and the newly created god of Hangovers, with the help from a tooth fairy helper, take down the insane assassin.

It is revealed that if the Hogfather doesn't exist, the sun won't rise. This will destroy all life on Discworld and THAT is the final goal of the Auditors. Life is messy and doesn't really fit into neat check boxes, so they want to get rid of it. All of it.

Can Death, Susan and sundry others Save the Most Magical Night of the Year? Of course! Not even Pratchett was so full of bilious hatred and vitriol against Christmas that he'd write otherwise. But he gets his revenge on the readers by getting all metaphysical for at least 3 solid pages. What a rotter.



My Thoughts:

My goodness, it has been a bloody decade since I last read this! Still 5stars, still a favorite and still just as good as last time.

This time around I concentrated on the character of Teatime. And you know what? He takes up a VERY small portion of the book even while being a main villain and the killer of the Hogfather. It is like he casts a huge shadow over the whole book while only being a skinny little twig. He has such presence though that I “remembered” him having a much larger role. I think it does say something for Pratchett's skill that he can make a such a small used character be so big. Of course, him facing down Death himself right at the end does show he had some pretty big cojones.

Death gets a great bit of action and I just laughed and laughed. When Corporal Nobbs, the most venal member of the Watch, gets a super duper assault crossbow from the big red sack and he goes nutso with excitement, I just about died. It also made me remember H.P's review of the lamest Robin Hood movie ever, complete with “assault crossbows”. Maybe it would have been a good movie if Knobby Nobbs had showed up, hahahahaa. Anyway, I did a lot of laughing.

Susan plays a huge part but unlike Teatime she was so exasperated all the time that she couldn't be “normal” that it wore a little thin. We get it, she doesn't want to be Death's granddaughter. Honey, get over it. You don't really get to pick your relatives. She started out funny with beating the crap out of monsters under the bed with a poker but became almost grating by the end.

The Unseen Academy and the Wizards are involved, as is HEX the thinking machine. HEX going insane and taking digital frog pills to cure itself was just about the highlight for me.

The only downside to this book was the few pages of metaphysics that Pratchett throws in. All crap about Justice and Mercy and Hope being nothing but lies. Then he took it do a bad place where you can't believe those things if you don't believe other lies, like the Tooth Fairy. What a hopeless and utterly futile way to live. He just couldn't resist allowing his bitter hatred against God, or even the idea of God to peek on through. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to spoil the whole book. However, I tend to think I'll have to wait another decade before I try this again.

★★★★★







Wednesday, December 26, 2018

To Kill a Mockingbird ★★★★★


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: To Kill a Mockingbird
Series: ----------
Author: Harper Lee
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Classic
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback





Synopsis:

Jem and Scout Finch are growing up. Scout has to go to school and while she's learned to argue with her lawyer father Atticus, some times Dad just puts his foot down. Scout makes friends with a boy her own age named Dill who comes to live with his aunt each summer. Dill wants to see Boo Radley, a mysterious recluse who lives next door to the Finch's.

Atticus takes on a case where a black man is accused of raping a white woman. Atticus is afraid of how it is going to affect both Jem and Scout as gossip mongers in town are now calling Atticus a nigger lover and that attitude trickles down to the children. Atticus make hash of the prosecutors case but the jury isn't swayed and convict the man to death. While in prison awaiting appeal he tries to escape (his right arm is withered and of no use) and is gunned down by the guards. The father of the woman making the accusations realizes how Atticus destroyed his story and vows revenge on him even though he won the case.

Jem and Scout are returning home one night from the Halloween party at school when they are attacked by an unknown assailant. Jem's arm is broken and he's knocked on the head. The assailant begins to try to choke Scout to death but due to her costume (a ham made from chicken wire and paper mache) is foiled. The assailant is in turn assailed by a mysterious rescuer and this person takes an unconscious Jem home. Turns out the assailant was the father who swore vengeance on Atticus. The rescuer? Boo Radley, a sickly albino.

The book ends with the Sheriff telling Atticus that the vengeance swearer fell on his own knife and that nobody, especially not Boo Radley, stabbed him.



My Thoughts:

My goodness. What a great book. A story told by an adult remembering everything through the eyes of a 7-9 year old girl.

