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: The Last Man Series: Mitch Rapp #13 Author: Vince Flynn Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Thriller Pages: 377 Words: 127K
From Vinceflynn.com & Me
The head of clandestine operations in Afghanistan has been kidnapped, his four bodyguards executed in cold blood. With the CIA plunged into crisis mode, Rapp is dispatched to find his missing friend, Joe Rickman, at all costs. He isn’t the only one looking for Rickman; an FBI special agent is at his heels, determined to blame Rapp for the bloody debacle. Rapp is, however, the only one who knows certain things about the vanished black ops master—secrets that in the wrong hands could prove disastrous. With elements of his own government undermining him—and America’s security—at every turn, Rapp must be as ruthless and deceitful as his enemies to complete this razor’s-edge mission. And it turns out Rickman planned the whole thing and tried to kill Rapp because he knew Rapp was the only one who could catch him out. So when Rapp catches up to Rickman, he puts a bullet in his head. Because that’s how you treat traitors. Period.
Sadly, this was the last Mitch Rapp book written by Vince Flynn. Flynn succumbed to cancer after this and that was thought to be the end of the matter. Thankfully, another author took up the challenge and Flynn’s estate allowed it to go forward, so we do get more Mitch Rapp stories. We’ll see what they are like when I get to them. But to this book.
I KNEW Rickman was the jackass scumbag from the get go. I was hoping Flynn wasn’t going to go the obvious route and that we’d be getting something really tricky and twisted. C’est la vie! It was still a great thriller with tons of action. The assassin who killed Rapp’s wife and unborn baby gets involved and that really upped the stakes. It also showed the difference between a free lance assassin for hire and someone like Rapp.
The political side of things are touched upon but they wrap up so quickly and so neatly at the end that I wondered if Flynn did it that way just to finish the book. I was kind of hoping Rapp would pay the traitorous Senator a visit and maybe even kill him. You don’t sell top secret secrets to countries like Afghanistan and NOT be a traitor. Sadly, the CIA Director, Kennedy, makes the most of it politically and pretty much tells the Senator he is now her plaything or she’ll reveal everything. That makes sense but it’s not as cool as what I wanted 😀
I was pretty happy with this read and it helped to wile away a couple of days. That’s all I can truly ask for from a book.
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: The Widowmaker Series: Widowmaker #1 Author: Mike Resnick Rating: 4 of 5 Stars Genre: SF Pages: 198 Words: 67K
From Bookstooge.blog
Jefferson Nighthawk, also known as the Widowmaker, is in deepfreeze for an incurable disease. Unfortunately, that is expensive and even the Widowmaker runs out of money now and then. So to procure more money to keep him on ice until a cure is found, a clone is made and sent on an assignment. Which he fulfills and then dies because he makes bad choices about a woman.
Every time I re-read a book, it feels like I am marching out into an old minefield. With a blindfold on while carrying a 25lb cane that I smash into the ground at every step. That feeling of “will THIS step be the one where I explode and my guts go flying for 200 yards in every direction” is not very pleasant. On the flip side, if I do make it safely to the other side, the palpable relief coupled with the enjoyment of a familiar trek pretty much trebles the enjoyment.
In some ways this was a very frustrating read. Jeff Nighthawk, the young clone, is just so young that you know what is going to happen because he wants what he wants despite everyone telling him otherwise. If he’d been a normal person, he would have had a broken heart and learned from his past. Being a galaxy famous bounty hunter, well, all it takes is one mistake to kill him.
I really liked the idea of cloning the Widowmaker and using him. It makes for some interesting dynamics and philosophical rabbit trails but without getting all deep and serious and depressing. It was also fun to be back in Resnick’s Far Future History. Santiago took place during the Democracy (I think) and this takes place much later in what is called the Oligarchy. But the idea that there is always a frontier, a place to go if you’re a free individual is one that Resnick keeps alive in his stories.
