Tag: 3 Stars Page 38 of 55

The Patriots of Mars by Jeff Faria

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On November 21, 2016

In Fiction

The Patriots of MarsThe Patriots of Mars

by Jeff Faria
Series: The God that Failed, #1

Kindle Edition, 418 pg.
Jeff Faria Communications, 2016

Read: November 16 – 18, 2016

“…All change, all worthwhile human change, comes from the common man. It is never handed down to us from our betters. My goal is to free the common man to effect that change. Sometimes that means enabling him to have a place of his own on Mars. Sometimes it means evening the odds between a nation that can afford War-bots and one that can’t. But as far as trying to figure out who the good guys are, I gave that up a long time ago. That’s a road to nowhere. Don’t go looking for heroes, Josh. You’ll never find one.”

I distinctly remember looking at the progress meter on this at 15% and groaning — it was well interesting, well-written, but I didn’t care about any of the characters or the story, and by 15% I should at least have started to get invested in something. I don’t say this to beat up on Faria, but to encourage patience in his readers. Because by somewhere in the 20-30% I was glad I stuck with it.

Basically, there’s a pretty corrupt government on Earth and a few very powerful transnational corporations (and one that’s even more so) who control a small population of miners and other laborers on Mars. Some of those on Mars start to get ideas about self-determination, self-government and whatnot. Throw in a kid who may or may not be having some religious visions that put him right in trouble’s way. Tying all of these together is a combination Internet/Simulated Intelligence enabling and supporting communications, and just about everything else in their lives. At some point the kid and some of these people on Mars get together and work toward similar ends — and that’s when everything gets weird.

Faria spends a lot of time setting his dominoes up before knocking them over — and you’ll end up not seeing exactly all the designs he had in mind. Two of the biggest are pretty apparent, but I think he wants you to see those events coming, so that you’re smarter than the characters who don’t understand their circumstances. It’s the ideas floating around these events — both leading up to them and what comes up in reaction to the various events of the novel that got and kept me interested in this book.

The science fiction part of this is well-done: the mines (why does everyone mine Mars?); the various robots; the Mad Max-ish desert areas of Mars; the political/corporate powers — even the detail about the ways they messed with the moons of mars to help land ships there — I ate all that up.

My major criticism is the female characters — there are 3 of them: Josh’s mom, Emily, and Emily’s mom (who really is just a name for most of the book until she finally shows up). Note that two of those are defined only in terms of their relation to someone (Josh’s mom has a name, I’m pretty sure, but it didn’t stick with me). You could make the case that Emily is really the only female in the cast, and that’s just not right.

I’m not going to get deeper on any of the characters, because at this point, they really don’t matter that much — I think that may change, but let’s let my lack of description of them sum up my lack of investment with them.

I’m not sure I cared that much about any of the characters in the end, really. But I want to know what happens to this world — well, worlds: Earth and Mars — and the societies represented next. It reminds me of the early Foundation novels that way, you don’t get that invested in any of the people, but man, you’ve gotta find out what happens next. This feels like the beginning of a trilogy — and I’m in for the long haul.

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this novel by the author in exchange for this post. I really appreciate it.

—–

3 Stars

Rivers of London: Body Work by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan

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On November 17, 2016

In Comics, Fiction, Rivers of London (Peter Grant)

Body WorkRivers of London: Body Work

by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan (Artist)
Series: Rivers of London Comics, #1

Trade Paperback, 128 pg.
Titan Comics, 2016

Read: April 30, 2016


The Folly — Peter Grant and his boss, Inspector Nightingale — make their way to comics in this collection from Titan Comics. The two are facing a threat right out of a Stephen King novel: a homicidal car.

There’s more to it, of course, but that’s it in essence.

The story was entertaining, and fully captured the feel of the novels (easier with the writer of the books writing these). This seemed slight — a bit too brief. But it wasn’t — maybe it just flowed so smoothly I didn’t notice. Maybe there wasn’t that much of a story, I’m not sure. I’m willing to give Aaronovitch and the rest the benefit of the doubt.

