Phule’s Company (Phule’s Company #1) 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: Phule’s Company
Series: Phule’s Company #1
Author: Robert Asprin
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 182
Words: 77K

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My main knowledge about Asprin’s writing is through his “Myth Adventures” series and his “Thieves World” anthologies. The Myth books were boooooring with a few exceptions and the Thieves World books tended to be vulgar and of dnf moral quality. So you can imagine just how dubious I was at giving him yet another chance.

But something about the idea of a misfit millionaire in the military turning other misfits into a semi-reasonable outfit just appealed to me. I like a good underdog story and while Phule isn’t the underdog, everybody else in the story sure is. But even Phule knows that money can only go so far and in some cases can hurt more than help. I found Asprin’s philosophy surprisingly thought out even while disagreeing with Phule’s underlying thought that people are basically good.

This was fun, pure and simple. I had a blast reading this and found this to be the most enjoyable Asprin I’ve read to date (even better than Myth Inc in Action, the best Myth book in my opinion). However, given my past experience with Asprin I’m holding this series very lightly and am putting no expectations on the next book. But for the moment, this is a great book and I recommend it, even if I can’t comment on the series as a whole (yet).

★★★★☆

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From Wikipedia.org

The book begins as Willard Phule, a multimillionaire, is court-martialed by the Space Legion for ordering the strafing of a treaty signing ceremony. For his punishment, he is given command of an Omega Company full of misfits on Haskin’s Planet, a mining settlement on the edge of settled space. He quickly goes to his duty station and leverages his personal money and a knack for managing people to get the company to come together as a unit. His antics attract the attention of the local and interplanetary press, but create a very cohesive unit of the Legionnaires.

When a contract for an honorary duty is awarded to the Regular Army on Haskin’s Planet, Phule convinces the governor to leave the contract up for competition between the Space Legionnaires and the Regular Army. The Army sends some of their most elite troops to take part in the competition, and through an impressive show of cooperation and teamwork, Phule’s company ties the regular troops. In the final episode of the book, Phule’s company encounters lizard-like alien explorers from the Zenobian Empire. Quickly reverting to his business instincts, Phule negotiates a business deal to sell swampland to the creatures in exchange for new technologies. This again enrages some of his superiors, but because of a show of support from the Legionnaires for their commander and a complete conviction of his own innocence, Phule evades court-martial again.

• All My “Robert Asprin” Reviews

The Closed Worlds (Starwolf #2) 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: The Closed Worlds
Series: Starwolf #2
Author: Edmond Hamilton
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 151
Words: 46K

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This was MUCH better than the previous story. This had all the adventure and daring-do that I was expecting from a golden age SF writer. Chane the Starwolf plays a part but not the central part. He is now definitely part of the Mercenary group and not some Lone Wolf (ha!) all by himself.

Most of the action took place on the planet as the Mercs, led by one of the woman of the Opposition, tried to find out a rich archeologist. They ran into some decidely deadly created life forms several times and I thought Hamilton did a great job of showing how deadly the creatures were, either singly or in a massive pack. Of course, they weren’t enough to stop Chane the Starwolf, but come on, he wouldn’t be much of a hero if they had.

Another aspect that I liked was that when Chane was caught in the Astral Projection Machine, trying to rescue the woman, he fought tooth and nail to get back to where his body was. He wasn’t just tough in body, but in mind and spirit. During his time he visited the Starwolves’ home planet, which set things up nicely for the final book in this trilogy.

This was just the right length, with just the right amount of spaceships, just the right amount of jungle and freakish creatures and just the right amount of hand to hand fighting. Had a very good time while reading this and am now looking forward to more of Hamilton’s works.