The Idea of the Widowmaker is also one that resonates with me. Not necessarily the stone cold killer, but the idea of being the apex of your profession. I like reading about individuals who have striven to be the best and ARE the best. None of this schmopey dopey “ohhh, we’re all just the same” crap. No, we damned well are NOT the same and if you think otherwise, then you are insane and contributing to the general insanity of the world. I cannot be an astronaut no matter how much I might want to be. Nor can I be a professional basketball player. But I can work with only 1 person for 9hrs a day and not need communal group hugs or “attaboys” every other minute and I don’t need to discuss Movie/TV Show X over the water cooler. And you’d be surprised how many people can’t take the solitude. They think they can, but they can’t. So all that rant aside, I like reading about people who excel at what they do. It is inspiring.
There are 3 more Widowmaker books in this series and since I enjoyed this re-read as much as I did, I am fully looking forward to the rest of the series.
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: Asterix and the Laurel Wreath Series: Asterix #18 Authors: Goscinny & Uderzo Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Comics Pages: 53 Words: 3K
From Wikipedia:
The story begins in Rome where Asterix and Obelix are talking, but flashes back to Lutetia, where Asterix, Obelix, Chief Vitalstatistix, and the chief’s wife Impedimenta visit Impedimenta’s brother, Homeopathix, a rich businessman who immediately shows off his wealth. At dinner, Vitalstatistix quickly becomes drunk and boasts that, as a Chief, he can obtain for Homeopathix something money cannot possibly buy, a stew seasoned with Julius Caesar’s laurel wreath, whereupon the equally drunk Obelix volunteers himself and Asterix to fetch the wreath.
In Rome, Asterix and Obelix see a man coming out of Caesar’s palace. Upon discovering that he is a kitchen slave there, they offer themselves to the slave trader Typhus, who supplies Caesar’s palace. When Typhus’ other slaves provoke the Gauls into a fight, the wealthy patrician, Osseus Humerus, is amused and offers to buy them; Asterix mistakes him for Caesar’s major-domo and completes the sale. The Gauls are placed under the supervision of Goldendelicius, Humerus’ chief slave. Goldendelicius expresses dislike of the two Gauls because they come from Typhus (a mark of distinction among slaves) and fears that they might usurp his office.
Realizing their mistake, Asterix and Obelix attempt to get Humerus to return them to Typhus. First, they cook a volatile stew, which accidentally cures Humerus’ heavy-drinking son Metatarsus of his constant hangovers. Next they disturb the sleeping family by making noise, which only inspires the family to throw an impromptu party. The next day, a tired Humerus sends the Gauls to Caesar’s palace to justify his absence to a secretary there. Goldendelicius seizes the opportunity to tell the palace’s guards that the Gauls intend to kill Caesar. As a result, Asterix and Obelix are thrown into the palace prison upon arrival, but they escape during the night and unsuccessfully search the palace for the laurel wreath. At daybreak, they return to their cell (to the confusion of the palace guards) and decide to find Caesar and seize the wreath from him.
The next morning, a lawyer comes to defend Asterix and Obelix in a show trial for the “attempt” on Caesar’s life. The lawyer takes for granted that they will be found guilty and thrown to the lions in the Circus Maximus. Asterix is encouraged when the lawyer says Caesar might attend the execution. During the trial, the prosecutor announces the same initial speech intended by the defense lawyer, prompting the latter to call for a suspension in proceedings. Anxious to be sentenced to the Circus, Asterix himself speaks for the prosecution, outlining all the “wrongdoings” committed by himself and Obelix. The whole audience, including Typhus and the Humerus family, is moved by this plea, and the Gauls are sentenced to death in the Circus. In the cells, they enjoy luxurious food funded by Typhus and Humerus. But, as they are about to enter the arena, Asterix and Obelix learn that Caesar is not present, having gone off to fight pirates. Therefore, the Gauls refuse to go into the arena until he returns, which results in the big cats in the arena eating each other, a mass riot of the audience, and everyone (including Asterix and Obelix and the last remaining lion) being evicted from the circus.
