Autumn Princess, Dragon Child (The Tale of Shikanoko #2)

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Title: Autumn Princess, Dragon Child
Series: The Tale of Shikanoko #2
Author: Lian Hearn
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 289
Format: Kindle digital edition

Synopsis: Spoilers

Shikanoko raises his 5 “sons” and slowly regains his powers so that he can confront the Abbot again. The boy emperor hooks up with some entertainers and becomes a monkey trainer. The boy emperor's protector and Shikanok's love interest, is out on her own, pregnant with Shikanoko's child.

Shikanoko finally confronts, and defeats, the Abbot but in the process loses control of his 5 spider children, who are only getting stronger and stronger in magic. Shikanoko's lover dies at the Abbot's hand and the boy emperor's child companion, who was taking care of Shikanoko's child, drowns along with his kid.

And in defeating the Abbot, Shikanoko gives himself fully to the forest magic which controlled his mask. He is no longer in control of his destiny. Happy Endings all round!

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this more than the first book, Emperor of the Eight Islands. Partially because it wasn't as depressing. Which, given my synopsis, is kind of hard to believe, but it's true.

Given that this is a japanese fairy tale, I am not expecting a happy ending to the series as a whole. Even in this book, Shikanoko loses his love, his child, his chance at determining his own destiny and quite possibly ANY happiness for the rest of his life.

Makes me thankful my life is as boring as it is.

If you like slightly depressing stories filled with magic, heroes, swords and warriors and like eastern existentialism, this series should make you miserably ecstatic.

1. Review of Book 1

Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1)

   

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Title: Dealing with Dragons
Series: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1
Author: Patricia Wrede
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 244
Format: Kindle digital edition

Synopsis: Spoilers

Cimorene is an unusual Princess in the Kingdom that sets the Standard for Normal. It doesn't help that she has several older sisters who all Normal Princesses. After trying to learn magic, cooking, horseback riding, fencing and other various unsuitable activities for a Princess, Cimorene finds out that her parents are going to marry her off to get her of their hands. Not being particularly enamoured of the idea, Cimorene takes the advice of a magic frog she meets in the garden and sets off to find herself a dragon. A dragon that will keep everyone away from her.


Cimorene is taken under wing [ha!] by Kazul, who happens to like cherry jubilee, one of the few desserts that Cimorene knows how to make. As knights and princes come and go, Cimorene stumbles upon a plot by wizards to cause problems at the next choosing of the Dragon King. With the the help of another Princess, a Stone Prince and a local witch from the Enchanted Forest, Cimorene exposes the plot, foils the wizards and allows Kazul to become the next King of the Dragons.

My Thoughts: Spoilers

This was humorous, delightful and cute. There wasn't a single thing I didn't like with this story. It was fun. Sometimes in the midst of epic fantasy tomes or the weighty thoughts of science fiction classics, you need a break. I didn't know I needed a break, but when I started reading this, I realized I needed to be charmed and this book charmed me from beginning to end.

This was written in such a way that an adult like me could enjoy it fully and yet it seemed accessible all the way down to middle grade readers, perhaps even precocious elementary ones. To be able to reach that full spectrum is the mark of an author who knows her craft.

Don't have much else to say beyond the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I was tempted to just read all 4 of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles right in a row. But much like cherry jubilee, you cannot gorge yourself without some consequences. So I'm pacing myself and now I am REALLY looking forward to the next books.

1. Enchanted Forest Chronicles from 2006

Children of Time

 ^{This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything and links at Booklikes, & Goodreads by  Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission}
Title: Children of Time
Series: -----
Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 609
Format: Kindle digital edition

Synopsis: Spoilers

In the future humanity has spread far and wide. As have their divisions. One group of scientists is beginning the process of uplifting monkeys on a terraformed world when war breaks out and a saboteur does irreparable damage to the spaceship said scientists are in. The head scientist initiates the uplift program and seals herself in a coffin sized tank to sleep until rescue comes. Unfortunately, the barrel of monkeys gets destroyed and the nanovirus has to find other hosts.

We watch as an insect [Tchaikovsky really has a thing for bugs and he doesn't hold back here] civilization arises due to the effects of the nanovirus.

Fast forward 2000 years. Humanity wiped itself from the stars and sent itself back to barbarianism on Earth. While the last dregs have recreated some of the technology and kluged together several spaceships, Earth is done. Poison from the first war is killing everything. Humanity's last hope is to get to the terraformed planet and start anew.

