Now how awesome is that? A swordsman is jumping up and over the castle wall just to try to kill you. You HAVE to admire the guts that takes ;-) This is one of the instantly recognizable cards to anybody who was playing back then. It was used a lot because it was so effective and so cheap. And it gave you a really good feeling when you played it and your opponent had no flyers and so you smashed him in the face with your biggest creature :-D Now that was good old fashioned Magic...
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:
Real Tigers
Series: Slough House #3
Author:
Mick Herron
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre:
Thriller
Pages: 261
Words:
97K
Publish: 2016
Nobody
from the Slow Horses dies in this book. I kept waiting until the very
end. Now, Catherine Standish does quit at the end, which I assume
means Herron wrote her out of the series, but she didn’t die. I was
happy with that. But man, it was almost as gut wrenching to see her
quit because of everything that happened, all because she was in
Slough House. She had had enough and I for one don’t blame her.
This whole book, and the title, come from the term Tiger Team, which is a stress test of an intelligence agency by a 3rd party, to really put it to the test. Kind of like how a bank will hire people to try to break in to find their weak spots, so they can fix them. The problem is, the Tiger Team ends up having their own agenda and that is why this is called Real Tigers, as they slipped the leash and are wicked dangerous. Well, dangerous to certain people, namely political people. Speaking of political…
These books are inherently political, since they deal with the UK Intelligence Agencies, so that is not a problem. My problem is when Herron skates right close to “real life” with his politics. There is a character that is based on Boris Johnson. Now, I know almost nothing about UK politics, but even I know who BJ was and what he looked like and acted like. I don’t want real life to impinge on my escapist reading, thank you very much.
Other than that, and it wasn’t surprising an author let himself get carried away by his personal politics, I am still enjoying these Slough House books. I just wish I could watch the tv series based on these, I bet it would be good stuff.
★★★☆☆
From the Publisher & Reddit:
Slough House is the Intelligence Service outpost for failed spies, former high-fliers now dubbed the 'slow horses'. Catherine Standish, one of their number, worked in Regent's Park long enough to understand treachery, double-dealing and stabbing in the back, and she's known Jackson Lamb long enough to have learned that old sins cast long shadows. And she also knows that chance encounters never happen to spooks, even recovering drunks whose careers have crashed and burned.
What she doesn't know is why anyone would target her.
So whoever's holding her hostage, it can't be personal. It must be about Slough House. Most likely, it's about Jackson Lamb. And say what you like about Lamb, he'll never leave a joe in the lurch.
He might even be someone you could trust with your life.
Standish gets kidnapped by a Tiger team that is orchestrated by Peter Judd (Lady Di gave him the idea) and it goes awry when he tries to call it off. Sean Donovan one of the guys in the Tiger team has other motives. His real intention is to get a file that exposes the real reason his partner Alison Dunn died. This file can ruin Tierney.
This
review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained
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copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions.
Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission
Title:
Black Mountain
Series: Isaiah Coleridge
#2
Author: Laird Barron
Rating: 3 of 5
Stars
Genre: Thriller
Pages:
296
Words: 83K
Publish: 2019
Isaiah
Coleridge is not a good man. He might not beat his girlfriend, or hit
her kid but that is about the only redeeming factor I can give in his
favor. It’s not just that he came from a bad past, it is that he
never truly broke from it, nor, and more damning in my opinion, does
he really want to. He was a mob enforcer who brutalized and killed
people and he sees that as no different a job than me surveying a
piece of land for a subdevelopment. He does his thing to bad people,
but that doesn’t make him a good guy. This was really made clear to
me in this book. Coleridge isn’t even an anti-hero. He’s the
protagonist of this series, but he’s just a lesser villain than the
guys he goes after.
The guy he goes after is one whackadoodle of a villain this time too. He’s a rich boy serial killer whose family killed an innocent young man and sculpted the psycho to look like him and take over his life. He ended up doing dirty black work for the government and then went off reservation and started killing for fun again. Now he has an apprentice and it’s up to Coleridge to bring it all to light. It is seriously messed up. Throw in some illegal corporate medical work with fungus and you have something even the X-Files wouldn’t have dreamt up.
