Audio Book Review: Julian Comstock - A Story of 22nd-Century America

Author: Robert Charles Wilson

Narrated by Scott Brick

Audio Length: 20 hours and 48 minutes

Robert Charles Wilson is one of favorite authors as his books are thought provoking and usually spur my imagination into overdrive. Plus, his stories usually have a couple of “holy crap” moments. With Julian Comstock, Mr. Wilson shifts gears from normal Sci-fi into more of a historical fiction style of story but set in the future America. This is really more of a character novel than a Sci-Fi adventure. For the most part, I really enjoyed the book and the further it delved into life in the 22nd Century, the more interesting it became.

Summary

The story encompasses about 20 years, from 2172 to 2192. But, the future is not so bright in America as the world economy has collapsed due to climate change and the depletion of oil. Mr. Wilson does not spend much time delving on the specific causes of the collapse leaving the reader to wonder how society arrived at this point. The average person from the 1800’s to early 1900’s would feel more comfortable in this futuristic world of Julian Comstock than anyone from present day. All travel is by horse, there is no electricity and being able to read is just a luxury.

Review

The story is written as a sort of a biography by Julian’s life long friend, Adam Hazzard. It reminded me of the numerous political novels that are always published after the end of each Presidential administration. The author typically discusses his younger life and then all the relevant happenings that occurred while working with President. The author is only able to talk about all of happenings that occurred when they were present. Therefore, the picture is left incomplete and the reader is left wonder about other important events. Mr. Wilson sticks to this principle as Adam only writes about the time he was with Julian and his perspective is somewhat bias being Julian’s friend. I would have like to read what other characters heard or witnessed while around Julian.

This was one quibble with the novel. Julian Comstock would disappear from the story numerous times and at points, is almost nonexistent. Adam goes into details about his life and the struggles he faced for far too much of the novel. While most of it was interesting, the far more interesting character was Julian Comstock and I wish there was more of a focus on the details of his life.

The constant theme that really courses through the novel is Julian’s constant battle against the intolerant religious type of government. A fundamentalist Christian organization has taken over American called the “Dominion of Jesus Christ” or just the “Dominion”. They control all forms information and entertainment, therefore greatly influence society and how people think. Julian is sort of a free-thinker and does not strictly adhere to the ideals of the Dominion. The numerous debates and struggles that Julian has through out his life on this topic was really the highlight of the story for me. Even though the story centers on extreme of religious intolerance, it does provide a warning against intolerance and more importantly, dictatorially type of governments.

The other focus of the story is Julian’s rise to power. The Presidency is passed down through hereditary succession rather than meaningful general elections. Julian’s uncle, Deklan Comstock, became the President upon the death of Julian’s father, Bryce. Many suspect than Deklan had Bryce killed. Deklan understands that Julian is the next to inherit the Presidency and takes several steps to orchestrate Julian’s demise. As mentioned, Julian is a free-thinker and he is able is devise some pretty inventive ways to stay alive through out the course of the novel.

The writing is simply top notch. Julian is involved in several hair raising battles. Mr. Wilson does an excellent job of putting the reader in the middle of the action, to the point you feel the bullets whizzing by. In addition, the world Mr. Wilson has created is fully realized in all respects. Since he borrowed heavily from the past the reader is able to quickly grasp the nuances of this future society.

The audio book is narrated by Scott Brick. I don’t need to reiterate the high quality of a Scott Brick production except to say that it works really well with this type of old fashion story telling.

Final Word

It took me awhile to get used to the style of this novel. At first, I was disappointed that there were no “holy crap” moments that I have come to love in Mr. Wilson’s novels. But as the story progressed, I really began to enjoy listening to Julian’s and Adam’s struggles in the 22nd-Century. By the end I was totally won over and can see why it was nominated for a Hugo award. It is loving portrayal of a character with an extreme amount of courage that we usually read about in history books but wish existed in today’s world.

                                                            My Rating

Audio Book Review: Feed (Newsflesh, Book1)

Author: Mira Gran

Narrated by Paula Christensen and Jesse Bernstein

Running time: 15 hours and 6 minutes

Summary

In 2014, two experimental viruses—a genetically engineered flu strain designed by Dr. Alexander Kellis, intended to act as a cure for the common cold, and a cancer-killing strain of Marburg, known as "Marburg Amberlee"—escaped the lab and combined to form a single airborne pathogen that swept around the world in a matter of days. It cured cancer. It stopped a thousand cold and flu viruses in their tracks. It raised the dead.

Millions died in the chaos that followed. The summer of 2014 was dubbed "The Rising," and only the lessons learned from a thousand zombie movies allowed mankind to survive. Even then, the world was changed forever. The mainstream media fell, Internet news acquired an undeniable new legitimacy, and the CDC rose to a new level of power.

Set twenty years after the Rising, the Newsflesh trilogy follows a team of bloggers, led by Georgia and Shaun Mason, as they search for the brutal truths behind the infection. Danger, deceit, and betrayal lurk around every corner, as does the hardest question of them all: When will you rise?

When Senator Peter Ryman of Wisconsin decides to take a team of bloggers along on his run for the White House, Georgia and Shaun Mason are quick to submit their application. They, along with their friend Georgette "Buffy" M. are selected, and view this as the chance to launch their careers to a whole new level...that is, if they can survive the campaign trail.

