Temple of the Serpent (Warhammer: Thanquol & Boneripper #2) ★★★☆☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Temple of the Serpent
Series: Warhammer: Thanquol & Boneripper #2
Author: C.L. Werner
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 416
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Thanquol is blamed for the loss of the warpstone in the previous book and various skaven faction leaders all plan on killing him. To survive, he goes on a mission with the assassin faction to wipe out the leader of a city sacred to that faction. The assassins were driven out long ago and a race of lizardmen took it over. Now it is up to Thanquol and a small army to penetrate a dangerous jungle, find the city, kill the leading magician and make it back home. Hopefully with loads and loads of loot.

There is a magic toad, who has the power of mathematics from the higher powers, that is orchestrating many strings. In response to the skavens coming to the city, he brings a boatload of humans to balance out the equation and to see what the final solution will be. The final solution? Every single human dies by the end of the book. Almost every single skaven is killed and the lizardman magician dies as well. The toad goes back to contemplating mathematics.

Thanquol gets back to the ship and after a fight with zombie pirates, abandons the ship in a lifeboat and the magic toad magically has it go back to the skaven capital. That is how the book ends.

My Thoughts:

I rather enjoyed this dark fantasy. Having a villain as the main character allows me to root against him and when things fall apart around him, it isn't a bad thing but a good thing. It also helps that skavens as a race are just despicably cowardly creatures and the author does a fantastic job of getting into Thanquol's head and showing how he can switch his thought process on a dime. Each skaven is completely self-centered, so what is good is what is good for them at that moment.

I knew that the human storyline was going to be a bloody mess, but I figured the mercenary guy, Graetz Adalwolf, might survive. I did not see him killing himself to escape the attention of the magical toad. Good call though, as that would probably end up having been hell on earth for Graetz. There was only one female human character, so she was the obvious love interest, but it was written in such a desultory manner that it was no surprise when she bites it at the end. In fact, with just a very small re-working, the whole human storyline could have been done away with. But since they provided at least half the blood and entrails, this story would only have been half as fun without them.

Boneripper. Once again, not really a character but a name. Thanquol seems to have quite the limited imagination when it comes to naming his rat ogres, so when they unsurprisingly die in one violent way or another, he just names the new one Boneripper. Bonerippers remind me more of a force of nature than a character. Kind of like a super violent magical spell that Thanquol has, but in the shape of an ogre.

Now, like I stated at the beginning, I did enjoy this. I only rolled my eyes once, right near the end. Some human zombies that the skaven army had encountered takes over the ship that Thanquol needs. Can anyone say “Pirates of the Caribbean”? Sigh. But it did allow the current Boneripper to die and become a food source for Thanquol on his magical boat ride back to his home. Ok, that whole “magical boat ride back home” thing had me rolling my eyes too.

But I still want to read the final book in the trilogy. Considering how I've felt about previous Warhammer books, that counts as a stunning success for me.

★★★☆☆ 

• Grey Seer (Book 1)
• Other Warhammer Reviews

The Voyage of the Sable Keech (Polity: Spatterjay #2) ★★★★☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Voyage of the Sable Keech
Series: Polity: Spatterjay #2
Author: Neal Asher
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 593
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Taylor Bloc, a reif and new leader of what is left of the Cult of Anubis the Risen, commissions a gigantic ship to be built on Spatterjay. He convinces all of the remaining cult reifs and a lot of those who had left, to pay for a voyage following in the footsteps of Sable Keech and at the end of voyage this will allow them all to undergo the change and get their original bodies back, just like Keech. He hires a bunch of Hoopers, convinces Janers Anders to come along and kidnaps Erlan to get her on board. Throw in that the Hive Mind Janers is working for is now dealing with another hive mind, the fact that Bloc is insane and controlling a hooder with Prador thrawl tech and that some golems show up on board without anyone knowing why and bam, you have a situation.

On top of that, Vrell, the young prador from the previous book survives and makes it to his now dead father's ship. He is infecteed with the spatterjay virus and doesn't know what that is going to lead to. A Prador war vessel comes from the Prador Kingdom on direct orders from the King to make sure that Vrell doesn't get off Spatterjay alive. Somehow the King has mastered the virus himself and doesn't want any but his descendants to have access to the powers it gives a prador. So it is up to Sniper, a Polity wardrone, to save a prador so said prador can cause chaos in the kingdom. Talk about irony.

The final storyline follows a giant whelk. Think a giant slug with tentacles and a conch shell. It is hunting down Erlan for killing one of it's offspring but gets sidetracked and ends up going after some other Hooper ships. A lot of carnage happens, a LOT!

