Bookstooge's Q1 Reviews and Ramblings

Just a place holder so I don't forget to start a new thread for '17.

Wishing you many happy hours entranced by good stories and interesting facts!

Happy new year

Happy new year and happy reading!

Thanks all. Taking a suggestion from my December thread, I'll be posting the full body of the review here along with the link to the actual.

Hoping tomorrow to get my first review up. Unless something dramatically changes today and I suddenly read 150pages to finish Grunge instead of hanging around all my sites :-D

I’m here and following… happy new year! :)

Happy New Year to you as well. Got your thread starred, so it shows up easy. There is a lot of activity!

>7 BookstoogeLT: There is! I thought there would be a few more posts today with people starting new threads, but I wasn’t expecting quite this much of a deluge. It’s been fun to see so much activity.

>5 BookstoogeLT: I'm excited at the arrival of your new policy, Bookstooge!

*wink*
All thanks to the kindness of someone willing to help a newbie...

Happy new year!

Happy New Year! I look forward to following your reading.

Happy new year :)

Eyeshield 21 #15
4.5 Stars

Now that is the way to start the year off!

Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: The Toughest Warriors in Tokyo
Series: Eyeshield 21 #15
Author: Riichiro Inagaki
Artist: Yusuke Murata
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 208
Format: Digital Scan


Synopsis: Spoiler

In a surprise move, Sena carries the ball through the Poseidon wall and it looks like he’s home free, until he gets tackled on the 1 yard line! With 2 seconds on the clock, Sena is blocked and it is up to short Komusubi to literally use all his strength and push the whole group of players into the end zone. Hence winning the game for the Devil Bats.

Sena meets an old friend and it turns out they’re going to be arch-rivals in the next game, as Riku is the secret weapon for the Gunmen in the next match. Master and Apprentice matchup!

Deimon High has a field day and Hiruma blackmails those in charge so he can run it as he sees fit. He then proceeds to use it as a training day for his players. What a sneaky guy!


My Thoughts:

Wow, wow, wow!!!

The conclusion to the Devil Bats/Poseidon game was fantastic. That is how a sports manga should read, in doubt of who will win right up until the last second. Even while knowing that the series continues up to 37’ish, I was still wondering who was going to win. That is the kind of experience I want.

The Field Day chapters lent the humorous air that I’ve come to expect and was executed perfectly. Hiruma and his plans. The manga-ka must have a blast coming up with such silly and fun ideas.

The ongoing story line of Musashi and why he’s not on the team continues and we see that without a kicker the Devil Bats can’t possibly win against the last couple of teams. 1 or 2 points will decide the games to come. Things are obviously being setup for a dramatic return at the last deciding moment of one of the games. Rather good drama.

>14 BookstoogeLT: Until seeing your last couple reviews for them, I never even knew there was such a thing as sports manga. :)

Yep, they exist. They're not as big as some genres, but when done well they have real influence. Prince of Tennis did tennis and was quite the popular series.
In fact, I just saw one for volleyball last month. That something like that exists blows even MY mind...

>16 BookstoogeLT: Was the volleyball manga Crimson hero? I remember that being serialised in Shojo Beat magazine about 8-10 years ago. I really wanted to like it but I think it had been running for a while before I started reading and I couldn't catch up with who everyone was and what was going on. It looks like a good one though.

Actually, the one I saw was Haikyu!. I've never heard of Crimson Hero. Imagine, a vball manga from '03. That is actually pretty cool!

Sports manga? I have barely heard of manga manga. Which, no doubt, is to my detriment:)

It is only a detriment if you don't want to add 100's of volumes to your tbr list, instantly :-D

Happy New Year! (And happy reading, too!)

>20 BookstoogeLT: Ok, how about this? What is the very best intro manga book for the hard-to-please nitpicky irritable curmudgeonly reader? Be ruthless!

Ok, need some info, so I'll ask some questions:

Cute or Deadly
Funny or Serious
Short or Long
Boy or Girl

Just pick one of each for all four and I'll formulate my best guess :-D

Deal.

1. Deadly
2. Serious
3. No preference
4. No preference

If I need to choose for 3 and 4, let me know. I'll force myself!

Well, with those choices I've got these selections, with appropriate caveats:

1) Akira - best manga as long as you don't mind 80's cyberpunk

2) Death Note - psychological battle of the minds w/ a slight supernatural element. Very text heavy

3) MS: Gundam: The Origin - I'm reading this series JUST for the quality of the books and the artwork. Gorgeous.

4) Yotsuba, for the ringer. A slice of life manga about a 4 or 5 year old girl that has charmed the curmudgeon in me.

Sorry I didn't provide links. I'm still working out the workings of this place :-D

Great! I ordered Volume 1. I see that there are multiple volumes in this series. Are these self contained, or will there be cliffhanger endings?

Thank you --

I used to read more manga than I do now, partly because US bookstores had a better selection and partly because I was less concerned about the cost and storage of multiple volumes. Yotsuba&! is one of the few series I still collect - I adore it! My favourite series is probably Aria but I'm so disappointed that no publisher seems to have picked it up after Tokyopop went out of business. Looks like I will never complete my collection :-(

@Stellar:
Akira is 6 volumes long. It is one story broken up into arcs. Definitely not self-contained but I'm trying to remember if there are any cliffhangers. I ended up borrowing them from the library on my first read, as I couldn't swing the $25-30 pricetag of each book.

@Saker:
Tokyopop was indicative of the market at that time. They were buying up , and releasing, as much manga as they could without thinking about market saturation, or their fans. I got burned on the 12 Kingdoms light novels and am still bitter to this day.

Grunge
2 Stars
John Ringo

Here's the review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Grunge
Series: Monster Hunter Memoirs #1
Author: John Ringo, Larry Correia
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 320
Format: Kindle digital edition

Synopsis:

Oliver Gardenier, aka Gary Stu, is a boy wonder with some seriously messed up parents. He joins the marines in defiance of his mother and ends up talking to St Peter and given a mission back on Earth: to hunt Monsters. Joining up with Monster Hunters International, Oliver details his adventures.

He also details his seriously messed up theological thoughts on Jesus and God. And just in case you forget, he also states, over and over and over, how successful with women he is.

My Thoughts:

If this had been just an MHI story, it would have been awesome. 4stars easy, pushing 4 1/2.

First thing that pushed it down was Gardenier’s continual references to his womanizing. He justifies it by saying he doesn’t want to leave a widow and orphans behind when he inevitably dies on the job, but that is so much BS. He’s probably leaving a trail of byblows who are growing up without a dad and string of woman who wanted more than a night. Those excuses lead into the second, and bigger, reason.

Theology. Ringo, and he is the author of this book, not Correia, presents sin as something just kind of ‘meh’ and that Jesus is our Dude who tells God to chill out on our behalf. In fact, Ringo/Gardenier states that you have to do something REALLY bad to go to hell now. Ringo threw around enough biblical names, terms, etc that it is obvious he’s at least familiar with Scripture but simply choosing to twist it to allow him to do whatever he wants.

Once past those, like I said, it is a tremendous MHI story. I’ll be reading the next book but with some serious reservations.

>28 BookstoogeLT: Well I got Vol 1 for $9. I guess I'll decide where to go from there after I get through that one.

You got a good deal. And if you don't like it, you won't be out that much. Glad you didn't splurge and buy the whole thing. I know that my library no longer carries it, as they are seriously oversized and end up having to be replaced every year because of teen handling. Which is why I ended up buying my own hard copy :-)

Abaddon's Gate
James Corey
1/2 Star

Stalking the Zombie
Mike Resnick
2.5 Stars

The Review in full:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Stalking the Zombie
Series: John Justin Mallory #3
Author: Mike Resnikc
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 222
Format: Kindle digital scan


Synopsis:

A collection of short stories about John Justin Mallory, a private investigator who has been transported to an other worldly version of Manhattan.

Solving mysteries with an old fat lady who hunted monstrous creatures in the deepest jungles and taking care of a spoiled cat girl, Mallory also has to put up with the East Coasts most powerful demon. Who never tells a lie. Odd that.


My Thoughts:

This was ok. While it is the 3rd book in the series something I didn’t realize when I started reading this, being a collection of short stories it fills in everything you need to know to feel right at home.

Certain aspects were extremely repetitive, which once again, is because of it being short stories that were written at widely varying times and for widely varying publications. I found I could skip about 3 paragraphs per story once I’d read the first story.

Mallory was supposed to be a hard bitten PI but he came across a gambling addict who relied too much on his own perceived smarts instead of working hard. One short story was ok but more than that and it just wasn’t fun any more. Too bad, because Resnick has a pretty good track record with me.

>32 BookstoogeLT: OUCH!!!

Just curious, how bad does something have to be for you to abandon it?

