Audible Book Review - Swords of Exodus by Larry Correia and Mike Kupari

I was anxious to get to Words of Radiance to start this one. Don't get me wrong, I loved Words of Radiance. I was just looking forward to a faster paced book. And like before Correia and Kupari delivered. I was impressed with the direction this book went and with the change in tone. Where the first book felt like a military thriller this one had more a more subtle vibe with the usual pedal-to-the-metal action. There seemed to be a deeper drama in this one. I did like how the drama was well scaled. The authors didn't feel the need to create romantic drama between two of the characters. Yes, they disagreed. Yes, they are romantically involved. But their relationship wasn't in danger. They just worked out the problems. It was refreshing. Here's a link to the Audible page for the book. It was again beautifully narrated by Bronson Pinchot who put his considerable talent into creating unique voices for every character (and even those characters' characters). Again, I find my recommendation of this book tainted by a warning on the language. I will say that there seemed to be less language in it than the first (perhaps because Taylor isn't in this book) and, like the first, it was used appropriately - not just thrown out to make an impression. It was a very intense book in different ways than the first and I can't wait for the third to come out.

Plot: Michael Valentine is in trouble. More specifically he is in jail. A top secret government jail that specializes in getting information out of people in the most unusual ways. Water-boarding would be a treat compared to what he has to endure. But there are people that owe him their lives and other people who think that he's the key to understanding Majestic's infamous Code Blue. In order to get him out they go to the best - Lorenzo. Brought out of retirement to save a man that has shot him (three times) is not Lorenzo's idea of a good time. However, one of the people that want Valentine free is Lorenzo's own brother, Bob, who has gone missing. The other group that want's Valentine, Exodus, knows that Lorenzo will do anything for family and so makes a deal with him - Help them get Valentine and they will help him get Bob. Come to find out, Bob was last seen in the den of the biggest, baddest, scariest criminal in the world. The man who took control of Big Eddie's holdings and who is able to keep order there with the help of only three bodyguards. And Exodus whats this man dead. Lorenzo and Valentine, again unlikely and unwilling allies, find themselves faced with slave armies, old enemies, and a man who is described simply as "the devil himself." Exodus, Valentine, and Lorenzo cannot emerge from this conflict unscathed.

My personal favorites: The characters I loved were back. Lorenzo and Valentine are both intriguing, competent, engaging, complex characters. We learn a bit more of their backgrounds and motivations. Ling and Jill are also engaging, complex characters. The villains were well done, terrifying, and logical. I loved a lot of the side characters too and felt for them what hardship occurred. I particularly liked the reference to Mormon missionaries. As I mentioned earlier, the tension and drama felt a little different from the first book. This was well done. The books are similar, but didn't feel that way because my emotions where manipulated differently. I'm already considering listening to it again.

Considerations: Like the first book this one has blood, violence, and language. There didn't feel to be as much blood and language as the first, but they are still at levels that I can't give a blanket recommendation for the book. Also, the book does have a pretty significant cliffhanger - so be prepared to wait.

Swords of Exodus was a total rush, particularly coming off of the epic fantasy Words of Radiance. I loved the drama, the action, and humor. The plot was straight-forward without being simple. The action was incredible (like the first). And the characters just made it awesome. The total length was just under 17 and half hours.

Book Review - City of the Saints by D. J. Butler.

A couple of weeks ago my dad and I were talking books and City of the Saints by D.J. Butler was one that I borrowed from him. As a historian I have a curious relationship with alternate history, particularly when I'm moderately familiar with it. I loved Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan series and Corriea's Grimnoir Chronicles. But what Butler had was an alternate steam puck history of my own religious history. I loved the idea of it and I enjoyed the book too. What was also entertaining was that it pulled characters of literary history as well - Sam Clements (better known as Mark Twain) and Edgar Allen Poe - as well as a famous British explorer - Sir Richard Burton. Oh, and did I mention that John Moses Browning plays a pretty extensive role as an eight year old? The book was quite extensive on its deviations from history and historical technology. Air ships with giant ray guns and clockwork horses are all rather far fetched, but it made for a fun read.

