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The sequel to The Templar Legacy, the action kicks off with Cotton Malone’s ex-wife showing up in Copenhagen and telling him his son’s been kidnapped. It turns out, this is the opening gambit in an attempt by the Order of the Golden Fleece to find a man whose location is known only to Malone. this man may hold the information of the location of the Library of Alexandria, long thought destroyed. Lots of plot twists involving agents from the Library, Israel, various Arab nations, and the U.S. Government.
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After accidentally killing a Manchu soldier, Otter’s son gets his wish to travel to the Land of the Golden Mountain. But he discovers that having your wish come true may not be the as wonderful as it sounds and life working to build the transcontinental railroad is much more difficult than he thought.
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Between the collapse of reality as we know it and reality being overrun with Darkseid’s anti-life equation (with some surprising villain cameos), the pantheon of DC heroes including the various versions of the Flash and most of the Superman variations (including fascist German Superman and Antimatter Superman) must put things right and “plug a hole in reality.” A brilliant story, if a bit muddled in places due to the hallucinogenic nature of the reality shifts and too many characters.
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A year after the events of the first book, the narrative picks up with the same cast of characters and where their attempts to reunite the Shattered World have taken them following the attempted resurrection of the Necromancer. Various heroes must band together to defeat the Chthons, including the Lord of Scorpions and Setihaculus, the current Demogorgon.
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The unlikely meeting between Cassia of Three Willows Village and Squeaky of neighboring Phoenix Village following one of many actions against the Manchu turns out be life-changing for both of them as both fall in love and circumstances send Squaky to the Land of the Golden Mountain to join Cassia’s brother, Foxfire.
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Starting with a history of NASA’s space exploration efforts, both manned ventures and unmanned ventures with particular emphasis of the latter to Mars, the book then moves on to the future of our efforts to send missions to Mars. Of particular interest is whether such an effort is feasible and looks at the economic costs and the political issues around such a venture.
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Set in 1849 when China was under the domination of the Manchu and when the Western powers were first imposing the unequal treaties, the Young family growing up in the countryside near Canton opposes both the Manchu and the westerners. But bad fortune and drought cause Cassia and her brother Foxfire to look to the United States, the land of the Golden Mountain.
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The trade paperback collecting All-Star Superman issues 1-12 is a stand-alone arc with Superman as a literal sun deity and the story covering his arc including a descent to the underworld before his eventual rebirth. Many Superman stalwarts make their appearance including Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Krypto, Lex Luthor, and Bizarro. But all of that is secondary to the story of Superman dealing with his mortality after being poisoned by too much solar radiation through the machinations of Lex Luthor. The story and the “12 feats” that Superman performs are a look at the enduring presence of Superman as an iconic comic book character.
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A broad overview of the tradition of martial arts, how to get the most out of martial arts training, and how to pick a good school are all covered in this book. Though a bit general and definitely slanted by the author’s personal experiences, there’s some valuable insight and an excellent bibliography with more detailed descriptions of books the author considers essential to the well-rounded budoka (a list that hits all the important books for all the right reasons).
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The cast of the the Justice League is present in this work with all its many dysfunctions and loyalties brought to light when a mysterious intruder kills Sue Dibny, the Elongated Man’s wife. On high alert and determined to find the person or persons responsible, the members of the League soon discover what appears to be a conspiracy that turns out to be as surprising as it is poignant.
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This thoroughly whimsical collection of stories is very likely to appeal to fans of the editor’s work. As a noted fabulist, Peter Beagle has collected an excellent set of stories that range from modern fairy tales to literary fantasy that blend together in a fairly seamless whole. The inclusion of the Mythago Wood short story (the original version upon which the novel is based) by Robert Holdstock at the end of the volume is a welcome addition and appears right before a concluding piece that reminded me of Ray Bradbury.
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Life is pretty ordinary for Lily until her great-aunt and movie star Tiger Lil’ comes to visit. She’s in town to promote a local businessman’s product in San Francisco’s Chinese New Year’s parade and, before you know it, she’s enlisted Lily’s help. As a result, when the famous Goblin Pearls are stolen, Lily and her great-aunt are thrown into the middle of the mystery and must find who’s behind the theft.
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Growing up in 1970′s Ireland, Liam Kelly never knew his father. Unbeknownst to him, his father is one of the Fey, a Fianna, awoken to defend against the Fallen Angels brought to Ireland along with Christianity. As an order of militant Catholics also fights the Fallen, Liam may be the one who convinces them that the Fey and the Fallen are very different, but only if he doesn’t succumb to his own darker nature.
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Starting with the early days of comics with the golden age and silver age heroes along with some of their creators, Supergods then veers to the autobiographical and then alternates back and forth between history of the characters and their creators along with Morrison’s personal experiences, both in creating comics and in the experiences that formed his work. A fascinating read for those interested in comics, comic fandom, and the creative process that goes into creating comics.
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With the threat of Mister Dark looming ever closer, the Fables set in action Pinocchio’s plan to form a “superhero” team. Meanwhile, the North Wind has sworn to eliminate all zephyr’s and that includes Biby and Snow’s youngest child, current whereabouts unknown. In addition, what machinations has Mister Dark set in motion with Mrs. Spratt that may persist in the event of his demise?
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Focusing on Danny’s transformation into a demon and Leonard Graves’ attempts to uncover the mystery of his murder, this outing of the Menagerie answers some questions while allegiances shift with the only unifying element being the imminent arrival of the Demogorgon and the actions necessary to save the Earth.
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In Paris, Annja is contacted by the French police as a representative of the United States since the remains of a deceased man have been found in the catacombs below a construction site. Far from being recent, the remains are of a Confederate captain who held the key to a disappeared Civil War treasury. The search becomes a race against time when Annja teams up with Garin Braden and learns a sinister group is also after the treasure.
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In a return to the Phillipines, Annja is vacationing when she meets a group of Germans in search of the legendary Pearl of Palawan. She helps them in their dive and uncovers a lost city under the water. There, she learns the pearl is the power source that sustains the city. Featuring a return of several notable characters from previous books apart from the usual suspect (though Roux also plays a major role).
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While Rudi, Mathilda, and the others were away, the war against the CUT continued and the Portland Protective Association dealt with treachery within their ranks. The narrative jumps back and forth between the current events following Rudi’s coronation as High King of Montival, and the events of the previous years as forces mobilized to repel the combined forces of Boise and the Church Universal and Triumphant. Kind of choppy due to cutting back and forth and much time is dealt with preparations for war before the major battles (which will presumably occur int he next volume).
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The burial site of an ancient Celtic chieftain is discovered in England and an old friend of Annja’s invites her to the dig. But the chieftain was the owner of a torc made of some unidentified material and certain parties want to obtain it for purposes unknown. When a group of Irish terrorists and Annja’s old friend Roux gets involved, things really get rolling.
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After leaving Japan, John Rain finds himself hired by the Agency to assassinate an arms dealer named Achille Belghazi in Macau. He’d gone to ground in Brazil and done his best to disappear including learning Portugese, but when he reconnects with Naomi, a woman he met in Tokyo, that choice provides the information they need to track him down, leaving him with no choice but to accept the assignment. His first attempt is thwarted by the enigmatic Delilah, Belghazi’s traveling companion who may or may not be working for the Mossad and has an agenda of her own that doesn’t involve Rain getting rid of Belghazi before she’s accomplished her mission.
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Some time after the events of Halo: Cryptum, the story continues with Chakas, now marooned on a Halo that has become damaged by the war being waged. Accompanied by other humans and bearing another personality knows as the Lord of Admirals, he travels across the Halo discovering the nature of the Shaping Sickness AKA The Flood along with the aims of the Didact. Still a little too much deus ex machina, making it more of a narrative history than an actual story with a protagonist attempting to control his fate. There’s also some awkward bits of exposition where the story ties into actual human history – not a smooth fit, though a commendable effort.
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Though sworn to the Pharasma, the Lady of Graves who oversees the ordering of souls in the afterlife, Salim Ghadafar is anything but her paladin, much less a priest. Still, he carries out her work, traveling across the lands of the Inner Sea and the planes of the multiverse to that end. He’s sent to the the desert nation of Thuvia to investigate the death of a merchant who the priests of Pharasma were unable to resurrect. Now, teamed with his daughter, he must travel across the dimensions in order to investigate the mystery.
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What appears to be one sort of story switches things up several times, starting with Annja being abducted and entering a labyrinth built by a wealthy book collector. It becomes clear that the collector is not the victim, but instead a vengeful psychopath with a hidden agenda. The majority of the book is more reminiscent of Thomas Harris’ Hannibal with the wealthy collector playing the role of Mason Verger. Roux and Garin make an appearance, though their roles are (unconvincingly) reversed.
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The villainous Lord Eschaton infiltrates the Paragons, killing or turning them to his side. Meanwhile, Sarah Stanton has gone into hiding and encounters the inventor Emilio Armando, a mechanical genius who may be able to help her rebuild the Automaton’s heart. Several heroes and villains make an appearance including one surprising reappearance that’s among the best twists in the novel.
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Now a squire, Arthur de Caldicot heads off on Crusade, arriving first in Venice awaiting the arrival of other crusaders and money to launch a fleet to travel to Jerusalem. In the process, he becomes a knight and, following the disastrous siege of Zara, he returns to the Middle March to inherit the manor of Catmole and resolve both his unfinished business and to see the end of the story of King Arthur.
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This collected series introduces the Children of the Vault and sends Sabertooth into the hands of his enemies, the X-Men. Following that confrontation, Rogue and Cable battle Exodus aboard the SHIELD helicarrier and then battle Pandemic, a supervillain who infects Rogue with a virus that causes her to absorb all of a person’s abilities and knowledge, killing them in the process. In the final arc, they fight the Hecatomb on Cable’s sanctuary of Providence along with the rest of Rogue’s team including Iceman, Cannonball, Cable, an Omega Sentinel, Mystique, Lady Mastermind, and Sabertooth. Collects issues 188-199 and X-Men Annual 1.
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Beyond the buzzwords, this book discusses what gamification means, strategies to implement gamification, and how to build systems from the ground up. The second half of the book shows examples of the way to add various types of gamification to a site with some examples of existing sites that successfully use gamification.
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Jordan has been on the run for a very long time, helping other runaways and escaping from his obligations as the heir to a prince of Hell. Then he meets Desdaemona who enlists his help in finding her sister Fay. It turns out that Fay is on the run from the Cathar family and Desi things that Jordan, an expert on hiding, can locate her missing sibling.
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A multi-generational story of a family starting with a mother and two daughters who raise silk worms in southern China in 1831 and jumping successive generations by 30 or more years through to the present day in 2011. A story of the Chinese-American experience for a family for whom, “silk is in the blood”.
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Collects issues #238-241 of X-Men Legacy. Indra travels to Mumbai to discover his brother is in a coma as a result of mysterious storms plaguing the city. A mysterious mutant named Luz appears, an escapee from another dimension, and Indra must fight the Children of the Vault with the assistance of Magneto, Rogue, Anole, and Loa. In order to save Mumbai, the mutants succeed in setting the city of the Children of the Vault, Quitado, adrift by destroying its anchor to our dimension.
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Steampunk meets The Watchmen in this turn-of-the-century action novel with steam-powered superheroes. Just the right touch of super-science a la Jules Verne and a conspiracy among the heroes of the city of Manhattan makes for a fast-moving read. In this first book in the series, young Sarah Stanton, daughter of The Industrialist, teams up with The Automaton (or “Tom”, for short), after her mentor and leader of the Paragons, Dennis Darby, is murdered.
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Artist Ewen Young has always had special gifts, but nothing like the abilities he gains after being shot in the heart, traveling to the Bardo realms and then returning to life. But this book, which is more a collection of four novellas, isn’t really about that. There’s some kung fu, both literary and literal, where the stories are really about people and their sometimes complex relationships with each other. The blend of eastern mysticism, Chinese and Tibetan, mixes very well with Native American beliefs, much like the relationship between Ewen and the veterinarian Susan Sundown of the Nez Perce tribe and her dog Rez (short for Resurrection). The four very different stories are excellently told and a must-read for fans of MacAvoy’s other work and likely to appeal to readers of C.E. Murphy’s Walker Papers series.
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Now that he knows who his real father is, Arthur is sent to be a squire to Lord Stephen at Holt Manor. When the friar Fulk comes preaching a crusade, Stephen swears to take the cross and to set out for the Land Oversea. Meanwhile, discovering that his first love, Grace, is his half-sister and they can no longer be married, he sets his sights on Winifred de Verdon. At the same time, he learns more of his mother, though it’s a risky undertaking as his father would prefer things be left undisturbed. The parallels with the story of King Arthur continue as Arthur de Caldicot learns of courtly love, honor and bravery.
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As an A-toZ guide, this book is fairly current and comprehensive. The large number of Avengers, past and present, along with their foes, means that each entry is a cursory single page devoted to each and the numeric comparisons for things like intellect, speed, and energy projection feels somewhat meaningless (mostly lifted from the Marvel Comics website or perhaps, from some other place like Heroclix). Still, in all, a fun book for kids and a good introduction to the Avengers.
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The technology that drives the city of Movoc-Under-Keeper is pions: they light the streets and houses, provide running water and heat,and are used to build everything. The waste products from the use of pions are debris, useless for anything. Everyone knows this, particularly pion-binder and architect Tanyana. When she falls and is abandoned by everyone she knows, she becomes a collector, one who cleans up debris. In doing so, she learns things about her world she never knew and discovers that debris is just as vital and alive as the pions she previously wielded.
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Continuing onward, Tommy travels to the birthplace of Melville’s Moby Dick and discovers all the common stories of those who pursue a chimeric whale or become its victims. In addition to the crew of the Pequod, Jonah, Pinocchio, Sinbad, and many others also make an appearance. Meanwhile, a new player enters and ensnares Tom’s companions in the continuing efforts of the others to stop him.
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Though the author cheerfully acknowledges that Thomas Young didn’t know everything and isn’t necessarily the last polymath to have lived, this biography is an attempt to to paint a better picture of this unique man and his contributions. It’s worth noting that he was a child prodigy who, as Isaac Asimov noted, matured to an adult prodigy, a relatively rare occurrence. If you see the name Young attached to optics, color theory, linguistics and many other fields, this is the guy. While a few of his contributions are somewhat ambiguous and his clashes with Champollion are well-documented, this biography places things in a different light and is worthwhile if only for that.
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The first part of a duology that takes place on a world broken into fragments by a cataclysmic event and kept intact only through magic in the form of “runestones” that keep all the pieces from drifting apart. A thief, Beorn, is enlisted by a sorceress Ardatha Demonhand to steal a talisman from a sorcerer who lives on the fragment Darkhaven. It turns out that the talisman in question is actually a runestone and its removal from Darkhaven may have unforseen consequences to the entire world.
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The Pazzi family destroyed young Ezio’s family, sending him traveling across Renaissance Italy in search of revenge as he learns the art of the assassin. As he does, he comes to learn of the Assassin’s Creed and the legacy of a predecessor, Altair, from hundreds of years earlier and of a prophecy that his enemies, the Templars, are also seeking. Along the way, he encounters historical figures like Rodrigo Borgia, Lorenzo de Medici, Catherine Sforza, Leonardo da Vinci and many others. While some of the set pieces are well-described and engaging, the book as a whole suffers from uneven pacing, too much exposition and a very abbreviated climactic fight, which is disappointing because the underlying plot and ideas are quite engaging. Overall, the book suffers from trying to follow the video game too closely and making the time between encounters too static (“…while in city X, Ezio spent several years training/killing people/waiting/carrying on with person X…”) and telling rather than showing. Some of the secondary characters drop out of the action entirely and are never mentioned again or only in passing despite the author introducing them as extremely meaningful, close or significant (especially true in the case of the thief Rosa and the inventor Leonardo da Vinci, the latter having his place somewhat unconvincingly subsumed by Machiavelli).
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Signature Tim Powers stories and the first collection of published writing since 2005 (though the individual works have appeared individually, this volume collects works from 2006 to 2011all in one place and at least one piece has been expanded from its original appearance). Even if you just read the introduction, it’s worth your while.
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Growing up as the second son of a Welsh marcher lord in 1199, Arthur de Caldecot wants nothing more to become a squire and, eventually a knight. But it seems his father has other plans. When his father’s friend gives him a piece of obsidian, he begins to see visions of another Arthur, the king who was and will be. What connection does young Arthur have to King Arthur and how is his father’s friend Merlin related to the hooded figure who arranges for King Arthur’s birth?
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As if being trapped in a virtual reality game after a bunch of protesters damage the computers, young Giannine is stuck in a game that seems beint on thwarting her at every turn. And if she makes a mistake, she dies. Repeatedly. In different ways, just like the old Dragon’s Lair arcade game. But if she can’t solve the game, she could die for real.
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After the events of the previous book, Beka and her partner are on a new Hunt, this time to track down the abducted Prince Gareth, sole heir to the kingdom of Tortall. They’re teamed with a mage who bumpkin exterior has hidden depths, much like Beka. As Beka struggles to come to terms with the death of Holborn, she may finally get some payback, end slavery in Tortall, and, in so doing, perhaps save the whole kingdom.
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The fallen city of Ascalon is a place of ghost that holds bad memories for Dougal Keane. But when he’s tasked with retrieving an artifact known as the Claw of the Khan-Ur and told it’s key to a truce between humans and charr, he joins a mismatched group of adventurers to travel there and retrieve it. Together, human, asura, norn, charr and sylvari, must make their way from the human fortress of Ebonhawke, through lands controlled by the charr, and into the ghost-haunted city.
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Just when he thinks he’s gotten out, Ray Lilly is drawn back to Los Angeles and the old crew he used to run with after an old friend shows up unexpectedly and cryptically tells him, “you killed me.” Before you know it, he’s hip deep in Outsiders, tangling with an old enemy who thinks maybe Harry will join him, and on a quest for one of the missing “books” of magic. Along the way, he meets some other members of the Twenty Palaces Society and learns more about them. During the course of the book, he and the Peer Annalise work more closely together as their relationship starts to become more on of equals.
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“Once again all is not right in L.A. Lucifer is back in Heaven, God is on vacation, and an insane killer mounts a war against both Heaven and Hell. Stark’s got to head back down to his old stomping grounds in Hell to rescue his long lost love, stop an insane serial killer, prevent both Good and Evil from completely destroying each other, and stop the demonic Kissi from ruining the party for everyone.” – from the book description
Starting with a possessed boy, Stark AKA Sandman Slim is unwillingly dragged into the machinations of his nemesis Mason. In doing so, he must prevent Mason from solidifying his hold on Hell and storming Heaven. In doing so, he treks through Downtown and finally confronts Mason after freeing a key ally from Tartarus.
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“A secret high-stakes auction. As a wealthy few gather to bid on a predator capable of destroying all life on earth, the sorcerers of the Twenty Palace society mobilize to stop them. Caught up in the scramble is Ray Lilly, the lowest of the low in the society–an ex-car thief and the expendable assistant of a powerful sorcerer. Ray possesses exactly one spell to his name, along with a strong left hook. But when he arrives in the small town of North Cascades where the bidding is to take place, the predator has escaped and the society’s most powerful enemies are desperate to recapture it. All Ray has to do is survive until help arrives. But it may already be too late.” – from the back cover
Take one “predator” (a creature from outside our own dimension), a reclusive millionaire, and a grab bag of magic practitioners, throw them all together in the classic “town cut off from the outside world” trope and you have a fast-moving roller coaster ride where the outcome ultimately relies on Ray, a “wooden man” for a Peer in the Twenty Palaces Society, doing what needs to be done and sending the predator back to where it belongs.
