Review: Crooked House

Crooked House by Agatha Christie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



From the get go I knew that whatever I thought would not be correct, so I simply let go of my brain and let Christie drive her story wherever she wanted.

It started out as an ordinary Who Dunnit murder, but then it got creepy and by the end I was disturbed.

Not in a bad way, just that such an occurrence could take place. A good afternoon's read.



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Review: The Wizard and the Warlord

The Wizard and the Warlord by M.R. Mathias

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Well, the Wardstone Trilogy is finished. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but with a couple of caveats.

First, Mathias has not improved his writing or style from the first book. There are still awkward phrases, anachronistic words or actions and an inability to "show", which is evidenced by having to be told things from the characters that just show lack of a good editor.

Second, sexual content. This was no harlequin romance with pornographic descriptions of sex, but there were several instances of sex being led up to or described euphemistically that seemed like they were thrown in to titillate the reader instead of advancing the story. One such titillation was his description of the giant queen. Breasts the size of ale kegs? and more?

Finally, the buildup was the first 90% of the book, then BAM, the big battle then the happy ending. The pacing just grated on me.


Now for the positive.

The story finishes up well. The tale began in [b:The Sword and the Dragon|8674296|The Sword and the Dragon (The Wardstone Trilogy, #1)|M.R. Mathias|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1288236072s/8674296.jpg|13546152] and continued in [b:Kings, Queens, Heroes, & Fools|11453486|Kings, Queens, Heroes, & Fools (The Wardstone Trilogy, #2)|M.R. Mathias|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1306303403s/11453486.jpg|16387488] is wrapped here. No big loopholes for "sequels", just enough sadness to offset the victories and there is resolution in the characters lives as well as the story.

I enjoyed this. At times it was draggy, but at others I felt like I was on a locomotive. The one thing this whole series could have used though was a professional editor. There were just too many places where sentence structure made me read the same sentence several times to figure out what the author actually intended to say.

Recommend you borrow this series from a friend and if you like it, buy it to support the author. But I am done with M.R. Mathias as he is just too unpolished for my longterm tastes.



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Review: Crux

Crux by Richard Aellen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



As the other reviewers have noted, the plot is the plot of [b:The Count of Monte Cristo|7126|The Count of Monte Cristo|Alexandre Dumas|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1309203605s/7126.jpg|391568] but in modern America instead of old France.

So many SPOILERS to follow
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After reading, I am still not sure if Aellen was honoring Monte Cristo with this novel, a kind of a nudge & wink remake or if Aellen was simply lifting the plot whole sale.
Nothing I have read on the blurb, on the cover, on the EXTREMELY limited info I could find on Aellen himself, gave me any clue.

My initial reaction was that he whole sale stole the idea. But then, who would be so brazen, so stupid as to do that? I mean, any critic, and any quarter-way intelligent reader, is going to realize from the VERY BEGINNING that this is Monte Cristo re-badged.

Now you might be wondering why I care whether it is a steal or a nod of honor. It is because I LOVE the original Count of Monte Cristo, even though I had a tough time loving the un-abridged version.

There are many small differences.

The biggest difference for me, besides the fact that Crux takes place in the 60's and 80's, is the fact that Keith Johnson is no suave, sophisticate like the Count. Keith goes into his dungeon a young man and comes out essentially the same person, simply richer. None of the teaching he supposedly received from his prison mentor seemed to rubbed off. Where Edmond was a completely different person as the Count, so much so that we aren't completely sure Dantes IS the Count.
Keith goes by Kris John, that is it. There is no transformation.

Crux is a thriller through and through. It is fast paced, action oriented and jumps from one scene to the next with nary a break in the action. For what it is, it is a great read.

But if it is a nod to Monte Cristo, then it is a dismal failure. It would be like comparing Rambo to a Grand Master of a Martial Art. Both could kill you in the blink of an eye. Both can accomplish the same thing. But only one has style, grace and panache.

Edmond Dantes spent years after his escape becoming the Count. His revenge was psychological, physical and mental. Every step, every nook, every secret, was ferreted out and used. His plans were long range, multi-purpose and had redundancy upon redundancy built in.

