The Giver

In literature and fiction, anything in the sci-fi or fantasy genres have always been a bridge too far for me.  I find this type of story challenging beyond words.  I do not desire to "learn" a new world and the machinations thereof.  I am challenged enough by the nuances of the world I know.  Thus, I can count on one hand the books I have read in this genre in my lifetime.

So, with my current book reading challenge suggesting (nay, forcing me) to read a book set in the future, I went to my husband for a suggestion.  He suggested The Giver by Lois Lowry as an "easy and quick read."

The challenge I felt reading the first half of the book was oppressive.  I found it difficult to get through two to three pages at a time without falling asleep or finding other things that needed doing around the house.  In fact, it took me over a week to read a small nine chapters.

And then...
It took me an hour and a half to finish the rest of the book and I devoured it in one sitting, feeling somewhat satisfied with myself for chalking up my 2nd fantasy/sci-fi read.

So what gives?

I think that, as with almost all other books in this genre, a large portion of the book involves building the setting.  And, let's be real: that can be pretty boring.  Finding out all the specifics of an author's made up world can take a while.  Not that it is an unnecessary step, just a tedious one. Once the author has established this made-up world to his/her liking, he/she can move forward with plot.  And apparently plot is my jam.

The Giver, though in my opinion, is long on setting and short on plot; it is not unsatisfying.  It is a good read.  A recommended read and it deals with some pretty major themes.  But I kind of feel that it could have been a short story.  Wouldn't it have been a little more jarring if it had just plopped the reader down into the plot and left her to discover the uniqueness of the world surrounding t he plot?  Just a thought.

I can see why The Giver became an instant classic.  But I do understand why it would have been a challenge for me in eighth grade.  Heck, it was a challenge for me at 34!

-L

Rating: 3.5 out of 7

This book fulfills the "Book set in the future" for my current challenge.

Age of Misrule

Here's a hearty welcome back to the blogging scene! We've sort of caught folks up on what's been happening with our personal lives, and now we can get back to writing about what's been happening in our reading lives. Having a child has been exciting, and her weird sleep schedule (although that's pretty much normalized now) had led to some decent reading time in the wee hours. With that said, let's get back to it!

This first book since our hiatus was the first book sent out by Pyr after asking if they had any review copies. It took me a little longer than it should have to get to reviewing their books, but I'm very grateful for the opportunity to do so. Picked up a book by Mark Chadbourn by the name of World's End. It's the first book in his Age of Misrule trilogy. You start the story with a couple of English folk..... then it really gets weird! Something quite strange is happening in the natural world that appears to be connected to old mythology. After a short introductory period, you're taken on a whirlwind of destruction and oddities. 

World's End wasn't a bad book, but it's definitely a tedious book. Mark Chadbourn, the author, has quite the vocabulary and he isn't afraid to use it. I'm not one to shy away from a long word every now and then, but the usage is quite prolific(ding!) in this first novel. It's very proper and, perhaps, that's the way our English brethren prefer it. It was also a little difficult for me to get into just after delving into mythology with American Gods by Neil Gaiman (another English author). American Gods was a dichotomy of great storytelling and graphic situations. It was good, but dirty. World's End is exhausting in it's definition and sometimes feels lost when coming up to story progression. It makes you wonder upon finishing the book if it was really worth it.

All in all, if you are looking for perfect punctuation, grammar, and to expand your vocabulary then you will want to pick up this book. If you are looking for a book that touches on a bit of the ol' mythology you are more than welcome to pick this up, but I would recommend American Gods - especially the 10 year anniversary edition that can be found here.

Rating: 4 of 10 CBs

-D

The Great Divorce

I am not one to exaggerate on books very often.  The list of earth shattering, life changing books for me is very short (i.e. one).  Similarly, I am not one of those to be challenged by books so often that they shape my world view or resonate with me beyond the closing of the book (my apologies to all authors who thought that is what they were doing).  But the list of challenging books for me just got lengthened by one.

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis engaged me in a way that "fantasy" fiction never has (most of the time I don't give it a shot).  This may be because the book is really just a thinly veiled allegory for the things we hold onto so we don't have to step out in faith.  For the uninitiated (as I was), the story is that of a man who takes a bus ride to heaven.  The unfolding scenes are the backdrop for discussions that cut to the heart of faith, unbelief, rebellion, and selfishness.