While everyone always focuses on the case with the black man and that Boo Radley is real and saves Scout, to Scout, who is telling the story, they aren't any more important than the day at school when the teacher smacked her hand because she explained how some of the kids thought. This is a book about growing up and not realizing it until years later.
I don't know exactly what to say here. I am glad that books like this are still read in schools. Maybe being older has given me an appreciation for just what Lee did here? I found the idea of “Scout” telling the story to be perfect. The occasional interjections by her as her older self simply brought out what she missed as a child. At the same time, I never felt hit over the head by Lee writing ham-handedly or TRYING to “make a point”. She makes her points very casually and lets it be up to the reader just how much they actually want to “get”.

I know I saw the movie several times during middleschool and highschool but I can't remember if I ever actually read this before. I am glad I did read this now and I look forward to a re-read in 10'ish years.

This is a well written, engaging book that you can read for pure enjoyment if you so desire or you can read it as a classic tale of growing up in the South or you can read it as an activist and use it to bash people over the head with your SJW ideals. In this regards Lee is like a firearms manufacturer. She lets you, the user, decide just how to use this book.

As it should be.

★★★★★







Monday, December 24, 2018

Blood and Pompadours (Shaman King #11) ★★★★☆ (Manga Monday)


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: Blood and Pompadours
Series: Shaman King #11
Author: Hiroyuki Takei
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 208
Format: Digital Copy





Synopsis:

Grandpa Asakura is revealing the secrets about Hao Asakura to Anna when they catch Tamao eavesdropping. Turns out the Asakura's did kill Hao, but he had already developed the power to reincarnate himself. Gramps reveals there is a book of spells that could help Yoh but to release it would also release 2 of Hao's familiars, ogres of incredible strength. Tamao picks the book up and accidentally breaks the seal. Everyone panics and Gramps is ready to die to defend the girls. Anna simply snatches the book, reads the spells on how to control the demons and controls them. A truly worthy woman to be by the side of the Shaman King. Anna and Tamao take off to deliver the book of spells to Yoh.

Our Gang reaches the base of a mountain and Horohoro wants to go snowboarding. The rest of the gang go on ahead to the next town and wait for him. His spirit ally gets jealous and leaves him and Horohoro has an accident and wakes up in a Park Ranger's cabin 3 days later with 2 broken legs and Kororo still missing. The park ranger is protecting a wounded bear and Horohoro goes and convinces it to leave and hide in the deep wilderness. Then some redneck hunters kill the bear while it's standing right next to him. He confronts them but ultimately doesn't kill them as that would put him on their level. It does reunite him with Kororo though.

Our Gang reunites and head to the former Patch village. There they find a mysterious passage guarded by a group of other Shamans. They also happen to be minions of Hao. Hao has left them strict orders to stay away from Yoh but to kill all his friends so as to prepare him for future use by Hao.

Lyserg is attacked first and attacked by Dracula no less. However, Dracula's first name is Boris. Dracula kills one of his own comrades when Our Gang starts laughing at him for not looking like Dracule and pointing out the other guy who does. Ol' Drac then sucks the dead guy to ashes and Lyserg starts feeling the effect of the vampire's bite.

Ryu steps forward to do battle and his pompadour magically grows back. An epic fight looks to be brewing between Dracula and the baddest street thug in Tokyo. Yeah!

The story then cuts away to the Patch tribe, who are somehow watching everything going on. Goldva, chief of the Patch appears to be operating under orders from Hao and the rest of the younger Patch are getting restless with how Goldva is manipulating things.

The volume wraps up with Lyserg jumping on Yoh to prevent him from helping Ryu, the rest of Hao's minions revealing that they are guarding the entrance to the Patch Village and Ryu figuring out that Boris isn't a real vampire, just a human using his oversoul to mimic one. The book ends with Ryu preparing to put the smackdown on Boris.




My Thoughts:

Phrack yes!!!!!! This is the awesomeness I want and expect in a Shonen manga. Ryu is awesome and I'm glad he got to show some of his stuff. He doesn't even use his sword yet, just beats the crap out of Boris with his hands and feat. I suspect the next volume will be all about him using his techniques.

The revelations about Hao put paid to my ideas that the Patch were soft on him. He's able to reincarnate at will, so what is death to him? Man, the threat he represents just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I don't know what his end will be but I hope it is full of pain and suffering before being snuffed out of existence. Of course, with Yoh's attitude, they'll probably all become best friends and eat icecream together or something.

Glad to see Manta and Anna coming to America. I like when the WHOLE gang is altogether. Even that wretchedly stupid Tamao.