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This modern retelling of the legend of Orpheus is a brilliantly rendered elegiac novel despite its graphic depiction of the horrors of the underworld and a self-loathing protagonist. The writing is reminiscent, at times, of some of my favorite authors including Tim Powers, Robert Kadrey, and Mike Carey. But the result is a unique melange of horror and pathos as musician Niko must travel through a hellish underworld to retrieve the soul of the woman he loves. The horrific things he encounters have much in common with Bosch and Dante even as they serve to drive forward the narrative and provide a backdrop for Niko’s ultimate redemption, leaving open to the very end whether he’ll succeed to merely repeat the failure of Orpheus, being in some fashion the reincarnation or archetype of all those who have previously journeyed to the underworld on the same mission. It’s a book that’s hard to put down and as hard to look away from as a car wreck (of which there are several among the other occurrences), but ultimately uplifting and positive for all of that.
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Though somewhat dated as the HTML5 spec continues to evolve and best practices emerge, this book is invaluable as an introduction and in the history of HTML5. I learned some great stuff about MIME types and browser behavior that I had never considered before along with some useful tricks for encoding video and generating page outlines. Definitely worth reading whether you’re new to HTML or an experienced developer.
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Growing up in turn-of-the-century New York can be difficult, but Sacha Kessler is unprepared for the turns his life takes when it’s discovered he can see witches (or, more properly, active use of magic) and is apprenticed to the NYPD’s Inquisitors. In this alternate history, Inquisitors are responsible for policing magical crime. Young Sacha is apprenticed to Inquisitor Maximillian Wolf along with a young girl by the name of Lily Astral. Together, they must figure out who’s trying to kill Thomas Edison and foil the plans of J.P. Morgaunt. An entertaining and fast-moving read reminiscent of a YA version of Victoria Thompson’s Gaslight Mysteries (starting with Murder on Astor Place).
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Focused mostly on kids in the upper class and based on the results of an extensive survey conducted by the author, this book covers some of the pitfalls of raising kids in an affluent family. There’s some useful advice, though, for parents of all income brackets and the behaviors the author notes can be observed in any milieu. There are some great insights even when the author uses analogies to Gregory’s Seven Deadly Sins to make his points.
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Having gained the Sword of the Lady, Rudi Mackenzie (now Artos, High King of Montival) retraces his steps, acquiring allies and mobilizing armies across the former United States and Canada to fight the Church Universal and Triumphant along with their Boise allies. All the people he encountered and befriended are now joining in with Artos’ efforts assisted by the power of the Sword. In many ways, despite the dramatic battles, this book is very much a repeat of the previous book in reverse as Rudi travels from east to west instead of vice-versa.
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After returning from the crusades, a Templar by the name of Martin manages to escape the mass arrest of his order by French chancellor Guillaume de Nogaret. While hiding out and trying to find any of his remaining compatriots, he teams up with other former Templars (one who voluntarily left and the other who was thrown out in disgrace). Together, they set out to retrieve the hidden treasure of the order.
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“I am led to narrate these details for no other reason than to make clear to everyone what type of men the leaders of Romer were at that time, that they worked with their own hands, led self-disciplined lives, did not complain about honourable poverty, and, far from pursuing positions of royal power, actually refused them when offered.” – Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities. Starting with the destruction of the Gracchi and the Social War, this book covers one of the most tumultuous and bloody periods in Roman history. Somewhat broad in scope, though engagingly written.
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This fast-moving techno-thriller sports and interesting cast of characters and a plot built around how few degrees of separation there are between people in the world. Starting with the creator of a virtual world, the action begins with a virus propagated through the users of that environment tied to a gold farmer in China who has branched out to extortion. The story travels across the planet and ends where it began with a confrontation between a group of terrorists and the various characters introduced along the way.
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After dying at the end of the last book in the series, wizard Harry Dresden is back as a ghost after being returned to the world by the shade of Murphy’s father, Jack, and charged with finding his murderer. Apparently, the “other side” cheated to get rid of Harry and things need to be set right. Unfortunately, things have gone from bad to worse in the world and Dresden’s destruction of the Red Court has created a power vacuum that’s led to fighting between all the supernatural entities in the world including the other vampire courts, the Fomor and other even more inimical entities.
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Pursuing the trail of Roland and his dragon henchman, Badik, lands Scirye and her friends in the colony of Nova Hafnia at the frozen edge of the North Atlantic. There, they find an ally with Roxana, the daughter of a Sogdian trader. They must do their best to stop Roland from laying hands on the latest piece of the Yi’s bow. During their travels, Scirye has a vision of the goddess Nanaia directing them to the City of Death in Kushan, but they elect to try to stop Roland first.
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Another take on the classic armageddon descending on the City of Angels. In the previous book when Nergal nearly escaped into our world, some things were shaken loose and they’ve descending on Los Angeles. Pete and Jack cross paths when they’re asked less-than-gently to leave London and head across the pond to investigate a serial killing that may be linked to another that happened ten years previous. Before you know it, Jack is dealing with various named demons including a reappearance by Belial where just about the only person they can trust is a soul-sucking wraith who runs a local bar in Venice Beach.
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Two murders of strangers have occurred at pubs in the village of Long Piddleton and Detective Chief Inspector Richard Jury is sent to investigate. One resident, Melrose Plant, suspects that the murders were committed by someone local rather than by a random maniac. When additional murders occur, it’s only a matter of time before someone from the village turns up dead.
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Consisting of a series of interconnecting stories, this series is the story of various members of the DC Universe who must defend the Earth against an invasion by a race known as the Sheeda, humans from the far future who raid other times and lay waste to everything they encounter. Only four of the seven heroes are covered in this volume: The Shining Knight, the Manhattan Guardian, Zatanna and Klarion the Witchboy. Also appearing are other teams of seven since it’s foretold that seven will defeat the Sheeda and they are wiped out or neutralized in order to keep that from happening.
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The world of the future is a bleak place, a place depleted of resources where the majority of the world’s population spends their time in a vast virtual reality called OASIS. WhenJames Halliday, the creator of OASIS, died, he left behind a puzzle and, part from his collection of arcade video game consoles, he left his estate to the first person to solve the puzzle. Wade Watts, AKA Parzival, attends a virtual school in OASIS and is one of the people trying to solve the puzzle. As such, he’s an expert on every aspect of Halliday’s life with knowledge on every aspect of the ’80s that was of interest to Halliday, be it classic computer games or the lyrics to all of the songs on Rush’s 2112 album. His friends, though nominally lone wolves and not a member of any of the organized groups looking for Halliday’s legacy, ultimately come together and become real friends as they discover in the end that real life is more important than the virtual world.
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One of the biggest games ever takes place on the moon and some of the top-rated players will be in attendance. This latest book picks up years after previous books and features the next generation of characters from previous books (for example, the son of Alex Griffin, who appeared in the first book as the head of security). As the game is taking place, a plan to kidnap one of the players, the heir to the leadership of a small African country, is unfolding and the players find their ingenuity taxed as they must deal with this threat. Some of the scenes and the overall plot come close to capturing some of the magic of the original book.
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In an alternate history world full of magic and fantastic creatures, Scirye is the younger daughter of a minor noble family assigned to the consulate in San Francisco. She wants to be a warrior like her older sister, but when an exhibition at a museum is attacked and a seemingly minor artifact is stolen, she sets out in pursuit. She’s accompanied by a young street kid who is the reincarnation of an ancient hero, his companion who’s a shapeshifter, and a dragon, all seeking revenge for deaths that occurred at the hands of the thieves. Their journey takes them to Hawaii where they encounter the goddess Pele and set out to thwart the designs of the evil Mr. Roland, the instigator of the museum theft.
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Magic-sensitive Petunia Caldecott, AKA Pete, is called in to investigate a murder at the British Museum and quickly discovers that it’s the tip of the iceberg that includes necromancers, a group of witch hunters and the return of people that Pete thought were missing or dead. And it’s their literal return (and not in the risen from the grave return) that’s complicating things the most.
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Spanning decades, Zendegi is the story of two people, Martin and Nasim. In the immediate future, journalist Martin has been assigned to Iran to cover elections and events there as an “Arab Spring”-type uprising unfolds. Meanwhile, Nasim is a brilliant scientist who’s part of the Human Connectome Project, having fled Iran with her mother after her father was murdered years ago. Jumping forward, their paths cross after Martin marries an Iranian and has a kid and Nasim returns to Iran and eventually becomes part of Zendegi, a game company that makes virtual worlds. When he discovers he’s dying, Martin asks Nasim to capture his consciousness to help his son as he grows up. Somewhere between Walter Jon Williams’ Deep State and Tad Williams’ Otherworld series, this book manages to be less about the virtual worlds and more an examination of what it means to be human and how our consciousness works.
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Years ago, ghosts destroyed much of the world and only the Church of Real Truth was able to stop them. Cesaria Putnam, or Chess, is a Debunker, working for one of the branches of the church and whose primary job is to investigate claims of hauntings. A local crime boss, Bump, asks her to investigate the haunting of a local airport since he has plans to expand his business, but Chess discovers the haunting is anything but routine and, since it’s not official business, she’s on her own. Alternately thrown together with Terrible, an enforcer for Bump who might have a thing for her, and Lex, who works for a rival gang, and a possible traitor in the Church, her life is suddenly very complicated.
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When Queen Beatrice dies, Snow attempts to save her life using her mother’s mirror. Instead, things go horribly wrong and the demon trapped in the mirror by her mother is set free and possesses Snow. Using fragments of the mirror, Snow enslaves others to do her bidding, kidnaps Danielle’s son Jakob and returns to Allesandria to exact revenge on everyone, though with the demon ultimately wants to simply destroy everything. Danielle, Talia and Greta Snow’s magically constructed “sister) must follow her and rescue Jakob, though they want to save Snow also.
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Now that Brakebills graduates Quentin and his friends are the kings and queens of Fillory and have left the mundane world behind, everything should be wonderful. When it turns out to not be everything it’s cracked up to be, Quentin and Julia decide to travel to the far reaches of Fillory and end up back in the mundane world at the house of Quentin’s parents. Interwoven with the current story is the story of Julia and what happened to her after the others went off to Brakebills. The whole book is much darker and the writing much stronger than the first book in the series.
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When two realms, one magical and the other technological go to war, the rulers of the magical realm enlist (really, more of a draft) the help of Siobhan and a group of others that happened to be at the bar where she was performing. It turns out that she’s from the magical realm and is the key to the salvation or destruction of both realms. Unfortunately, half the people that were to have been brought back to the magical realm have wound up in the technological realm and Siobhan’s boyfriend may be her greatest nemesis.
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The American southwest has been overrun by “bugs”, self-replicating solar-powered machines that eat metal. People still choose to live there, all for different reasons, existing alongside the ever-present hazard of the bugs. One such is Kimble, a teenager whose only living parent was airlifted to Denver after a medical emergency and his son chose not to follow. He meets Ruth, an aikidoka who lost her dojo and house in a divorce and who has come south to make a new life. Perhaps the sort of thing Rudy Rucker would have written if he had set out to pen a modern version of Little House on the Prairie, being stylistically more a collection of vignettes about life in the weird frontier than a standard YA novel.
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When young Will rescues a hob from a trap, he learns he has the second sight and that the Abbey where he’s lived since his family died in a fire (that he mysteriously survived unscathed) has a dark secret. Before he knows it, he’s being hunted by the dark king of the Unseelie and the mysterious arrival of Jacobus Bone and his servant, Scathlock, is certainly no coincidence. Apart from the final chapters feeling more like the introduction for a whole series of books, the action moves along well and the setting is deftly constructed, somewhere between a young adult version of Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series and Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series, though less dense and a quicker read than any books in either of those series.
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Like the video game of the same name, this book owes a debt to the Strugatskys’ Roadside Picnic (as does the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.) with its atmosphere and existential ponderings. Partly due to the translation, some of the prose feels a bit breathless and over-amped, but the action moves along with plenty of perils as the Protagonist, Artyom, traverses the tunnels of the Moscow subway and encounters the many different societies that have taken refuge from the disasters that have befallen the surface. Charged by a man known only as Hunter, he encounters unlikely allies in his attempt to deliver a message to the fabled Polis about the growing threat from the Dark Ones (who may or may not be the next stage in human evolution).
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Back at work for Chasing History’s Monster’s, Annja travels to Ireland to investigate disappearances at an archeological dig with a young cameraman in tow. Supposedly, the people who have disappeared have been taken by the faeries, but Annja discovers two rival camps and much more going on than would be warranted by the simple find of a bronze spearhead. The plot is less James Bond than the previous few books, even though this one features a genuine MI-6 agent.
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Another comic-book plot takes Annja to Nepal in search of Shangri-La when she agrees to help an old friend. Some good plot twists involving various intelligence agencies along with the machinations of Garin (who knows something of what’s going on and acts to keep Annja safe this time out, despite being off-screen for most of the book).
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When London constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant investigates the magical murder of a jazz drummer, he finds that being the son of Richard “Lord” Grant may be the entree he needs in his investigation. Or it may be tied directly to the source of the murders. Meanwhile, there’s another killer running around Soho and her latest victim is a practitioner with ties to the school Peter’s mentor attended back before World War II decimated the ranks of Europe’s magicians. There are several major loose ends in this second outing, so one hopes that a new book will be forthcoming sooner rather than later.
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While on vacation in Thailand, Annja travels to investigate the country’s legendary Spirit Caves. As always, there’s more going on than it first appears and it’s somehow tied to a treasure find by American GIs in Vietnam. This book, more than others, has a ton of exposition covering the history of Northern Thailand, the early history of Vietnam, and New Orleans Hoodoo (and the differentiation between Hoodoo and Voodoo). Unfortunately, the exposition seems to exist mainly to transition between different locales and set piece fight scenes, though the action is well-written and the villains (and their back-stories) are all interesting.
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In the modern world, the Prometheans struggle against the Faerie, continuing an age-old conflict. Among them is the Seeker, Elaine Andraste, bound to Mebd of the Daoine Sidhe and sent on a mission to the find the latest Merlin in order to bind him to Faerie. Opposing her is Matthew the Magician of the Prometheans as the protege of the Archmage Jane Andraste, Elaine’s mother. They discover the Merlin is, for the first time in history, a woman, and she must choose sides in the coming war between the Prometheans and Faerie. There’s lots of depth and it all cullminates on Halloween when the teind to Hell must be paid and the Prometheans invade Faerie.
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While helping a friend’s brother on a treasure-hunting expedition off the coast of Nova Scotia in search of the Fantome, a British ship from the War of 1812 carrying loot from the White House, Annja must discover the nature of the immense shark threatening the treasure-hunters. Meanwhile, aboard the boat is at least one saboteur and an operative working for Garin. That’s before the whole thing devolves into a James Bond-sian adventure involving Joan of Arc’s crucifix and a megalomaniac with a nuclear weapon.
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When a stranger stops by the family book store and mistakes Tamsin Greene for her Talented older sister, she eagerly accepts the task of finding an old clock for him. As someone in a family with magical abilities, she’s always been an outcast owing to her lack of powers. Before she knows it, she’s traveling through time with an old friend, Gabriel, to protect the family against the evil Knight family.
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This volume “…finds the Lightbringer hard at work on a New Creation – outside the bounds of any authority but his own, complete with a new pair of inhabitants for a new Garden of Eden. But as he tries his hand at universe-building, back on Earth (and in Hell) schemes and betrayals continue to grow. Reprints LUCIFER #14-20.” (DC Vertigo)
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In this second collection, Lucifer travels to the house of Izanami to get his wings back, makes a deal to acquire the unborn baby of Erishad of Uruk, and heaven launches an attack on him. Along the way, it’s revealed that Elaine Belloc is the child of the archangel Michael by way of the fallen angel Sandalphon.
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Like Scott Pilgrim, all Dennis Ouyang wants is to get a life. As a video game savant, he has to choose between playing games and being a disappointment to his parents or to pursue a medical degree and living the life they’ve planned for him. The problem is, he doesn’t want to be a gastroenterologist and “eating bitterness” just isn’t in his character. A touching story with great character development with art to match. The only disappointment is that it’s too short.
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Collecting issues #200-204 of the X-Men, various confrontations occur between teams of the X-Men and a variety of foes including the Marauders, all allied with Mister Sinister, apparently on some sort of mission to change the future. To that end, they’re killing all those who might be able to foresee future events or have knowledge of the future timeline including Cable. Though the art is a little uneven and motivations of the characters sometimes a bit opaque, Iceman and Cannonball make a good team and pull out some pretty heroic moments.
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A continuation of the story of Lucifer from Neil Gaiman’s series about Dream and the other Endless, this first book in this series continues with much the same tone and style, albeit in a much darker vein. Having resigned as the ruler of Hell, Lucifer is now a free agent on Earth and acting as an agent of Heaven for much of this story that seamlessly mixes Judeo-Christian theology with Navaja creation stories. In particular, Blue Corn Woman makes an appearance in the first of the three stories collected here and dispenses advice along with assistance to Rachel Begain, the half-Navajo woman who accompanies Lucifer to confront the Velleity.
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In this post-apocalyptic young adult novel, a plague has destroyed most of the world’s population while natural disasters have destroyed the landscape and continue to threaten the survivors. The story begins with sixteen-year-old Lucy who is surviving in the remains of Central Park. When a pack of wild dogs chases here and she’s rescued by a teenager named Aidan, she winds up falling in with his band of misfit survivors and must discover why it seems that a sinister group of hazmat suit-clad group known as the Sweepers is so interested in her.
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Continuing the story with the events leading up to the release of the 14th Tommy Taylor book, a pastiche of hackery designed to lure Tom Taylor’s father out into the open. Particularly great is the excerpt where Tommy, wielding a black sword, faces off against a nemesis wielding a subtle knife. Also in this book, we find out more about Tom’s companions.
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An all-new collection of stories set in the shared world of Bordertown, home to elves and misfits of all types. It’s a place where magical creatures live alongside gutterpunks and these are their stories. Some of the stories definitely capture the old magic of the original books and the gap between those books and this volume is neatly explained in a very satisfying fashion that works well with the tone and changes of the new stories.
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Continuing Hessler’s look at the changes sweeping China with the rise of automobiles and the rapid increase in the number of drivers. The first section looks at Chinese history based on the Great Wall and how sweeping recent changes have been based on observations driving from Beijing to the border of Xinjiang. The second section is about a rural family living in the shadow of both the Great Wall and rising urban economic prosperity. The last section is about the factories of Zhejiang and how the rapid pace of industrialization is changing a previously inaccessible rural area.
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A good variety of stories featuring some of Tamora Pierce’s best-known characters along with a few new faces including a non-fantasy story and an excerpt from the Beka Cooper book Mastiff to round things out nicely. A good introduction to a number of different series where there’s plenty more for those who want more and haven’t read anything else by this author.
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As a sequel to Halting State, the story opens with Detective Inspector Liz Kavanaugh being called to a crime scene. Normally, the unit she heads deals with Internet Crime of a sordid nature (the Rule 34 of the title – the Urban Dictionary says, “Generally accepted internet rule that states that pornography or sexually related material exists for any conceivable subject.”), but part of the latest policing initiatives call for police officers to spend a certain amount of time on the front lines, as it were. The homicide turns out to be much more odd that it first appears, though more disturbingly up DI Kavanaugh’s alley than it first appears. Other players include an ex-con named Anwar Hussein, who scores an opportunity to be the representative of the breakaway republic of Issyk-Kulistan, and the Toymaker, a psychopath representative of an outfit called the Operation and who may be working with elements in Issyk-Kulistan and who knows the murder victim. Additional murders that appear to be domestic accidents begin to turn up around the world and DI Kavanaugh begins to realize that they have various shady internet dealings, but there’s some more sinister connection that she must track down.