That night, Asterix and Obelix sleep at a doorway, where they are woken by brigands. They defeat the brigands, after which their chief, Habeascorpus, offers Asterix and Obelix shelter in return for their help in robberies. Asterix accepts, but attempts to warn the victim they are assigned, who turns out to be a drunken Metatarsus. Refusing to attack an innocent, Asterix and Obelix vanquish the bandits again. From Metatarsus, the two Gauls learn that Goldendelicius has been appointed as Caesar’s personal slave, and that Caesar himself is due to hold a triumph for his victory over the pirates. Asterix and Obelix corner Goldendelicius in a tavern and coerce him into exchanging Caesar’s laurel wreath for one of parsley. The next day, during the triumph, Goldendelicius nervously holds the parsley wreath over Caesar’s head. Caesar does not acknowledge the switch, but secretly “feels like a piece of fish”, which baffles him.
Upon Asterix and Obelix’s return, Homeopathix arrives in his brother-in-law’s village in order to eat the stew containing Caesar’s laurel wreath, and Vitalstatistix states that a wealthy man like him would never eat such a meal in his own house. Homeopathix “agrees” by sarcastically pointing out that it is overcooked and of poor quality, which provokes Vitalstatistix to strike him senseless. The album ends with the note that, with Asterix’s cure for drunkenness now available to the Romans, they initiate a series of ever-increasing parties that result in the collapse of the empire.
Chief Vitalstatistix doesn’t get along with his brother-in-law and after getting drunk, promises him a stew made with the laurels of Caesar’s wreath. So of course our two heroes have to do the dirty work.
Despite their best efforts at stealing the wreath, of being made slaves, of getting thrown in the arena, they just can’t seem to catch a break and find the wreath. Obelix gets drunk several times and man, he’s a tough drunk. Asterix isn’t much better and talks like an idiot. Their misadventures in trying to get the wreath are pretty funny. The poor pirates are shown being captured by Caesar and paraded through Rome. They just can’t catch a break, ever.
I thought Goscinny and Urderzo did a good job of coming up with creative ways for the duo to fail each time until the very last. And if I hadn’t seen the page numbers, I would have waited for the final attempt to fail too. But they succeed and thus ends the story.
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: Captain Series: One Piece #35 Arc: Water Seven #4 Author: Eiichiro Oda Rating: 3 of 5 Stars Genre: Manga Pages: 187 Words: 9K
From Wikipedia:
“The Pirate Abduction Incident”
“My Name Is Franky”
“It’s Decided”
“The Big Argument”
“Luffy vs. Usopp”
“Captain”
“Big Trouble in the Secret Room”
“Warning”
“Luffy vs. Franky”
Luffy reluctantly decides to abandon the ship. Usopp, having grown attached to the Merry, is unwilling to take this course of action and challenges Luffy’s captaincy. Once defeated, Usopp decides to leave the Straw Hats, and the others go searching for a new ship. Meanwhile, the Aqua Laguna, an annual storm that strikes Water Seven, is about to return. To coincide with this Iceburg, the owner of Galley-La, is attacked, and Nico Robin is labeled as the prime suspect. Knowing Robin is a member of the Straw Hats, all of Water Seven turns against them.
I was reading along and things were ok. Unfortunately, it quickly went out of control.
Everyone getting all emotional about the ship needing to be trashed and getting a new one made me roll my eyes a bit and then the “fight” between Luffy and Usopp really made me roll my eyes. Usopp, while never the sharpest tool in the shed, acts downright stupid here. It felt very forced to me.
Then you have the Mayor getting attacked. He claims it was somebody and Robin Nico (one of Luffy’s crew) and so before you can say “boo”, the entire town is convinced that the Straw Hat Gang tried to assassinate their beloved mayor. And the mayor doesn’t do anything about it. Throw in the Frankie Gang for fun too. They stole 2/3rds of the crews money and when the Straw Hats took retribution and destroyed their hideout, Franky gets all butthurt and goes after Luffy. And he’s a cyborg. And there’s some sort of superstorm coming in.