While I can’t honestly say that I “enjoyed” my time while reading this, I didn’t go into it each time dreading it or wishing it was over. Faint praise, I know, but I’m trying to stay positive. There is one more Coleridge book and after that, I’ll be done with the author.
★★★☆☆
From the Publisher:
When a small-time criminal named Harold Lee turns up in the Ashokan reservoir--sans a heartbeat, head, or hands--the local mafia capo hires Isaiah Coleridge to look into the matter. The mob likes crime, but only the crime it controls . . . and as it turns out, Lee is the second independent contractor to meet a bad end on the business side of a serrated knife. One such death can be overlooked. Two makes a man wonder.
A guy in Harold Lee's business would make his fair share of enemies, and it seems a likely case of pure revenge. But as Coledrige turns over more stones, he finds himself dragged into something deeper and more insidious than he could have imagined, in a labyrinthine case spanning decades. At the center are an heiress moonlighting as a cabaret dancer, a powerful corporation with high-placed connections, and a serial killer who may have been honing his skills since the Vietnam War. . .
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: Banquets of the Black
Widowers
Series: The Black Widowers #4
Authors:
Isaac Asimov
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre:
Mystery
Pages: 153
Words:
72K
Publish: 1984
Asimov shakes things up, just a little, by having the club members either break rules or do something completely out of the ordinary here. Not for every story, but enough. It would be like if Rex Stout had his character Nero Wolfe actually leave his house (which while Wolfe states that he won’t leave his house, his actions give the lie to that more often than not, sigh). It shook things up as the routine was broken and that was a good thing. The bickering and outright fighting amongst the members is really getting on my nerves. I’ve got one more book of these to read and then I’ll have finished the series.
I think my favorite story this time around was “The Driver” about a bunch of egghead scientists and a SETI convention and some low IQ driver getting killed. Turns out the driver was pretending and he was a Soviet spy and he let slip one bit of info that would have given him away, so his Soviet Masters had him done away with. It might have been a Cold War, but nobody was phutzing around, that was for sure.
Several of the other stories all revolve around human nature, as Asimov perceived it. I don’t see eye to eye with him on that issue all the time so those stories fell really flat for me. They also irritated me because they involved people being really stupid and even when I think that people ARE stupid, doesn’t mean I want to read about it. I mean, you like being healthy right? So do you want to read stories about weeping, suppurating boils and sores, oozing pus? Yeah, me neither.
★★★☆☆
From Wikipedia.org
"Introduction"
"Sixty Million Trillion Combinations" (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, 5 May 1980) – A paranoid mathematician who suspects that his work on Goldbach's conjecture has been stolen. When the authorities demand his cooperation, he sulkily gives a clue to the code which protects his work on a shared computer, suspecting that no one could possibly guess or deduce the code. Fortunately for the agencies who need this information, the Black Widowers are able to come up with the code, purely because one member shares a trait with the mathematician.
"The Woman in the Bar" (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, 30 June 1980) – the Black Widowers have as their dinner guest Darius Just, the main character from Asimov's mystery novel Murder at the ABA. Darius finds himself in danger of violent reprisals when he tries to help a frightened woman (he knows she is frightened, but he can have no idea by whom or why). She has given him crucial nonverbal communication clues which the Black Widowers solve. Asimov states that he "thought up" this Black Widowers story just for this character.[4]
"The Driver" – the Black Widowers consider the mysterious death of a chauffeur at a SETI Institute conference.
"The Good Samaritan" (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, 10 September 1980) – in a controversial break with tradition, a woman is invited to attend the men-only club.
"The Year of the Action" (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, 1 January 1981) – a historical clue is solved about a comic opera, "The Pirates of Penzance," by Gilbert and Sullivan.
"Can You Prove It?" (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, 17 June 1981) – the guest describes his arrest and interrogation behind the Iron Curtain and is unable to explain why he was released.
"The Phoenician Bauble" (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, May 1982) – a valuable archaeological artefact has been lost.
"A Monday in April" (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, May 1983) – concerns a matter of trivia about ancient Rome. The evenings guest feels that his girlfriend cheated in a competition, but Henry's solution casts doubt on that presumption.
"Neither Brute Nor Human" (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, April 1984) – the story requires solving a riddle about a poem by Edgar Allan Poe.
