Life is good

Welcoming a new child always tends to complicate things. We are very grateful that he is here. It just means that there is a little less time for some things. Blogging has suffered immensely, even after I returned to work (I often write a little something when it's slow or on my breaks). I've gotten behind on laundry, but I hope to catch up on that tonight. All in all though life is very good.

It's amazing how busy things can be but yet life is still very good. Perhaps I continue to use that express because I feel like life has been good to me. There are many things that could have gone horribly wrong with Roo's delivery, or any number of other things we are experiencing, but yet we continue to be meeting our needs and progressing through this thing called life. Kanga is learning Chinese quite well and Tigger is going to start a local pre-school soon. Angel is recovering speedily and Roo really is a good kid.

I know that if I look critically at our situation there is plenty to worry about - hospital bills being at the top of the list. Working in education means that you, comparatively don't make much and while it has never caused contention in the home the situation it pleases my family in can be worrisome. I am very luckily that I married a wonderful woman who does a really good job at sorting our our finances and so we have done relatively well for ourselves, considering.

There is still plenty to do and plenty that can be said about the challenges we face, but despite it all life is very good.

Audible Book Review - The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories by R.A. Salvatore

It looks like I got lucky when I picked The Legend of Drizzt for free. It looks like it was a limited offer. It is still available on Audible, but now you have to pay for it. Here is a link to Audbile's page for the book. It is an anthology of stories focused around the world and life of Drizzt Do'Urden. I had heard of Drizzt when my sister read a trilogy featuring him, and have heard references to him in gaming comics, jokes, and half a dozen other sources. I was somewhat familiar with the character and since I enjoy good old fashion D&D style fantasy I picked it up without even though I didn't really know anything about the characters in it. I was quickly entertained and drawn into the Forgotten Realms world - one that I had played video games in for years. In addition the narration is done by "an all star cast" which includes Tom Felton, Al Yankovic, Sean Astin, Danny Pudi, Michael Chiklis, Felicia Day, Dan Harmon, David Duchovny, Greg Grunberg, Wil Wheaton, and Ice-T. I was very happy with the narrations, although I did have to chuckle as one of the narrators consistently put the "w" in "swords." Without knowing anything about the characters it seemed that the stories were a mix of origin tales, behind the scenes, and vignettists of the world. I was interested enough to pick up the trilogy about Drizzt, and will probably read more of R.A. Salvatore as I go. As this is an anthology I will list the titles of the stories, with a link to each as they can be purchases separately on Audible, with just the characters in it and a brief (one sentence) description.

Stories (in no particular order):
Guenhwyvar; The origins of Drizzt's faithful panther of the same name.
Bones and Stones: A story featuring Pwent about two warriors looking for their kin who were lost on the field.
Wickless in the Nether: Entreri and Jarlaxle, partners in crime, take a job that lands them in trouble and in the employ of two powerful masters.
That Curious Sword: Entreri and Jarlaxle, partners in crime, learn a bit more about Erntreri's powerful weapon.
Iruladoon: A group of fishermen find out that the forest of Iruladoon is a dangerous place to be.
The First Notch: Bruenor's first adventure as a young dwarf.
Dark Mirror: Drizzt finds himself possessing some of the same prejudices that he has faced himself.
To Legend He Goes: Wulfgar the barbarian is facing death, but there is still one more hunt to go on.
The Third Level: The origins of Artemis Entreri, one of Drizzt's greatest foes.
If Ever They Happened Upon My Lair: A full novella featuring knights, dragons, and the lich that brings the two together to explore their mortality. (A story I particularly enjoyed.)
Comrades at Odds: Drizzt and fellow drow elf Tos'un face their own personal struggles as they try to reconcile their separate past and future actions.

My personal favorites: The stories were diverse and enjoyable depspite me having never read anything from R.A. Salvatore before. The action parts were fun but there were also many very emotionally driven stories - such as Bones and Stones - which resonated with the other side of conflict that is not often explored. Villains were villainous and heroes were heroic. The Forgotten Realms stories are also known for giving readers a view of 'the other side' in that there are times when the POV follows the villains, bringing in an anti-hero vibe to them. There were a couple of those  in here and they were interesting.