Keith Johnson escapes and his revenge is done within 3 months. While he tries to use psychological elements against his enemies, his attempts are ham handed and heavy. He does not research his enemies well enough, something that comes back to bite him. He is personally involved to the point where he ends up destroying those he is trying to help.

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So, I enjoyed this, but it is just a McDonald's hamburger to the Sirloin steak of [b:The Count of Monte Cristo|7126|The Count of Monte Cristo|Alexandre Dumas|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1309203605s/7126.jpg|391568].



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Review: Crime and Punishment

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I can easily see someone giving this a 2star rating, as it is rambling and about a young, selfish man who murders an old woman just to prove that he can.

But the reasons I gave it a 5star are the following:
1) Excellent writing. Even translated, Dostoyevsky's genius shines through. Descriptions of places, of humans, of human reaction to external and internal stimuli.

2) Portrayal of humanity. This was spot on and enlightening. A murderer, a crazy woman, a whore, a drunkard, a womanizing philanderer, an armchair psychologist/cop. So many characters, so many descriptions. Most of the characters are real enough that they have very visible flaws that make you want to gnash your teeth. Which leads into 3.

3) How murder affects a normal person on the mental and physical level. Raskanilkov wants to know if he is a normal man or a superman, someone who is outside the normal laws of God and man, outside the consequences setup by God. It makes you cry to see this young man constantly deny the reality of his situation because of his pride. Which leads into 4.

4) Through it all, through rejecting everyone, turning away from them all, in the end there is redemption, through love. It is not Raskanilkov who does the redeeming, for a human cannot redeem themselves. It is outside of their power. But another, ahhh, that is another matter.


And there are tons of further material for discussion. but enough from me.



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Review: Battle Pod

Battle Pod by Vaughn Heppner

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



Well, I gave this series [Doomstar] 3 books to interest me. And it never did. Poor, amateurish writing, depressing situations that give not even the slightest sliver of hope, a main character who talks about "freedom" but is just one selfish bastard and then nothing but death, death with side order of massive death.

This was just depressing and poorly edited.

Vaughn, pay the couple of hundred bucks to have a professional editor pick you apart and put you back together. You might have a chance then.

This series gets a big BLEH from me.



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Review: Siege of Darkness

Siege of Darkness by R.A. Salvatore

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



As opposed to my other "Drizz't" reads by Salvatore, I actually enjoyed this read. And halfway through I realized why.

Salvatore stopped writing about specific characters and got into "Big battle" mode. I realized Salvatore can't do characterization worth a tinker's pot. His characters are 2D, flat, boring, unemotional, etc, etc, which is why I did not like the previous books. I enjoyed the battle, a lot.

So while this was going to be my last "Drizz't" book, I think I'll give Salvatore another chance at Redemption [not that I'm holding out much hope mind you].



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Review: Patriot Games

Patriot Games by Tom Clancy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is the only Clancy book that I really like, enough so that I've read it twice in highschool, once in college and once in "adult" life :)
Probably a "once a decade" kind of book for me.

The world has certainly changed since this book was written. Is Ireland still dealing with the North/South/England issue? I don't even know! If it is, it has been overshadowed by the likes of 9/11, Iraq, Iran and the Arab spring.

And airport security. And cell phones. What a difference the internet and cellphones would have made to this story. This was a cool story and a good reminder of what the security world "used to be" like...



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Review: Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, Vol. 12

Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, Vol. 12 by CLAMP

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Thankfully the Piffle Princess world is done with.



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Review: xxxHolic, Vol. 03

xxxHolic, Vol. 03 by CLAMP

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The weird juxtaposition of macabre and humor keeps this entertaining.
And as "busy" as the artwork is, CLAMP has some wonderful illustrations in this volume.



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Review: Ninja High School Pocket Manga #6

Ninja High School Pocket Manga #6 by Ben Dunn

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



While slightly better than Vol 5 [at least this time Jeremy is in some of the story], this is nothing to get excited about.

Stupid Terminator ripoff was not funny.
And combat cheerleaders, while an interesting fight, was just to over the top without the funny...



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