Review: Agent of Change

Agent of Change by Sharon Lee

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I am too tired and busy [working 70'ish] hours last and this week. But I wanted to write something before I forgot it all.

I LOVED this book. Not sure why. Part of it was it was simple, clean, elegant and classy. A good fun story that wasn't too long, didn't drag in any way, introduced me to a whole new universe and is part of a series that isn't epic.

Goodness, I'm tired of epic...



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Review: Guardian

Guardian by Jack Campbell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



At this point in the game, you're either reading this series because you love it anyway, or you're a sick twisted person who has some real issues with self-punishment.

thankfully, I love this series :D

Really not a lot to say. More of the same. Which is good as far as I'm concerned. Just wish I knew if this was the last book or not.

It could have been, and in many cases, should be. But there was no big This Is the End of the Series. THE END.



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Review: Wired

Wired by Douglas E. Richards

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I rated the sample I read 4stars, as the prologue and first chapter or two held some real promise of a kickass story.

And overall, this was a decent cyber-thriller. Near the middle it started getting philosophical/theological and denying the existence of God. Lots of psychobabble about evolution "forcing" survival traits on humanity.

Then in the prologue it lost it for me. Started talking about humanity "helping" god become God, or perhaps humanity becoming god.

Done with this author.



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Review: Time to Hunt

Time to Hunt by Stephen Hunter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



If a year ago you had asked me if I would enjoy reading a book about a Vietnam sniper in today's world and that the story would revolve between today and yesteryear, I would have laughed at you.

If you had told me that I would LOVE the book, AND the series and begin to seriously think about owning them in hardcover and put them on my "favorite" shelf, I probably would have told you some very unpleasant things that I would do to you before that happened.

And look at me now!

I am absolutely loving this series. Part of it is that it is so well written. And having consistently been dipping my toe in the indie world, I appreciate good writing even more so.

The story is gripping, the characters are real and believable and I LOVE reading about a sniper. Something about the lone wolf aspect is really drawing me in. And the honest look at the downside to it all as well.

this is just a really well written book that I enjoyed and have been enjoying and I look forward to the rest of the series as well. I enjoy them enough that I might just go watch that movie, Shooter again for the hey of it...



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Review: Terminator Salvation: The Official Movie Novelization

Terminator Salvation: The Official Movie Novelization by Alan Dean Foster

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I enjoyed this as much as I did watching the movie. I think I read this more to fit in with my "Read All Terminator Books" thing than because of some deep desire to read the novelization :)



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Review: Arrowhead

Arrowhead by Paul Kane

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



What could be better than Robin Hood in a Post-Apocalyptic world wiped out by a mysterious plague?
That premise sounds right up my alley. I knew this was young-adult, so I wasn't expecting deep writing or long rational explanations for events.

The story almost lives up to the premise. I didn't have a problem with that at all.

The thing that drove me batty was that this book vacillated between between childishly simple [not even close to YA] and then extremely graphic in terms of language and violence and sexual content.

Childish:
This apocalypse is a nice quiet ordered one. Lots of people die, lots of the survivors hide out and then things just kind of settle down to a humdrum existence.
Then the badguys move in. They have guns, tanks, fuel. In fact, they have everything they need.

I can deal with simple and the above would have been ok too if the rest of the book had been in that vein. Unfortunately, schizophrenia [or marketing] set in and led to the Graphic'ness.

Graphic:
The foremost incident that stood out to me was when Robinhood at the end shoved the arrow down the sheriff's throat, maybe his eyes [I seem to remember that but could very well be wrong] and then rammed it through his heart, all while the sheriff was lying on the ground.
The second thing that bothered me was the inclusion of continued hints at rape to one of the characters by the sheriff and her seduction of the guard to escape.
Third, was the use of the word "fuck" several times.

Now, all of the above I would expect in an adult novel and probably wouldn't make much note of it. What gets me is the interweaving of the two. A 10 year old could read the story and comprehend and enjoy it. But I don't want my[theoretical] 10 year old reading such graphic violence, lewd and suggestive acts or being exposed to such casual "hard" swearing.

In many ways I felt like I was watching one of those beauty pageants that are for 5 year olds. It made me ill to be honest.



