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 Web of Spider Series: Spider #3 Author: William Gear Rating: 1.5 of 5 Stars Genre: SF Pages: 668 Words: 241K
This was twice as long as the first book and it was NOT twice as good.
This was very much a religious treatise as much as it was a science fiction “story”. There were pages of Gear using his characters to talk about neo-shamanism and how wonderful it is to serve a god who doesn’t know everything and who is both good and evil.
How anyone could find that desirable is well beyond me.
Gear also takes some heavy handed swipes at monotheistic religions, ie Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Unfortunately, Christianity is the one he focuses on and just ignores the other two.
I wanted to quit several times, but I was reading this concurrently with Neuromancer and that was so bad that I couldn’t tell if my desire to quit was because this book was really that unenjoyable or if Neuromancer was just sucking the reading joy from my life. Looking back now, its obvious to me this book WAS that bad and I should have dnf’d right near the start. One more mark against Neuromancer for destroying my senses in regarding other books.
★✬☆☆☆
From the publisher
Click to Open
THE FINAL CONFLICT!
The Sirian rebellion had proved the catalyst for the rise of two powerful new forces in the galaxy. Ngen Van Chow, leader of the failed rebellion, had fled to a distant world, establishing a base from which he would launch an interstellar holy war of destruction, a war fuelled by the discovery of a long-hidden technology which could transform ordinary men and women into fanatical soldiers of Deus.
While on the long-lost colony planet of World, the Romanans, known as the warriors of Spider, and their Patrol allies – formerly part of the military and police force which kept order among the worlds and stations controlled by the computer network of the Directorate – prepared for civilization’s final stand against this seemingly unstoppable conqueror.
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: It Was You Series: Demon Slayer #2 Author: Koyoharu Gotouge Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Manga Pages: 192 Words: 9K
The story actually moves forward, amazing! We find out all SORTS of interesting things. Like there is only 1 demon who can turn humans into demons (hence why the world isn’t over run by them), that this Demon King is actually living disguised as a human and has a human wife and child.
But let me back up.
We left Tanjiro fighting against a super fatso demon as part of his testing in the last book.
Ok class, one question pop quiz.
Raise your hand if you think the demon wins and eats Tanjiro?
Nobody?
Excellent, none of you are as stupid as you look then. Congrats!
Yeah, Tanjiro becomes a full fledged demon slayer, has an encounter with another newb and finds out that crows are the agents used to deliver where he’s supposed to go on missions. Brandon Lee would have been so proud.
Tanjiro demonstrates his strength on several occasions but also lets his heart show. I fully approve of that. But mainly I approve of the plot moving forward. Last time I said there were 30+ volumes. I was wrong. There are only 23. I approve of that too. In fact, I approve a lot of things about this manga. Which is why I’m going to keep on reading it.
★★★✬☆
From Wikipedia
Table of Contents & Synopsis
click to open
“Big Brother”
“Welcome Back”
“Kidnapper’s Bog”
“Suggestion”
“I Can’t Tell You”
“It Was You”
“Kibutsuji’s Wrath / The Smell of Enchanting Blood”
“The Doctor’s Opinion”
“Playing Temari”
Returning from Mt. Sagiri after passing the exam, Tanjiro learns his family’s murderer is a demon named Muzan Kibutsuji who knows how to restore Nezuko’s humanity. He departs with Nezuko after receiving his Nichirin Blade from the swordsmith Haganezuka to a town in the northwest where a demon with the ability to split into three bodies has been feeding on young girls. As Nezuko was hypnotized by Urokodaki to consider all humans her family, she helps Tanjiro kill two thirds of the demon with the remaining one forcing Tanjiro to kill him while interrogating him on Kibutsuji. Tanjiro then departs to Asakusa, Tokyo, where he has a short encounter with Kibutsuji while meeting Tamayo, a demon who escaped Kibutsuji’s control, and her assistant Yushiro. Tamayo takes Tanjiro to her tower abode and explains to him the nature Kibutsuji’s ability to place his cells in other people’s bodies to force their servitude with a “curse” added to any who utter his name. Tanjiro agrees to work with Tamayo to develop a cure for Nezuko, promising to let her study his sister’s blood and bring blood from powerful demons related closely to Muzan for her research. But they are soon attacked by assassins sent by Kibutsuji — Susamaru and Yahaba — who were ordered to kill Tanjiro (who was wearing hanafuda earrings).