★★★✬☆

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From Wikipedia & Bookstooge.blog

Synopsis – Click to Open

While on Earth, Morgan Chane, captain Dilullo, Bollard, and others once again team up to get a new mission. This time they are hired by a wealthy earth businessman and trader James Ashton for $500k to find his brother, Randall Ashton, who disappeared in the Closed Worlds. The latter are notable for being so dangerous and so mysterious that even starwolves don’t dare to step their foot on – they have laws that bar them from landing on Arkuu, the planet of the Closed World, where natives don’t wellcome anyone. The mercs accept the deadly offer and leave for the Closed Worlds.

The Mercs find evidence of Randall and his crew. With the help of a woman of the Closed Worlds who is in opposition to the policy, set out to find the lost expedition. They are pursued by government forces. The Mercs find Randall, who has re-discovered what the Closed Worlds were trying to hide, an astral projection machine for the mind that allowed the user to wander the universe as long as the body was taken care of. It was destructively addictive and was the reason the Closed Worlds shut themselves off from Galactic Civilization. The Mercs rescue Randall against his will and the woman figures out a way to make use of the machine that won’t be destructive.

Arba and Dakarba (Groo the Wanderer #26) 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: Arba and Dakarba
Series: Groo the Wanderer #26
Author: Sergio Aragones
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comics
Pages: 23
Words: 2K

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Hahahahaahaha, this was another laugh out loud comic. Man, if Groo can DO something and yet still not do it, he will find a way. I am in awe at how Aragones even comes up with these ideas. What kind of mind is so fiendishly twisted that something this funny, this amusing and this twisted is even thought of? It’s just brilliant!

It is one thing to be funny, it’s not too hard to make Groo a complete idiot. But at the same time Aragones has made him this completely unstoppable force of nature who simply cannot do things as people want him to. Sure, he can stop an army. By burning down a forest and destroying all the villages in it. Whatever he is tasked with, Groo will do. But he will do it badly and in such a way that comes back to bite the person who made the initial request. Without fail!

The page I’m including is the last one. Groo has done his job but done it so wrongly that EVERYONE wants to kill him. Classic!

★★★✬☆

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From Bookstooge.blog

Click to Open

Groo is hired by two witches to recover an amulet from some tiny people. The witches make Groo small and he attempts to steal the amulet. He fails but is told if he steals ANOTHER amulet from a wizard that the little people will let him have the first amulet. Both amulets end up being a part of an Artifact of Power. Groo steals the wizard’s amulet but in the process of giving it to the tiny people ends up stealing the first amulet, thus owning both. He throws away the wizard’s amulet, since “he” doesn’t need it any more and gives the original amulet to the two witches. Who turn out to be working for the wizard. The comic ends with the two witches, the wizard and the entire tribe of tiny people waiting in ambush to kill Groo for destroying all their plans.

• All of My “Groo the Wanderer” Reviews

Shelf Control: A Subtle Agency

Shelf Control is a weekly “feature” hosted now by Mallika from Literary Potpourri. The gist seems to be to pick a book or series on your TBR shelf and write about it as a way to get you to either read it or toss it in the eternal battle of trying to trim our TBR’s.

After my last foray (Warlock Holmes) I realized that the next longest waiting series on my TBR was the Metaframe War by Graeme Rodaughan. Don’t ask me how to pronounce that last name because I have no idea. I just know it’s not Cracker, hehehehe.

Here is the blurb from the first book, A Subtle Agency:

Hunters and vampires are fighting a secret war for control of the fabric of reality. Whoever acquires mastery of the reality shifting powers of the Metaframe will become the new gods of the universe.

I have no idea why I put this series on my tbr list. I’m pretty sure I put it on in ’17 and I think the final book is supposed to come out this year (book 7). Once it comes out I will add it to my reading rotation and dive in. I am really hoping that the author does something interesting with vampires and doesn’t turn this into a goopy pnr hellhole.
(setting the bar pretty low in my opinion!)

