Madame Bovary (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 & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Madame Bovary
Series: -----
Author: Gustave Flaubert
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Classic
Pages: 365
Format: Ebook digital edition






Synopsis:
Emma Bovary is married to Dr. Bovary and is the "Madame Bovary" of the title. The story starts out with the Dr though and gives us in a chapter or 3 his history until he marries Emma. Once married, we get the story from Emma.
And what a story it is. A story of discontent, selfishness, betrayal, greed, lust and the ultimate end of all of those things.

My Thoughts:
I read this on my phone, so it was read a page at a time, here and there, now and then. I did not read large chunks at a time. I suspect that helped my enjoyment of this immensely.

If you had told me that reading about Emma's self-destructive spiral leading to her suicide would be enjoyable, I most likely would have drummed you out of whatever establishment we both were inhabiting at the moment and made sure that you weren't drunk, high or mistaking me for somebody else.  But I did enjoy this a lot. Part of it was the writing. Flaubert handled words like a master wordsmith. When somebody is skilled at something, it shows and it makes it easier to watch/read/partake of whatever they are offering.

Like I said at first, reading this in tiny chunks just worked out really well. I got a taste of how horrible Emma was, and let me tell you, a shallower, vainer, stupider and down right pleasure seeker was never written but it was never overwhelming or despair inducing because it was read in manageable chunks. Most classics I plow through and this would have been like getting dumped on by a manure tractor. But instead I simply got splashed by a car passing by and then went home and changed clothes. It made all the difference.

It also made a difference that Flaubert didn't glorify what Emma was doing. He simply let the results of her actions catch up to her. I'm a big advocate of moral cause and effect and while some of that can be seen on a personal level, more of it is on a macro level and not seen for a generation or two on a national level. So seeing it work out the way it did was actually encouraging instead of discouraging.

On a personal level, reading this book has made me even more grateful that I have learned to be content and that I have a wife who loves me and is content as well. It doesn't mean I don't dream or want to improve our lot in life but it means that if I can only afford a 20 year old used car, then so be it. Reading this also reminded me that thoughts lead to actions and have consequences.

I think I have said enough. I'm not sure I'd want to read this again because I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much.

The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn #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.blogspot.com & Bookstooges Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: The Bands of Mourning
Series: Mistborn
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 448
Format: Kindle digital edition




 


My Thoughts:

I have known since 2007, what Sanderson's personal views on homosexuality are. Until now, he had kept that viewpoint out of his books, at least as far as I could tell.

With this latest Mistborn book Sanderson has joined the ranks of modern authors to fully embrace homosexuality as something normal and ok. Not as a sin but as a viable lifestyle. This idea has been roaring into SFF more and more and it is something that I cannot allow into my entertainment.

I've had this happening more and more and at each instance I have to wonder, do I need to stop my wholesale reading of SFF?  At what point will this inundation of wrongful thinking affect my own thoughts and views? I try to avoid authors of this viewpoint, but it feels like a minefield.  Reading along for books and books and then suddenly, bam, 1 paragraph, a page, a chapter, whatever.

I feel like I am on a cusp. I have to decide.  I just don't know how to proceed. Giving up SFF entirely seems almost like an over reaction, but is it if I keep filling my mind with ideas that are contrary to God's commands?  If I do give up SFF, what do I fill my reading time with? Do I cut down my reading time overall? If so, what do I fill my time with instead?

I LIKE SFF but not enough that I'm willing to compromise. I do enough of that already. I've been thinking about this since Monday when I finished this book. I don't want to take any rash actions but neither do I want to do nothing.

Myth-ion Improbable (Myth Adventures #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: Myth-ion Improbable
Series: Myth Adventures
Author: Robert Asprin
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 198
Format: Kindle







Synopsis:
Taking place quite a while, chronologically, before the previous book.
Skeeve buys a magic treasure map and with help from Aahz and Tananda pursues it across the dimensions.
Little does he know that vampire cows, a shapeshifter and some serious amounts of gold are all involved.

My Thoughts:
I was pretty confused at first, since when I'd read my latest Myth book back in '14, Skeeve was practically king of Possiltum.