Considerations: As stories that take place in classic D&D high fantasy, and based on the game as well, violence is common in most of the stories. With that said if these books had been published today they would have probably been listed as young adult. There is little gore or graphic descriptions (although the dragon store has a fair amount of dismemberment - which is to be expected), and almost no sensuality.

Overall, it was a lot of fun to listen to this collection. It's peaked an interest in me to explore the writings of R.A. Salvatore and the Forgotten Realms more. I'm glad that my library seems to have them stocked. The total length was about 10 and half hours.

Book Review - The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson

I first heard about The Emperor's Soul on the Writing Excuses podcast. Who would have expected Brandon Sanderson, who is known for his epic fantasy, to write a 150 page novella. This novella did go on to win a Hugo so there is no disputing that Sanderson can write a novella. My mother, who was publicly acknowledged as being a staple at successful author event, had the opportunity to talk with Brandon and said that he acknowledged The Emperor's Soul as one of the best things he's written. With Sanderson being known for writing a good many things I will agree that The Emperor's Soul is a fantastic story that is some of Sanderson's best work. And you can read it in an afternoon if you want. I was able to pick it up at my local library and read it while on paternity leave. At some point I will probably add it to my collection.

Plot: Shai is a forger, but not just in the sense that she creates replicas of art to pass off for the original. Her culture has the ability to place a mark - a stamp - on an object and rewrite its history. A table that has been neglected for years and is run down can be forged as if a servant had cleaned and polished it every week. The actual state of the object can be changed by forging its past. Shai has even down it with herself, giving herself the ability to become other versions of herself. However to forge an object or person their history must be utterly and completely known. It normally takes years to forge a soul mark for ones self. Shai has 100 days to make give the emperor a new soul. Left brain dead by an assassin's attack the emperor is out of commission. His ruling party has claimed that he is in morning for his wife, who was killed in the attack, but if he does not appear by the end of the 100 days the gig is up. Shai's job is to make sure that he does or the council will punish her for the crimes she was thrown in jail for. 100 days to know someone so completely as to recreate them. 100 days to give the emperor life while not getting killed by overcautious councilors. 100 days to prove she is the greatest forger of all time. And if she pulls it off, no one will ever know.

My personal favorites: Shai is an incredible character and he position is one of intrigue and suspense. The pacing of the book is really well done. It didn't ever bog down or feel rushed. I am gaining a better appreciation for shorter fiction and this is a great example of it. The process of forging was fascinating and while we don't know as much about it as we do other magic systems he's created it remains very interesting. I would enjoy seeing more of this culture (I understand the book is technically in Sanderson's Elantris world).

Considerations: There is no strong language, graphic violence, or sensuality of any kind in this book. The book may not be accessible for middle grade audiences, but young adult shouldn't have problems with it.

I really liked this story and enjoyed the short format as well. For anybody looking to get a taste of Sanderson's work who doesn't want to dive into Warbreaker or The Way of Kings this is the story for you. The total length was 150 pages.

Audible Book Review - Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles book 1 by Kevin Hearne

This is another book that at on my wishlist waiting for the right moment. I was hesitant to pick it up because my Audible credits about worth about $11 while the book cost $10. I didn't want to get shorted on my credit so it sat there until I got an E-mail saying it was on sale for $4. That I could do, picking it up as a late birthday gift. My father had recommended it to me and I had heard good things from a friend as well. It was everything I had anticipated and even a little bit more. Here is a link to the Audible page for the book. There was action, excitement, humor, and honor. There were also witches, vampires, werewolves, angry gods, demons, and Death himself. And an Irish wolf hound named Oberon that stole the show. And I have no complaints. It was narrated by Luke Daniels who did a masterful job - particularly with Oberon who was perfect - and I finished it in quite short order.

Plot: Tempe, Arizona is the perfect place to hide from the supernatural if you have an angry Celtic love God after you. It's even a great place to hide if you have any thing supernatural after you. Maybe that's why Atticus O'Sullivan has so many supernatural acquaintances. His lawyers are werewolves (except for the vampire partner who works the night shift), some of his clients are witches, and he gets to see the local God, Coyote, every once in a while. Atticus is a druid who draws magical power from the earth and he has been on the move from before the start of Christianity. It's only been through clever tricks, determination, and magic that took him 750 years to perfect that he's survived. But survive he has. At the moment he is surviving by running an occult book shop and alchemists shop not far from the local college. When he gets attacked by servants of Aengus Og, the angered love God mentioned above, Atticus knows he has to make a choice: fight or flight.