Now that the side characters are getting their own side stories (Horohoro's was kind of pathetic, but whatever) and growing into their own, I think I'm liking Ryu. His pompadour just fascinates me and his heart of gold hidden beneath that punk surface just makes me want to give him a manly fist bump of support.

Keep this up and my goodness, it might come close to Eyeshield 21 levels of enjoyment!

★★★★☆





Friday, December 21, 2018

Joy in the Morning (The Jeeves Omnibus #2.2) ★★★☆½


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Joy in the Morning
Series: The Jeeves Omnibus #2.2
Author: P.G. Wodehouse
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Humor
Pages: 272
Format: Digital Edition





Synopsis:

Bertie gets roped into going to Bumpleigh in the Country to help his Uncle by marriage close a business deal with an American Magnate. At the same time Bertie is supposed to help his cousin get said Uncle's blessing to marry a rich novelist who the Uncle dislikes immensely (for good reason). Then Bertie gets engaged to a woman who he was engaged to a year or two ago and who broke off her engagement to a policeman who was one of Bertie's old classmates. Said Classmate is a sack of man-meat and looking for any excuse to jail Birtie.

Throw in a nephew whose every act of kindness turns into some kind of disaster, a country ball where Bertie wears a stolen police uniform and midnight escapades and you have this novel in a pinch.



My Thoughts:

More of the same, more of the same.

At this point, if you've made it this far you know you're going to keep on going with the series. If this wasn't for you (Yes, I'm looking at you, Miiiiiiister Newton!), you'd have given up sometime during the first omnibus.

Spineless Bertie can't act like a man for 2 seconds. Which leads to humorous situations that only Jeeves can manipulate him out of for the betterment of everyone involved. The thing is, as a reader you HAVE to accept the stupidity of Bertie to enjoy this series. Not malicious stupidity but plain old genetic dumb-assery. If you can't get past that, and I don't blame anyone who can't, this just isn't for you.

But if “rich people having problems” can amuse you, you'll just keep eating these books up. Wodehouse obviously has a limited repertoire of situations he can bother Bertie with (the main one getting married) but they are still of good variety.

Sit back and chuckle and enjoy Bertie being a dumbass. Because Jeeves is the benevolent force of nature behind the scenes making sure that everything turns out alright.

★★★☆½







Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Bitter Gold Hearts (Garrett, P.I. #2) ★★★☆½


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Bitter Gold Hearts
Series: Garrett, P.I. #2
Author: Glen Cook
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 288
Format: Digital Edition





Synopsis:

Garrett is paid to consult on a kidnapping case for one of the rich and powerful folks of town.Everything seems to be just fine until someone murders the girl who was the go between, who happens to be related to the kidnap victim. Then the heir, who was returned, supposedly kills himself. A wagonload of gold has also disappeared. Garrett is then hired by the remaining daughter to ostensibly find the gold but to also find out what is going on.

Garrett figures everything out but has to reveal it all to the Head of the Family who has just returned from the war. She's a Storm Lord of no small power and she ends up killing almost everyone involved to cover it all up so her “honor” won't be besmirched. Garrett realizes what is happening in the nick of time and wraps things up neatly and presents the “evidence” to the other Storm Lords. They strip her of her power and the daughter inherits.

And that wagonload of gold? It disappeared, just like the Steward, who hired Garrett to consult in the first place.



My Thoughts:

Garrett sleeps with a lot of women. First, there's the woman from the previous book, who is away for this one. Then there's the cousin who ends up murdered and is the cause of Garrett really staying involved in the whole thing. Then there's the daughter of the Storm Lord. Between all that wenching and the gallons of beer he consumes, I'm surprised Garrett hasn't died from either syphilis or his liver giving out.

Other than bit of moralizing, I had a blast reading this. Garrett and some shady characters invade a criminal troll stronghold and end up burning the place down. It was violence and action and comedy and humor all in one situation and I loved it. Garrett does a lot of skulking around and I could have done with a little less of that, but eh, he's a P.I., skulking is part of the job.