Overall, this was ok. It wasn't super funny but it was a good filler read. I don't have much else to say.

The Covenant of Genesis (Wilde and Chase #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: The Covenant of Genesis
Series: Wilde and Chase
Author: Andy McDermott
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 594
Format: Kindle







Synopsis:
Nina is kicked out the UN agency at the instigation of the President of the US because of her actions retarding his progress in the previous book.
At the same time she uncovers ancient artifacts that could drastically change what people think about the beginning of humanity.
And she runs afoul of a Super Secret, Super Powerful, organization called the Covenant of Genesis.
Without backing, without funding, Nina and Eddie must save the Garden of Eden.

My Thoughts:
This book is where I part ways with McDermott.

He pretty much pummels monotheistic religions and then once they're down, stomps on their hands and ribs. With a few kicks in the balls for good measure.  I get enough of that in real life without having it be part of my entertainment.

I must also mention the violence. I have a very high tolerance for violence in books. But this got the ultra-violence tag and really should have had an "ultra ultra ultra violence" tag. Pirates attack Nina and Eddie and it is brutal. Heads cut off, spearings, guts, etc, etc. Then Eddie hunts the pirates down and offs them all, once again graphically. I noticed this before the religious ball stomping began by the way.

The End of the Battle (Yu-Gi-Oh! R #5) (Manga)

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 End of the Battle
Series: Yu-Gi-Oh! R
Author/Artist: Akira Ito
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 296
Format: Kindle







Synopsis:
Jonouchi duels it out with the resurrected Bandit Keith, as this whole thing was instigated by Keith as revenge for his death at Pegasus' hand.
Yugi continues his duel with Yako. It is god card against evil god card. Can Yugi and the power of the cards break through the evil god cards' influence on Yako?
Either way, there are some great duels ahead.

My Thoughts:
This was a long volume. At almost 300 pages, it allowed for 2 duels that were both book length in and of themselves.

Neither duel had the impact on me that previous ones had. Part of that was that the ending of each duel was the typical Yu-Gi-Oh ending. Lots of friendship and caring and heart of the duelist. I'd actually say that Ito took this further than his predecessor, Takahashi the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh.

Anzu always played a very small part in this franchise but in this series it felt like Ito didn't know how to make use of her and so relegated her to a non-existence. Someone with that short a skirt should definitely have more page time!

Overall, I really enjoyed this series. Enough so that I'll start saving up to buy these in paper.  If you liked the original series or the Duelist series, you'll definitely like this.

March '16 Roundup & Ramblings

Another strong month for 2016.

21 books, although I had 3 DNF's. I also only read 4 comics [manga, graphic novels and comics] where I was hoping for close to twice that number.

Project Re-read went on a Hiatus, as one week was so busy that I didn't read at all and I wanted to concentrate on new reads. Definitely going to be making that a priority this coming month though.

My most enjoyable book of the month was Dead Six.

My average rating was 3.14, if you include the 2 dnf'd but unrated books. If you take those out, it goes up to a whopping 3.47.

My idea from last month of adding books to a draft post as I read them didn't work out. Not sure if I want to try it for April. So lets all read some more good books in April!

Dead Six (Dead Six #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: Dead Six
Series: Dead Six
Author: Larry Correia & Mike Kupari
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 725
Format: Kindle digital edition







Synopsis:
Michael Valentine, former marine and mercenary extraordinaire, has burnt out. Trying to live a "normal life" as a security guard, Valentine is going out of his mind. One day a former team mate offers him a job of a lifetime. Making money hand over fist for the United States Government while bringing the War on Terror to the terrorists in places they thought were safe.

Lorenzo. Con man, thief and hitman. He thought his family safe. Big Eddie convinced him otherwise. Of course, Big Eddie promises they'll be safe if Lorenzo does just one, teensy weensy impossible, job.

Lorenzo and Valentine are on a collision course. Women get involved, things slightly Cthulhu'ic are involved and backstabbing and betrayals are the keywords of the day. Will Valentine and Lorenzo kill each other or save each other?

My Thoughts:
Wow! Just wow! Valentine and Lorenzo are apparently on two different paths when suddenly they're on a collision course. Then suddenly they're reluctant allies. Now that sounds like a whiplash ride, but considering this book is over 700 pages long, the process was gradual and realistic.