Star Rating Explained

Long Version:

5 Stars:

An Epic read that I will buy in hardcover and read again and again or a book that has profoundly changed my life.


4 Stars:

A book that I thoroughly enjoyed but am not sure I will read again. It ‘might’ not hold up to the Me I’ll be in 10 years.


3 Stars:

A completely average book that I enjoyed. Nothing really special but nothing bad to note either.

The majority of what I read falls into this category.


2 Stars:

Did not enjoy this book. It might have been grammar, editing or plot issues. It might also have been Religious and Philosophical in nature.


1 Star:

Crap. Probably could not finish. Most likely Blasphemous in one way or another. Could also be that the skillz of the writer were of a 3rd grade level.



Half Stars:

Whenever a book is a Strong or Weak X Star Book, I tend to go for the half stars. They make my life so much easier!

@clamairy:
I usually abandon a book if it bores me in the first 25%, is blasphemous or is pushing a modern societal message that is contrary to the Bible or is complete indie dreck.

Um, okay.

Just an FYI you do know that we don't talk about religion or politics in this group, right? Not that you crossed the line, because you just answered a question. But your toe is getting a little close. ;o)

Why do you think I didn't post the review of Abaddon's Gate? I am VERY aware of this groups policy on religion and politics and while I disagree with it, I do understand it. Nothing starts flamewars faster than those topics :-D

So, in regards to your question, HOW should I have answered to stay within guidelines? A post on your wall maybe?

No, you were fine. That's why I said you didn't cross the line. And there are plenty of other groups here on LT where you are free to write your review. There are plenty of flames in some groups.

(In fact a couple of groups no longer exist because of those flames, sadly. Some of those groups were initially created for discussing religion & politics, but the group creator got cranky and removed them after several years of discussions, many of which were civil and enlightening.)

>31 BookstoogeLT: They canceled my order, saying it was no longer available! Boo Hoo.

Oh man, that really stinks! Where did you order from?
I just checked and Rightstuf.com and amazon both have it. But it is bit more than $10.

www.amazon.com/Akira-Vol-1-Katsuhiro-Otomo/dp/1935429000
www.amazon.com/Akira-Vol-1-Katsuhiro-Otomo/dp/1935429000

You can also try your public library. Beyond that, I'm stuck for suggestions.

Some serious random ramblings about co-blogging:

Bookstooge | A Reviewer of One

>40 BookstoogeLT: It's ok. Nuisance only. I only wanted a new copy, so I found another copy for $19 incl shipping.

Robin 3000 #1
2 Stars
Disappointment.

Here's the review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Robin 3000
Series: Elseworlds: Robin 3000 #1
Author: Byron Preiss, et al
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comic
Pages: 59
Format: Digital scan

Synopsis:

It is the year 2999, Earth has been taken over by the Skulp and Bruce Wayne's descendant continues the fight for freedom using the Batman mythos. Unable to escape the Skulp, Wayne passes on the torch to his nephew and assistant, Tom Wayne, aka Robin.

Escaping from the Skulp, Tom must hook up with the resistance. The Skulp however, have created a cyborg of Tom and have it publicly collaborating with them and decrying the Wayne name.

My Thoughts:

This was a big disappointment. Batman the 30 eleventieth talks for 2 pages about being a martyr, then gets blown up. But he has enough time safely set Tom down.

Tom is not Robin. He gets a cyborg hand part way through this volume, but he's not a detective, he's not martial and he certainly hasn't been trained by a Batman, any Batman. He's just the Wayne heir. And no costume.

This was simplistic in the bad way. Things just happened, because. Meeting the scientist who gave him his new hand was the perfect example.

Tom's pilot friend:"My friend needs a new hand, here's our crashed spaceship in payment."
Dr: "Ok"
Tom upon awakening: "I am Tom Wayne, I can figure this hand out easily".
Dr: "Drat, a Wayne. But don't worry, I won't turn you in to the Skulp, because I don't feel like it."

That is a slight exaggeration, but not much and the whole tone of the book felt like a Hardy Boys in space. And no costume.

There are 2 volumes to this little Elseworld story, but after making it through this volume, I need a week before I want to tackle the next volume. I'm disappointed in the simplicity of the story with all the attendant weaknesses and lack of full bodied thinking and the fact that "Robin" doesn't show up in his phracking costume!

Even this guy would have been better:

and I don't know what I'm doing wrong with the 2 pix at the end. They are both in my junk drawer and I thought I had the code right. Sigh.

I hadn’t tried using my junk drawer for this purpose yet, but I just tried it as a test and it seemed to work for me. These are the steps I took, maybe you can see some place where you deviated?

1. Uploaded picture to junk drawer.
2. Right-clicked on image and selected “Copy Image Location”.
3. Added the following code to my post:
<IMG SRC="http://pics.cdn.librarything.com/picsizes/4c/6c/4c6c7e705e257916376346f6e67434b41716b42.jpg" WIDTH="50">



(I normally make the width 500, but made it 50 this time to avoid cluttering your thread with a larger graphic.)

Since you're getting the broken image link image, I assume you have your code right and just have the wrong link.

that did it! I think I forgot the https:// and just used the www and everything that followed.

Thank you so much!

>46 BookstoogeLT: No problem, glad you got it! LOL, love the picture.

Don Quixote Chapters 24-29

Getting back into updating my progress with Don Quixote.

Akira Volume 1 arrived. I have to say, it's a visually attractive piece of work!

I hope you like the story as much. I have to admit, the visuals are what first drew me in.

Soldiers Live
Glen Cook
4 Excellent Stars

Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Soldiers Live
Series: The Chronicles of the Black Company #10
Author: Glen Cook
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 528
Format: Kindle digital edition


Synopsis:

The Final Chapter of the Black Company. The Company has made their home in the new world, but nobody wants to stay. Not the company, not the people of the world. So between Sleepy and Croaker, the Black Company once again invades their "homeworld."

But Kina, Shivetya and the Lady's Sister are still around and still plotting. Is the Black Company the people we have come to know in the last 10 books, or is the Black Company an idea that mutates and changes across time and across worlds?



My Thoughts:


What a fitting end to this series. All of the characters we have come to know meet an appropriate end for the Black Company. Which means that about 9/10th's of them die.

That brings up the first thing that I appreciated about this series. Cook walks the razor thin line of making us care for and like particular characters and still making them meet the problems that they face without the assurance that they will survive. Cook doesn't introduce characters JUST to make them die but neither is anyone a Luke, Han or Leia.


The worlds go on. I like a happily ever after, but until the End of Days and the Judgement Day, I know that just won't happen. It is good to see how humans strive and continue to fight. I wouldn't like a steady diet of this bleak outlook but I do appreciate the reminder that life is tough and people we love do die.


Cook is also very deft with his philosophizing through his characters. Instead of being beat over the head, we get quick slaps to the back of the head. A little sting just to remind us.


Finally, the story. Cook took us through a journey that spanned worlds where we were only expecting towns. Powers and Prophecies came and went, people rose and fell and through it all the Black Company existed. In different shapes, in different forms, with many purposes but always surviving. I loved reading this series and thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent in this world.

>51 BookstoogeLT: I admit I've only ready the first Black Company book but I'm really impressed Croaker survived to the end. Glen Cook did not seem like one to hold any punches with his characters. I have books 2 and 3 in my TBR pile somewhere.

Well, technically he survives. It gets really weird for a couple of books :-)

Vet in a Spin
James Herriot
3 Stars

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Vet in a Spin
Series: All Creatures Great and Small #6
Author: James Herriot
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 224
Format: Kindle digital scan

Synopsis:

James completes his pilot training and is all set to do his part in the RAF when a minor bit of surgery removes his A+ health rating and he loses his rating to fly. After kicking about, the RAF sends him back home to be a vet again.

Stories from his vet days are once again interspersed and make up the bulk of the book.

My Thoughts:

Another good edition of the Vet series. I really wish he'd done more about his actual time in the RAF though, as the little tidbits he doles out shows that he can tell much more than just animal stories.

The ending with him entering Darrowby, for the first time again, to start over and wondering if his vet skill have atrophied in the time he spent in RAF training is a good look at a young man who has done a lot but just isn't sure.

Dawn of the Time Out
4.5 Stars

The review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Dawn of the Time-Out
Series: Eyeshield 21 #16
Author: Riichiro Inagaki
Artist: Yusuke Murata
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 200
Format: Digital Scan


Synopsis: Spoiler

It is the Devil Bats versus the Gunmen. Two super aggressive teams battling it. Unfortunately for the Devil Bats, the Gunmen are simply more aggressive and Kid's quick snap throw speeds up to compensate for blitz after blitz after blitz. To add more bad news to the mixture, Sena can't seem to compete with his old friend Riku and in fact Riku steals the ball from Sena and scores a touchdown.