In the end the golems are revealed as agents of the other hivemind, which is having an argument with itself and can't decide if splitting into 2 minds is worse than death or not. It decides to die. Sable Keech is revealed as one of the reifs, as he has been hunting down Blok for crimes in the Polity. Sniper and Polity AI come to an agreement with Vrell. The whelk gives up on her revenge and just has more babies.

My Thoughts:

Dropped this a whole star because of the giant whelk rape/sex scene. Yes, you read that right. Asher delivers a gigantic “nature in the raw” sex scene. Including a corkscrew penis. What the frack man!?!?!?!?!?!? And why the heck didn't I think to warn myself about it back in my review in 2011? I'm wondering if I repressed the whole thing.

Other than that, this was probably just as gory and violence filled as The Skinner. Of course, throwing a hooder into the mix was guaranteed to do that! I think this trilogy is the high tide of Asher's violence. I don't remember any of his other books quite reaching the heights scaled here. Some may be sad, some may be happy about that. I for one am in the sad group. Aliens and entrail ripping just go together in my book. Like peanutbutter and pickles on toast.

I liked this book. I liked all the various storylines and how they fleshed out each other even while not necessarily being needed for each other. I liked the few times that we really got to see the Old Captains in action. I thought the prador Vrell's storyline was the weakest. However, it did really come across to me just how long ago the Prador/Polity war was. It didn't happen 15 years ago. It's been long enough that most people aren't even sure it actually DID take place. Not only does the space continuum of the Polity continue to expand with each book, but so does the time side of things. This is a firmly established universe and little things like that remind us the readers of that fact.

One regret'y type thing is that after this trilogy I don't think we see the Hive Minds again. I would really like to see a book dedicated to that at some point. Oh well, if it hasn't happened by now, it probably won't.

★★★★☆ 

• The Voyage of the Sable Keech (2011 Review)
• All Previous Spatterjay Reviews
• All Previous "Polity" Reviews

Revolution (Omega Force #9) ★★★☆☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Revolution
Series: Omega Force #9
Author: Joshua Dalzelle
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 334
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Lucky takes on a mission that will lead him to find out where his lot-mates are, if they still exist. During that process, Omega Force becomes embroiled in a plot to take down the ConFed by a sentient AI. During the action to take down the AI, Lucky is killed and Omega Force must go on.

The book ends with Lucky's lot-mates, the 36 surviving 700 series battlesynths, taking refuge on Terranovus, humanity's secret second planet. It also turns out that everything was orchestrated by some shadowy, mysterious figure who has a grudge against Jason Burke and the rest of Omega Force. And to top everything off, Lucky “might” not be dead afterall.

My Thoughts:

Another decent Omega Force novel. Everyone new we met in the previou book gets shunted aside and everyone new we meet in this book I'm guessing will be shunted aside in the next book. I have learned to simply accept that this is how Dalzelle operates.

Just based on the action, I was going to give this a half star bump, up to a coveted 3.5 (the crowd goes wild!) but the ending with the faux-mysterious antagonist taunting Burke and Lucky's not-demise, well, they kind of annoyed me. So OF keeps pace at 3 stars. Honestly, that's pretty good for an indie that churns out 1-3 books a year. Dalzelle has a good editor and it really shows because I'm never drawn out of the story by either bad grammar/punctuation/etc or really awkward “what does he mean” sentence structure.

No romantic entanglements in this book. Thank goodness. The focus is on the friendship between Lucky and the rest of Omega Force and I thought it was carried off pretty good. I found it interesting that Lucky was never meant to be a battlesynth nor how ANY of 700 series were meant to be. I am kind of hoping that we'll see more of the 700's in later books, but given Dalzelle's track record, I suspect they'll get used in 2 more books then never heard from again. He just can't flesh out side characters enough to make them last for multiple books.

I was satisfied with this read and plan on continuing the Omega Force series as it gets released. I have caught up to what Dalzelle has written, so no more backlog to go through.

★★★☆☆ 

• Previous Omega Force Reviews

Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Wayward
Series: Wayward Pines #2
Author: Blake Crouch
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF, Thriller
Pages: 324
Format: Digital Edition

* SPOILER ALERT *

I am usually not one to worry about spoilers in my reviews. However, this series seems to be predicated on the reader not knowing what is going to happen. As such, just giving fair warning that this review will spoil the heck out of the book. I will take the last paragraph to sum up my feelings without spoilers.