Having the dual viewpoints, essentially telling 2 stories, worked. Each POV was prefaced by which character it was and the location, and that was very helpful.

There was a group called Exodus that played a very brief part. They seemed to be some sort of super vigilante group that was driven by the need for Justice against those who could never be brought to Justice by ordinary means. There was another group called Majestic, which was more referred to than anything else. I am assuming they will both play bigger roles in the next book.

There is an object of power, human sacrifice and a heavy unearthly feeling in parts. That is why I gave this the paranormal  tag, even though it was pretty strictly a gun fest.
The violence level was pretty high definitely earned the ultra-violence tag. Brains, blood and body parts blown all over the place. High calibre weapons do a lot of damage and neither author shied from describing such carnage.

Correia is known for his gun porn. Apparently, Kupari was right behind him, egging him on and adding his own. Thankfully, it didn't overwhelm any part of the story and it sounded like what a soldier would think/talk in these kinds of situations. I don't enjoy gun porn for the record.

I know this doesn't really tell why I liked this so much, but I stayed up until almost 11pm two nights in a row reading this because I just couldn't put it down. I think that speaks volumes in and of itself. I am really looking forward to the sequel, Swords of Exodus.

Counterstrike (Black Fleet #3)

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: Counterstrike
Series: Black Fleet
Author: Joshua Dalzelle
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 365
Format: Kindle digital edition







Synopsis:
Jackson Wolfe is about to head up the remaining fleets of Earth against the Phage, in a strike against a theoretical Phage Overmind.
All of the info about the Phage come from the new alien allies. Said allies are unwilling to dirty their hands with actual fighting but have no problems with using other races as proxies.
Wolfe must now fight a 3 front war. One against the Phage. One, very surreptitiously, against their supposed allies. Finally, one against his own commander who can't take any chances.

My Thoughts:
Best book of this trilogy. And it ends. Jackson Wolfe is alive at the end but his story is over. The story about the alien allies hasn't finished, but the Phage aspect is done.

As soon as the alien allies made it clear that they used other races to wage their wars, the origin of the Phage was pretty much a foregone conclusion. It was an interesting turn but not a shocking revelation. It definitely makes the "allies" the new "enemies" for any future books.

The tiny bit of "romance" was awkward and really didn't add anything to the story or make the characters any better. I wish that Dalzelle had left it out altogether. It would have fit just fine with Wolfe as a character.

In the author's note at the end, he makes it clear that this IS a trilogy. I like that he had the balls to end this and not try to endlessly milk it.  While I am hoping to read more in this universe, I am ok with being done with Jackson Wolfe.

It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet (All Creatures Great and Small #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: It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet
Series: All Creatures Great and Small
Author: James Herriot
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Autobiography
Pages: 290
Format: Scan







Synopsis:
Year 2 of Jim's Adventuring in Vet'ing.

My Thoughts:
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the previous book. I think that is mostly because the novelty had worn itself out in book one.

Other than that, this was just as solid. Good character sketches, interesting descriptions of happy and sad times. This time around we also get some of the social interactions that Jim has; even if only to get completely plastered, fall down a hill with a drunk woman and then meet the girl he wants to impress.

I am glad I am reading these.

The Dracula Caper (Time Wars #8) DNF@38%

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 Dracula Caper
Series: Time Wars
Author: Simon Hawke
Rating: 1/2 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: DNF
Format: Kindle digital editions







Synopsis:
The Multiverse continues the war. Now Drakov, the crazy russian, has introduced genetic creatures, namely were-wolves and vampires, into "our" timeline in London in an effort to destabilize our timeline and destroy us.


My Thoughts:
This book is where I stop reading this series. It wasn't that the plot was any cheesier than previous books. It wasn't that the characters were suddenly stiffer than cardboard, because they've always been standup cutouts.

Nope, I quit because this was more than half exposition about Time War physics and other such immaterial crap. This was the 8th book in the series. I don't need the whole primer for the Time Wars, an exposition about why things are so bad and history of each character and why they are the way they are.

It frustrated me so much that I just quit, the book and the series.

Good riddance!