Monday, January 29, 2018

Review: The Outcasts of Heaven Belt by Joan D. Vinge

Synopsis: This novel tells of a future where interstellar travel is a reality, but just barely. No galaxy-spanning empire, just a set of planets, some marginally habitable, full of colonists trying to survive, and sometimes to get ahead. The system was called Heaven, because it contained resources enough to sustain life and maybe even more. But when an outside starship fell into the system on a trade and contact mission, the crew discover how easily people can make a hell out of heaven. Civil war has reduced the once-great civilization of Heaven's Belt to a set of struggling, isolated societies, each too intent on their own survival to help the others. The crew of the starship Ranger must find a way out of the system before their ship is taken and used as the last weapon for the last war. I enjoyed the differentness of this novel. Life in the future may not be as easy as most S/F tales portray it. What would our culture turn into if we ran out of resources? (from the online description)
Review: This is a fine space adventure, with more depth than I expected. With her own world struggling to survive, the main character travels to Heaven's Belt with her family, expecting to fine a rich world full over resources and assistance. What she finds is a fracture realm, full of suffering and death and desperation.
While the book is short, the story has surprising complexity and depth. The world-building is rich, the characters well-rounded, and the plot fast-paced. There was a nice balance between the internal conflict and external action, with realistic conflict creating intriguing tension. Worth reading if you enjoy space adventures, good characters, and imaginative plot.

Bookmarks: 3.5 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: N/A
Year Published: 1978
Date Finished: 1-4-2018
Pages: 198

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Review: The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee

Synopsis: For sixteen-year-old Jane, life is a mystery she despairs of ever mastering. She and her friends are the idle, pampered children of the privileged class, living in luxury on an Earth remade by natural disaster. Until Jane's life is changed forever by a chance encounter with a robot minstrel with auburn hair and silver skin, whose songs ignite in her a desperate and inexplicable passion. Jane is certain that Silver is more than just a machine built to please. And she will give up everything to prove it. So she escapes into the city's violent, decaying slums to embrace a love bordering on madness. Or is it something more? Has Jane glimpsed in Silver something no one else has dared to see--not even the robot or his creators? A love so perfect it must be destroyed, for no human could ever compete? (from the online description)

Review: Set in a future earth shaped by economic and environmental, Jane lives a sheltered life under the ever-watchful eye of her mother. Love is something she never considered - until she meets the sample android Silver. Her love for him allows her to explore her life, to see herself and her existence through new eyes. From there, she becomes a new person, someone other than the carefully prescribed path set for her.
Similar in feel to I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, this book explore if love with an android is real love. The conclusion is complex and well-explored. Lee creates a world populated by mosaic of characters, and strange ideas and customs that created a rich multi-layered story with excellent nuance.
Despite this, the story is a bit preachy, with a clear message in mind. If you move past that, Lee weaves a tale of romance, heartache, and growth worth reading.

Bookmarks: 4 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: N/A
Year Published: 1981
Date Finished: 1-3-2018
Pages: 216

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Review: Schott's Original Miscellany by Ben Schott

Synopsis: A collection of random and assorted facts completely unrelated to each other, but interesting and odd.

Review: It's hard to explain precisely why this book is so amusing. If you enjoy trivia games (like Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit) or just random strange facts, this book will be highly amusing to you. It found it perfect for short reading moments, like waiting in line or in the restroom. A fine gift for the trivia hound in your life or just a fun book for quick bedside reading.

Bookmarks: 4 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 1-58234-349-7
Year Published: 2002
Date Finished: 12-29-2017
Pages: 158

Review: The Town Cats and Other Tales by Lloyd Alexander

Synopsis: A collection of folktales about cats!

Review: This is a collection of folktales, written by the author, centers around clever cats and silly humans, who learn the moral lessons from the cats! There is nothing original about these tales - they read very much like most folktales about talking animals and humans, predictable but amusing. If you enjoy folktales or cats, this anthology would be perfect for you. In particular, children might enjoy these stories.

Bookmarks: 3.5 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 0-440-48989-X
Year Published: 1977
Date Finished: 12-21-2017
Pages: 126

Friday, January 5, 2018

Review: The Tale of the Shining Princess adpt. Sally Fisher, trans. by Donald Keene

Synopsis: This is a Japanese Folktale, written sometime the 9th or 10th centuries, although the exact date and author are not known. It was a very popular tale, with many antique scrolls and books, gorgeously illustrated, that retell the tale.

