Review: Ark - Stephen Baxter

Rating: 2
Husband: Didn't Read
Got it: Second Hand Bookstore
Price: $3.50
Finished it: last month


Synopsys:
Hundreds will live, six billion will die.

Our world ended in 2052, the year the last great flood finally overwhelmed the lands.

A desperate bid for survival began in America, in the years before the end. The project which could be our final act could also be an impossible dream: creating a starship to take a few hundred survivors on an epic journey to a new world.

As the waters rise, as savage wars are fought over the remaining high ground, the work goes on. Those who will live, of the billions who will die, are chosen. Families are torn apart and the resources of our drowning world are marshalled for one last gamble.

Ark is the story of three women, Grace, Venus and Holle, and their part in humanity's struggle to reach a new home. For the few survivors, the day of the launch will be only the beginning of the nightmare

Review:

I was sadly disappointed in this book. I really like the idea, but I had to force myself to read this one. It really should be rated a 1, but I pushed hard to get through because there were some pretty interesting concepts that could have been fully flushed out. Sadly, not many of them did.

The end of the world is here, water is creeping up inch by inch and there is only going to be a few ways that people can survive. This book focuses on the people/children that get sent up into space to re-populate a new planet and carry on the human race.

I don't know where to really begin, but every awesome idea that peeked my interest, was never fully explored. I found the lack of discipline by the chosen/trained survivors to be annoying. WHO would train their whole life to become the first idiot jerk in space and knowingly FUBAR the mission when your lives totally depend on it, not to mention the entire human race? Forget all the science and calculations on how long to get there, resources on ship for the number of people etc.

Also, if we could make faster than light space travel that could sustain life in a vacuum for 45 years, then I think maybe they could have made a floating city that would have been able to manage to keep people on earth alive a little better then a "giant submarine with only 100 people on it".

Anyway, there are enough thought provoking ideas in the book that it’s going to get a 2, but really it should be a 1. I skimmed many a chapter. I cursed at many a chapter. If you like space exploration, coupled with extreme human drama, the second half of this book is for you. If you like post apocalyptic human drama as resources become more and more scarce, then the first half of this book is for you.

Review: The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - Stephen King

Rating: 4

Husband: loved it

Found it: SHBS

Price: $1.50

Finished it: early 2012

Synopsys:

It tells the story of the gunslinger, Roland of Gilead, and his quest to catch the man in black, the first of many steps towards his ultimate destination - the Dark Tower.

Review: 

I had read these story when I was much younger and had really forgotten what it was all about and never did complete the series, which I am in the middle of now.  Stephen Kings writing in this is gritty, dirty, and desperate. I can taste the sand between my teeth while reading this.

If the first line in this book doesn't just grab you by the neck and make you want to read more, I don't know what will.

"The man in black fled accross the desert, and the Gunsligner followed".

Fraking beautiful.

Review: Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series) - Patricia Briggs

Rating: 5

Husband: liked it

Got it: Books 1 - 4  - Second hand bookstore

            Books 5 & 6 - Nook (I just couldn't wait)

Finished: 2011

Price: SHB - $avg: $3.50, Nook: $12.00

Synopsys:
“Werewolves can be dangerous if you get in their way, but they’ll leave you alone if you are careful. They are very good at hiding their natures from the human population but I’m not human. I know them when I meet them, and they know me, too.

Mercy Thompson’s sexy next—door neighbor is a werewolf.

She’s tinkering with a VW bus at her mechanic shop that happens to belong to a vampire.

But then, Mercy Thompson is not exactly normal herself…and her connection to the world of things that go bump in the night is about to get her into a whole lot of trouble.

Mercy must rescue the Alpha of the local werewolf pack and his young daughter, after they are taken by a band of humans and werewolves who are testing new medical drugs on werewolves. While helping Adam she must ask the Marrok, the leader of all North American werewolves, for help and encounters an old flame, Samuel Cornick, who decides to move back to the Tri-Cities with Mercy in an effort to win her back

Review:
I resisted reading these books for some time.  I kept seeing book 1 and book 2 in the second hand bookstore that I frequent, and I would pick up - read, put back.  Must have happened 4 times.   Luckily for me, the first 4 books finally appeared all together on the shelf and I thought, well, if its good, I'll have them all to read. If its bad, I'll bring them back.

I'm SO HAPPY I finally read these.  They have a great lead, a bit of romance, NO swearing, and a great urban day setting with fantastic melding of werewolves, vampires, fairy creatures and Native American magic/lore thrown in for good measure. Really a wonderful series, and I wouldnt hesitate to recommend them to a 13+ audience.

Mercy Thompson is awesome; strong willed, self sufficient, smart, sassy and confident. I love her. The "Pack" is great, lots of good characters, and background. I really like the inclusion of a homosexual character that isn't simpering, just a regular guy in a committed relationship.

In fact, as each book went along, the characters and small players in the previous books shone, and Mercy really developed throughout.  All in all, I started and finished the series in under a month, and the husband really liked it too.  Even the romance parts which he said, "weren't so bad that they were a turn off in reading".  Strong praise indeed!!

