Tess of the d'Urbervilles, a Pure Woman (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.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer

I hated this book.

From the beginning where Hardy mocks, needles and jabs Christianity at every turn, to the middle where the "humanist" husband shows his utter hypocrisy, to the end where Alec Durberville  shows his change of heart for the sham it is.
And through it all, poor Tess. Alone, unprotected by those who should have protected her, abandoned by her husband, used and at the end, forced to pay for her crime of murder that was brought about by her complete and utter abandonment by any and all.

While some take the view that Hardy was showing up Victorian life [and don't get me wrong, this is a perfect example of what was wrong in the era], it was simply too vicious, cutting and plain antagonistic for me to cool-headedly read it and analyze it.

Hardy had an axe to grind and he gave it all he could in this book. I certainly won't be reading any more by this ass.

Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Author: Thomas Hardy

The Jungle Book (Classic) - Group Blog Review

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Synopsis
Several short stories about India and animals. 3 stories about Mowgli the mancub, 1 about a white seal, 1 about the elephant dances, 1 about the mongoose Ricki-tikki-tavvi and 1 about some camp animals chatting it up one night.
Plus several songs and poems.

My Thoughts
Last time I read The Jungle Book it was actually The TWO Jungle Books and I was not very impressed. There was stuff about Eskimoes and a LOT more poems and songs and short stories that didn't seem to fit. It did have some additional stories about Mowgli however, so it might be worth reading if you really like him.

This time I read the first Jungle book and it was great. We all know Mowgli, but this is the real one, not the disneyfied cartoon doofus. Nor is he the young strapping lad of mighty pectorals seen in the live action movie with Jason Scott Lee.

Overall, this was just a bunch of stories about the animals of India. Funny, sad, courageous and heartwarming. Perfect for a child's introduction to Kipling and to a wider range of the world's Literature than they might have experienced to date.

As for comparing this to the movie, I'll leave that for the movie review later this evening. But the movie has almost NOTHING to do with the short stories about Mowgli from this book.

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Author: Rudyard Kipling

Group Blog Info:
For the main event, please head over to:
Jungle Book Discussion Central
and follow the instructions :-)

The movie can be watched here at my blog at the following post:
Jungle Book Movie

Storm Surge (Destroyermen #8)

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
Why even bother with a synopsis for this series? You're not going to start with this book and by now, you already know what is happening: World War II on a fantasy world.
Alt-History.

My Thoughts
This book went way up and way down for me. A couple of times I was ready to lay it down and quit the series. Mainly because Anderson is just working this for every detail that he can. I skipped whole pages as he described an officer on a boat/ship describe everything he saw as he made a tour.
Boat porn doesn't work for me.

Then there were the times where the action was just so awesome that I was almost pumping my fist in the air. The fighting is great, just not all the strategizing and expansion of the war.

I just want to know when the end of this series is happening. I'll gladly stick around until then, but I need to know. I can't keep supporting this forever. And that is why I dropped this another 1/2 star. I feel like I'm being milked.

Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Author: Taylor Anderson

A Multitude of Monsters (Ebenezum #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
Wuntvor and Crew are still making their way towards the City of Delights, his master is still sneezing up a storm, the Netherhells are still being all evil'y and everything that can go wrong is sure to go wrong.

My Thoughts
I was hoping this would be a bit funnier than the previous book, but sadly, the humor was exactly the same, so it didn't work for me.

The ideas sound great, but Gardner's brand of humor just doesn't amuse me. While the ending of this book has a huge cliffhanger, I don't think I actually care enough to read the third one.

If you liked the first book, then I can't see why you wouldn't like this one.

Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Author: Craig Gardner

Sphinx: The Second Coming DNF (ARC)

I received this copy from the publisher through Netgalley.com and that in no way has influenced my opinion in regards to this review.

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


DNF's don't get to be "synopsized".

2 things stopped me from finishing, much less continuing past 10%.

First, the author bio. Thorton says he is a zen-buddhist priest, but the claims made in the bio are so grandiose, so obviously ego-centric that they directly contravene his first statement. You can't have it both ways.

Second and more importantly, Thorton can't write. The 10% that I read, not one thing was shown, it was told. Sentence structure was choppy, uneven and almost staccato. I felt like I was being machine gunned. I wanted to be finessed into the wonders of old egypt, the sights, the sounds, the smells. But what I read was written with the skill of someone like me. Maybe good for a couple of paragraphs, but not for weaving an entrancing tale.

And I guess that brings me to my 3rd point, even though it is more related to the first point. Thorton is supposed to be a bigwig lawyer. I would have thought a lawyer would have been more familiar and adept with words.

A thoroughly disappointing book that I couldn't finish.