This is all being televised and Musashi is at the hospital with his dad. Musashi's backstory is revealed and his reason for quitting football and highschool are shown. His dad beats him and tells him to get over himself and go help his team mates. Now with a kicker on the team, Hiruma has options.

But with a 20-6 deficit, is even Musashi going to be enough?


My Thoughts:

Wow, wow, wow!!! That is exactly how I started my review for #15 and it continues here. The game between the Devil Bats and the Gunmen starts with each team scoring a touchdown against the other by running the kickoff. Which means that there are 2 touchdowns within 1 minute of the game starting. I found that pretty exciting.

The Gunmen are just plain good and their quarterback, the Kid, is olympic quality. Hiruma is simply outclassed and his tricks aren't enough. Sena doesn't have the willpower to counter Riku and each member of the Devil Bats encounter their opposites and fail.

The return of Musashi is done pretty well. You can see where he gets his fire from. Also, his return re-energizes the Devil Bats and gives Hiruma another whole set of options to play with. Thus the volume ends and we have to wait until the next volume to see if the Devil Bats can come back from a 14point deficit.

Robin 3000 #2
1.5 Stars

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Robin 3000
Series: Elseworlds: Robin 3000 #2
Author: Byron Preiss, et al
Rating: 1.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comic
Pages: 53
Format: Digital Scan


Synopsis:

Tom Wayne begins chasing down some of his robot clones to prove to the rebellion that he isn't collaborating with the Skulp. During the process he allows himself and his group to be captured by the head honcho of the Skulp intellligence. Who has a time machine.

Tom escapes, visits just desserts upon the head skulp, gets visited by a robot Robin from Earth which has been teleporting around the galaxy looking for Tom who convinces him to take on the costume of Robin and continue the fight against the Skulp.

The End. Or is it?


My Thoughts:

Ok, I knew going in this was going to be a mess. Vol 1 was a great disappointment and this did no better. Once again, this was not a Robin story. This was a Super Smart Science'y guy has adventures, In Space! Tom just jets around, as Tom, and does things and what not.

The way things were presented on the back covers was cool and made it sound like this would be a kick butt action comic. But it isn't.

And the stupid Robin robot teleporting all over the galaxy looking for Tom just to give him the costume? That made NO sense nor did Tom's taking of the costume. He's the last Wayne. He should be taking on the Batman mythos.

But nothing about this 2 part series really made sense. And that "or is it?" ending. That reeked of desperation to get this turned into a regular series. Thank goodness it failed and we weren't subjected to more of this pablum.

Ugh.

Weekly Don Quixote Update

Chapters 30-32

An Excellent Mystery
3 Stars

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: An Excellent Mystery
Series: Brother Cadfael #11
Author: Ellis Peters
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 253
Format: Kindle Digital Edition


Synopsis:

A wounded Crusader has become a monk who has been befriended by a mute young monk. In the power plays between the royalty, an abbey is destroyed and the monks therein scatter.

The aforementioned Crusader makes his way to Shrewsbury, where it is found out that the young woman he was to marry but forswore to become a monk, went to become a nun. Only she never arrived at the Abbey. Now a young man who was with the Crusader monk must track her down to press his own suit for her hand, if she is alive. If she is dead, then he'll pursue vengeance.

Caught in the middle of it all, is Cadfael. Seeing more than others, caring for all, trying to make everything work out without destroying a man, a name, a legacy or a young woman.



My Thoughts: Spoilers

If you aren't as dull as dullard, you'll have figured out what is going on at probably about the same time as Cadfael. If you are that dull, here's a Pro Tip: young women can disguise themselves as boys.

And honestly, that is what made me shake my head over and over. How does a woman disguise herself so thoroughly that nobody in a bloody Abby discovers it? She has to bathe sometime. She has to have her period sometime. It gets hot in the summer and she can't wear the monk's habit ALL the time. I get that a young woman can pass as a young man for a time, among strangers. But among a cloistered community? It just beggared my belief.

Apart from that, this was a half decent Cadfael story. He actually plays a rather small part. There is also a lot of "Historicalness" going on and those goings ons are what actually drive the story. Kind of like getting a history lesson on the sly.

Savage Homecoming
Joshua Dalzelle
3 Stars

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Savage Homecoming
Series: Omega Force #3
Author: Joshua Dalzelle
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 261
Format: Kindle Digital Edition


Synopsis:

The synth that initially found Jason on Earth, who was all set to betray, backstab and sellout Jason, is back. With a vengeance. The synth knows where Earth is, knows who to mess with to manipulate Jason and its got some new allies. Big hitters that can wipe out the tech of a whole planet.

So Jason has to save Earth, save the girl, save his new connection with the alien government who is funding Omega Force and come to terms that he can never go back to Earth again. That is a lot to put on one man's shoulders.


My Thoughts:

The odd thing with these Omega Force books is that I tend to enjoy them overall but not in bits. In other words, I liked Savage Homecoming taken in its entirety and the idea, but if you were to ask me when I was reading Chapter Q if I liked it, I'd probably be "meh".

Earth is menaced and even while Jason single handedly saves them, he's now a wanted man because he gets blamed for bringing the aliens to Earth in the first place. That sounds just like the humanity I know and hate, doesn't it?

The woman "mysteriously" referred to in previous books shows up and my goodness, I did not like her. It is now wonder she and Jason are ex's. She does what she wants without thinking of the consequences or about what she is trying to accomplish and Jason just goes along with it. Thankfully, she gets relocated back to earth and we won't, hopefully, have to deal with her in future books. This sets things up for Jason to hook up with the alien Captain instead, at least she acts like a mature adult.

The various battles were pretty good but Omega Force had a lot of petty word fighting amongst it's members. Not banter, but spiteful little girl style spats. It really seemed out of character and I'm not sure exactly what Dalzelle was trying to accomplish with it.

Petrodor
Joel Shepherd
2 Stars

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Petrodor
Series: A Trial of Blood and Steel #2
Author: Joel Shepherd
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 525
Format: Kindle Digital Edition


Synopsis:

Sasha is now in the city of Petrodor. Various political factions are vying for the role of leading a new army against the Serrin. The Serrin in Petrodor are playing their own game, unfortunately for them, they don't understand humanity nearly as well as they think. And the humans allied with the Serrin are split as well. Then once the Priesthood gets involved, all bets are off.

Sasha must navigate allies, enemies and some who are both at the same time.


My Thoughts:

I've given this series 2 books worth of my time. I simply didn't like this one either.

Narrowed it down to the fact that I don't like one single character. The story was intriguing, the political, religious and species aspect of things were well done and complex and the fighting was fun to read about.

But without even one character to like or root for, it wasn't worth it. So I'm dropping this. I'm kind of hesitant about trying his Cassandra Kresnov series now. Sure glad I discovered him with his Spiral Wars series and not this.

>60 BookstoogeLT: A story has to be really good to make up for it if I’m not going to like a single character.

Yep, I can usually handle a single book of that, but when it is a series, forget it.

>60 BookstoogeLT: I had an epiphany when reading Stephen R. Donaldson's The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I read the first book when it came out and felt it was poor but I wanted to give the author a chance. I then went on to read the next two books in the trilogy when they were published. I had a feeling that I had to complete the set. I did not enjoy the trilogy.

Then he started a second trilogy. With a sense of giving Donaldson a further chance (surely he might have learned something about writing) I read the books in the second trilogy too, and thought they were inferior rubbish.

Having read six books that I was not enjoying and that I thought were poor in many ways (characterization; obviousness of where the plot was going; use of adjectives ("over-use" that is); absence of any justification for any weird happenings) I realized how stupid I had been to waste so much of my life on something that was irritating me.

I now shun books by Donaldson.

In summary, I agree with your sentiment about abandoning books I am not enjoying or getting anything from.

It wasn't until recently that I really realized that there are just too many bloody books for me to waste time on those I don't like. It doesn't matter why I don't like them, I don't have to justify myself to some group of people, I just have to stop reading the books I don't like. I'd really like to know where this urge to continue on came from.
We were poor growing up so we didn't have a lot of books in the house but going to the library was as religiously kept as going to church. We went every week!

Death's City
Sandy Mitchell
3 Stars

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Death's City
Series: Blood on the Reik #2
Author: Sandy Mitchell
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 416
Format: Kindle Digital scan



Synopsis:

When we last left our heroes, they were surrounded by the Witch Hunter's forces with no escape. So the beginning of this book they obviously get captured, Hanna gets a sigil that seals her powers and she'll literally explode if they can't get it off. But they do escape, thanks to Fritz's now fully transformed chaos brother.

