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

Book Review: Bitter Angels

Author: C. L. Anderson

C. L. Anderson’s debut Sci-Fi novel, Bitter Angels, is one I have been looking forward to ever since the cover art was released. As I picked it up at the local bookstore it went on top of my To Be Read pile. As debut novels go this is better than most but there are some issues that I with story. The world-building was creative, the characters were interesting, the plot was flat out great but the dialogue was weak which in this type of story can hurt the overall story.

Summary

I really enjoyed the universe that Ms. Anderson has created. Governments are very concerned about wars and they do what they can in order to prevent a galaxy wide conflict from arising. Their most effective tools are the Guardians. Guardians are individuals who have various items installed into their bodies including a Companion. Think of a Companion as ghost machines that live inside your head and acts a computer, friend, stabilizer, etc. If the Companion is ever removed from a Guardian, it as if they are taking anyway a loved one and you feel their loss for a long time. Guardians are sent into systems to evaluate and determine if it needs to be considered a “hot spot”. If it is a system on the brink of war then a larger Guardian is brought in to sweep it and remove any chance of a wider conflict breaking out. The Guardians oath is, “Peace is my duty. Peace is what I am called to watch and expand. I hold close the knowledge that any death by my hand may start a war without end. Only peace creates life. Only life creates peace.”

Field commander Terese Drajeske is brought back out of retirement for an important mission. Her mentor, Bianca Fayette, was brutally murdered in the Erasmus System and Bianca has requested Terese to replace her because she is the only one who can succeed in the mission. The Guardians want to learn who killed Bianca and determine if the Erasmus System is to be considered a “hot spot”

The Erasmus System is controlled by the First Bloods. They are bunch of aristocrats that have maintained power with their very large family and have become very rich of their indentured servants. They keep control of the civil through the use of Clerks. The Clerks spy on people and if their position is critical enough, the individual has personal Clerk who reports their actions at all times. If someone is perceived as acting against the First Bloods then they are removed from society.

The chapters alternated between several of the characters but mainly focus on Field commander Terese Drajeske and Captain Amerand Jireu. Amerand is a Chief Security officer in the Erasmus System and his portions of the novel are were you learn about the society of this universe. Essentially, it is Big Bother on steroids.

Review

The plot is probably the strongest portion of the novel. The complexity of it reminded me of an Alastair Reynolds’ novel. There is overall conspiracy happening but the information dulled out in dribs and drabs and all is revealed in the end. In this way the novel was highly entertaining.

The weakness of the story was the dialogue. If you write a mystery, especially with intelligent characters, the dialogue needs to be crisp and well thought out. Many times I said to myself, “ask this” or “ask that”. In this type of story nothing drives a reader crazier than characters who have no curiosity about their situation. If the dialogue was stronger then it is likely this would have been one of my type five novels at the end of the year.

Overall, I did enjoy Bitter Angels and I am excited about any future novels from Ms. Anderson.

                                                           My Rating

Video Game Trailer: Space Hulk - Deathwing (PS4 / Xbox One)

"I am wrath, I am steel. I am the mercy of angels." New official cinematic trailer for Space Hulk Deathwing

Book Review: Burn Me Deadly

Author: Alex Bledsoe

Burn Me Deadly is the second book in the Eddie LaCrosse series by Alex Bledsoe. The first book, The Sword-Edge Blonde, was one of my biggest surprises of the year and eagerly anticipated the next in the series. The only real minor quibble I had with The Sword-Edge Blonde was that it started out a little slow before it picked up. But the last half of the book was an emotional roller coaster and just blew me away. This would be a tough act to follow in Burn Me Deadly.

Summary

Burn Me Deadly has no delay before the action starts and the reader is through right in the middle with good ole’ Eddie LaCrosse. He is riding the horse he acquired from the first novel through woods when he is surprised by a distraught female. He agrees to give her a ride back to town. She explains that she just escaped from several men who were torturing her and that she is on the run. When they reach the edge of the forest they are attacked and dragged back to a cabin in the woods. They are then tortured and left for dead in a ravine. When Eddie wakes up he finds that the girl is dead and so his horse. This part kinda pissed me off as I really liked his horse from the first book. It is time for Eddie to get all Clint Eastwood and start mowing down the bad guys.

So Eddie nursed back to health and he burns to go after the people who did this. There is one problem though, the only information he has to go on is that girl’s name was Laura Lesperitt and one of his attackers had a dragon on his boots. He soon discovers that a cult of Dragon Worshippers have moved into the local whorehouse. To make matters worse the cult is in league with the Gordon Marantz. Gordon is the defacto mob boss of the area and someone you don’t want to get on the wrong side of or likely you will end up dead. To make it even stranger is that the cult is expecting the return of a dragon but Eddie knows full and well that dragons are just a myth or are they?

