A Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle (League of Princes #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.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: A Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle
Series: League of Princes
Author: Christopher Healy
Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 497
Format: Kindle




Synopsis:
The Princes all come together, some willingly, some not so willingly, for another adventure to save ALL the kingdoms.
From Briar Rose.
And lots of other things happen along the way.

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this, but not quite as much as the previous book, A Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom.
Part of that was that the new'ness of the idea wasn't new now. Another part was the continued romance subplot about everybody not sure who they're actually in love with. I didn't like that at all.

I liked the pictures. They captured the various characters rather well and lent a humorous air to the book.

Double Crossfire (The Executioner #40)

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: Double Crossfire
Series: The Executioner
Author: Don Pendleton, Steven Krauzer
Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 185
Format: Kindle






Synopsis:
A flare up in the Turk/Armenian conflict draws in the USSR and a heapload of heroin.
It is up to Mack to stop the drugs and the commies!

My Thoughts:
This was tough to read. I don't know why NOW I have an issue with the trite shallowness but it was so glaring that I couldn't get past it. I suspect I'm going to have to limit these to one every month or two.

Sigh...

Pawn's Gambit: And Other Stratagems (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.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.








Title: Pawn's Gambit: And Other Stratagems
Series: -----
Author: Timothy Zahn
Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 342
Format: Kindle



Synopsis:
A collection of short stories that Zahn has published in magazines. The first half of the book was stories that I'd read in other paperback collections of Zahn's collected short stories and the last half of the book, with the exception of the titular story, Pawn's Gambit, were all new.

My Thoughts:
I was expecting all new stories, so to have the first half be ones that I'd read before, or multiple times [as I've bought almost all of Zahn's old books in paperback] was a bit of a letdown.
Even with that, those stories were still excellent.

Then came the new stories and it was evident that Zahn has NOT lost his touch for encapsulating an idea and creating a story around it. His latest Cobra books have been rather a disappointment to be honest and I've been wondering if Zahn's time as an author was starting to get near the end. These new stories show that he is on top of the game as never before.

Which leads me to wonder, who has changed more, me, or Zahn? I read Cobra back in middle school and it has stayed on my "I love this book!" shelf ever since. Maybe the latest books in that series are showing me how "I" have changed as a reader and not so much that Zahn has changed as an author.

All of that is just to say that this short story collection is good! It would be a great way to introduce someone to Zahn without overwhelming them with a series. For those of us in the old guard, who have devoured all the older books by Zahn, this is still worth it for the new stories.

One of the main reasons I took a star off was because several of the stories have ending commentary from Zahn, when they were part of another collection. Those commentaries show their age and in some cases, show they are part of another collection. Very lazy on the publisher's part. Cut or update. It was just jarring the way they cut n pasted.

Pacific Rim: The Official Movie Novelization

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: Pacific Rim
Series: -----
Author: Alex Irvine
Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 352
Format: Kindle




Synopsis:
A good movie novelization.
Aliens are coming. From the ocean. And we have to use gigantic robots to fight them off.

My Thoughts:
If you liked the movie for the fights and the action and raw, brute power, stick with the movie. This book didn't really portray the power side of things very well.

If you thought the movie was skimpy on characterization and mecha info, then read the book. It fills in a good bit of stuff without making the book different from the movie.

I'm usually not a fan of movie novelizations and don't bother with them. I either want to watch the movie OR read the book the movie is based on.

The Tomb of Hercules (Wilde and Chase #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.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: The Tomb of Hercules
Series: Wilde and Chase
Author: Andy Mcdermott
Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 541
Format: Kindle




Synopsis:
Nina Wilde, now in charge of a large U.N. based agency, is stuck behind a desk instead of doing actual archaeological work.
Eddie Chase, now Nina's underling, is also stuck behind a desk. Not a good thing for anybody.
So when an old Ex calls, Eddie goes running. And Nina must chase him down or lose him. So begins a globetrotting adventure to find the Tomb of Hercules, a tomb legendary for its vast treasure trove.

My Thoughts:
After the rather over the top, lets kill 75% of the world kind of plot from the previous book, this simple smash, shoot and grab adventure was nice.

Let's see. Wilde and Chase drive a monster dumptruck from a diamond mine and take out some tanks and stuff. They go zipping down some rivers in one of those everglade airfan boats and have battles with some speedboats. They get captured by 2 different billionaires. Eddie's Ex is a bitch. They invade an underwater living area and Nina ends up chasing after Eddie in an experimental submarine that could blow up for no reason whatsoever. They find the tomb and watch as man after man fall prey to to the booby traps. And when you thought it was all over...they have to stop a nuclear bomb from going off in Manhattan while chained to a big boat.