I was not a big fan of cards that only tapped a creature and didn’t destroy it. That kind of playstyle just didn’t fit me and so I don’t think I ever used this card, not even once. However, the picture gets the point across perfectly! That soldier is sitting there, unable to do anything, even defensively. He’s completely helpless. And that is exactly what Flood was supposed to make an opponent feel like.
I watched the bluray version of these episodes and thus will be a slightly technical review. Mainly because I made a mistake and in the process of correcting it found out some stuff about the audio and subtitle options.
On my remote control for my sony bluray player, I have shortcut buttons for both Audio and Subtitle. So I can just press them and supposedly bring up the various options for the disc. It’s worked before on both bluray, dvd’s AND digital files I’ve watched off of a thumbdrive. This time I accidentally hit “play” before choosing English Language with “limited subtitles” (for the opening and closing songs) and thus it started in Japanese with full subtitles. I wanted to do some Magic posts while “listening” to these episodes and just occasionally glancing up to take in the full picture. I clicked on “Audio” to change the language. Up pops an error of “This Operation is Prohibited for this Disc”. Come on, really!? What kind of lousy no good release won’t allow you to change at least the Audio options on the fly? Boooo!
These were all summer vacation themed episodes. I appreciated that because it’s fully fall now and the temps are no where near Summer. I can pretend to be all warm and summery anyway, hahahahaa 😀
Episodes
Episode 17 – Sakura’s Scary Test of Courage
Episode 18 – Sakura, Yukito, and the Summer Festival
Episode 19 – Sakura and the Summer Holiday Homework
When I first started out my “Recommend Me a Book” series, someone earned the VERY FIRST chartreuse flag by suggesting I read a Barbara Cartland book. If you don’t know, Barbara Cartland is the Queen of Romance, with over 700 books under her belt. You don’t need AI when you have Ol’ Barbie churning out the mush.
As the jokes flew fast and furious over the days and weeks afterwards, I began to wonder if perhaps I could leverage this into a fun misery read? Unlike Neuromancer, there will be no hate, just pure emotional misery as I wade through the estrogen with my extra thick Man Boots on.
I expect this to be comparable to when I read Venetia by Georgette Heyer back in 2016 on a dare. It turned out as badly as I expected and I fully expect this read to be just as tumultuous.
“Oh the sights I have to show you!”
But instead of just keeping this to myself, I figure I’d share the fun and invite anyone who wants to participate in a buddy read during December with final reviews going up January 7th, 2025. Love Saves the Day is approximately 110 pages and consists of 10 chapters.
I will be publishing updates as follows: December 6 – Chapters 1-3 December 13 – Chapters 4-5 December 20 – Chapters 6-7 December 27 – Chapters 8-10
I plan on fully discussing the chapters in each post, so there will be spoilers. If you would like to participate, let me know in the comments and please use the “Barbara Cartland Buddy Read” tag. This is a “fun” read, so be as crazy as you want, I certainly plan to. Love Saves the Day just screams to be made fun of after all.
Here is the publisher’s synopsis if that will help you make up your mind in any way.
The beautiful redheaded Tiana Weston sets out to visit her inheritance in Dorset with high hopes. It had been her parents’ dream to restore Castle Rose to its former glory as it is now a dilapidated ruin and only a small part is fit to live in. But Tiana soon discovers that enthusiasm and determination alone do not pay the workmen or keep property developers at bay and soon she is faced with a dreadful dilemma. Her handsome and aristocratic next door neighbour Richard, the Earl of Austindale, also faces considerable problems. He has to be married by midnight on his next birthday or he will lose everything he holds most dear to his cousin Alan, Viscount Paige. A young girl anxious to protect her home – a man desperate for a wife – it seems like a sensible, business-like arrangement that they should marry each other. And Tiana finally accepts the Earl’s proposal and they are due to be married on his thirtieth birthday. But then an old flame of the Earl’s arrives to claim him for herself and Tiana is filled with doubt especially as the Viscount is paying a great deal of attention to her. She also finds herself in great danger because now so many are determined that the marriage will not take place. How Tiana realises how much she loves the Earl. And how she finally finds happiness is all told in this exciting romance by BARBARA CARTLAND
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: Cruelty Series: Demon Slayer #1 Author: Koyoharu Gotouge Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Manga Pages: 192 Words: 9K
I originally saw Lashaan reviewing this (kind of) and then had someone else recommend the story via the anime. Considering I’m watching Cardcaptor Sakura, it seemed a bit much to add another anime to the mix, so I decided to read the manga instead. But with no real schedule. So don’t expect this to be a regular thing. Or maybe I’ll just binge this and read all 30+ volumes. Hahahahahaa, ahhhh, I’m so funny sometimes.
