Rosemary and Rue (October Daye #1) ★☆☆☆☆

 

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Title: Rosemary and Rue
Series: October Daye #1
Author: Seanan McGuire
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 287
Words: 106K

Synopsis:

From October-daye.fandom.com/wiki/Rosemary_and_Rue

Prologue: June 9, 1995

Half-fae changeling October Daye is on a stakeout for her private investigator / knight errant job when she gets a call from her human boyfriend Cliff and Gillian. Simon Torquill appears and Toby follows him to the Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park in the hopes of locating the missing Luna and Rayseline Torquill. Simon meets up with Oleander, then turns Toby into a fish when he catches her spying. She is kicked into the koi ponds where she and Lily are trapped and forgotten for fourteen years.

Chapter 1-2: December 23, 2009

Toby regains her true form and seeks help from her longtime friend Evening Winterrose to set up a new human identity. She rejects most of Faerie including Sylvester and her changeling friends Mitch, Stacy, and Kerry, choosing instead to work at Safeway and occasionally offer toothpicks as aid in the local pixies’ territory wars. When Mitch visits the store, she pretends not to know him even though Gillian and his daughter Cassandra used to be playmates.

While heading home from a work shift, Toby is caught by the dawn and her human illusions are forcibly stripped away. Tybalt appears while she recovers from the pain of the magic, and they banter before going their separate ways. She arrives home to find a page of Duke Sylvester’s service waiting with a message, but she refuses to hear it as she has refused all the other messages.

Toby dreams about her mother Amandine, who had been married to Toby’s human father until Toby’s Changeling’s Choice, administered by Sylvester, forced mother and daughter back to the Summerlands. She also dreams of the day she escaped the koi pond and sought Evening’s help to get back on her feet, even as Cliff and Gillian rejected her for abandoning them for fourteen years.

Chapter 3-4: Awoken by her cats Cagney and Lacey, Toby listens to several increasingly frantic voicemails from Evening which culminate in Evening binding Toby to find Evening’s killer right before Toby hears Evening get murdered over the line. Toby drives to Evening’s apartment where she magics the human police into believing she belongs there. She finds splatters of Evening’s blood and the human-like corpse left by the night-haunts. She uses her Daoine Sidhe abilities to taste the blood and relive Evening’s final moments, learning that unidentified attackers killed her with iron bullets.

Chapter 5-7: Toby travels to the Court of the Queen of the Mists to announce the death using the fae’s formal customs, but the semi-mad Queen refuses to believe her. Next Toby goes to Home, an underground community of Changelings led by Devin, who had given refuge to Toby as a teenager after she ran away from Amandine and the Summerlands. Toby confronts teenagers Dare and Manuel before they allow her to see Devin. She recalls her own time as Devin’s lover and lackey, and how she and Devin had argued when Toby started dating Cliff and became pregnant with Gillian. In the present, Devin insists that he would have helped Toby after her return from the pond if Toby had allowed it. He explains that Evening was a benefactor for Home, and he pledges Home’s resources to helping Toby find her killer. In exchange, Toby will be in his debt. Devin encourages her to break ties with Sylvester, since although she won’t talk to Sylvester she is still his sworn knight, but she refuses.

Chapter 8-10: On the way home, Toby encounters a rose goblin who gives her an unmarked key. Evening’s binding tells Toby that the key is important, so Toby next heads to Evening’s mortal place of business, Third Road Enterprises. The binding tells her that the key will “open the way into Goldengreen,” Evening’s knowe. Using the key at the mortal business gives Toby access to the offices and leads her to a hidden hope chest. Toby recognizes that she must hide it, so she makes a bargain with Tybalt to keep it safe. He refuses at first, telling her to take it to the Queen or the Tea Gardens, but then accepts it and puts Toby in his debt.

Chapter 11-12: Although she is exhausted, Evening’s binding uses increasingly painful means to urge Toby to keep hunting the truth. Toby visits Shadowed Hills to inform the Torquills of Evening’s death and to ask for help. She recalls that Sylvester went mad when Luna, Raysel, and Toby all disappeared, and only snapped out of it when his wife and daughter returned to him. Toby’s magical abilities are tested by a footman who makes her design a court outfit with her magic, which adds to her magic burn. Quentin, the page who visited her home earlier, announces her to the Torquills. Sylvester is delighted to see her but shocked by the news of Evening, and more shocked by Toby’s binding to find the killer. As the Torquills mourn Evening’s death, Toby flees to the rose gardens and is followed by Connor, who attempts to make small talk with her but is clearly unhappy in his politically arranged marriage to Rayseline.

Chapter 13: Quentin finds Toby after Connor leaves, and she learns that he is in blind fosterage to Shadowed Hills. She tries to relax his pureblood prejudices and formal mannerisms, and they agree to hang out after things calm down. Sylvester and Luna are upset that Toby indebted herself to Home on her quest, and they reiterate her welcome at Shadowed Hills. She promises to stay in touch.

Chapter 14-16: On her way home, Toby realizes someone is in the car with her and she drives manically to keep them off-kilter. The intruder shoots her with iron and she flees the car, escaping on a city bus that takes her to Golden Gate Park. She tricks the Tea Garden’s gate attendant into letting her in and, growing increasingly weaker, she falls into a koi pond only to be rescued by Tybalt, who brings her to Lily. The Undine heals Toby, then chides her for her apparent death wish before sending her off with Julie and Ross as escorts. The trio are attacked en route to the taxi and Ross is killed. Tybalt kills the attacker and claims he helped so he won’t be stuck with the hope chest.