Two civilizations are on a collision course. Humanity, worn out, still fighting itself and desperate to survive and the Spiders, young, cooperative and desperate to survive.

My Thoughts: Spoilers!!

First, if there was ever a book championing Intelligent Design, by accident, this is it. I'm an Ex Nihilo Creationist myself, so I had a bit of a chuckle when Tchaikovsky starts talking “Evolution” about a man made nano-virus. You can't have it both ways, unless you're a Theistic Evolutionist and the less said about them the better, lol. Ok, onto the serious stuff.

This was a weighty book. We get alternating chapters from humanity and the spiders. It was beautifully orchestrated, with the downward spiral of humans and the upward mobility of the insects. Spiders were the main characters and Tchaikovsky uses several names over generations again and again so we aren't introduced to a bewildering number of Spider characters. So we are always reading about “A” Fabian, or “A” Bianca or “A” Portia, just generations removed. I thought it provided a great thread of continuity for 2000 years of Spider time. Humanity on the other hand, we stick with the same crew from the last Arc ship and time passes for them in cold sleep. We see things through the eyes of one particular man who has been trained to interpret Old Empire records, etc and that is his only skill. So he only gets unthawed when things are going bad and the ship needs his expertise.

The humans are fighting each other right from the get go and don't stop. Tchaikovsky really hammers down on individualism and our propensity for conflict even in the face of extinction. It felt a little heavy handed at times but it was just so true to form that I shook my head and was like “Yep, that's us”. The spiders on the other hand, while having conflict within their society and from other “less uplifted” insect civilizations, are all about working together and overcoming differences. It didn't come across as preachy though but as a natural outflow of how spiders work.

And that leads into the ending.

SPOILERS!
There are no other planets for the colonist ship to go to. The Spiders don't have interstellar travel so they are stuck on their planet. It is an apparent lose-lose situation for everyone as the humans are just going to wipe out the spiders and the spiders will wipe out the humans, all in the name of survival. Then Tchaikovsky pulls a magical nanovirus stick out of his bum and suddenly the humans just love and adore the spiders and everyone gets along famously. Fast forward to the very end of the book and Spiders and Humans are living in peace and ready to explore the stars with their new love and appreciation for each other.
END SPOILERS



My only real complaint of the book is this: Nothing the old Empire does goes right or survives. Colonies die, terraformed planets go haywire, ships crash and burn and YET the nanovirus miraculously does exactly what it is supposed to and doesn't go astray. It was just a smidge more than I could accept.

Other than that, this was an exciting read with a lot of tension right up until the end and solidifies in my mind that Tchaikosky is a Real Author.

Dune (Dune Chronicles #1)

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Title: Dune
Series: Dune Chronicles #1
Author: Frank Herbert
Rating: 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 611
Format: Kindle digital edition

Synopsis: Spoilers

Mortal enemies, House Atreides and House Harkonnen, through political machinations, end up trading control of Arrakis, Dune. The one planet that produces the Spice; an addictive substance that prolongs life, allows the gifted to see glimpses of the future and cannot be artificially reproduced.

Baron Harkonnen has secretly allied himself with the Emperor though and through trickery, deceit and the use of the Emperor's Elite Forces, destroys the Atreides line on Dune. Unknown to him, however, the scion, Paul and his Bene Gesserit trained mother Jessica, have escaped to the desert where they fulfill prophecy for a group of desert dwellers known as the Fremen. Unrivaled warriors, the Fremen believe Paul is the long prophesied savior who will turn Dune into a paradise world. Paul, a product of millenia of Bene Gesserit breeding plans and living in conditions where he is infused with Spice at every turn, takes the next step in human development. He can see the Future, like it was the Past.

With his ability to now destroy the Spice, and hence destroy the Imperium, Paul ascends the Imperial Throne. The Future is firmly set and Paul Muad-dib is at the reins.

However, The Saga of Dune is Far from Over.

My Thoughts:

 
Phracking Fantastic, what a good book. I read it in '11 and then again in '16 and I found that 5 years seems to be a good amount of time between re-reads. While I enjoyed it this time around, the frission I experienced in '16 was not there. Some things do need a bit of time between tastings.

Since I do plan on re-reading the whole Dune Chronicles, I was keeping an eye out for little glimpses of the future. Not a lot to see, really. Which just cements my thoughts that while Herbert wrote this as a series, Dune itself was really meant as a standalone novel.