The trio hooks up with an old wanderer who helps them to Marienburg, where everyone gets various jobs to survive. Rudi continues his hunt to find his real parents and to figure out just what this "heir" thing is all about. City adventures ensue and by the end of the book the trio have to run again, as the Witch Hunter has caught up to them.


My Thoughts:

Rudi has got to be the dullest clod of dirt in the whole field. He runs right into the arms of the chaos worshippers who just keep on trying to kill him and sacrifice him. I'm hoping that this time around he learned his lesson. There is obviously a schism within Chaos's ranks big surprise there, right? about what do with Rudi. One group wants to sacrifice him for some reason and the other group doesn't want to sacrifice him, but we have no idea what they DO want. With the Witch Hunter and the powers of the Empire behind him, you have a very big 3rd player.

Near the end, the Witch Hunter kept trying to talk to Rudi about something but Rudi wouldn't let him get a word in edgewise. I can't say I blame him but still, the stupid Witch Hunter should have just yelled "I know 'Information X'" instead of trying to "talk" to Rudi. You can't kill someone's relatives and friends, then capture them and once they escape expect them to sit quietly while you explain "what is really going on".

On the writing aspect of things. Too may little pointless details were included. I know they were written in to give the book depth and all that malarkey, but it really came across as padding. I don't need to know about breakfast, break, lunch, afternoon, dinner and night time details of their journey on the road.

With all of that, this was a fun read. Rudi being on the City Watch gave rise to some good action scenes. I do feel like I need to hunt down a Warhammer wiki page and start reading these in more of an order than I have with the Forgotten Realms books. Random isn't the best way to read a vast collection of books.

>63 pgmcc: I only made it through the first two Covenant books. They came so highly recommended that I feel as though I missed something by not appreciating them, so am a bit mollified to know that someone else who made it the whole way through didn't enjoy them either.

>63 pgmcc: My experience with Donaldson was the same as @pgmcc's. Horrible characters, dismal, no spark. But I just kept on reading. My only excuse is that I was young at the time. Maybe I thought that eventually something good would happen. I don't have enough reading time left in my life to put up with more of that.

>63 pgmcc: >66 Darth-Heather: & >67 SylviaC: Yup, same here. I only made it through two. I didn't hate the first, but I was puzzled about the rave reviews I'd heard from one friend. The second was so bad I just walked away.

>64 BookstoogeLT: There are too many, and I'm almost at the point where I'll stop reading if a book is just okay, but not great.

A question for you all:

How do you get the >postnumber/member name to show up on your comments? I thought it was a reply to thing, but when I do hit reply, that doesn't show up, plus I see multiple people/posts in one line.

Thanks!

@Clamairy:
I figure another couple of years and I'll be at that point. I'm wanting to push my average rating up to at least 3.5 and while I"m currently at 3.25, that involves a lot of "meh" books. I WANT ALL THE GOOD BOOKS! :-D

>69 BookstoogeLT: Type > followed by the post #, with no spaces.

>69 BookstoogeLT: You just put the right arrow and the number of the post, it does the rest.

Thanks folks! I'll bludgeon this thread into submission, even if it takes me all year!

>64 BookstoogeLT: >66 Darth-Heather: >67 SylviaC: >68 clamairy:

That was a breath of fresh air. Normally when I mention that I think Donaldson's work is rubbish I get lambasted.

>64 BookstoogeLT: Your regular library visits are admirable. It was something I tried to do but my local library was on the far side of an area it was not safe for me to walk through so I didn't get to the library as often as I wished.

Luckily I was about twenty-one when I learnt that lesson so I have been setting aside books I am not enjoying since then. (That's almost 40 years.)

>66 Darth-Heather: I too felt I was missing something. It is very reassuring to realise I was not alone.

>67 SylviaC: Dismal characters and a depressing plot.

>68 clamairy: The reviews confused me as well.

One thing I have to thank Donaldson for is the kick in the pants I got from someone on Amazon. I had put up a comment in the review section that I hated his books. Someone asked me what I hated about them. That taught me to question my views on books and to start writing reviews that explained how I reacted to a book. It also taught me not to make what could be a controversial statement with having the evidence to back it up.

>64 BookstoogeLT: and >68 clamairy: I get terrible guilt pangs if I don't finish a book - I've abandoned two so far this year but I'd read over half of both of them. I almost gave up on another last night, but purely because I'd given up on 2 and only finished 7 at that point I'm sticking with the one I'm not completely on board with. I'm over half way again.

I'm slightly concerned that I have several Stephen Donaldson's Chronicle books on the TBR shelf - based on the being recommended by a friend years and years ago but at a time when I didn't have time to read them and then never seeing a copy again for years. Well, at some point I'll give them a time, but I'll bear in mind the above conversation and that may well help me jump ship if they're not working for me.

>73 pgmcc:
I wished I had started DNF'ing much sooner than I did. Wasn't until my 30's that I really embraced the concept.

>74 Peace2:
The only thing I remember about the Covenant books is painted breasts. I was 15 and that really stuck in my mind.

>75 BookstoogeLT: Look to the future. Onwards and upwards. :-) There will be many DNF'ing opportunities ahead of us.

>69 BookstoogeLT: I figure my good reading years (where my eyeballs and comprehension are functioning optimally) are dwindling. If I'm lucky I've got maybe 30 years left before I'm cursing while fumbling to use whatever we'll be using for audio books in 2047. While 30 years might sound great, I've already logged 50 years of reading, so time is of the essence.

>75 BookstoogeLT: The only thing I remember is Thomas thinking/remembering on every other page that he was*gasp* a leper!

>78 clamairy:
"Surprise Tom old boy, you're STILL a leper!"

The Sorcerer
Troy Denning
2.5 Stars

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: The Sorcerer
Series: The Return of the Archwizards #3
Author: Troy Denning
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 320
Format: Kindle Digital edition


Synopsis:

Galaeron fights against the Netherese, along with some of Mystra’s Chosen, while the elves and their allies continue the battle against the Phaerim. The good guys mainly win and the Netherese mainly lose, but not completely.

And Galaeron ends up with both his human lover and his elf spirit mate. And he’s more powerful than ever since he’s gotten control of his shadow.


My Thoughts:

Lots of things happened and then bam, the end. Just like with the previous books, I had a very hard time figuring out what the author was doing or saying. It was as if my mind was dulled or clouded. Most of it was just Denning’s writing style though. I think I’ll pass on any future books by him if I can avoid it.

The biggest thing for me, as an Erevis Cale fan, is that we see in this book how the Dracolich undead Dragon wizard, ie, a dragon that is just bones came to be under the spell of guarding the shadowrealm where Erevis encounters him. This series also explains a bit some of the power in dealing with the Weave and the Darkweave.

Other than that, this was blase and confusing and a poor example of the Forgotten Realms. Of course, some people would say that about ANY of the FR books, so take my saying it with a grain of salt.

The Midden
Tom Sharpe
1 Star

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: The Midden
Series: -----
Author: Tom Sharpe
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: Satire
Pages: 352
Format: Kindle Digital edition



Synopsis:

A rich, spoiled boy gets involved with drug runners who want him to frame his uncle, who is a judge. Spoiled boy runs off, gets drugged, and somehow gets involved in small town politics.

A corrupt police chief, a woman who doesn't want the burden of taking care of her ancestral home and a various cast of inept and bumbling idiots all come together for a finale of death, fire and explosions. Not to mention a Black Mass where hordes of children are to be sacrificed.



My Thoughts:

On the surface, this should have been as funny as Riotous Assembly. However, while it was just as biting and satirical, it came across as bitter and angry without the humor. In fact, this left me in a completely foul mood for about 24hrs.

When a book affects me like that, I drop the author like a hot potato.

Ok, so t'would seem I can give Lord Foul's Bane in my TBR a miss. Good.

>82 majkia: Good decision, Major!

>82 majkia:

I definitely concur with @pgmcc!

The Drive to be the Best
Eyeshield 21 #17
Riichiro Inagaki
4 Stars

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: The Drive to be the Best
Series: Eyeshield 21 #17
Author: Riichiro Inagaki
Artist: Yusuke Murata
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 200
Format: Paper copy



Synopsis: Spoiler

The Devil Bats get some serious momentum going now that they have a kicker on their side. They begin the comeback and are just overwhelming the Gunmen. Sadly for them, the Gunmen respond in kind and while the outcome is in doubt right up until the final seconds, the Devil Bats lose the game.

THEY LOSE THE GAME.


My Thoughts:

This was good. This was real good. Seeing the struggle of both teams, as the tide of the game went back and forth was impressive and rather moving actually.

Then when the Bats lose the game on an obscure rule, I wondered HOW the manga-ka was going to keep this going for another 20 volumes. I should have known better. Bloody Wildcard. Basically, the Devilbats get another chance to participate in the Christmas Bowl. The hows and whys and whatnots are irrelevant. And Hiruma, the quarterback, knew about this the whole time but didn't tell his team because he wanted them playing like this was their last chance. What a character!