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In the second installment of this series, Tom is arrested for the massacre at Villa Diodati, discovers parallels with his story and the Chanson de Roland and then escapes with Elizabeth Hexam, who has deliberately gotten herself imprisoned, and Richie Savoy, a reporter posing as a criminal to follow Tom and his story. Unfortunately, escaping takes them to a much darker place within the echo of Jud Suss, a story horribly twisted (called a Canker) by the anti-semitic movie of the same name. Tom discovers his father may be behind things and discovers something of his own powers. This volume ends with the further story of Mr. Bun AKA Pauly Bruckner, trapped in the world of the treacly Willowbank Wood stories.
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A moody and swiftly-moving tale of two boys, Jerold and Gerund, living in different times whose paths intersect as the heroes of the Queen of Summer in her eternal battle against the Wild Hunt and their leader who represents Winter. The story structure and the illustrations make this short book a pleasure to read.
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When you’re a geek with pretensions of being a game designer, it’s difficult to deal with being normal and unexceptional. It turns out that Ralph’s parents may be ordinary, but his family is anything but. Not only are they magical, but there’s a tradition of each child receiving a wish (in the way of fairy godmother tradition). Ralph receives an invite to go to Britain and set up the network at his aunt and uncle’s. Arriving in time for the funeral of another aunt, he meets his cousins and begins to discover the family secrets.
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Though this book tries a little too hard to be quirky and sometimes spends too much time on description without creating a sense of place, there’s some fun parts in the story of Jo Larouche (nee Hazelwood) and her eccentric aunt Lily. It’s very much in the same vein as Brandon Sanderson’s series that starts with “Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians” with a dash more apocalypse thrown in and the actual Order of Odd Fish is defeinitely entertaining.
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Reading something like Marlowe’s tale of Doctor Faustus by way of Ray Bradbury, H.P. Lovecraft and Douglas Adams, the story of Johannes Cabal starts out strong with some genuinely funny dialogue and characters. As a young necromancer, Johannes sold his soul to the devil and decides to get it back. In order to do so, he strikes a deal whereby he becomes the owner of a traveling carnival and agrees to deliver 100 signed contracts in a year’s time. The problem is, he doesn’t have the slightest understanding of human nature, so he enlists the help of his brother Horst and creates a variety of infernal minions to get the show on the road. I particularly liked the various avatars of Lucifer who roam the earth in all his various guises (including the likes of the Old Man who helps out with the carnival).
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Ancient druid Atticus Sullivan (AKA Siodhachan O Suileabhain)has made some enemies in his time, not the least of whom is Aenghus Og, the Celtic god of love. Apparently, Atticus has the magical sword Fragarach in his possession, something that Aenghus thinks is rightfully his. Now, in the modern day, things are headed for a showdown in the desert of Arizona. Lots of snark and cynicism, which is great fun, though not as consistent in tone as Butcher’s Dresden Files books (though likely to appeal to fans of same).
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A couple vacationing in Antigua cross paths with a Russian money-launderer named Dima. He is himself there with family and criminal cohorts following the killing of his number two man and wants to buy his security trading on the information he has in order to get his family safely to England. The narrative and characters are Le Carre in fine form with overtones of Graham Greene’s work, capturing the post-Cold War espionage game with compelling grace.
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A collection of short stories from Canadian authors with a variety of new and interesting takes on the vampire story. Includes some of my favorite authors including Tanya Huff and Kelley Armstrong. The lengths and quality of the stories varies a fair bit, but there are a few gems that make the book worthwhile.
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For fans of the likes of Kadrey’s Sandman Slim series, this snarky and clever book starts with Constable Peter Grant, having completed his training, chancing on a ghost and discovering that there’s a whole other world of magic that quickly becomes his new assignment owing to one of several “agreements” on the part of various powers that be and Her Majesty’s government.
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In a world perpetually at war and split between two factions, bountyhunters Nyx and Rhys do their best to stay alive and find their place in the world. The former used to be a beldame, one of those sanctioned by the government to track down deserters and those that might threaten the population, while the latter is a pacifist “sorcerer” with the ability to manipulate organic life, the basis for much of the technology of the world. Parts of the book don’t hold together as well as could be hoped, but the world-building is interesting.
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The Sky Shadow tribe lives in the ruins of the world of 2238 after a nanovirus shortened the life span of humanity to just twenty-one years. When Sun Dog comes upon an ancient, he finds there may be a way to reverse the virus and a chance to rebuild civilization. The art propels the story in a very engaging way and makes for a post-apocalyptic tale that’s very readable.
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When Dana Hathaway decides to run away from home and leave her drunken mother, she doesn’t realize escaping to Avalon, the border between our world and Faerie where her father lives, will be far worse and much more dangerous. It turns out that she’s a Faeriewalker, one able to travel between worlds and whose ability is to make technology work in Faerie and to allow magic to work in the regular world. Though the action is a bit uneven and the characters not as well drawn as in other similar YA books, the political machinations between the Seelie and Unseelie residents of Avalon and the setup of the world are interesting enough to keep things moving.
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Young witch Sophie Mercer is sent away to Hecate Hall (AKA Hex Hall) after a love spell she casts for a classmate goes disastrously awry. It turns out that Hex Hall is not so much a boarding school for the Prodigium (as witches, shapeshifters, fairies, vampires and other supernatural creatures are known) as much as it’s a reform school where those who threaten to reveal the existence of the magical world are sent until they can be trusted outside. Unfortunately, there’s more going on in the school that meets the eye, starting with a murder that may have been committed by Sophie’s new roommate, Jenna.
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Not all vampires are attractive and seductive. This collection of short stories includes old stories by Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle and Guy de Maupassant along with more recent stories by Peter Tremayne, Ed Gorman and many others. Good classic vampire stories with a few variations thrown in.
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Focusing on Rose Red and her tumultuous relationship with her sister, Snow White, the Fables must deal with dissension in the ranks while threatened by the evil Mister Dark. Frau Totenkinder, restored to youth and going by Bellflower, challenges Mister Dark to a duel before departing for good.
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In this outing, shaman Joanne Walker goes out on a date with Captain Morrison and, along the way, discovers more of her shamanic abilities including the ability to shapeshift. But first, while investigating a homicide, she ends up shooting someone to protect her partner and then a homeless person living in the Seattle Underground comes to her for help (after first thanking her for previously saving her life, something that occurred in an earlier book). Everything is connected to a werewolf intent on stealing magic for nefarious pruposes.
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When private investigator Nikki Glass kills a client with her car, she inherits his immortality and a whole lot of trouble besides. It turns out that she’s a descendent of the goddess Artemis and that her heritage is both the reason her mother abandoned her and why she’s extremely valuable to other descendants of the gods. The action moves along well and the characters are an interesting bunch, though their divine powers seem to be all over the map (one can throw lightning bolts, while another is merely very strong).
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Based on Arthur Conan Doyle and Joseph Bell, this mystery is a mix of historical events with Holmesian adventures. It manages to keep the tone and pace of the latter, while maintaining a believability and feel for the era that rings true. Very much in the vein of modern Sherlock Holmes, such as some of the psychological aspects of The Seven-Percent Solution or the historical novels by Peter Tremayne. Some of the passages of time seem a little drawn out so that the mystery verges on becoming a set of disconnected vignettes, though the ending is fairly satisfying and dark. A portion of the book is taken up with mention of events previous, making the reader feel like there was another book prior to this when, in fact, the events referred to are recounted in the second book, The Night Calls, though the way Doyle’s interactions with Doctor Bell are recounted in the later stages of this mystery don’t quite ring true with his interactions that must have occurred while Doyle was still in Edinburgh.
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From the founders of 37signals, this is a book about rethinking business, how to run a business and what’s possible.It’s a collection of pithy ideas divided into sections that are thematically related. As with any book that uses anecdotes, the story of the Flip camera makes a great anecdote, but doesn’t keep pace with current events and trends considering Cisco acquired it and then shut down their camera division in May. Other sections about how companies create culture and how having a “rock star” work environment is more important than rock star programmers are much better and resonate strongly, meaning this book holds together a little better than most business books that rarely stand the test of time and become dated within a year or two of publication.
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In order to travel to the Land of Smoke and Sacrifice, Brenda and her friends must enlist the help of the ghosts of the remaining Orphans, open the Nine Gates and travel there. But that’s only half the battle. While they’re doing all that, they need to figure out who or what is opposing their efforts. Also in the mix are the Sidhe, who have taken an interest and play an active role since the powers of the Orphans are only part of Brenda’s mystical heritage. The Orphans finally come face-to-face with their opponents and defeat them, restoring order to the Lands.
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In order to travel to the Lands Born from Smoke and Sacrifice, it’s necessary to travel to the Underworld and find the Nine Yellow Springs. But there are bigger problems in the land beyond the gate the Orphans open and they must save the guardians of the four directions. In the process, Brenda uses her talents as a Rat, abilities that should belong to her father alone, and discovers she has another mystical heritage from her mother’s side and that the supernatural inhabitants from that heritage are concerned about the possible destruction of all worlds, not just the land the Orphans must travel through to reach the Lands Born from Smoke and Sacrifice.
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Much like Alice Liddell, Tom Taylor is the real-life inspiration for a series of fantasy novels written by his father about the boy wizard Tommy Taylor. Thigs take a turn when he discovers that his identity may be fictitious. At the same time, he becomes aware of a cabal that has manipulated writers to shape the world in the image they desire. The secret history of Rudyard Kipling at the end stands alone as an excellent one-off, while tying back into the larger story about how Tom’s father came to write about Tommy Taylor.
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A retelling of the Russian story of Koschei the Deathless set in twentieth century Russia between the fall of the Tsars and World War II, it follows the story of Marya Morevna who becomes his bride after being indelibly marked by magic. At the same time as it follows the fairytale arc including the arrival of an Ivan (they’re all named Ivan), it also follows the arc of history that ends with the rise of the Soviet Union and the end of the war that is also the war between life and death.
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Can games change the world? That’s the premise of this book with an examination of whether games exist as more than simple escapism. The title is intended to be deliberately thought-provoking since the theme is more that games can enhance our lives and our subjective reality rather than simply serving as an escape from a “broken” existence. Many of the examples are ones the author has been personally involved in creating, so she provides an insider’s view to some of the best-known and successful alternative reality games, though there’s also a certain myopia and the book could have benefited for more examples or a broader focus.
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After escaping the palace following Lord Sethon’s coup, Eona must try to figure out how to control her powers while forces seem to be conspiring against her, between the masterless dragons and the spirit of her ancestor. Dela, Ryko, and the emperor Kygo all play a role in helping her understand her abilities and to come to terms with the past.
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Relating his idea of “flow” to the broader context of businesses and what makes them run smoothly, Csikszentmihalyi examines a number of different businesses and discusses why they work well. The common underlying ideas show a great deal of commonality in the most successful businesses. The book focuses on work having purpose, but makes some digressions into religion without really covering it well and winds up feeling somewhat superficial in that regard. While there’s plenty of food for thought, the book feels more like a magazine-sized research study blown out to the size of a book.
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This book falls into the same category of thrillers as Trevanian’s Shibumi and Barry Eisler’s John Rain series with fast-paced action, plot twists and a careful eye to the details of Japanese culture and the setting. Though the main character is a vampire and the plot involves lethal vampire-human hybrids and organ trafficking, these elements are almost secondary to the careful details paid to the setting and the action. My chief complaints would be the amount of time spent referring to previous history (from the first four books, one presumes) and over-explanation of Japanese terminology. But the story moves along at a good pace and makes for a worthwhile read.
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A futuristic thriller set in the same world as the Deus Ex: Human Revolution video game, this book follows a mercenary named Ben Saxon and a Secret Service agent named Anna Kelso as they sturggle to thwart the plans of the Illuminati and bring down a shadowy group of killers known as the Tyrants. The action takes place at the same time as the events in the video game and some of the game characters also appear in the story.
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In the China-influenced milieu of this book, the Dragoneyes are men with the ability to control the powers of the dragons. Wielding these powers, they bring rains, prevent earthquakes and ensure the well-being of the empire. Every year, a new Dragoneye is chosen from amongst the 12-year-old candidates to apprentice to the ascendant Dragoneye. At the start of the book, Eon is one of the candidates for the Rat Dragon, though he has a secret that would result in his certain death – Eon is really Eona, a girl masquerading as a boy and girls are forbidden from becoming Dragoneyes. At the ceremony, Eon is passed over by the Rat Dragon, but the long vanished Mirror Dragon makes a reappearance. The mystery surrounding this dragon’s disappearance and reappearance is woven together with intrigues and plot twists, expertly moving the story along at a fast pace. The many characters must choose where there loyalties lie and who to trust in order to preserve the empire.
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After a surprise wedding, Mercy is ready for a quiet honeymoon. But her husband, Mike, takes the suggestion of one of the fae to go camping in the Columbia River Gorge and, before you know it, they’re involved in facing an ancient evil that’s risen from the river. There’s a heavy does of Native American lore and archetypes that, while vaguely reminiscent of Gaiman’s American Gods, manages to avoid being too over the top and illuminates much of Mercy’s heritage and past (including how she can be a shifter since, apparently, both parents must have the ability to pass it on to their children…)
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The pivotal event where the main character, Cassandra, has a vision of a hanged girl while dowsing for water occurs between flashbacks to her past. The narrative continues as parts of her past illuminate the present and the two draw together to a suspenseful conclusion. As an unreliable narrator, the story never veers too far from objectivity while also using it as a device about how we perceive and understand the world, particularly in contrast to Cassandra’s father who is slowly losing his memory due to Alzheimer’s.
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Like Dojo Wisdom by Jennifer Lawler, this book is a collection of useful information for the martial practitioner based on the author’s experience. It’s applicable to all Budo, whether you’re a practitioner of Judo or Kendo or Karate, rather than just Aikido, but most of the information in both this book and the other is applicable and they make excellent companions for the serious practitioner. But, as Lowry notes, “But it’s also easy to get the idea, reading books and contemplating the great mysteries of the martial Ways, that sweat, blood, and tears aren’t really all that necessary. They are.”
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Writing about his experiences in China, Hessler manages to maintain an outsider’s view of the country while providing a deep insight into the changes occurring in modern China with stories of ordinary people from a variety of backgrounds. Having read about his experiences in the Peace Corps as an English teacher in Fuling, I value his insight and ability to paint vignettes of life in China, so this book is a delight to read. There’s a great deal of insight into Chinese culture through the lens of language and language reforms that is illuminated by the stories of the people portrayed throughout.
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Though this book shares both setting elements and genre with Walter Jon Williams’ Deep State, it’s rather a different book. Like McDonald’s other recent works, it’s set in the near future and has many storylines that overlap rather convincingly. Set in 2027, the story feels very much like it’s in the near future with only a few events and technologies to set it apart from the modern Turkey of today. In other words, rather than overwhelm the reading by trying to describe the new technology, it simply exists as a layer on top of the many layers of history that is Istanbul. With an eye for both character and setting, the story reveals hints of a larger tapestry as it focuses on the minutiae of the lives of various individuals living in the same apartment building.
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In the mythos of the Halo games, it’s known that the Forerunners built the Halos and that it is because of them that their civilization collapsed. This is the story behind the creation of the Halos from the perspective of a young Forerunner who stumbles into the machinations of the Forerunners known as the Librarian, the Didact and the Master Builder. Though the book drags in a couple of places and the hero isn’t really much in charge of his own fate, the story itself is well-plotted and interesting for fans of the games and related fiction.
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A great collection of short stories by some of the best authors in the field. Many of the stories are by writers who have written for the comics medium and are taking a turn at prose. Among them, Gail Simone, Marjorie Liu and many others deliver some varied and entertaining takes on the superhero genre.
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Novels about the Culture continue to entertain and delight. In this latest novel by Iain Banks, the action centers around a conflict over the existence of virtual “hells”, environments that exist as a place where digital personalities exist after death as a way of apparently ensuring their punishment according to the tenets of various theologies of the cultures who espouse them. Multiple converging stories and the virtual environments reminded me of Tad Williams’ Otherland series, though I like the setting of this novel and the nature of the Culture. In particular, the Abominator-class ship Falling Outside the Normal Moral Constraints is both frightening and humorous.
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The sequel to This is not a Game, this new book combines ARGs and politics and, were it not for the gestation period most books undergo, would seem to be a “ripped from the headlines” thriller. It’s a great example of how current events outrun fiction, but no less readable for all of that and the setting in Turkey is believable and interesting.
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Taking place within the Shadowfell and the city of Ikemmu, the story of Ashok is the typical story of a misfit who wants to do the right thing but has difficulty with the options presented to him. On the one hand, he’s not typical of the shadar-kai and knows there must be a choice different than that offered within his enclave. At the same time, following Tempus and his representatives in Ikemmu doesn’t seem to be in the cards either.
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Being held prisoner for a murder she didn’t commit, Rose’s escape is just the start of her adventures. While Lissa, Christian and Adrian try to clear Rose’s name, Dimitri and Rose are on the run to try and find another member of the Dragomir family. I didn’t expect the this book to be the end of the series and, in some ways it isn’t. There’s definitely plenty left unresolved for other books, though likely featuring different characters.
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Zoey has returned from the Otherworld after thwarting Kalona. Now, she must decide whether to remain on Sgiach or to return to Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Neferet may force her decision, having returned to the school with plans of her own. The beginning drags a bit until Zoey decides to return to Tulsa. After that, the action picks up and moves along until the cliffhanger ending that sets up the inevitable sequel.
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Most incentive and reward programs don’t seem to work and many companies struggle with motivating employees and how to get them to be more engaged. This book takes a look at Watson and Skinner’s work on behaviorism, comparing the works of these men with many studies that have been done that show why rewards (or extrinsic motivators) don’t work like people think they do. There’s also some ideas that are particular interest to knowledge workers where the ideas of behaviorists are tied to other theories like Taylorism. Definitely thought provoking. The book cites Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi as saying, “to de-emphasize conventional rewards threatens the existing power structure.”
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While offering a well-developed look at the near future and moving along at a good pace, this novel avoids being yet another techno-thriller mainly by dint of its characters and the complex motivations that drive each of them. There aren’t any monolithic corporations or government agencies whose sole purpose is to bring harm to others or to destroy civilization, but the possibilities are just as scary and far more believable for all of that. The ending is a little abrupt, but the whole is quite satisfying.
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The sequel to The Incredible Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, the story is told from the view point of Kyra (the Goth Girl of the title) following her release from the mental hospital her father sent her to. She not only has to deal with her many issues, but there’s also the matter of how her friends seem to have forgotten all about her during her time apart. The many misunderstandings and the dramas of others work themselves out in a believable way.
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The witches who live in Fabletown are a varied bunch and include Frau Totenkinder, Ozma and others. In this volume, we find out much more about who Frau Totenkinder really is, that the black cat Maddy has many other names and epithets (including the Scythian Raven and Sycorax), and how the “Dark One” came to be captured. Speaking of witches, cut off from the rest of the world, Bufkin and his unlikely allies must contest against Baba Yaga and a powerful djinn. Fortunately, for an unassuming flying monkey, Bufkinis very well read.