Review

Holy moly. For a change, I am going to discuss the ending of this novel first. There is an event that occurs at the end of this story that absolutely crushed me and I still can’t believe that Ms. Grant did it. It was truly epic. For spoiler reasons I won’t discuss the plot twist here but I am in total awe of the author for taking this risk in this day and age of safe urban fantasy fiction. I am still in shock. Let’s put it this way, it affected me the whole day at work as I replayed the events in my head. Wow.

Feed starts off as your typical post-apocalyptic zombie novel and then turns into something more. For me, the book is not about the battle against the zombies but is really about the culture of fear. If you transpose the word zombie in this novel with the word terrorist, thief or murder it would work the same. The people of this future world live in a constant state of fear of being attack and this has lead to overriding personal freedoms for the greater good. What will a society give up to live in safe environment?

The main plot line involves a political thriller that for most part works and sometimes seems a tad unrealistic. Again, the undercutting theme behind the plot is what works best. It shows how far some political figures will go to keep the citizens in line by using fear and that the best tactic against this is a media that has an interest in uncovering the truth.

The really strange thing is that for the majority of the novel I felt as if the characters were really not all that developed. But when the ending hit and it hits hard, I lost all feeling and felt like someone slammed a door in my face. I haven’t been this affected emotionally since reading Stephen King’s The Stand when Larry Underwood is killed.

Again, wow.

Final word:

Feed is one of the best I have read this year. The story will plod along and then it reaches a point that you become so intertwined that you must continue reading to find out what happens next. What puts this novel head and shoulders above the standard zombie novel is the underlying themes that will give the reader something to think about well after you have finished the story. Finally, as a word of warning, keep tissues near by when are getting towards the end, you will need them.

                                                           My Rating

Book Review: Soda Pop Soldier

Author: Nick Cole

Dust Jacket Summary

Call of Duty meets Ready Player One in this fast-paced, action-packed novel from the author of The Wasteland Saga. Gamer PerfectQuestion fights for ColaCorp in WarWorld, an online Modern Warfare combat sport arena where mega-corporations field entire armies in the battle for real world global advertising-space dominance. Within the immense virtual battlefield, players and bots are high-tech grunts, using drop-ships and state-of-the-art weaponry to wipe each other out. But times are tough and the rent is due, and when players need extra dough, there's always the Black, an illegal open source tournament where the sick and twisted desires of the future are given free rein in the Wastehavens, a gothic dungeon fantasy world. All too soon, the real and virtual worlds collide when PerfectQuestion refuses to become the tool of a mad man intent on hacking the global economy for himself.

Good Points

- the author has to be gamer because the major strength of this novel is how genuine and real the in-game action is played out

- the author also does a great job at describing action so that the reader never feels lost

- the pop cult references are cool

Bad Points

- the real world was underdeveloped

- some situations in the real world read like an action movie and at times, more cartoonish than the gaming events

- too many plot elements are tied up in a nice neat bow

Final Word

When the story involves gaming events it really sings but the sorely underdeveloped real world building drags the novel down and feels a bit tacked on just for effect. However, the author does a stellar job at describing the action and building tension to keep the reader interested to the end of the book.

                                                              My Rating

Audio Book Review: The Unincorporated Man (Book 1)

Author: Dani Kollin, Eytan Kollin

Narrated by Todd McLaren
Audio Length: 23 hours and 19 minutes

The Kollin brothers have created a futuristic society that is a CEO’s wet-dream. Basically, corporations are good and government is bad. Politically, this topic is a hot potato and I going to stay away from it as best as I can. Based on your political beliefs you will either cheering for the main character, Justin Cord, or relishing his downfall. My advice is not to get to wrapped up in the various arguments, for or against corporations, and just go with story.

Summary

The premise behind The Unincorporated Man is that world economy suffered a grand collapse several hundred years prior to start of the novel. The solution was to incorporate every person on the face of the Earth. When a person is born they have so many shares that are allotted to them and these shares are traded publicly. Corporations and other people are free to buy shares of anyone. Basically, the more successful or popular a person is, this will increase the cost of their individual shares. If a Corporation owns a majority of stock in you then they own you and can dictate the direction of your life. In essence, a person’s goal in life is to make enough money in order to buy back a controlling interest in themselves. In addition, allotments of shares are automatically given to the parents and the government. In theory, your parents will then have an investment in their children and will do what they can to help them become successful.

Review

This is the world that Justin Cord comes crashing into. Justin is a billionaire from 21st Century but he was suffering from a non-curable disease and decides to build a hibernation chamber. When Justin is recovered in the far future, he is cured of his disease and begins a cat and mouse game with the government and the corporations. The problem with Justin is that he was born prior incorporation and the law is unclear on how to handle this unusual scenario.

The rest of story involves Justin fighting off several court challenges regarding his status as the only unincorporated man. Justin firmly believes that incorporation is akin to corporate slavery. There are decent arguments among the other characters that the people of the 21st Century also suffered under a form of economic slavery and their system is much more fair. These discussions were fascinating but only went up to certain point then the authors would back off. In my opinion, if this novel was to be a commentary on economics then they should have gone all out on the good and bad behind the ideals of incorporation. Whether the reader agrees with their principle or not, it would be a truly fascinating topic to have a bull session over.

The one story line that just did not ring true was the reason behind the grand collapse. The authors blame it on Virtual Reality. Nothing more, just Virtual Reality. People became so addicted to their virtual lives that they neglected their real ones and wasted away. In my opinion, the authors just did not fully develop this idea to make it more of a believable scenario.