I’m know I’m getting older, but man, the beginning was totally telegraphed. I read the opening first few conversations and KNEW exactly what was going to happen. Crap, crap, crap. The main character’s whole family except one sister is killed by demons. Crap, crap, crap. Of course, I totally did not see the sister becoming a demon. That at least was original.
“The meek have no power and no options.The strong will crush them in every way.” vs “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth.” That’s what sprang to my mind when I read the first quote.
At the same time, this isn’t about love eros, but love familia. Tanjiro, the main character, is doing everything for love of his sister, to rescue her from being a monster and to protect others from experiencing what he went through. Man, that kicked me the feelz. I also really liked that the usual “romance” angle wasn’t the main point. Awwwww man, there’s “Be a Man” talk! I think I’m in love.
And now Tanjiro’s passing his test, a literal do or die. I’m impressed. It’s been a year since I read a volume of manga and you know, I think I’m ready for this. Don’t know how long I’ll stay ready, but boy, I’m eating it up now.
It is also a great antidote to that filthy Neuromancer. Love, duty, strength, determination, hope and justice. Everything that Neuromancer wasn’t, this is. Suck it, Gibson!
★★★✬☆
From Wikipedia
Table of Contents & Synopsis
“Cruelty”
“The Stranger”
“To Return by Dawn Without Fail”
“Tanjiro’s Journal, Part 1”
“Tanjiro’s Journal, Part 2”
“A Mountain of Hands”
“Spirits of the Deceased”
Tanjiro Kamado is a teenage boy with a heightened sense of smell who lived happily with his family until one day he arrives home to find all his family murdered except his younger sister Nezuko Kamado, who has been turned into a demon. Realizing Nezuko was not the killer and retained her humanity to an extent, Tanjiro protects her from a demon slayer named GiyÅ« Tomioka and convinces him to spare Nezuko while vowing to make her human again. An impressed GiyÅ« instructs Tanjiro to meet a man named Sakonji Urokodaki on Mt. Sagiri while warning him to keep his sister out of the sun. Taken under Urokodaki‘s wing, Tanjiro undergoes two years of harsh training before participating in the Final Selection to join the Demon Slayer Corps and passes after defeating a demon who targeted Urokodaki’s previous apprentices.
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: Pyramids Series: Discworld #7 Author: Terry Pratchett Rating: 4 of 5 Stars Genre: Fantasy Pages: 253 Words: 88K
This is the first “standalone” Discworld novel. By that I mean that none of the characters in this book ever return as main characters nor do we ever go back to the country the main character is from. This is simply a “Discworld” novel. While having read the previous six books will give you a slightly better overall view of Ankh-Morpork, not very much of the story actually takes place there and a better knowledge of that city will not actually affect your enjoyment of this book. But just like I stated in the previous book, Discworld “should” be read in the order that Pratchett published them. It “can” be read in almost any order, but it is just better the other way.
I was hoping that more of the story would take place in Ankh-Morpork, mainly because I wanted to see more of the Assassins Guild. That didn’t happen. So I pinned my hopes that when Teppic went back to be king that I’d get assassin guild hijinks then. Still didn’t happen. Teppic sneaks around a bit, but that’s the extent of we see of his years of training. I was disappointed. Pratchett seemed more focused on taking his bile out on religion in general in this novel than in telling a fun and engaging story. It was still a fun story, but if he’d written more like some of the earlier books (the Death books in particular, where he tackles a controversial subject, but without coming across like an angry jackass), this could have been so much better. I suspect the acolytes of Scyenze would like this more, as that is/was Pratchett’s pet godling.