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Review: Seeker's Mask

Seeker's Mask by P.C. Hodgell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



You know, while I'm enjoying these books overall, I'm also confused as heck. Something that is given 1 or 2 sentences in a previous book suddenly takes on a larger and more important role. But it isn't written for us the reader to make that transition easily. Instead, Hodgell writes in this confusing, round a bout manner that is starting to infuriate me. I am finding that these books ALMOST seem to be written for the re-reader and not the initial reader.

That being said, I did enjoy this. There are times where Jame does/says/thinks something that just makes me laugh out loud. Lots of action, adventure and drama. It is just that things aren't fleshed out for us. Which is why I think a re-read in 10 years time will do wonders for my attitude towards this author.



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Review: Sanctuary: Joust #3

Sanctuary: Joust #3 by Mercedes Lackey

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



My wife loves this series and reads it at least once a year, so about 2 years I bought them in hardcover for our personal library.

I discovered Lackey when I was in highschool and during college. I liked most of her storylines [when you're 17, everything is new] but found a lot of her material to be objectionable from a Christian standpoint. So I ended up being extremely wary of her works, as I felt like I was walking through a minefield every time I read one of her books. Now, being a bit more mature, I feel like those "mines" are more like dog poop "mines". If I step on them, they won't kill me, but they make me feel disgusting and then I need to go wash my feet off :)

Now that I've got all that out of my system, let write about the book itself. This was right on par with the previous two. Same pacing, same characters acting the same way, same gushing about dragons, same badguys being all "baddy".

My first thought when starting this was "why are they keeping the dragons around?" The group in Sanctuary doesn't seem to be planning on using the dragons as an army, aren't going to attack anyone, yet they spend enormous resources, in manpower, time and materials, keeping these dragons around and planning for more. They are gigantic pets!

Then things get going with Alta and Tia and the mages and everything wraps up pretty neatly and nicely. And I know that there is another book yet. So I ask my wife about the whole "dragon" question and she told me that the next book addresses that very issue; I also asked her WHAT the final book could be about, as it felt like this one really wrapped the series up. She just told me that the story moves to a wider scope than previously but still wraps up ok.

So final word is if you liked the previous 2 books, you'll like this. If you didn't, don't bother, this isn't some how magically "better" than them, it is the same :)



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Review: Wives and Daughters

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Having heard a lot about Gaskell, I was prepared for something similar to Jane Austen.

And in many instances, Gaskell fulfilled that expectation. This was a romance with the pre-requisite class distinction, harsh societal rules and busy bodies.

Unfortunately, it also had Molly, the main character. I like a "good" character, but I also want to read about a character who has some spine, some spitfire. In other words, Elizabeth Bennett. Molly reminded me of the main character from [b:Mansfield Park|45032|Mansfield Park|Jane Austen|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1309203298s/45032.jpg|2722329], a milksop.

And the non-ending, while full of promise that is pretty clear, is abrupt. I didn't realize that Gaskell had died before finishing this book. I didn't like it any better this time than when I read [b:The Mystery of Edwin Drood|329957|The Mystery of Edwin Drood|Charles Dickens|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1353743676s/329957.jpg|3058467] or when [a:Robert Jordan|6252|Robert Jordan|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1175475715p2/6252.jpg] died part way through the Wheel of Time series.

So I realize that I'm complaining a lot, but I did enjoy it. Just not as greatly as I expected.



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Review: Dark Force Rising

Dark Force Rising by Timothy Zahn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



You know, upon re-reading this, it wasn't as great as I remembered when I was in my 'teen/20's.

Don't get me wrong, this is a great Star Wars book [well, with competition like [book:Dark Nest Trilogy (Star Wars)|359773], that doesn't mean QUITE so much]. It is also classic Zahn. I've come to realize that Zahn doesn't do action real well. That is not his strongpoint. Ideas, character interaction and cool ideas are however.

And these aren't NEW anymore. When these came out, Episode 1 hadn't come out. The Clone Wars cartoon didn't exist. There weren't 200+ already written Star Wars books. So this fed the Beast Within. Now? No matter how good a meal is, it ALWAYS tastes better when you are hungry. I'm filled up. The last 20'ish years have seen me glutted, on the good and the bad.

I think that is a good thing because it means that Zahn laid down a foundation that has held up the EU even through some seriously stinky novels [[book:Darksaber|513210], oh my goodness, make me puke RIGHT NOW!].



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