Review: As the tale is the ancient tale, there is not way to actually judge the story. So this review regards this edition of the story. Hardback, with a gorgeous cover decorated with a motif from a famous Japanese version. Included are some lovely illustrations, done in the traditional Japanese style. This is an excellent edition for a child to read, and a welcome edition to my own folktale collection.

Bookmarks: 4 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 0-670-63971-0
Year Published: 1980 (Original Story from the 9th-10th Century, Japan)
Date Finished: 12-21-2017
Pages: 72

Review: A Baroque Fable by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

Synopsis: This novel takes readers on a romp through a fantasyland of star-crossed lovers, bumbling heroes, wicked witches, and dragons (one of whom, our heroine, Esmeralda, started out as a human but got caught up in a witch’s curse.) Lighthearted adventure with a seemingly never-ending cast of strange and whimsical characters working at cross-purposes and together creates a world of little consequence and frothy entertainment. (from the online description)

Review: This is a strange little story - part fairy tale, part satire, part fantasy spoof. The beginning was excellent, and the villain scary. But it quickly downgraded into odd yet boring story. The scary villain was dispatched with little ceremony or climax, the characters exhibited unrealistic changes and the ending was a bit meh. While Yarbro went on to write award-winning vampire books (pre-Twilight) this work is a stand-alone and one of her early works. Although I haven't read her other works, I would assume this isn't her best. But if you enjoy strange spoofish works, this one is for you.

Bookmarks: 3 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 0-425-09081-7
Year Published: 1986
Date Finished: 12-21-2017
Pages: 243

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Review: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows Series, Book II) (L)

Synopsis: Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world. (from the online description)

Review: As the second in this duology, I had high and trepidatious hopes for this book. Thankfully, I was not disappointed. Not only did it live up to my expectations, but left me with the lovely and agonizing booke characters face not only the external challenges, but the internal fears that threaten to tear them apart from the inside. With twists upon twists, the plot takes us from the heights to the depths of emotions and adventure.
This has the tone of thief novel, with a unique depth and sense of emotion, with a heavy share of heartbreak and hope.
Worth reading, worth every agonizing moment. One of my favorite novels ever and I highly recommend always!

Bookmarks: 4.5 of 5

Awards: TBA

ISBN: 978-1-62779-213-4
Year Published: 2016
Date Finished: 12-7-2017
Pages: 546

Review: Renew my Heart: Daily Wisdom from the Writings of John Wesley ed. by Alice Russie

Synopsis: This is year-long daily devotion taken from the writings of John Wesley.

Review: This is an exceptional collection, edifying and encouraging. It is not the light, fluffy nonsense one often find in the modern Christian works. Wesley did not believe in false sentimentality or positive-thinking or self-help - he taught the unerring nature of God's Word and the sinful nature of humans, with strong admonishment to seek God through obedience and sacrifice, with a single-minded devotion.

Favorite Quotes:

"Love rejoices to obey, to do in every point whatever is acceptable to one's beloved. A true lover of God hastens to do His will on earth at it is in Heaven." 5-19 pg. 150

"The sign  of the love of God, the proof of our keeping the first and greatest commandment is to all the rest of His commandments also! True love, once poured into our hearts, will constrain us to keep them, for whoever loves God with all his heart cannot help but serve Him with all his strength." 6-23 pg. 185

"From this principle of grateful love to God arises love to our brother. Nor can we avoid loving our neighbor if we truly believe the love with which God has loved us. This love to others, grounded on faith and love to God, does no wrong to our neighbors." 9-5 pg. 259

"Consider the cross lying in your path with all its circumstances. It has a quality specific to you. It is prepared by God for you. It is given by God to you. And He gives it to you as a token of His love. If you receive it as such, it is ordered by Him for your good." 9-20 pg. 274


Bookmarks: 4.5 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 1-58660-711-1
Year Published: 2002 (John Wesley Lived from 1703-1791)
Date Finished: 12-2-2017
Pages: 384

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Review: MacBeth: The Graphic Novel by Williams Shakespeare and Gareth Hinds

Synopsis: Set against the moody backdrop of eleventh-century Scotland, Gareth Hinds’s captivating, richly illustrated interpretation takes readers into the claustrophobic mind of a man driven mad by ambition. An evil seed takes root in the mind of Macbeth, a general in the king’s army, when three witches tell him he will one day be king. At the urging of his wife, he resolves to take the throne by the most direct path: a dagger in the heart of King Duncan. But “blood will have blood,” and when others grow suspicious of his sudden rise to power, is Macbeth prepared to commit more murders to keep the crown? (from the online description)

Review:  As for graphic novels, this is well-done. Sharp lines and dark, brooding colors given a fine backdrop of the dark and bloody story.  Hinds takes some liberties with the story, cutting the lines to just the basics, as the pictures tell much of what the words would have. His editing is well-done and maintains the blood-drenched tone of the story.  However, my only fault is that, I didn't like the story. MacBeth, as it turns out, is not my favorite Shakespeare. Despite Hinds excellent execution, I didn't like the story.