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In the ever increasingly misnamed Hitchhiker’s Trilogy, this sixth book picks up with the adventures of Arthur, Ford and Trillian on another series of adventures. Douglas Adams’ legacy seems to be in good hands with Eoin Colfer who takes a departure from his Artemis Fowl series to take a turn at the wheel here. The only one failing to make a repeat appearance is Marvin the Paranoid Android (apart from ‘”Pigs. Don’t talk to me about pigs.”) and the Great Prophet Zarquon.
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Though billed as YA, this novel is every bit as dark and dystopian as Bacigalupi’s earlier work, sharing many elements from both Windup Girl and Pump Six and Other Stories. It stands on it’s own quite well and its faster-paced plot will definitely hold the interest of younger readers with compelling characters and a well-realized setting that’s very believable. The story of Nailer and those around him are told in a way that’s both entertaining and gives one a great deal of food for thought.
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Taking a look at modern management practices with an eye toward change and how new discoveries in emergent behavior and self-organization can be used to transform companies. Starting with the premise that equilibrium equals organizational stagnation (and eventually, failure), the authors propose that successful companies must continuously change. Unlike many books about change and embracing change for its own sake, the book also recognizes that there aren’t any silver bullets and what’s right for one organization may not be right for all. Also, unlike some books that use examples of companies doing radical things, the organizations examined here are still viable and remain in business (unlike books about radical change that cited Enron and now-failed internet startups). Some of the information is still a little dated, particularly in focusing on technology companies due to the rapidly changing landscape in that field, but the ideas about emergence and reciprocity remain highly relevant.
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Following her return from Russia, Rose is determined to free Dimitri from being Strigoi, but first she’ll have to free Victor Dashkov from prison. The chain of events this sets in motion is unpredictable and things start to move too fast for everyone concerned. If she succeeds, what will this mean for Rose and Adrian? There are some surprising new allies and the reappearance of Rose’s father, the wily and unscrupulous Abe “Zmey” Mazur.
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A collection of short stories by various authors set in the same alternate history as the 1632 series begun by Eric Flint. It starts with a story by Flint himself and includes high-quality fan fiction and some non-fiction articles about the time period in question. Worth reading for fans of the series. I learned some useful stuff about radio as a result of this book in addition to being entertained.
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A good overview of Wordpress with plenty of useful tips and snippets that cover everything from the basics (how the Wordpress loop works) to nitty-gritty details (how to use SQL to bulk-edit posts). Even if you’re familiar with Wordpress, this is a good review and ties together disparate elements very well. Surprisingly, even though it covers and older version (2.8, so still somewhat recent), the important information is highly relevant. The sections on plugins deal with design decisions and reasons to use plugins versus functions.php and is highly relevant to any version of Wordpress.
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Starting as a fantasy version of the movie Galaxyquest, this book features an unexpected heroin who, rather than being a callow peasant placed in unexpected circumstances, is an average person (though very competent) who finds herself traveling to another world and is expected to confront fantastic situations that are, unfortunately, real. The “episode” synopses at the end of the book were done very well as an homage to the shows that the book used as inspiration while being more cleverly written than most synopses of the episodes of real shows.
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After returning from Hell and getting his revenge, Sandman Slim is at loose ends. Between assisting the Golden Vigil in tracking down (and killing) supernatural undesirables and agreeing to act as Lucifer’s bodyguard, his life still isn’t very satisfying. Perhaps saving the world is what’s called for. Though the politics of Heaven and Hell are handled fairly well, the angelic and demonic characters sometimes feel lacking in weight and depth (a problem that also crops up in vampire books with characters who are thousands of years old). In all, this is a respectable sequel with a fast-moving plot and some witty dialogue.
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This Riverworld book picks up the story of Samuel Clemens (AKA Mark Twain) and his quest to build a riverboat and travel to the start of the river. The cast of characters is a cross-section of historical figures including the despicable King John, Lothar von Richtofen (the Red Baron’s brother), Cyrano de Bergerac, and many others including a few fictional characters (unless Farmer somehow possessed the ability to foresee the future).
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A collection of short stories in the HALO universe, covering the time period of all the different games and places, whether it be Colonial recruit prior to the coming of the Covenant, an interlude with Master Chief in New Mombasa, or Cortana facing off against the Gravemind. There’s plenty of variety and, other than what I found to be some odd word choices in some of the stories, the stories are worth a read for anyone who’s a fan of the games. Unfortunately, if you’re not conversant with the games and some of the backstory, a few of the stories don’t stand alone so well and are more in the nature of interludes or vignettes rather than complete stories unto themselves. Even then, the remainder of the book still has some strong entries (and not to say the other pieces aren’t good, but the require some background knowledge while simultaneously providing more detail and flavor).
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The Locke children are on their own in facing new menaces and beginning to understand the nature of keys. Several new keys are introduced including the Shadow Key that this collection draws its name from. But there’s so much more going on, the story and the art are both top-notch and the story is more cohesive as the series progresses.
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After a brutal attack at an archeological dig Oklahoma, Annja investigates the possibility that the attack was perpetrated by a skinwalker. It turns out that this isn’t first such attack, though the connection between radical factions among the Comanche and the beliefs of the Navajo may have some bearing on the attacks. It’s hard not to spot the bad guys when they’re introduced and the ending feels a little too drawn out. It’s as if, having introduced so many new and interesting characters, they each needed a chance to shine before, in typical fashion, many of them get killed off.
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Secret agent Cinderella must investigate magical artifacts being sold in the mindane world. Leaving her sho store in the hands of her assistant (who has some ideas for some new designs), she finds herself thrown together with Aladdin, who is investigating the same artifacts on behalf of the Middle Eastern fablelands.
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Though parts of this book might seem a bit dated on some things for having been published in 1972 (everyone smokes in the 21st century, computers are monolithic machines, and the capital of China is referred to as Peking, as examples). Other novels cover the same topics, most notably Carl Sagan’s Contact and Jack McDevitt’s The Hercules Text, but this work predates both of them and is truly groundbreaking. Definitely worth reading for anyone interested in SETI and the big questions about alien contact.
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With a degree of whimsy worthy of Peter Beagle, this young-adult tale of an ordinary boy named Henry who travels to Wizard’s Hall to learn how to be a magician is one if a number of stories that predate the Harry Potter series. The way magic works and how Henry finds a way to defeat the villainous Nettle and his Quilting Beast is quite fun.
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While celebrating Roux’s birthday with Garin, Annja encounters a mysterious intruder wielding a sword that’s the counterpart to the sword of Joan that she wields. After the encounter, she has a series of run-ins with the same person who seems to be an internationally famous assassin known as The Dragon.
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The sequel to Masques, this book begins with Aralorn and Wolf traveling to her home for her father’s funeral. When it turns out that there is more going on than meets the eye, it’s up to them to figure out what’s really going on. As with the earlier book, the magic is well thought out and the various talents or special abilities of magicians was an interesting addition.
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Published by the National Archives of the UK, the primary focus of this book is genealogy research in Britain. However, the author covers many techniques and records that should prove useful to other researchers including those in the United States. This book is a comprehensive and definitive guide that I’d recommend for any genealogist, particularly those whose origins are England.
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Exiled for crimes that are, initially, not detailed, Inspector Shan has more in common with the Tibetans in his work gang. However, his skills and political knowledge lead him to be tasked with investigating a murder when a body dressed in American clothes is found at the site where a road is being constructed. The ending and the nature of the crimes is both unexpected and extremely satisfying. All the different threads relating to the different crimes are neatly tied together and resolved.
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In a future where education has become privatized and malls are converted to schools, this novel explores how marketing becomes increasingly pervasive in our life. The protagonist, Kid, would rather make music and her refusal to become fully engaged in “The Game” leads her to challenge the system and possibly to change it. In some ways, this novel reminds me of John Shirley’s A Song Called Youth trilogy by way of DJ culture (rather than Shirley’s rock and roll aesthetic).
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Despite a few rewrites in this edition, it’s essentially a first novel and suffers from some of the flaws inherent to that. Despite some of the darker elements, it reads much like a young adult novel with all the requisite elements of a YA fantasy. Which is not to say that it’s not a pretty good read and quite fun. The characters are, as is the case with Briggs’ work, the strongest elements and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel. I found the types of magic to be well-done and the differentiations to be consistent and interesting.
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Books where the protagonists are anti-heroes or just criminally inept aren’t really my cup of tea, Moorcock’s Elric series in the former category being an exception. I was expecting something a little more John Shirley-esque with a bit of a souther gothic vein (a la Poppy Z. Brite with less angst). This, unfortunately, is not that book and the setting and history don’t do enough to redeem the characters. Replace the cliches of “what is this thing you call a telephone” with “what is this idea you call civil rights” and you know pretty much everything you need to know about this book. Oh, and vampires aren’t really bad, they are what they are because their powers make them that way – there’s no moral quandary or humanity to consider there unless you’re unfortunate enough to be a human who temporarily gets those powers (or survive the experience of inhaling mummy dust, but that seems to be a pretty transient effect).
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It’s been some years since I first read the Riverworld series and I had forgotten many of the characters. Think of this as a palate cleanser for the (newer) Syfy version since Richard Francis Burton isn’t a villain in the books. Or even, really remotely close to one, but rather a nuanced character with a viewpoint and prejudices arising from his time. Which is the point of the whole series, I think, and a nuance that’s lost in most adaptations to the screen.
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In order to catch up with the storyline in the Jack of Fables series, I had to read the Fables series up to this point. Taking a detour from the aftermath and threatening evil as a result of the war, the Fables and some of the Literals (and their offspring – Jack and the Page sisters) must take on the Literal with the power to create and destroy universes. Fortunately, some of the Fables have taken on a life of their own since they were originally written.
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A “memoir” in the style of Dumas, following the adventurous exploits of the duelist Valentin Rochefort after he’s forced to flee Paris due to circumstances beyond his control. Accompanying him is his arch-rival and fellow duelist as they travel from Paris to Shakespearean London and become embroiled in a plot to kill King James I. There are plenty more twists and turns involving an envoy from Japan, playwrights and prognosticators, not to mention Rosicrucians.
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All the things that happened in the year 1883 including the disreputable adventures of a low-life desperado named Jack. That is, until Bigby Wolf came and hauled him back to the Farm when the Lone Ranger left Jack with no silver bullets. In the present, the Bookburner and his forgotten fables arrive at the Golden Boughs Retirement Community.
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A guide to AR that focuses on explaining the basis for current augmented reality techniques with plenty of hands-on examples, code and other relevant information. If you’re curious about the current state of the art and what to start playing around yourself, this is an excellent primer on the subject.
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Though set today, the narrator takes the reader back to Elizabethan times as he deciphers the writings of Thomas Hariot, a member of the “School of Night” secret society. The story is partly a detective story around the activities of that society and who authored Shakespeare’s plays, and partly a reminiscence and search for meaning in the narrator’s relationship with his recently deceased and closest friend. The narrative style with the cuts between past and present along with the pacing reminded me of Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian. The end is less a revelation than it is about how things aren’t always what they seem and the darkness all of us carry inside.
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A fun travel through a somewhat futuristic blighted urban landscape, following a disaffected slacker who discovers he can see spirits and that he really doesn’t have much choice when the ghost of a girl asks him for help doing a good deed so she move on. This manga owes much of its style and concepts to manga like Death Note, but is well-done and quite original. The art is manga more in the fashion of Masamune Shirow with the level of detail and background imagery.
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A comprehensive pictorial guide to stations of the Greater London underground that are no longer in service (but not those that have been rebuilt or whose street-level entrances have been resited). This guide also features many maps from different time periods along with pictures of tickets to stations that are no longer in service. This is a companion piece to the author’s previous book, London’s Disused Underground Stations.
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A strange and phantasmagorical book involving a man named Leo who encounters a mysterious woman named Veronica. The action jumps around New York with locations that are also reflective of a mental landscape and occasionally jumping to other places around the world and to other times. There’s a healthy dose of mysticism with references to the Elizabethan School of Night and the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Strongly reminiscent of Italo Calvino’s urban dreamscapes with a dash of noir including a crooked ex-policeman and meetings at a Jazz club.
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Jumping back and forth between Elizabethan London and the court of Faerie, this work of historical fantasy captures the language and events following the “murder” of Kit Marley (AKA Christopher Marlowe) and his succession by William Shakespeare as the poet for a faction of sorcerers whose magic keeps Queen Elizabeth and the realm safe. The personages are well-done and the “what if” elements about what Kit Marley writes and does from Faerie is fascinating, as are the roles of others such as the satirist Ben Jonson.
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A basic but fast-paced look at Javascript and all the ways it can be used to, as the title promises, create scalable and reusable Javascript, whether for one-off uses or for creating entire libraries for repeated usage. Definitely worth a read for all skill levels, either for a novice to gain a more in-depth understanding of Javascript or for an expert as a detailed review. As a study guide, this book is invaluable and very clearly written. I was particularly interested in the appendix on design patterns, though I was disappointed with its brevity until I found out the author is writing an entire book on that topic (through O’Reilly).
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Less a Novel and more of an allegory, I think this book works best if taken in that fashion. Taken as a novel, it reads as some sort of combination of Brunner’s The Sheep Look Up or The Shockwave Rider mixed with Lord of the Flies. As a vehicle to explore the ways people behave when civilization is collapsing, it’s worth reading, though the narrative leans a little too heavily on that of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. In fact, between the setting and Bible Belt background, it seems to lean on that while seeming to disavow that as its underpinnings. In fact, it seems like a pretty clever conceit to borrow narrative in this way, much like Prometheus stealing fire (which is also a motif through the book).
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With the fall of the European fablelands, Snow White travels to the Middle Eastern lands to make an alliance with one of the rulers there. The Sultan has other ideas and Snow regales him with stories in exchange for her life. Before she returns home, she talks with a certain Scheherezade, the Wazir’s daughter, whose place in the queue was supplanted by Snow.
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This novelization set in the same milieu as the Fables graphic novels is a tale in two parts, intercutting between the story of Peter and Max Piper in the Fable land of Hess as it’s overrun by the Emperor (AKA the Usurper) and the modern final confrontation between the two brothers in Hamelin. Many other characters make an appearance, most notably the Big Bad Wolf (as in Peter and the Wolf), Little Bo Peep, and the Witch of the Black Forest (who has had many names, including Frau Totenkinder in the modern world). Medieval and magical with much the feeling of one of the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm in the best way possible.
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The love of Little Boy Blues life, Little Red Riding Hood, is back. Or is she? And it turns out Gepetto may be held by the Usurper and being forced to created many more footsoldiers in Pinocchio’s image as the vanguard of an invasion through a gateway in Canada. Fortunately, Bigby Wolf and Frau Totenkinder (AKA the Wicked Witch) are on the job. Some great art in this particularly bring the story of the last redoubt in the land East of the Moon and West of the Stars with the heroic stand by Robin of Locksley, Britomart and many others.
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In upstate New York is The Farm where all the non-human Fables live. When Goldilocks starts an insurrection with the ostensible goal of taking back the Fablelands from the Usurper, things quickly go from bad to worse. Matters aren’t helped by a dose of sibling rivalry between Snow White and Rose Red.
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A return to the city of Orsino from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, this time as the setting for a murder mystery. The deceased is the Duke from the original play and the malefactor is Malvoleo, reprising his role as the villain from the original play. The narrator is the character known as Feste the Fool, a representative of the Guild of Fools, a league of individuals who act to manipulate events for the greater good as a secret brotherhood, rather like the Masons or the Illuminati. The language is crisp and fits both the source and the setting.
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After glimpses and pieces of the circumstances around the murder of Sarah Brandt’s husband, that plot line takes center stage in this book. This mystery is the equal of the others with just as much depth even though this murder is something of a “cold case”, unlike previous books in the series. Despite the events having happened some time in the past, some things seemed a little too unchanged, particularly within the various households. The secondary characters were well drawn, particularly the Pinkertons, and it was nice to see Maeve have a larger role in the narrative.
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Let me start by saying that this is a book for people who like cats. If you don’t like cats, prefer dogs, find cats tedious and/or arrogant, then you’ll probably stall out quite early reading this book. It’s a coming-of-age book without quite the feel of a complex magic system like those in, say, the books by Justine Larbalestier (starting with Magic or Madness. It has more the feel of The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black and, like the books in that series, the action moves along at a quick pace. I think part of the reason I wish the author had developed the magic better was that I wish that the protagonist had spent more time figuring out the workings of the golem masquerading as her father and things like that.
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There are plenty of literary references and quotes in this modern autobiographical account of the author’s experiences at West Point, Ranger School, Oxford, and Afghanistan. In spirit, it’s much the same as the books it references, such as All Quiet on the Western Front and many others, though it manages to be both informative and engaging with a strong unique voice. Considering the author is, among many other things, a Rhodes Scholar, I would have been disappointed if the writing had been anything but top notch. The author’s internal struggles about the role of the military and his decision to become an officer are particularly worthy of consideration and worth a read regardless of one’s personal feelings one way or the other about the military and the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. In fact, those seeking to clarify their views would, I think, find this book valuable.
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In this final and satisfying conclusion, everything is resolved. But first, will Scott join the League of Evil Exes? Can Ramona get Gideon out of her head? Will Scott get off the couch in the first place and do what needs to be done? Some nice twists and turns lead to the final conclusion and, like most video games, having an extra life (or lives), powerups and coins is a necessity.
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This second book in the series has a decent take on the story of the Little Mermaid. The nature of the Undines, their biology and magic are excellent and definitely lend themselves to the story, particularly when contrasted with the other magic in the book (such as Snow’s mirror magic, faerie magic and other such).
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As a take on the Eldar of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 universe, this story follows one particular individual from his start as a sculptor on an Eldar craftworld through the climactic battle when that world is invaded by Imperial forces. Though I didn’t much care for the characters in the early part of the story, the action and the larger story are very entertaining and moves along well.
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Starting with a take on the story of Rumpelstilzchen (known by his original German name AKA Rumpelstiltskin), this latest outing finds the princesses dealing with a threat in the form of the assassin known as the Red Hood (AKA Little Red Riding Hood). As always with a series that owes more to Grimm’s fairy tales than the Disney versions, there’s plenty of darkness, danger and fighting. There’s also some good plot twists and I liked the intrigues between the humans and the faeries. This book is primarily Talia’s story with much more background on her origins.
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From the origin of the internet, the autonomous vehicle research to everything in between, this book manages to cover some of the most interesting research being funded by DARPA along with some excellent historical background and unprecedented insight into how all the different areas of DARPA function. The personalities are colorful, the science fascinating and the implications even more engaging. About my only complaint was that that last chapter on alternative fuels just sort of ended, leaving me wanting some sort of conclusion, if not a longer book.
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The narrative in this book revolves more around Salander, even though she’s absent from a chunk as others try to figure out what’s going on and whether she’s even guilty of the crimes she’s accused of. The ostensible “good guys” turn out to be just as bad as the real bad guys in being sexist and charmless. That means they become little more than two-dimensional cut-outs with serious axes to grind who get their comeuppance in due course (and in a fairly predictable fashion). Fortunately, this is a work of fiction or the police in Sweden would be making the news much more frequently on charges of corruption and brutality. More than anything, I was reminded of the plot twists and settings in Thomas Harris’ Hannibal, a marginally better book.
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The seventh book in the Mythago Wood series that’s actually a direct sequel to the first book. Fittingly, it explains many things while its sweeping narrative leaves open the limitless worlds and paths that form the heart of Ryhope Wood. I found the nature of Stephen’s children, Jack and Yssobel, to be particularly well-done and intriguing. Robert Holdstock’s passing means that this is his final book, but it’s the sort of book that I think many author’s dream of as being their final work. The musings on mortality and time, the essence of stories, and the creation of worlds that is the author’s craft and also something intrinsic to human nature are all in this book and woven into a beautiful tapestry of fiction that resonates with the deepest myths of humanity.