Chapter 17: Toby is driven home by Danny to find Devin waiting on her doorstep. Devin administers to Toby’s latest wounds and they sleep together, Devin trying to convince her to give up her hunt.

Chapter 18: Toby is fired from Safeway for being no call-no show. She can’t make herself care given everything going on. A doppleganger posing as Gillian visits and attacks Toby, who wants to believe her daughter is ready to make amends. Dare and Manuel come to the rescue and Dare kills the doppleganger with her iron knife, but in the attack Toby is yet again injured.

Chapter 19-20:They take her to Home, where Devin yells at the kids for slacking on guard duty. He tries to persuade Toby to give up her hunt for Evening’s killer, which she physically cannot do even if she wanted to. Dare asks how Toby met Devin, and Toby recalls how he rescued her from the streets as a teenager. She encourages Dare to break free of Devin, but Dare brushes her off. Devin tells Toby that he will send word to Sylvester that she is safe. Toby learns that Devin called in a favor from the Luidaeg to heal her.

Chapter 21: Toby, Manuel, and Dare head to Goldengreen to investigate further. She runs into Connor, who was sent by Sylvester, and discovers that Devin lied about updating the Duke. She makes Connor cut himself to prove he is not another doppelganger, identifying him by the scent of his blood and magic. Toby suggests that Raysel might be the killer, and they again acknowledge their mutual attraction even though Toby refuses to let Connor cheat on Raysel. They realize they are not alone in Goldengreen, and in fleeing they accidentally jump off a cliff into the ocean. Connor uses his selkie abilities to rescue Toby from panic-drowning as she flashes back to the pond.

Chapter 22: Dare and Manuel find them on the shore and they return to Shadowed Hills. Luna agrees to give the teens sanctuary. She also recognizes that Toby has been healed by the Luidaeg and tells Toby she must visit the Luidaeg to learn how to escape Evening’s binding. The rose goblin shows her the way.

Chapter 23: The Luidaeg introduces herself, shows Toby a vision of Maeve’s Firstborn, and identifies herself as one of them. Toby barters Evening’s key for the answers to her questions. She learns that hope chests can turn changelings fully human and that Devin has future plans for Toby. Toby does not ask her final question, which leaves the Luidaeg furiously in her debt.

Chapter 24: Back at home, Toby names the rose goblin Spike; the cats have warily accepted its presence. Toby asks Cagney and Lacey to bring her to Tybalt, being his subjects, and they grudgingly take her to the Court of Cats. She asks Tybalt for the bloody shirt he had worn at the park, and Julie attacks her because she blames Toby for Ross’s death. Tybalt asserts dominance over Julie, gives Toby the shirt, and tells Toby to leave as Julie continues to struggle.

Chapter 26: Toby seeks Lily’s help to reawaken the blood on Tybalt’s shirt. Lily tries unsuccessfully to dissuade Toby from riding the blood, and Toby learns that Devin is Evening’s killer. The binding nearly lulls Toby into a peaceful death, but Lily snaps her out of it. Danny takes Toby to Home where she confronts Devin. He says he killed Evening so he could use the hope chest to become a pureblood. He wishes Toby had come back to him, then orders Manuel to shoot her. Manuel hesitates and he, Dare, Devin, and Toby fight. Devin kills Dare. Manuel kills Devin.

Chapter 27: Sylvester and Shadowed Hills arrive for cleanup. Dare is buried. The hope chest is returned to the Queen, who is now in Toby’s debt. Toby accepts her place in the world of the fae.

My Thoughts:

I had seen several reviewers who were long time fans of this series (it's up to book 14 or 15 I think?) and from what they had written, it sounded very interesting. I knew this was Urban Fantasy, a genre I have a VERY mixed relationship with, but was hoping it would stay away from the tropes that have driven me away from the genre in general. Unfortunately, as you can tell from the rating I gave the book, this read didn't work out as I was hoping it would.

This was the very definition of female urban fantasy as far as I'm concerned. Everything that bugs the living daylights out of me about UF was here, in spades.

• Spunky, full of attitude woman

• multiple love interests from the past

• family drama ramped up to 11

• poor decisions by the main character leading to drama ramped up to 20

• main character “taking care of herself” even while being rescued by others over and over and over

• did I mention attitude coupled with bad decisions?

• Bad Decisions

• doing things for the good of others without asking them, talking to them about it or in any way seeing if it actually IS good for them

• alienating family, friends and pretty much anyone who could help in the name of being spunky and full of attitude

And that's enough for me. I will not read a main character who acts stupidly, gets away with it because of authorial fiat and then gets to call it “I can take care of myself” bullshit. Toby Daye (the titular character's named shortened obviously) is exactly the kind of character who I hate. Not the kind of character I love to hate, or love to hate and read about, but simply hate.

I hated almost every page I read and seriously thought about DNF'ing this at the 9% mark. I guess I fell into the trap of thinking that this couldn't possibly stay this bad and so kept reading. By the end, I was seething on the inside, almost frothing on the outside and felt like I had wasted my time. Even Psychic Grandma rattled her chains at me for being so dumb as to go all the way to the end. Considering I never listen to her about her ironing tips, I wasn't about to start with “reading advice” from her either though.

The only good thing is that at under 300 pages I didn't invest much time and I can now get rid of the whole series from my tbr list. 13'ish books gone in one fell swoop and able to add another series to my reading rotation.

If the bullet list of things sound like something you'd like, then go for it and may you find more joy than I did.