Bookmarks: 3 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-0-7636-7802-9
Year Published: 2015 (MacBeth written in approx. 1606)
Date Finished: 11-25-2017
Pages: 145

Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo


Synopsis: Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price--and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...


A convict with a thirst for revenge. 
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager. 
A runaway with a privileged past. 
A spy known as the Wraith. 
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. 
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction―if they don't kill each other first. (from the online description)

Review: This book was all-over the internet, lauded and praised and adored. I strictly avoid these sorts because they are always over-hyped. I was wrong. This is one of the best books I read this year. Based in the same world as Bardugo's Griesha Triology, but in another place in the world - Ketteldam, a city where merchants rule and Money is God. Here, we meet a set of characters, rabble, cut-throats, and gang-members.
Bardugo's writing, her characterization and plot are superb. With a diverse cast, rich details, and edge-of-seat tension, it's near impossible to put down and leaves the reader with the proper hang-over that every good book does. At the end, one is desperate to return to this world, desperate to once again spend time with the people and this world. I highly recommend and will eagerly await the next in the series. 

Bookmarks: 4.5 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-1-62779-212-7
Year Published: 2015
Date Finished: 11-25-2017
Pages: 465

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Review: Dracula's Guest and Other Tales of Horror by Bram Stoker

Synopsis: This collection of original tales by Bram Stoker, is divided into two sections: Tales of Horror and Suspense and Under the Sunset. The first section is the classic gothic tales, full of dark shadows, supernatural events, and evil deed. The second section is more - metaphorical, full of moralistic tales set in a magic make-believe land.

Review: This is a collection of stories written by Bram Stoker, published throughout his life. It is divided into two sections. The First is a collection of assorted stories, the Second all center on a particular land and have a more fairy tale quality.

First Section: Best tales include The Judge's House, The Coming of Abel Behenna, and The Burial of the Rats.

Second Section: The only take worth reading was the Invisible Giant. The rest were sacarine, moralist, preachy tales full of nonsense.

Bookmarks: 3 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-1-4351-2503-2
Year Published: Later 19th / Early 20th Century (Collected for This Edition in 2010)
Date Finished: 11-24-2017
Pages: 381

Review: Scars of Independence: America's Violent Birth by Holger Hoock

Synopsis: The American Revolution is often portrayed as an orderly, restrained rebellion, with brave patriots defending their noble ideals against an oppressive empire. It’s a stirring narrative, and one the founders did their best to encourage after the war. But as historian Holger Hoock shows in this deeply researched and elegantly written account of America’s founding, the Revolution was not only a high-minded battle over principles, but also a profoundly violent civil war—one that shaped the nation, and the British Empire, in ways we have only begun to understand. In Scars of Independence, Hoock writes the violence back into the story of the Revolution. American Patriots persecuted and tortured Loyalists. British troops massacred enemy soldiers and raped colonial women. Prisoners were starved on disease-ridden ships and in subterranean cells. African-Americans fighting for or against independence suffered disproportionately, and Washington’s army waged a genocidal campaign against the Iroquois. In vivid, authoritative prose, Hoock’s new reckoning also examines the moral dilemmas posed by this all-pervasive violence, as the British found themselves torn between unlimited war and restraint toward fellow subjects, while the Patriots documented war crimes in an ingenious effort to unify the fledgling nation. For two centuries we have whitewashed this history of the Revolution. Scars of Independence forces a more honest appraisal, revealing the inherent tensions between moral purpose and violent tendencies in America’s past. In so doing, it offers a new origins story that is both relevant and necessary—an important reminder that forging a nation is rarely bloodless. (from the online description)

Review:  This is a unique perspective on the Revolutionary War. Hoock's writing highlights how this was a dirty, dangerous, vindictive civil war between neighbors and families. Hoock shows how both sides used whatever tactics they could while struggling to maintain a face of honor. Violence, often done in the name of Vindication or Justice for wrongs done by the other side. In particular, in the South, the violence was wide-spread and bloody.
Hoock also includes information about the violence against First Nations (done by the Colonial Armies) and the African-Americans, both free and slave, (done by both Colonial and British Armies). The atrocities committed by both sides extend well beyond anything we attribute to our revolution. As Hoock points out, Americans like to think our armies as noble, fighting with honor and valor, always on the side of right. But Hoock demonstrates with direct prose that both sides used brutality to achieve their ends.
Although academic, Hoock prose reads easily and quickly. He uses original source material, current scholarship, and rational deduction. This book is an excellent addition to anyone’s collection of books on the Revolution. It provides a unique perspective on the history of the war. 