Review

Mr. Bledsoe has struck gold with this series by combining crime fiction with fantasy. But, Burn Me Deadly has more of a gritty western type movie flavor to it. Since I a big fan of westerns this made me like the story even more. I did not become as emotionally involved in the story like a I did with The Sword-Edge Blonde but Burn Me Deadly is more of complete story with a solid beginning, middle and end.

I hate to compare the Eddie LaCrosse novels to the Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files series but they have much in common. The most important item they share is the main character. Both authors take care in developing their protagonist and making them fully fleshed individuals that a reader can imagine existing in the real world. The authors also seem to love beating the crap of them as they are usually a walking corpse by the end of the story. Most of all, they always do the right thing in end even though it may cost them the things that they love the most. Just like any good western anti-hero should.

Last Word

I am definitely sold on Alex Blodsoe’s Eddie LaCrosse series and cannot wait for the next novel to be published. Burn Me Deadly has all of the critical elements, good story telling, characters, etc. that any great novel should have but more importantly, it is a joyride of a read. You will not be disappointed.

                                                            My Rating

Cover Art Junkie: Alien Planet

Dice Shaming Hall of Fame #9

Book Review: Every Which Way But Dead

Author: Kim Harrison

In my review of The Good, The Bad and The Undead, I stated that I was on a mission to listen to all of the audio books in the Rachel Morgan series… Well, that mission has come to an abrupt and screeching halt.  I was listening to these books the old fashioned way, CD’s I checked out from the library, when right in the middle of a good fight scene the darn thing started skipping like a school girl on a playground!  Do you know how maddening that is?  I took the CD out and cleaned it several times to no avail.  So it was off to the book store where I picked up the book so I could read the rest of the story.  Now that I have one, I must purchase them all!  I can read faster than listening to the audio version so my new mission is to hurry up and read all of the books preceding White Witch Black Curse, because I am dying to read it and I am having the darndest time avoiding all of the reviews out there.

In Every which way but dead, Rachel Morgan finds herself bound to Algaliarept as his familiar and her boyfriend Nick is still bound to her as her familiar.  Which is really bad.  Familiars are usually animals and human familiars are frowned upon.  Nick can’t take it anymore as everytime Rachel uses Ley line magic it is drawn through him and can be very painful.  So he makes himself scarce for a while.

It is solstice in the Hollows and amid the holiday shopping and celebrating Rachel is challenged by Kisten to go on a date with him (which turns into a run), hired by the rock star, Takata to work security at his Solstice concert, hired by Quen to protect Trent at a meeting with on of the inderland crime lords, and she is still running from Algaliarept to keep him from pulling her into the Everafter to serve as his familiar.  And I thought the holidays were stressful for me!

We meet some new characters in this book, David __ the Were insurance adjuster, Ivy’s dad, her little sister __ and an old friend named Skimmer.  We also meet Ceri, Algaliarept’s former familiar.

What I liked  

There is a lot going on in this book.  Poor Rachel just jumps from one problem to the next.  I am never bored nor do I find myself waiting to get to the good parts, because every part of this book holds my attention.

What I didn’t like  

That darn skipping CD.  Well, I was going to have to invest in these books sooner or later.  Might as well be sooner.

Previously, I mentioned that the vamps in these books aren’t my favorite characters, and they still aren’t, mostly… I am not saying that I don’t like them, I am just saying that I find the witches and pixies and elves more interesting in these particular books.  So, I have to amend my previous statement. I don’t love MOST of the vamps in these books.  There is one vamp in particular that I really do like! A LOT.  And because I am so late reading this series, and have been spoiled, I know that I am going to be crushed sooner or later.

Last Word  

So now that the mission has changed, I am ready to read the next book, Fist Full of Charms. I love these books and they have quickly jumped into my top 5 favorite series’.  Hopefully I can power through them and get to White Witch Black Curse quickly.

                                                         Her Rating

Art of The Scene: Alien Chestburster

A newborn Xenomorph bursting violently from John Hurt’s chest is one of the most iconic, and important, scenes in science fiction or horror movie history. A lot went on before and after Ridley Scott shouted “Action” - we’ll tell you the whole story.

Ridley Scott's Alien is still one of the most terrifying horror films and interesting science fiction films in American Cinema history. From the humanizing, lived-in environment of the Nostromo ship, to the genius creature design, to the genuine surprise on the faces of the cast when the Alien chestburster bursted out, we’ll take you though all the elements that made this scene.