★☆☆☆☆

The Bible: The One Year Chronological New Living Translation

 

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 & Bookype by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Bible: The One Year Chronological New Living Translation
Author: Jehovah
Pages: 1720
Words: 789K

Synopsis:

This takes the Bible, all 66 books, and chunks them up by Chapter and Verse into what this set of scholars believe is chronological order. This is translated in the New Living Translation which really isn't a translation but an “interpretation”. It's intent is to be an easy to read and understand version without worrying about literal interpretation.

My Thoughts:

I'm obviously not rating this but that is because I'm not putting the Word of God on the same level as some book written by men. This review is more about the translation, the chronology and the setup of this version of the Bible itself.

I've been reading my Bible through each year since I was 12 or 13. I slacked off for a decade in my mid-20's until my mid-30's and have started again. Mrs B and I read each section each morning or evening and then we talk about what we read, what we thought about it and what we got from it. As such, the One Year line of Bibles have been wonderful, as they're internally divided up by date and we don't have to refer to a external reading chart. Another thing that is important to us is having wide margins to write in, as we don't want notebooks either. We always look for extra wide margins when choosing which Bible to read through for the next year. This had those and we wrote in them a lot. The only downside is that they would sometimes take up an entire margin with one verse from that day's reading and have lots of cutesy little pictures around it. It was extremely frustrating to want to write something and not have the room because some artsy fartsy jackass decided that the margins needed to be filled up by them instead of leaving them open for the reader.

This NLT version was also a nice change up in the version we read. We tend to read as literally as possible and as such use the New King James, the New American Standard and the English Standard Version with a smattering of others as needed. While neither of us would ever study with a version like this, it was good for trying to get something in a new perspective. If you've never read a Bible before, this might be the version to introduce you but it should never be the one you stick with. Just like baby food is perfect for babies and adults CAN eat it, adults need adult food eventually.

Reading chronologically was also a bit different. There are times where histories are repeated throughout the Bible in different books. It is much easier to read them separated than one after another. There were times when we read the same instance 3 times (some of the histories recorded in Kings, Chronicle and either Isaiah or Jeremiah for example) and our eyes kind of glazed over. Speaking of eyes glazing over, the amount they put into each day really seemed to vary. Sometimes you'd read 1 ½ pages and other days you'd read 5 or 6. I found it extremely frustrating to never know how much time I was going to need. There were times Mrs B had to warn me “Long one today. Be prepared” and I would groan deep within myself.

I realize I'm complaining here but it is about issues that are specific to this particular Bible, not the Bible itself. Please don't think I'm complaining about the Bible itself.

We finished this up in September and it has taken a little bit to find our next one. For this time through we're going with the New International Version Journal the Word edition. It is not a One Year Bible so we're going to be using one of the traditional charts for that. It does however have very wide margins and I didn't see one artsy-fartsy drawing in the whole thing. That should balance out it being the NIV (which is another “interpretation” instead of a true translation).

Turning Point (Galaxy's Edge #7) ★★★★☆

 

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 & Bookhype by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Turning Point
Series: Galaxy's Edge #7
Author: Jason Anspach & Nick Cole
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF/Space Opera
Pages: 251
Words: 86K

Synopsis:

From Galaxysedge.fandom.com

On the planet Wayste, Aeson Keel and Ravi encounter a pair of Black Fleet shock troopers while exhuming the remains of Kael Maydoon. One of the troopers is Exo, who used to serve under Keel during his time as Captain Aeson “Wraith” Ford in the 131st Republic Legion. Exo takes the opportunity to air a few grievances about Wraith’s conduct as a legionnaire and argue over who gets to keep Maydoon’s hand (Exo does, but Keel keeps one of the fingers). Exo invites himself and an unconscious Sgt. Bombassa to ride in the Indelible VI on their way to rescue Keel’s crew. When he wakes, Exo assures Bombassa that Ford can be trusted enough to get them to their destination. Keel refuses to take sides in the war between the Republic and the fledgling Empire, but agrees to provide transport to the Cresweil Bazaar on Porcha.

The Zhee, armed with new Republic ships and equipment, continue their spree against the Republic. Phasia, the capital city of the wealthy resort world Demetrion, is one such target, and is destroyed by a planet-cracker explosive device after Zhee gunners bombard it from orbit despite heavy legion resistance. The event comes to be known as the Sack of Phasia.

Back on Utopion, Legion Commander Keller and his adjutant, Colonel Speich meet X who informs him that his life is in danger and that he needs to communicate grave news: the House of Reason has turned over Fortress Gibraltaar on Ankalor to the Zhee as well as ten new battlecruisers and new legionnaire-style personal armor. This new equipment will make the Zhee a regional power in the Republic which Delegate Orrin Kaar and his allies believe they can manipulate. X tells Keller that it’s time for him to enact Article 19 of the Republic Constitution, which will give the Legion full control over the Republic government for six months, which it can use to dismantle the corrupt House of Reason and call for new elections. Dealing with the Zhee will provide political cover to manage the crisis.

Back aboard the Mercutio, Keller announces his intention to invoke Article 19 as a response to the House of Reason’s Grand Council’s decision to elevate the Zhee to a de facto regional power in the galaxy. Combined with certain delegates’ clandestine criminal activity with regards to the Mid-Core Rebellion, it represents a clear and present danger to the Galactic Republic’s political integrity. A vote by top legion officers is taken and passes. They agree to support Keller’s plan. The operation to defang the Zhee and clean up the government is known as Turning Point. This will involve pulling legions from disparate sections of the galaxy and form them into a new corp to lead the attack on Ankalor. General Hannubal, aka The Bloody Wolf, who has a reputation for utter ruthlessness on the battlefield is chosen to command the attack. Keller and Hannubal meet to plan the campaign.