Here is the Series Synopsys:

• Moon Called (2006)

Mercy must rescue the Alpha of the local werewolf pack and his young daughter, after they are taken by a band of humans and werewolves who are testing new medical drugs on werewolves. While helping Adam she must ask the Marrok, the leader of all North American werewolves, for help and encounters an old flame, Samuel Cornick, who decides to move back to the Tri-Cities with Mercy in an effort to win her back.

• Blood Bound (2007)

Mercy accompanies her vampire friend Stefan on a task and encounters an evil demon-possessed vampire sorcerer who is on a killing rampage. She learns that only she can stop the sorcerer, and with everyone she cares for missing she must take out the sorcerer before he destroys her friends. Amidst all this chaos she is also caught between her feelings for the Alpha of the local werewolf pack, Adam Hauptman, and her old flame Samuel Cornick, who is currently living with her while he battles internally with his wolf.

• Iron Kissed (2008)

Mercy is requested by her friend and old boss Zee to investigate some murders on the fae reservation near her home. During the investigation Zee is framed as a murderer and Mercy must work to free him from human prison. During the book she finally chooses between Samuel and Adam.

• Bone Crossed (2009)

Mercy has been marked an enemy of the local seethe for killing the right hand man of the head mistress, Marsillia. She becomes mated to Adam and in an effort to save her friends and get away from Marsillia, Mercy travels to Spokane to help her friend rid her house of a ghost. Once there Mercy uncovers a much bigger problem than a ghost and is captured by a powerful vampire on a quest to keep Mercy for her skills as a walker.

• Silver Borne (2010)

In an attempt to return a book she once borrowed from a fae friend, Mercy discovers that something bad has happened to him and she has the reason why in her possession. While she attempts to find her fae friend, Adam's pack is in an upheaval about Mercy being added to the pack without their consent, so they attempt to sabotage her and Adam's relationship.

• River Marked (March 2011)

Finally hitched, Mercy and Adam vacation on their honeymoon. The honeymoon ends quickly when people start dying in the river. It is up to Mercy and her new friends to stop the monster who is killing the swimmers. Mercy also gets to learns about her heritage and who her real father is.

Review: Wolf Moon - Charles De Lint

Rating: 3
Husband: liked it
Got it: Second Hand Bookstore
Price: $1.25
Finished: Last month

Synopsys:
His name when he was human was Kern. Now he is the most feared of beings: a werewolf. When the change first came upon him, his parents drove him away with silver daggers. Later, he sought human companionship, but he could not hide the truth for long. And so he kept running until he ran headlong into the deadliest pursuer of all-a harper bent on stealing his life away. By chance Kern was able to find refuge at the Inn of the Yellow Tinker, and the woman he was destined to love. But can he risk both human and harper vengeance to keep her?

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Review:

Show Less

"The Inn of the Yellow Tinker", if that doesn't make you want to find a chair to curl up in with a cuppa tea and read this book, then I don't know what would! 

This is an old book by Charles De Lint, and (if you believe the interwebs) not an easy one to find, so I'm glad that it caught my eye while I was cruising the second hand bookstore.

It was an easy read, flowing style, and a wonderful plot. By todays standards, I would almost classify it as a "longish" short story.  If course, I really enjoy diving into a giant brick of a book, like Patrick Rothfuss writes.

The story was charming and the characters were red-cheeked wholesome farmers. The antagonist was an interesting fellow, and I liked that more was reviled about him through the story.  Great Stuff.

Definatley seek this little story out if you see it.

Review: Living with the Dead, Year One - Joshua Guess

Rating: 4
Husband: Loved it
Got it: Kindle
Price: $5.99
Finished it: last month

Synopsys:
(Comprised of Book I and Book II already available on Kindle) Living With the Dead - Year One is a serialized story of everyday life at the beginning of and during the zombie apocalypse. Its original format was and is an almost daily blog.

Told in the author's own voice, LWtD is the story of a group of survivors in central Kentucky, working to stay alive amid the violence and chaos of a crumbling civilization. Faced with threats and challenges that tax their endurance and force them to make terrible choices, the story follows the survivors day to day.

From the viewpoint of one man and his friends, the answer to the question of what people will become when the rules no longer apply begins to emerge. For some, it is violent conflict.

For others who only want to live in peace, this is a journey toward understanding that in a world of the dead, the only choice is to truly live.

Review:
This was awesome.  The "book" is done blog style, including typos and all - as the author Joshua Guess explains - to make it seem more real. 

This is also a real time blog, (http://www.livingwiththedead.net/) that you can follow daily as well, so, should you be a dedicated blog reader, you really don't have to buy anything. You can just got and start at post 1 on the blog and go on through. However, I liked the story, I want to support self pub'ed as much as possible, and I LOVE zombie stuff, so we bought it.

I really enjoyed the time lapse, the urgency, and the how the characters adapted and changed through the different circumstances they were challenged with.  I do enjoy reading blogs, and this fit in well with that.  It was snapshots, sometimes cliff-hangers, sometimes long and rambling, but all in all, well thought out for what could possibly happen should there be a zombie outbreak and the world as we know it go bye-bye, and there is still the interwebs to write about it.