The majority of complaints that I have read in other reviews have to with one dimension characters. While I have to agree that the characters are basically caricatures this is not all detrimental to the story itself. Most Sci-fi novels are not really character type novels; they are more about the future society and the plot. As with The Unincorporated Man, it is more about ideas of what constitutes a free person and the effects upon civilization. I can live with weak characterization as long the plot is solid, which for the most part The Unincorporated Man is.

There is also side plot that really comes out of the blue. It involves AI and is very fascinating how the authors handle this aspect. I don’t want to go into too much detail for spoiler reasons, but I actually really enjoyed this story line and wish there was more of it in the novel.

Final Word

The Unincorporated Man is an incredibly interesting novel of a very type different of future that is truly unique. Economics is rarely explored subject in Sci-fi which is strange as it is so fundamental to every day life. While the novel did not hit every note for me, it hit enough that I truly enjoyed this story and will be picking up the next one in the series, The Unincorporated War.

                                                           My Rating

Sci-Fi classic book review: The Man in the High Castle

Author: Philip K. Dick

Pedigree

- 1963 Hugo Winner

- Locus Best SF Novels of All-Time

Dust Jacket Summary

It's America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco, the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some twenty years earlier the United States lost a war—and is now occupied by Nazi Germany and Japan.

Good Points

- a unique story set in an alternative history in which the Axis powers won World War II and divided United States into two territories.

Bad Points

- the story is very disjointed and fails to deliver on its premise.

- characters are uninteresting, bland and for the most part unlikable.

- plot elements introduced in the book but never resolved

- page after page of mostly boring descriptions of making jewelry, trading of antiques, etc. 

- the book doesn't so much as end as it just stops.

Final Word

For me, this the first PKD novel that was an absolute disappointment.  It was a chore to read, my mind wandered through out the story and I really dreaded picking the book up.  It finally reached a point that I just didn't care anymore. 

                                                           My Rating

Audio Book Review: Canticle (The Psalms of Isaak, Book 2)

Author: Ken Scholes

Narrated by Scott Brick, William Dufris, Eliza Foss, Peter Larkin

Audio Length: 16 hours and 43 minutes

Canticle is the second in a planned five book series by Ken Scholes. The proceeding novel, Lamentation, was one the most highly regarded debut novels of 2009. The follow up novel, Canticle, was published a mere 8 months later, which in the fantasy genre is minor miracle compared to some of the other series. With Lamentation being so well received Mr. Scholes has his work cut out for him in order to recapture the excitement and fascination in the second novel. Since I enjoyed the Audio version of the first novel, I decided to also purchase the Audio version for Canticle as it was read by the same people. 

Summary

Canticle starts about 9 months after Lamentation ended. Rudolfo and Jin Li Tam’s son, Jakob, was born but is not in good health. The magicked powders that Rudolfo used to help Jin Li Tam conceive have caused serious health issues with Jakob and he is not expected to live unless a cure can be found.

The story begins with the Firstborn Feast, a celebration of the arrival of Rudolfo’s first born child. During the feast, several magicked assassins appear and slaughter several of the high profile guests including Hanric, the Marsh Queen’s Shadow. When the assassins reach Rudolfo, he hears one whisper, “No, not him.” So Rudolfo is the only one left alive among his high profile visitors. Rudolfo learns that these assassins are using blood magick when allows them to move faster than a bird and become much stronger than the normal magick powders. The side affect of the blood magick powders is that once they wear off the user dies.

Petronus also is attacked by maicked assassins and told that “the sins of P’Andro Whym are visited upon his children.” Luckily Petronus is saved at the last minute by the old Gray Guards. But he is now mortal danger from this new threat.

Vlad Li Tam is moving around the Scattered Islands in his metal ships in attempt to form alliances and investigate the unknown people behind the plot that brought down Windwir and House Li Tam. Things do not go well for Vlad in this novel when he finally discovers the people who set up House Li Tam. His story is probably the most heart breaking to read as he forced to endure some very gut retching torture. Surprisingly, Mr. Scholes makes Vlad into a tragic yet likeable character by the end of the novel which is a total turn around from the last novel.

Lastly, Neb ventures in The Churning Wastes on quest to discover Sanctorum Lux. He learns that Sanctorum Lux is supposed to be a copy of The Great Library that was in Windwir. Along the way, Neb discovers something else much more important that will change his course for the rest of the series. 

Review

As you can tell from the small plot summary that I provided, Canticle divides into numerous plot trails for each of the main characters. I only covered the major ones as there are several minor plot threads that are also woven into this story. At times this can be confusing keeping up with each character but Mr. Scholes generally does a good job of checking with character in pretty rapid succession. This is accomplished by keeping the chapters short and the space devoted to each entry limited to a page or two. Basically, if the format the first novel did not bother you then you ought to fell right at home.

Canticle is the typical second novel in a series. It introduces numerous plot threads and builds the characters that will lead into the succeeding novels in series. There is some discovery of the people behind the destruction of Windwir and their motives by the end of the novel but not much else is resolved.

I was somewhat let down by Canticle but I do not think it was the story’s fault. Lamentation began with a horrific event, the destruction of Windwir, and moved at a very quick pace through a war and its resolution. The political maneuvering was fun and kept the tension high through the novel. Canticle moves at a slower pace and tends to drag in spots. There is too much introspection by the characters that covers the same ground and becomes tedious at times. But this is the type of story that has to be written in order for the series to continue.