The ending was pretty good too. Right after the game, they meet another team and the team captain simply stiff arms Kurita the biggest, toughest guy on the Bat's team aside like he was nothing. And what's more, he's carrying a jersey with the number 21 on it and his helmet has an eyeshield. Looks like things are gearing up for Sena to step out of the shadow of the Eyeshield 21 moniker and to become his own player. Good stuff!

>81 BookstoogeLT: So... I know I sound like a broken record, but why didn't you bail out before finishing it?

>86 clamairy:
Honestly, because I enjoyed the previous book I read by him so much that I kept hoping that that humor that had left me wheezing would finally show up. Even if had waited until the last chapter I probably would have given this book 2.5stars. But it just never showed up.
And I didn't make the connection between my foul mood and the book until AFTER I'd finished it and realized what was going on.

But, I have bailed from Sharpe. I had several more books of his to try and I'm just not going to bother now. Because now I don't know if I'll get a funny book or some angry, bitter rant that'll make me angry too. Not worth chancing! :-D

>87 BookstoogeLT: Sometimes I find a book worsens my mood which in turn decreases the enjoyment of the book even more. :o(
Onwards! Right? May your next read seem even more wonderful by comparison. :o)

Sena Kobayakawa
Eyeshield 21 #18
3.5 Stars

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Sena Kobayakawa
Series: Eyeshield 21 #18
Author: Riichiro Inagaki
Artist: Yusuke Murata
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 200
Format: Digital Scan



Synopsis:

The game between the White Knights and the Spiders happens and the White Knights crush the Spiders.

Which leads into the wildcard game between the Devil Bats and the Spiders. The Spiders are a kick team and with their own Eyeshield 21, they dominate the first half of the game. Sena puts off his eyeshield and plays as himself for the first time. If he wants to put that eyeshield back on, he'll have to overcome the Other Eyeshield 21.


My Thoughts:

This was still a good volume, but it lacked some of the humor and some of the passion of the previous books, which is why I knocked it half a star.

This was a very different kind of game from what we've seen so far. It made for a good break and introduced some new skills and parts of the game. The Spiders are dominating so far and there doesn't seem much that the Devil Bats can do. Obviously the Devil Bats will have to change their strategy and each team member will have to improve.

A Literary Journey Begins

All aboard the Bookstooge Reread Train!

*choo*choo*

>90 BookstoogeLT: I'll be following along! I love the Malazan books, they are one of my favorite series. That's going to be one lengthy reread. If you haven't seen it Tor's Reread of the Fallen is worth a look as you go.

>91 Narilka: Yeah, I figure it is going to take me into '18 before I finish it up. I'm also adding ICE's Malaz Empire novels, so I'm going to get hit with a hefty dose of mega-epic-angstry-existential mayhem. I just hope I survive :-D

>92 BookstoogeLT: LOL! I haven't read most of the ICE books yet and definitely need to.

Silly question: What's with the whole GPL3.0 stuff on all your reviews this year? You realize you're allowed to post your own work anywhere you want, without that, right?

Unless you are giving other people the right to take your hard work and post it wherever they want...?

>93 Narilka: I actually enjoyed ICE's stuff more than Erikson's later stuff. He stayed more action oriented until the latest book.

>94 gilroy: Actually, there is no such thing as a gpl3 license. gpl2 is in regards to software and allows people to use the software and post it as long as they give credit to the creator. I began adding that little schpiel when I began finding my reviews getting scraped without my permission. Usually just the first paragraph. So any scrapes now get that paragraph and the little info block. And it tends to keep the indies away. Who wants their book reviewed by a guy who puts legalese into his review?
So I consider it a win all around :-)

>95 BookstoogeLT: Uh, yeah. GPL 3.0 does exist now:
https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html

>96 gilroy: Well crap. Time to "upgrade" to 4.0 I guess :-)
And upon reading, it appears to have been around since 2007. Wonder why I've only ever seen 2.0 then?

Well, thanks again! Learning something new everyday...

Star Nomad
Lindsay Buroker
2.5 Stars

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.


Title: Star Nomad
Series: Fallen Empire
Author: Lindsay Buroker
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 253
Format: Kindle Digital edition


Synopsis:

Captain Alisa Marchenko has been left behind on a pohdunk world, recovering from her injuries. Inexplicably, there are NO armed force bases on the world or anyone she can turn to to return home. So she is forced to link up with some strange mechanic lady, find an old abandoned spacefreighter, take on passengers AND figure out how to work with an Imperial cyborg who is camping out in her chosen spaceship.

All Alisa wants is to get to her home planet and see her daughter again. But she can’t do that while she has beefcake all over the place and pecs galore to ogle. Poor Alisa. She is so insecure and unable to take care of herself.


My Thoughts:

I went into this thinking it was going to be a cool SF adventure. It was billed as “for fans of Star Wars or Firefly”. That should have been more than enough warning.

What I got was a story about a woman who is insecure, incapable of taking care of herself and obsessed with her imaginary relationship with a former enemy soldier. And I mean, totally imaginary. Oh, and don’t forget his pecs.

If you like a romance book, without sex, and wrapped in a Science Fiction wrapper, this is the series for you. Considering there are at least 8 books, I guess “somebody” is buying these. Maybe people who like pecs.

>98 BookstoogeLT: LOL, I hate it when I get tricked into reading a romance like that. You would think they’d at least have put some pecs on the cover to warn people. ;)

>99 YouKneeK: Exactly! Cyborg Fabio "quirking his lips" or something. GAhhhh, I didn't even put that little catchphrase in the review...

>98 BookstoogeLT: I'm glad to have been warned away from that series - thank you!

>101 Sakerfalcon: You are welcome. At least this wasn't like the Green Rider series that slowly morphed from a solid fantasy series to a romance wish fulfillment by the author. I read the first book and boom, done.

Some of My Favorite Things (Part 1)

The start of a new series of posts in which I list the books that have earned the "Favorite" tag over the years. Hope you enjoy.

>98 BookstoogeLT: >99 YouKneeK: You might want to skip Sherilynn Kenyon then. Her books are romances wrapped in pretty Fantasy or Science Fiction stories...

>104 gilroy: Thanks Gilroy. I always feel cheated when the ol' bait and switch is pulled on me in books :-)

>102 BookstoogeLT: I didn't even make it half way into Green rider. I think I've read too much conventional fantasy so it felt very clichéd and derivative to me. Glad to know I haven't missed much!

>103 BookstoogeLT: Ahhhh! Yotsuba and Calvin and Hobbes are among my favourites too! They never cease to be funny.

>104 gilroy: Thanks for the warning!

>107 Sakerfalcon: I got through book 4, because I really enjoy conventional fantasy. But the wait between books was getting longer and the books were getting longer while the plot was getting shorter and the main character's feelings had more page time than the plot. So I'm glad you got out when you did :-)
It feels like Yotsuba is petering out and I'm wondering how much longer the manga-ka will continue the series. It was quite a time between the last 2 volumes.

Jubal Sackett
Louis L'amour
3 Stars

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Jubal Sackett
Series: Sacketts #4
Author: Louis L'amour
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Western
Pages: 368
Format: Kindle Digital edition


Synopsis:

Jubal Sackett, youngest son of Barnabas Sackett, is a loner and a wanderer. Tasked by his father to find land further west for his brothers, Jubal gladly obeys. Along the way he is somehow swept into finding an indian princess, starting a small community and saving said settlement from rogue indians AND spanish slavers.

Ends with him and the indian princess finding the perfect valley and settling down for the long haul.


My Thoughts:

This felt like a very long book and after comparing it to previous Sackett novels, it is. Almost 30% longer in fact. Most of that 30% could have been cut if Jubal's introspective monologues had been cut to the first chapter or 2 instead of being repeated every third chapter. Seriously, how many times do I need to read about him wondering why he wants to wander, how his brothers are doing and how his mother and sister are doing in England?

Other than that, this was a great "Man Against Nature" and "Man Against Man" story. Fighting a wilderness that wants to kill him, fighting indians, fighting spanish, there was a lot of action here. This was the type of story that I think of when I think Sacketts.

The decision to limit these to one every 2 months was a good one. Any more and I'd be clawing these up. I'm actually wondering if there is a way that I could push it to one book every 3 months, but every scheme I've come up with is just too complicated. Right now I regulate it by having X number of series/books on my kindle and just reading through them by series. To push it out to 3 months I'd have to add a bunch more series and that would push all the other books out to 3 months and I don't want to do that. Keeping track manually isn't going to happen as I'll forget.