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A little more metaphysical than the other books in this series, a good portion takes place within the spirit world. Zoey’s spirit must be returned to the real world to resolve the conflict with Kalona (though he’s starting to look less like the bad guy than Neferet). The good thing about this narrative tack is that some of the other characters get more time and show some development.
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A good collection of advice for programmers on ways to develop “soft” skills and to be more effective doing the work you enjoy. There’s definitely some good advice on ways to avoid career burnout and exploring the options one has as a computer professional. This book is a good companion to Career 2.0 by Jared Richardson and Matthew Bass, though the chapter of the same name in this book is about exploring alternatives to working as a coder.
Tags: corporate, development, humor, programming, project management
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Though the protagonists aren’t particularly likeable and the tone reminded me very much of Thomas Harris’ Hannibal, it’s still a good read with a fast-moving plot. In particular, the hacking is well done and the descriptions of the setting are well written, though the latter will grate on those who think Stephen King is too wordy with his use of extra details. I was a little disappointed about the background on the Vanger family that, as with Stephen King, existed primarily for atmosphere while adding little to the plot. I was disappointed about how little the history factored into the mystery for the most part.
Tags: crime drama, scandinavian noir, stieg larsson, suspense, thriller
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For an idea of the information in this book, I highly recommend the author’s blog at unclutterer.com. If you’re not sure where to start, she works through the various parts of your living space with goals for each day that are readily achievable and give a sense of accomplishment, building on each other. Even if you don’t decide to completely declutter in one week, there’s some good advice and ideas. Following the author’s suggestions can certainly make the task of clearing out your house or apartment a little less overwhelming.
Tags: clutter, organization, organizing, productivity, unclutter your life in one week
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Though lacking some depth, this overview of woman superheroes also covers quite a bit of ground and isn’t intended to be encyclopedic. The writing is engaging and hits all the right notes in chronicling the history of comic books including the forces that have driven the industry. The resurgence of strong female characters and the shift in cultural perceptions that “comics are for boys” ends the book on a positive note. About my only complain with this excellent book is that the pictures don’t match up to the text and seem quite haphazardly laid out, an odd editorial choice for a book chronicling a visual medium like comics.
Tags: comics, comics and superheroes, comics history, female hero, heroine
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The next-to-last evil exes, the Katanayagi twins, make for some amusing backdrops as Scott must successively battle larger and larger robots before finally duking it out with the duo. We also near some sort of resolution with Scott and Knives Chau, along with what his relationship with Ramona actually means including the question as to whether people can change and learn from their experiences. We also meet Scott’s parents and brother.
Tags: bryan lee omalley, canadian, graphic novel, scott pilgrim, video games
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A great history of computer gaming, starting with main frame games whose history has been lost in the “dark ages” of unrecorded history and moving through the various stages of computer gaming. I appreciated the examinations of particular games along with the comparisons between various elements that keep this from being simply a catalog of CRPGs. The parallel development of Colossal Cave Adventure and Dungeons and Dragons in the ’70s really sets the tone of the book and it moves along nicely from there with plenty of well-researched material (drawn from interviews, websites, the author’s experiences or experiments with emulators or the like, and much more). Some of the later parts could have benefited from an editor, though more for the grammatical errors and other typos. In all, it’s an interesting work though the MMORPG landscape has changed significantly in the short time since the book was published, having been overtaken by events like the shuttering of Tabula Rasa.
Tags: amiga, apple ii, crpg, rpg, video games
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In this outing, there’s some good twists and turns, some excellent character development and the absurd surrealism continues with journeys through subspace which has a very Being John Malkovich feel in its own unique way. Oh, and the L-word comes up. And it’s not lesbians, though there’s some of that in here too (or at least girls kissing girls, if nothing more).
Tags: bryan lee omalley, canadian, comics, graphic novel, scott pilgrim
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Who knew the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for Dungeons and Dragons had gotten so complex? Certainly not me. The language, particularly the unique dialect (which sounds neither forced nor inappropriately faux medieval) works well with the plot and characters, making this both a good fantasy novel (exclusive of whether you play Dungeons and Dragons or have ever even heard of the Forgotten Realms) while make it an excellent introduction to the world and characters imagined by Ed Greenwood. That is to say, despite having read of the characters in their mature and experienced incarnations, reading about their beginning invokes less of a pang of nostalgia and instead opens the world up in much the same way Anne McCaffrey’s Harper Hall Trilogy turned the world of Pern into a living, breathing place populated by ordinary people who performed feats just as extraordinary as those of the dragonriders. This book does suffer from being a bit too fragmented due to the number of characters and complexity of the plot, not to mention some of the characters are so powerful that their “assistance” seems a bit much like deus ex machina and detracts from the titular characters heroism.
Tags: dungeons and dragons, ed greenwood, fantasy, forgotten realms
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Like the other anthologies edited by Martin H. Greenberg and company (Elf Fantastic, Knight Fantastic, Cat Fantastic and many more), the stories are a bit uneven in quality. They tend towards the lower tier for quality despite the inclusion of some well-known names. It’s particularly noticeable in this collection because some of the stories are a little too “meta” and “gamer” refers to everything from computer simulations to roleplaying games and quite a bit in between the two. So far, Wizard Fantastic is the best of these collections. However, the last three stories are definitely worth a read and the final story (by Kristine Kathryn Rusch) is a perfect segue to Ed Greenwood’s memoriam for Gary Gygax.
Tags: anthologies, daw, fantasy, greenberg, role playing
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I’d be happy if the series ended with this book. But then, I felt that way about both Summer Knight and Small Favor, which is to say that I’d be happy to see plenty more books about Harry Dresden and his associates. Pretty much everyone makes an appearance in this book except for Molly’s father, Michael and the Denarians. Even Butters is pressed into service briefly as a medic. It’s nice to see there’s so much life left in the series and to see the characters continue to develop. The unique twist that kicks off this series is both unexpected and well-handled. As for the ending, all I can say is that there better be another book.
Tags: dresden files, jim butcher, paranormal suspense, urban dark fantasy, urban fantasy
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This is a series that’s difficult if you don’t read it in order since new characters are introduced and the art is such that some people look much like others. In addition, there’s quite a few flashbacks in this third volume. Still, the relationship diagram in the back helps, particularly if you remember that Natalie V. is Scott’s ex who now is a famous rockstar and goes by the name of Envy. We also find out more about Ramona’s mysterious past.
Tags: anime, bryan lee omalley, graphic novel, scott pilgrim, video games
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It’s nice to see the return of some familiar faces with Garin, Roux and police detective Bart McGilly. This latest adventure involves the lost Skull of Sidon, last in the possession of the Knights Templar along with a collection of villains including Ben Ravenscroft, a dealer in “intangibles” and the Russian Serge (the conjurer of the title).
Tags: alex archer, garin braden, necromancer, paranormal romance, rogue angel
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The second confrontation with Cain, a man with an apocalyptic vision who also possesses part of the suit, and the discovery that some portion of Annie, the creator of the suit, still lives on in Julie along with a portion of her DNA. At the halfway mark in this series, the characters are starting to understand there’s a bigger picture and more to the suit than they thought.
Tags: abstract studio, comics, graphic novel
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Perhaps a bit too precious and a bit too Mary Sue, the action in this book still moves along well and is well-plotted despite the characters. There’s also a little too much of everything but the kitchen sink with the steampunk setting and the paranormal alternate history in the Victorian era. I find I prefer the more gothic aspects of books like Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula. It could also be that the main focus is on werewolves with the vampire denizens of London being somewhat buffonish (as opposed to the far scarier ones in Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series) and the ghosts only relevant in passing.
Tags: paranormal, steampunk, urban fantasy, vampire, victorian
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Kaizen is usually a process applied to manufacturing and, more recently, other high-tech endeavors. The principles prove to be equally applicable to the process of self-improvement, starting by breaking things down into very small steps and creating feedback loops for continuous progress. Some good advice on a variety of things to help improve your personal life or your career.
Tags: behavior change, growth, kaizen, personal development, self-help
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A versatile and diverse collection of stories (once you get past the generic and derivative cover). And despite the title, many of the stories are less about guns and not much in the urban fantasy vein, though a couple of the ones I particularly enjoyed are of that ilk. I particularly enjoyed the short story featuring Tanya Huff’s character Vicki Nelson and thought “The Wooly Mountains” by Alexander Potter is definitely something I would read if it there were a series due to the excellent world-building and characterization.
Tags: anthology, fantasy, martin h greenberg, paranormal romance, urban fantasy
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This continuation of the series involves Mercy learning more of what it means to be part of a werewolf pack, while dealing with the machinations of the fae. At the same time, the lone wolf Stephen seems to have lost the will to live and she tries to help him as best she can. The action moves along well and the characters continue to grow and develop in a satisfying fashion. It’s refreshing to read a book that, as we explore the protagonist’s world, doesn’t feel compelled to keep upping the ante (which this series could easily have done by introducing more vampires, some type of bad werewolves or further entanglements with the Grey Lords).
Tags: mercy thompson, mercy thompson series, patricia briggs, urban fantasy, werewolves
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The magician Edward Moon is past his prime, but when he and his mute sidekick, the Somnambulist, are called upon to investigate a mystery, he’s drawn into a surreal series of events. Though the writing reads more like Sherlock Holmes with a dash more penny dreadful, the opium-tinged narrative moves the story along nicely and the book is reminiscent of Tom Holland’s Lord of the Dead and Slave of My Thirst. There’s some good historical reference, but the whole feels a little too disjointed.
Tags: detective, fantasy, gothic, london, victorian london
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We’re finally introduced to the Free Kingdoms and the home of the Smedry family in this book, as narrated by the continuously unreliable narration of Alcatraz Smedry. In this book, he must contend further with the Evil Librarians, this time in the form of a contingent of diplomats to the Free Kingdoms led by his mother. And with no less than three afterwords, it’s definitely good value for money (or so the narrator and I would have you believe).
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I originally read Vinge’s titular essay years ago along with bits and pieces of the other essays included in this edition. It’s fun to reread everything once again after so many years and to recall some of the ideas expressed in them. True Names remains as intriguing and topical as it was when it was first published, even if some of the essays are a bit dated. The afterword by Marvin Minsky is still intriguing, both as a measure of where we were and how far we still have to go.
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This is a translation by Thomas Cleary of a collection of sketches, compiled by Zhang Tianyu, a Taoist priest of the fourteenth century. It portrays more than one hundred Taoists of all stripes from the eleventh century B.C.E. to the thirteenth century C.E.
Tags: chi, china, eastern philosophy, herbal medicine, meditation
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Hired by a mining company to assist with the move of an Inuit burial ground, Annja finds herself battling supernatural beings of great evil against the mining company that’s not what it appears to be. This book kind of stutters in the middle with a maybe-it-is/maybe-it-isn’t supernatural conflict before becoming a more straightforward adventure with the heroine and her allies pursuing the bad guys to prevent their ultimate plans.
Tags: alex archer, paranormal romance, rogue angel, urban fantasy
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The final book in the series leaves many new openings as it resolves the current story, ending with the exile of worldwalkers to the world of New Britain. A satisfying finish though everything from the cover to the jacket blurb is a bit of a spoiler. Still, a satisfying end, while leaving the possibility of additional short stories or novels. Still, if the conclusion frees Stross to write more books about the Laundry instead, I’m all for that too.
Tags: charles stross, merchant princes, parallel universes, science fiction
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The Asgardian God of Thunder is reunited with the mortal form of Dr. Don Blake following the catastrophic “death” of the Asgardians. Thor must reawaken the Norse gods and restore Asgard. However, his deepest wish is to find Sif, but doing so has unforseen consequences including the restoration of Loki.
Tags: comics, j michael straczynski, marvel, superheroes, thor
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A collection of short stories by some of my favorite authors including Garth Nix, Jane Yolen and Peter Beagle, among others. Many of the authors have books that are among my all-time favorites and there’s not a single author for whom I haven’t read multiple books, with the exceptions of Eoin Colfer, Mary Rosenblum and Jeffrey Ford (all of whose works I may have to dig up or revisit) . The stories here also reflect the diversity of the author’s styles, being coupled only very loosely in theme.
Tags: anthology, fantasy, urban fantasy, wizards
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Volume 2 of this graphic novel brings our hero into conflict with another person who has a piece of the beta suit bonded to him. She must flee this danger along with National Security Bureau member Ivy, though it seems Ivy has an agenda that differs from that of her superiors as she comes to find out more truth about the project.
Tags: action hero archives, action hero archives vol 2, echo, strangers in paradise, terry moore
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When ghosts show up at a party Joanne Walker and her friend Phoebe are hosting, she’s once again embroiled in a supernatural adventure, trying to figure out how to break the spell that’s letting all manner of living dead into our world in this latest outing. As with the other books, it’s interesting to see how the characters have grown and changed along with their relationships to one another.
Tags: ce murphy, paranormal romance, urban fantasy, urban shaman, walker papers
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Ranging from Mexico to the hinterlands of Mongolia, this latest adventure takes Annja on a quest to find the final resting place of Genghis Khan. The historical detail is interesting, though some elements are a bit repetitious in places. The action moves along at a good pace, though it’d be nice to read a book that departs from the formulaic “no one gets out alive” plot that this book shares with the previous volume. Additionally, I had trouble suspending disbelief that the sponsor of the expedition seemed to be lacking many of the resources that the competition had (satellite phones, satellite access, helicopters, etc.) despite his supposedly immense wealth. Still, some nice plot twists and believable historical background made for a good read.
Tags: action adventure, alex archer, annja creed, paranormal romance, urban fantasy
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Accompanying an expedition to investigate Mount Ararat and possibly the literal truth of Noah’s Ark, this latest excursion has more characterization including a collection of fundamentalist Christians, a Jewish Qabbalist, a film crew from Annja’s television network, and an aging journalist. The technical aspects of the mountain climb are described well and the characters are interesting even though, as usual, almost none of them make it out alive. The brief appearance of the enigmatic Mister Spring is nicely done, though who he is remains unclear (though his real identity as Gilgamesh is alluded to).
Tags: action, action adventure, adventure, alex archer, paranormal romance
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Set in the wilds of Oregon, this adventure has Annja in pursuit of legends of the Sasquatch. It’s more atmospheric with plenty of mystery novel twists, particularly at the end. Touches on nearly every trope including mysterious meteors and mystic indians. The portrayal of a less-skeptical Annja doesn’t quite ring true even though it fits better with the nature of the sword she carries.
Tags: adventure, alex archer, annja creed, archaeology, paranormal romance
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Though a bit linear and somewhat predictable, this adventure starting in Greece and ending in Nepal is a straight-ahead adventure with plenty of fighting and chasing with long running gun and sword battles. A bit of a romantic angle with Annja and a Greek policeman is done well and the mystic elements are particularly good.
Tags: action, action adventure, adventure, annja creed, paranormal romance
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Begun as a catalog for an exhibition at the Virginia Historical Society, this book looks at migration to, within, and from Virginia while exploring the idea of the origins of westward movement. It takes, as its starting point, the frontier thesis of historian Frederick Jackson Turner and explores the factors in migration, particularly the interplay of the various factors that led to migration. There’s some redundancy with people being described in passing and then that same information repeated in greater detail further along in the chapter (almost as if exhibition descriptions were pasted into the text but not fully integrated into the narrative). The insights and biographies are very compelling, however, and give a great feel to the scope of migration and Virginia’s role in the creation of the United States.
Tags: atlantic studies, colonial virginia, genealogy, virginia, virginia history
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First in a series about an ordinary guy trying to figure out his life. He hangs out with his friends, plays in a band and has just started dating a high school girl when he meets a delivery girl who’s anything but ordinary. Somewhere along the way, things get complicated and he must fight her evil ex-boyfriends if he wants to date her.
Tags: bryan lee omalley, comics, graphic novel, scott pilgrim, video games
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Following some type of catastrophe that resulted in the wreck of civilization, this book follows follows two extraordinary teens in their travles while two factions, the Libyrarians, who keep the books of the Libyrinth, and the Eridicants or Singers, who seek to destroy all written words, vie to impose their vision on the world. The magical and superscience aspects of this book owe as much to William Morris’s The Well at the World’s End as it does to The Tripods trilogy by John Christopher (and, to a lesser extent, his Sword of the Spirits series).
Tags: book, fantasy, teen, teen fantasy, young adult
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This space opera has perhaps more in common with Heinlein’s later work with a smidge more hard science than some. The standout in this book is the language when the characters are speaking with each other. The slang feels fairly natural even while being a bit all over the map as far as influences (Japanese and Russian seem to overshadow more obvious slang from Chinese or Spanish). A fun read, though a bit contrived.
Tags: adventure, barnes, interplanetary, john barnes, science fiction
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An interesting collection of short comics and one short story featuring various characters from the pages of comics published by Dark Horse including Hellboy. Somewhat like the comic equivalent of an amuse bouche and definitely worth a read.
Tags: anthologies, comics, hellboy, mike mignola, monsters
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A collection of titles around the reforming of the Avengers with plenty of epic backstory. There are plenty of parallels with the Marvel Universe Morgan Le Fay in this storyline where she plays a role much like that in Busiek’s Trinity with the DC Universe version of that character (Morgaine Le Fay).
Tags: avengers, comics, kurt busiek, marvel comics, morgan le fay, superheroes
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Another Warhammer 40K book focusing on the Inquisitors. In this fast-paced novel, Inquisitor Obodiah Roth must travel from world to world as they are overrun by Ironclads, raiders in service to Chaos. With enemies at every turn including the likes of a Death Cult assassin in service to the Emperor, Roth must figure out the plans of the Chaos invaders before it’s too late. I particularly liked the way the Space Marines were portrayed (both Imperial and Chaos).
Tags: black library, chaos, inquisitor, military science fiction, warhammer 40k
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Iron Man versus HYDRA! With the evil Arnim Zola at the head of HYDRA, an increasingly reclusive Tony Stark races to develop the ultimate Iron Man armor. Not quite comic book-y enough (the virtual sequences would play well in a different comic book, but not in something by Marvel), but well-written and interesting in its own right.
Tags: hydra, iron man, superhero novel, tony stark
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Revolving around a remote island at the edge of an empire, this fantasy novel revolves around several characters pushed into circumstances far outside their experience. In some ways, the fantastic elements remind me of Tim Lukeman’s Koren and Rajan, though without some of the lushness of the prose in those books. The ending was neatly done and ends the book with the stage set for the sequel.
Tags: adventure, china, epic fantasy, fantasy, magic
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This graphic novel collects issues 1-4 of the original Books of Magic comics and features the work of talented artists like Charles Vess and John Bolton. Their talent makes Neil Gaiman’s words come to life and tells a story that spans the beginning of time to the end of time. The many magical characters of the DC Universe make an appearance, albeit usually very briefly (though I liked Doctor Fate’s appearance, in particular).
Tags: comics, fantasy, graphic novel, neil gaiman, vertigo
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The concluding volume of this series, collecting the final set of comics. A much-changed Trinity returns to earth for the final showdown with those who would usurp their roles. The ending seemed a little disjointed, but made me very happy.
Tags: 52, batman, superman, trinity, wonder woman
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More punk rock Zen. A refreshing followup to the author’s first book, picking up where that left off and enlightening the reader on more aspects of Zen Buddhism. Everything from what enlightenment means to how to properly sit and meditate is in this book with plenty of irreverent attitude that punctures holes in preconceptions as effectively as any koan or whack upside the head (which, when you think about it, makes Zen kind of punk rock that way).