My personal favorites: The characters in this story were fantastic. Oberon was a delight. I loved the comic relief he gave and his personality. Atticus' character was great as well. Quite rounded and believable. I didn't have a problem with any of the other characters and enjoyed them quite a bit. The action and plot moved in a good way. I'm liking the world that Hearne is setting up and I'm looking forward to getting the other books in time.

Considerations: These books feel and have a similar vibe as the Dresden files. There is a little grit, but nothing gratuitous. There is a scene where sex is explicit, but it cuts prior to anything happening and then picks up after the fact. With that said there is sensuality, but again nothing graphic. The violence is akin to Monster Hunter and Dresden and while I did not have a problem with it, some might. There is also brief strong language.

I really enjoyed Hounded and for anybody who likes the action side of urban fantasy I would recommend it as very entertaining. We'll see how the rest of the series goes and I'm looking forward to it. It's total length was just over 8 hours.

Book Review - The Royal Ranger, Ranger's Apprentice book 12, by John Flanagan

The Rangers Apprentice books are some of the best middle grade and young adult books out there. Angel and I got into them about four years ago when I bought the first one on a whim. My younger siblings had read them when they first came out and so I had seen them lying around the house for years but for whatever reason didn't ever pick them up. As we finished the first one we found ourselves going out of our way to buy the next one and then the next and the next and the next..... We currently own all but 11 and 12, but I'm sure that those will also join their companion volumes

in time. One of the things that I like about the series is that it is not one story made of 12 books, but rather 12 books covering four or five stories with the same group of characters. Series like The Wheel of Time are hard to start because the story just doesn't seem to end (not that it can be wonderful as The Stormlight Archives has demonstrated - just hard to start). But The Rangers Apprentice allows the reader to enjoy the characters and the world without loosing track of where they are in the story that is being told. The Royal Ranger in particular could be read as a stand alone book with little difficulty and then if the reader wanted more information about the characters they could go back and read the other stories. There were references to past events and occurrences in the world that were fun, but not confusing. I particularly liked the one about Halt throwing nobles into their own moats. In any even, the story was as good as I expected it to be and I enjoyed it a lot. I picked it up from the library in the after noon and had it finished in less than 12 hours.

Plot: Will Treaty is suffering. With the lose of his wife he has been consumed with a desire to hunt down those responsible and make them pay. As a King's ranger he has some authority to do this, but that is not what the Ranger Corps needs him to do. He is on the brink of being dismissed from the corps, a prospect that would destroy him and which his friends and loved ones don't want to see him subject to. At the same time Will friends, Horace and Cassandra, are having problems with their spirited daughter, Maddie. They've tried everything to try to impress on her the difficulties she is causing for herself and them, but nothing works. As both Maddie's and Will's friends talk about the challenges facing their loved ones a solution presents itself - apprentice Maddie to Will. Perhaps not for the full four years that it takes to become a Ranger, but at least until she's earned the right to wear the bronze oakleaf. Will needs a distraction and Maddie needs direction. It seems perfect. But how will Will and Maddie take the suggestions?

My personal favorites: This cast of characters is one of my favorites. Not to mention the whole idea of the King's Rangers. Think of the Texas Rangers but on a national level in the middle ages and you've got it. John Flanagan actually acknowledged that the Texas Rangers were to basis for the ones in his book. The action was good and the humor was delightful. It was fun to watch Will become the mentor and to watch Maddie as she experienced the same training that we see Will go through in the first book. Even though it is the same training Maddie's attitude is much different from Will's The book is well written and while it feels similar to the others it stands alone.

Considerations: I'll be honest there were a couple of scenes that kind of freaked me out, but that was due to good writing. The villains are truly villainous and use scare tactics that were quite convincing. There is no language to speak of and no sexual material - in short, it is a very well written book appropriate for middle grade and young adult readers. There is a reason that we own most almost all of the books that John Flanagan has written.