The best part of this collection is that it solidified my mental image of Grant, clarified my idea of Molly, and reshaped/corrected my idea of Nightingale. The art wasn’t dazzling, but it was good.

It didn’t blow me away, but it scratched the Peter Grant itch and made me want to read more. If I sound like I’m not totally sold on this, it’s because I probably wasn’t, but I’m glad I read it and should be reading the next collection in a month or so — so there’s that.

—–

3 Stars

Cyber World: Soundtrack of Humanity’s Tomorrow

By

On November 8, 2016

In Fiction, Science Fiction

Cyber WorldCyber World: Soundtrack of Humanity’s Tomorrow


Hex Publishers, 2016


I enjoy music, I listen to a lot of it — but I’m no expert, so take this for what it is.

Okay, I’m not technically an expert on the other stuff I write about, but I’m closer to one when it comes to writing than I am music. But at least with books I have an idea how to talk about them, I really don’t know what to say about music — “I give him a 42 but I can’t dance to it!”

There’s a very 80’s-vibe to a lot of this music (a good thing, by and large, in my opinion . The Scandroid songs sound to me like something out of a British synth-pop band. Which may make it less than appealing for some, but it works for me (although some of the lyrics could be more interesting). I did learn what the word “Aphelion” means, though, so there’s that.

The best stuff on the album are the instrumentals — Celldweller’s “Patched in” is great background music — I’ve already been using while writing and reading. Which is not to take anything away from Mega Drive’s two songs — I alternate which of those I like best, but both are getting a lot of play time on my devices.

The three instrumental songs, in particular, do a great job of getting you into the right mood for the kind of stories the book tells — where those with vocals take you back to the era where Cyberpunk was born. So they can also put you in the right frame of mind.

A good companion piece to the anthology, and a fun listen overall. I recommend it.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of this album by the publisher, which was going above and beyond. I thank them for this — it was very generous and pretty cool of them.

—–

3 Stars

Max Hamby and the Blood Diamond by Kathy Cyr

By

On November 1, 2016

In YA/MG/Children's Books

Max Hamby and the Blood DiamondMax Hamby and the Blood Diamond

by Kathy Cyr
Series: Max Hamby, #1

Kindle Edition, 211 pg.
Gaslight Press, 2014

Read: October 29, 2016


Max is, I’m assuming, somewhere between 9-12 — like the target audience of the book — (it’s entirely possible that the book said his age and it didn’t stick with me — I’m not sure it matters that much), school doesn’t really seem like his thing, he’s a target of bullies, doesn’t seem that fond of his teacher. While on a field trip, more than a couple of things go wrong, inexplicably so (shades of a certain someone’s visit to the Zoo for his cousin’s birthday). Before he has a chance to get in trouble, he learns that his mother has disappeared, and he’s going to be cared for by a neighbor.

Soon, he learns that his neighbor, his mother — and everyone in his subdivision — has some sort of tie to magic. His mother hasn’t just disappeared, she’s been taken. Max is thrust into a world of guitar playing giants, always hungry trolls, dwarves, pixies and more family than he knew he had.

He also, it turns out, has more enemies than he knew he had — and most of them are far worse than any school bully. Max’s family are guardians of an ancient artifact that holds back great evil. Now, with his mother’s life hanging in the balance, Max has to learn magic, and stand in opposition to forces he thought were fiction just days ago.

This would be a fun series to pick up for those who want something in the vein of Harry Potter, Fablehaven, or Percy Jackson. In many ways, this isn’t anything those readers haven’t seen before. But Cyr’s take on it is about as strong as you could ask. She does some things that no one’s seen before, too — don’t misunderstand — but it’s familiar enough that it’s easy for a reader to feel comfortable in. Cyr writes with a good combination of lightness and tension, with enough twists and chuckles to grab her audience just right — with an ending that almost demands a prompt reading of the sequel.

Disclaimer: This was provided to me in exchange for my honest take on the book, which I really appreciate.

