Dwarven Warriors - MTG 4E

Northanger Abbey 4Stars

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Northanger Abbey
Series: ———-
Author: Jane Austen
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Classic
Pages: 175
Words: 81K

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For this read through, I did my best to peer past the parody asides that Austen threw in and just see the romance story she had written. It was a pretty plain jane, vanilla flavored romance. It was also very much a coming of age story. Catherine is a sheltered young woman and this story was more about her seeing a wider world and the evil side of people, which she hadn’t been exposed to at home, than it was about her meeting and eventually marrying Henry Tilney.

It was also a good reminder of just how insecure and unsettled young people are. Catherine wasn’t confused, she just didn’t know enough to react properly to her so-called friend Isabella’s actions. She had to learn by experience. Overall, I’m a pretty confident guy and it can be hard for me to remember that not everyone else is the same. I have a feeling I’d fulfill the role of General Tilney (Henry’s father) and intimidate Catherine without even realizing it. I know I mock the idea of “special snowflakes” a lot, but I am aware that kids do need a little bit of care in handling, sometimes, but not often.

The other thing I noticed was just how much of a role letter writing played. It is in all of Austen’s stories, but here it just made me think. I am a texter and I write on my blog and I journal, so I’d like to think that I would have been a great letter writer back in the day. But there is a big difference between typing and writing. And there is a HUGE difference using a gel pen and a quill and ink stand. Upon reflection I suspect that I would not have been a huge letter writer unless I had an amanuensis to take dictation for me. If that was the case, I’d probably be sending letters every day 😀

You get a letter, you get a letter, everybody gets a letter! (well, except for you!)

Overall I enjoyed this more than my previous times and I suspect it had as much, if not more, to do with my appreciation of good writing than just having a good time with a story.

★★★★☆

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From Wikipedia.org

Synopsis – click to open

Seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland is one of ten children of a country clergyman. Although a tomboy in her childhood, she is “in training for a heroine” and is fond of reading Gothic novels “provided they [are] all story and no reflection.”

The Allens (her wealthier neighbours in Fullerton) invite Catherine to accompany them in their visit to the city of Bath and partake in the winter season of balls, theatre and other social activities. Shortly after their arrival, she is introduced to a young gentleman, Henry Tilney, with whom she dances. Mrs. Allen meets an old school friend, Mrs. Thorpe, whose daughter, Isabella, quickly becomes friends with Catherine. Isabelle introduces Catherine to Ann Radcliffe’s 1794 Gothic novel Mysteries of Udolpho. Mrs. Thorpe’s son, John, is a friend of Catherine’s older brother, James, at Oxford University where they are both students. The two young men come to Bath, where John is then introduced to Catherine.

The Thorpes are not happy about Catherine’s friendship with the Tilneys. They correctly perceive Henry as a rival for Catherine’s affections even though Catherine is not at all interested in John Thorpe. Despite Thorpe continually attempting to sabotage her relationship with the Tilneys, Catherine tries to maintain her friendships with both the Thorpes and the Tilneys. This leads to several misunderstandings, which put Catherine in the awkward position of having to explain herself to the Tilneys.

Isabella and James become engaged. James’ father approves of the match and offers his son a country parson’s living of a modest sum, £400 annually, but they must wait until he can obtain the benefice in two and a half years. Isabella is dissatisfied, but to Catherine, she misrepresents her distress as being caused solely by the delay, and not by the value of the sum. Isabella immediately begins to flirt with Captain Frederick Tilney, Henry’s older brother. Innocent Catherine cannot understand her friend’s behaviour, but Henry understands all too well as he knows his brother’s character and habits.