Back on the Intrepid, Captain Chhun is faced with replacing empty slots on Victory Squad. Keel contacts him with news of locating Exo and his current allegiance to Goth Sullus, and their impending destination: the Cybar fleet. Chhun takes the news poorly. Aboard the Indelible VI, Keel, Exo, and Bombassa go over their decisions to leave the legion and examine their current loyalties. Keel decides the two shock troopers know their business and is willing to work with them against the Cybar, if it means getting his crew back.

On the Intrepid, Chhun and Owens compare notes about Ford’s intelligence gathering activity. Owens has another assignment for Victory Squad, as an infiltration unit to hit Ankalor while the main fleet attacks Fortress Gibraltaar. Chhun begs off to help Keel with his mission.

News of the attack plan filters throughout the fleet; Kill Team Zenith will infiltrate Ankalor and take down the fortress’s defense shields while the main attack will storm the fortress and take out the planetary defense shield. An orbital bombardment can finish the job of eliminating the facility. The combined forces of the Republic Army, Navy, and Marines will then perform a planet-wide landing operation and take control of its cities.

Keel and Ravi spend the next few days on the Indelible VI posing as potential recruits to learn as much as possible about the Black Fleet and its component parts from the shock troopers. Keel decides the Black Fleet is not be a viable replacement for the legion or the Republic. He does learn about General Nero’s plan to be on Tusca and contacts Harvel Keene to watch for the Black Fleet officer. They plan to catch up to Nero on Olik, and inform Chhun of his timetable.

Chhun takes the news of Nero’s travels to Captain Deynolds, Owen, and Keller and they judge that capturing Nero justifies sending Victory Squad on the mission. Op approved, despite Keller’s disappointment that Victory will not be the infiltration team involved in Turning Point.

The mission above Olik to capture Nero is a slugfest, pitting the Intrepid and her Raptor Strike Squadron 101 against the Black Fleet frigate Monstrous. During the fight, Nero’s shuttle is captured and pulled aboard the Intrepid while the Monstrous is destroyed. Nero effectively surrenders himself.

Keel arrives on Porcha with Exo and Bombassa in tow to deal with Gannon, an arms dealer with ties to the MCR. Keel and Ravi observe Gannon lifting a load of weapons and armor from a docked Black Fleet transport ship. Keel and the two shock troopers, in an attempt to intercept Gannon and the stolen gear are led into a running gun battle and speeder chase through the streets of the Bazaar. Only Ravi’s picking the men up in the Indelible VI saves them from death.

On Utopion, X returns to his office at the Carnivale and wonders how to manage the current situation: preventing the actions between the Dark Legion, the MCR, and the Republic Legion from blowing up into a galactic civil war. He contacts Orrin Kaar and informs him of Keller’s plans to invoke Article 19 and dissolve the current government.

The Dark Ops stealth shuttle Night Stalker is hit by anti-aircraft fire on approach to the planet and crashes in the slums of Ankalor City, killing most of Kill Team Zenith while the first platoon of Shadow Company crosses the Gordan wastes dressed as nomads in order to infiltrate and shut down the air defense towers of Fortress Gibraltaar. Platoon snipers successfully kill most but not all of the tower observers. The alarm is sounded and everything goes to hell. A series of brutal engagements occur along the hallways and upper floors of defense tower four. The battle continues to rage as the assault carrier Hurricane (lead ship of Task Force Whirlwind) enters the planet’s atmosphere.

Task Force Whirlwind (assault carriers Sirocco, Typhoon, and Hurricane and associated troops and gear) comes in hot and ready for action but General Hannubal decides that the Zhee have been tipped off, t judge by the extremely heavy resistance the assault carriers meet on their way to the surface. Learning that Kill Team Zenith’s shuttle was shot down only confirms this suspicion. While preparations for the assault continue, Shadow Company tries to carry out its mission in defense tower four.

What follows is a clash of empires that eventually becomes known as the Battle of the Blind, where legionnaires are blinded by SMAFF clouds as they engage their equally limited Zhee defenders. The Zhee hold extensive trench networks, bunkers, pillboxes, and other hardened structures as the legionnaires do their best to dig out the defenders. The legion advances the hard way, one trench at a time, at a savage cost in time and lives.

Having accepted General Nero’s surrender the Intrepid speeds to Ankalor space. Major Owens learns that legionnaire Trident is the sole survivor of KT Zenith and orders a quick response team to his position, while contacting Chhun who now has to take up Zenith’s mission: destroy Ankalor's planetary defense shield.

Task Force Grinder, a legionnaire response team composed of combat sleds for transport and main battle tanks for support, battle bureaucracy from the point commanding their FOB, Camp Rex, and leave to support Trident. Zhee insurgents attack the column from alleyways and the shadows.

In the skies over Ankalor, the First Expeditionary Legion Fleet meets the fleet of Zhee battlecruisers (really Republic ships with Zhee crews). Happily for the Legion (and bad for the Zhee) the Aegis fire control system utilized by the legion ships works correctly and several Zhee ships are destroyed outright by concentrated fire. The Zhee formation breaks, and the legion fleet unleashes hell on their opponents. The Zhee fleet heads into hyperspace to buy time.

On Ankalor, officers from task Force Grinder break into the regional control center and convince two on-site contractors to help them blow up the defense shield surrounding Fortress Gibraltaar. The explosion is heard for miles as the shield comes down, even while the planetary shield remains in place.

Owens and Chhun prepare their rescue mission as the battle rages around the fortress. Ultimately they decide to ride a set of planetary defense drones down to the surface, carried part of the way by the Raptor squadron Gothic Serpents. Victory Squad meets up with the quick response force on the surface.

