Bookstooge's Reviews On the Road

Monday, October 05, 2015

The Djinn

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.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.

Title: The Djinn

Series: -----

Author: J. Holloway

Rating: of 5 Battle Axes

Genre: Christian Fiction

Pages: 268

Format: Kindle

Synopsis:

If Batman was a staunch Protestant, in one of the Crusades AND he had leprosy, you'd pretty much have this book.

In the past, Solomon stopped 12 golems from destroying Jerusalem by trapping them in his underground treasure chambers.

Now, one man is searching for the means to re-animate and control said golems for his own nefarious purposes.

My Thoughts:

I'm being pretty generous with that 3 star. It really felt more like a 2 1/2 but there were some cool moments, and I just had a good time this evening routing a nemesis, so I'm pretty happy.

The "mystery" of the djinn is easily seen through and that takes away from some of the suspense of the book. If Holloway had focused more on the golems and less on the djinn, I might have enjoyed this more. The whole djinn vs the corrupt crusader was rather meh.

Theology-wise, hearing someone spout some very hard core Protestant ideas [the Catholic church is not Christianity, I can believe in Jesus and still be a Christian without acknowledging the Church, etc] in this time period was a little disconcerting. Not bad, just very unexpected. It really came across as 21st century.

There were a couple of times where Holloway obviously kept info from the reader but not from his characters and I did not like that. It was deliberate enough to notice and came across as trying way to hard. Kind of like a 10 year old waving his left hand while he uses his right hand to "magically" pull colored scarves from his right sleeve.

I think I'll give Holloway's other books a chance. One chance, mind you. maybe in a couple of months.

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1265434/the-djinn

Saturday, October 03, 2015

Murder on the Orient Elite (Grimnoir Chronicles #3.5)

Review:

Title: Murder on the Orient Elite

Series: Grimnoir Chronicles

Author: Larry Correia

Rating: of 5 Battle Axes

Genre: SFF

Minutes: 74

Format: Audio

Synopsis:

A short story after the end of the truly awesome Grimnoir Chronicles trilogy.

Jake Sullivan must save a luxury air yacht from unknown forces. Sadly for him, that includes the Imperium, the newly strengthened Russians, a German psycho and even possibly his own employer.

My Thoughts:

I loved the Grimnoir books dearly. I think they are the best that Correia has written and so I was happy to jump into this, especially after Buyer of Gadgets glowing Review.

Thankfully, Jake Sullivan was still the same heavy with the same humor as in the trilogy. He's strong and capable and wicked smart. I really enjoy intelligent characters and ones that have a dry, wry sense of humor are even better. Everything that intrigued me about the original trilogy is here in this short story as well.

The narrator does a good job of switching voices so it was very easy to tell who was talking and conversations weren't awkward because of trying to figure out which character was speaking.

I got this for free back when it was released, but it took me a long time to get around to it. There is another Grimnoir Chronicles that takes place much later in time and I'll eventually track that down as well. I just can't quite stomach paying $4 for 60 minutes of audio.

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1264330/murder-on-the-orient-elite-grimnoir-chronicles-3-5

Friday, October 02, 2015

The Dragons of Dorcastle (Pillars of Reality #1)

Review:

Title: The Dragons of Dorcastle

Series: Pillars of Reality

Author: Jack Campbell

Rating: of 5 Battle Axes

Genre: SFF

Pages: 336

Format: Kindle

Synopsis:

The Mechanics Guild and the Mages Guild have run of the known world. And they hate each other and teach their acolytes to act as if the other guild is nothing but a fraud.

So what happens when a young Mage and a young Mechanic have to rely on each other to survive? Why, this excellent story is what happens.

My Thoughts:

I really like Jack Campbell's SF. So I wasn't sure what to expect when I realized he'd started another series that was SF, Fantasy, Steampunk'ish and YA. I went into this with almost zero expectations of enjoying it and not a little trepidation.

Thankfully, I enjoyed myself immensely.

A lot of adventure, a lot of action, lots of hints about big bad things in the Future and a nice little bit of teens falling in love for the first time. That can be real nice if handled with a deft hand and not with buckets of emotional slop.

I'd really like to write more because I had such a fun time reading this. But honestly, I don't feel the need to express WHY I enjoyed something. I simply note that I did enjoy it. Now, the opposite isn't true. If I don't enjoy something, there is a much better chance of me detailing the WHY of that. I know part of it is that I don't need to remember why I liked a book, just that I did. I do like to know why I didn't like a book however, as in most cases in 10 or 15 years I forget what the book was about and if the premise sounds interesting, I need to know why not to try it again. Sometimes my mind is a funny place.

Looking forward to the already written sequel already.

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1264003/the-dragons-of-dorcastle-pillars-of-reality-1

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Ad Astra (Anthology)

Review:

of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 198
Format: Kindle

Synopsis:
A collection of short stories from John Hemry, who uses the pseudonym Jack Campbell to write his Lost Fleet series.
All SF oriented and just how I like my short stories.

My Thoughts:
This was my "phone" book [I try to keep a book on my phone for those times that I forget my kindle and have 5 or 10 minutes of downtime at the dr's, or waiting for someone and stuff like that] and it worked out great. Short stories are perfect for little gaps of time one has.

I am a sucker for short story collections. I have been ever since I read Alan Dean Foster's paired collections With Friends Like These.... & ...Who Needs Enemies? Those are still some of my favorite books and I have them in very well read paperbacks.
And having read just about everything by Hemry/Campbell [alright, he's just Hemry from now on, even though he's more famous as Campbell. Sigh] I knew I would enjoy this.

These stories were just a lot of fun. Some were humorous, some serious and some thought provoking. All were excellently written and not a one bored me. I enjoyed this enough that I am seriously considering buying it in hardcover to add to my collection.

Not much more to say. Good stuff is good stuff and this book gets my stamp of approval.

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1262276/ad-astra-anthology

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Mitosis (The Reckoners #1.5)

Review:

Title: Mitosis

Series: The Reckoners

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Rating: of 5 Battle Axes

Genre: Short Story

Pages: 35

Format: Kindle

Synopsis:

An Epic comes to Newcago. And the Prof is away so it is all up to David to be the hero.

My Thoughts:

Not a bad short story acting as an appetizer between Steelheart & Firefight. It is just as YA as Steelheart but being a short story, it kind of comes to the fore a bit more.

All I can say is that "The Power of Music" is cliched and it is cliched in this story as well.

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1261969/mitosis-the-reckoners-1-5