The Tilneys invite Catherine to stay with them for a few weeks at their home, Northanger Abbey. Once at Northanger Abbey, Catherine and Eleanor Tilney, Henry’s and Frederick’s younger sister, get to know each other better on a personal level.[7] Catherine, in accordance with her novel reading, expects the house to be exotic and frightening. Henry teases her about this as it turns out that Northanger Abbey is pleasant and decidedly not Gothic. However, the house includes a mysterious suite of rooms that no one ever enters; Catherine learns that they were the apartments of Mrs. Tilney, who died nine years earlier due to a serious illness,[7] leaving Mr. Tilney with three children to raise by himself.[8] As General Tilney no longer appears to be affected by her death, Catherine decides that he may have imprisoned her in her chamber, or even murdered her.

Catherine discovers that her over-active imagination has led her astray as nothing is strange or distressing in the apartments. Henry finds and questions her; he surmises and informs her that his father loved his wife in his own way and was truly upset by her death.[9] She leaves the apartments, crying, fearing that she has lost Henry’s regard entirely. Realising how foolish she has been, Catherine comes to believe that, though novels may be delightful, their content does not relate to everyday life. Henry does not mention this incident to her again.

James writes to inform her that he has broken off his engagement to Isabella and implies that she has become engaged instead to Captain Tilney. Henry and Eleanor Tilney are sceptical that their brother has actually become engaged to Isabella Thorpe. Catherine is terribly disappointed, realising what a dishonest person Isabella is. A subsequent letter from Isabella herself confirms the Tilney siblings’ doubts and shows that Frederick Tilney was merely flirting with Isabella. The General goes off to London, and the atmosphere at Northanger Abbey immediately becomes lighter and more pleasant from his absence. Catherine passes several enjoyable days with Henry and Eleanor until the General returns abruptly in a temper in Henry’s absence. He forces Catherine to go home early the next morning in a shocking and unsafe mode that forces Catherine to undertake the 70 miles (110 km) journey alone.

At home, Catherine is listless and unhappy. Henry pays a sudden unexpected visit and explains what happened. General Tilney (on the misinformation of John Thorpe) had believed her to be exceedingly rich as the Allens’ prospective heiress, and therefore a proper match for Henry. In London, General Tilney ran into Thorpe again, who, angry at Catherine’s refusal of his earlier half-made proposal of marriage, said instead that she was nearly destitute. Enraged, General Tilney, (again on the misinformation of John Thorpe), returned home to evict Catherine. When Henry returned to Northanger, his father informed him of what had occurred and forbade him to think of Catherine again. When Henry learns how she had been treated, he breaks with his father and tells Catherine he still wants to marry her despite his father’s disapproval. Catherine is delighted, though when Henry seeks her parents’ approval, they tell the young couple that final approval will only happen when General Tilney consents.

Eventually, General Tilney acquiesces because Eleanor has become engaged to a wealthy and titled man; he discovers that the Morlands, while not extremely rich, are far from destitute.

• Northanger Abbey (2003 Review)
• Northanger Abbey (2006 Review)
• All My “Jane Austen” Reviews

Green Eyes (The Shadow #15) 3.5Stars

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 WordPresss & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Green Eyes
Series: The Shadow #15
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 158
Words: 48K

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For whatever reason, I really enjoy when the Shadow goes up against a Chinese villain. Part of it is that those villains tend to be extremely smart and clever and aren’t reliant on guns and muscle alone (like many of the mob bosses the Shadow regularly takes down). They have a brain and they use it. At the same time Grant (the author) isn’t promoting the “Oldskool Gangsta” lifestyle. The badguys get theirs every time. But it feels like a battle between almost equals instead of just the Shadow mopping everything up like a janitor.

In this story, the Shadow is on the West Coast of the United States, in that most evil and iniquitous state called California. The Feds are hot on the trail of a supposedly pacifist Chinese cultural movement that plans to start a new empire. Massive drug smuggling is involved and the Shadow is captured, good and proper. Sadly, the Mastermind falls into the typical villain hubris and doesn’t immediately kill the Shadow. Remember kids, if you’re going to be a villain, kill the good guy immediately! No gloating, no monologues, no torture. Just kill him. Or else he will escape and get you. It always happens that way, and it happened that way here too. Of course, I was rooting for the Shadow, so that was a good thing.