Once again, the narration is incredible as it adds a new dimension to the novel. The narrators alternate their readings with the characters that they have been assigned. I went back and re-read portions of the book later and I had the voices of the readers in my head. Macmillan Audio went all out on this novel as they did with Lamentation and the effort really shines through.

Final Word

I am still pretty high on The Psalms of Isaak series by Mr. Scholes and eagerly awaiting the next book. I have no real idea where he is going with his story but a gut feeling it will be incredible and highly entertaining. While Canticle may suffer from second book syndrome, it is a worthy successor to Lamentation and for the most part a real joy to read. 

                                                              My Rating

Book Review: The Domino Men

Author: Jonathan Barnes

I would like to thank Eos Books for sending me an advance manuscript of Jonathan Barnes new novel, The Domino Men. I did not get a chance to read his first novel, The Somnambulist, but after finishing The Domino Men it will be moving to my must read stack. Not to gush, but this is an absolute brilliant and witty novel that was a pleasure to read. I have not felt this compelled to finish reading a book since Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

It is my understanding that there are a few elements from The Somnambulist that have carried over into The Domino Men. But I didn’t have any problems nor did I feel there was a huge back story that I missed. Mr. Barnes does an excellent job of relating the alternative history so that the current story line is relevant.

I really do not want to go over the plot points as to ruin the surprises. It is a book that is really best to walk into without knowing anything and allow the events come to you as the author intended.

I did include the summary from the dust jacket and again I recommend that you skip it, but if you must, then please read on.

Dust Jacket Summary: 

In an earlier century, Queen Victoria made a Faustian bargain, signing London and all its souls away to a nefarious, inhuman entity. Now, generations later, the bill has finally come due. . . .

Henry Lamb, an amiable and anonymous file clerk, pushes paper in the Storage and Record Retrieval section of the Civil Service Archive Unit. His life has always been quiet and unremarkable—until the day he learns that he's expected to assume the covert responsibilities of his universally despised grandfather, now lying comatose in the hospital.

Summoned to the gargantuan Ferris wheel known as the London Eye, Henry receives his orders from Dedlock, a gilled and wrinkled old gentleman eternally floating in a pool of amniotic fluid. London, it seems, is at war, resisting an apocalyptic fate foisted upon it by a long-dead queen. A shadowy organization known (to very few) as the Directorate wishes to recruit Henry to the cause. All he has to do is find "the girl" and save the world from the monster Leviathan, who can already taste the succulent metropolis that will soon be his to devour. Simple enough.

But there are formidable enemies lining up to oppose Henry, all gathering in and around the royal family. His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Arthur Aelfric Vortigern Windsor—the sniveling, overbored, under appreciated sole heir to the British throne—has been shaken from his resentful malaise by grisly, seductive visions of unrestrained power . . . and by an extremely potent narcotic called ampersand. And an unspeakable evil lurks in the cellar of 10 Downing Street: the twin, serial-slaying schoolboy nightmares, the Domino Men—so-called for their hideous desire and terrifying ability to topple every towering edifice in the city, one after the other . . . just for a giggle.

What I liked:

Mr. Barnes has produced a well written novel and I am most impressed with the author’s ability to describe a scene or a location, he can literally paint a picture with words. For example, in describing in the area where Henry Lamb’s office building is located:

“Time was when this stretch of the city would have been thriving with rude life but now it seemed either neutered into the sterility of officialdom or else stuffed and mounted for the edification and amusement of visitors like some dead thing in a museum.”

Absolutely brilliant and this is carried throughout the novel to really give the reader a flavor of what life is like in London.

The characters are the biggest strength of this story, followed closely by the plot. Henry Lamb is introduced into a whole motley crew. From Dedlock who is condemned to life in a big fish tank, to the Barbara / Estella hybrid the unbeatable hunter and lastly the serial killers known as The Domino Men. If you like strange and interesting characters then this novel is for you as it is chock-full of them.

Thru the first half of the book the humor is laugh out funny. Mr. Barnes has a wicked sense of humor that works well for this story. For example, this is a passage in which Henry Lamb’s boss, Peter, is being introduced to a new female employee, Barbara:

Peter strutted back to his desk. “You like music, Babs?”

“I suppose.”

Now I just felt sorry for her. Peter behaved like this around any woman younger than himself-a demographic which, perhaps not coincidentally, encompassed most of the female percentage of our office.

“I’ve just been on the web booking tickets for a few gigs. You ever heard of a band called Peachy Cheeks?”

“I don’t think so, no.”

“Boner?”

A shy little shake of her head.

“Arse Banits?”

Barbara thought for a moment. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

Peter shrugged, “I’m not surprised. This stuff’s a little out there. It’s…” He broke off for a stagey chuckle. “It’s not exactly what you’d call mainstream.”

I suspect that the ending will put some readers off as you never see it coming. The reader will make assumptions as to who is behind the plot to overthrow London, but you will be wrong. Let me put it this way, it is shocking and you never expect it, but go with it and enjoy the fact it is not conventional type of ending.

What I didn’t like:

My only real complaint is that humor goes away in the last half of the novel.

Last word:

Absolute mind blowing adventure that you will have to read to believe. Jonathan Barnes has made it onto must read list. Oh yeah, always remember to “Trust the Process”. 

                                                            My Rating

 

Book Review: Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch Book 1)

Author: Ann Leckie

Pedigree

- 2013 BSFA Winner
- 2013 Golden Tentacle Winner
- 2013 Nebula Winner
- 2013 PKD Nominated
- 2014 Clarke Winner
- 2014 Hugo Winner
- 2014 Locus FN Winner
- 2014 Campbell Nominated

Dust Jacket Summary

On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.