I realize that all our readers would not generally be interested in anything by C.S. Lewis (other than the Narnia series) based on his religious beliefs, but I truly think this story deserves a hearing.  By way of encouragement, I offer these tips for reading this book:

1. Read it out loud, as you would to a child.  Throw the voices in, as well, you will have fun trying on a Scotch accent for size, at the very least.
2. Read only one chapter a day.  This should take no longer than 10 minutes for the longest of the chapters.

I don't know if it was just these strange choices for reading this novel that led me to such a rich enjoyment of the book, but I know it really added to the experience.  I even found myself weeping at the end of the book (haven't done that in a while), a strange and beautiful crescendo of an ending whose denoument is all to brief.

Have any of you read this book and if so are you as enraptured with it as I am?

Rating: 6.9 out of 7

-L

After Midnight, we're going to let it all hang down...

We had some big news happen in the world of Fantasy last month. TOR released the second to last Wheel of Time novel. Towers of Midnight (Wheel of Time) is basically the first half of the last book, but Jordan (and now Sanderson) has been one to write incredibly long novels so this isn't to be unexpected. One of the nice items that's been picked up since Jordan's unfortunate death has been the expediency in releasing the final few books of the series through Sanderson. The last two books were a year apart..... we're all hoping that the final chapter will be released in a year. It's bittersweet to see the end of a series that's been going for two decades, but it's also created a ton of anticipation to find out what happens. But enough about the release of the book and onto the actual book.

Towers of Midnight is the latest chapter in The Wheel of Time epic. Brandon Sanderson brings his own feel to the story, but also leaves much of Robert Jordan in this next selection. It's a fast paced novel compared to the last few. Considering that we're one book away from the Final Battle, it would make sense that we can feel the pace quickening from one about the daily struggles(and fashion) of the realm and into the unpredictability of the Dark One's touch on the same continent. If you've been struggling to finish the series, continue to hammer through and you'll get to this point. It's worth the battle.

I do have a little concern about this book. It mostly hinges on the title. Now, any Robert Jordan fans out there that need to correct me may do so, but I believe I'm correct in this. The title would suggest that Rand, the main protagonist, would be going to Seanchan(another continent that's vital, somehow, to the end game) and fulfilling the prophecy of the Dragon. But, you won't find that story in this novel. The main plots surround two other key plots. You have Perrin and his decision of leading an army to the Last Battle, and Mat, Thom, and Noal going to the Tower of Ghenji to save Moraine(an character from the first few novels). Now, wouldn't it be nice to have a book title that matters to the story at hand? I would have preferred Towers of Ghenji over something that really isn't applicable. And Sanderson throwing in a few lines at the beginning of the story to attempt to tie in the title is just rubbish. There's also one other plot point in the book that feels pretty contrived, but I don't want to give away anything. It might have been major at some other point in the timeline, but it feels minor. Perhaps the final book will bring it more perspective.

Rating: 9 CBs - It's highly entertaining and action-filled. After midnight, were gonna chug-a-lug and shout.
Were gonna stimulate some action; Were gonna get some satisfaction. Were gonna find out what it is all about

-D

I am Not a Serial Killer

Additionally (spoiler alert), this was not a good book. 

I should have been tipped off by two things: 1. The book is published by TOR, the publishing company known for publishing my husband's brand of fantasy novel (not that there is anything wrong with that) and 2. The acknowledgments inside thank first and foremost, Brandon Sanderson, author extraordinaire of my husband's brand of fantasy novels.   I discovered both of these things quickly after opening the box in which the book was shipped to me.  What inspired me to go on is a novel of a completely different brand, so boring, I was desperate to read anything else (see previous post on Vanity Fair). 

Thus, I have learned a life lesson.  Do not get desperate to read anything else.  Avoid this with all your being.  The results will not surprise you. 

To be fair, the book might be good for the fantasy loving, teen market (however, I do have strong objections to some of the content for teenagers).  In fact, the more I think about I am not a Serial Killer, the more I wonder if I somehow got suckered into reading the unthinkable...YA!  Ohh the horror that definitely overshadows any of the suspense in this novel.  It wouldn't have been all bad, but then...he whipped out the fantasy elements.  Oh well, not my taste. 