I would heartily recommend this book to anyone and I felt that it was a wonderful conclusion to the series. It provides us with a final look at some favored characters and gives us one last ride with them as they face those challenges that come up as we live life. The total length just over 450 pages.

Audible Book Review - Hard Magic by Larry Corriea

Audible had a sale not long ago and I got an E-mail saying that some of the items on my wish list were part of the sale. Hard Magic is the first book in the Grimnoir Chronicles, one of my favorite trilogies written by one of my favorite authors. I've owned a physical copy for years. I had never planned on using a credit on it, but when it was available for $4... It was too tempting. Interestingly enough, Hard Magic is the current after program book that the Bean Free Radio Hour podcast is featuring. Every week after they have their interview with their guest they play a fifteen or twenty minute section of the complete, unabridged audio book. As of this writing they are on part 20 something out of a whole lot more, but it was this podcast that convinced me that I really wanted to own the audio book. The narration is done by Bronson Pinchot who does a wonderful, incredible job with it. I like his narrations as his voice talent is almost like a full cast reading the material. Listening to him in 15 minute sections was wonderful enough that I wanted to be able to enjoy one of my favorite stories read by an amazing narrator any time I wanted. Here is a link to Audible's page for the book. I previously reviewed Warbound, the conclusion of the trilogy, when it came out last year. I figured that even though I had already read this book, the fact that I now own two copies of it in different formats was enough to warrant a review here.

Plot: In the 1850s people from all walks of life started to exhibit magical powers. These powers varied by their intensity but fell into easily defined limits. Brutes - who could magnify their strength, Torches and Cracklers - who could control fire and lightning, Gravity Spikers - who could manipulate gravity, and many more with  powers over mind, body, and spirits began to change the history of the world. Jake Sullivan is a Great War veteran war hero, former convict, and an Active Gravity Spiker. Working as a private investigator in Detroit he finds himself drafted by the Bureau of Investigation to help arrest a dangerous Brute who Jake just happen to know. However, during the arrest Jake finds himself against an entire gang of Actives - and not just actives, but the best, most powerful actives he's ever heard of. When they get way Sullivan can't give up the chase. In the process however, Jake learns that the there is still a war going on and that the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Meanwhile, Sally Faye Vierra is enjoying working on her adopted grandfather's dairy farm. Purchased from her Dust Bowl displaced family for $10 by the Portuguese man, Faye has grown up learning about hard work and teleportation, an ability she shares with "Traveler Joe." She loves life and doesn't see anything in the future but the same when Her grandfather is murdered for a strange device that she's never seen before. With Traveler Joe's last request for her to seek out a former friend she leaves the destroyed farm and ends us discovering that her grandfather belonged to something a lot bigger than anything she could have imagined. And it turns out that that device her murder took could spell the end of the world.

My personal favorites: Some may hear of Larry Corriea's books being described as "action" and assume that action is all they contain. While there is no shortage of action in the Grimnoir Chronicles Corriea demonstrates that he is capable of so much more than awesome action. One thing that I like about his action is that it translates very, very well non-printed media. As for the characters, their motivations are firm, their abilities and limitations are clear and their personalities are distinct. I particularly like the diversity to the cast. You have Jake, who might be described as the all American hero fighting along side Faye, an unpredictable hick, John Browning, the Mormon gun maker, Jane, the Eastern European Healer, and Heinrich Koenig, a former resident of Berlin who survived the post war catastrophe that got it renamed Dead City. The villains are also well done. The Chairman, the Iron Guard, and Mr. Madi are all more than just megalomaniacs looking for world domination. The story is complex with twists and turns that never take it off the rails, but lets you come along on the ride.

Considerations: It is important to note that there is strong language and some graphic descriptions of violence in this book. Nothing is gratuitous, and it is not as bad as the Monster Hunter books, but it is there. It is a solid action story so while it does have great story and suspense some may feel overwhelmed by the action scenes. My older sister confessed to skipping many of Corriea's action scenes, but I think that was more out of a sense of "Okay, this Larry getting his quick fix and then the story will continue." There are no sexual scenes and only a small handful of scenes with implied sensuality.

I'm already planning on picking up the next two books of the Grimnoir Chronicles at some point because I enjoyed the audio version of Hard Magic so much. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll go on sale soon. The total length was one minute under 16 hours.