I really liked the ending, with the Storm Lord going full on murder spree and Garrett stopping her before she murders him and his friends too. I didn't see it coming, so when Cook sprang it on me, I was quite surprised, as it meant the book didn't end with a little “oh, I've solved things, lets go home now” from Garrett
I don't think that I could tell you that the guy who wrote this series is the same guy who wrote the Black Company books. It's not just the change in sub-genre (comedic detective fantasy versus dark fantasy) but so far, I've seen nothing related to or from the Black Company or the Dread Empire. Not a phrase, not a character type, not a situation. That is really good. After 10 books of the Black Company and almost as many with the Dread Empire, I like this change. I hope this tempo can be sustained for another 12 books.

I just realized that maybe I should be adding the mystery tag, as Garrett is private detective after all. But while I will be, these don't strike me as mysteries. I don't know if it is because I've been steeped in the Agatha Christie, Ellis Peters type of mystery for so long or what.

★★★☆½







Monday, December 17, 2018

Song of Doom (Shaman King #10) ★★★☆½ (Manga Monday)


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: Song of Doom
Series: Shaman King #10
Author: Hiroyuki Takei
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 208
Format: Digital Copy





Synopsis:

Our Gang is on Route 66 but are in the middle of nowhere. Ryu and Tokagero use the Legendary Hitchhiker Thumb move and the group gets an immediate pickup by Farmer Bill. At the next town they begin their exploration for the Patch tribe, only to find out there is no Patch Tribe. The local librarian reads them a small scrap of poetry from an extinct tribe that seems to show the Patch are evil.

The librarian gives them the address of the last surviving Seminoan, a woman named Lilirara. The scene cuts away to her declaiming how the Patch are subverting the Shaman Fight so they can rule themselves. She vows to stop Our Gang so they won't further the Patch's aims. She subjects them to the fight the last Seminoans had and Our Gang all have their limbs chopped off,in their minds.

Lilirara shows Our Gang a vision of what happened and it turns out that the Patch were trying to create a Shaman Empire. To be more specific, someone who looked like an adult Hao with his Fire Spirit was trying to forge a Shaman Empire. Our Gang convinces her that they mean to oppose Hao and she tells them what she knows of the Patch village. Once they leave, Hao shows up and kills her. Hao does reveal that he was the evil Patch shaman from 500 years ago and that it was an Asakura who stopped him. Now he wants Yoh to grow strong so that Hao can make Yoh a great servant and thus gain his revenge.

Our Gang meets up with another shaman from England who drops his pants upon meeting them to prove he's a guy. Yeah.....

His name is Lyserg and Horohoro and Ren attack him on suspicion that he's an ally of Hao. Lyserg takes them both down quite easily, which is when Yoh gets involved. He warns Lyserg off and prepares to take his friends to the local hospital. Lyserg reveals his backstory of how Hao killed his parents 8 years ago and that he, Lyserg, must gather strong allies to defeat Hao. Lyserg attacks Yoh and Yoh repels the attack with one blow. Lyserg keeps attacking until Yoh destroys his shaman weapon. Yoh then smacks him around to get him to listen to reason. Lyserg joins the team and everybody is hunky dory.

Back in Japan, Yoh's grandfather has called Anna to the Asakura shrine and unlocked the Forbidden Temple, the Temple of Hao. Turns out, Hao is 1000 years old and the ancestor of the Asakura's. Gasp, shock, reeling...




My Thoughts:

Dang! Hao is proving to be one wicked badass guy. 1000 years old, the creator of the Asakura clan line AND a Patch? I'm looking forward to hearing about how he was defeated 500 years ago.

Horohoro is such a hot head. Attacking Lyserg with no real reason, he definitely earned his beating. Of course, Lyserg isn't much better, acting so high and mighty. Good beatings for everyone and then they're all friends. Yep, just another day in the Shonen Manga Lifestyle!

Lilirara's death wasn't shown, so either she was killed by Hao or he somehow subsumed her and she'll come back in a later volume as a bad guy. She did do her part to provide Our Gang with a clue of where to start finding the Patch.

Obviously a lot of things are going on behind the scenes with the Patch and I for one am looking forward to them getting their asses handed to them for not dealing with Hao all those years ago. Exiling someone for crimes only works if you don't care about the rest of the world. There is only one way to deal with such evil. Death. They should have chopped his head off 500 years ago. Of course, if they did, we wouldn't have a story, right? Blasted Manga-ka!

At this point in the game, I'm pretty satisfied with how this manga is going. By this point with the Oh My Goddess manga I was just about ready to throw in the towel. I was kind of afraid I'd repeat that here but thankfully, I'm even more ready to keep going than I was after the first volume. Onward and upwards!



★★★☆½