I would like to say that the novel was well written despite my aversion to the subject matter.  I would also like to say that I am glad I spent the time out of my comfort zone.  Too bad I can't say either of those with a straight face. 

Given the fact that this book is the first in a series, I would like to note to the readers of this blog, you will not find further reviews of future incarnations of this series.  I have had enough, thank you!

Rating: 1 out of 7

-L

The Sadness, In Particular

Since we started the book blog, we have a lot of suggestions for books to read from friends and acquaintances.  Rarely, someone will actually bring a book to me and say, please read this and let me know what you think.  Since this is so rare, I often take up the person on the offer.  It seems rude to do otherwise. 

I think I might start to be rude!  Here's the story:

I am into cooking.  I am currently taking a professional baking course at a local cooking class.  One of my classmates asked me if I had read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.  I told her I had heard of it but I have not read it.  The next week, she brought the book and asked me to read and let her know what I thought of it.  Since the class is winding down, I put it on the top of my to read list. 

So, now that you have background on the reason for the read, here's what I think:

I didn't like it!  I thought the beginning was compelling enough, but then it just died on the vine.  It was all idea and no substance.  The premise suits foodies well enough (I guess): a girl who can taste a person's feelings by eating the food they prepare.  Yeah, imagine what that would be like, think about it for a good 4 minutes.  Now you can skip reading this book.  Apparently, that is how long Aimee Bender thought through the plot lines of this book. 

I kept comparing it to "Heroes" (without the really interesting superpowers) and The Lovely Bones (without all the murder and stuff).  I can't tell you very much else about the plot of this book, because, although, things happen, they happen without direction.  The story just meanders on, without any resolution, without any real point.  Does she use her superpower for good or for evil, or is it just a burden she lives with forever?  You will never know because the author really didn't care enough to tell you. 

I would skip this one.  I think Ms. Bender should have thought of a direction for the protagonist and then shortened the novel to a short story.  It would have made for a much more exciting 20 pages. 

Rating: 2 out of 7

-L

The Neverending Story

The Neverending Story, can we consider this one a classic? Written in 1979 by Michael Ende, it became an instant classic and the inspiration for three movies - one remembered as excellent and two with dubious results. I also found out, with a little research, that there was a short lived TV or Mini-series based on the book. From the reviews, it seemed best to stay very far away from that one. If you're interested in the movie, go ahead and click on this The Neverending Story [Blu-ray] link(Yes, I have a Blu-Ray player and use the power of my will to force readers to purchase one as well... you need it!). But, if you want to see a movie with an actor that committed suicide later in life click on this The NeverEnding Story / The NeverEnding Story II link. The sequel was one of the creepiest movies that I saw as a child. The actor, Jonathan Brandis, has really freaky eyes! But I've talked about that already - HERE.

Back to the book, The Neverending Story is about a child whose attempt to hide from the school bullies sends him on a journey through the alternate world of Fantastica. Bastian, the boy, steals a book out of the shop that he hid himself in and then hides up in the school attic. As he starts reading, the world seems magically alive and in dire need of help. I'm sure that everyone has seen the movie, so why give you the entire plot?

For those that have seen the movie and not read the book, let's just say the movie really takes place in about the first 120 pages of the novel. The rest of the Neverending story is a continuation of where the movie sort of left off. I guess you have to take certain liberties to create a movie from a book. For instance, Atreyu happens to be a green human-like creature and not just a tanned boy! I did learn that I've been spelling Falkor wrong all this time. My first and only cat was named Falcore, after the luckdragon in the movie. After 20+ years it's good to know that I had it wrong all this time.

But what a book! It's a little lengthy at points, but the story flows well. Think Arabian Nights meets Aesop's Fables meets Grimm's Fairy Tales. It's an adventure through one world with many themes. That happens to be the point of Fantastica - dreams of the human world make up the realm of Fantastica. It's not as dark as Grimm's, but there are some points that are eerie, some that are sad, and some that are life lessons (e.g. Aesop's Fables). It definitely reminded me of my childhood, but I would recommend to all ages. I'll be watching the movie soon to see how much they actually got right.