Audible Book Review - The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter

My sister read this book first and posted a review that you can read here. As a history student and someone fascinated with World War II history I had a quick interest in this book. I had seen some trailer or other for a movie version of the story, but it was EA's review that tipped me. I had decided that I needed another nonfiction book and figured that I would go with The Monuments Men. The history is a hard one to tell because even though the author stuck with just the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) operations that occurred after D-day to the end of the war the story was huge. Was was surprising was how few were actually involved in this work. It really is the story of the individual men of the MFAA. Here is a link to the Audible page for the book. It was narrated by Jeremy Davidson, and I liked his interpretation of the characters.

Plot: During WWII while several million soldiers were concerned with killing the enemy and returning home the museum directors, curators, and art historians realized that if nothing was done, that the cultural icons of centuries would become the victim of the raging armies. With the fall of France in 1940 the American Art establishment started to considered what steps should be taken to preserve the cultural heritage of the world. It would be another four years before the first soldier bearing the designation of Monuments Man would land with the invading allies and strive to keep the modern war machine from destroying the culture of the people they were fighting for. Once boots were on the ground the men of the MFAA learned of the organized looting that the Nazi higher ups were involved in. With men like the Robert Posey, Walker Hancock, and Jams Rorimer, led by the unstoppable George Stout the Nazis couldn't hide anything. With determination, perseverance, and a whole lot of luck they recovered thousands of pieces of art worth million (and possibly billions) of dollars covering centuries of time from all over Europe. What's amazing is that they did it with no formal support from the army. They often had to hitchhike from one location to another. Or when the treasures were discovered they would have limited resources to pack and ship the works out of the mines and caves that many were stored in. By the end of the war they had helped restore the heritage of Europe, protecting many of the art that is currently in the leading museums around the world. Yet after the war their work in Europe fell into obscurity. The men themselves went on to grand things in the art world, but not many know what they did to protect that which they felt was most important.

My personal favorites: The history is an unknown one, and it should be known. The accomplishments of this very small group of men and women is monumental in what it accomplished. I enjoyed the personal touches that the author provided. It was like getting to know these non-traditional soldiers. They were older men with families, wives, children, and careers and despite this they worked themselves almost to death for that which they knew was worth preserving. The background on the fighting was useful information to put the MFAA's  work in context. This book works very well with Citizen Soldier in that it covers much of the same time period. In fact, Edsel uses Ambrose as a reference at one point. This book did a good job at showing the importance of the MFAA's work and the need for it to continue as conflicts spread across the world.

Considerations: There is little to no language in this book, and all of it is in the form of quotes from the men and women involved in the work. The only other thing I would mention is that there were a fair number of people involved in the MFAA's work and so keeping names straight can be a little trying. Also, because of the nature of their work the narrative jumps around from one person to another and keeping everything straight may take a little effort.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone who enjoys not just the history of WWII but also those that what to see more of the human side to war. Wars are destructive by nature, but this group of soldiers were on the field to preserve, find, and restore that which was lost. The total length was a little over 14 hours.

Baby Roo, the full story

It happened. After posting initially on Facebook I figure I better give the whole run down here (with pictures). On Sept 4 / 2014 at 5:24 am Roo was born. He weighed 8 pounbds 3 (actually he was 2.9) ounces and was 21 inches long.

With Roo, Angel was so high risk for preterm labor that we expected him to come every day. So it was weird to have go actually have him go to 39 weeks. Last week the doctor decided that they could break Angel's water so an appointment was made for Sept 3rd at 8:00 pm. Many people asked why schedule it for the evening and we don't know. Maybe it was so the hospital wouldn't be so busy, but that didn't work. In short, we don't know why it was scheduled for that time. My mom came up to watch the kids while we went into the hospital.

Angel had actually been having regular, strong contractions starting at 5:00 pm that day, almost as if her body had just been waiting for an appointment. We got her all checked in at the hospital and set up in a birthing room. Since she was contracting they didn't break her water right away, but did so at about 11:00. By midnight she has having very painful contractions and she got her lovely epidural. The medicine took well and she was able to get some relief. I snatched a few hours of sleep at that point, which was nice. but woke up at about 3:00 as Angel was having some discomfort. We got her adjusted and at 4:00 the nurses said she was ready to start pushing.