Rating: 1/2 of 5 Stars
Author: James Thorton

Rilla of Ingleside (Anne of Green Gables) (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
This follows Anne's youngest daughter, Marilla [affectionately known as Rilla], as she experiences growing up during World War I.

My Thoughts
I enjoyed Anne of Green Gables more than any book of its type. So when I saw a glowing review of Rilla, I thought "I have to read this".

Sadly, I didn't find this nearly as engaging, delightful and wonderful as AoGG. Part of that is because this takes place during World War I. Montgomery does a splendid job of showing the loss of innocence, for Rilla, for Canada and for the whole World.

Rilla has to deal with her brothers leaving, dying, her first love, raising a war orphan, seeing her parents as human. She takes it well and in stride, but you can tell from her journal entries that it is taking its toll.And while Rilla isn't as feisty or as lively as Anne was, she doesn't get down either.

It was very odd seeing Anne as "Mrs Blythe".

Overall, I don't think I'll be reading any more by Montgomery.

Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Author: Lucy Montgomery

Blood Song (A Raven's Shadow #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
We follow the adventures of Vaelin Al Sorna, from his abandonment by his father, through his training at the 6th Brotherhood and up until his climactic battle in service to his king.
But not everything is as it seems, neither brotherhood, nor kingdom nor even Vaelin himself.

My Thoughts
This would have been a 4 star easily, maybe even a 4.5, but for one thing. It was just too long! At over 700 pages, this was more of a Sanderson tome than anything. It was written well, the different adventures were awesome, the greater threat is slowly revealed, but I found myself wanting it to be done around the 500 page mark.

I had to read 2 other small books [200 or less pages] while I took a break from this.  And the whole "scary magic thingy blah blah blah" that is going to be the main threat, it struck me more as tacked on. Kind of wished that things had stuck to the physical threats instead of delving into the supernatural.

With all that being said, I did enjoy this book and am looking forward to the rest of the series. But I'll probably wait until it is all released. I don't feel like being dragged into the unknown.

Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Author: Anthony Ryan

Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE #22, 23 & 24 (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
Li and Company end up in the Japan of Kurogane's origin. Yuko reveals more of what is happening, we find out about Watanuki [from xxxHolic] and then, most shockingly of all, we find out that

Sakura is also an image clone.

(hide spoiler)  And if that wasn't enough, we find out that

Li is the son of Sakura.

(hide spoiler) Yeah, I'm not sure what is going on or what tangled skein CLAMP is snarling for us.

My Thoughts
With the above spoilers, I am totally confused as to what is going on. I thought I had a handle on what Fei-Wang wanted, but now I have NO idea what is going on.

This just got really complex. With only 4 volumes left, I hope that CLAMP can wrap things up without rushing it. However, I am loving this and am looking forward to the rest of this series.

Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Artist & Author: CLAMP

Texas Storm (The Executioner #18)

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 drops into Texas to make a lightning raid, only to find the Mafia in the midst of a plan to take over Texas and make it an independent country, with them running things!

My Thoughts
Now we start to see Mack getting involved in things that have a wider, almost international, scope. No longer is he taking out individual Mafia leaders, but is taking out dangers to the country and to the world.

There is also a distinct down turn in the amount of time Bolan spends rhapsodizing about how he knows he has to die sometime so today is as good as any day to fight the good fight to the hilt.
Instead, he just goes in, guns blazing, with some serious firepower.

I think that things are such that everyone, the writer, the reader, the publisher, all know that this is about the guns, the actions, the swift and lethal execution of Justice upon the guilty. Everything that could be said by and about Mack has been said. Now we sit back and just enjoy an action thriller.

Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Author: Don Pendleton

Sky of Swords (A Tale of the King's Blades)

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
The story of Princess Malinda and how this and the previous 2 books completely revolve around her without us even knowing it.

And all the points that don't make sense fall into place and the puzzle is a complete picture now.

My Thoughts
This follows 2 timelines, one when Malinda is growing up and one when she is imprisoned later in life.

I didn't care for the first half of the book. Malinda was a spoiled brat as a kid and as a prisoner. I almost gave up to be honest, it was that bad.
Then things got completely awesome! Malinda changed. She matured and the story was around her but not necessarily about her. In many ways, this was just setup to explain the other 2 books.

When I realized what was going on, around the 300 page mark, I started exclaiming, loudly and vehemently and laughing. Because everything suddenly made sense! All the inconsistencies, the direct contradictions, the things that couldn't BOTH be true? It worked.

And while many authors would have made a real hash of this trilogy, Duncan does it awesomely. He writes well, he writes internally consistently and the story is exciting and enjoyable. I borrowed the first 2 books in paperback from my brother. After I read the first book, I bought the whole trilogy in hardcover.

I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who wants a taut, exciting, suspenseful and political story.

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Author: Dave Duncan