Back at Fortress Gibraltar, General Hannubal tasks Captain Besson with the mission of killing the Zhee war chief, Karshack Bum Kali, by combining surviving units and their equipment into a new unit: Dog Company. Dog Company fights its way through fifteen linked trenches at extreme cost and then come out the other side to see that more Zhee reinforcements have filled the trenches they’ve just fought through, surrounding them.

General Hannubal’s staff notices that new contacts are approaching the fortress from the desert, light speeders with Zhee bent on attack runs at the legionnaires. The grounded assault carrier Hurricane manages to dispatch large numbers of them while taking damage of its own. Hannubal orders the Tornado and Sirocco to his position for support and to prevent the Zhee from boarding the grounded carriers.

Dog Company penetrates further into the Zhee defenses and encounters the Crimson Knives, Zhee assassins who specialize in blind-fighting. Fighting past them costs more lives. Finally PFC Huzu climbs up to a mounted N-42 blaster and turns it on the defenders, cracking open Bum Kali’s bunker only to find that he was never in the fortress, but was hiding in the slums where he vows to never be taken alive.

A last Zhee bomb-jockey drives his speeder, laden with explosives, into the carrier Hurricane, dropping the ship and killing Hannubal.

In the House of Reason audience chamber Delegate Orrin Kaar announces a purging of the apparently treasonous legion, and also a peace treaty between the Republic and the leader of the Mid-Core Rebellion, putting an end to the fighting.

The First Expeditionary Legion Fleet, in orbit above Ankalor, confirms Hannubal’s KIA status and the de facto destruction of Fortress Gibraltaar. Kill Team Victory is engaged with local Zhee and is tasked with locating and eliminating Karshack Bum Kali while Task Force Grinder heads back to FOB Camp Rex. After a series of raids and firefights in the slums of Ankalor City, Bum Kali is located and subdued. KT Victory is exfiltrated with their prisoner.

The mop-up at Fortress Gibraltaar continues as Sgt. Major MakRaven reports his losses to the remaining officers.

Bum Kali, now aboard the Mercutio insists that he is a political prisoner and is entitled to release and restitution. Legion Commander Keller disagrees with this assessment, informing Bum Kali that since the House of Reason was dissolved, he has no rights, and with the legion dealing with the Black Fleet, any ideas he had about restitution are invalid. Keller executes Bum Kali on the spot.

My Thoughts:

Wanna know a secret? I only include those huge synopses to increase my average wordcount for my posts. I have discovered that posts with 500 words or less don't get as many views, likes or comments as ones that are over 500. And yet, even with reviews like this and the Wheel of Time synopses, I'm still under 700. I guess I can just say more with less! ;-)

This was just another fantastic entry in the Galaxys Edge series. There is a character, one of the Nether Ops leaders who thinks he knows better than everyone else how things should be, who manipulates events so that the Legion is betrayed even while still accomplishing their goals. He wanted to weaken all sides and it made me so mad that I had to put the book down for a bit. That shows some good writing right there!

Another aspect, which I can't remember if I've talked about before or not, is that Goth Sullus is barely playing a part. At first, I found myself wanting to read more about him but then I realized that when I was reading the Star Wars Extended Universe books one of the complaints from a majority of the fans (myself included) was the inclusion of too many force users. Where were the regular people that made up the galaxy, we all complained. Well, Anspach and Cole have done just that and yet it took me a minute to really appreciate that. Sometimes fans don't know what they actually want :-/

There was a great big battle scene with the Legion attacking the fortress of Gibraltar. We got it from infiltration to the end where the Commander of the Entire Legion shoots the Zhee Warlord in the face during interrogation and kills him. It was refreshing to see authors admit that there are just bad people and bad cultures that deserve to be stomped out.

There are only 2 more books in this “Season One” of Galaxy's Edge. Season Two has started and is currently being written out. I'm thinking I'll track down some of the spin off series and read those while I wait for Season 2 to be completed. It took Anspach and Cole about 18'ish months to write the 9 books, so I'm hoping Season Two follows the same trajectory.

★★★★☆

• All My "Galaxy's Edge" Reviews

The Private Life of Elder Things ★★★★☆

 

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 & Bookype by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Private Life of Elder Things
Series: ----------
Editor: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Cosmic Horror
Pages: 207
Words: 77.5K

Synopsis:

Publisher's Blurb

From the wastes of the sea to the shadows of our own cities, we are not alone. But what happens where the human world touches the domain of races ancient and alien? Museum curators, surveyors, police officers, archaeologists, mathematicians; from derelict buildings to country houses to the London Underground, another world is just a breath away, around the corner, watching and waiting for you to step into its power. The Private Life of Elder Things is a collection of new Lovecraftian fiction about confronting, discovering and living alongside the creatures of the Mythos.

With stories from Adrian Tchaikovsky, Keris McDonald and Adam Gauntlett

My Thoughts:

This was a fantastic little read. I only have one quibble, which is why this got 4 stars instead of 5. One of the stories deals with a ghoul and ghouls reproduce by necrophilia. It wasn't the main part of the story and isn't revealed until the end, but it just made me go “Oh, that is disgusting!” and wonder if I'd made a mistake in picking the book up. Thankfully, nothing like that is repeated.

I'm a sucker for short story collections. Something about an author distilling a story down to just a couple of pages, or even up to 20'ish, works really well for me. Now, I can't read just ONE short story. I won't sit down and read one short story all by itself. So short stories that are online only (like the Powder Mage short stories were before McClellan put them altogether in one book) are a complete no-go for me. But give me a collection and bam, I'm eating that stuff with 2 spoons, 3 forks and a bottle of ketchup!