Roo was quite obstinate. He kept slipping back up after she would push him down. The doctor came in at about 4:40 and said that he had dreamed that this kid would be 9 pounds 2 ounces. We hoped he was wrong and enjoyed his good humor for the rest of the delivery. We felt bad for our nurse, Taylor. She went off shift at 5:00 and had been so wonderful during the whole process but didn't get to see Roo. When he did come he came quickly. As he crowned the doctor commented about how big and hairy his head was. They were a little worried about the state of his amniotic fluid and that he might have breathed some in, but he was fine. I remember Kanga's birth and that she fussed and cried a bit as they were cleaning her off but Roo was quite and stoic through the whole process. He gasped a little after they suctioned him out, but other than that he just wiggled and looked around. His eyes were open for most of the time and he would move around, but didn't make any noise. That sounds like it should be worrying but it wasn't.

The staff here at the hospital have been great and we should be able to go home today. Roo's delivery and first day couldn't have gone better. He's passed his tests and is feeding well. He is a quite boy who has slept quite a bit, but done well. Angel even had to wake him up for his first shift of evening feedings. Kanga and Tigger came to visit and both approve of their new brother. It's been a wonderful experience here and we are looking forward to getting him home.

Reflections on an impending birth

Even before Angel and I found out we were going to have a third child a friend mentioned that, "it gets a little harder when your kids outnumber you." Since we've learned about Roo's arrival it we've thought a lot about what it will be like with three kids.

The first thing that came to mind is that we will have to move at some point because our house isn't big enough for three kids. We might have been able to get by with two, but when they get to be pre-teens and teens I'm sure it will start to feel very cramped. This is a big bummer because: 1 - I hate moving, and 2 - we really love our house and yard. Just yesterday we put up 9.5 pints of peach jam from our tree and still have peaches for cobbler and freezing. We're probably going to stay in Brigham City and would love to stay in our neighborhood. But luckily that's a ways down the road.

The second thought was that it would mean diapers, night feedings, potty training and reliving the chores and excitements of an infant again. I really like little kids and don't mind the responsibilities that come with them. I remember when Kanga was an infant having to cope with those same things and gagging at times as I changed her diaper and cleaned up her messes. Angel laughs at me (usually after the fact) but I have gotten pretty calloused about it over the years. By the time Tigger came on the scene I had gotten poop on myself several times and that seems to have desensitized me to a lot (not all, but a lot) of it. Although I do hope that Roo potty trains faster than Tigger.

Third was a reflection on the gap between our children. Kanga and Tigger are just over two years apart (27 months) and Tigger and Roo will be over four years apart (about 51 months). This is not a huge gap as there is a seven year gap between the youngest and the next oldest of my own siblings. It still makes us think about if Roo and Tigger will get a long and be good friends even though they won't ever attend school together. My own brother an I have a six year gap and while we get a long great now there were times he was the annoying younger brother and I was the domineering older brother. That is liable to happen at any age, but I know that I, growing up, I had a better relationship with my two sisters (one two years older and the other two years younger) then I did with my younger brother (6 years). One very positive thing about the four year gap is that if our boys both serve religious missions it is unlikely that they will both be out at the same time. Not that this couldn't happen with Kanga and Tigger though.

Fourth was how blessed we are. While we were happy with our two children Angel always felt that there would be more. However, her family history is not good when it comes to childbirth. Her mother experienced massive difficulties with her third pregnancy and Angel was worried enough that she was on a long time birth control when she got pregnant. Figuring that natural childbirth was too dangerous we looked into adoption through foster care and other agencies and were either rejected or found it far too expensive. Ultimately, we looked at our situation and said, "Lord, we have looked at everything we can think of and found ourselves wanting. If we are to have another child you will need to provide the way." It wasn't that much later when we learned of Angel's pregnancy. It came right after we had sold our house in Price and been able to pay off some debt. Angel was scheduled for some heart tests, but those had to be put on hold, but her condition hasn't been a factor. She has remained physically fit and healthy during the whole time and, as far as we can tell, Roo has always been a very active and healthy child. All in all, the process could have been a lot worse and really couldn't have been much better than what it has been.

I'll let you know how it goes.