Shadowbred (Twilight War #1) (Erevis Cale) (Forgotten Realms)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 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 Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com by express permission of this reviewer

Synopsis
Erevis must rescue Magadon, who appears to have disappeared. At the same time, there are some serious political happenings going on in Sembia which have to do with the Source and the Netherese as much as anything else.

My Thoughts
I've come to accept the fact that I'm going to keep on reading these Forgotten Realms books, so I went ahead and made a shelf/tag for them, just like I have for Star Wars. They are a force unto themselves.

For the first half of the book I have to admit I was bored. Not a lot happened, it was barely about Cale at all and you had a lot of politics and religion happening.

Finally Erevis gets involved. He and Riven, Mask's Second, have both changed enough that there is no more posturing and frenemy'ing. They are allies. It was really nice to see a good solid alliance instead of the bickering we saw in the Erevis Cale trilogy.

Good amount of fighting near the end, with them breaking into a magicless prison to rescue someone.

And the ending, where they DO rescue Magadon and end up IN HELL, was pretty cool. Of course, it seems like every hero ends up in hell at one time or another, so maybe I should have been a little more stoic about it, but I thought it was cool!

Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Author: Paul Kemp

Death Note #7-9 (Manga Monday)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 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 Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com by express permission of this reviewer

Synopsis
Light and L's battle comes to a shattering end but Kira's dream to rule the world is still being opposed by geniuses who take up the fight.

My Thoughts
L was simply out maneuvered by Light/Kira. And pays the price. Contingency plans are brought into play and L's successors, Mello and Near, come on board as main characters.

Mello and Near are L divided into 2 people. Mello is passionate, willing to go to extreme ends to prove his point and he has a sweet tooth. Near is much more emotionless, taking a disinterested view of everything and he likes to play with toys.

These 3 volumes were an almost literal wall of text. I felt like I was reading a novel instead of manga.

A couple of things struck me. First off, guns. Or the lack there of. Watanari had a sniper rifle and you see the police force having hand guns, but they never get used. And Light's father preaches about it not being legal for him to carry a gun when he resigns from the force. Made me thankful for our 2nd Amendment.
Second, the whole right and wrong of what Kira is doing. Everybody takes the stance that popular opinion is what makes something right. So if Kira can convince enough people to support him, then he'll be in the right and his cause just. What a pack of bologna! That pissed me off.

Thirdly, Light is getting more and more willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. He is willing to sacrifice his dad, his sister, his girlfriend, everyone in fact, to get what he wants. Selfish beyond belief.
I felt kind of burnt out after reading volume 6 and wasn't sure how I was going to react to more volumes. And when L dies and Light has won, and then successors to L show up, my first reaction was "Come on, get it over with". But with 2 volumes of Mello and Near, I am liking this. They "do" so much more than L. And this series needed an action villain.

Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Author: Tsugumi Ohba
Artist:Takeshi Obata

Freeware (Ware Tetralogy #3) DNF

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 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 Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com by express permission of this reviewer

Perversions and too graphic for me sex completely destroyed my desire to finish this book.

And I won't be bothering with the final book at all.

Sicilian Slaughter (The Executioner #16)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 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 Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com by express permission of this reviewer

Synopsis
Mack heads to Sicily to put the kabosh on the Don who's been importing muscle to the United States for the Mafia Families.

My Thoughts
First off, this was written by a different author and it really shows. Instead of the Heroic Adventurer who shrugs off death and despair and keeps on soldiering, this Bolan is a lot more human. He's practically done in physically from the last book, mentally and emotionally he's at the cracking point, and Peterson writes this into the story.

Part of me liked this and part of me didn't. It was nice to see Bolan as a bit more human, but to be honest, I read these stories because he isn't just human. He is the Punisher, the Executioner. He is MORE than human.

The overall plot was typical with nothing standing out. Mack goes in and causes Hell and Death. And escapes by the skin of his teeth.

I did notch this down half a star because apparently everyone woman who met Mack had an extremely large "bosom"  [and the word bosom was used in this book more times than I've read in the last couple of years!] and instantly got wet just from looking at him. I don't read these books for cheap thrills, but for cheap violence.