Breq is both more than she seems and less than she was. Years ago, she was the Justice of Toren--a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of corpse soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.

An act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with only one fragile human body. And only one purpose--to revenge herself on Anaander Mianaai, many-bodied, near-immortal Lord of the Radch.

Good Points

- The basic concept is really cool, an AI that used to control a star ship and numerous other ancillaries (human slaves) but is now confined to a single human body.

- The author does a decent job of weaving together the past and present to reveal character's motivations.

Bad Points

- The pronoun game is a gimmick and gets tiresome after awhile.

- The first half of the book is plods along and occasionally we get a glimpse of a character's story or motivations. The pacing of this novel felt bogged down in the details and traveling.

- The characters and dialog are wooden and uninteresting.

Final Word

I really wanted this book to be more as it has gotten some great reviews and won major awards. While the concept is not wholly original the author does a decent job developing a tale of revenge. However, the plot and pacing drags the story down.

                                                           My Rating

Video Game Review: Alien - Isolation (Xbox One)

HOW WILL YOU SURVIVE?

Discover the true meaning of fear in Alien: Isolation, a survival horror set in an atmosphere of constant dread and mortal danger. Fifteen years after the events of Alien, Ellen Ripley's daughter, Amanda enters a desperate battle for survival, on a mission to unravel the truth behind her mother's disappearance.

As Amanda, you will navigate through an increasingly volatile world as you find yourself confronted on all sides by a panicked, desperate population and an unpredictable, ruthless Alien.

Underpowered and underprepared, you must scavenge resources, improvise solutions and use your wits, not just to succeed in your mission, but to simply stay alive.

Good Points

- The graphics are outstanding.  The developers spent alot of time watching Alien as the space station, Sevastopol, looks like it came straight out of the movie. 

- At the beginning, the tension is off the hook.  Simple things, like just walking across the room, just creep you out.  Jump scars are in full effect.  The first few times you encounter the alien will put a pit in your stomach.  

Bad Points

-  Stupid movement restrictions.  You cannot jump or walk over simple items or pick up weapons off dead foes.

-  You constantly retracing your steps back and forth across the station.

- After awhile the alien just becomes annoying as you have dodge around it's constant roaming patterns.     

Final Word

To be fair, I have never had the patience to play stealth games and this one is no different.  While Alien - Isolation has great atmosphere the overall game play is repetitive and you spend most of your time hiding under desks and inside lockers.   

                                                           My Rating

Audio Book Review: Diving into the Wreck

Author: Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Narrated by Jennifer Van Dyck
Audio Length: 9 hours and 45 minutes

One of New Year resolutions was to try to get back to my Sci-Fi roots. It seems that my reading tastes have slid more towards fantasy over the last year or so and I am now on the hunt for some quality space opera adventure. While listening to the podcast The Dragon Page I came across an interesting interview with the author, Kristine Kathryn Rusch. What really caught my attention was that Ms. Rusch was looking to fill a void left behind in the current crop of Sci-Fi novels and write a good old fashion space adventure story. She makes the point that these types of stories are very popular on TV and at the movies, why aren’t the publishers following form? I could not agree more and within 10 minutes I downloaded her novel, Diving into the Wreck, to see if Ms. Rusch could back up her statements with a story. I instantly fell in love with story as she is able to capture the wonder and mystery of exploring the unknown.

Review

Ms. Rusch takes an interesting tact on her story, instead of exploring the future, her characters investigate the past. The story follows the adventures of salvage divers who explore abandon space vehicles for their treasures. If they are lucky they will find technology that has been lost to the ages that the Empire will pay handsomely for.

The main character, simply known as Boss, discovers on Old Earth era warship Dignity vessel that is 5,000 years old and very far from where it is supposed to be. Boss puts together a team to dive the old wreck. They soon discover ancient technology that will change the course of events in Empire and surrounding galaxies.

Diving into the Wreck is divided into three sections with the first two being separate stories that lead into the final conclusion. Ms. Rusch does a beautiful job of capturing the sense of wonder of exploring the unknown. The first involved diving the Dignity vessel wreck and the second story has the crew exploring a space station known as The Room of Lost Souls. Each of the stories entailed solving mysteries as to why each one exists and where did it come from. While listening to the story I felt a sense of awe as the story progressed and clues were uncovered.

In some respects Diving into the Wreck reminded me of Frederik Pohl’s Gateway (without the intervening physiologist discussion chapters). Salvage crews are constantly going on dangerous mission to uncover secrets of the past. Both are able to effectively convey the essence and fear of explorers going into uncharted areas of space to the reader.

Jennifer Van Dyck does an adequate job of narrating the story. Her narration is pretty straight forward without much variation in her voice inflictions. The only quibble I had was that she made Boss sound more a CEO business woman than a space explorer.

Final Word

Ms. Rusch sent out to create a story that harkens back to the old time Sci-Fi space opera adventures which I grew up on and she nailed it perfectly. It is what has been missing from the Sci-Fi genre for far too long. The good news is that the end of the book leaves open the possibilities of sequels which I will be highly anticipating. This is easily my favorite book of 2010 so far.