I really enjoyed the description of the zombie mutation, I liked the twists that it held later on. It kept it more fresh in terms of out-thinking "mindless" zombies.   There were the occational times where I was brought out of the story by some continuity stuff, and a few times I didn't think that the activity matched the time stamp (farming times, etc), but all in all a wonderful entertaining and great peek into the lives of surivors.

If you like blogs and zombies (and who doesn't.... do you hate bacon too?), the give this book a shot.

Review: On Basilisk Station - David Webber

Rating: 3
Husband: Loved it
Got it: Second Hand Bookstore
Price: $2.50
Finished: 2 months ago

Synopsys:
The first novel in David Weber's popular Honor Harrington series, On Basilisk Station, follows Commander Honor Harrington and Her Majesty’s light cruiser Fearless during their assignment to the Basilisk system. Though Basilisk has become a dumping ground for misfits and rejects from her home colony of Manticore, Honor is determined to discharge her duty regardless of the circumstances.

The story follows Honor and her crew as they deal with the responsibilities of their assignment. When their duty leads them to discover events that would lead to an invasion of Manticore, they have no choice but to act.

Review:
Space Opera meets Top Gun!  My Husband is a huge fan of these books and was appalled that I hadn't read them.   So we went about changing that!

I've found book one - On Basilisk Station - at a second hand bookstore and I really enjoyed it.  Some of the space technical stuff was a bit much for me, not being the hard science person like some out there.  I got the big picture technially, and I really liked the ideas he puts in on space travel and warps bands.  Very thoughtful stuff!   The supporting characters can be a little flat, but as the book progressed, they personalities came out more. I love the main character, Honor and her space cat!  She is very pragmatic and I like that in a leader.

The book wasn't what I was expecting at all, and after the first couple of chapters I wasn't sure that I was going to like it.   Once it got rolling, it hooked me.  The action was fast, the ending set up was excellent, I loved the desperation and the great interspace fighting.  Good solid reading material! 

I'm currently keeping an eye out for more of these as I cruise the bookshops.

Review: John Carter of Mars Collection - Edgar Rice Burroughs

Rating: 4
Husband: loved it (long ago when he was a lad)
Got it: Nook
Price: $0.99 for them ALL!
Finished: 2012

Synopsys (A Princess of Mars):

Let the adventures begin, as Captain John Carter finds himself transported to the alien landscape of Mars-where the low gravity increases his speed and strength exponentially. Taken prisoner by Martian warriors, he impresses them with his remarkable fighting skills, and quickly rises to a high-ranking chieftain. But the heroic Carter's powers thrust him right in the middle of a deadly war raging across the planet--and a dangerous romance with a divine princess.

Review: 
After getting dragged unwillingly to go see the Disney film for John Carter of Mars, I was HOOKED. I know the movie got terrible reviews, but I think that had a lot more to do with misplaced expectations then the quality of the movie.

I came home and immediately downloaded the books onto my nook and got to reading that night.

The collection includes three novels by ERB:
A Princess of Mars
The Gods of Mars, and
Warlord of Mars

The style is different then what people read/write now; very documentary style/journal-esk, but I have to say that I was captivated.  I managed to get through all three books in a week. I couldn't put them down and I read well into the early hours of night.  Work suffered.  The dog did not get his regular length morning walks. I was tired.

I don't think that I have had that much book enjoyment for 99 cents ever!  If you have not read these, then I really suggest you do. Also - content appropriate for YA.  Very modest back in the day! 

Also. I love Tars Tarkas!!

Review: Divergent - Veronica Roth

Rating: 2.5
Husband: didn't read
Got it: Airport Retail
Price: $15.99
Finished: last month

Synopsys:
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Review:
I was disappointed in this read. The premise was interesting, I liked the division of the society into factions, but it felt like it was done for the sake of making the society interesting, not really adding any value.  Each faction seemed to hate the others. So how did it function then? Where were the lessons learned from pre-apocalypse that would make the factions needed.  Wouldn't each faction appreciate the sacrifices of the others?  It ended up as a distraction to me through the book.

The idea is that everyone HAS TO act a certain way, i.e. that they were born to a faction and must act like that faction seemed silly. Then letting people choose to be something else at 16. Duh, who wouldn't at 16?! I would've gone to live with bears in the forest at 16 to get away from my parents. 

Also, The Divergent was supposed to be special, but to me, every character in the book only "acting" like their chosen factions attributes and not actually like that.  Which could be argued as the point of the book, I suppose. For me, it just clouded into a murky "what the hell".   I found it hard to believe that this society was any more successful then the collapsed one, once again, I suppose that could be the point?  Everyone was "playing" at being like this characteristic, but no one really was. Messy.

I also didn't get a clear picture of what the brave class was all about. What were they defending against. Not once was there any idea to what caused this faction to be needed.  There were some fences, and that was all.  Irritating.

The romance and character development of Tris was solid, and I liked how she worked. She was smart, steady and strong without being a superhuman. She was a great character, in fact she is the only reason that I liked the book, so its getting a 2.5 instead of a 2.

I know this is a series, but I don't have enough interest in book one, to bother to read on.