Tags: buddhism, punk, zen, zen buddhism
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The first of a series of novels corresponding to the graphic novels by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton. It’s well-written enough to stand on its own, adding enough material to be interesting even if you’ve read the graphic novels.
Tags: books of magic, comics, tim hunter, vertigo
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This book is useful for more than job hunting. Andy Lester writes some really good stuff about professional development and some of that is in this book. There’s an entire chapter on staying hirable and many things referenced in the job hunt refer to that chapter (such as getting involved in Open Source projects and developing your resume).
Tags: careers, job hunting, jobs, pragmatic programmer, technical
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Continuing the saga with the radically altered Earth and with Krona freed from the Cosmic Egg. However, things have gone wrong and the new trinity is desperately unstable. The alternate history without Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman is well-done and portrayed through fragmentary memories by those who were closest to them (such as Alfred Pennyworth) or those unaffected by the changes. Firestorm’s recollections of how things were supposed to be is very well done and explains why the Justice League didn’t form the way it should have.
Tags: alfred, batman, superman, trinity, wonder woman
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After reading Pump Six and Other Stories, I was eagerly looking forward to this novel. Set in the same world as the short stories Yellow Card Man and The Calorie Man, this novel has all the punch and dizzying amount detail that characterize those short stories, while exploring a broader and more intricate narrative that reminds me of the layers of John Brunner’s work. It reminded me of Ian McDonald’s River of Gods for which there’s also a collection of short stories, Cyberabad Nights, in the same setting, though the collection was published after the novel rather than before. For me, McDonald’s novel lacked the richness of Bacigalupi’s setting and felt more like India of the immediate future, whereas the world here is beautifully nuanced.
Tags: bioethics, genetic engineering, hard science fiction, science fiction, thailand
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Vlad Taltos returns to Dragaera City after he hears that an old friend, the Dragonlord Aliera, has been accused of practicing elder sorcery. The matter is deeply political and only an outsider like Vlad can help. If he can avoid being killed by House Jhereg or one of his myriad other enemies.
Tags: dragaera, fantasy, vlad taltos
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An epic spanning the DC universe, focusing on the Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. If there’s any weakness, it’s that the bad guys didn’t feel as epic as the heroes or have the following of villains that rallies to the side of the good guys (Teen Titans, Outsiders, JSA, JLA, Titans, and many others make appearances). But the writing is excellent, the twists and turns unfold like a well-oiled machine and the insights into the psyches of the protagonists is refreshingly new and yet still rooted in the classic origins of those characters.
Tags: batman, superman, trinity, wonder woman
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The management in my workplace gives a great deal of lip service to Lean and the Toyota Way. After reading some blog posts about Lean and Software Development, I wanted to read more about Toyota’s Product Development since that seems more relevant to software than manufacturing process (which work better in my company on the clinical side). This books offers a great deal of information regarding Toyota’s processes for product development including building knowledge, continuous improvement, and developing the technical expertise of engineers. Some of the case studies and a comparative look at how Chrysler changing to a product-line based organizational structure resulted in product chimneys (having traded that for functional chimneys) and how Toyota has mostly avoided that problem were very insightful.
Tags: lean, lean manufacturing, product development, toyota, toyota production system
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The premise of this book sounded intriguing because of the notion of a Kafkaesque mystery novel can be very entertaining if done with style. This is definitely done properly, reading like Dashiell Hammett as written by Franz Kafka (or perhaps William S. Burroughs in his more lucid moments). In other words, the nameless city could be any East Coast American city (instead of a similarly anonymous Eastern European city), though there are touches that feel like it could just as easily be London or Liverpool as Chicago or Baltimore, and the hapless protagonist feels more like Gregor Samsa than Sam Spade. In all it’s surreal and engaging. It also reminded me of Colson Whitehead’s The Intuitionist, though I found this book to be more engaging.
Tags: book, fantasy, kafkaesque, mystery, surreal
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I very much liked the idea of a living prison and the characters inhabiting that world. The premise sounds at least vaguely like that of The City of Ember, though I’ve never read the book or seen the movie. The action moves along quite well with some very deft touches and a few twists that I didn’t expect. The ending left more than a few loose ends and I expect there’ll be a sequel. As a YA novel, aspects of this book reminded me of William Sleator’s House of Stairs crossed with a dark and anachronistic future like that of Philip Reeve’s Mortal Engines.
Tags: dystopia, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, teen
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Though billed as cyberpunk, this book comes across as more of a dystopia by way of Samuel Delany. I like the grittiness of the setting and the characters. It definitely has a great deal in common with John Shirley’s Eclipse trilogy, though emphasizing the violence. Given that, I wondered why, amid all the gunplay, no one ever chucked a grenade into the whole mess part from a desire, perhaps, to give it a certain Old West aesthetic (which reminded me, in that way, as a variation of the movie Westworld).
Tags: assassination, cybernetics, cyberpunk, cyborg, science fiction
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I really like some alternate histories, particularly modern ones and histories where the world as we know is it different than we think. This book reminded me of some of the aspects of works by Tim Powers like Declare. I liked the hallucinatory nature of the book and the idea that death is a red-haired man.
Tags: aliens, russia, science fiction
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The jungles of the Philippines makes for a different take on the lost civilization trope and provides for much intrigue with terrorists and mythical tribesmen. The characters in this outing seemed to have a little more psychological depth and background.
Tags: action adventure, adventure, alex archer, fantasy, paranormal romance
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This roleplaying rulebook bears approximately the same relation to Games Workshop’s Inquisition rules for miniatures as the Warhammer roleplaying game bears to the miniatures rules of the same name. Having read this, I understand why some of the fiction has little involvement by actual Inquisitors and their ilk, unlike earlier fictions such as the Eisenhorn trilogy by Dan Abnett. Instead, these rules (and related fiction) focus on the lesser lights of the Inquisition and, as a result, also more on the regular folk of the Imperium. There is definitely some good material here including plenty of examples and adventure hooks for roleplaying in the dark backwaters of the Warhammer 40K Universe.
Tags: 40k, dark heresy, rpg, warhammer, warhammer 40k
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A fascinating collection of images and excerpts from a variety of literary works, categorized and prefaced by Eco. The works are wide-ranging from ancient to modern. The book suffers primarily from layout, since it’s sometimes unclear when one section ends and another begins with no interstitial material and an unexceptional limited use of typeface. The images are striking, but many of them have some much detail that it gets lost due to the size of the images. A larger format would likely have worked better (along the lines of standard coffee table books). In all, it’s an interesting cross-section of works and displays the penchant mankind has for ordering and creating lists.
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Starting with vignettes of a dystopic future (though not as dark, surprisingly, as the likes of John Brunner’s The Sheep Look Up), this book probably has the most in common in the beginning with other recent near-future fiction that reference pop culture, most notably Walter Jon Williams’ This is Not a Game. The characters are a little more absurdist than those in other Coupland books, yet surprisingly more realistic and believable for all that. The stories told by the characters have much in common with Carol Lay’s “Story Minute” comic, though I like hers better, partly due to the visual medium.
Tags: bees, douglas coupland, generation x, literary, short stories
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As the book says, “Question authority. Question society. Question reality. Question yourself.” With this approach, the author’s presentation of Zen Buddhism seems to be a logical outgrowth of the punk rock spirit. Probably more akin to Herrigel’s Zen in the Art of Archery than anything else, though with more diversions and a little less “pithy” than that work. Definitely in tune with my thoughts about Zen, particularly with not accepting anyone else (including Brad Warner, himself) as an authority on Buddhism.
Tags: buddhism, punk, zen, zen buddhism
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A good book of practical meditations (much like labyrinth or mandala meditations) that draws on other traditions while focusing on the Irish Spirit Wheel. This book manages to be a quick read, yet surprisingly full of insight. I particularly like the little meditations at the end of each section within each chapter.
Tags: celtic, celtic mysticism, enlightenment, mandala, spirituality
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Starting with the historical basis of the samurai and sword practices including the evolution of iaijutsu into iaido, this book may annoy some by simultaneously being too technical for some, while not quite scholarly enough in some of the history for others. A background in the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Japanese class system is certainly helpful in making the history more approachable. I also took some issue with the spellings of Japanese words since they seemed to be phonetic. In the edition I read, more than a few of the images were incorrect, typically repeated from the previous sequence rather than being the correct new images. There’s some great material and some good stories that make this book worth reading, though, and has some good insight into koryustyles versus more modern practices.
Tags: budo, bujitsu, iaido, iaijitsu, Japanese history, koryu, martial arts, samurai
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An intertwined collection of thoughts on Celtic mysticism. Though there’s a little bit too much of new age confabulation, there are also some good ideas and some pretty good stories that illuminate the points the author discusses.
Tags: british isles, celtic, celtic mythology, shamanism, spirituality
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Recounting the story of the origin of Queen Titania and the birth of Tim Hunter from the Books of Magic.
Tags: books of magic, comics, sandman, the dreaming, vertigo
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This is the first collection of the Sandman comics from Vertigo. Considered to be Neil Gaiman’s opus and something I’ve read many parts of, I decided to read the whole series from start to finish. Starting with the capture of Morpheus, one of the Endless, it’s definitely worth rereading.
Tags: comics, dark fantasy, graphic novel, neil gaiman, sandman
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This book is essentially a summary of the author’s other book, The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China reordered by topic, mostly in line with Sun Tzu’s chapters as a guideline. Thus, there is a section on deception in war that pulls from each of the books with multiple entries from different places for one or two. I would recommend reading the originals in their entirety along with the annotations on Sun Tzu’s work.
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Following the first book, Jack Winter and Pete Caldecott are now in business for themselves now that Pete has left the Metropolitan Police (“the Met” AKA “Scotland Yard”). Unfortunately, the demon Jack made a deal with 13 years ago has come to collect.
Tags: black london, ghosts, paranormal romance, urban fantasy
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A somewhat clumsy attempt at a humorous guide to the various aspects of being a superhero. The bibliography at the end and the afterword (by the Eviliminator) about getting nuked were the highpoints of the book, though this guide may appeal to younger people. I preferred fiction with humorous notes such as Soon I Will be Invincible or, even better, Superpowers: A Novel.
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Though the stories within are a little less smoothly worked into the main narrative, the whole moves along quite well with an appearance by Abel in the backstory of one of the main characters. It’s simultaneously macabre, humorous and slightly silly. We also learn more about Fig and the nature of the house itself.
Tags: graphic novel, vertigo
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All that Mason, a mage living in San Francisco, wants is to be left alone to play jazz music in the Mission District. Unfortunately, someone is attempting to kill him, so he and his trusty canine companion (who’s somewhere between a dog and a magical creature, referred to in the book as an Ifrit) must figure out what’s going on. Aside from needing a good copy editor, it’s a good story that’s a good urban fantasy, if slightly more existential than others in the field.
Tags: fantasy, magic, urban dark fantasy, urban fantasy
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Though I’m not wild about the art, the story of Timothy Hunter, a nascent mage, is very well told. The different character’s are well-portrayed, as are the various settings, going from London to Faerie with stops elsewhere (the house where Neil Gaiman’s Death lives is in one chapter). I liked this portrayal of the relationship between Tamlin and Titania.
Tags: books of magic, comics, fairies, magic, the dreaming
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Continuing the story of Blythe, the acrophobic flight attendant, and Zayn, a man of many names and even murkier motives. Following the end of the last volume where we meet Amelia Earhart, Blythe must uncover Zayn’s secrets and those of the Etesian Front. The last section is an origin/early history story, much like the one found in Tales of the Slayer of the Buffyverse.
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Initially, the style of this book is a bit off-putting, in part because the omniscient narrator is Death. More than that, I found the lists and definitions a bit jarring since they’re very obtrusive. The story is also somewhat non-linear since the narrator comments on the story in the past tense. The story is well-told, however, and the characters particularly compelling and have a certain degree of levity, somewhat unusual for a story set in the midst of Nazi Germany (much like the movie Life is Beautiful, but without the self-conscious quirkiness). The ending of the book more than makes up for the somewhat slow moving and disjointed beginning.
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Despite an interesting main character who should be sympathetic, it’s hard to empathize with a centuries-old vampire who kills to survive and whose “power” is to appear helpless. It’s all explained and the reasons for all of this are interesting, but the mortal police officer who should be a little more appalled by the main character’s body count seems surprisingly blase about the whole thing. The introduction of each new vampire also seemed a little too linear, as if juggling interactions between multiple vampires (more than three at a time) was a little too difficult.
Tags: barb hendee, fantasy, vampire, vampire hunter, vampire memories
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This collection of stories is tied together by a larger story within the House of Mystery, a locale familiar to fans of the Sandman series or it’s original incarnation under EC Comics. The stories vignetted within are done in a variety of styles and are diverse in style though thematically of a type. Definitely worth a read.
Tags: bill willingham, graphic novel, horror, matthew sturges, vertigo
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I’ve been a fan of Games Workshop’s Inquisition ever since they issued the stand-alone miniatures rules for the Warhammer 40K universe. While I haven’t read the book that precedes it (Scourge the Heretic), this novel stands well on its own and moves along at a nice pace. I particularly like the use of language and social aspects of the Imperium including the differences between the various planetary societies and those aboard the starships. Parts of the book drag because the narrative switches between so many characters that the individual storylines don’t seem to build momentum. But it’s definitely worth a read for fans of WH40K.
Tags: adventure, aliens, black library, daemons, warhammer 40k
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This urban fantasy is set in my neck of the woods, though the visuals that the author conjures up with his description of the town of Hammer Bay remind me, for some reason, more of Anacortes than any place on the Olympic Peninsula. This story is part detective story and partly dark fantasy in the same vein as Mike Carey’s Felix Castor novels. I’m looking forward to the sequel.
Tags: dark fantasy, debut novel, magic, mystery, urban fantasy
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Simultaneously gritty and fantastic, this book manages to more disturbing than entertaining. It’s somewhere between the books of Oz and Harry Potter, particularly in the former’s darker and more disturbing later books. At times, the author seems to be trying a little to hard with some of the references to other works of fantasy or role-playing games, but it’s mostly well-informed and never precocious. Some of the characters felt a little flat and the main character spends a little too much time inside his head such that it’s not clear whether he’s actually a capable wizard. Certainly his development seems a little uneven and he’s definitely a far cry from being heroic and is more a self-loathing victim of circumstance, much like Harry Potter or Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant. The conclusion is surprisingly satisfying and the central message of the book is well-delivered.
Tags: coming of age, fantasy, fiction, magic, wizards
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The art is excellent, being reminiscent of Michael Kaluta in spirit, but standing on its own merits and complementing the stories very well. I particularly like the sketches at the end of the Phantom Stranger throughout time. The different incarnations of Madame Xanadu are both interesting set pieces with interesting stories for each and tying together the whole equally well (though some of the characters and the ending are helped by familiarity with DC’s other works, most particularly when the Spectre first appears and promptly disappears again without being named).
Tags: comics, fantasy, graphic novel, vertigo
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One of the better textbooks I’ve read on technical communication. As an introductory work, it covers things like ethics and properly citing sources, how to conduct informational interviews and processes for creating the various kinds of technical documents one might be called upon to write. The chapter on white papers and recommendation reports stands out as an excellent reference.
Tags: technical communication
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There’s plenty of depth and research here, making this more than just a list of weapons with pictures. The historical origin of many of the weapons along with the explanatory text makes for some interesting reading. The categorizations are helpful make the evolution of various weapons a little more apparent. This is one I may see if I can add to my library.
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I’ve always enjoyed Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and been equally entertained by those who have chosen to write about his fictional detective. The Seven-Per-Cent Solution is particularly good in this regard and this book continues the same heritage with a good eye to detail while telling a story with a fresh voice.
Tags: british mysteries, historical fiction, sherlock holmes
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A fairly interesting grab bag of stories by well-known authors, most of whom are known for the paranormal romance genre. But despite the cute guy in some of the stories, more than a few of these are anything but romantic unless your tast runs to stories that have more in common with Bluebeard’s Castle. If your taste runs to YA vampire stories without the shiny sparkly types, you’ll find something to your taste in this collection.
Tags: anthology, paranormal romance, vampire
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The author, better known as the mystery writer Elizabeth Peters, has a very strong background in Egyptology with a PhD from the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute. The book manages to cover the breadth of ancient Egyptian history, interspersing anecdotes and theories about the lives of ancient Egyptians with keen insight into the various monuments and artifacts that have been uncovered throughout recent history.
Tags: archeology, egyptology
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The second collection of the Locke & Key comics in a graphic novel format. This story picks up with the kids learning about the house and its history including the previous appearance of the creature from the well even as it worms its way into their lives in the current day.
Tags: comic, graphic novel, horror, horror fiction
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Like Bolles’ What Color Is Your Parachute?, John Nelson takes the same approach in looking at retirement. As with careers, this book looks at what we want to do when our career is over (or perhaps how we might embark on a second career). Unlike typical retirement books, this book looks at what retirement means to us and how we might think about it, crucial first steps that need to be undertaken before we can actually start planning for this stage in our lives. There are lots of worksheets and aids to tie everything together.
Tags: career tools, mid-life transitions, retirement, retirement planning, richard nelson bolles
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Somewhat like a cross between Zorro and Dark Angel with quite a bit of boxing thrown in, this book is most notable for the lack of a clearly defined bad guy. Even the worst people in the book are human, driven by circumstances and errors in judgement. The setting is compelling and drives the characters’ actions with a feel much like the unfolding of events in Yojimbo with a more sympathetic cast.
Tags: alternate history, dark fantasy, near future, post-apocalyptic
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Continuing the Vampire Academy series, this latest picks up with Rose traveling to Siberia in pursuit of Dimitry who is now one of the evil undead, a Strigoi. We’re introduced to some other users of spirit magic and another group known as Alchemists (who actively assist Moroi and Dhampirs, but view them with distrust and keep themselves apart from them).
Tags: paranormal romance, vampire, vampire academy, vampire romance
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More autobiographical than not, this book manages to capture the excesses of the Cultural Revolution and all of the horrible things that occurred during that time and to juxtapose them with a nostalgia for the time that is a reminder of why home is where the heart is.
Tags: china, cultural revolution, juvenile fiction, memoir, mother daughter book club
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Though the narrative jumps back and forth in time, making the story a little confusing (not to mention the dream sequences), this book is an intriguing read and the characters are well drawn. I also liked the art and coloring, being a fan of Moebius and Frank Miller.
Tags: comics, computer age comics, fantasy, graphic novel, politics
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John Shirley’s take on the urban fantasy genre, much more reminiscent of Mike Carey’s Felix Castor books than anything else, though set in Manhattan and the Jersey Shore rather than the grimier parts of London. Fans of Shirley’s horror novels will appreciate this one despite (or, in my case, because of) the overtones of Tim Powers and Dean Koontz.
Tags: contemporary, cyberpunk, dark fantasy, john shirley, urban fantasy
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Nicely illustrated with a fairly interesting story that is somewhat like a darker version of The Spiderwick Chronicles. The Locke children travel to the family estate with their mother to stay there following the murder of their father. Unfortunately, their father’s murderer escapes and travels there also.
Tags: ghost stories, graphic novel, horror, horror fiction
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A collection of the Unshelved comic about librarians, libraries and things book-related. Whether you have an MLIS degree, know someone who does, or just like books (perhaps to an unhealthy degree), you might find this collection entertaining. The recommendations (with punchlines) are definitely worthwhile.