We'll see if Peterson writes some more or if it goes back to Pendleton.

Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Author: Jim Peterson

Wetware (Ware Tetralogy #2)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 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 Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com by express permission of this reviewer

Synopsis
Some years later after Hardware. Sta-Hi is now a Private Investigator, on the moon and drug free after accidentally killing his wife Wendy in a drug induced haze. Humanity has taken over the main Moon city and the boppers have moved underground.

My Thoughts
This was just as well written, engaging, funny and seriously psychedelic as the first book.

The boppers have been pushed underground and are trying to survive. One group wants to mix bopper and human in a new synthesis called a Meatbopper. They kind of succeed, but don't think through the scenario and so ultimately fail. Which leads a renegade human to invent a "virus" to destroy the boppers. Which in turn leads to a new lifeform of the boppers, kind of like a butterfly coming out of it's chrysalis.

Rucker's mind must be one messed up place to think up the things that happened in this book. And yet at the same time he must have a great mind, for he executes it perfectly. It is kind of scary actually, considering such a dichotomy of mind existing.

I'm not sure I've ever encountered something this odd before. Which is nice, to have a novelty, but I couldn't live on a straight diet of such weirdness. First, I don't want to become that jaded in my reading tastes. And Second, and in all seriousness, Robot/Human sex, even non-graphic, just makes me shudder.

Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Author: Rudy Rucker

Death Note #4-6 (Manga Monday)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 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 Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com by express permission of this reviewer

Synopsis
A second Kira appears, and it seems they have greater powers than Light. And Light starts a long term plan that creates a Third Kira while clearing him and his new girlfriend, Misa, of having anything to do with the original or 2nd Kira.

My Thoughts
A second Kira appears and appears that Kira2 wants to hook up with Kira. So Light maneuvers things, while trying to avoid L, to meet Kira2.

And once Light and Misa [who is Kira2] are together, Light must come up with a plan to fool L, kill him and then get rid of Misa. Meanwhile, L is still convinced that Light is Kira, no matter the evidence. And puts Light, Light's father and Misa all in confinement for almost 2 months to try to get some more info to prove Light is Kira.


And finally, Light gives his notebook to another person to throw L off the scent. And loses his memory in the process and goes back to good old Light who wants to catch Kira.

Yep, folks, these 3 volumes have more twisty, turny, unnecessary, silly, awesome and totally over the top moments than you can shake a stick at.  There is also a lot of text. In most manga, as much of the story is told through the art as through the text. Here, that simply isn't possible. "Thinking" specific thoughts can't be really drawn, you know?

On the down side of things, L's gut instinct that Light is Kira is getting annoying. He's right, but it has nothing to do with Logic or evidence. And Light is turning really scary. He's willing to kill off innocents, planning on it in fact, to further his aims.

I'm still liking this, but the second impression isn't nearly as faultless as the first.

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Author: Tsugumi Ohba
Artist:Takeshi Obata

Software (Ware Tetralogy #1)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 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 Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com by express permission of this reviewer

Synopsis
A drug induced, hazy look at the future with robots controlling the moon and all the old people living in Florida. And one man's quest to not die.

My Thoughts
I have no idea why I picked up this set of books, but I have to admit I am glad I did.

Anderson Cobb is an old geezer living in Florida along with the rest of the nation's Pheezers, subsisting on free food and alcohol and worrying about how he is going to pay for a new heart, as he is afraid of death way beyond the normal.
Cobb is also the man who freed the robots from their Asimovian coding. The robots promptly took over the moon and have been living there since.
Cobb was tried as a traitor to humanity and stripped of all his rights as a genius computer coder.

And now the robots want Cobb on the moon to help them with some more coding so that the human consciousness can be digitized. And they also need the help of a completely drugged out loser who has officially changed his name to Sta-Hi.

Ok, while this type of off the wall look at the future is about as normal as a bad acid trip while on weed and scotch [I suspect that combo would kill you, but I really have no experience with illegal drugs], it is written so well that I was sucked along almost against my will.

I don't like old useless alcoholics, useless young drug addicts nor the made up words describing a made up future.