Synopsis:

There's a new sheriff in town and his name is Ethan Burke. He knows all the secrets of Wayward Pines and knows what David Pilcher is keeping from most of the residents, that they exist 1800 years in the future and that humanity is extinct and the world over run by mutant aberrations.

But when one of the residents turns up dead, stabbed and then drained of all blood, AND she was secretly working for Pilcher, Ethan has a real mystery on his hands. When it is revealed there is a group of people in Wayward Pines who are part of a secret society, Ethan must infiltrate them.

Ethan might be toe'ing Pilcher's party line of secrecy but when he reveals the truth to his wife and finds out that the children of the town are being brainwashed into thinking Pilcher is a god, Ethan must decide. Lies, deception, murder and safety? Or truth, honesty, trust and the chance of annihilation at the hands of the abbey's?

The book ends with Ethan successfully revealing the truth to all the town's residents and Pilcher, in revenge, turning off the electric fence that surrounds the town. Talk about a frakking cliff hanger!

My Thoughts:

Wow, wow, wow. I am very impressed here. After the roller coaster of the Pines, I wasn't sure what to expect. What I got was a couple who wanted truth and freedom more than comfort and security. Dang, we need more books with people making hard choices like that. I'm not sure I felt “inspired” after reading this, but it sure was close.

Anyway, this took place in just a couple of days. It was kind of a whirlwind experience. Burke has to investigate a murder that ends up leading back to Pilcher, figure out how to tell his wife the truth without getting them all killed, take back his son Ben from a school system that is obviously brain washing him AND somehow let the whole town know the truth of their situation without getting them all killed or sending them into suicidal despair.

There was also a very small side story about one of Pilcher's men who has been out wandering the wilderness, figuring out how to survive amongst the abbeys. Of course, it is revealed that he's Ethan's former boss and Theresa's lover while Ethan was in cold storage. Talk about a drama just waiting to explode and destroy everything! I expect the final book to be rather explosive.

I really liked how Ethan took charge and let the whole secret out of the bag. Consequences or Pilcher's wrath be damned. This was the whole “Live Free or Die” mentality that I like so much about my state. Sadly, it's not everyone that can handle it, as most of the United States today proves. * very sad face *

So why the 3.5star rating? Here's my issues. If the whole human race degenerated in a mere 2000 years, then the humans in Wayward Pines only have 2000 years until their descendants degenerate. Actually, less than 2000 since they have a much smaller gene pool. Throw in “millions” of abbey's and that number shrinks to probably 1 generation. Pilcher has spent billions of dollars just to play god for 30 to 40 years? The bigger issue for me was how the book ended. I'd classify it as a mega-cliffhanger. The whole town is now open to the abbeys as part of Pilcher's fit of pique? It didn't bother me as much as it might have because I have the final book and the choice to go immediately to it or to wait. But since the whole trilogy wasn't written all at once, it would have totally pissed me off if I was reading these as they came out. Not cool.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, just as much as the first book and I am really looking forward to the final novel in this trilogy.

★★★☆½

• Pines (Book 1)

The Potter's Field (Brother Cadfael #17) ★★★☆☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Potter's Field
Series: Brother Cadfael #17
Author: Ellis Peters
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 248
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Cadfael's Abbey trades a field with another Abbey and in the process of plowing it, turn up the remains of a woman.

A newly minted monk at Shrewsbury took the vows against his wife's wishes and she disappeared, thought to have run off to Wales with a lover. Now the suspicion is on him. Until a novitiate turns up with a story about seeing the woman just a couple of weeks ago, with her ring to prove it. Then another woman is shown to have disappeared and her lover is arrested. The same novitiate proves that the woman is alive and sets the scoundrel free.

It all turns out that the woman was the monk's wife but she died due to the novitiates father and mother. It wasn't murder and there was no foul play. It was complicated enough that even Hugh Beringar says that God will sort out everyone's motives.

My Thoughts:

I found this to be one of the more complicated mysteries, mainly because of the various motivations and lack of malice aforethought. And yet I certainly can't agree with the author's thoughts, presented through Cadfael, Hugh and the Father Abbot, that everything was ok in the end. There was no justice. The mother of the novitiate did cause the death of the wife of the monk, even if hatred wasn't involved.

These last couple of Cadfael books I have found myself disagreeing with the author more and more about how justice gets carried out and just what is the law. If you cause someone else's death, even if they agree to it, that is still killing someone. The price of a life is the life of the one who took it or, if there was no forethought and hatred, banishment for life. Someone who pre-meditates and then carries out a killing is not someone who deserves to live. That is a cancer that must be cut out, not a cold that gets treated with soft tissues and extra fluids.