The ONLY thing that stuck out to me as a negative was the little dialogue about ecology that the dying character Kynes has with his dead father. While he knows it is a hallucination, it just comes across as Herbert allowing himself to talk about a subject that he's interested in but not strictly related to the immediate plot. It is much more detail oriented than is needed for an understanding of the “Turn Dune into a Fremen Paradise”, ie, a world with Earth normal weather.

I also read this with an eye towards how the Prequels books by his son had influenced me or my perception of events within the book. Honestly, it was very hard to tell. It did feel like I was more influenced by the rest of the Chronicles and the future they hold then anything that came before. But just the fact that I have read the prequels fills in little gaps in my mind that I might not even notice. 

 

1. Dune Review from 2011
2. Dune Review from 2016

They Were 11! (Eyeshield 21 #21) (Manga Monday)

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Title: They were 11!
Series: Eyeshield 21 #21
Author: Riichiro Inagaki 
Artist: Yusuke Murata
Rating: 4 Stars
Genre: Sports Manga
Pages: 180
Format: Paperback

Synopsis: Spoilers

The Second Half. The Devil Bats begin to grind their way through Agon and his team the Naga's. Each member begins to give more than they have, as this IS a do or die game. Things are starting to seem favorable after 2 touchdowns, but with it still being 32-14, can the Devil Bats come back?

With a 3point kick by the Naga, bringing the score to 35-14, the volume ends. Ouch.

My Thoughts:

Oh man. This was another good volume full of tricks and surprises by Hiruma. I did begin to wonder just when he would run out of tricks though. At some point all avenues are closed and your hand is empty of cards. But so far, he keeps on pulling out more cards and hanging in there by the skin of his teeth.

This time around we see how physical the game is, as Sena's legs are starting to give out on him. He is relying on time outs to allow them to be iced and to go for just “a bit more”. We'll see if he can go the entire game. I am also wondering if the manga-ka will deal with recovery between games, as that is a very real thing.

Since the game doesn't end with this volume, I suspect that the next couple of games are going to be very long and span 4+ volumes. I have to admit, I am not looking forward to that. I have much preferred the volumes that encompass 1 game or maybe 2 volumes that encompass pre-game off field things [slice of life stuff], game and then post game off field action. I am not enough of a football fan to want a game drawn out so long like I suspect the rest will be.

1. Review of Volume 1
2. Review of Volume 2
3. Review of Volume 3
4. Review of Volume 4
5. Review of Volume 5

The Tower at Stony Wood

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Title: The Tower at Stony Wood
Series: -----
Author: Patricia McKillip
Rating: 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 306
Format: Kindle digital edition

Synopsis: Spoilers

A knight on a quest to free his rightful Queen. A noble on a quest to free his Kingdom. A bard on a quest to free her Sister. A mother on a quest to go back to the sea from which she came.

A story where all the storylines intersect at the oddest places and not even the characters know their true motivations.

My Thoughts:

In previous reviews of McKillip's works, I tend to liken her writing as silk; it is beguiling, sensual, sensuous and soft.


A half seen shape at night in the forest, with distant laughter and the faint tinkling of bells. You can't see it in whole, or even distinctly. When you look to your right, you catch a glimpse out of the corner of your eye to your left. When you spin around to catch it behind you, you feel it's eyes on you from the front. You don't know if it is your imagination playing tricks, an elven princess enchanting you or an evil sorcerer leading you astray. The only way to find out is to continue on. Is it a dot of honey on your lover's nose, a glob on a bear's paw or a comb in a bee's nest? What if the honeycomb is a magic sword and the bear is an an enchanted knight and your lover is a witch?


When you wrap fog, silk, honey and darkness into a tapestry of words, then you have this story, this book. And if your very soul is not moved, transported to another realm, then I pity you your grey, joyless existence that you think is life.

Here is the picture that comprises the cover:

 

1. Previous Review from 2005

Gorgon (Alex Hunter #5)

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Title: Gorgon
Series: Alex Hunter #5
Author: Greig Beck
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 414
Format: Kindle digital edition

Synopsis: Spoilers

Alex Hunter is wandering the United States, with huge gaps in his memory and dispensing vigilante justice against lowlifes who cross his path. At the same time, he is stalking his former love interest Aimee and it turns out she has a son and is in a relationship with some other man. Hammerson brings Alex back into the HAWC fold and with some new doctors, helps Alex get most of his memory back. However, his rages are even worse and it is questionable whether he can perform in the field without losing control.

Meanwhile in Turkey, an antiques thief lets loose an ancient myth, a gorgon, which is only too real. With whole villages being turned to stone, the HAWC's are sent in to deal with this problem. The Russians want a piece of the action as well and send in a specialist team led by the man who Alex has fought on and off for quite some time.