Rating: 7.5 CBs - I won't be reading it again soon, but it was a good novel to add to the list. I got the Penguin version of the paperback and like the look just a little more than the image on top. It also doesn't appear that Ende wrote a sequel to The Neverending Story or, if he did, it was never translated from the original German. And it's tough to write a review without giving the story and most of my opinions.... that are based on the differences between the book and the movie, or major plot points. =\

-D

Best Served Cold

My wife found the author, Joe Abercrombie, while making a Border's run one day. She picked up The Blade Itself (The First Law: Book One) while I ended up purchasing Orcs. Let's just say that Orcs is still sitting on the library shelf while I've read through Abercrombie's first trilogy and semi-sequel. He's an excellent newish author in the fantasy realm. If you're trying to source him, I'd maybe put him somewhere near George Martin - opinion based on what I've read and heard about Martin and not because I've read any of his novels. Now let's take a quick look at my latest read book.

Best Served Cold is a sequel, of sorts, to The First Law trilogy. It takes place in the same world with a few of the same characters and a lot of name dropping from the trilogy. It's not a true sequel, but I felt that by the end of the book. I'm almost expecting to see the next book take us back North and follow the Bloody Nine(one of the main characters from The First Law). The story follows a general of the greatest mercenary group in Styria, The Thousand Swords. After all the help given by General Murcatto to secure the throne to Duke Orso, he attempts to kill her and her brother as payment for her loyalty to the cause. With her brother now dead, her body broken, and no army behind her, Murcatto vows to take revenge on the men that ruined her life. That's where the book starts and the story takes off.

Having read four books by Joe Abercrombie, I can definitely say that he's a great author. The books are well-written and the story very engaging. That's not to say that all is right with the - Abercrombie - world. The books tend to have some very perverse sections. I'm not here to read a sleazy romance novel and, up to this point, the majority of my Fantasy/Sci-Fi experience hasn't included a lot of sex. I think that Joe might have gotten more descriptive in this novel than he was in his first three. He also cusses more than the other authors that I tend to frequent - Robert Jordan, Modesitt, Cook, etc. Does it detract from the story? It does a bit, for me personally. I would prefer to not have to shade over a section of the book to get back to the meat of it. It also limits what I might recommend to other readers that share some of the same ideals.

Rating: 7 CBs - The storyline was good albeit pretty similar character stylings as the first trilogy. I can't recommended this to everyone. I would stay away from the book if you don't like cussing or have a huge problem with sex stuff. It's lewd and descriptive. This novel is a bit like the last Stephen King novel I finished. The story is fascinating; captivating, but with some big distractions.

-D

The Magic of Recluce

 Before I start off on the book review, I have to say that I just finally noticed that Modesitt has been spelling Recluse wrong this entire time. I've had his books laying around for over a decade and never noticed this! I'm assuming that I've missed how he spells Recluse as Recluce just for the sake that my brain couldn't fathom it being misspelled. It makes you wonder if it got printed this way on the first run, but they decided to run with it. Is it supposed to be said in the same way as recluse, or does it have some other pronunciation? re-kloo-k? It's just a mind scramble to me! I even verified on his own website to make sure it wasn't a problem with Amazon. =\

The Magic of Recluce throws the reader into a slightly different fantasy realm than normal. Sure, the world is full  of medieval age technology - swords, crappy hotels, poor food - but they also have guns and some steam technology to boot. The drastic change from your typical Dragonquest or D&D style fantasy is the magic system. You're two competing schools of thought are Order and Chaos. In some ways, you can attribute some Eastern mythology to the way this works. While they compete, they must also be balanced. It's intriguing how Modesitt brings the two forces together within the individual and through the world. That would be enough to pick up this first book and try it out. The book mostly follows one protagonist with a few minor characters touched on throughout. It's mostly a journey of discovery.... don't want to say much more.

I really enjoyed my re-read. I've read a couple of his books before and he's done a good job at keeping your interest through the three hundred to four hundred pages. But it's not all perfect. I'm not a big fan of how he incorporates noises through the book. You'll get a few whees, yehaws, wooshes, and others. They also don't always mean the same thing. It's not enough to put down the book for me, but some folks might just pass after the first novel.

Rating: 7 CBs - I've read it three times so it has to have something going for it. I'm also excited about having the other books of the series. I can finally finish up an entire set!