Mercy misplaced or misapplied is as bad as no mercy at all.

★★★☆☆ 

• Previous Brother Cadfael Reviews

Reap the East Wind (Last Chronicle of the Dread Empire #1) ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Reap the East Wind
Series: Last Chronicle of the Dread Empire #1
Author: Glen Cook
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 259
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Mocker and Nepanthe's son was held against Mocker's attempt in killing Bragi Ragnarson. When Mocker failed, Ethrian was thrown into a torture cell. He escaped and came to a desert. There he meets a sleeping god and it's servant Sahmanan. The god wants a conduit and Ethrian wants revenge against the Dread Empire. They form an alliance and using undead, begin to attack the Empire.

Lady Mist has used her time in Ragnarson's court to play political games back home in Shinsan. With Ragnarson's help, she sets in motion a coup to regain the throne of the Dread Empire. She plans on double crossing Ragnarson and destroying the upstarts who stopped the Empire before but Ragnarson wasn't born yesterday and realizes this. His plan is to get Mist to be queen but with enough instability to keep the Empire from his door for a generation.

Nepanthe, now married to the sorcerer Varthlokkur, is pregnant with their child but can't let go of the idea that Ethrian is still alive. Varthlokkur won't try to find his grandson (Mocker was Varthlokkur's son) and when the issue is forced, it causes a split between Varthlokkur and both Nepanthe AND Ragnarson.

Ethrian is taken over by the god due to his hatred and despair but is destroyed through the combined efforts of both Varthlokkur and the Empire's magicians. He dies in Nepanthe's arms.

The book ends with Mist and Ragnarson in control of their respective kingdoms but both are weakened and more fighting is on the horizon. This trilogy is truly the Last Chronicle of the Dread Empire.

My Thoughts:

I was introduced to Ethrian in All Darkness Met back in July '17 but then I completely forgot who he was due to the prequel duology that I read next. So it took me some time to work out just who this boy was that was so important.

This book felt a LOT darker than the previous Dread Empire books. Part of it was Nepanthe's giving in to despair and Varthlokkur's refusal to look for Ethrian. Throw in Lady Mist's complete acknowledgment that she will destroy the kingdom that Ragnarson rules even though he gave her sanctuary from her enemies and you just end up with a lot of nobodies that you can root for. Ethrian's slide to the darkside was depressing as all get-out too.

The whole zombie/undead thing was pretty nifty but Ethrian just didn't have the military experience to make full use of it. The Empire's general was simply able to outmaneuver him. Shows why the Dread Empire has lasted as long as it has.

Once again there were what I term “skips” where a lot happens in the background but I the reader am apprised of it through a one sentence mention of the fact even while it has big implications for what is going on. That type of thing has to catch me in the right mood for it to work. This time it did. But next time? I might end up savaging Cook for being a complete jackass for using such a plot device. Even being aware that he uses it doesn't help.

I found the writing to be better than the previous duology. That helped keep my interest, as well as not having those wretched characters, El Murid & Haroun, involved. I'm just waiting for them to stick their nose in in the next book and ruin it for me. I just don't like those guys.

★★★☆½

• Dread Empire: A Cruel Wind 1-3
• Dread Empire: A Fortress in Shadow 1-2

Ghosts of Tomorrow ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Ghosts of Tomorrow
Series: ----------
Author: Michael Fletcher
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 396
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Mark Lokner has scanned himself and gone online while the world thinks he is dead. Just to be safe, Lokner1.0 has copied the scan and put Lokner2.0 into a secure digital space.

88, the scan of a young girl, gains her freedom and begins manipulating the real world so she will never be in danger again. This brings her into direct confict with Lokner1.0 AND Lokner2.0.

Agent Griffin Dickinson, with the military scan of Abdul Giordano, a 17 year old marine who died, is on the track of a group who illegally scan children. Scanning is a one way ticket and the head and brain are pureed after the fact. When 2 operations in a row go disastrously wrong for Dickinson, he's about to quit. Then he gets a tip from 88 that sets him on the trail of the Lokners as the source behind all the illegal scans and children farms.

With the help of Abdul and an assassin scan loyal to 88, Dickinson must confront Lokner while the world around him is falling apart. It doesn't help that 88 has her own plans for humanity and 88 has no mercy.

The book ends 1000 years in the future with scans as the de facto life form.