The Successor (Eyeshield 21 #19)
Riichiro Inagaki
4.5 Stars

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: The Successor
Series: Eyeshield 21 #19
Author: Riichiro Inagaki
Artist: Yusuke Murata
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 200
Format: Digital Scan


Synopsis:

The second half of the game between the Spiders and the Devil Bats concludes. Hiruma continues to play his games within games and Sena continues his growth as a player.

Then comes an interlude in the form of one page vignettes.

The book ends with the choosing of the teams to compete in the Christmas Bowl. The Devil Bats are facing the Naga, the team that has won the Championship for the last 9 years. This is the same team whose Captain is a football genius without trying and who enjoys hurting people and using his skill to get away with hoodlum acts.



My Thoughts:

My enjoyment shot up again. The game was really good even while ending extremely quickly. Hiruma had a plan right from the get go and it didn't come to fruition until the last 5minutes of the game. That is some serious long term planning.

I continue to be impressed with how Hiruma keeps his crazy, gun shooting ways in the forefront even while scouting and planning ahead. He's as smart as the other guys who scream "genius" but he keeps it hidden.

What I enjoyed the most about this volume was the little vignettes. They ranged from deeply pathos to highly humorous. I was man-tear'ing up and laughing out loud within minutes, and no, it wasn't me being manic.

January Roundup

Rounding up January! Gotta keep these months under control, like a herd of cows.

>112 BookstoogeLT: Glad you ended the month with a good book, after some of the disappointments earlier in January.

>114 Sakerfalcon: Thanks. It was tough to keep biting into stale bread buns when I was hoping for succulent cinnamon rolls...

>110 BookstoogeLT: Was he getting paid by the word for that one, perhaps?

>116 clamairy: Honestly, I don't know. I don't think Lamour was ever serialized. I know he didn't hit the bestseller listings until much later in his life, which was when his books started getting hardcover releases. I just don't know enough about how the publishing companies worked during his initial startup.

My dad had a bookshelf full of L'amour and Zane Grey novels. I cut my teeth on them. My mother had shelves full of mystery novels which I also read. I wonder how much of these early reads set me up for my world-view of today? Probably a lot. I am offended when there is not justice, and I strongly affirm people behaving in a civilized manner to one another, and not talking too much. Also, I see a dark side to life in motivations. Sounds like westerns and mysteries to me!

>118 MrsLee: My little local library had 2 full revolving racks of him and Grey. In comparison, their fiction occupied 8 revolving racks. So that was a lot of western for a such a small library :-)

Gardens of the Moon
Steven Erikson
5 Stars

The Review:

review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Gardens of the Moon
Series: Malazan Book of the Fallen #1
Author: Steven Erikson
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 688
Format: Kindle Digital edition


Synopsis: Spoilers!


The Malazan Empire, now ruled by Empress Laseen, is on the path of expansion through total war. The last Free City on the continent of Genabackis, Darujhistan, is the next city in the sights of the Empire. Wracked from within by politics and threatened without by armies and mages, Darujhistan doesn't stand a chance.

Enter Rake, Lord of Moonspawn, a floating city, sorcerer supreme. Having allied with the Crimson Guard, might mercenaries and mages, Rake allies with the lords of Darujhistan to fight the Empire, but for his own reasons.

To counter this threat, Laseen has set into motion several plans, one of which is to find and unleash an ancient terror, a Jahgut Tyrant, a veritable god of power. Laseen means to pit the Tyrant against Rake and then to take down the weakened winner.

Enter the Bridgeburners. Loyal servants to the Empire and the old Emperor, who Laseen assassinated to become Empress. The Bridgeburners are meant for extinction, as Laseen can't have anyone around who isn't loyal to her. But the survivors are crafty, powerful and full of tricks of their own. They are meant to take Darujhistan and die, but they have other plans, plans of their own.

Unfortunately for everyone, there is a veritable cornucopia of gods, ancient powers and beings so old and so powerful that they might as well be gods. When humans can become gods, gods can become extinct and power is all, nobody can predict what will result.


My Thoughts: Spoilers!

(For clarity's sake, I read this in June 2008 and again in December 2009. That link contains both my reviews in one review as Goodreads didn't have a re-read option and when importing to Booklikes I didn't feel like going through my 2000+ reviews and fixing "little" things like that.)

That synopsis barely scratches the surface of this book. In the forward Erikson tells us straight out that he will not be spoon feeding his readers anything and that he purposefully wrote things so as to make the readers work for connections. There are no obvious connections or explanations, there is Unexplained History of both nations and individuals and you are forced to hold on for your life or be thrown off the ride.

And what a ride this is! With this 3rd read I feel like I've finally got a little bit of a handle on this world. Since I have read the whole series, now I can begin to cobble it together. It helped that this time around I wasn't expecting all the threads started here to ever be finished or to connect. I have also finally accepted that this is The Book of the Fallen, which means that this is about people dying, not people winning or overcoming insurmountable odds. And even if they do win and overcome those odds, odds are they are still going to die.

At just under 700 pages, I believe this is the shortest of this decalogy. In one way it is the hardest of the books, as you have to sink or swim in terms of the world. Everything is new and unfamiliar and you simply don't know what is going on. In another way I found it the easiest of the books, as the action is relatively straight forward, the plot only slightly convoluted and the scope is kept pretty focused. When reading this for the first time you simply don't know how big the world is that Erikson has created nor do you know that the various narrators are only telling you what "they" know. Semi-unreliable not because they're trying to lie to you but because they have a very limited knowledge. Everything you learn in Gardens of the Moon is not necessarily true.

I added the "favorite" tag because this is the 3rd time I've read this and I still enjoyed the heck out of it while reading. It was a joy to read Erikson's prose, because while he is not sparse in his writins, nor is he turgid and bloviated. He walked that razor thin line of not writing to much or to little.

One thing to note. The kindle edition that I read had several noticeable OCR errors. There was a character named Coll, whose name came out as Coil more than a handful of times. Same for a guy named Toc the Younger. He became Toe the Younger half the time. I checked my hardcover and those errors were not there. I also don't know if those errors exist in the current kindle edition. I bought these when they first came out and promptly de-drm'd them and stuck them in calibre, so any updates would not have touched them. A potential issue if you're buying digital copies.

>120 BookstoogeLT: I’m glad you enjoyed it so much even on a re-read. I skipped your review for now because I saw all the spoiler warnings (thank you!) and I really want to read this someday. :)

>121 YouKneeK: Honestly, I am not sure there are any spoilers in the 'my thoughts' part of it. I added that before I actually wrote anything and there were several different ways it could have gone.

>120 BookstoogeLT: I am going to have to dedicate a year to rereading that series. I bet it's one you appreciate more on the second and third visits given just how vast they are, similar to seeing something new when watching a favorite movie.

>122 BookstoogeLT: Ah, you’re right, I don’t see any real spoilers there, especially not since it's going to be quite a while before I actually read it. :) Your thoughts make me think this is something I’d be likely to enjoy. I love books that don’t spoon feed, and series where new things are continually revealed that make you re-think things from previous books.

>90 BookstoogeLT: I love the Malazan books. Recently read Dancer's Lament which was terrific but quite different from the actual series. And gave a very different view of several of the main characters in the series.

>125 majkia: I just added that to my ICE set of books, so I'm looking forward to reading it, or at least, I think I am.
I have to ask though, it is as navel gazing and needlessly existential as Assail was? I was ready to give up on ICE after that, but I'm giving him one more chance with Dancer...

>126 BookstoogeLT: Not at all! Young men, lots of action, not much thought of philosophy or intent, mostly just reacting to events.

>127 majkia: Thank goodness! And thank you for answering...

>123 Narilka: Definitely! I've already picked up on a couple of things that I had questions about in later books. One was the definition of Jhag and Jaghut. They ARE the same. Bloody Icarium...

Sea Devil's Eye (Threat from the Sea #3)
Mel Odom
1 Star DNF

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: The Sea Devil's Eye
Series: Threat from the Sea #3
Author: Mel Odom
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 356
Format: Kindle Digital edition


Synopsis:

Abandoned, Did Not Finish.


My Thoughts: Maudlin Memories Abound

Part of why I abandoned this was because I had just finished Gardens of the Moon and I was still reveling in my first 5star read of 2017. ANY book was going to have a hard time following that. However, all the glaring faults of this Forgotten Realms trilogy were really brought into the light after staring into the previous book.

I was at a part where the main boy character he's 20'ish, but 'boy' is the best description is being talked to by the main love interest and she's pouring her heart out and simply asking him if he loves her. This boy has a very big "I'm not worthy" complex and he's an introspective melancholic. In fact, he acts EXACTLY like me when I was 18-22. So my problem isn't that he's unbelievable, it is that he's just plain selfish and WON'T look at anything other than how he wants to. My real life problem was solved when a professor at bibleschool answered one of my self-absorbed questions by laying into me and simply telling me the truth, in front of the whole class. I didn't change overnight but I did begin to think about other people. In this trilogy, the boy has his professor moments but he stays self-absorbed. Maybe later in the book that changes, but after 2+ books, I was done.