—–

3 Stars

Mutation by Nerys Wheatley

By

On October 31, 2016

In Fiction

MutationMutation

by Nerys Wheatley
Series: Twenty-Five Percent, #1

Kindle Edition, 399 pg.
Nerys Wheatley, 2015

Read: October 28, 2016


Last week, one hour after scheduling a post where I complained about Zombie stories, I loaded the next novel on my list onto my Kindle, and, of course, it’s a Zombie novel. How I agreed to read two of them in a month, I’ll never understand. I did say that there are exceptions to my “no Zombie” taste, thankfully, this turned out to be one of them.

So, in this particular version of the Zombie plague — humanity comes up with a cure before the pandemic becomes so widespread that there’s no hope for the human race. It’s not perfect, it works about 25% of the time (see the name of the series), but that’s better than nothing, right? Survivors deal with a few after-effects — enhanced strength, enhanced sense of smell, immunity to the plague, and opaque eye-coloring. Oh, and a prejudice from a significant amount of the non-infected population.

Honestly, part of that prejudice makes sense — a mysterious disease leaves some standing — after eating human flesh — who are stronger than everyone else. I can understand why it’d take a few years to get comfortable with the idea. I’m not saying I’d endorse the treatment Survivors get, but I understand the root of it.

Our protagonist is Alex — he’s a Survivor, and a police detective. Mostly he deals with paperwork and zombies, because the general populace isn’t so crazy about him doing much else. But it’s a start — he’s slowly building some credibility inside the department, too — who knows where that might lead? He lives in a part of town that’s predominantly Survivors and their families, and I enjoyed seeing the camaraderie/community there.

So, a new strain of the Zombie plague hits their town — it’s faster acting and soon the police force is overwhelmed. Before long, Alex is the only one standing (although some have just run off to be with their families), and it’s just an anti-Survivor activist and him left in the police station. Micah and Alex aren’t off to the best start — they’d been in a fist fight the night before, during a protest/riot near Alex’s home, and Alex had arrested him. Still, Alex felt compelled to rescue him from the new Zombies and the two make their way to safer parts of town, to their homes and friends — battling Zombies and saving each other’s lives.

At some point, the two become determined to see fi they can find out what caused this new versions of the plague to hit their city and to see if they can stop it.

The duo display this great mis-matched buddy-cop feel, if not for the near-apocalyptic nature of what’s going on in their city, they’d be a lot of fun to hang out with. Neither are all that interesting on their own (they might be, in the right circumstance), but together, they’re a whole lot of fun. They have to learn to trust on each other and depend on each other, just to have a fighting chance – they also have to protect each other from their friends/comrades. Neither Alex’s fellow Survivors, or Micah’s fellow anti-Survivors are all that crazy about the presence of the Other in their midst.

I really enjoyed watching that dynamic, in all its facets, work together. I wasn’t terribly interested in the story — there are only so many things that can be done in that genre, story-wise, it’s all about the characters — that’s the only way you can get someone like me to care about this. Wheatley pulls it off well.

Plenty of action, not that much gore (but what’s there is pretty well-written), some humor, some nice character interactions, and an interesting twist at the end. All in all, a pretty fun and satisfying read. I didn’t love it, but I liked it plenty. Given my own prejudices, that’s pretty good.

Disclaimer: I received this novel from the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion — my thanks to her.

—–

3 Stars

Beyond the Gray Leaf by Dustin Renwick

By

On October 25, 2016

In (Auto)Biography, History, Non-Fiction

If you’d asked, I’d have sworn I posted this back in August. I just knew I had. But I just found a half-completed draft in my draft folder and I can’t seem to find it on the blog. Ugh. I’m a horrible person.
—

Beyond the Gray LeafBeyond the Gray Leaf: The Life and Poems of J.P. Irvine

by Dustin Renwick

Kindle Edition, 154 pg.
Fleetwing Books, 2016

Read: August 8, 2016


This book is a look at the Nineteenth-Century poet J. P. Irvine — a little bit of a biography, a little sampler of his poems — and then Renwick explores some of what contributed to his disappearance from the cultural consciousness.