-D

beware the ides of stump

I just finished my last Robert Jordan novel. I'll keep this short since we're we've had six Jordan specific reviews this year. Or maybe seven; can't remember. But, Knife of Dreams was well worth the send off for one of the great fantasy writers of the last few decades. He didn't get to finish his magnum opus, but left enough notes, chapters, segments, and information to pass the torch to an author that appears to be well enough to be his successor. I'm looking forward to starting the *new* book in The Wheel of Time series, but I'm also a little sad that we've seen the end of Jordan. Thankfully, we have eleven novels and 7000+ pages to always go back to.

With that said, I just have a couple observations, personal or not, for Jordan readers and non-readers:

1. Power through - Get past the first forty pages of book one and you'll enjoy the series into book five or six. Get past books seven through nine, perhaps part of ten, and you'll find that it was worthwhile. Book Eleven made it special. You can actually feel a culmination of story as things come down to the finale.
2. Be excited - only three more books to go!
3. Be proud - this isn't a small task to undertake. Tolkien was 4 novels(possibly 5 movies). You have 11 going on 14 novels with Jordan.
4. Personal - I can't get behind a man with a stump. <- I'm a little unnerved at the plot turn.

Edit: My wife believes that I should have written more about the stump - or handless protagonist - that now wedges its nub comfortably in the WoT storyline. I find that it's one of those plot choices that comes up a little short. Especially, when Balefire can be the best way to cure recently created wounds and death(read the story). Anyhow, while I would give an arm and a leg to hand stumpy his appendage back, I'm sure that it serves a purpose.

Rating: 9 CBs - You'll want to read the last two hundred pages in one sitting. You don't want to sleep during the first 300 and the last 200. It's a great read and made the tedium seem a fleeting moment.

-D

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend"

You best recognize! Review from da' hood, Yo! mad props, fo' real.

I'll have to preface this blog post with a very unnerving comment made over at Dead White Guys Lit. Some fellow bloggers aren't too friendly about Twilighter's and let the world know. Mind you, I'm fine with that b/c I will NEVER go see or read Twilight. It's way out of my sphere of influence (although I have some friends that enjoy it and I won't hold it against them. =P). But, a comment was made that compared Robert Jordan's epic works to Stephanie Meyer's tween vampire trend-work! She called the works BAD! Oh, my inner ghettotude came out and my head was going side-to-side, fingers snapping, and about fourteen "oh no she didn't"s were uttered. He has helped shaped the modern fantasy epic, and is this generations J.R.R. Tolkien based on innovation and scope. Needless to say, it took about twelve Valium and a coma to calm me down for defacing a great author.

Pop off! Pop Off!

Surprise, Surprise! I was reading a Robert Jordan book at the time of the comment posted above. In fact, you could say that every day for the last 15 years I have been reading a Robert Jordan book at one point. My inner circle of high school friends would also attest to the sheer magnitude of greatness that Robert Jordan started, but wasn't able to complete(*sob*). Crossroads of Twilight is the tenth book in The Wheel of Time series. At this point in the story, we're still entrenched in about 30 different plot lines. Crossroads is a little different than the first nine books. The events of this novel happen almost entirely during the time as last few chapters of Winter's Heart. Rand and Nynaeve are doing something exceptional with the One Power that can be felt by everyone on the continent. Book Ten takes you through the other main characters storyline's during the time that's happening. Egwene, Elayne, Mat, Perrin, Faile, and their surrounding characters have varying reactions to the "big event" while dealing with the drama of their own situations. I have a feeling that Jordan does this b/c he couldn't fit all that information into the last novel. It would have made it 1200 pages or so.... which I would have been happy with. Epics are great!

You best stop frontin'!

I continue to say that Jordan is a wonderful author. He has created a living world who's scope is as large as Tolstoy's War and Peace... (1000+ characters). He is long winded and does take description down to the nth level. But that tedium is made worthwhile when the action starts and the pieces start falling into place. I've been reading the series since The Shadow Rising came out in '93. Every time a new book came out I would go back and re-read the series. It's been a tough one with the amount of books, but there was never a time that I didn't read the series and pick something new out. I get some joy out of reading book 3 for the sixth time and noticing that he picked that plot up and/or finished it out in a later book. Yes, he describes clothing and politic enough to make people cringe....  but a good portion is there on purpose. In light of that, the Egwene section of Crossroads is slow and not my favourite part, but all is forgiven/enjoyed by the time I close the cover.

Bounce!