What did you think? Did we teach you something you didn’t know about the Alien Chestburster scene? About production design or creature creation? About Ridley Scott’s tendency to play mean tricks on his cast? What other iconic movie scenes would you like to see us dissect in future episodes of Art of the Scene?

TV Trailer: Marvel's Daredevil

Meet Matt Murdock. Blinded as a boy but imbued with extraordinary senses, Matt fights injustice by day as a respected lawyer and by night as the masked vigilante known as Daredevil in Hell's Kitchen, New York. He'll do anything to make his city a better place, but at what price? All episodes available April 10, only on Netflix.

Book Review: The Sword-Edged Blonde

Author: Alex Bledsoe

To my wife’s dismay, I have always been a person who is reading several books at once. She wonders how I can plot lines separate between novels. Sometimes it is easy, sometimes it is not. The reason I do this is that after so many pages of a certain book I need to stop because it is not completely holding my interest. So I switch to my other novel or two. So it takes a pretty special book for me to become completely absorbed into and ignore the other novels. The Sword-Edged Blonde by Alex Bledsoe easily fits into this category. After I bought the novel at the bookstore on a Friday I read a few pages and I was totally hooked. It sucked me in the same way as Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of Wind did. In fact, I would consider The Sword-Edged Blonde to be The Name of Wind lite. Both involve strong main character building while the story follows them through tragic events that occurred early their lives but have huge consequences to the current adventure. The Sword-Edged Blonde is only about half as long but the emotional attachment to the main character, Eddie LaCrosse, is just as strong.

Summary

Eddie LaCrosse is sword jockey whose office is located above a tavern in the small town of Neceda. When someone needs help with a problem they hire a sword jockey to investigate or solve their problem. The story begins with Eddie being hired to track down a daughter of minor royalty who has either been kidnapped or has voluntary fallen in with a band of border ruffians. This is like shootin’ ducks in the barrel for Eddie and he easily tracks down the girl but before that situation is able to resolve itself he is pulled away to a more urgent case.

It seems that King has made a request for Eddie’s special skills in solving a puzzling murder. Since the King is Eddie’s childhood friend and Eddie used to date his sister this is a personal request. Making it even more personal is that the Kings sister was brutally murdered while on Eddie’s watch. Eddie has not been back to kingdom since the horrible tragedy and is regretting digging up old memories.

At first blush the case is pretty open and shut. The Queen is accused of killing her infant son. The Queen was found locked inside the nursery, passed out with the remains of her child all over the floor. No one else remembers anybody going into the nursery that night. The King is steadfast that his wife is innocent but the facts are not in favor of the Queen. We also learn the Queen has a mysterious past. The king found her laying naked on a patch of ground while out hunting one day. The Queen has no memory of what happened prior to the day she was found.

When Eddie is allowed to interview the Queen he discovers that she reminds him of someone from his past. The pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place as to what really happened. The only is that Eddie’s thinks he knows what happened but the information is doled out slowly to the reader. At points, I thought I missed vital clues and had to re-read passages only to discover that wasn’t the case.

Review

I only had a couple of minor quibbles with the novel. The first was use of real world measurements and terminology. For example the characters are trying to track the Queen’s movements on the night of the incident and they find out that it took the Queen from 10:00 to 10:30 to walk the nursery. The Queen was left alone in the nursery from 10:30 to 11:30. Using standard time was somewhat strange and kinda took me out of the story.

The other quibble is that the first half of the novel was somewhat slow and alittle paint by the numbers. What I mean is that basically Eddie goes from point A to point B and uncovers a clue, then moves onto point C. But when you reach the half way point the novel is as engaging as any novel I have read in long time. This when we start to really explore Eddie’s past and how it relates to the case he is working on.

Alex Bledsoe is attempting to combine mystery noir and fantasy in his novel. At first this sounded alittle hokey to me and was probably the main reason I held off reading it. This was my loss as the story is very powerful as the revelations continue crash wave upon wave until all is revealed at the end. Also, Mr. Bledsoe is able to move beyond the confines of the real world and interject fantasy elements into the story to keep the reader guessing.

Last Word

This novel was a very delightful surprise and one I highly recommend. If Mr. Bledsoe can continue at this high level in the future volumes then this will become a cherished series for years to come.

                                                           My Rating

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Book Review: Under the Dome

Author: Stephen King

In my world, a new Stephen King book release is tantamount to a new Star Wars or Dark Knight (by Christopher Nolan only) movie being released. In other words, my anticipation level is very high and it brings those excited feelings back from my younger days. I grew up reading every Stephen King novel that I could my hands on and loved everyone of them. Stephen King has rarely let me down.