Now that I’ve vented MY bile, do I have anything left? That’s a good question. It colors every word in this review. Huh, just like the novel! Amazing, hahahahahaa.
I would not recommend this as a starting place for Discworld even though it is a standalone. The writing isn’t as on point, the humor isn’t as funny and this gives you a glimpse of the author Pratchett would fully turn into near the end of the series. Spare yourself. At the same time, it’s still fun, it’s still entertaining and I don’t feel bad about re-reading this. I do know I would never choose to read this for a third time on it’s own again though.
★★★★☆
From Wikipedia.org
Synopsis – click to open
The main character of Pyramids is Teppic (short for Pteppicymon), the crown prince of the tiny kingdom of Djelibeybi (a pun on the candy Jelly Baby, meaning “Child of the Djel”), the Discworld counterpart to Ancient Egypt. The kingdom, founded seven-thousand years ago and formerly a great empire which dominated the continent of Klatch, has been in debt and recession for generations due to the construction of pyramids for the burial of its pharaohs (primarily on prime agricultural land) and now occupies an area two miles wide along the 150-mile-long River Djel.
Young Teppic has been in training at the Assassins Guild in Ankh-Morpork for the past seven years, having been sent to bring in revenue for the kingdom. The day after passing his final exam by chance, he mystically senses that his father, Pteppicymon XXVII, has died and that he must return home. Being the first Djelibeybian king raised outside the kingdom leads to some interesting problems, as Dios, the high priest, is a stickler for tradition, and does not actually allow the pharaohs to rule the country.
When plans are being laid out for the old pharaoh’s tomb, Teppic (now Pteppicymon XXVIII) mentions that his father did not wish to be buried in a pyramid; in reaction to Dios’s rejection of this idea, Teppic ends up ordering the construction of a pyramid twice the size of the largest one previously built in Djelibeybi. Whilst the pyramid-building Ptaclusp dynasty work out how to build the pyramid within budget and on time (eventually taking advantage of the unfinished pyramid’s premature temporal distortions), the late Pteppicymon XXVII spends his time observing the embalming of his mortal remains and taking an interest in the lives of his embalmers, Dil and Gurn.
After numerous adventures and misunderstandings, Teppic is forced to escape from the palace with a handmaiden named Ptraci, who was condemned to death for not wishing to die and serve the late pharaoh in the afterlife (effectively on Dios’ orders since Teppic wished to pardon her). However, during the attempt, Dios discovers them and decrees that Teppic has killed the King (as the King is only recognised whilst wearing the Mask of the Sun and Dios reasons that Teppic’s actions to save Ptraci would not be those of the King) and should be put to death. Meanwhile, the massive pyramid warps space-time so much that it “rotates” Djelibeybi out of alignment with the space/time of the rest of the Disc by ninety degrees.
After Teppic and Ptraci manage to escape Djelibeybi, they travel to Ephebe to consult with the philosophers there as to how to get back. Meanwhile, pandemonium takes hold in Djelibeybi, as the kingdom’s multifarious gods (many of whom occupy the same roles, such as Supreme God, God of the Sun, or God of the Djel) descend upon the populace, and all of Djelibeybi’s dead rulers come back to life. Also, the nations of Ephebe and Tsort prepare for war with one another, as Djelibeybi can no longer act as a buffer zone between the two.
Eventually, Teppic re-enters the Kingdom and attempts to destroy the Great Pyramid, with the help of all of his newly resurrected ancestors. They are confronted by Dios, who, it turns out, is as old as the kingdom itself, and has advised every pharaoh throughout its history. Dios hates change and thinks Djelibeybi should stay the same. Teppic succeeds in destroying the Pyramid, returning Djelibeybi to the real world and sending Dios back through time (where he meets the original founder of the Kingdom, thereby restarting the cycle). Teppic then abdicates, allowing Ptraci (who turns out to be his half-sister) to rule. Ptraci immediately institutes much-needed changes, Teppic decides to travel the Disc, Death comes to ferry the former rulers of Djelibeybi to the afterlife, and Djelibeybi’s former embalmers and pyramid-builders adjust to life without the pyramids.