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The third book of four in the second series in S.M. Stirling’s world of the Change, this cross-country epic moves along quite well, though the foreshadowing is laid on a bit thick in a couple of places. There are a couple of hiccups as the powers beyond the world become manifest based on Clarke’s dictum that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic as one of the villains begins to spew incomprehensible quantum mechanics fragments. It’s strange to be reading this book that includes The Church Universal and Triumphant as one of the main groups (and the group from which the main villain of this series comes from) when Elizabeth Clare Prophet just died (on November 5, 2009).
Tags: alternate history, post-apocalyptic fiction, s m stirling, science fantasy, science fiction
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The conclusion to the Fourth Realm trilogy, this book pits brother against brother with the clash between the Brethren and the Resistance coming to a head. As the Travelers cross to new realms, what they’ll ultimately discover could make a major difference in the world, for good or ill. The ending felt a little anti-climactic without some of the sturm-und-drang promised by the first part of the book. In fact, it felt more like the lead-in to a new trilogy with different characters (perhaps an endlessly repeating cycle?).
Tags: action adventure, cyberpunk, metaphysical, paranormal mystery
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Although a YA book, the story is remarkably sophisticated, drawing on the tales of faerie and blending it together with various musical aspects and a thoroughly modern setting. I found the role of the main character as a harpist and a “cloverhand” (someone who can see faeries) to be very well done. The darker elements compare favorably with the works of authors like Holly Black.
Tags: faerie, faeries, fantasy, young adult, young adult fantasy
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With this book, I was expecting something a little more along the lines of Vampire Hunter D or perhaps Sergei Lukyanenko’s Watch tetralogy. And while there are certainly parallels with the latter, particularly in the role the Black Guard play, this book seems more like the novelization of a tentacle-porn manga. The action moves along at a good pace and it’s interesting to compare the prose in this novel to the way they’re illustrated in manga and anime. To be fair, the sex and other aspects are there for a reason, but the whole is really lacking a sense of mystery or major conflict.
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Normally, prequels aren’t my cup of tea, often because they cover events already described as part of the characters’ backstory. That’s not the case with this graphic novel. It does an excellent job of introducing all the main characters in Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series and it was interesting to see the artists’ interpretations of the appearance of those characters.
Tags: faerie, mercy thompson, paranormal romance, shapeshifter, urban fantasy, vampires, werewolves
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I enjoy Kadrey’s work and, following a recommendation from BoingBoing’s Cory Doctorow, I’m particularly looking forward to this novel. If anyone can write hardboiled paranormal fiction, it would be Kadrey. Other authors write material like this, given it a veneer of toughness like a schtick, but this is the real deal. Much like when John Shirley writes about rock-and-roll, Kadrey hits the right notes and, despite his protestations of having, “…no qualifications for anything he does”, he definitely knows where the shadows are on the darker side of the street. The mythology sticks together nicely and I didn’t quite see all the plot twists coming. If the TV show Supernatural is rock-and-roll paranormal, then this is the punk rock version and references to the Germs and G.G. Allin won’t be lost on the discerning reader.
Tags: angels, dark fantasy, demons, devil, fantasy, horror, Los Angeles, nephilim, noir, paranormal, revenge, supernatural, urban fantasy
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Like Banks’ work Feersum Endjinn, this book slips easily between multiple narrators, but also manages to jump back and forth between time, recounting event in the past and present (though one narrator’s “present” may be another’s future), and between universes. The characters are fascinating, particularly as their personality traits may change with the universe they’re inhabiting. This work, in many ways, feels like a quantum superposition of some of Moorcock’s best works and is uniquely Banks.
Tags: british sf, multiverse, quantum theory, science fiction
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Many of the anecdotes about Richard Feynman are familiar, but I’ve never read all of the anecdotes contained in this book. It might be because it’s best taken in small doses, but it’s definitely the life story of a fascinating and brilliant person. I was particularly interested in his writing on why he teaches and the idea that brilliant scholarly work is not something done in solitary, but rather as a collaborative endeavor where one’s ideas and beliefs are challenged and re-examined (at one point, Feynman himself was offered a position to do nothing but think and he turned it down because he perceived it to be a sinecure).
Tags: autobiography, feynman, physics, richard feynman, science
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Like other books from DK Publishing, particularly their Eyewitness Books line, this book is very nicely laid out and beautiful to look at. It’s arranged somewhat chronologically, from the earliest appearances of the Avengers through the latest Ultimate incarnation. For size reasons (one hero or, occasionally, one villain per page, sometimes two), the descriptions and histories are somewhat truncated or oddly incomplete. However, you can already fill in most of the blanks yourself if you’re an Avengers fan and the book is a nice happy medium between an extremely basic graphic guide and an in-depth (and text-heavy) dictionary.
Tags: avengers, comics, hardcover, marvel, marvel comics
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After watching Alain De Botton’s TED Talk about work, I was interested enough to read some of his writing having never read any of his books. This is a collection of ten occupations De Botton uses as lenses for the larger world of work and economics with other musings on human activity. It makes for some fascinating insights into our endeavors and search for meaning in the world of work and reads like a modern version of some of the works of Emerson and Thoreau.
Tags: business, cultural commentary, job, philosophy
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If you’re going to pull out all the stops and write a book about the descendants of the Templars fighting the forces of darkness, it’s generally important that every note be pretty close to perfect. In this case, for the most part it is. The main character, Bilqis (or Billi, as she’s known), is a young woman full of doubts about the sacrifices she’s called upon to make. Like other fictional characters, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (or any of the Slayers, for that matter) and Maya in John Twelve Hawks The Traveler, Billi has been raised and taught skills that set her apart and she’s aware of the threats outside of our normal world at too young an age. While the book plays a bit fast and loose with theology, conflating the Book of Enoch with Roman Catholicism to make the Archangel Michael one of the Grigori and thereby separating the Grigori from the other fallen angels in a rather haphazard fashion, the book’s ending more than makes up for it and is logically consistent in plot. Even though it’s a bit darker than the typical YA book, it was a quick read with sympathetic characters.
Tags: action thriller, gothic, paranormal romance, romance, young adult
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People have lots of different ideas about how much money is enough for retirement, if they’ve thought about it at all. While this book tends to focus on people who are more well-to-do than the average, the author makes some points and has some advice that anyone can benefit from in making a realistic assessment of their own investment planning. Ultimately, it’s less about the number and more about your views on retirement and planning.
Tags: 401-k, finance, financial planning, money, retirement
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When Inspector Chen’s trusty assistant, Yu Guangming, loses his apartment for political reasons shortly before he’s due to move in, he is called upon to investigate the murder of a novelist whose murder may also be highly political. Inspector Chen, meanwhile, is on vacation from the police department translating a business proposal for a Triad-connected businessman, but winds up being drawn into the murder investigation despite his other obligations.
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Most of the stories in this collection are dystopian views of the future and deal with the effects of technology and environmental degradation on the average person. Unlike the works of Rucker or Sterling, most of the effects of technology are negative and have no upside at all (even when compared to works like Sterling’s The Caryatids), being much more in line with John Brunner’s eco-disasters like The Sheep Look Up. Almost all the stories are consistently strong and compelling, though the titular story is perhaps the most compelling and the bleakest of the lot.
Tags: cosmic horror, dangerous futures, post-apocalyptic, science fiction
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Three books in one volume: The Book of Atrus — The Book of Ti’ana — The Book of D’ni. The first book is about the early life of Atrus (who those familiar with the game Myst and it’s sequels will readily recognize). In it, we learn about his life with his grandmother Anna and how the arrival of his father Gehn changes his life. The second book is the story of Aitrus who, after his meeting with the outworlder Anna (dubbed Ti’ana by the D’ni), becomes swept up in a plot to destroy D’ni and its people. The final book picks up years after the first book as Atrus and Catherine attempt to rebuild D’ni and discover the ancient secrets of its origins. While some of the moralizing is a bit heavy-handed, reminiscent of certain of Orson Scott Card’s works, the fantastic worlds and Wingrove’s influence on the writing make for a pretty compelling story. The last book, in particular, paints a picture of a society with all the phantasmal grace of H.G. Wells’ time traveller’s time among the Eloi.
Tags: adventure games, computer gaming, fantasy, fantasy game, game books, myst, riven, roleplaying, video game
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I was reading about the early gangs of New York such as the Irish gang the Dead Rabbits (from the Gaelic Dead Ráibéad), the Bowery Boys, the Roach Guard, and other less colorfully named gangs like the Jewish gang known as the Eastman Gang. Rather than read about them piecemeal on Wikipedia, I thought I’d probably be better served by reading a longer narrative such as this. This is a reprint of the book originally written and published in 1928, so some of the terminology is dated and the information is occasionally inaccurate, but it’s a good look at the development of Manhattan and its less-than-savory past. Some parts repeat or cover the same events from a different viewpoint.
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A bit more phantasmagoric than Mike Carey’s Felix Castor novels and definitely darker than the works of Neil Gaiman, this book manages to combine a bit of both those writers’ works in a work that manages to hit the right notes in a crawl through the seedy underside of London’s graveyards and squats.
Tags: black magic, ghosts, magic, urban dark fantasy, urban fantasy
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The latest version of the story of Huntress is compelling told in this tale of revenge that travels from Gotham to Sicily and back. No longer the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle, Huntress and Catwoman are closer to the same age and both are presented as more sympathetic characters and all of the actors in the story have their shades of grey (except, perhaps, for the idealistic Barbara Gordon whose callow impetuousness seems a little over the top).
Tags: batman, comics, dc comics, graphic novel, huntress
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This second book brings Inspector Chen into conflict with the Triads as he juggles two cases. On of the cases involves liaising with an American marshal in Shanghai to escort a witness’s wife back to the States, while the other involves a mysterious murder with all the hallmarks of a Triad killing. The conflicts between the underworld and the political world are particularly fascinating.
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In Felix Castor’s second outing, he’s hired by a couple to find the ghost of their daughter. Meanwhile, his apprentice is investigating a haunted church, though the spirit haunting it may be something more malevolent than a mere ghost. Somehow, the two cases are related and the key seems to be another exorcist, Dennis Peace, who may be able to help Castor. A fast-moving story with plenty of twists and turns.
Tags: fantasy, urban dark fantasy, urban fantasy
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I think my favorite part of this book is the way it provides enough material for furniture and architecture for different time periods, corresponding to the various eras represented by the American Girls line of dolls. My daughter is of an age where that doesn’t particularly matter (her tastes run to the ’70s rather than Colonial or Spanish, but that’s okay). The plans for furniture are very clearly laid out and are suitable for intermediate skill levels. Certain decorations may need to be crafted by hand if you lack, as I do, a scrollsaw or other similar shop equipment.
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If Mike Carey wrote young adult fiction, I suspect it would read like the collected issues of this series from Marvel. The dialogue is good and the characters as compelling a group as I’ve read about in recent years. I like the portrayal of magic and the way the characters had different abilities that they needed to use together to defeat the bad guy.
Tags: graphic novel, marvel, marvel comics
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In this second installment, Alcatraz and company travel to the Library of Alexandria, which turns out to be very much intact, in search of his father, who turn out to be very much alive. The asides and digressions are amusing and this book moves along at a good clip.
Tags: fantasy, humorous, librarians, libraries, parallel worlds, sarcasm, science fiction, teen, young adult, young adult fiction
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A great collection of short stories from the past 10 years of Stross’s career including the Locus Award-winning novella, “Missile Gap” and another visit to the world of the Laundry from The Atrocity Archives and The Jennifer Morgue with “Down on the Farm”.
Tags: borderlands, Cthulhu Mythos, English, hard sf, horror, postcyberpunk, science fiction, sf
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A psychologist’s look at the way evolution has selected for particular adptations and, in come cases, done so elegantly and, in others, the result has been less optimal. In other words, a kluge (or kludge, if you prefer that spelling). The author’s draws on his own experience and observations and compares and contrasts it with the writings of the the likes of Richard Dawkins, agreeing and disagreeing in equal measure. Unfortunately, many of his examples tend to try and paint things in black-and-white terms, which is unfortunate given that his grasp of probability and economics seems a little weak. Though this book is readable and has some interesting insights, there are far better books of neurobiology, irrational markets and the inability of humans to make logical decisions.
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The stories are definitely a mixed bag as far as topic and setting. In addition, at least one story is about a spear rather than a sword. But the quality of the stories and writing is decent and some of the stories, particularly those set in Iraq, are worth a read. Some of the stories are too clever for their own good with a decidedly shaky grasp of history or legend, but they’re all fun and this book is, alas, all too brief.
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A fast-moving urban fantasy based on Norse mythology about Ragnarok, the literal end of the world. Despite the book starting with a modern day valkyrie’s attempts to travel to Helheim to find her dead sister, the main character who drives the story is Hermod, one of the Aesir as the son of Odin and Frigg who was the messenger of the gods. Fans of Sniegoski and Golden’s Menagerie series will likely find this book a fun read.
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An amusing first-person young adult adventure, starting with the usual tropes of a young boy growing up in our world who discovers he’s actually from a magical land and that everything in the book is actually fact, not fiction, no matter how fantastic it sounds. An amusing and quick read that doesn’t try too hard to be dark or overly witty and succeeds rather well at the latter. The mystery of young Alcatraz and the story of his parents promises more than a few sequels.
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Picking up where the previous book left off as the new United States begins to develop their military with ironclads and aircraft, the need for these innovations increases as the French ally themselves with the Danes, English and Spanish to crush the Dutch before turning their attention on the Baltic. The chief flaw is the redundancy of phrases, often within pages of each other, and one case where the politics of the Habsburg Empire in Germany is referred to as a “crazy quilt” twice on the same page. This tendency is worst when the authors are indulging in pages of exposition, while the action on and off the battlefield is this series’ strength.
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A lively and diverse collection of stories set in Flint and Weber’s fictional Ring of Fire universe about an alternate history resulting from a West Virginian town being transplanted to 17th century Germany. A couple of stories stand out, among them the the story of how the local hippie is able to marry a burgher’s daughter through his knowledge of future chemistry and botany.
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A mystery and historical fiction as told by Tiro, the confidential secretary to Senator Marcus Tullius Cicero. The famous orator travels to Sicily and ends up investigating a murder. The events are vividly portrayed and the intrigues of Rome are as well-portrayed Robert Graves’ I, Claudius. The perspective of Tiro (himself as historical figure and credited with the invention of shorthand) and his voice add an interesting dimension to the narrative. The story builds as it goes, leading up to Cicero’s triumphant election as Consul. The portrayal of other historical figures is very compelling, particularly Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, Crassus, and Catiline.
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After reading the third book in this series, I thought that perhaps I’d missed a bunch of set up from this book. But apart from the introduction of a couple of the characters, most of the background mentioned in the third back has already happened prior to the start of this book. In other words, the author jumps in right in the middle and goes from there, making for a fast-paced read with lots of twists and turns. With the underworld elements and where the worst monsters are ordinary people, I was strongly reminded of the TV Series Prime Suspect, specifically Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness. There, however, the ghosts exist only in the imaginations of the detectives, whereas here they’re frighteningly real along with demons and other nasties not of this earth.
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Many things I read from the Harvard Business School are quite relevant and I’m rarely disappointed. This book is no exception with examples and exercises that apply to a variety of things, whether it’s finding value in accomplishments like raising a family or in switching careers (or advancing in one’s present career). Unlike many motivational books, the approach is more psychological and uses the tools of a psychologist to help the reader work things out for themselves in a satisfying fashion. The exercises are quite good and give the reader a little more to work with the Myers-Briggs or Gallup’s Strengths Finder. I had hoped for a little more in the way of exploring careers based on the exercises, but the exercises themselves are very valuable.
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Though the art is a little bit uneven and not up to the quality of the previous collected books (volume 3), the story is still quite good. In many ways, it’s a continuation of Joss Whedon’s stand-alone Fray, picking up after the Fray short titled “Tales” in Tales of the Slayers. A well-handled story arc with time travel and many twists with betrayals and counter-betrayals.
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Continuing the saga of Buffy and her merry band of slayers, this collection is a story arc that brings the group in conflict with a band of Japanese vampires who have the same shape-shifting powers as Dracula (who makes a return appearance despite his loathing for the slayers).
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With much the same humor as Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series, it’s fun to read this decidedly English take on supernatural detectives (though the main character’s primary line of business is as a “Provider of spiritual services”, that is, an exorcist). The author has a light touch and a convincing cosmology that makes for a strong series. It’s apparent that the author also wrote for the Hellblazer comic, though perhaps it’s the other way around with his creative energies and knowledge making for a good fit with it. In any event, this series is definitely worth reading and the ending is quite satisfying in a way that approaches the intricate plotting of Tim Powers.
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I’m particularly fond of The Chronoliths and there’s a reason Wilson’s work is often nominated for over a dozen awards and has won a few including a Hugo. As a somewhat post-apocalyptic novel, it definitely has overtones of Russell Hoban’s Riddley Walker and some of the setting aspects that I liked from Orson Scott Card’s Alvin the Maker series. The story arc draws strongly on the tumult of the Roman Empire and the main character is reminiscent of Germanicus or one of the other Caesars of that era, such that the book’s intrigues remind one of Robert Graves’ I, Claudius. At the same time, the setting resolutely retains elements of the nineteenth century with the reliance on coal and the politics of that time being replayed.
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In this, the conclusion to The Spiderwick Chronicles, the ogre Mulgarath is confronted and defeated and, without giving too much else away, Thimbletack proves surprisingly resourceful and the griffin shows a taste for dragonets.
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The dynamics of teams are fascinating, particularly in light of Agile practices with self-organizing teams and how software is developed. The interviews are laid out in four sections and the final section, titled “Obstacles”, is both instructional and extremely humorous. The non-interviews tend to be a little “canned” and I found more value at the direction and focus given by the interview questions.
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A collection of short stories including works by some of my favorite authors such as Garth Nix, Kelly Link, Scott Westerfeld and the editors themselves. If science fiction, chess, band and computers are your thing, these stories are sure to amuse. Some of the stories are a little uneven, reading a little less like stories and more like slice-of-life vignettes and therefore only interesting to those who, unlike me, haven’t already lived those experiences and belong more in a non-fiction look at geek culture.
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Following the appearance of elves in the previous book, dwarves make an appearance in this and a thoroughly unpleasant lot they are. Fortunately, they’re clever rather than smart, being good at making things, but easily outwitted.
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A graphic novel juxtaposing the trials and tribulations of being a teenager with the discovery that one is a changeling. In this case, the hero Astrid, discovers she’s the daughter of Titania and Oberon. Though the plot is somewhere between standard manga fare (Card Captor Sakura, perhaps) and indie comics about teens, and not terribly inspired, the scenes between the teens ring true and the dialogue is well-written. I also like the notion of three sisters vying for rulership of faerie (well, two of them vying and the third and eldest taking a hands-off role).
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This collection of the first issues of Echo by Terry Moore has some of the same aspects of his well-known Strangers in Paradise series, despite being about secret government projects and super weapons. The human elements are very well done, particularly the relationships between the protagonist, her soon-to-be-ex-husband and the boyfriend of the deceased test pilot for the experimental suit that serves as the catalyst for the series. The art is notable, being signature Moore with very striking and clean black and white pen work.
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Nobody does alternate worlds with quite the elan of Charles Stross, whether it’s virtual worlds or parallel timelines. Most reminiscent of the shifting realities of Zelazny’s Nine Princes in Amber, this series is less high fantasy and definitely grittier, though with the same politics and intrigues. In this latest book, more worlds have been discovered and different factions are competing in an increasing complex jumble of objectives. With missing nuclear weapons and the U.S. government becoming aware of the world-walkers, things are getting seriously sticky. The ending left things a trifle inconclusive, so one can only hope that there’s not too much of a gap between this and the next one, as I otherwise fear I may forget the characters roles and relationships to each other in the interim.