A young hero needs to mature. However, if you're only writing a trilogy, don't drag that "grow up" point to the last chapter. It's unpleasant for me as a reader because I have to put up with the character until then.

Nothing of the quality of this book was any less than the previous two. I'd simply had enough of the characters and the author's wanking around.

>130 BookstoogeLT: Yeah, after the layers and depths and complexity of GoM, it is hard to get used to lighter books, but damn... Luckily, don't own this one!

>131 majkia: Thankfully, neither do I. I own very few Forgotten Realms books and the ones I do, I am hesitant to read again for fear that I'll have wasted my money :-)

Bookstooge Wins the Superbowl!

Patriots fans, you are welcome.

>133 BookstoogeLT: Thank you!

>133 BookstoogeLT: The Falcons deserved it more...

>133 BookstoogeLT: The only reason I remembered there was a Superbowl yesterday was because my colleagues were sending out a million e-mails about it. As a heathen of the worst stripe, I didn’t even realize the Falcons were from Atlanta until today. It’s not like I live in Atlanta or anything; I’m actually in the suburbs slightly north of Atlanta, so that makes it ok, right? And I've only been here like 6 years...

>136 YouKneeK: Do you mourn the loss of your hockey team still? :D

>137 gilroy: I had a hockey team? Oh, I mean, um… yes, of course! ;)

>135 gilroy: I think the results speak for themselves :-D

And what better way to celebrate the Superbowl than with a Football manga?

Devil's vs Gods
Riichiro Inagaki
4 Stars

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Devils vs. Gods
Series: Eyeshield 21 #20
Author: Riichiro Inagaki
Artist: Yusuke Murata
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 150
Format: Digital Scan


Synopsis:

The Devil Bats begin their impossible battle against the reigning champions, the Naga. Hiruma taunts Agon, the star player but realizes that his tricks will only go so far against the Naga's huge pool of natural talent.

Every trick, every play that the Devil Bats can come up, the Naga simply surpass them.

Agon is a brute, a believer in Power and Ability above all else. He plays to hurt and he plays by himself. His own team is simply there so he doesn't have to do everything himself. And as much as Hiruma and the Devil Bats may hate him and his arrogance, he has the ability to back up everything he claims.

The books end at the half time mark with a score of 32-0 in the Naga's favor.



My Thoughts:

After Superbowl 51 last night where the New England Patriots whoooo! came back from a huge deficit to win against the Atlanta Falcons, it was very fitting to read an Eyeshield 21 manga today. And to have the book end just like where I gave up watching the game last night, with an impossible gap, well, that is just great drama.


And just like how the Pats came back, with 17 more volumes in this series I KNOW that the Devil Bats will come back. And it will be glorious to see Agon eat the dust of defeat.


Now, for this volume. It was solid. Watching the Naga steamroll the Bats was disheartening but it also drove home the point that football is a brutal sport.


The overall dourness was lightened by little things here and there. For example, in one scene a reporter is interviewing one of the players and in the background you see two little chibi versions of some other players being chased by the team mascot, a mad dog who is carrying a knife and fork. Just silly little things like that keep the tone from getting too dark or serious.

>134 majkia: Always glad to play my part in making sure our New England Teams get the job done. Why, I remember one time I was talking to Wayne and... ;-)

>136 YouKneeK: I'm very much a social sports fan. When it is an important game for my team, then I'm there. But for all those "other" games, forget about it :-D

>136 YouKneeK: "a heathen of the worst stripe"

Not quite the worst. I'm looking forward to the 4th ODI in the South Africa vs Sri Lanka series this afternoon. Even though we've already won 3 out of 5 matches ;)

>142 hfglen: I am desperately trying to think of some witting, yet cutting, remark about cricket. Unfortunately, I don't know enough (translation: anything) about cricket to do so. So I guess you'll just have to consider yourself "zinged" :-)

>143 BookstoogeLT: The Test series is over, or I'd point you in the direction of the Frenchman who said that the English, being a godless bunch of Protestants, had to invent 5-day cricket in order to give themselves some idea of the meaning of eternity. Clearly he had no idea of the subtleties of the full-length game.

>144 hfglen: :-D

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Frank Miller
2.5 Stars

Ugh, just ugh. Would have been better to title this: Superman, Collaborater Stooge.

Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt #1)
Adrian Tchaikovsky
5 Stars

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Empire in Black and Gold
Series: Shadows of the Apt #1
Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 628
Format: Ebook


Synopsis:

20 years ago, Stenwold Maker, along with his friends, attempt to save a city that is being invaded by the Wasp Empire. After failing, the friends go their separate ways and pursue their own agendas. Stenwold heads back to Collegium, to raise awareness of the danger of the Wasp Empire. Nobody listens and as the years pass, Stenwold becomes something of a byword and dismissed as an alarmist crackpot. But Stenwold knows that the Wasps will come and he begins training various college graduates to become his spy ring.

Now, Stenwold's niece and adopted daughter have graduated and the Wasp Empire is on the move again. His hand being forced, Stenwold sends out Che (his niece) and her friends before he can truly train them. Thrown into a situation beyond their knowledge, the group must grow or die. The whole of the Lowlands is in danger but if Collegium falls, the whole Lowlands will follow quickly. Collegium is the one City State that accepts all Kindens and is a center of Knowledge.



My Thoughts: Spoilers?

(For clarity's sake, I read this back in February 2010) This was just as good as my previous read.

Tchaikovsky does a good job of introducing us to the main characters, the various nation states and the politics of what is going on. It's a tall order but unlike Erikson, Tchaikovksy doesn't just drop us in and leave us to sink or swim. Information is unfolded as we need it and I never felt like there were info dumps. However, I don't have a hate of infodumps like some, so take that as you may.

I had forgotten, or never realized, just how grim this book was. The little blurb on the cover says "The Days of Peace are Over" and my goodness, does that fit. I knew the series never lightened up but had forgotten how it started. It doesn't fall into Grimdark, but it sure isn't happy and upbeat. Magician by Raymond Feist might be the opposite of this. This is not a "plucky group of youngsters overcome the Evil Empire". It is a novel of War. A novel about how a group of friends can't stay together forever. Pushed and pulled, each character must go their own way and develop on their own.

These are not under developed characters. Tchaikovsky really delves into motivations and what drives them. It is the type of character development that I like. The flaws of their society are evident and are as much a part of the story as anything. Nor does Tchaikovsky turn into a bloody SJW social justice warrior and try to make some seriously skewed political point. Thank goodness for authors who aren't flaming idiots.

To end this, this volume I read had several short stories at the end of book. Those stories are what pushed this from a 4star book to a 5star book. One in particular dealt with the magic of this world. It was a ghost story that left you wondering, was it really a ghost story or a scam? Either way, it worked really well.

Good stuff and I'm satisfied that I bought this in paperback.

>147 BookstoogeLT: Good to read your review. This has been sitting on my shelf for a while and I wasn't sure if it was going to be my thing, but what you wrote sounds good.

>148 zjakkelien: Glad to be of service. I'm also glad that it held up to a re-read. It seems that sometimes books just don't nowadays :-(

When the Going gets Cold, Bookstooge gets Going…

Sometimes living in New England has its downsides...

>150 BookstoogeLT: Ha, those pesky bosses! I used to enjoy playing in the snow when I lived in Ohio, but I don’t think I would have wanted to work in it. It’s about 57 F here in Atlanta right now (14 C for the benefit of the non-U.S. passers-by) and supposed to get close to 70 F (21 C) tomorrow.

When I lived in Ohio, I took a road trip most winters to Vermont (Killington) or Maine (Sugar Loaf). Occasionally I went West, or up to Canada, but going East was usually the cheapest and most convenient and I had just as much (if not more) fun.

>151 YouKneeK: I haven't participated in outdoor winter sports since I started surveying in 2000. No desire to go outdoors on the weekend. I get enough of "nature" during the week :-)

>152 BookstoogeLT: I can definitely understand that! It sounds a lot like my reaction to traveling after a few years of frequent business travel. I took one ski trip in 2011, my first winter after moving here, then I didn't take another just-for-fun trip again until this past fall.

Gridlinked (Polity: Agent Cormac #1)
Neal Asher
4.5 Stars

The Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Booklikes & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

Title: Gridlinked
Series: Polity: Agent Cormac #1
Author: Neal Asher
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 433
Format: Kindle Digital edition


Synopsis:

Ian Cormac has been gridlinked for 30 years where 20 years is supposed to be the maximum. Ian's effectiveness in the service of Earth's AI is what caused the continued link. Recently though, Ian has started exhibiting signs of gridlink addiction, an inability to interact with other humans and unable to think for himself.