My Thoughts:

From a purely entertainment factor, this book was pure awesomesauce. Child assassins in suped up killer robot bodies, digital minds going insane, epic battles where scans take over electronics, massive and humongous acts of devastation, this had it all in spades.

Fletcher doesn't shy away from brutality. Whether in thought or action, I as the reader was not spared. From the horror of how children are kept as livestock to be harvested for their brains and sold into slavery to the idea of corporations “selling” the idea of scans as a way to cheat death, for a mere 20year term of servitude, with all the attending small print we as citizens of the 21^st century know to fear.

There was no hope. Griffin, the human who wants to be a hero and save the world, ends up being broken and then the woman he loved, who is now a scan, plots to have him killed so he can be scan'ed and join her. How soul destroying is that? Then the end where 88 turns all Skynet was so telegraphed that it didn't really come as a surprise.

I thought Fletcher did an excellent job of portraying just how something like “scans” would work out in our world. How it might be used, abused, misused, etc. It was very eye opening. However, it was all predicated on the fact that a human brain could be digitized. If you think something like that could actually happen, then this was a very scary dystopean prophecy. If you don't, then it's just another prediction about a future by someone who has lost hope themselves.

While I enjoyed my time spent on this, I have to admit, I didn't have any desire to seek out other books by this guy. I don't enjoy wallowing in hopelessness and despair. It also didn't help that I'm convinced that to you have to have a mind, body and will to be alive and to be human. Remove one and the other two are just ingredients, not something viably alive.

I did have one confusing issue. Most of this takes place in 2046 but right near the end things jump to 3052 but it feels like it should be 2152. It didn't come across as a jump of 1000 years but just a generation. I might have mis-read though, as I don't pay attention to dates real well in books.

If I see another Fletcher book really praised AND it has super cool over like this one, then I might seek it out. But if not, I'm good with having read just this one. Fletcher's worldview is just too depressing for me.

★★★☆½

Conventions of War (Dread Empires Fall #3) ★★☆☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Conventions of War
Series: Dread Empires Fall #3
Author: Walter Jon Williams
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 688
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Caroline Sula survives the destruction of the secret government and the Naxid takeover. She begins the counter-insurgency which leads to her becoming planetary governor of the former Capital World of the Praxis Empire. She leverages that to get a promotion and to get her own spaceship command. She uses the new tactics and does well in battle. She still has feelings for Gareth but in the end loses out to Gareth's new wife, who has given birth to his son. She decides that the military life is the life for her.

Gareth Martinez does “fights in space” and wins and stuff. The Naxid's end up unconditionally surrendering. Gareth doesn't so much choose his wife and son over Sula as much as he is ambushed by the family and given no choice. Really pulls at the heart strings /sarcasm.

The Empire is at peace but everybody knows that it is only a matter of time before another war breaks out as each species tries to figure out where it stands now.

My Thoughts:

This book was almost 700 pages and it shouldn't have been a jot over 300. It was simply too long without enough real story to fill it up. I found myself skipping whole pages of descriptions of almost everything and I didn't miss one part of the essential plot. So much of the writing just felt unneccessary and almost filler-like.

The fighting, whether with Sula planet side or Gareth in space, was good stuff. However, there was zero tension and you knew they were going to win in one way or another. When you read about their second battle and you're only on page 300, you KNOW they win. Instead of the Batman roller coaster from Six Flags (where you go upside down multiple times and do all sorts of twisty turny, stomach churning twists), this was much more akin to the Pirates of the Caribbean kiddie ride at Disneyworld. Slow and sedate and enjoyable. But not thrilling by any stretch of the imagination.

There is a whole murder mystery sub-plot that occupies most of Gareth's time and once again, it felt like padding. You have a whole Space Empire in turmoil and we get a murder mystery? It made the Naxids seems like caricature bad guys since Gareth was able to spend so much focusing on a mystery rather than fighting against them. Once again, it totally destroyed the tension.

The whole Gareth/Sula thing. That really bugged me. I mean, really bugged me. Gareth made his vows to Terza, his new wife and she is now pregnant. Tricked or not, Gareth said the vows and made the decision. Then when Sula decides to pursue him and it appears that he might divorce his wife to be with her and the whole Family ambush right at the end of the book where he decides to stay, it felt like I had eaten one of Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler's Mystery Sausages (Discworld reference there btw).

Each book in this trilogy dropped a half star for me. I think the quality and style of the writing was exactly the same for the whole thing whereas I was expecting improvement. So it's not that each book gets worse, it's that each book doesn't improve in any way or live up to the premise held forth in the first book.