Rating: 7.5 CBs - ratcheting up anticipation after a couple slow progression novels. ALMOST to Brian Sanderson's (Jordan's successor) 12th book!!!! By the way, very ghettorammar to be had. Hope I wasn't misleading, Yo.

Something Old, Something New

Hey, real catchy title there? Makes you feel like it's part of a wedding or something! But, I can't say that this is as eventful as most weddings. The title didn't really come to me till three days after watching half a Bridezilla's episode and getting 99.9% done with my current book. I decided to pick up a OLD book from a NEW author - to the blog. Yah, it doesn't have much of a ring to it after that's explained. I would like to note that the women that I saw on Bridezilla's were awful(so thankful I didn't get one of those) and that they have no relation to the book other than the fact that the Evil creatures in the book act like those brides. So maybe there is a bit of a relation.... (NOTE: That's not me.. that's the author. I would feel sorry for my wife if that photo was indicative of my age. But, if I was that old and she was young I could use words like Nubile and Lolita - be a perverted old man, not to insinuate that the author is. I've never met him.)

The author this week was Dennis L. McKiernan. I picked up The Dark Tide (Iron Tower Trilogy) (Book 1) at a used book store some time way way way back on a family vacation. Distant memory seems to be that I never finished the first book and I would have to agree that I didn't remember much of it. The book says that this was his first book or foray into published authordom. I have to say that it wasn't that bad coming from one who's main profession was as an engineer. It's written well, and feels like someone well versed in J.R.R. Tolkien. In fact, there are many similarities. Wikipedia says that McKiernan wrote a sequel to Lord of the Rings while hospitalized, but was denied by the Tolkien Miscellany Committee (I made that committee up - the rest is true). For OG fantasy, I will finish up this trilogy, and might pick up another one of his series.

The Dark Tide starts with a dormant evil force waking up in the North. The laws that were placed over the evil forces appear to have weakened over the years and now they prepare to attack the land. You are introduced to a small in stature group called the Warrow's, or Buccen. This might remind you of the Hobbits in LOTR - they share many similarities, but the Buccen can be mighty warriors! The Hobbits were not. Also, please don't confuse these with the Bukken from Tad William's The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Book 1) series. Those were evil, tricksy things! Anyways, you do have your run of the mill Humans, Elves, and Dwarves(haven't seen one yet, but talked about). The Buccoes - Warrow slang! They're so ghetto! - are at the heart of this traditional Good-v-Evil story. Can the good hearts of Men, Elves, and Warrow alike save the world against the likes of Rhuks, Orgrus, and Modru?

McKiernan does an good job with the start of his career. His reading is a little more along the lines of the Dragonlance series than Robert Jordan or Stephen King. That's not a bad thing for the story he's telling. It's a back to basics type feel that you need every once in a while. The gray area that the authors I've been dealing with lately isn't breached in The Dark Tide. It shows that a good story can take many forms.

Rating: 5 CB's - I think I'm pretty easy on books. This one is right in the middle for me. It's not as engaging as Robert Jordan can be, Stephen King has been(the non-naughty stuff), and Glen Cook will aways be. It's a shorter novel(300pgs) so you can have a little story like this between. I'm excited to see how he evolves as a writer over the rest of the trilogy and another novel of his.

Shootin' Traitors, Findin' Love, Clickin' Heels, Hopin' for Home

We were left hanging at the end of the last Dark Tower book. Stephen King wanted to bring a little suspense to that last novel and give some expectation to book four of the series. In Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, Book 4) we're thrust in right where we left off with Roland and Company aboard Blaine the Choo-Choo. It didn't start as a luxury trip and certainly didn't continue that way as the sped across the wastes. Where the ka-tet(the Gunslinger and his group) ends up is far from their intended destination. They're thrust into an alternate world that no one would be happy to call home.

It's in this alternate universe that Stephen King decides to take the readers back in time to one of the shaping moments in the Gunslingers past. Up until this point, the Dark Tower series has mentioned a few names and a few other tid-bits about the world before it passed on. We're now taken back to a young Roland with his original ka-tet of Alain and Cuthbert. It was a fresh look at Roland and how he became the Gunslinger he is today - even if it's just a small part of a big story. This flashback covers Roland's first love as well and the tragedy that befell them. In a lot of ways, knowing the background helps to strengthen the story going forward. Once you know the reason one acts they way they do you can build that character in a stronger way.