I also have a soft spot for cosmic horror. As long as it's done well and doesn't rely only on violence and profanity to shock the reader. The Rites of Azathoth was such a book and when I started this collection I was a little afraid that that was what I might be getting. Thankfully, I got some good writing and some excellently shivery stories. Just what I wanted and expected from a book with a title like this!

One thing to be aware of is some of the limey slang. One of the stories especially seemed to be deliberately written so as to be incomprehensible to anyone outside the shores of Albion. If I hadn't read the movie review of The Sweeney a couple of months ago, I'd have been totally lost. Gor blimey govnah, the Sweeney is doing a real snazzertowsin. Ok, I made that up, but for that one story I felt like I had to get half the story from context instead of the actual words.

If Tchaikovsky were to put out another collection like this, I'd definitely be interested. But without his name I doubt I'd try something by the other two authors.

★★★★☆

[Manga Monday] Yotsuba&! Vol. 3 ★★★★★

 

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 & Bookhype by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Yotsuba&! Vol. 3
Series: Yotsuba&! #3
Author: Kiyohiko Azuma
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 176
Words: 8K

Synopsis:

Chapter List:

Yotsuba & Gifts

Yotsuba & Asagi

Yotsuba & Flowers

Yotsuba & Obon

Yotsuba & the Elephant

Yotsuba & the Fireworks Display?

Yotsuba & the Fireworks Display!

My Thoughts:

Another completely fantastic entry. I think part of why I enjoy this so much is because Azuma is writing this to amuse his readers and not really bothering with an overarching plot. I can simply put up my mental feet and just be amused with no thought process needed. While I don't want with every book I read, a couple of times a month is just perfect.

I find it so amusing that Jumbo is using Yotsuba to try to interact with one of the neighbor girls that he's interested in. And every time it goes wrong and yet he won't do it himself. It is also extremely understated and doesn't try to take over. THAT would ruin this.

Azuma simply does a great job of showing every day things, like elephants, through the eyes of a child who has never seen them before. And there is no filter. Man, I love that, it's hilarious. I think this picture encapsulates this most thoroughly.

★★★★★

• All of My "Yotsuba&!" Reviews

Gilded Latten Bones (Garrett, PI #13) ★★★☆☆

 

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 & Bookhype by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Gilded Latten Bones
Series: Garrett, PI #13
Author: Glen Cook
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 348
Words: 101K

Synopsis:

Garrett's taking a stab at domestic bliss with the fiery Tinnie Tate, who tells him just how high to jump. He's even sworn off his investigations, causing the criminal element no end of joy. Then he waylays a pair of home intruders in the middle of the night and learns they've been paid to kidnap Tinnie. But even they are not quite sure who hired them.

Not many in TunFaire have the brawn -- or lack of brains -- to tangle with the Tate clan., But as Garrett rushes to find out who is suffering from a deadly attack of hubris, he learns he's not the only one with unwanted callers: His best friend, Morley Dotes -- a half elf of stunning good looks and dubious moral fiber -- has been attacked and left for dead. Now Garrett has to track down both malefactors.

Unless they're really one and the same -- in which case Garrett might be next.

Turns out Morley saw the Royal Carriage where he shouldn't, at a completely evil necromancer's place and the King was the customer. With pressure from Tinnie to stay out of it, to a royal decree by Prince Rupert to stay out of it and all of his friends telling him to stay out of it, Garrett stays out of it.

Yeah. He nurses Morley back to health, is the mastermind at the hub of a ring of informants (because the Deadman is pretty much out of commission by a confrontation with the evil necromancers) and defies both Law, King and the Criminal Queen to get to the bottom of it all.

In the end, Tinnie leaves Garrett because she can't stand sharing him with his friends or his job and Garrett wastes no time jumping in bed with one of the Sorceress's from the Hill. Garrett also realizes that he isn't the “beat” detective he used to be and his actions affect a whole slew of people, so no hairing off to get clubbed on the head just for the heck of it.

My Thoughts:

I actually enjoyed this for the most part. Except for 2 parts. First, Garrett is as big a lech as ever and I'm not even referring to the Sorceress, but almost every other lady. Second, Tinnie and Garrett's breakup just rang of Cook wanting to try something new and making each of them behave in ways that simply don't fit with how they've acted previously. Sure, Tinnie is bossie and Garrett has known her all his life, but that's not enough of a reason for them to simply call it quits. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of the last season of the tv show “Frasier”. Frasier, the main character, has been searching for a romantic partner since the beginning of the show and suddenly in the last season, she appears and is shoe-horned into the story. That's how this felt. Not natural but shoe-horned.

Other than those 2 items, this was as confusing as ever :-D I had no idea who the bad guys where, what they wanted, why they were doing what they were or why they even existed. Thankfully, I'm an old hand at this kind of read and simply sat back and let the author reveal things when he thought it was time, even if it was stupid.

Garrett has become a powerful enough entity in Tun Faire that he essentially can tell the Crown Prince to shove it and the Crown Prince can't do much. Garrett is connected with powerful people, on all sides of the legal spectrum and he's not afraid to use those connections.

With only one more book to go, we'll have to see how Cook wraps things up. The Deadman obviously has to leave, Garrett doesn't need him anymore but I don't see where he'll go. Garrett is going to hook up with Miss Sorceress and the money will keep rolling in from his investments managed by the rat girl. Everything is going to get wrapped up, I just hope it's not too quick a wrap up like the change in this book between Garrett and Tinnie.