                                                            My Rating 

TV Show Review - Arrow (Season 3)

In the aftermath of his victory, Season Three opens with The Arrow now a hero to the citizens of Starling. Crime is down, people feel safer, and Captain Lance even calls off the Anti-Vigilante Task Force. Basking in his success, Oliver believes he can finally have a private life and asks Felicity out on a date. But the second Oliver takes his eye off the ball, a deadly villain reappears in Starling, forcing Oliver to realize that he can never be Oliver Queen – not as long as the city needs The Arrow.

First episode date: October 8, 2014

Network: The CW

Good Points

- Since Arrow is practically stealing from the Batman mythos then use one of the better story lines involving Ra's al Ghul and they did.

- Effective tension built up from episode to episode making the show a must watch.

- Season 3 started out very strong but started to fizzle towards the end. 

Bad Points

- The flashbacks are pointless and draw away from the current story line.  Go back to the island already!

- Arrow's support group (other heroes) is getting too large and distracting.

-The finale seemed to be rushed by trying up all of the loose ends and also give Oliver Queen his Dark Knight Rising ending.

Final Word

Arrow season 1 & 2 (each 5 stars in my book) set the bar very high and season 3 was a step backwards.  The Arrow is a more interesting character when treated as a loner rather than part of team.  I am hoping CW gets back to basics and right the ship in season 4 or this will be the beginning of the end of a good series.  

                                                            My Rating

TV Show Review - Daredevil (Season 1)

Daredevil is a series created for Netflix by Drew Goddard, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and shares continuity with the films of the franchise.

Daredevil follows Matt Murdock, attorney by day and vigilante by night. Blinded in an accident as a child, Murdock uses his heightened senses as Daredevil, fighting crime on the streets of New York after the sun goes down. His efforts are not welcomed by powerful businessman Wilson Fisk and others whose interests collide with those of Daredevil. Though Murdock's day job portrays a man who believes in the criminal justice system, his alter ego suggests otherwise, as he takes the law into his own hands to protect his Hell's Kitchen neighborhood and the surrounding communities.

Creator: Drew Goddard

Stars: Charlie Cox, Vincent D'Onofrio, Deborah Ann Woll

First episode date: April 10, 2015

Network: Netflix

Good Points

- Grounded in reality.  More than any other TV superhero series Daredevil feels like in exists in the real world.  Generally, there are consequences to a character's actions.  When Daredevil takes a beating and there alot of beatings, he spends the next episode recovering from his wounds.   

- Vincent D'Onofrio's portrayal as Wilson Fisk (never called Kingpin) is the stand out performance.  He plays the character as quiet and measured but there is constant underlying rage that can surface at any time.  

- I also love that Daredevil is far from a polished hero.  He makes plenty of beginning of career mistakes and is far from being a skilled fighter. 

Bad Points

- Slow / uneven pacing at times.

- Not enough tension developed from episode to episode leading up to the finale.  Arrow, especially season 1 and 2, is great example of how to gradually build pressure on the main character that you were not really sure how he would survive it all.  Daredevil lacked this tension between the good guys and the bad guys.      

Final Word

Daredevil's first season establishes the building blocks to become an epic TV show.  While not quit on the level of Arrow, I liked it better than The Flash and it is definitely better than Agents of Shield.  I am really looking forward to season 2.   

                                                            My Rating

Book Review: Wormwood, Nevada

Author: David Oppegaard

Wormwood, Nevada is David Oppegaard’s second novel. His first novel, The Suicide Collectors, was an incredible and imaginative debut that was a very addictive read. This would be a tough act to follow and unfortunately this novel left me frustrated by the ending. The imagination and the willingness to push a story that so outstanding in The Suicide Collectors readily disappears during Wormwood, Nevada.

Summary

The story begins with a married couple, Tyler and Anna Mayfield, moving across the country from Lincoln, Nebraska to Wormwood, Nevada. They are going to stay with Tyler’s Aunt, Bernie, for the summer in order to save money and hopefully find some direction in life. Tyler and Anna met in college (University of Nebraska, Go Big Red!) and after graduating their lives have not gone the way they it would. Neither has found satisfaction with their careers, but Anna, a former Miss Nebraska, has taken it pretty after the limelight has faded. They believe that a change of scenery will help them plan for the next step in their lives.

Wormwood, Nevada is your typical small town but stuck out in the middle of desert. Tyler quickly adapts to the small town lifestyle but Anna struggles with the boredom. Things are about to change in Wormwood and get alittle more exciting. While they are sitting in the local bar a meteorite crashes outside leaving a crater in the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant. Soon after some strange events start occurring such as Tyler starts seeing strange little grey creatures, Anna has disturbing nightmares and the owner of the Mexican restaurant starts a vigil by sitting next to meteorite with a sign says The End Is Near. 

Review

So, the story is building nicely at this point but then it just continues this way until the ending. Mr. Oppegaard does a nice job of building his characters and setting the mood for his story. He builds a believable small town atmosphere in Wormwood from the small town sheriff to the depressed insurance salesman. But the story just meanders forward until the ending. He never picks a direction in which to move the story.

The ending is probably the biggest weakness of the novel, it is just ho-hum when it should have been jaw-dropping. I really enjoyed the ending of The Suicide Collectors but the ending of Wormwood, Nevada just left me flat.

The only other quibble I had with the novel was on the personal side. Since the characters are from Lincoln, Nebraska and went to the University of Nebraska there is much discussion about Husker football. My wife and I used to live Nebraska and are huge Husker fans. One passage in the book mentions how the Huskers beat Texas at the Homecoming game. Huh? I don’t remember that. Any good Nebraskan understands the heartbreak losses that the Huskers have suffered at the hands of Texas over the years so this was surprise. So I went and looked it up and the last time Texas lost to Nebraska in Lincoln was 1933. Ouch.