"The Redhead" (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, October 1984) – a woman disappears into thin air.
"The Wrong House" – the guest is unable to determine which of his neighbours has been counterfeiting money after witnessing their operation while drunk.
"The Intrusion" – an uninvited guest crashes the party and asks the Black Widowers for help in finding the man who took advantage of his developmentally challenged sister.
This
review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained
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copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions.
Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted
Permission
Title:
Evelyn
Series: ----------
Author:
Jane Austen
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre:
Satire
Pages: 32
Words:
10K
Publish: 1792
This was an over the top satire about the amiability of the English. It also satirizes most of the other subjects that Austen touches on as an adult in her later novels. The power of love, and people dying from it. The power of family, and people ignoring theirs.
The title is taken from the town that the main character lives in. Evelyn is not a woman, despite what the cover I have used here tries to make you think. I suspect someone saw the title, thought “Aha, a woman’s name” and slapped a woman on a background and tried to sell this on Amazon or Kobo or something. That’s the danger of not doing your research. On that note, in the state of Pennsylvania, there is a town called Intercourse. Right next to it is another town called Peach Bottom. Imagine what the cover to those (imaginary) books would look like! Certainly wouldn’t be Jane Austen approved.
When I read the previous juvenilia story by Austen (Catharine) I wondered if I could keep on going with these juvenilia shorts. Evelyn has shown me that I can. I simply have to frame my reading in the appropriate context, ie, Austen was a child or teenager when she wrote these for her family and are not meant to be judged as her novels are, being publicly and intentionally released.
★★★☆☆
From CourseHero.com
The story's title is the name of a tranquil, idyllic town that exists without illness or unhappiness. A man named Mr. Gower is passing through the town and falls in love with it. He decides he must find a house in town for himself. He stops at a small inn to ask about any available houses. He learns that there are no available houses because so many people love the town of Evelyn. Mr. Gower is approached by Mrs. Willis before he can despair and she tells him about a possible house for him. Mr. Gower quickly travels to this house to meet the owners Mr. Webb and Mrs. Webb. Mr. Gower meets Mrs. Webb who is incredibly generous and provides a feast and a generous sum of money to Mr. Gower immediately upon his arrival. Mr. Webb enters and asks Mr. Gower what else they can do. Mr. Gower asks for their house and grounds which both Webbs agree to without question. The Webbs introduce their daughters as they prepare to leave. Mr. Gower falls in love with the oldest Webb daughter Maria Webb and they are married the next day.
The couple is incredibly happy for several months until Mr. Gower is reminded of his sister. Mr. Gower's sister Rose fell in love with a high-ranking man named Henry but Henry's father did not approve of the match. Henry was forced to travel to the Isle of Wight by ship before the couple could marry. The ship was wrecked and Henry died. Rose is so overcome with this loss that Mr. Gower wants to do something to ease her pain. Mr. Gower decides to go to Henry's father and ask for a portrait of Henry for Rose. Unfortunately Mr. Gower gets distracted by the beauty and peace of Evelyn before completing his mission. Mr. Gower feels he must complete his mission but first sends a letter home to make sure his sister is still alive. The letter Mr. Gower receives in response tells him that Rose died six weeks earlier. Mr. Gower is overwhelmed by the loss but sets off to learn whether Henry's father would approve of the match if the two lovers were still alive. Henry's father states that he would not. Mr. Gower returns home to find that Maria died a few hours after he left. Mr. Gower is upset, makes arrangements for her funeral, and returns to his family home to be comforted.
Mr. Gower enters his family home and he sees his sister Rose sitting on the couch. He learns that Rose lied about her death to make Henry's family feel bad. She actually learned of Henry's death only a few days earlier when she met Mr. Davenport. Mr. Davenport brought the news of Henry's death and proposed to Rose on the spot. She accepted and the couple was married. Mr. Gower is shocked but congratulates the happy couple and walks to a local inn for a drink. At the inn Mr. Gower meets Mrs. Willis again and immediately asks for her hand in marriage. She agrees and the couple returns to Evelyn. Mr. Gower writes a letter after the couple arrives back home explaining the death of Maria to Mr. and Mrs. Webb. The Webbs' response is short and appreciative and does not show any sign of grief or sadness.