The cover is the best part of the book and that is a damning indictment no matter how you look at it.

* very sad face *

★★☆☆½

• The Sundering (Book 2)
• The Praxis (Book 1)

All's Well that Ends Well ★★★☆☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: All's Well that Ends Well
Series: ----------
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Play
Pages: 226
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

A young woman, Helena, the daughter of a famous doctor now deceased, has been taken under wing by the noble family Rousillon. She falls in love with the family heir, Bertram but knows her commoner status will prevent her from ever marrying Bertram. Helena remembers a secret formula that her father gave to her and uses it to cure the King of France (Boo!) who in turn pretty much grants her one wish. She chooses to marry Bertram and the King makes it so.

Bertram chooses to go to war to avoid his bride and falls in lust with a young lady where he is stationed. Helena tracks him down and tells her tale to the young lady. Shenanigans ensue and Bertram woos and beds his wife thinking it's his paramour.

The young lady, under the direction of Helena, goes to the king to get justice and Bertram acts like a complete loser and denies everything. Helena jumps out of the closet with a secret ring and pregnant and claims Bertram as her own. Bertram is so overcome by his wife's cleverness and determination that he falls in love with her.

The End.

My Thoughts:

I am guessing this was supposed to be one of Shakespeare's comedies. Lots of clever wordplay where people make fun of each other and ham it up to the audience. However, I hated Bertram so half the play was a bust for me. He was just a jerk. The ending was as much a hollywood blockbuster ending as you could wish for, ie, everything gets resolved even if it makes no sense whatsoever.

It did take me a little while to get into the cadence of the reading this as a play and not as a novel. I also had to really slow down and think about what I was reading because how it was presented was not what I am used to. It is always a good thing to slow the reading down and not devour it like I am in a hotdog eating contest.

Overall, I am pleased at this start to my reading of the Complete Shakespeare.

★★★☆☆ 

Blood and Bone (Malazan Empire #5) ★★★★½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Blood and Bone
Series: Malazan Empire #5
Author: Ian Esslemont
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 850
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Prince K'azz, leader of the Crimson Guard, takes his remaining forces to Himatan, a jungle ruled by Ardata, Queen of Witches. He makes the journey to prevent Skinner and the Disavowed from recovering a fragment of the Broken God. Skinner has a history with Ardata and ended up using her and leaving her. She is now considering K'azz as his replacement. K'azz must also reassure his remaining Guardsmen that he has a plan and isn't simply swinging in the wind.

A mixed group of rogue Malazan soldiers and wizards are also seeking the shattered fragment simply to deny it to the Broken God. They end up working with the Crimson Guard just to survive and in the end the fragment becomes its own being and goes off and becomes a new god. The Malazans and the Guard go their separate ways and the Disavowed are returned to the fold while Skinner is consumed by Ardata for spurning her.

A nation state of Thaumaturgs begins the invasion of Himatan as well. They pretty much empty their country of talent in a bid to recover the fragment. They end up losing their army through attrition to the natural forces of Himatan and the leader of the army chooses to go home at the end and rebuild his country.

A loose coalition of tribal forces are gathered together by an enigmatic Warleader and promised riches beyond belief in an invasion of the Thaumaturg capital. The Warleader turns out to be Kellor and his goal is to get more of the magic ingredients that he makes his life extending candles out of. The tribal armies are slaughtered while delivering slaughter and the survivors must make peace with the survivors of the Thaumaturg's army if they are to have any chance of keeping their conquest. A melding of cultures is about to begin.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this quite a bit more this time around than I did back in '13. I hardly noticed the soapbox philosophizing, but that was more because I simply glossed over it and paid it no attention.

I do have to admit, I wonder why these are called Novels of the Malazan Empire when they seem to be more about the Crimson Guard than anything. The Malazan Empire is touched upon and is kind of the “behind the scenes” force that drives the Guard on, but really, these should be called the The Chronicles of the Crimson Guard or something.

I thought about giving this a 4star rating just like I did in '13 but decided to up it that valuable half-star because I enjoyed this more than I did last time. Re-reading things can be truly fulfilling sometimes. After I read the next Malazan Empire novel, and if I like it as much as the previous ones, I'll probably end up buying them in hardcover. While I doubt I'll re-read the Malazan Book of the Fallen again after my current re-read of the series, I can definitely see reading this series yet again in a few years.

★★★★½

• Blood and Bone (2013 Review)
  
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• All "Malazan Book of the Fallen" Reviews