This was only 187 pages but man, does Oda pack in everything that he possibly can. It felt overfull and not well thought out. If Franky is so powerful and so out of control, why haven’t the Shipwrights controlled him before? This is what happens when you think logically and rationally instead of “what sells” like a manga-ka does. I cannot imagine reading this a chapter at a time, it would have driven me nuts. As it is, even reading one tankubon at a time (the book form) is pushing things. Part of me wants to just read about 5 volumes at a go and review them all in one post. If the pacing and storytelling goes on like this volume, that will be something I seriously consider in the upcoming months.
There are certain things I can suspend my disbelief for, but don’t shove 5 improbable things at me all at once and expect me to deal with it. Especially if the improbables center around the established characters. I am not the Red Queen and I do not believe 10 impossible things before breakfast every day.
Now, with all that complaining and whining and hand wringing out of the way, I do think that Oda showed the weight of command here. Luffy had to make a decision about the ship and when one of his crew acted like a baby about it, he had to Captain Up and put the beatdown on Usopp. No good being a pirate captain if you’re going to just let your crew rule by committee. In the future Luffy is going to have to make some really hard decisions and this book showed he was capable of that. He is growing up and becoming the Captain (hence the volume’s title) he is going to need to be. I like that “growing up” aspect of a story and it appeals to me a lot.
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: Conan the Unconquered Series: Conan the Barbarian Author: Robert Jordan Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Fantasy Pages: 207 Words: 72K
From Wikipedia:
An evil sorcerer Jhandar wishes to raise an army of undead slaves, and his meddling with chaos brings him into conflict with Conan, who must battle his deadly ninja henchmen who can kill with a touch, and retrieve a weapon from a dent in reality created by the sorcerer’s earlier botched experiments. A whirlwind of adventure ensures.
Conan sleeps with all the wimenz and killz all the sorcererz (but there is only one). So he can haz a cheezeburger now. I’ve gone ahead and injected it with penicillin though because you don’t sleep around that much without catching an std after all.
All silliness aside, this was a good jaunt as Conan fights another sorcerer and goes to a blasted land and fights some nefarious creature there too. Secret Kung-Fu masters are involved but Conan doesn’t care and stabs them to death. Take that Morpheus! I enjoyed this just a bit more than the two previous Conan stories by Jordan and I think that is because of the lack of women main characters in this story. In a sword and sorcery story, I want the hero, his sidekick/s, the babes and the badguy/s. And that is exactly what I got this time around.
While I don’t want a book diet exclusively composed of this pulp, having it on a regular basis means I don’t crave it. It also allows me to appreciate the finer works that I read when I do read them. Like Groo the Wanderer! Hahahahahahaha 😉
Holy smokes, my journaling has taken off like a rocketship. I took a year to fill up my 15th journal, 8-9 months to fill up the 16th and a mere 4 months (technically a week less) for the 17th. Thankfully, Mrs B saw my increased usage and took the preventative action of buying me a backup for Christmas. And I started it today.
I love my journals. Just in case you couldn’t tell 😀
And next week? I’ve got more journals. Paperblanks had a sale and I was weak. I crave your forgiveness ahead of time, gomen nasai!
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: Stories To Stay Awake By Series: ———- Editor: Alfred Hitchcock Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Crime Fiction Pages: 198 Words: 78K
Table of Contents: Introduction by Alfred Hitchcock (ghost written)
Success of a Mission by William Arden
The Splintered Monday by Charlotte Armstrong
Death by Judicial Hanging by Francis Beeding
Floral Tribute by Robert Bloch
Red Wine by Lawrence G. Blochman
Canavan’s Back Yard by Joseph Payne Brennan
A Murderous Slice by Marguerite Dickinson
The New Deal by Charles Einstein
Boomerang by Guy Fleming
Sleep is the Enemy by Anthony Gilbert
The Second Coming by Joe Gores
From the Mouse to the Hawk by Dion Henderson
Letter to the Editor by Morris Hershman
The Spy Who Came to the Brink by Edward D. Hoch
Second Talent by James Holding
The Ohio Love Sculpture by Adobe James
Homicide House by Day Keene
Every story here revolves around somebody dying or being killed or being a killer. I found them linked thematically quite well and they didn’t seem like random stories just lumped together.