My one big disappointment was that Green Eyes did not end up referring to a Femme Fatale. I was picturing some sort of Shadow’ized Catwoman’ish lady who could take on the Shadow and then fall hopelessly in love with him. Nope. Green Eyes simply refers to a guy who can mesmerize people with his eyes. Poop to that!

But the cover. Ohhhhhh, that cover. Pure Awesomesauce! Twin automatic .45’s, the only thing better is an assault shotgun.

★★★✬☆

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From the Publisher

There is a criminal empire being run by a mad genius out of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Nobody knows who they are or when they will strike again. Only one man can bring down the vicious criminal operations. The Shadow!

• All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins #1) 3.5Stars

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Mary Poppins
Series: Mary Poppins #1
Author: Pamela Travers
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Middlegrade Fiction
Pages: 159
Words: 43K

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An absolutely delightful book. Absolutely delightful! I had seen the Disney movie/musical way back when and enjoyed it as a child but even then I felt that Julie Andrews was simply too saccharine sweet and thus had no desire to ever explore the books, as I figured they would be more of the same, if not even sweeter. But as the years have gone by and I have learned just what “Disneyfied” means, I wondered if perhaps the books weren’t quite what the movie portrayed. Then some people I know were doing an amateur play production and I decided that now was the time to check things out.

I am very glad I did. Mary Poppins was not the saccharine character in the movie. She was extremely competent and yet, she was sharp as glass and boy, could she cut. She was vain, always looking at herself in mirrors or windows. She was sulky, refusing to talk to the children if they had done something she didn’t like. She was vindictive, giving the children “exactly” what they wanted when she didn’t want to. It was wonderful seeing an adult treat the kids like kids instead of acting like they were helpless snowflakes who would melt at one hot word.

Each chapter was one adventure. It was perfectly paced and when the story was done, it was done. I like that kind of finality. Also, Mary Poppins literally blew in on the wind and then the book ends with her blowing away. Perfect book ends.

It was just plain invigorating to read this and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

★★★✬☆

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From Wikipedia

Synopsis – Click to Open

The first book introduces the Banks family from Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London,[a] consisting of Mr and Mrs Banks, their children Jane and Michael, and baby twins John and Barbara. When the children’s nanny, Katie Nanna, storms out in a huff, Mary Poppins arrives at their home, complete with her travelling carpet bag, blown in by a very strong east wind. She accepts the job (agreeing to stay “till the wind changes”), and the children soon learn that their nanny, though stern, vain and usually cross, has a magical touch that makes her wonderful. Among the things Jane and Michael experience are a tea party on a ceiling with Mr Wigg, a trip around the world with a compass, the purchase of gingerbread stars from the extremely old Mrs Corry, a meeting with the Bird Woman, a birthday party at the zoo among the animals, and a Christmas shopping trip with a star named Maia from the Pleiades cluster in the constellation Taurus. In the end, in what is perhaps the most iconic image associated with Mary Poppins, she opens her umbrella and the west wind carries her away. She leaves behind a note letting the children know that they will meet her again someday.

Currently Reading & Quote: A Subtle Agency

He walked downstairs in his socks, wearing a simple gray, long sleeved BU Hockey T-shirt, and jeans that hid the rugged athleticism of his six feet one-inch frame. Anton arrived at the front door just as the doorbell rang for the third time.

He opened the door; before him stood the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen in his life.

She was tall, nearly the same height as Anton, brunette with vivid blue eyes, flawless complexion, wearing a professional black business pants suit with a short jacket, and a translucent scarlet silk chiffon shirt that displayed the round curves of her breasts within a stylish black bra.

Just standing still, she was a seductive mix of poise, elegance, and class, with a face that demanded attention.

