Review: A Plague of Demons & Other Stories

A Plague of Demons & Other Stories by Keith Laumer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Even though I put this on my "Short Story Collection" shelf, the first story, Plague of Demons is a novel unto itself.

Stories about space and man as either the mental underdog who overcomes all or the mental tyrant.
Not quite dystopia, but a bleak outlook even in the encouraging stories.



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Review: Forge of Darkness

Forge of Darkness by Steven Erikson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Well, I've put up with Erikson long enough. I'm done.

A whole world awash in hopelessness and despair.

I long for a power to wash away the worst that is in us,

War is a shout against futility, hostage, but its echo never last long

I no longer desire to immerse myself in this type of philosophy. There is Goodness. There is Hope. There is Love. There IS Meaning and Reason to Existence. Men can be Changed from their brokenness. There is a God who Cares and Who has taken Responsibility. There is Joy and Happiness and Greatness in Life.

And now I bow out.



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Review: Firestorm: Destroyermen

Firestorm: Destroyermen by Taylor Anderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The war gets bigger. More characters. More technology. More tactics.

Lots MORE blah, blah, blah. One whole page described a plane taking off. Telling me every single boat's name in a fleet. Describing how the gun/bullet combo of THIS gun is different/better/worse than THAT gun/bullet combo. It wore thin.

But those who love mil/sff probably ate it up.

I enjoyed the story. Lots of fighting with new twists to screw things up. At the end lots of things happen that open up this world even more. I do feel that Anderson is moving ahead a little too fast. I just hope he doesn't let the story snowball out of control. Because I am really liking this overall storyline.



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Review: Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 6

Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 6 by Yu Aida

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



For a "final" volume, this was sad. By sad, I mean pathetic, even by anime/manga standards.

I knew that most of the girls would have to die, to make the story end. But we never find out what happens to the 2nd gen cyborgs.

I would have felt better about the series if Aida had shown the Welfare Agency being wiped out at their headquarters, instead of just preparing for it. It left things extremely unsettled.

This really felt like a pen-ultimate volume. But as is the case with many manga, the author doesn't know how to end it, and so they don't. When I first got into anime, I thought they ended most anime the way they do because of some sort of cool "eastern philosophy" thingy. Now I realize they are just lazy and can't be bothered to wrap things up.

And most of the time, that doesn't bother me. But for this manga, it really did. I think some of that was because I wanted the sacrifices the girls had made throughout the series to be given the honor and respect they deserved. Instead, they are discarded like ragdolls...



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Review: Mother of Demons

Mother of Demons by Eric Flint

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This started out great. From the alien viewpoint. Reminded me a lot of Zahn's Conqueror Trilogy.

Then it seemed to turn into either historical info dumps, or else evolutionist biology. Either way, boring.

The mother of demons is the historian of the human group. Who is tormented by guilt that she must show the younglings the secrets of warfare in order for them to survive.

So, while it was enjoyable, nothing in it made me want to read more of Mr. Flint's writing.



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Review: The Accidental Sorcerer

The Accidental Sorcerer by K.E. Mills

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Why [a:Karen Miller|87306|Karen Miller|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1263471699p2/87306.jpg] feels the need to write as another author, I don't understand. But that is truly neither here nor there.

Loved this book. A fast paced fantasy thriller about a lowgrade magician who magically gets bumped up and who has to deal with some serious problems.

Lots of magical'iness, a little angst, a little romance, lots of action and bam, you have this book. Almost more of a prequel, as I believe the series is called "Rogue Agent" and that aspect doesn't come into play until the very end of the book.

I just hope the series can stay powered up...



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Review: A Memory of Light

A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt like I was deluged by a tidal wave.

Then came the ending. It kind of made me feel "vanilla".

Sanderson did an excellent job of wrapping this up. I was in awe.

I look forward to re-reading the whole series in 5-8 years.

Edit:

I realized this morning that my words were on the light side. Considering that I've been reading WoT since '95 or '96, and have experienced the travail of my soul [When I heard that Jordan had died, I practically swore vengeance upon his barely cold corpse "how could he do this to me!?"] and then was raised to the clouds when I heard Sanderson [probably my favorite fantasy author now] was going to complete the series.

I have run the whole gamut of emotions with this series. Excitement, boredom [tugging of hair anyone?], rage and despair, hope and finally, satisfaction.

How does one encapsulate 17'ish years in a couple of paragraphs? I've gone from a highschool teenager to a married 30something security guard. So I don't write a review worthy of the NY Times, I write this little ditty to remind me that all things can be gotten through, that they end and that they can be good and bad.

This series will be something that sticks with me for the rest of my life. Nice to have something like that.



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Review: A Memory of Light

A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt like I was deluged by a tidal wave.

Then came the ending. It kind of made me feel "vanilla".

Sanderson did an excellent job of wrapping this up. I was in awe.

I look forward to re-reading the whole series in 5-8 years.



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Review: The Moving Finger

The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This was supposed to be a Miss Marple Mystery. Instead I read a murder/romance book in which Miss M appears VERY briefly.
If this had been a 3hr miniseries, she would have had about 5-10min of facetime.

Other than that, it was a typical Christie mystery, which I do enjoy.



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Review: Lady Chatterley's Lover

Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



A sad story about an empty woman trying to fill the void within. She hates men, wants to be free of all restraints, despises her husband, needs the attention of a man and in the end, hopes that being with the aforementioned man will fulfill her.

A scathing book about materialism and how humanity attempts to fill the God-shaped hole within each of us. And yet at the end, the author tries to give the reader false hope by insinuating that Lady Chatterly would find meaning, in the near future.

Tenuous, vague and empty hope.

I am happy to have read this, to expand my classic repertoire, but this was a horrible book and one I never plan on re-reading.



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