I really liked the final story, Homicide House by Day Keene. As soon as the narrator revealed that he was bricking up the body of his murdered wife, I knew exactly where the story was going to end and it was ghoulishly delightful to watch as the story went down the path I had predicted.
This book was originally released in hardback with 35 stories and then later on was released in two paperbacks with each containing half the stories. The second paperback was called More Stories To Stay Awake By but I haven’t been able to track down an ebook version, not even a pdf scan, so I will probably not be able to read the other 18 stories from the original. What a shame.
Back in November, I blogged about reading my Freshman Journal. Since that time I have made my way through my Junior Year from Bibleschool (it was a three year course so you had freshman, juniors and seniors). It was as tough as I thought it would be.
I came into contact with a couple of people that I absolutely could not stand and with it being a closed campus, there was no getting away from them. So I had to learn, quickly, how to deal with people whose very existence annoyed me. Them breathing the same air, in the same building as me, was enough to rile me up. So I learned some survival skills without even realizing it. I didn’t know I was an introvert’s introvert. I didn’t realize I needed alone time and time away from people. So I threw myself into everything I could, with all the gusto I could and ended up having some really miserable times.
I also had some fantastically wonderful times too. A local secular college would put on Selections from Handel’s “Messiah” every year and would hire 4 professionals for the solo parts and it was a joy to listen to. Nearly the first, and close to the last, time that music really moved me on a deep, visceral level. I also went hiking up a mountain one winter’s day and while looking back, that was incredibly stupid (I told no one where I was going, no cell phones, no real worst case scenario gear), it was also a time of solitude and balm for my soul that I still remember to this day.
Reading along I realized that in ’99 was when I was introduced to Land Surveying. My (future) boss came over and taught us some of the math and told us anyone who was interested could keep on going. So my friend and I worked on the math and experimented with some of the equipment. I had forgotten I had started this before graduation. And that summer I worked for him until college started back up in the fall. Good stuff!
Of course, one of the miserable things I alluded to above was that I had to deal with the reality of a broken heart and someone’s interest moving away from me. Between that and learning to exist alongside people I couldn’t stand, I did a lot of growing up in ’98 and ’99. Not by choice, but considering my personality, that was about the only way it would have happened.
My writing also took off during this time period. Besides my regular journal, I began keeping a notebook with meeting and sermon notes (long since lost) and I started a Happy Book where I noted 5 things every day that made me happy. That didn’t last too long, hahahaha. It soon turned into a heart broken sob journal where I could pretty much record how much I hurt every single day. Sigh, to be that young again. I also wrote a lot of emails and referenced them in my journal too, not realizing that I was entering a phase where I treated emails like disposable napkins. I think in this year of school I went through 3 or 4 with various companies? I even wrote down a couple of passwords. I tried to see if they were still active, but either I had changed the password at some later date or I had deleted the address altogether. It was a fun time though because I was exploring all that life had to offer me at the time.
Wow, this has gone on longer than I thought. I would sum up that year as one of forced growth that was ultimately the best thing for me. My character, not exactly jello even at this point, was further cemented into the mold that shapes me even today.
I chose not to include a particular quote like I did last year because either the day was utterly banal or so intensely personal. I had no middle ground at that time and it has taken me these 3 months to read through it. This is why I journaled though, I didn’t want to forget the times that formed me into the man I am today. I hope to talk more about that idea next Saturday when I do another post about why I still paper journal.
ps, Apparently I have not created a “journal” tag yet. I have corrected that with this post and now I have to go through my previous entries and add it to the correct ones. Man, being a blogger is tough and definitely not for the faint hearted.