I started A Subtle Agency, by Graeme Rodaughan, the first book in the Metaframe War series. I know it involves vampires, but that quote from the first chapter does not bode well. I swear, if “rippling abs” make even ONE appearance, I’m dnf’ing this like it has the bubonic plague.

Lady Killer (87th Precinct) 3.5Stars

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Lady Killer
Series: 87^th Precinct
Author: Ed McBain
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 99
Words: 43K

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With a threatening anonymous note saying the writer will “Kill the Lady”, the detectives of the 87^th Precinct have a mere 9hrs to figure out who the lady is and how to prevent her death. Is the lady a high class whore, is she an actress, is she a dog? Of course, it’s nothing so obvious as that.

I had no idea what was going on the entire time and I loved it. I was as confused as the police and man, it was a great thrill ride. And with it being such a short book, I felt like I jumped into the police cruiser, jammed the sirens on as loud as they could go and went tearing down the highway at 120 miles per hour, slammed the brakes on, performed a vehicular military exfil and shot the perp dead with my SWAT issued automatic assault shotgun. It’s no nuclear bazooka, and Hawes is no Mitch Rapp, but I take what I can get. Nuclear bazookas come and go, but an assault shotgun is forever. Kind of like love in fact.

Awwww, look at that wittle cutie! Just makes you want to cuddle it, doesn’t it?

★★★✬☆

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From the Publisher

Detective Cotton Hawes of the 87th Precinct scrutinizes a tip-off letter that says “I will kill the lady tonight at 8”–giving him nine hours to find the victim and the killer in a city of eight million people.

• All My “87^th Precinct” Reviews

Lethal Agent (Mitch Rapp #18) 3Stars

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Lethal Agent
Series: Mitch Rapp #18
Author: Vince Flynn & Kyle Mills
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 321
Words: 101K

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Wicked, wicked nasty politics. And Irene Kennedy is pretty much helpless.

Yeah, I don’t buy it for a second. Kennedy was trained by one of the best CIA agents whoever sat behind a desk. She knows how the game is played and even as the game changes, she is brilliant enough to stay ahead of it. Instead, she’s a stupid lackwit running three steps behind everything. I’ve complained about Mills not knowing how to utilize Kennedy and this book spotlighted that weakness. Like a prison spotlight on an escaping prisoner.

Gahhhhhh! While I’m not a fan of politics, the original author did a great job of working it into the series. Mills can’t do it, so he needs to stay away from that arena all together. This was ham handed, ham fisted, heck, it was Christmas ham’d. I can’t read this kind of thing any more. So I’m stopping Mitch Rapp until a new author takes over the franchise.

★★★☆☆

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From Kylemills.com

A toxic presidential election is underway in an America already badly weakened by internal divisions. While politicians focus entirely on maintaining their own power and privilege, ISIS kidnaps a brilliant French microbiologist and forces him to begin manufacturing anthrax. Slickly produced videos chronicling his progress and threatening an imminent attack are posted to the Internet, intensifying the hysteria gripping the US.

ISIS recruits a Mexican drug cartel to smuggle the bioweapon across the border, but it’s really just a diversion. The terrorist organization needs to keep Mitch Rapp and Irene Kennedy distracted long enough to weaponize a deadly virus that they stumbled upon in Yemen. If they succeed, they’ll trigger a pandemic that could rewrite the world order.

Rapp embarks on a mission to infiltrate the Mexican cartels and track down the ISIS leader who he failed to kill during their last confrontation. But with Washington’s political elite increasingly lined up against him, he knows he’ll be on his own.