Last Word

Whereas The Suicide Collectors was a cracklin’ good sci-fi story, Wormwood, Nevada is only mediocre. This is a shame because Mr. Oppegaard had two solid acts but he was unable to develop a solid ending and the story just kinda fizzled. 

                                                            My Rating

Book Review: Boneshaker

Author: Cherie Priest

Boneshaker has been high on my TBR (to be read) list ever since I first heard about and saw the awesome cover art by Jon Foster. On the day it arrived in bookstores I ran out after work and snatched the last copy in the store. This is the first novel I have read by Cherie Priest, even though I still have Fathom sitting near the top of one of my book stacks. I heard someone describe this novel as a Steampunk meets The Night of the Living Dead and this a pretty apt description.

One aspect to Steampunk is take history and change certain aspects. The neat thing about Boneshaker is that it is set America, instead of England, and since I am somewhat of history buff I was able to recognize some of the differences. The year is 1880 and the Civil War has been raging for 18 years. England has entered the side of Confederacy and this caused the additional time. I am curious what to Abe Lincoln?

Summary

The novel takes place in Seattle, WA, which has not been admitted in the United States and is still run by local governments. Ms. Priest does a wise thing in her Author’s Notes chapter in explaining all the changes she made to Seattle before she got flooded with a tom of emails. Her Seattle has a larger population and many of the landmarks were built much earlier in her timeline.

The story centers on Briar Wilkes and her son, Ezekiel. Briar is infamous in Seattle as the widow of Dr. Leviticus Blue. Dr. Blue was an inventor who won a contract from the Russians to build a digging known as the Boneshaker. When he made his first test run with the machine it caused disastrous results to the city. The Boneshaker caused the collapse of several banks killing many people and unleashing a gas known as the Blight. The citizens soon discovered that exposure to the Blight essentially turns them in zombies. In response to the disaster the inner city is walled off from the outskirts in order contain the Blight gas.

To add to Briar’s misery, she is also the daughter of Maynard Wilkes. Maynard is considered to legend in some circles and a tyrant in other circles. Needless to say, Briar and Ezekiel are ostracized from society.

Fast forward sixteen years, Ezekiel is a rebellious young man who decides to take a quick trip into inner Seattle to find evidence in order to clear his family name. Only a couple of problems, most of Seattle is infested with hungry zombies and the small areas that are controlled by live people is governed by a crazy scientist, Dr. Minnericht. Of course, when Briar discovers that her son has gone exploring inside Seattle, she also makes her way into the city looking for him. For this point forward the story is a harrowing adventure of exploring the underbelly of a dilapidated city while running from the zombies.

Review

This was not the story I expected when I first saw this book. First and foremost is about survival and secondly it is about family. The Seattle that Ms. Priest created felt like a real place instead of just a prop. She slowly painted the picture of her city as the story moved along creating a fully realized three dimensional place. The constant tension felt by the group of people still living in the city is caused by the ever present threat of a zombie attack combine with the control exerted upon them by Dr. Minnericht. Again, Ms. Priest does an excellent job of portraying desperate people living in desperate times and have learned to cherish the small things in life. The atmosphere created in her novel is incredible and by far the strength of it.

The only real weakness of the novel is the characters are not fully developed. The main characters seem alittle two dimensional and I wish there was more focus in developing both Briar and Ezekiel. If I had felt more compassion towards these characters then easily would have one of the best novels of the years.

Last Word

Overall this was a great book and highly enjoyable. I understand there is two planned sequels but neither will take place in the same city or possibly involve the same characters. Which is a shame because this the type of story that deserves to continue to live on in future volumes. 

                                                           My Rating

Book Review: The Alchemy of Stone

Author: Ekaterina Sedia

The Alchemy of Stone is Ekaterina Sedia’s third novel and has received some very high marks, including a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Personally, the cover art is what really drew my attention to this book in the first place. In fact, the novel has been reissued with new cover art and I almost picked it up again at the bookstore. Unfortunately, it is rare that the art actually lives up to the story inside the novel itself.

Summary

The Alchemy of Stone takes in a fictional steam punk type of city which is run by two factions, the Mechanics and the Alchemists. Ruling over the two parties is a Duke. While the Mechanics and the Alchemists can be voted into and out of office, the Duke’s rule remains constant. At the beginning of the novel the Mechanics have swept into power and plan to make significant changes within the city itself. Ms. Sedia’s world that she created is uniquely fascinating but very little of it was explored. The reader has very little to exposure to the politics between the Mechanics and the Alchemists, which is the cause of all the major events that place in this novel.

Review

The title, The Alchemy of Stone, refers to a mission given to the main character, Mattie, by the gargoyles. The gargoyles are the keepers and builders of the city but they are dying off. They ask Mattie to find a way to prevent them from turning into stone. Mattie’s exploration into this subject leads her several into several interesting side characters which include, the Soul-Smoker, Sebastian and Niobe. My favorite of these was the Soul-Smoker, whose responsibly was to suck the souls of the dead into himself. The side effect is that he had hundreds of people living inside of him and they all want to talk to him.