Before the release of Under the Dome there was a lot of press that this was Mr. King’s most ambitious novel since The Stand. Most of the chatter had to do with its length, over a 1,000 pages, but also because it involved a somewhat end of the world scenario. Personally, I believe it was unfair to compare Under the Dome to The Stand, my all time favorite King novel, as they are very different novels. A closer comparison would his novella The Mist. In fact, many of the same themes raised in The Mist are very prevalent Under the Dome but on much grander scale.

Summary

Under the Dome starts very quickly as Mr. King wastes no time in getting into the action. Within 30 pages or so the dome drops causing traffic accidents and people getting killed. The dome consists of an invisible force field that perfectly follows the property lines of Chester Mill. Nothing and I mean nothing but small amounts of air can pass through the dome. Trust me, the Army tries everything to break it and nothing works. So the residents of Chester Mill are stuck inside the fishbowl with very limited resources. As so begins the mystery of why the dome suddenly appeared and who put it there.

Review

To me, Stephen King is the master of character development. No writer has come close in consistently creating characters that the reader is able identify with and form a relationship with, whether good or evil, in each and every novel that he has written. Essentially, they are the backbone to what makes his writing so great. Under the Dome is no exception. The character I most identified is Dale Barbara, Barbie, throughout the novel. Barbie is ex-army officer drifter who ends up in the town of Chester Mill, Maine (shocker, I know) as a short order cook in the Sweetbriar Rose restaurant. Through a misunderstanding, Barbie gets into a fight with several local punks and is forced to leave the small town. Unfortunately, Barbie only makes so far down the road before the dome comes down and he is stick inside. In typical King fashion Barbie is a somewhat of a tortured soul. He did some bad things while stationed in Iraq that still prays on his mind. Barbie represents the good and intelligent side of the story and the reader will really care what happens to Barbie and his cohorts.

The dark side of the novel is presented in the form of Jim Rennie, Sr. or Big Jim. Big Jim is a city counsel of Chester Mill and has controlled the small town through his politics and money. He was not necessarily an evil man before the dome came down but once it does, Big Jim seizes the opportunity to gain control through any means necessary. How he goes about slowly taking control is one of the most entertaining aspects of the story. For example, he begins to replace the veteran police force with people who are loyal to him only. But Big Jim also has many sins in his past that will come light and he will have pay for throughout this novel. Eventually, the novel settles down as a battle between Big Jim and Barbie for control of Chester Mill.

The novel also follows numerous other characters that are sometimes difficult to remember who they are. Luckily there is a list of characters and a short description as the beginning to help keep every one straight. But much of the focus is on Barbie and Big Jim.

The environment inside the dome quickly dissolves with pollution building up and people start to accept the situation that they are placed into. The story does not quite devolve into Lord of the Flies but is headed in that direction. This is one of my quibbles with the story as it takes over a very short time frame, only a couple of weeks. I was hoping it would have taken place over months or years to show how society would dissolve to the lowest form of humanity with person fighting for survival.

The other issue I had was with the ending. I did not buy the reason behind the dome and why it was put in place. It was really kinda silly and somewhat of a let down. Luckily the story does not thrive on the discovery of the reason behind the dome or this novel would have been a disappointment.

Last Word

This is easily Stephen King’s best novel in years and harkens back to some his better works. It is a page turner that will keep you absorbed from the first page until the shocking conclusion. While not all parts worked for me, I am glad to see that Stephen King goes back to his strengths and reestablish himself as a master storyteller.

                                                            My Rating

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Movie Review: Chronicle (2012)

Director: Josh Trank

Stars: Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan

Summary

Whilst attending a party, three high school friends gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery underground. Soon, though, they find their lives spinning out of control and their bond tested as they embrace their darker sides.

What I liked

- the 1st and 3rd acts are really well done. A different take on a “superhero” and “villain” origin story.

- the end fight scene is awesomely choreographed and thrilling. I would put it on par with some of today’s better superhero action sequences. The fight felt more personal as the audience had gotten to know and feel for the characters.

- the characters are kept grounded in reality, which is a nice change of pace

What I didn’t like

- the 2nd act drags. Too much time is given to the whole explore their new powers and becomes tiresome.

- could have done without the found footage method of filming.

Last Word

Chronicle is a movie that has a great build up and ends thrilling but the middle portion becomes a bit repetitive.

                                                            My Rating

First Look at Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series - Ep 2: 'The Lost...