• All My “Mitch Rapp” Reviews

Durkwood Boars - MTG 4E

Conrad’s Fate (Chrestomanci #5) 5Stars

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Conrad’s Fate
Series: Chrestomanci #5
Author: Diana Jones
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Middlegrade Fantasy
Pages: 209
Words: 78K

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Another fantastic entry in the Chrestomanci series. When she wants to, Jones can write these dynamic, wonderful, life filled characters that make you want to cheer them on. Conrad was such a character. He’s a plucky young lad who runs into Christopher Chant, the Chrestromanci we all know in this series. And Conrad holds his own against Christopher. Not in an antagonistic way, but in a friendly way, the way two young men should as they are growing up in a world where they don’t hold all the cards.

If all the Chrestomanci had been as good as this and “The Lives of Christopher Chant” then maybe this series would be known today. Sadly, Jones can’t seem to be consistently upbeat and happy in her stories and that inconsistency is what has kept me from whole heartedly recommending this middle grade series. When it is good, it is good but when it’s bad, it’s really unpleasant.

★★★★★

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From Wikipedia:

Synopsis – click to open

Conrad Tesdinic lives in Stallchester, a small town in the English Alps, a mountain range present in Series Seven worlds where the British Isles are still connected to the European mainland. Conrad’s father is dead; his sister Anthea has left home to go to university; and his mother, Franconia, is an eccentric feminist author whose books are sold exclusively in her brother’s bookshop. She and Conrad live with her brother, Uncle Alfred, over the bookshop.

In the mountains high above Stallchester lies Stallery Mansion, home to the Count and his family. Uncle Alfred tells Conrad that someone up at Stallery Mansion is “pulling the possibilities” – that is, shifting the parameters of the world just a little, in order to benefit themselves to the detriment of the rest of the world. This is later referred to as a “probability shift.” From the affluence of Stallery, it is obvious that this person is making a great deal of money by doing so. In the town, only small details change – the colour of the postboxes, the titles of books – but Uncle Alfred is certain that someone at Stallery is reaping far greater benefits from the shifts. Uncle Alfred and his Magician’s Circle tell Conrad that he is going to die within the year unless he kills the person pulling the possibilities. This person (unnamed by any) is apparently someone Conrad should have eliminated in a past life. To kill this person and set things right, Conrad will need to infiltrate Stallery Mansion in the guise of a domestic servant, and then summon a Walker. The Walkers are magical beings who come on command and give the caller what they need for their particular situation. Conrad is told that the Walker will give him an item he needs to defeat the nameless foe.

Upon being hired, Conrad soon finds that he is not the only one snooping around the mansion. He befriends his fellow servant-in-training, Christopher “Smith” (really Christopher Chant), who is searching for his friend Millie. Together, they discover that Millie is trapped in a Stallery of an alternate universe, caused by the shifts in probability. Conrad and Christopher must discover who is causing the probability shifts, rescue Millie, and figure out what to do about Conrad’s so-called “black Fate,” all while dealing with the imperious Mr. Amos, the mansion’s butler, and his exacting tasks for trainees.

Millie is eventually freed and brought back to the real Stallery. She and Conrad try to work out what to do next. Gabriel De Witt, the current Chrestomanci and guardian of Millie and Christopher, arrives at the castle at the request of this England’s king, hoping to figure out what is causing all the probability shifts. He reveals that Mr. Amos is actually the Count of Stallery and the person responsible for pulling the possibilities. Mr. Amos is also Conrad’s uncle; he bought off his younger brother Hubert (Conrad and Anthea’s father) by buying the bookshop for him to run. It is also revealed that the count, countess and others are actually frauds, posing as the aristocracy so that Amos can run Stallery without interference. Uncle Alfred is also exposed as a greedy fraud who had manipulated Conrad merely to get his hands on Stallery’s millions. After this is all sorted out, Gabriel takes Millie and Christopher back to their world. Conrad joins them for seven years of magical training.

In the final part of the book, Conrad reveals that he became Christopher’s best man at his wedding to Millie and continued living at Chrestomanci Castle for several years. However, he could no longer stay away from his homeworld and returned to be the agent of the Chrestomanci.

– All of My “Diana Jones” Reviews

[Art] Solar Guardians: Moon