Note: I received this book free via LibraryThing's Early Review Program in exchange for my fair and honest opinion

Bookmarks: 3.5 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-0-8041-3728-7
Year Published: 2017
Date Finished: 11-18-2017
Pages: 558

Monday, January 1, 2018

Ramble: Reading Goals for 2018

In the spirit of continuing the trend I started in 2017, I present for your consideration, my Reading Goals for 2018:

Total Goal: 120

Mini-Challenges:

Christian: 10+

A more reasonable goal of less than one a month. Currently, I have three daily devotionals and one group read planned. 

Non-Fiction: 10+

- One on Evolution
- One written by a Non-Western Author or Translated Work
- One Biography

Science Fiction / Fantasy: 20+

- Two from the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois MacMaster Bujold
- Three Grimdark Books
- Five+ Vintage Sci-Fi (defined as printed before 1980) as part of Vintage Sci-Fi January hosted by RedStarReviews
- One Anthology
- One Trilogy (Must Be a Complete Already-Owned Trilogy)

Graphic Novel / Manga: 20+

- Read either the entire Fruit Basket or Vampire Knights
- Read either Saga or Monstress or Magdelana
- Read what I OWN and not those from the Library

Classics / General Fiction: 10+

- One Persephone Book
- One African-American Fiction
- Three by Non-Western Authors or Translated Works

Young Adult / Children: 10+

- Last Two in the Ember in the Ashes Trilogy
- Five Newbery Books
- One Classic (Published Pre-1950)

I'm also participating, loosely, in PopSugar 2018 Reading Challenge with a group of friends and new acquaintances. I hope to make at least one-third of the list. 


What do you Plan to Read? Anything you recommend?









Ramble: Reading Review of 2017

You can read my Original 2017 Goals Here:

Overall Goal: 100

Total Read: 110

Mini-Challenges: How Did I Do?

Christian:

Goal: 20+
Actual: 6

Of them, the daily devotion by John Wesley was the most encouraging and Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey was the most polarizing.  Christian books, by definition, must be read slowly and thoughtfully. A goal of twenty is simply too many to be able to handle well.

Evolution:

Goal: 2+
Actual: O

Maybe next year?

Writing:

Goal: 2+
Actual: 0

To be fair, I didn’t do any writing either, so…..

Science Fiction/Fantasy:

Goal: 20+
Actual: 26

 Sub-Goal:

1) To read series that I have collected to completion  
Actual: I read zero series listed. But I started the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold

2) To read a stand-alone novels by authors I haven't read before.  

Actual: From the list, I only read Larry Niven, but I also read  Chelsea Quinn Yabro, Leigh Bardugo, L. E. Modesitt, Lois McMaster Bujold, Dan Simmons, Philip K. Dick, Connie Willis, Seth Dickinson, Ron Goulart, Gordon R. Dickinson, and Robert Aspirin – as well as a half-dozen more – all of whom  are new authors for me.

Classics:

Goal: 5+
Actual: 6

Sub-Goal: A book by Honore de Balzac, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, and a play by Shakespeare.

Actual: Wuthering Heights was a DNF for me. But I did read Hamlet, As You Like It, and MacBeth by Shakespeare (well, listened via Audiobook) and The Girl with the Golden Eyes by Balzac. I also listened to a re-telling, on a podcast, of Dante’s Inferno.

General Fiction: 

Goal: 5+
Actual: 6

Sub-Goal:  Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts, and at least two by non-western authors.

Actual: I read the Letts and four books by non-western authors (all Japanese, actually)

Non-Fiction:

Goal: 5+
Actual: 9

Young Adult / Newbery Winner:

Goals: 5+
Actual: 17 (But no Newbery)

Some that are listed as Young Adult (Grisha Universe, etc.) are counted in Sci-Fi/Fantasy so this number might be considered higher (and the Sci-Fi/Fantasy lower).


Overall, I'm pleased with my reading. I didn't meant many of my smaller goals, but I read a wider range of authors, stories, and genres. I intend to continue to trend in 2018.