Everything comes to a climactic conclusion deep underground in some caves in Greece. And by climactic conclusion I mean, aliens, mech armor, explosives, high technology and a serious fight that only a few walk away from

My Thoughts: Spoilers

One: Alex has a kid by Aimee and said child has inherited Alex's superpowers?
Two: Aliens?
Come on everybody, roll those eyes with me! And a one, and a two and roll them both now.

This was a fun read with a lot of action. If you've liked the previous Alex Hunter books, then you'll definitely like this one. I have to say that on the character side of things, I am liking Jack Hammerson more and more. He reminds me, in spirit, of George Hammond from Stargate. Hammerson is a former HAWC and Hammond was a balding, portly fellow but in their care of their soldiers, they are twins. I also tend to picture Hammerson talking and acting like Hammond did.

Alex is still the messed up soldier and now he's gotten even more reasons to be worried. We'll see how the author, Beck, handles the whole superkid thing. I'm really hoping he doesn't go down the Soap Opera path. Last thing we need is a “Super Family in Hiding”. Not to be to coarse, but since Alex knows he can pass along his abilities, he should start fathering the Super Race. Sperm banks for sure and possibly a harem. Kind of like Solomon. Come on Alex, it's for the good of the entire world!

The whole gorgon thing was a bit farfetched, but considering we've had vampires from space, prehistoric monsters and the like, I guess upon reflection it really isn't that far off base. But seriously, an alien ship harvesting humans that crashed? 

1. Review of Book One
2. Review of Book Two
3. Review of Book Three
4. Review of Book Four

The Judge of Ages (Count to the Eschaton Sequence #3)

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Title: The Judge of Ages
Series: Count to the Eschaton Sequence #3
Author: John Wright
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 381
Format: Kindle Digital edition

Synopsis: Spoiler

Picking up right where Book 2 left off, The Judge of Ages shows the final confrontation between Montrose and Del Exarchel and his flesh and blood counterpart. Of course, nothing is still as it seems,not even with Del Exarchel's bombshell's. Humanity 2.0 has arisen and they don't like the post humans (Montrose and Del Exarchel) mucking around with them.

Ends with the 2 archenemies becoming frenemies and being exiled from Earth in a spaceship. And Jupiter is in the process of being turned into a giant brain. Seriously.

My Thoughts

First off, Irresponsible Reader asked for a "meh" book and I have to say, he's getting it in spades with this one.

The only thing saving this from a 2star is the fact that there was a 50page battle in a locked room [it might have been slightly less than 50 pages, but it felt like it and that is a good thing] with about 10 different groups. It was awesome. It was up there with the battles in Neal Asher's book and since I had just read Gridlinked, the comparison was fresh.

Both this and Gridlinked are dealing with Posthumanity and the future. Unfortunately, this book falls into a didactic tone and the characters, mainly Montrose, spend the majority of the time spelling out they outsmarted all the other characters and the results of their smarty-pants'ness. It is all explained with very big math'y words that lapse over into the social engineering side of things as well. If you happen to be an expert in that kind of thing, or enjoy that level of detail, this will probably work for you.

I don't need that level of excruciating detail. I am not posthuman. In fact, most days, without an energy drink, I am barely old fashioned human. It was just boring!

At this point, I will keep reading the series just to see how it ends. But my goodness, shoot me in the head with a nanoencephalitic cocktail if you want me to praise future books.

^{Review of Book 1
Review of Book 2}

Gridlinked (Polity: Agent Cormac #1)

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Title: Gridlinked
Series: Polity: Agent Cormac #1
Author: Neal Asher
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 433
Format: Kindle Digital edition

Synopsis:

Ian Cormac has been gridlinked for 30 years where 20 years is supposed to be the maximum. Ian's effectiveness in the service of Earth's AI is what caused the continued link. Recently though, Ian has started exhibiting signs of gridlink addiction, an inability to interact with other humans and unable to think for himself.

When a planetwide accident happens on the remote world of Samarkand and an extraterrestial alien known as Dragon reappears, Earth Central sends in Agent Cormac. However, the AI always has games within games within games and having unplugged Ian, allows his enemies to know where he is going. Why solve 1 problem when you can solve 5?

My Thoughts

Another home run of a read.  Having read Asher starting in 2010, with this book and continuing on his Polity series, it was good to re-read this and see how his writing has been polished up. Make no mistake, this was rough writing; not bad, but without some of the polish you see in later books.