As for writing, Stephen King continues to write an incredible story. He does step off the deep end when it comes to sexuality and coarseness. I guess that I should have known that it would go there at some point, but three books in gave me a false sense of security. I'm assuming that some of this could have been transplanted into a harlequin novel and been right at home. For me, that didn't add much to the story. I could have used less of that and more explanation of the world and it's characters. Perhaps it's a little like the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. The American public didn't need to know any details other than that he had an affair and lied under oath about it. Anyhow, It's at this book that I don't know if I can fully recommend this series of books to other readers. I have thoroughly enjoyed the series and will finish it, but 50 pages or so could be eliminated. This is not a book series for every person.

Rating: 7 - excellent progression; equal action and suspense; can't recommend, but will finish the story

Dare to be redundant - Robert Jordan

I'm sure that you are totally bored with all my Jordan reviews. In some ways, I am bored of writing them. He's an excellent writer with an epic to end all epics. So how do you continue to review books that are equally well written, and about the same characters? I'm not sure you can! I will say that this book had some slow parts, but overall was exciting. It held up the story well. You get a bit of action and a bit of detail. So if you are this far along just keep on chugging. It gets better, and you are more than halfway through! YAY! It means that I am very close to reading the new book.... new to me.

Rating: 8 of 10 - The True Source was the main part... or was it?

-D

Mini Review: Stephen King

Reading long series makes it a little tough to give in-depth reviews every time I read the next book. Unfortunately, I think we'll have a little bit of that on here with Jordan, King, Williams, Cook, and Abercrombie. In the next few reviews, I'm going to try to read some out of series books - Defoe, Melville, and maybe some Lovecraft.

Back to the review, The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower, Book 3) takes up where we left off with Roland and the others. It was a very intense read for the series. Of the first three, this one has had the best pace and the greatest desire to read through the entire book without putting it down to do all the normal stuff in life - bathroom, eating, talking. King writes out his characters well.

I do have a couple gripes. Close to the end, the story seems to just leap forward without telling what happens. One moment, the group is split up and the next they're at their destination. And that's right at the moment where some heavy stuff is happening. It felt incomplete. Leah thinks that he'll just tell that story in one of the next books, but it could be a little out of place. My other gripe is how the book ends. I'm all for having a cliffhanger, but this one was way too abrupt. At least give us a little conclusion. I would be beside myself if I was reading these when he was writing them!

Rating: 8 - can't get enough. I'm sad that I have to put it down for a while and read some other books.

-D

The Drawing of the King

Late last year I decided that I'd try out an author that I had no real desire to ever really try out. Stephen King ended up surprising me with The Dark Tower series and Gunslinger, the first book in the series. I'm sure I'll have some *bonus* books near the end of the year so I'll save that review for then. This year I finally picked up book two of that series: The Drawing of the Three.

A little backgound is going to be in order. Roland, the gunslinger, has finished the first part of his quest for the Dark Tower. While he has traversed his world to the very ends of it, he's still without the clarity to know his next move. All he knows is that he must reach his goal. At the onset of this book, things are not going well for him. Let's just say that Roland and Lobsters do not mix. Fortunately for the gunslinger, the man in black(neither Johnny Cash or the gunslinger) knew that life was going to get really strange..... in the form of a door in the middle of a beach.

Now, this was definitely not what I was expecting from a fantasy novel. You have the gunslinger which feels like it's out of a western. In fact, the first book is about 90% western w/ 10% fantasy. The characters that join Roland end up being a junkie, a woman with a dual personality, and a killer. And that's not even the weirdest part!

Stephen King does an excellent job at keeping the pace up in the book compared to the last. He made interesting characters, furthered the story, and presented a story with incredible depth. King doesn't create a book that's terribly difficult to read. You get what he's trying to say, and his humor is pretty enjoyable in this series(tooter fish!). This isn't a book for one who's sensibilities are offended by crude language. The aforementioned characters are as gritty as they sound. If you don't mind, then you'd probably enjoy it.

-D

Rating: 8 CBs! It's a great read - great book two... and it's not scary!

Mini Review: JORDAN

This is a quickie book review since I can't talk about Robert Jordan every other week. The book in question is The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan. It's book eight in the series. It was a pretty smooth read that didn't get any of the plot lines that were going completed while ADDING another two or three. There were a couple slow spots, but enough action that you could keep reading. I.E. finished up about 100 pages the last night(or 1/5th of the book). All in all, on par for Jordan.

