Kings of Ash by Richard Nell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Finishing the second book in Ash and Sand is like falling down a rabbit hole.

I read the first book and enjoyed it quite a bit. It was ALL about character development, characters beefing up (magically, I should add), and a ton of reversals that really spotlight a pretty vibrant world of much character.

The second book flips a lot of my expectations and gives us a VERY deep exploration of a character I expected to be a villain. Only... well. No spoilers. Suffice to say, I'm VERY happy to be going here and enjoying this.

Kings of Ash seems to be a better book than the first. I say seems, but that could only be because I've already gotten to know the characters and the world and this only seems to be pure icing on that growing cake. In other words, I may not be able to judge, objectively, because I'm already a fan and I'm rocking to the grand magical tale of empire-building. This is less warrior-kings and more fledgling god-kings. :)

Yummy, yummy. :)

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Rage by Richard Bachman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this way back in the day and then again now to mainly see if it still packed a punch or whether it was a bit more disturbing now after so many school shootings have come and gone in America.

Do we get more sensitized to things like this, or less?

Unfortunately, I couldn't find an answer. I spent most of my time feeling like the mid-'70s were an alternate dimension full of casual violence acceptance of it -- so long as you know the people doing the violence.

And isn't that always the way? What happens when you like guy, approve of the casual violence, and you buy into the whole scene because you're also jaded, cynical, and still a normal confused teenager?

How about the ultimate Florence Nightingale story, a hostage situation in a classroom, but hardly any of the teachers really feel like hostages? Indeed, they like the freedom.

Maybe THAT is the true horror of the situation. That any of us might fall into step with a truly outrageous nightmare that, at any other time, would have been unthinkable?

You know, like actively going out of your way to beat up protesters or participate in voter intimidation or just plain giving yourself permission to be your very worst self... because all your peers are getting into the swing of it, too.

Yes, I'm talking about peer pressure. And my goodness! Have we figured out that we don't have to be stupid teens in order to participate in it!?

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World Engines: Destroyer by Stephen Baxter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In a lot of ways, this is classic Clarkian SF complete with the classic big issue future history bent that is more concerned with the big issues along a planetary scale (from ecological fiction to future conservatory technology (including the disposition of AIs and future humans who learned to merely tolerate eath other to the disposition of the Solar System's survival)).

There's absolutely nothing wrong with this, but I will be the first to admit that I've seen a lot of it throughout the years. A lot of the same kinds of story tropes, too, including Baxter's somewhat infamous re-usable characters. (Yes, yes, they're all ALTERNATE UNIVERSE reincarnations, but still.)

Man out of time, sans the laughable OLD reasons for future heroism. That's fine, but also tricky.

I suppose what I really enjoyed about this Baxter was not the individual tropes individually, but the whole nostalgia factor. When we combine the subtle differences in the old whole Planet X theories, the multiple time-line crossovers, the examination of seeded life, the planetary engineering, and what it means to just CONTINUE, it becomes a much better book.

So what am I complaining about, then? Well, perhaps I didn't and have not really cared for THIS particular re-incarnation of the main character. Everything surrounding him and the subject matter was pretty okay, tho. This will never be my favorite Baxter, but the ideas are pretty sound and classically interesting without ever getting into the old problematic issues of much older SF. In this regard, it's pretty cool.

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-read 10/4/20:

FINALLY! I got to read the book with my daughter. In fact, she read a good large portion of it, herself. I'm proud of her. But honestly, I'm just happy and relieved that my girl likes magic.

Of course, she got to watch her daddy cry every time Neville did things and wonder WTF he had to stop to wipe away the tears.

It's a thing.

Oh, and she liked the book. It's good to know I don't have to trade her in for a functional daughter. :)


Original Review:

Harry Potter Re-Read with Buddies!

I think everyone knows the story. And pretty much everyone enjoys the kids, the adults, and the darkness of the tale.

I came late to enjoying it, turned off by the childish bookcover and my love of all things adult and nuanced, but I did come around to it. What really surprised me was the quality of the writing and the effortless nuance displayed AS IF it wasn't even a children's book. It didn't talk down or give platitudes. It just threw the kids in danger. (Or Dumbledore did. Again.) And let the world sort itself or not. Could we be seeing a version of survival of the fittest?

Okay, Harry. Here's your invisibility cloak. Go get into as much trouble as you can and I'll be sure to lead enough hints to get you into the worst of messes and lead you right to the person that killed your parents and who was barely unable to do the same to you. Have Fun!