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The Bourne series has never been my favorite among Robert Ludlum’s books (I prefer his earlier works like The Osterman Weekend and The Holcroft Covenant). But the movies are great fun and the storyline has really grown on me. This book, the first sequel by Eric Van Lustbader is true to the original and a fast-moving read. Though the plot feels like Ludlum, the writing and, more importantly, the characterization seems distinctly Lustbader’s own. If you’re a fan of both author’s works, you’ll definitely enjoy this one and, though it’s been years since I read anything by Lustbader, I’m tempted to read some of his more recent works that I’ve missed.
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More strange creatures and more secrets are revealed including unicorns, phookas, and elves. The discovery of elves and the kids interaction with them is well done, though unfortunately too brief.
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While Toby takes on the mantle of Goblin King and must deal with the intrigues of the court, the former Goblin King travels to Earth and pays a visit on his sister. Mysteries are afoot as Toby’s sister seems to have no memory of her time in the Labyrinth, while a girl with an uncanny resemblance to Sarah knows more than she is letting on. I’m looking forward to the 4th and final book.
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Picking up shortly after the first book leaves off, the kids encounter goblins, a troll and a griffin. It stands alone better than the first book, but hints at bigger and darker mysteries still awaiting the three children. While lacking the ominous undertones of books like Boston’s Green Knowe books or the quirky charm of E. Nesbit’s Five Children and It, this book has more adventure and is a fun read.
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A collection of stories ranging from the first Slayer to one involving the founding of Sunnydale and into the future with a tale about Fray, a Slayer in the future. The art styles are all quite different and each fits its particular story quite well. Definitely worth a read for fans of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer who are looking for more in the way of back story and elaboration on the mythos of the Slayer.
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I originally read these when they came out and the graphic novel is a more satisfying read since the whole arc reads more smoothly when it’s not cut apart by months. Curiously, seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are the same way, which is almost enough to make me want to track down all the episodes of Firefly to watch them as a continuous arc to see if I like it better that way. In any event, this futuristic story of a vampire slayer with overtones of Judge Dredd is definitely one of Joss Whedon’s better works.
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Bringing back a number of old characters, this collection brings together a collection of heroes with their own agenda who resemble nothing so much as Grant Morrison’s The Authority with a definite retro flair with plenty of reference to the events in Marvel’s Civil War continuity. The final part of the book are the original appearances of the various characters along with an issue of “What If?” featuring the team (though 3D Man didn’t make the cut for Agents of Atlas, alas).
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Focusing on games as business and the use of games to drive business, whether it be advergaming, creating a business presence in a virtual world or creating alternative reality games. Since one of the authors is the former Portfolio Manager for XBox Live Arcade, the book tends to shade towards examples of games for the XBox 360. A fairly quick read likely to be of interest to those who also like media studies of games by academics such as Henry Jenkins. If you’re already familiar with the topics, then something a little meatier might be in order, though there’s some good insights in this book.
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This book has some good advice and quite a few examples of web application design that works. There’s a certain sameness to the examples presented, though that’s perhaps a strength since it makes the points being presented clearer since it’s an apples to apples comparison (for me, sometimes cool design gets in the way of usability discussions).
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What initially intrigued me about this series was the protagonist, John Rain, an assassin who specializes in killing people in ways that look accidental. This specialty and other idiosyncracies (like a love of Jazz), place him in the company of other characters like Nicolai Hell in Trevanian’s Shibumi and Quiller in Adam Hall’s eponymous series that starts with The Quiller Memorandum. In this, the second book, Rain is back in Japan and trying to retire. But it’s never that easy and one last favor puts him in the middle of a conspiracy involving the CIA and the Yakuza.
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Fiver ordinary kids going to college in Madison, Wisconsin, wake up after a party and discover they each have superpowers. Unlike other stories, they’re the only ones of their kind and have to make it up as they go. It makes for a funny and rather achingly honest book that touches much more than many comic books and comic book novelizations about what it means to have a secret identity. In style and theme, it’s somewhere between jPod by Douglas Coupland and Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman. Definitely worth a read.
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The Theory in Practice series looks to have some good insights into developing software. The newest book in the series, Beautiful Teams, looks particularly good, but I thought I’d start with this book. I didn’t count on it having so much in the way of actual code and that’s hugely helpful in illustrating the areas discussed by the various authors. I already have a better understanding of RegEx algorithms! Interestingly, I came across Jonathan Edwards’ Beatiful Code post about why he didn’t contribute, but after reading the book, I disagree with his premise. This book is not intended to show the novice programmer how to program, but rather to show examples of how code can be better and seems aimed at an audience who has spent time in the trenches and can therefore already differentiate good code from bad. Like Edwards, I don’t know how to design beautiful code, but I would like to think I know enough to recognize beauty when I see it and some of the essays in this book are exemplars of beautiful code.
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A collection of short stories in the same universe as Tanya Huff’s novels featuring Vickie Thompson and Henry Fitzroy, published as part of the Lifetime Channel series based on the same novels. An interesting collection of stories covering all manner of different time periods, along with a script from the aforementioned TV show. Worthwhile just for Huff’s take on writing a screenplay which is absolutely hysterical.
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A graphic novel with an interesting premise. Would the threat of an extraterrestrial enemy be enough to get mankind to band together to fight them? What if there was no choice and another alien race “drafted” everyone on earth? The characters are a little improbable and not particularly sympathetic, but it’s still done fairly well.
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With improbable characters and events, this series reads something like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as written for television. Which is to say that it’s a little more of an action-adventure novel and less of a dark grpahic novel adventure with a intricate and heavy back story. Much the way that Hellboy doesn’t translate as well to the format of a novel, this seems to be a bird of the same feather and I would love to see it in a visual medium. But the story is certainly engaging and it stands on its own merits without pretension of being a work of great art. The combination of mythologies (Greek myth with Christianity) is a little uneasy with Hades seeming to be little more than a dimension or other universe alongside this one, something that tends to bother me about a story since the metaphysics seem a little simplistic. In this book, the story of Medusa is the most compelling and more than a little tragic.
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At times feeling like a blend of some of Cory Doctorow’s better work and Neal Stephenson’s Diamond Age, this book is engagingly written and feels like a very probable near future. The characters are well-drawn and the various settings do a good job of capturing the events that drive the plot. I has something of the pop novel sensibilities of John Brunner with different stories that one expects will intersect at some point in the book. The ending is excellent, managing to conflate a huge number of ideas including what the world wide web means, the form a nascent AI might take, how we apprehend the world around us and the sense of wonder that is evoked when we see something for the first time (in more than one sense).
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The authors are associated with the No Fluff Just Stuff Java conferences, which is where I came across this book. It’s full of useful advice for any profession, not just those in the technical field, and written in a style that feels a little less like a variation on Tom Peters or Franklin Covey in that it steers more toward having a satisfying career (in all aspects) and less towards climbing the professional ladder. I purchased the electronic version of Career 2.0 through Lulu. There’s a wealth of advice in this book, any of which could be used to kick-start a career. The appendices are also valuable, particularly where others offer advice as it relates to their career, whether it be changing careers, sharing what you know with others, or just moving forward in your profession.
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There’s probably a reason books like this are written as conversations and anecdotes. I’m not quite sure what it is other than a story is a quicker read and might stick better, but I’m not sold on the approach. This book seems a little thin, providing mainly common sense advice like, “Managing with trust frees employees up to turn their work into fun.” The key point for managers boils down to: focus on people and not performance metrics since people who are excited about work will work harder, driving up the company’s performance. It sounds much like what Gallup measures as “employee engagement”, but expressed in terms of actions that can be taken to improve employee willingness to put forth extra effort and to be excited about being at work. So while perhaps a little shallow and much too short, there’s some good ideas here.
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Not really a sequel to Mind the Gap, but thematically and spiritually a follow up to that book, this book promises a strange and phantasmagoric trip through New Orleans post-Katrina. Definitely the kind of urban fantasy I enjoy reading. The characters were well-drawn, though the protagonist seemed to be a bit of a chump, being played for a fool by the other actors and never seeming to quite achieve the catharsis that was promised. But the history of the city and the plotting were quite well done.
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It’s amazing to me that this series remains fresh despite the number of books preceding this one. The action and the supernatural creepies keep coming, Harry Dresden is his usual hard-bitten and acerbic self in a story that promises some resolution of his long-standing feud with his enemy, the Warden Morgan, who has dogged him through the last ten books. Unlike other long-running series, this book really feels like a part of a bigger story rather than being either one improbable villain piled on top of another or the highly episodic villain of the month. In this latest book, some revelations are made, some people die and others change (who knew Toot-toot the pixie would be a for-real hero?) and the stage is set for another book that promises to continue the saga. This book is one of the better in the series, in part because Dresden begins to feel more mature and interactions with the senior wizards of the White Council more as an equal. Seeing those same wizards in action is also very well-done, particularly when Joseph Listens-to-Wind battles the big nasty – as a variation on the theme of shapeshifting battles as with Gwion and Ceridwen or Menelaus and Proteus, it’s fun and fits well in the narrative.
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Set in the same world as Tamora Pierce’s other series at a point earlier in time, this young adult novel is the story of Beka, a guardsman from a low-class background and the life she makes for herself. The second in the series has all the adventure and excitement of the first one with a romance with a character who may be central to the crimes Beka is investigating. The ending seemed slightly rushed, but that may because the hard-cover weighs in at over 500 pages and, having gotten that far, I didn’t want it to end.
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Billed as “The Lost Cyberpunk Novel”, I’m excited that John Shirley published this book under the aegis of Elder Signs Press. In the introductory remarks to the book, Shirley says, “Black Glass was conceived under a different name and as a different kind of project, in the early days of cyberpunk, by myself and William Gibson.” So, while it’s antecedents are classic cyberpunk, this is a thoroughly current read and just as great as the author’s other work (including the classic cyberpunk A Song Called Youth trilogy). I think my favorite scene is where the hero uses a ball-peen hammer in an attempt to batter to pieces the server housing the psychotic multi-semblant (a collection of personality engrams that’s effectively self-aware).
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A novel about comic book characters might seem a little odd, but there’s something about the time period (the Fifties in the middle of the Cold War) that seems to lend itself to this format. It’s interesting to compare this take on the interaction between Batman and Superman when they first meet with later interactions, though this has more the being the alpha to the omega of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. Lex Luthor’s character and motivations are perhaps more in the vein of Oswald Cobblepot (who has a very brief cameo, though not as The Penguin) and seems a little shallow, but the parallels and exploration of the psyches of the two heroes is well-done and Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Alfred all have roles beyond being window-dressing. My biggest quibble is that the technology sometimes seems a little too advanced, even for superhero gadgets, given the time period of the story, but that’s nothing that gets in the way of the story.
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A thriller that actually seems to get the technical details right. It moves along at a decent clip without getting bogged down in the details, though, without getting carried away with inconsequential details. It’s not so much cyberpunk, though, as it is a thriller in the vein of Tom Clancy or Michael Crichton, except for cyberpunk’s tendency towards characters as archetypes and cutouts to move the plot along and as agents to explore the ideas presented. I think I would have liked this novel more except for the almost complete lack of empathetic characters and a US-centric bias (to the extent that the info-apocalypse that’s threatened seems to be world-wide despite, as cyberpunk author William Gibson has noted, “…the future is already here. It’s just not very evenly distributed.” But if you like novels about mad supergeniuses threatening (or is it, perhaps, saving) the world from beyond the grave, this novel should be right up your alley. Just be a little wary of the hype.
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Fairly good urban fantasy, though the scenes are sometimes a little disjointed and the flow of time seems a little choppy with characters dropping in and out of scenes a little too quickly. There’s also a little too much exposition that causes this novel to read like the second in a series. But the overall theme and pacing is quite good and it’s the type of book that should appeal to fans of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files books or Golden and Sniegoski’s The Menagerie series.
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Picking up where the last novel with all the characters hiding in the tunnels under Tulsa, this novel moves things along nicely with new revelations about the newly discovered different vampires known as “red” vampires. It all leads up to a confrontation with the fallen angel Kalona with plenty of YA angst and drama along the way.
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As an alternate history, this story of a West Virginia coal-mining town transported back to 1632 and halfway across the world to the middle of Germany makes for a good read. Like Harry Turtledove’s Guns of the South for alternate history or S.M. Stirling’s Dies the Fire trilogy, how culture changes and how technologies impact cultures is what interests me and this book delivers some interesting ideas in that regard along with some memorable action scenes.
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With a writing style that reminds me of John Christopher, the protagonists gradual discoveries about his family, who are anything but normal, make for a good read. A couple of the twists and turns were well-done, though the ending seemed a little too pat, though in fairness this is a YA novel and the ending I was expecting wasn’t this novel (even though “The Presence” reminded me very much of the malevolent entity “IT” in Madeleine L”Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time).
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While definitely reminescent of Calvino or Borges, particularly the former’s Invisible Cities, this book’s vignettes and history of an imaginary empire is extremely compelling. Of course, with Ursula LeGuin as the translator, I would expect no less and definitely recommend this book for people who find magic in other places that never were (and not places that feel like Poughkeepsie despite the addition of wizards and dragons).
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The sequel to Offspring with the addition of a new group in the mix. The Watchers are the descendents of the Knights Templar and are mentioned in the first book along with their earlier history. Here, they play a much more prominent role. This book, like the previous one, suffers a bit from pacing, with the climactic events coming towards the middle, tapering off at the end and then one smaller event that happens almost as an after thought. And it reads more like a sequel that will be a lead-in to a third book. It’s interesting that the young adult series The Power of Five by Anthony Horowitz suffered from the same thing in the second book, Evil Star, so perhaps that’s endemic to apocalyptic series with characters possessing mystic powers?
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It’s interesting to compare a thriller set in China to something written a decades ago like Adam Hall’s The Sinkiang Executive. This novel reads something like a work by Hall Or Ludlum by way of the videogame Grand Theft Auto with Beijing sitting in for Liberty City and with the main character teamed up with a civilian who alternately helps and must be helped. My biggest issue with the book was the morality of the characters with the gratuitous shooting of a traffic cop (in light of the fact that the protagonist’s nemesis was able to tie the incident to the pair). The main saving grace of the book was the well-researched setting, external events and the romance between the two characters. If the romance aspect appeals, I’d also recommend something like Don’t Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer. Worth reading for the fairly good take on Chinese politics and intelligence services.
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What a difference a decade makes. When this book was published, the economy was booming and hiring for high-tech jobs was on the rise. Which is not to say this book doesn’t have some very good material applicable to knowledge workers. It’s not just for managers either, providing some very useful information on how to communicate with co-workers (if you put yourself in the employee’s shoes instead of the manager’s in the various examples). It has some valuable advice about building knowledge and taking initiative on ways to share or build knowledge, many of which merely require being proactive and don’t require managerial authority.
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After I inadvertently purchased the sequel, I acquired this book, the first in the series to read. The premise sounds interesting without all the over-the-top apocalyptic foofaraw common in many books like this. The basis seems to lean heavily on the notion of Angels in the mode of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and probably has more in common with TV shows like Supernatural. The final confrontation and ending seemed a bit rushed, but it was fairly satisfying.
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The series picks up speed with this, the second book, and proved to be an entertaining read. The back and forth with flashbacks was well-done and the characters started to acquire a little more personality.
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I’m a sucker for books that include copious amounts of artifacts in the form of reproductions of letters, diary entries, blueprints, maps, tickets and much more. Like Nick Bantock’s Griffin & Sabine books or the multiple viewpoint narrative of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this young adult book is full of action and adventure in 1920′s Shanghai and its surrounds.
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A work of fiction inspired by the author’s early life in Japanese-occupied China. Both the time period and the subject are of interest to me, as is the author’s writing style and semi-autobiographical story. Growing up, one of my family’s favorite books was Fritz Muhlenweg’s Big Tiger and Christian and the adventures of two boys, one Chinese and one German in 1922 Mongolia is very reminiscent of the protagonist and her half-Chinese friends.
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Based on the Jim Henson movie “Labyrinth”, this manga explores what happens to the younger brother many years later. It’s definitely written for a younger set, but makes an entertaining read.
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When I studied for my Java certification, Headfirst Java was one of the alternate textbooks suggested by the instructor. Though I didn’t use it, had I known how much time would be spent on Design Patterns, I would have purchased the Headfirst book on that topic. Now that I’m trying to devote some time to learning C#, I’m browsing this book in order to decide whether to purchase it for my studies. The style in the series is fairly clear with good examples and a little less chaff when compared something like the Dummies books and in a fashion that’s a little less dry than the O’Reilly books. Had I not already done some stuff of a similar nature to some of the chapter projects, this would be an excellent book for to learn from and I liked the pedagogy behind the approach (explained moreso than other Headfirst books).
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Ever since Michael Moorcock, I’ve been a little bit jaded about stories with anti-heroes or where all the protagonists are varying dark shades of grey. Still, this series is a fun read, being the bastard offspring of Glen Cook’s Dark Company series and Clive Barker’s Hellraiser with a healthy dollop of steampunk sensibility. In that regard, I found the scenes of warfare to be reminiscent of Swanwick’s “The Iron Dragon’s Daughter”. In all, this particular book hangs together well and supplies a somewhat satisfying ending.
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For aspiring writers, this book is invaluable. Though short, like Mosley’s fiction, it’s extremely pithy with some of the best descriptions on how writers should show and not tell, how to write plot, create characters and, most importantly, just keep writing. Along the way, he touches on the importance of poetry and how to rewrite your first draft.
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This is a book I’ve been wanting to read for a while and now have the time to read. It has a particular resonance for me, being written by one of the co-founders of Salon.com, since I worked right downstairs from them during the dot.com boom and bust, so many of the events and places described are familiar. In fact, a great number of events and personalities described sounded eerily familiar to people I worked with, down to the author’s experience with deciding in favor of a home-grown CMS over Vignette, that being the same decision Food.com (the company I worked at) made for reasons of cost.
Having read many of the books mentioned (like The Mythical Man Month and Death March), I’m interested in what lessons can be taken away from looking at other software projects and the methodologies used.
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China Mieville’s foray into young adult (YA) fiction reads like Alice in Wonderland reimagined by Hieronymous Bosch, which is to say it has all the wonderful whimsy and play on words, but with a darker tone and some truly fantastic denizens in the dream world (UnLondon) where the protagonist finds herself. It’s in the same vein as other well-done YA series like Garth Nix’s “The Keys to the Kingdom” series or Herbie Brennan’s “Faerie Wars” series. Fans of Neil Gaiman’s “Neverwhere” may also enjoy this book, though probably not for the same reasons I did.
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After reading the author’s blog, I wanted to read this book. John Robb’s writing style is lucid and makes me examine my knowledge and beliefs, even for points where I disagree with his conclusions. As a web developer, many of the points he makes about the changing role of the nation-state and the role of information are relevant beyond the scope of the book. I wa particularly struck by his comparisons between open-source software and startups as applied to global guerrilla groups. There are some interesting lessons to be learned and the book highlights the importance of multi-disciplinary approaches to global security.
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This thoroughly charming little book is the first in The Spiderwick Chronicles, but it’s brevity and suggestions of things to come make it more of the intro to what is essentially a five-part YA novel. I would strongly recommend reading all five books together rather than proceeding like I did reading this one and then waiting quite some time before reading the remaining four.
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Following a shoot for her show about Egyptian artifacts on Australian soil, Annja investigates the disappearance of her cameraman and tracks down the reason for his disappearance.
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This book has not yet been reviewed.