Unrelenting action from beginning to end.

Flowers for Algernon

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: Flowers for Algernon
Series: ----
Author: Daniel Keyes
Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 321
Format: Kindle




Synopsis:
Charlie, a mentally retarded man, volunteers for an experimental surgery to boost his intelligence.
We follow his journey from beginning to end through a series of journal entries by Charlie himself.

My Thoughts:
ALL THE FEELZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!   I knew this followed the up and then down of Charlie and knew the ending but I have to admit, I was not prepared for how this hit me emotionally.
It was heartbreaking to read about Charlie and his "friends" at the bakery and to realize, before Charlie did, just what kind of "friends" they actually were.

To read about his burgeoning intelligence and to see his happiness and positive attitude melting before my eyes was like a kick in the gut, over and over and over again. I read this in one sitting because I couldn't put this down and I while I knew the ending, I had to see for myself. There was a time or two where I just put my kindle down  and hunched up for a minute or so to let the storm pass through.

By the time we came to his downward slide, it wasn't as bad, mainly because Charlie didn't realize how bad it was. Keyes does a great job of showing the reality without either being crass or gross or simplistic.

All in all, I am glad I hadn't read this earlier in life. I probably wouldn't have appreciated it and simply shrugged it off. But I am very glad I have read it now and have to admit, this is also in the running for best book of 2015. It hit me that hard.

King of Thieves (Odyssey One: Star Rogue #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.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: King of Thieves
Series: Odyssey One: Star Rogue
Author: Evan Currie
Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 352
Format: Kindle




Synopsis:
Now that earth has survived the drasin, humanity has regrouped and is sending out patrols to search for other drasin strongholds so they can send in the big guns to take care of them.
Captain Passer and crew are one such patrol. What they find is something even more important than the drasin and potentially just as deadly.

"That's no moon. It's a space station."

My Thoughts:
When this was released on Netgalley back in February, there was NO indication that it was the sequel to the Odyssey One series.  Now if you go to the amazon page, the series is listed as Odyssey One: Star Rogue. It is things like that that keep me from considering Currie as a serious author. Even while I enjoy his books.

With that out of the way...

Thoroughly enjoyed this adventure story. Space marines fighting dragons on an artificial moon that is invisible, can see all through the galaxy AND can act as a super duper magnifying glass for a star's energy.

Just fun military sf, plain and simple.

Out of the Black (Odyssey One #4)

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: Out of the Black
Series: Odyssey One
Author: Evan Currie
Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 447
Format: Kindle





Synopsis:
The wrap up to the Drasin alien cycle of the Odyssey One series. Earth must stand off something like 1,000 drasin ships while fighting against drones on earth itself.
The Priminae are refusing to actively engage to help earth and thus earth, finally united, faces its greatest threat ever.

My Thoughts:
This was a great wrap up to the series. In the previous book it seemed like earth was already gone when the survivors were sent to Priminae space. This books hows the battle that ensued between them leaving and them returning with Priminae tech.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. I have always preferred ground fights to space fights and this was full of that. The whole earth is the battle ground and to leave even one drasin alive is to risk it replicating and starting the war all over.

This ends on such a note that you could stop and be satisfied. Obviously, lots of questions remain about the drasin handlers and other aliens out there, but the drasin, as a threat, are done. That is a nice feeling.

The Eye of Divinity DNF@11%

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 Eye of Divinity
Series: Knights
Author: Robert Keller
Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: DNF
Format: Kindle




My Thoughts
A boy is chosen by 3 knights of the kingdom. That was as far as I got. "Epic" was in the unedited title at booklikes, in the description, etc and so I was all set for something epic.

What this is is a middle grade book about a boy who is suddenly special. Awkward writing mixed with characterizations that I didn't like made this definitely NOT epic. No middle grade book IS epic. So I quit before I got angry with the author for wasting my time.

The Khyber Connection (Time Wars #6)

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 Khyber Connection
Series: Time Wars
Author: Simon Hawke
Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 170
Format: Kindle





Synopsis:
The events from the previous book have brought two alternate time streams into confluence.
Separate time streams, not a split.
Thus parallel universes begin a truly horrific conflict.

My Thoughts:
I actually enjoyed this more than most of the previous books. Part of that was because Hawke left off trying to create "feel real" characters and just let them be cardboard cutouts. It works better this way.

I haven't read the actual The Khyber Connection so I wasn't able to compare how Hawke weaved this story into that plot line. Reading this made me want to read the actual book but stories of Imperial India, except for Kim, have never truly interested me.

This was good enough that I'll keep on with the series. I was beginning to wonder after the last book.