That’s a lot for 154 pages to pull off, but Renwick does it.

J. P. Irvine hailed from Illinois, and while he didn’t serve during the Civil War, some of his brothers did — in the same regiment featured in Huelskamp’s Friends of the Wigwam, so I felt like I already knew them. After the war, he bounced around from job to job working in newspapers, as a clerk in Washington D. C. and writing poetry throughout. He was widely published in papers throughout the country, had one collection published (to mostly positive reviews), and even read at a Presidential event.

Yet who’s heard of him? No one. Not even our author until he very accidentally ran into his book.

I’m not the biggest poetry fan in the world, but I know what I like — some of the poems printed here were pretty good, some did nothing for me. But I can see why Irving had a measure of success.

I thought this was a good short read — thought-provoking, interesting and made me think about Nineteenth Century poetry more than I had since my American Literature II class. I’d recommend this for someone needing a different type of read.

Disclaimer: This was provided to me in exchange for my honest take on the the book. My thanks for the book and apologies for the tardiness, Mr. Renwick

—–

3 Stars

Raining Embers by Jessica Dall

By

On October 20, 2016

In Fiction

Raining EmbersRaining Embers

by Jessica Dall
Series: Order and Chaos, #1

Kindle Edition, 276 pg.
Red Adept Publishing, 2015

Read: October 5 – 6, 2016


I hate books like this — I just don’t know what I can say without taking too much from the book, and then I look at the blurb/publisher’s description/etc. and everything I don’t want to say is there in a paragraph or two. So what do I know?

Palmer Tash is a theological/prophetic student who doesn’t believe in deities or prophecy, but he’s penniless and an orphan, so what else does he have to do? Brier Chastain is a bored daughter of a wealthy family, who seemingly won’t be allowed to do anything with her life other than get into trouble while waiting to hear who she’s supposed to marry.

The two of them are kidnapped and taken to some strange castle in a country they’ve never been — there, they’re told that they’re actually the current embodiments of Order and Chaos — the forces that predate time are living within them and give them supernatural powers. The two learn to depend on each other — and attempt to lean on each other for support and guidance as they fight their destinies to keep from destroying their home.

There’s a very rocky beginning to this — you have to make it to 15% or so before things start working. It seems like Dall is trying so hard to be mysterious that it ends up feeling like she’s playing games with the reader to obfuscate what’s going on. Shortly after that, we get the big reveal shortly about their actual identities, which just helps things get more interesting.

I like the main characters — and another powered being they meet — a lot. Most of the rest of the characters are too sketchy to get a real handle on. The characters are the strength of this novel so much that the plot suffers. Most of the novel is too surface-y and fast paced that you don’t really get into things the way you should. Dall created a great world, but we only get to see a small part of it. If the last 2/3 were better developed, it’s help the book so much.

It’s an entertaining read with some characters that are very appealing — Dall’s got some real talent here, I just wish she’d let it do more.

Disclaimer: This was provided to me in exchange for my honest take on the book — note that I said “honest” and not “timely.” I was supposed to have this done months ago. My thanks for the book and apologies for the tardiness, Ms. Dall.

—–

3 Stars

This Damned Band by Paul Cornell and Tony Parker

By

On October 19, 2016

In Comics, Fantasy, Fiction, Paul Cornell

This Damned BandThis Damned Band

by Paul Cornell, Tony Parker (Artist)

Trade Paperback, 160 pg.
Dark Horse, 2016

Read: October 12, 2016


I’ve struggled for a couple of days now trying to figure out what I can say about this. It’s all about the premise when it comes to this book (a collection of issues from a limited-run series).

This is a comic about one of the biggest bands of 1974, Motherfather, on what could be their last world tour — complete with a documentary crew, a gaggle of groupies, and a manager who could be the hybrid of Wilson Fisk and Colonel Tom Parker. Like many rock artists of the time, Motherfather makes a big deal about worshiping the devil as part of their stage persona. While on this tour (possibly with some psychopharmacological help), they discover they’ve actually been worshiping the devil.

Oops.

Things don’t go all that well from there.