"I killed the whole world, and you can too, if you try hard."

-D

Rating: 7.5 beverages. I only got tired a couple times while reading. Most of my book breaks were for other reasons like work, food, or other obligations.

Crown of Getting Better

I'm sure that the blog reader is sick of hearing about Robert Jordan, and we are getting through the series at a decent fashion. We are officially through half of the series after completing book seven this week. That's not to say that we're going to have the best reads coming up, but we'll definitely have some good storyline's.

A Crown of Swords picks up right after the incident at Dumai Well's in Lord of Chaos. Rand is safe again(relatively) and the world continues to move toward the inevitable. Jordan was able to pick it up a bit from the last book. He still enjoys describing the infinitesimal, but that doesn't hold back the story this time. There's plenty of action, or plot thickening. In most epics, you need to have some action to break up the world building and character development. In A Crown of Sword we follow three major story lines with a couple smaller ones thrown in there. They do take prominence and they do keep the flow pretty natural.

I'm finding it a little tough to write a lot about Robert Jordan's series since there are so many books. I'll be saying a lot of the same things for each novel. I'll just leave it at this:

"If you don't know everything, you must go on with what you do know."

Rating: 7.7 out of 10 caffeinated beverages. It's better than book six, but not as good as the first couple.

-D

Some book series shouldn't end!

"Four years passed, and no one died."

I love Glen Cook's novels! In a way, I'm sad that I completed The Black Company series and have to move on to a new series. After eleven books you would think that you would be relieved and ready to read something else. I am going to miss the anticipation of waiting for the next one to come out, or which characters doing what, and even what's going to happen at the end.

Soldiers Live is is the last book in the Black Company epic series ( I shouldn't say that it is definitely going to be the last. Glen Cook said he'd like to write a couple more Black Company novels, but he has other contracts). This is the last book that follows the original members from the very first book. After so many pages, you really get to know Croaker, One Eye, Goblin, and all the newcomers. Glen Cook really threw in some twists and turns to this one. The action at the beginning of the book is quick and to the point - one page chapters will do that - with a little "empire building" at the middle and back to non-stop action for the conclusion.

I might say that this is one of the best written books in the eleven book series. The first book takes a little time to warm up to his style. Soldiers Live reminds me more of Book two than any other book in the series. It's well written; abrupt at points, but that's the whole ordeal you get to deal with. It makes the book exciting. Glen Cook makes it easy to follow. You aren't bogged down with so many characters that one chapter has you attempting to remember who's who and where you are.

All in all, Glen Cook did an excellent job of bring story and characters front and center. The only thing that might be missing is a more detailed ending. And I stress "might"! It's an excellent book. I'm going to miss the emotion you felt even though this was about a bunch of amoral soldiers. I'm sure I've said this before, but if you're going to pick up a Fantasy series for the first time you should probably pick this one up over Williams, Tolkien, and even.... Jordan! If you enjoy Cook then you'll find yourself enjoying those guys just as much.

"Is is immortality of a sort.

Memory is immortality of a sort.

In the night, when the wind died and silence rules the place of glittering stone, I remember. And they all live again."

-D

Rating: 9 of 10 caffeinated beverages! It's too good. I am half tempted to start the whole series over again tonight. *sigh*

Another Epic, Another Day

This is a lesson in procrastination. I finished last weeks book early - Wednesday - and I'm writing the review late. But, certain things happen and you make due. Luckily, it's a good book followed by a few more books. It's also more of the same, but I like what I like.

I read Tad Williams book The Dragonbone Chair. It's the first in the epic trilogy that made Williams famous. The king who united the continent is dying, and with his death comes incredible change - for good or bad? There are multiple main characters ranging from the kings sons to a young castle scullion. The enemies are expected, but also unseen.

As with any epic series, the author can be a little long winded. It doesn't hurt Williams in this series though. The first book sets the stage for what's going to become quite a tale in the next three books(took two parts to finish the last book). The trials are not all that common to the fantasy story, but align more closely than Glen Cook's epics. It's a great series, and definitely work picking up.

Rating: 6 caffeinated beverages - I can't give this more b/c the rest of the series gets better. (Another group of books he's written are also take the top rank)