★★★☆☆

• All My "Garrett, PI" Reviews

The Copper Assassin (Tales of Wyverna #1) ★★★☆☆

 

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 & Bookype by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Copper Assassin
Series: Tales of Wyverna #1
Author: Madolyn Rogers
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 238
Words: 88K

Synopsis:

Gorbo Oribul, a young rich spoiled youngling of a semi-important house, has too much time on his hands. When the pleasures that keep his peers occupied begin to pale for him, he starts looking elsewhere. When an assignation with a water wizards leads him to overhearing of a plot to destroy the ruler of the city of Wyvernia, Gorbo starts down a path he can never turn back from.

Having found out that an unstoppable magical construct, known as the Copper Assassin, has been recovered from a city that destroyed itself using the Assassin, Gorbo must figure out how to stop the assassin from killing the Warlord and plunging Wyvernia into civil war and utter ruin.

Overcoming many odds, picking up a magical spider sidekick, making his way through magical obstacles, Gorbo is able to warn the Warlord. She in turns uses the confusion of events to take down the usurper, control the construct and recruit Gorbo into her ranks.

The book ends with Gorbo realizing he's entered a phase of life that he desperately wants to escape from. The problem is the only way to escape is to go deeper into the system setup by the Warlord.

My Thoughts:

This was an “ok” read. I have a bad feeling I'm reaching that stage of life where I'm starting to see more and more of “read that, been there”. This had some cool ideas and while the world building was a bit rough nothing in it turned me off. But it just felt like I've read it all before.

I'm going to lump all my negatives in one paragraph, just so it doesn't seem I'm doing nothing but ragging on this book. First off, Gorbo gets break after break and it really bothered me. Plus, at 18 he's preternaturally wise. Then there was this couple of sentences and one in particular really bothered me:

Gorgo prowled forward, nerves on edge. No sound startled him, no shadow moved, yet the frozen deathliness of that place only frayed his nerves more. The view around him never changed. The icy glob of light never neared. Hairs prickled along the back of his neck, and sweat chilled his skin.

Can you pick out the offending sentence? I asked Mrs B, our household's resident holder of a Bachelors English Lit degree and she said it was technically correct. It felt like fingernails on a chalkboard to me though. Finally, the Copper Assassin is described as a female even when in construct form. I'm including a high res cover at the end of this review because it is so awesome. Does that look in anyway what you'd describe as female? Nothing in the book description led me to the conclusion that it was female and while covers usually lie their backsides off, I'm still choosing to say the cover adequately shows the Copper Assassin.

Most of the good stuff was more like “not bad” stuff. For an indie book, I noticed no errors nor did the writing throw me out of the story. Gorbo (Mr Gorbo, TEAR DOWN THAT WALL! Hahahahahhahaa) was fleshed out enough as a character that he had zero cardboard attached to him. He wasn't an idea of a character but WAS a character. Sometimes indies seem to have problems with that, but not here thankfully. The little magical spider was a good touch and wasn't the least bit creepy.

To end, if there had been more books immediately available (this was released this past March I believe) I would have read them. As it is, I'll wait a couple of years to see what else Mrs Rogers produces in this series. Hopefully I'll remember :-/

I'd like to thank Off the TBR for bringing this book to my attention. He showcased it in a Book Haul and the cover immediately caught my eye. I don't think he's reviewed it but I couldn't find any way to search his site to confirm one way or another.

★★★☆☆

Whose Body? (Lord Peter Wimsey #1) ★★★☆☆

 

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: Whose Body?
Series: Lord Peter Wimsey #1
Author: Dorothy Sayers
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 164
Words: 64K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia.com

Thipps, an architect, finds a dead body wearing nothing but a pair of pince-nez in the bath of his London flat. Lord Peter Wimsey—a nobleman who has recently developed an interest in criminal investigation as a hobby—resolves to investigate the matter privately. Leading the official investigation is Inspector Sugg, who suggests that the body may be that of the famous financier Sir Reuben Levy, who disappeared from his bedroom in mysterious circumstances the night before. Sir Reuben's disappearance is in the hands of Inspector Charles Parker, a friend of Wimsey's. Although the body in the bath superficially resembles that of Sir Reuben, it quickly becomes clear that it is not him, and it appears that the cases may be unconnected. Wimsey joins Parker in his investigation.

Thipps's flat is near a teaching hospital, and Wimsey considers the possibility that the unexpected appearance of a body may have been the result of a joke perpetrated by one of the medical students. However, that is excluded by evidence given at the inquest by the respected surgeon and neurologist Sir Julian Freke, who states that there was no subject missing from his dissecting room.

A prostitute's chance encounter with Levy on the night of his disappearance, on the road leading to the hospital and to Sir Julian Freke's house next door, provides Wimsey with the clue that allows him to link the two cases. Freke maintains that he was discreetly being consulted by Levy about a medical problem, and that Levy left at about 10pm. Freke's manservant reports that Freke was inexplicably taking a bath at about 3 o'clock the following morning, judging from the noise of the cistern.

Wimsey ultimately discovers that Freke murdered Sir Reuben after luring him to his house with the promise of some inside financial information. Freke smuggled the body out onto the roof under cover of the cistern noise, took it into the hospital, and substituted it for that of a pauper who had been donated for dissection by the local workhouse. He then visited Sir Reuben's home to stage his disappearance, returned, carried the pauper's body over the flat roofs of the nearby houses and placed it in Thipps' bath, entering via a bathroom window that had been left open. As a joke, he added a pair of pince-nez that had by chance come into his possession. Returning to the hospital, he prepared Sir Reuben's body for dissection, giving it to his medical students for that purpose the next day.