If I had to choose one word to describe this all, Ultra-violence would be that word. Entrails, brain matter, dismembered limbs, broken, burst, or burnt body parts, alien flesh or fluid spattered across the landscape. Guns, garrottes, bombs, knives, lasers, bare hands [or golem hands as the case may be], alien teeth, cars, spaceships, all are used as weapons. It is phracking awesome!

This is a novel, and series, about Humanity and Post Humanity. If a human can live for 200 years, upload his mind to a golem body if he so chooses all the while living in a society run by A.I.'s of godlike intelligence, what kind of society will emerge? Asher doesn't get sidetracked from his story to show us the nitty-gritty but we do get little peeks here and there. And those little glimpses are fascinating.

To the plotmobile! Space-gates connect planets. One explodes and destroys a worlds' population. Ian must investigate and figure out what is going on. At the same time, some of Ian's old enemies are tracking him down to kill him. Add in an alien and my goodness, you have so many chainsaws in the air that any guess might kill you if wrong.

The whole idea of aug's and messing around with your mind to expand it intrigues me to no end. The idea of A.I.'s ruling humanity in the background while letting humanity grow mentally is also fascinating. Of course,the whole thing is predicated on the idea that something better can come from something lesser. A machine intelligence that is greater than humanity and without humanity's flaws. Great idea, but I can't buy it for real and so it kicks me out of the story occasionally.

Overall, I loved this book, was just as intrigued this time around as I was in '10, loved the violence, love the mystery of the plot and am looking forward to the rest of the series. These rereads have been good so far and so I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. Let's see if I can put that off for a bit, shall we?

Here's some alternate covers, because some of these are just plain awesome. I'm usually not a big fan of putting pictures into reviews, but in this case, I feel some of these represent the book better than the cover here, especially the last one.

 

Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt #1)

^{This review is written with a GPL 3.0 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, Booklikes & Librarything by  Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.}
Title: Empire in Black and Gold
Series: Shadows of the Apt #1
Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 628
Format: Ebook

Synopsis:

20 years ago, Stenwold Maker, along with his friends, attempt to save a city that is being invaded by the Wasp Empire. After failing, the friends go their separate ways and pursue their own agendas. Stenwold heads back to Collegium, to raise awareness of the danger of the Wasp Empire. Nobody listens and as the years pass, Stenwold becomes something of a byword and dismissed as an alarmist crackpot. But Stenwold knows that the Wasps will come and he begins training various college graduates to become his spy ring.

Now, Stenwold's niece and adopted daughter have graduated and the Wasp Empire is on the move again. His hand being forced, Stenwold sends out Che (his niece) and her friends before he can truly train them. Thrown into a situation beyond their knowledge, the group must grow or die. The whole of the Lowlands is in danger but if Collegium falls, the whole Lowlands will follow quickly. Collegium is the one City State that accepts all Kindens and is a center of Knowledge.

My Thoughts:  Spoilers?

(For clarity's sake, I read this back in February 2010) This was just as good as my previous read.

Tchaikovsky does a good job of introducing us to the main characters, the various nation states and the politics of what is going on. It's a tall order but unlike Erikson, Tchaikovksy doesn't just drop us in and leave us to sink or swim. Information is unfolded as we need it and I never felt like there were info dumps. However, I don't have a hate of infodumps like some, so take that as you may.

I had forgotten, or never realized, just how grim this book was. The little blurb on the cover says "The Days of Peace are Over" and my goodness, does that fit. I knew the series never lightened up but had forgotten how it started. It doesn't fall into Grimdark, but it sure isn't happy and upbeat. Magician by Raymond Feist might be the opposite of this. This is not a "plucky group of youngsters overcome the Evil Empire". It is a novel of War. A novel about how a group of friends can't stay together forever.  Pushed and pulled, each character must go their own way and develop on their own.

These are not under developed characters. Tchaikovsky really delves into motivations and what drives them. It is the type of character development that I like. The flaws of their society are evident and are as much a part of the story as anything. Nor does Tchaikovsky turn into a bloody SJW [social justice warrior] and try to make some seriously skewed political point. Thank goodness for authors who aren't flaming idiots.

To end this, this volume I read had several short stories at the end of book. Those stories are what pushed this from a 4star book to a 5star book. One in particular dealt with the magic of this world. It was a ghost story that left you wondering, was it really a ghost story or a scam? Either way, it worked really  well.

Good stuff and I'm satisfied that I bought this in paperback.