Wait a second. This is a kid's book, right? It does happen to have a lot of the trappings. But what kind of sentiment is this? Let's throw the kids in the worst of dangers, shall we? Just turn a slightly blind eye. Put incompetents in charge of extremely powerful magical items and secrets. Hell, why not give eleven-year-olds the cruciatas curse? Sheesh. This school should get put under scrutiny by M.O.M.

And yet none of that mars my enjoyment. :) I like dark stuff. The fact that it has a somewhat happy ending despite knowing you know who is still out there is just icing on the cake.

Yeah. I'm a fanboy. I may not be a crazy potterhead, but I'll be honest. I've watched the movies like a gazillion times. :) There's just a spark of greatness, you know?

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Varney the Vampyre: or, The Feast of Blood, Part 1 by James Malcolm Rymer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am conflicted about this work. I mean, I *KNEW* it was a Penny Dreadful series during the same time of Dickens, the equivalent of today's Twilight or 50 Shades, and no one would ever mistake it for high literature.

It was sensational, full of bodice-ripping, bloodlust, revenge, mobs, high adventure on the seas, and a snarky villain.

So... wait... it sounds rather MODERN.

Well, yes, in a way. Just not in the way it was written. It was hugely popular THEN and rode the early, early wave of vampire mania 50 years before Dracula made the genre halfway respectable.

Yes, Varney makes Dracula look immensely respectable.

But for all the things Varney is, I keep thinking of the classic dawn-of-movies vampire tales like Nosferatu, the images of all the very worst b-movie trash vampire movies since then, and even the spitting image of Anne Rice's Lestat, (albeit with a LOT less nuance or charm).

I swear, it's almost like EVERYONE that came after looked at Varney and said to themselves, Wow, this is FUN but I really kinda hate how much the WRITING is like trash... I need to remake it! :)

I don't hate this book. I think some parts are rather awesome. Some... made me groan, yawn, and want to strangle the idiots... ALL the idiots. And yet, some parts are rather awesome.

So! Total props for being the hugely popular START of the vampire craze, but the writing?

Muahahahahaha... OH, THE ADVERBS...

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The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-read 10/1/10:

Just now having finished a full Discworld re-read, I have to admit I'm still misty-eyed and depressed.
Yes, by now it is 3/4 nostalgia and 1/4 hats-off respect, but the slider continually slides, and the sadness remains.

That being said -- Well done, Tiffany. It's a fine cottage and you have fine boots and I truly respect your third and fourth thoughts. Well done, indeed.


Original Review:

If anyone has been reading this far in the series, they must be very, very sad that Sir Terry passed away, and this, his very last novel, is all we have left. I am sad. I am very sad. And after the first few chapters, I got even sadder, because he was writing his own requiem in these scenes.

It was scary and sad and so appropriate. And then it passed, to flow into Tiffany Aching's fifth, delightful, tale.

If you're familiar, you know she's no longer a witch's apprentice, she's a full witch and she's stepping up. And of course, adventure happens. Delightful adventure and something that is a very familiar theme also happen, as it always happens in these Discworld books... People who don't belong in professions start showing up and demanding to do something that they shouldn't be fit to do.

A BOY WITCH? I mean, sure, a girl did it with the Wizards and that seemed to work out all right, but a BOY? No Way.

And then there's that whole thing with the elves facing off with an epic battle against the denizens of the land, with wee men and witches squaring off against the mean glamourists... but no one's interested in that, are they?

The BOY has a GOAT! And can you believe he's pretty decent on a broom? Lordy... what is Discworld coming to? A satisfying end? With a delightful sense of wonder and humor and nostalgia?

Why yes, it did come to that. *wipes a tear away from his face*

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The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After the first book in The Age of Madness, I expected great things to come from this broken and confused little kingdom, but I expected more out of my new favorite characters -- those flawed, nuanced, crazily confused little nightmares of young people never quite knowing what they should be doing.

Mind you, I don't blame the author for the characters not being engaging and fascinating, because they most certainly are. I root for all of them even when I want to slap them up the side of their heads.

Or at least, I USED to.

Other than Orso, I'm ready to snarl at the rest of them and yell, "What the hell were you thinking!!!"

I guess that's a sign that the book is pretty good.

Oh, yes, there's lots of intrigues, battle prep, treason, BATTLE, and more BATTLE. This book really polarized me as a reader. And not in a bad way, either. I got very anxious, disgusted, and upset.

For an author known for being a Grimdark Epic Fantasy writer, it just goes to show: he knows his audience.

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