Great belated addition to the “Big Read” hosted by Lansing Community Library from my uncle.
Tag: book reviews
Book reviews written by me and originally posted via GoodReads, then re-posted as blog entries at WordPress and Blogger.
Book Review: Clash of Eagles by Smale (3.5 stars)
by Alan Smale
Good but not great.
As other reviewer(s) have noted, this ends up being a one-man show almost exclusively – Marcellinus, the Praetor of the XXXIII Legion, marching west across the Appallacians towards the mighty Mississippi years before Horace Greeley penned the phrase “Go West, young man.” The Romans, and their Norse scouts, encounter various Native Americans with startlingly advanced technology for a stone-age culture lacking even the wheel*.
Marcellinus is the only truly fleshed out character. All others – Romans, Norsemen, Native Americans – are barely cardboard cutouts in comparison. Some of the Cahokians, in the latter half of the book, get more interesting, but not by much.
Continue reading “Book Review: Clash of Eagles by Smale (3.5 stars)”
Book Review: Judy by Lewis (3.5 stars)
Judy: A Dog in a Million by Damien Lewis
Read in late November 2014
Publisher’s Synopsis:
British bestselling author Damien Lewis is an award-winning journalist who has spent twenty years reporting from war, disaster, and conflict zones. Now Lewis brings his first-rate narrative skills to bear on the inspiriting tale of Judy–an English pointer who perhaps was the only canine prisoner of war.
After being bombed and shipwrecked repeatedly while serving for several wild and war-torn years as a mascot of the World War II Royal Navy Yangtze river gunboats the Gnat and the Grasshopper, Judy ended up in Japanese prisoner of war camps in North Sumatra. Along with locals as slave labor, the American, Australian, and British POWs were forced to build a 1,200-mile single-track railroad through the most horrifying jungles and treacherous mountain passes. Like the one immortalized in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai, this was the other death-railroad building project where POWs slaved under subhuman conditions.
In the midst of this living hell was a beautiful and regal-looking liver and white English pointer named Judy. Whether she was scavenging food to help feed the starving inmates of a hellish Japanese POW camp, or by her presence alone bringing inspiration and hope to men, she was cherished and adored by the Allied servicemen who fought to survive alongside her.
Judy’s uncanny ability to sense danger, matched with her quick thinking and impossible daring saved countless lives. More than a close companion she shared in both the men’s tragedies and joys. It was in recognition of the extraordinary friendship and protection she offered amidst the unforgiving and savage environment of a Japanese prison camp in Indonesia that she gained her formal status as a POW. From the author of The Dog Who Could Fly and the co-author of Sergeant Rex and It’s All About Treo comes one of the most heartwarming and inspiring tales you will ever read.
My Thoughts:
Reminded me quite a bit of Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, but not as well written.
I love a good dog story, but Judy became a minor player during most of this book. Continue reading “Book Review: Judy by Lewis (3.5 stars)”
Book Review: Sword of Michael by Wynne (2.5 Stars)
The Sword of Michael by Marcus Wynne
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Marius Winter doesn’t walk the road of the shaman-warrior alone. He has powerful allies in the Other Realms and in ordinary reality. His spirit guides are a Lakota war-chief and medicine man, First In Front; Tigre, a powerful feminine spirit who appears as a white tiger; and Burt, a spirit raven who channels an old Jewish bookie from the Bronx.
Now Marius is targeted by a powerful sorcerer. In the battle for the souls of his friends and lover, he must storm the gates of the underworld and fight through the Seven Demi-Demons of Hell to the deepest dungeons to confront Belial himself.
My Thoughts:
I found myself skimming and skipping most of this book. The first two-thirds seemed your standard urban fantasy with a supernatural flare, demons and angels, the old Holy War, tied into or growing out of the Fall of Atlantis. The dialogue was forced and re-used one-liner clichés poorly. After about the sixth time I’d read a ‘one-liner’ I just about gave up. I forged on, but the ‘pay off’ didn’t pay as much as just felt off.
Continue reading “Book Review: Sword of Michael by Wynne (2.5 Stars)”
Book Review: Tarkin by Luceno (3 Stars)
Tarkin by James Luceno
Read in October 2014
Releases November 4, 2014
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Bestselling Star Wars veteran James Luceno gives Grand Moff Tarkin the Star Wars: Darth Plagueis treatment, bringing a legendary character from A New Hope to full, fascinating life.
He’s the scion of an honorable and revered family. A dedicated soldier and distinguished legislator. Loyal proponent of the Republic and trusted ally of the Jedi Order. Groomed by the ruthless politician and Sith Lord who would be Emperor, Governor Wilhuff Tarkin rises through the Imperial ranks, enforcing his authority ever more mercilessly . . . and zealously pursuing his destiny as the architect of absolute dominion.