Thankfully, I know I WILL be reading this. It is now just a matter of when 🙂

• Previous “Shelf Control” Posts

The Blackmail Ring (The Shadow #13) 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: The Blackmail Ring
Series: The Shadow #13
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 146
Words: 44K

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The Batman vibes were almost overpowering in this story. It’s a decent story about a blackmailer using other blackmailers to do his own dirty work and the Shadow catches wind of it and goes on an international rampage taking out the limbs of the Ring before finally cutting off the head.

He does detecting work.

He is very physically present in this story, with both fists, guns and body checks. He’s not a skinny wimp relying on just scare tactics. The Shadow knows how to fight and he does so.

He drives a souped up super car.

He flies his own little private airplaine.

Batman was most definitely based on the Shadow and the more I read of the Shadow, the more I realize just how much Batman took from him. In many ways, Batman is just an updated version for a new generation and a new medium (comics vs books or radio drama). And yet only 9 years separated the two and they ran concurrently for several decades.

The Shadow gets another recruit and still has to rescue Harry Vincent. I don’t understand Gibson’s continued use of him. He has let other recruits slide into the background and barely mentions them, so why can’t he do that with Harry? Some things just aren’t to be I guess. Kind of like wishing that Coca-Cola would bring back Vanilla-Orange Coke Zero. It ain’t happening. Now I am sad. I’m going over to that corner over there and have a good cry.

And that’s how I’m going to end this review, sitting in a corner crying for something that will never exist again. Ahhh, the pathos is real in this review. Weep, minions, weeeeeeeeep I say.

★★★✬☆

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From the Publisher

The Shadow follows a bloody trail of extortion and murder that leads from the back alleys of Paris to the country homes of New England to confront “The Blackmail Ring”.

• All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Dingus Egg - MTG 4E

Killer’s Payoff (87th Precinct #6) 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: Killer’s Payoff
Series: 87^th Precinct #6
Author: Ed McBain
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 118
Words: 53K

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Wow, it’s been a while since I read an 87^th Precinct book! I was thinking I had stopped in November of ‘23, but looking at the the blog, it turns out it was back in June with Killer’s Choice. Man, time really got away from me on this series. That’s ok though, as these are essentially standalone stories with just little tidbits connecting them to any previous books.

Cotton Hawes was introduced in the previous book and he’s the main character here. He literally sleeps with some woman every other chapter and is the main reason this didn’t get 3 ½ stars. It’s not graphic or anything, but McBain makes it a point and by the end, it’s almost a joke. But that kind of thing isn’t a joke.

I found the idea of the police working hard to apprehend the killer of a scumbag blackmailer to be morally repugnant but that is how the Rule of Law works. It doesn’t get to play favorites based on your personal choice of who you like or don’t like. Either the Law applies to all or it applies to none. I didn’t delve into that aspect in my own head very deep because I didn’t want to go down a ranty path where I sounded off about various social ills caused by Big Government either ignoring the Law or actively working against it. But it peeped out. Like a ray of ranty sunshine 😉

I still love the fact that these are so short. I read this in one sitting and when I was done, I just sat back and enjoyed the fact that I had a complete story under my belt and didn’t have to spend the next week wading through purple prose and over descriptiveness and so much detail that nothing was left to my imagination.

Overall, I was happy with this story and the continuing adventures of the police of the 87^th Precinct. Cotton Hawes will be the main character for at least one more book, so I’m prepared now for him to be a total manwhore. I do hope though that he gets married and settles down.

★★★☆☆

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From the Publisher

Click to Open

Sy Kramer, a blackmailer, is shot dead in a 1937-style drive-by execution. But it is 1958 and Cotton Hawes and Steve Carella have to find out who killed him. It could have been Lucy Mencken, a rich and respectable lady with a past that included some very unrespectable photographic portraits, or it could have been Edward Schlesser, a manufacturer of soda pop. Or perhaps it was one of the members of a hunting party that went very wrong. In the end, it was the 3 hunters. They had accidentally killed a man, were seen by Kramer and he was blackmailing them. He squeezed them too hard and so they decided to simply kill him.

• All My “87^th Precinct” Reviews