I instantly fell in love with Mattie. I really have a thing robot type of characters in novels and movies. I am not sure why that is but I have been fascinated by robots since I was kid. Mattie is actually an intelligent automaton who was built by a genius mechanic known as Loharri. Mattie started out as a simple automaton whose only responsibility was to clean and cook. Eventually Mattie moves beyond these household chores and takes up learning a trade, alchemy. Loharri agrees to allow Mattie to have some freedom which includes her moving into her own apartment. But Loharri still maintains control over Mattie by keeping her key. Mattie must be wound every now and then or she will just stop working.

The relationship between Loharri and Mattie is the major theme running through the book. Mattie is constantly looking for ways to gain access to the key so that she can live independently. Loharri doesn’t want to give up his control over Mattie or she will stop visiting him as he had been cruel to her in the past. The dynamic between the two is far from a healthy relationship, akin to a mentally abusive spouse attempting to separate herself from her husband.

The other theme running through the novel is class prejudice. The Mechanics and the Alchemists would be considered the upper class with the common people considered the lower classes. The Mechanics think that they understand what is best for society and that the commoners must be pushed into doing their bidding. This way of governing does not go over all that well and eventually sparks a revolution. Of the plot threads this is the most interesting but the least explored.

In addition, Mattie is treated like a pet throughout the novel but I think this less effective analogy because the automatons are not intelligent and regulated to menially jobs. Once people come to know her, they change their attitudes but this does not correlate with other automatons.

The biggest issue had with this novel was the second act. The story started off and ended strong but the middle act just meandered all over the place. I was hoping that Ms. Sedia would explore the intriguing world that she crafted. Instead the focus remains solely on Mattie instead of turbulent events going on around her.

Final Word

The Alchemy of Stone is a thought provoking story that is not afraid to deal with some very tough issues. But I wish the author would have spent some more time building upon and developing the themes and the world she has so lovingly created. 

                                                           My Rating

Book Review: The Martian

Author: Andy Weir

Summary

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a darude sandstorm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

Good Points

- An interesting premise. An Astronaut who is accidentally stranded on Mars and now must learn how to survive.

- Most of the time, the humor from the main character is laugh out funny.

- At times there is tension and a bit of nail biting during the story.

Bad Points

- It got to the point in story where I didn't want anything bad to happen or something to break down. Not because I feared for the main character but I knew I would have to read endless explanations on how he was fixing the issue at hand. If you get off on reading trouble shooting guides for fun then this will be the greatest story ever.

- Secondary characters are not fleshed out.

- The story did not capture the emotions of being deserted on a faraway planet and the depression of being isolated.

Final Word

If you ever dreamed of a MacGyver / Castaway mashup that takes place on Mars then this is the novel for you. Otherwise, too much technobabble dragged down what could have been a compelling story.

                                                            My Rating

Audio Book Review: Haze

Author: L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Narrated by William Dufris

Audio Length: 10 hours and 32 minutes

This is the first novel that I read by L. E. Modesitt, Jr., which is amazing because it seems that he puts out a new novel every other week. The reason I have not read any of his other works is that most are part of a huge series that I have no hope of catching up. The reason I picked Haze is that it is a stand alone novel and for the cool cover art by Sparth. Unfortunately, the cover art is the best thing about the novel. Is it completely unreadable? No. It is just that this storyline has been so many times that it would take a spectacular storyline to develop something new and fresh. Haze falls way short of introducing something new or original.

Summary

Haze is your typical fish out of water story times two. The novel alternates between the main character’s current mission and him remembering back to previous assignment. Major Keir Roget is an agent for the Federation and he is usually sent undercover into potentially hostile places to assess threats against the Federation. The set up for this story is pretty decent. The Federation has discovered a planet that has a haze shielding that blocks all types of sensors. Roget is sent to the planet surface to discover what is behind the haze and if there some life forms behind it. Like I said, a great set up for a Sci-Fi story.

Review

Unfortunately from this point forward the story is relatively unremarkable. Roget discovers a human society with very advanced technology. He spends a lot of time talking to the habitants, walking around, taking in the sites and an inordinate amount in restaurants. Mr. Modesitt must have been hungry when he wrote this story because there are numerous passages describing the food selection on menus and what the characters are eating. Even kinda made me hungry at times. There is no real conflict between Roget and the citizens of Haze even though they are aware that the Federation has come to their planet in order to assume control of it. The world building is weak and not very imaginative. Basically there a few changes in way their government operates, the way they communicate among themselves, etc. But none of these are all that interesting. Essentially by the end of the novel I could care less if the Federation demolished this planet or not.

The other story involves Roget going undercover as water monitor to a religious community of St. George. A previous agent had died in accident while hiking. So Roget is being sent in to investigate. Again this involves a lot of time talking to the habitants, walking around taking in the sites and an inordinate amount in restaurants. The story is not really clear how this mission was supposed to force Roget to question the motives of the Federation and cause him to reconsider his current line of work. Personally, I saw no need of this story line except to fill pages for the main story that was taking place on Haze.

Even with all these issues I highly enjoyed the ending and the choices Roget made. I just wish that it would have come sooner in the novel. Then the last third of the novel could involved Roget living with decision and exploring further. It seems to me that by the story started to get fascinating is when it ended.

William Dufris is a veteran when comes to audiobook narrations. The only problem I has was that he had narrated the voice of Neb from Ken Scholes Lamentation and Canticle. So I kept thinking of Neb while I was listening to the story.

In many ways this novel was a disappointment as I believed it missed on so many notes. There are tiny bits of goodness but too much of it felt like filler to me. So, I guess the novel just left me in a haze (bad joke, sorry).

                                                            My Rating