Rule through the fear of force rather than force itself, he advises his Emperor. Continue reading “Book Review: Tarkin by Luceno (3 Stars)”
Book Review: Abyss Beyond Dreams by Hamilton (3.5 stars)
The Abyss Beyond Dreams
A Novel of the Commonwealth
Publisher’s Synopsis:
The wait is over. Bestselling science fiction master Peter F. Hamilton is back with the first of a new two-book saga set in his popular Commonwealth universe. Distinguished by deft plotting, a teeming cast of characters, dazzling scientific speculation, and imagination that brings the truly alien to life, The Abyss Beyond Dreams reveals Hamilton as a storyteller of astonishing ingenuity and power.
The year is 3326. Nigel Sheldon, one of the founders of the Commonwealth, receives a visit from the Raiel—self-appointed guardians of the Void, the enigmatic construct at the core of the galaxy that threatens the existence of all that lives. The Raiel convince Nigel to participate in a desperate scheme to infiltrate the Void.
Once inside, Nigel discovers that humans are not the only life-forms to have been sucked into the Void, where the laws of physics are subtly different and mental powers indistinguishable from magic are commonplace. The humans trapped there are afflicted by an alien species of biological mimics—the Fallers—that are intelligent but merciless killers.
Yet these same aliens may hold the key to destroying the threat of the Void forever—if Nigel can uncover their secrets. As the Fallers’ relentless attacks continue, and the fragile human society splinters into civil war, Nigel must uncover the secrets of the Fallers—before he is killed by the very people he has come to save.
My Thoughts:
After spending a month or two reading World War I fiction and non-fiction as well as a somewhat depressing post-apocalyptic dystopian novel, I needed something lighter and a bit more uplifting. I switched to space opera. I lucked into several ebooks available as pre-release eARCs via Netgalley, this being the third one I’ve read of the four I found (see my two previous reviews on The Chaplain’s War and A Call to Duty).
I enjoyed Hamilton’s writing style, but I must admit to being a bit confused or at least uninformed about his existing Commonwealth and Void universes. This was my first Hamilton novel so I dived right in and either sank or swam by his efforts. To his credit, even with limited world-building or recap exposition in the Prologue, I gleaned enough to make the read enjoyable.
Continue reading “Book Review: Abyss Beyond Dreams by Hamilton (3.5 stars)”
BOOK REVIEW: Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie | SF Signal
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2014/10/book-review-ancillary-sword-by-ann-leckie/
Another review of Ancillary Sword and it is a bit more in depth than the previous one I reblogged earlier today.
Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon
Mini-review: Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie
I can’t wait to start reading this. I may have to ditch the other three novels I’m in the middle of just to return to Breq and the Radchaai Empire. Meanwhile, Stefan gives Ancillary Sword his highest recommendation.
Book Review: The Chaplain’s War by Torgersen (4.5 Stars)
4-4.5 out of 5 stars
Release Date: 10/7/2014
I previously read parts of this as a short story and as novella (one of which was nominated for a Hugo last year and got my enthusiastic vote). This novel fills in the gaps in Chaplain’s Assistant Harry Barlow’s past and a few important bits of his future.
The original stories were expanded and an additional story line added to pull all of the narrative into a cohesive whole. I related well to Harry Barlow and had no trouble re-reading parts of his story. Continue reading “Book Review: The Chaplain’s War by Torgersen (4.5 Stars)”
Book Review: A Call to Duty by Weber and Zahn (4 Stars)
by David Weber and Timothy Zahn
A new series in the Honorverse, slated to be released next week. We find ourselves back before Manticore knew it had a major wormhole, back before it had any spaceship building industry and soon after a Plague that wiped out much of its nascent population. One of our protagonists is Travis Long, who enlists in the RMN (Royal Manticore Navy) while his supposed friends rob a neighboring jewelry store. Travis acquires a couple of monikers during basic training that reflect upon his always by the book philosophy with respect to rules and regulations. The political climate on Manticore has a faction of the civilian government clambering to dismantle the Navy and/or replace it with a Coast Guard like service that patrols the local system and protects merchants and miners from pirates. The action ramps up when Manticore sends representatives to a Haven sponsored military surplus spaceship sale. Pirates (or what we are led to believe are pirates initially) masquerading as legitimate buyers attempt a heist of their own on a much grander scale than Travis’ juvenile delinquent buddies.
Continue reading “Book Review: A Call to Duty by Weber and Zahn (4 Stars)”