If you like that hook, you’ll like this book. Otherwise, just skip it.

Paul Cornell wrote this, so right off that tells you this is going to be well-written. A little humor, some real people and real emotions, and some seriously messed up supernatural elements. Cornell delivers on the promise of the premise — and a little more. It’s exactly what you want to read given the hook.

As for Tony Parker? I don’t think I’ve seen his stuff before — but I’m going to keep an eye out for it. I honestly can’t think of anyone who could’ve matched the style and story of this book like he did — either in the film sections, the visions/hallucinations, or the rest. Really great work.

I should throw in a quick note here, if it’s not obvious from the subject matter, this is not for kids.

It’s not for everyone, but it’s pretty entertaining. If the concept strikes you as up your alley, it probably is — give this one a shot.

—–

3 Stars

Elphie Goes Trick or Treating by Hagit R. Oron, Or Oron

By

On October 18, 2016

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Elphie Goes Trick or TreatingElphie Goes Trick or Treating

by Hagit R. Oron, Or Oron (Illustrator)
Series: Elphie’s Books, #3

eARC, 15 pg.
Orons, 2016

Read: October 15, 2016


We’re back for another batch of fun with Elphie — this time her Halloween is off to a rocky start. Her mom is able to help her out a little bit, and gets her out the door. But that’s not the end of the trouble — but her friend Phante comes through and saves the day, getting Elphie to see how silly she was being. I actually thought they were going to end up in a different direction after her initial hesitation with the costume, but liked theirs better. But that’s not all — Phante starts having problems, and Elphie comes through and saves his holiday.

One plus to this book is that it’s not just about people helping Elphie with something. It’s everybody (including the neighbors) pitching in — not that there’s anything wrong with Mom and Dad helping out Elphie, but the variety is nice.

Okay, I’m in danger of writing a post longer than the book, so I’ll wrap up. As always, it’s a cute story with fun art — an elephant in a tiger costume is just what you need to bring a smile to your face. This continues to be a series I recommend to those who are looking for picture books.

—–

3 Stars

Operation Cure Boredom by Dan Martin

By

On October 18, 2016

In (Auto)Biography, Non-Fiction

Operation Cure BoredomOperation Cure Boredom

by Dan Martin

Kindle Edition, 260 pg.
Rascal Press, 2016

Read: October 11 – 12, 2016


In serious need of direction, training, something to do with his life post-rehab — and gullible enough to fall for the outrageous assurances of military recruiters — Dan Martin finds himself in Air Force boot camp. Which isn’t as bad as, say, what Eugene Jerome went through in Biloxi or what “Joker” Davis endured at Parris Island — but it’s pretty bad. Thankfully, Martin can now laugh about it. And he does a pretty good job getting his readers to do the same. Martin’s look back on his years in the military is told as a series of comic anecdotes — while he is trying to portray what happened to him, he’s doing it to make the reader laugh.

He never sees any kind of action — Desert Storm began and ended too soon for that, but he did travel the world as part of an aircrew maintenance team. Which leads him to all sorts of interesting locales — and even more not-so-interesting ones. Throughout his enrollment, he matures — somewhat — making this a sort of coming-of-age tale, and the Martin that is honorably discharged isn’t the same loser that enlisted.

I do think this could be 1/4-1/3 shorter, tightening up the narratives a bit would help. It meanders a bit, both in the individual stories and the overall narrative. I don’t know that I found anything out and out funny, but I found much of it amusing. That’s probably taste, or just the particular day I read it (although I think a more streamlined approach might have helped).

This could be the Non-Fiction Prequel to Joe Zieja’s Mechanical Failure, the sensibilities that characterize Sgt. Rogers are seen very clearly in Martin. Martin’s memories are good reminders for us that the military isn’t just full of heroes or hyper-violent patriots, it’s primarily full of regular Americans just trying to get their jobs done. Less over the top than Heller, Hooker and Abrams — but in the same vein, and hewing closer to the truth. Operation Cure Boredom is the military memoir we all needed.

—–

3 Stars

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