House Forrester is in disarray. Their liege lord and his heir are dead, and Ironrath is occupied by Whitehill soldiers. The survival of the family depends upon those who are left. Placed at King’s Landing, the epicenter of intrigue, Mira Forrester must weigh her loyalty to Margaery Tyrell against the needs of her family, while choosing how to play the political games of Tyrion Lannister. One misstep could spell doom for Mira and her entire family. To the far north, Gared Tuttle finds that the wall and its crows hold little love for a squire from the Wolfswood, but finds kinship in the bastard son of Ned Stark. Gared must prove worthy of becoming a ranger in order to carry out the mission given him; one that is vital to the future of those he serves. To the east, Asher Forrester, the exiled son, is called back to Westeros to aid his family, but how can one man help when the Boltons rule the north with an iron fist? Meanwhile, an unexpected source of hope returns to the Forresters, but Ironrath is no place for the weak.

Sci-Fi classic book review: Rainbows End

Author: Vernor Vinge

Vernor Vinge has won five Hugo Awards, including one for each of his last three novels, A Fire Upon the Deep (1992), A Deepness in the Sky (1999), and Rainbow’s End (2006). Known for his rigorous hard-science approach to his science fiction, he became an iconic figure among cybernetic scientists with the publication in 1981 of his novella "True Names," which is considered a seminal, visionary work of Internet fiction. His many books also include Marooned in Realtime and The Peace War.

Born in Waukesha, Wisconsin and raised in Central Michigan, Vinge is the son of geographers. Fascinated by science and particularly computers from an early age, he has a Ph.D. in computer science, and taught mathematics and computer science at San Diego State University for thirty years. He has gained a great deal of attention both here and abroad for his theory of the coming machine intelligence Singularity.

Pedigree / Awards

2007 - Hugo Winner

2007 - Locus SF Winner

2007 - Campbell Nominated

Review

Disclosure: This is the Audio version of this novel.

Narrated by Eric Conger

Audio Length: 14 hours and 45 minutes

Vernor Vinge does not write many novels averaging one about every 7 years. But when he does they are usually a treat as they work on many levels. Rainbows End was no exception as it was awarded the 2007 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

I fell in love with this from the very beginning as it absolutely hit all the right notes. Mr. Vinge understands that a story about possible future technology is moderately interesting to most Sci-Fi readers. But he interjects a very human story and this is what sets this novel apart from most modern Sci-Fi novels. At no time does he allow the Sci-Fi elements supercede or overwhelm the story so that the technology becomes the story itself. This happens far too often in modern Sci-Fi.

One of the hardest issues with a near future story is how the author introduces the new technology advances into their story without it seeming contrived or an info dump. Mr. Vinge worked out a brilliant solution to this problem. His main character, Robert Gu, suffered from Alzheimer’s disease which obviously forced him to lose contact with people and the world him. Through some medical breakthroughs Robert is treated and mentally brought back to the point he was prior to the onset of the disease. This is a plausible explanation as Robert learns about the world operates with all the technology advances. The reader is brought along as we learn all about smart clothing, overlay contact lenses, projection avatars, communication through “silent messaging”, etc.

The personal story of Robert Gu is what makes this novel so great. Before he suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, Robert was a world renowned poet who treated everyone, including his family, like crap by belittling them and making it known how superior he was to all of them. After recovering from the disease he has lost ability to write poetry because most of his malice has dissipated also. Roberts begins to learn the harm that he caused his kids and grandkids and he is determined to make amends. This is where Mr. Vinge really shines because he understands human nature and that an old dog cannot new learn tricks. Robert will always have some nastiness that constitutes his character and makes him what he is. This was the source of his great poetry. So does Robert choose his family or does he choose his talent? I like the solution that Robert comes too in the end as it is very plausible and I wish more people would have a chance to go back right the wrongs in their lives.

I am barely scratching the surface of the other themes explored in this novel. Mr. Vinge heavily explores the repercussions of high security state that constantly has its population under surveillance. So, is the rapid advance of technology ultimately good for society? Is living in fear of the next big attack beneficial or harmful? Ultimately only time will tell but its good to see a story ask some pretty tough questions about where our society is heading.

Eric Conger does a decent job of narrating the story. My favorite expressions were his old man grunts. Half the time Robert would answer with a grunt instead of a yes or a no and had me cracking up every time I heard an “um”.

Last Word

Vernor Vinge masterfully blends a brilliant Sci-Fi back drop with an extraordinarily human story. Rainbows End’s Hugo Award for Best Novel is well deserved as it combines all the necessary elements for classic and timeless story. But more importantly this novel really affected me on personal level which does not happen very often and this about the best praise I can give it.

                                                            My Rating

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Hey Reb Heads, this week I am discussing Stars Wars Rebels episode 10, Vision of Hope. Hope you enjoy.