When a planetwide accident happens on the remote world of Samarkand and an extraterrestial alien known as Dragon reappears, Earth Central sends in Agent Cormac. However, the AI always has games within games within games and having unplugged Ian, allows his enemies to know where he is going. Why solve 1 problem when you can solve 5?



My Thoughts

Another home run of a read. Having read Asher starting in 2010, with this book and continuing on his Polity series, it was good to re-read this and see how his writing has been polished up. Make no mistake, this was rough writing; not bad, but without some of the polish you see in later books.

If I had to choose one word to describe this all, Ultra-violence would be that word. Entrails, brain matter, dismembered limbs, broken, burst, or burnt body parts, alien flesh or fluid spattered across the landscape. Guns, garrottes, bombs, knives, lasers, bare hands or golem hands as the case may be, alien teeth, cars, spaceships, all are used as weapons. It is phracking awesome!

This is a novel, and series, about Humanity and Post Humanity. If a human can live for 200 years, upload his mind to a golem body if he so chooses all the while living in a society run by A.I.'s of godlike intelligence, what kind of society will emerge? Asher doesn't get sidetracked from his story to show us the nitty-gritty but we do get little peeks here and there. And those little glimpses are fascinating.

To the plotmobile! Space-gates connect planets. One explodes and destroys a worlds' population. Ian must investigate and figure out what is going on. At the same time, some of Ian's old enemies are tracking him down to kill him. Add in an alien and my goodness, you have so many chainsaws in the air that any guess might kill you if wrong.

The whole idea of aug's and messing around with your mind to expand it intrigues me to no end. The idea of A.I.'s ruling humanity in the background while letting humanity grow mentally is also fascinating. Of course,the whole thing is predicated on the idea that something better can come from something lesser. A machine intelligence that is greater than humanity and without humanity's flaws. Great idea, but I can't buy it for real and so it kicks me out of the story occasionally.

Overall, I loved this book, was just as intrigued this time around as I was in '10, loved the violence, love the mystery of the plot and am looking forward to the rest of the series. These rereads have been good so far and so I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. Let's see if I can put that off for a bit, shall we?

Here's some alternate covers, because some of these are just plain awesome. I'm usually not a big fan of putting pictures into reviews, but in this case, I feel some of these represent the book better than the cover here, especially the last one. Sorry Librarything, you make it way to difficult to add pictures, so forget it.

>152 BookstoogeLT: I did my share of winter activity yesterday - I shoveled off the roof to get ready for more snow. wheeeee....

>155 Darth-Heather: I think I'm hearing you saying how lucky I am to live in a place where the nearest snow is a light sugar-dusting that never (what never? well, hardly ever) lasts the whole of the next day, on the mountains 200 km away. Maybe even the drought has its upside.

>155 Darth-Heather: One of the upsides of living in a condo is that I don't have to deal with that stuff. I just pay my condo fees and someone else does :-)

>156 hfglen: Depends on whether you LIKE snow or not. I also tend to handle cold better than heat (you should hear me complain when the temps reach the mid 90's, forget triple digits!)

>156 hfglen: gee Hugh, I'm not sure I'd prefer the dry and hot conditions of your area, although I'd love to visit someday. Shoveling the roof is not so bad - I usually have to do it two or three times each winter, but the trade off is that our other three seasons are quite fine.

>157 BookstoogeLT: that is a nice benefit of your condo fees. I'm also glad my mom lives in a condo and doesn't have to tend to a lawn or driveway by herself. I don't really like so much proximity to other humans though. They make noises.

>158 Darth-Heather: Yep, they sure do. Thankfully, we've had a string of good neighbors over the years so that hasn't been a problem. Of course, now that we've discussed this, watch things go south :-)

>158 Darth-Heather: Normally we're not that dry, Heather -- 1007 mm (39 inches) a year on average here in Durban. But for the last 2 years we haven't had it, and the dams are low, so there's water rationing in place. (wish we could get some of @MrsLee's water that's going to waste!).

The Judge of Ages (Count to the Eschaton Sequence #3)
John Wright
3 Stars

Gorgon (Alex Hunter #5)
Greig Beck
3.5 Stars

In which I Almost take over the World

Happy Weekend everyone!

Hahaha oh well, try again next time!

>163 BookstoogeLT: I’ve never eaten that brand but, based on the name of the flavor, I would have expected awesomeness.

>165 YouKneeK: Their white cheddar is just about the best popcorn I've ever eaten. So my expectations were pretty high. And yeah, how can you beat the allure of Jalapeno Ranch? I felt so betrayed!

>163 BookstoogeLT: I feel your pain!

>167 MrsLee: And on a Friday evening no less! Get yourself all hyped up to take over the world for the weekend and then BAM, it all falls through. Almost like the world had it in for me, or something :-)

The Tower at Stony Wood
Patricia McKillip
5 Stars

The Review:

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 and links at Booklikes, & Goodreads by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Tower at Stony Wood
Series: -----
Author: Patricia McKillip
Rating: 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 306
Format: Kindle digital edition

Synopsis: Spoilers

A knight on a quest to free his rightful Queen. A noble on a quest to free his Kingdom. A bard on a quest to free her Sister. A mother on a quest to go back to the sea from which she came.

A story where all the storylines intersect at the oddest places and not even the characters know their true motivations.

My Thoughts:

In previous reviews of McKillip's works, I tend to liken her writing as silk; it is beguiling, sensual, sensuous and soft.

A half seen shape at night in the forest, with distant laughter and the faint tinkling of bells. You can't see it in whole, or even distinctly. When you look to your right, you catch a glimpse out of the corner of your eye to your left. When you spin around to catch it behind you, you feel it's eyes on you from the front. You don't know if it is your imagination playing tricks, an elven princess enchanting you or an evil sorcerer leading you astray. The only way to find out is to continue on. Is it a dot of honey on your lover's nose, a glob on a bear's paw or a comb in a bee's nest? What if the honeycomb is a magic sword and the bear is an an enchanted knight and your lover is a witch?

When you wrap fog, silk, honey and darkness into a tapestry of words, then you have this story, this book. And if your very soul is not moved, transported to another realm, then I pity you your grey, joyless existence that you think is life.

>169 BookstoogeLT: McKillip is one of my favourite authors, someone whose books I always buy in hardcover. It's good to see someone else shares the love for her!

>170 Sakerfalcon: I actually started her because of the gorgeous covers. I was rather disappointed when they didn't continue with the same cover artist for King Fisher.

>171 BookstoogeLT: Me too. Kinuko Craft's art is the perfect accompaniment to McKillip's prose.

>169 BookstoogeLT: I like your description of McKillip's writing. I think of it as a forest of lush, flowering vines.

>172 Sakerfalcon: It really is, isn't it? I wonder why they changed things up for her latest book? Different publisher, trying to reach a different audience, etc? Kingfisher is just bland, at least the boring "blue'ish" cover I read. There's no magic in that cover :-(

>173 SylviaC: I am glad I am not the only "visualizing" her writing as something. It is like it is almost "too much" for mere words and you need a picture :-)

They Were 11! (Eyeshield 21 #21)
Riichiro Inagaki
4 Stars

The Review:

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 and links at Booklikes, & Goodreads by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: They were 11!
Series: Eyeshield 21 #21
Author: Riichiro Inagaki
Artist: Yusuke Murata
Rating: 4 Stars
Genre: Sports Manga
Pages: 180
Format: Paperback

Synopsis: Spoilers

The Second Half. The Devil Bats begin to grind their way through Agon and his team the Naga's. Each member begins to give more than they have, as this IS a do or die game. Things are starting to seem favorable after 2 touchdowns, but with it still being 32-14, can the Devil Bats come back?

With a 3point kick by the Naga, bringing the score to 35-14, the volume ends. Ouch.

My Thoughts:

Oh man. This was another good volume full of tricks and surprises by Hiruma. I did begin to wonder just when he would run out of tricks though. At some point all avenues are closed and your hand is empty of cards. But so far, he keeps on pulling out more cards and hanging in there by the skin of his teeth.

This time around we see how physical the game is, as Sena's legs are starting to give out on him. He is relying on time outs to allow them to be iced and to go for just “a bit more”. We'll see if he can go the entire game. I am also wondering if the manga-ka will deal with recovery between games, as that is a very real thing.

Since the game doesn't end with this volume, I suspect that the next couple of games are going to be very long and span 4+ volumes. I have to admit, I am not looking forward to that. I have much preferred the volumes that encompass 1 game or maybe 2 volumes that encompass pre-game off field things slice of life stuff, game and then post game off field action. I am not enough of a football fan to want a game drawn out so long like I suspect the rest will be.