Freke unsuccessfully attempts to murder both Parker and Wimsey. When it becomes clear that his actions have been discovered, he prepares a written confession of his long-held desire for revenge: many years earlier, he hoped to marry the woman who later became Lady Levy, but she chose Sir Reuben in preference to him. He also intended to substantiate his own theory of mind, in which conscience, a sense of responsibility and so on are merely "surface symptoms" which arise from physical irritation or damage to the tissues of the brain. As he completes the confession the police arrive to arrest him, preventing his suicide just in time.

My Thoughts:

Back at the tail end of 2018, I wrapped up my read of the Brother Cadfael series, a Medieval Mystery series that I enjoyed for the most part. Since then, outside of my one attempt to read PD James' Adam Dalgiesh mysteries, my mystery reading has consisted of the Arcane Casebook series and Garrett, PI, both of which are as much fantasy as mystery. Dalgliesh (and James) horrified me with its tawdry revoltingness, Arcane Casebook I'm up to date on and waiting for the next book and the end of Garrett PI is soon approaching. I was therefore on the lookout for another pure mystery series I could get into. I did consider Sherlock Holmes, especially after Savage Dave's excellent read through semi-recently, but for some reason it just didn't grab me; maybe because I'm already re-reading so much and wanted something completely new? I don't know, but Sherlock was out.

Somehow or other, I came across some references to Lord Peter Wimsey. There are a couple of ladies I follow who are into Mysteries and Golden Age stuff (namely, Themis, Brokentune and MurderbyDeath), so I'm sure it was one of them. For all I know it might have even been some offhand reference in the comments. I wish I could track it down. Needless to say, I have started this series and with a 3star start, it is looking quite promising.

This did not feel like a first in a series kind of novel. It is obvious that most of the characters have prior history with each other and Sayers' doles out the hints like she was a true New England Yankee (ie, miser). But the first it is and you just have to suck it up and soldier on.

Peter is Bertie Wooster, except smart. He even has a butler who is quite competent. Bunter the Butler. Say that 5 times fast. If Jeeves wasn't quite so smart and had been a sergeant in the British Army, then he'd be Bunter. Peter Wimsey, who I shall try to refer to simply as Wimsey in the rest of my reviews, is obviously suffering from shell shock and nerves and Sayers makes the most out of by making her detective character have a bit of weakness and humanity. He's no Sherlock Holmes able to bend steel pokers. There's one scene where Wimsey is having flashback nightmares to the Great War and Bunter has to talk him down. It was refreshing and distracting because it was so out of the ordinary for a mystery novel in my opinion. Does mean that Wimsey has great potential as a character.

The biggest reason this is gettin' just 3 stars instead of more is because of Sayers makin' Wimsey, and his older brother the Duke, drop their “g”s when talkin'. Very distractin' don't you know, especially when it is ongoin' for the whole book. It bugged the everlivin' daylights out of me and I'm really hopin' Sayers tones it down in later books. Just sayin'.....

★★★☆☆

The Armour of Contempt (WH40K: Gaunt's Ghosts #10) ★★★☆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 & Bookhype by Bookstooge’s
Exalted Permission

Title: The Armour of Contempt
Series: WH40K: Gaunt's Ghosts #10
Author: Dan Abnett
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 340
Words: 92K

Synopsis:

This is the story of the liberation of Gereon. The book starts out by introducing us to a new character, Dalin Criid, the adopted son of Tona. He's going through training and the plan is for him to get into the Ghosts once he graduates.

The Ghosts, along with a bunch of others, are tasked to retake the planet Gereon. It turns out High Command thinks there is something special about Gereon that resists Chaos and they hope to discover what that is and to replicate it.

Dalin is not sent to the Ghosts and must endure his trial by fire with a lowly group of reject Guards. He survives but hears the voice of his adopted father Caffron several times giving him advice which saves his life.

The Ghosts are tasked with retaking a small village and establishing contact with the remnants of the Resistance. High Command then imprisons all of the resistance to test them for the ability to resist Chaos. There is nothing Gaunt can do. At the end of the book, when the Ghosts are leaving, the Resistance is spirited away by the remaining Ghost Resistance scout MkVenner and head off into the wilderness to hide and survive.

My Thoughts:

I think this was the grimmest Gaunt's Ghosts book yet. Dalin being introduced as a character and his trying experience, we really get to see how the men in the trenches experience warfare. They're cannon fodder, nothing else. We also get to experience a Commisar that is more typical than Gaunt. Both of these experiences make the reader realize just how unusual both the Ghosts and Gaunt are.

I guess this was a contrast book. So far the Ghosts series hasn't been that grimdark and I've almost slid into thinking that maybe the Warhmmer40k Universe wasn't that bad. This was a stark reminder that yes, it is a horrible place and even the supposed Good Guys aren't really Good Guys, they're just not as horrific as Chaos. Heck, if I was even a semi-powerful force I'd be trying to liberate my own corner to live in. Feth the Emperor and feth Chaos. In my system every child would have a pony, there would Free Pizza Friday every Friday, all the woman would wear long skirts, all the men would have curly beards and wear suspenders and we'd all sing Nordic'ish songs with lots of “j”s in the words.

But back to THIS book. Caffran dying at the end, at the hands of a terrified child, well, that just was the grimmest part. The person he was trying to save is the one who kills him seems to hold the very essence of what Warhmmer40k is all about. I'm just thankful all the books haven't been like that and I hope the rest aren't. We'll see though.

★★★☆½

• All My "Gaunt's Ghosts" Reviews