But I liked this. And I understood it. Even with it's own internal slang not explained, the world situation barely explained and the action so fast that you'll miss something important if you blink.

In the end Cobb dies because the computers don't understand death and Sta-Hi marries some random woman. It totally fit with the rest of this book.

Rating: 3 of 5 Stars

Author: Rudy Rucker

Solomon's Jar (Rogue Angel #2)

 This review is written with a GPL 3.0 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 Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com by express permission of this reviewer

Synopsis

Annja Creed finds out about Solomon's jar, where he supposedly stored the demons he used to build the temple described in Kings and Chronicles. Of course, others want this jar for it's supposed occultic power.

My Thoughts
Let me start off by saying that I believe that demons are real, that possession can and does occur today and that suggesting that Solomon built a temple to Jehovah using demons is ludicrous and blasphemous. So some of what happened in this book touched a nerve instead of just being fantasy to me.

Ok, now that that is stated...

Annja continues on her quest to discover what it means to be an agent of Light. A lot of this story was babbling about "Goodness" and how God is too big to be nailed down to one belief, and other such new age non-sense that might sound comforting and is easy on the mind, but when examined, is just so much rubbish. Philosophy-Lite I'd call it.

But, a lot of action happens. And that was all that saved this story. Annja is attacked. Everywhere she goes. By mercenaries. By rogue Israelis. By an Amazonion super Model [I kid you not!]. By a group of Earth First nutters who want to wipe out humanity. By a group of scared fishermen. And finally by a group who is working for Garin Braden, Roux's old apprentice. [Roux is currently a kind of hit or miss tutor for Annja when it fits into the story] The ending was kind of besides the point it seemed to me, but it wasn't disappointing or anything.

I can't wait to see what further adventures happen with Miss Creed in the later books. I just checked Wikipedia and the series is up to something like 45. So I've got plenty to read, as long as I don't get sick of it :-)

Rating: 3 of 5 Stars

Author: Alex Archer

Kokoro (Classic)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 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 Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com by express permission of this reviewer

Synopsis
A young student in Tokyo finds a mentor, who happens to dislike humanity and promises that the student will only find disappointment in him. This happens during the time of the transition from the Meiji era to whatever the modern era is called.

My Thoughts
I have been wanting to expand my reading beyond my typical United States/England authors. Given, I read manga, and have read some European [Adrian Tchaikovsky is the main guy who springs to mind], and I've read the Russians and the French, but my Eastern reading was limited to half of The Art of War by Sun Tzu and some of Murakami's works [and those are just WEIRD!]

So I decided to read a Japanese author who was "acclaimed". Got a hold of Soseki's name and tracked down this book.

Basically, this was the fictional account of a young student growing up and having hero worship for someone who doesn't believe they deserve it. It is melancholic, dealing with death, the past, naivete.

I almost couldn't finish it when Sensei was telling his story, his fall from grace. I could totally relate to him as a young man. So full of self-righteousness, certainty & doubt, love & indecision, hope and despair.

And then Sensei's letter ends and so does the story. We never find out about the MC's father, or what he went on to do. It was almost like it was a cycle just waiting to repeat with small variations.

Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars

Author: Natsume Soseki

Unicorn (Legend of the Five Rings: Clan War #2) DNF

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 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 Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com by express permission of this reviewer

Synopsis
Not even worth bothering with.

My Thoughts
The first book, Scorpion, was ok, even with it's purple prose.

Sadly, this wasn't even purple. It was the boring brown of wood. It seemed like Lassieur was told to write about "X" and so she did. Just like a 5th grader. Wooden beyond belief.

And then it was dealing with zombie. I am not a fan of zombies. The only zombies that I can remember liking was in the context of the Resident Evil movies. I liked the movies, a lot. But any other zombie movie or book has always struck me as puerile and stupid. And this was not the exception to the rule.

So between zombies, plague caused or otherwise, and horribly wooden writing, I decided to do myself a favor and stop reading, this book and this series. Because this author writes more in this series and I won't subject myself to that.

Rating: 1 of 5 Stars

Author: Allison Lassieur