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: Trio for Blunt Instruments
Series:
Nero Wolfe #38
Author: Rex Stout
Rating:
4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages:
198
Words: 72K
Publish: 1964
This was an enjoyable trio of novellas about Archie and Wolfe getting involved with “dames” and solving the various mysteries. I have to admit, I am not such a fan of these collections of novellas versus the full novels. Next time I go through the Wolfe series, I plan on reading each novella on its own and reviewing just it.
This was published in 1964 and the first Wolfe novel, Fer De Lance, was published in 1934. You can tell the difference in the culture that each book was written in. It is kind of shocking to see the changes in just 30 years. But then I realize what 30 years has done in my life time, so I really shouldn’t be surprised.
★★★★☆
From Wikipedia
Kill Now—Pay Later
Wolfe's aging Greek bootblack is accused of murder and Wolfe feels he owes him something since he (apparently) listens eagerly to Wolfe's dissertations on ancient Greek culture during every shoe-shining session and moreover has told the police that "Wolfe is a great man"
Murder Is Corny
The story, apart from its crime detection aspects, is a story about how a simple, very beautiful, country girl comes to the big city, enters the world of high fashion, but cannot escape the risqué side of big city life. Nor is the country life in Putnam County devoid of moral failings, and they both play a part in the final resolution of this story.
Blood Will Tell
Archie is sorting through the mail one Tuesday morning when an unusual envelope catches his attention. Bearing the return address of composer James Neville Vance, the envelope contains a bloodstained tie and a note for Archie to keep it until Vance makes contact with him. After receiving a call claiming to be from Vance instructing him to destroy the envelope and contents, Archie heads to Vance's apartment to investigate.
Vance denies any knowledge about the envelope, though he admits the tie is one of nine he owns, designed uniquely for him, adding that one is missing and another was gifted to a friend. When the janitor and a patrol officer come to ask Vance for access to the apartment belonging to Bonny & Martin Kirk, Archie joins them; together, they discover Bonny's corpse, head smashed in with a vodka bottle.
The next day, a disheveled Martin Kirk comes to the brownstone to hire Wolfe, who immediately takes him on as a client. Kirk reveals that Vance gifted him one of his neckties two months ago and that Bonny was a serial adulterer, with one of her lovers being another neighbor, Paul Fougere. During the conversation, Paul's wife Rita arrives, having followed Kirk. Wolfe sends Kirk home to look for the necktie and speaks with Rita, who reveals that she knew about the affair and that she is in love with Kirk.
Kirk calls and informs them that the necktie is missing; he and Rita decide to visit Vance to ask him about the envelope. The meeting turns bloody when Paul shows up unannounced, and Kirk accuses Paul of killing Bonny out of jealousy. After the fight subsides, Sergeant Stebbins arrives to take Kirk in for questioning.
Wolfe asks Archie to use the threat of a defamation lawsuit in order to bring Paul in, and the Fougeres do come to the brownstone four hours later. They find out from Paul that Vance has also been pining for Bonny.
As the conversation ends, Archie and Wolfe independently determine the identity of the culprit. When Inspector Cramer arrives, Wolfe lets him in on their deductions, asking him to hold the culprit for question and sending Archie, Saul, Fred, and Orrie to search that person's residence. While there, they find not only the clue that confirms their deductions but also a grisly trophy of the crime.
I loved this card back in the day. I always liked artifacts (no clue why, they just were cool) and having card draw was important for the game. The problem is, this card is extremely mana intensive. So unless your deck was built around getting a lot of land out quick (land is what you use to get mana and you can normally only put one land on the table each turn), you were spending all your available mana to draw more cards, that you then had no mana to use. Another card that I just couldn't make work for me. Honestly, I don't think it was supposed to work. Wizards would put in semi-bad cards just to fill up the card slots.
On an unrelated note. When I was looking around to upgrading my avatar from the old
to some sort of actual picture, I did consider using the artwork from this card. I really liked that old looking book. But I liked a "person" kind of avatar more, so I went with this guy
and that has eventually led me to my current avatar. See, books are an adventure!
Like I discussed last week in my Plans for January post, the time has come for me to take a break from posting. I will continue to p...