Plot: The United States is headed towards civil war and both the US Army and the State of Virginia are desperate to get the best help possible. That means heading to their mutual western neighbor the Kingdom of Deseret lead by the incomparable Brigham Young. Armed with futuristic technology developed by Orson "Madman" Pratt, the Kingdom is in a position to lead any side it joins to victory.What's more, the Queen of England has heard of Pratt's airships and wants a piece of the pie. With only one way into the Kingdom Sam Clements of the US army, Edgar Allen Poe of the US army (of Virginia) and Dick Burton of Her Majesty's special service all end up traveling the same road, but with conflicting aims. What they don't know is the Kingdom has its own problems and its own agenda.

My personal favorites: I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in this book, both the historical and the fictional. Poe as a spy, Clements as a diplomat, and Porter Rockwell as himself (he couldn't have been anybody else). They each had their own assistants that were fun to follow as well. I also liked the direct references to historical Salt Lake City, and the culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints. While 95% of what was shown was "adjusted" (my word) there were great tidbits - such as the assignment to guard the pass into Salt Lake being rotated through the elder's quorums because the high priests were caught sleeping on the job. The action was well written and compelling without being tedious and I found myself caring for the characters quite a bit. I also found the language to be inventive and creative.

Considerations: This book takes plenty of liberties with some figures in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints that are well loved. Elisa R. Snow, Brigham Young, George Q. Cannon, and Heber C. Kimball all make apperances - Brigham Young and Elisa R. Snow having a lot of focus on them. People may not agree with their portrayals and find the book unpleasant. For me the alternate history was so far out there it wasn't hard to imagine them portrayed in a similar "way out there" fashion. There is plenty of action and some mildly gruesome violence, but graphic descriptions are kept to a minimum and were not over the top. I did mention that Porter Rockwell is an active player but unlike the before mentioned people the portrayal of him is pretty close to truth. Granted, the only thing that wouldn't be true is if he was a calm, mild-mannered, non-violent philanthropist.

City of the Saints was a fun adventure read. If you enjoy speculative fiction and want to experience a rather insane ride through the desert in the back of a steam truck what airships float above you - enjoy the ride. The novel weighed in at right around 450 pages.

Book Review - Middleworld by J and P Voelkel, Jaguar Stones book 1

After finishing 100 Cupboards I found this at the library on CD and grabbed. it. I wasn't expecting too much from the description, but thought I would give it a try. While it started with many of the young adult stereotypes the story and characters were more than enough to keep us listening. It wasn't long before I was enjoying myself. While there were plenty of things that I was able to predict it was a fun listen and we're disappointed that our library does have books two or three. One of the real enjoyable things about this book was the look into Mayan history and culture. On the young end of young adult, Middleworld is a great introduction into the adventure genre. Adventure mixed with some urban fantasy, but defiantly adventure. I'll be keeping my eyes out for books two and three. Audible cares this title as well. The narrator is Scott Brick and he does a great job.

Plot: Max Murphy is your typical 14 year old. He enjoys video games, things his archaeologist parents are boring, and feels incredibly crushed when they leave for a dig in San Savior without him. His anger at being left behind is replaced by trepidation when he finds himself on a plane and then a bus, following after his parents. He arrives in San Savior only to find that his parents are missing and in a world unlike any he could have imagined. It isn't long before Max's curiosity get him into trouble that he can't get out of. Only with the help of Lola, a modern Mayan with two pet howler monkeys can Max escape the horrors of the ancient Mayan, modern conquistadors, and the ever dangerous jungle.

My personal favorites: Max and Lola were really fun characters. Max acted his age and was a character that I could relate to. There were plenty of times that I wanted to hit him, but they didn't dwell on it too much and the story was able to move on. The action was well written, suspenseful but with good pacing. Like I mentioned earlier, the book is based on Mayan culture and I liked the exposure to a previously lesser known group.

Considerations: Mayans did have blood sacrifices and the book does discuss them. For the record, there are no fatal sacrifices preformed either on humans or animals. The book does have peril, but it is age appropriate and handled well. While there is lots of action there is very little death. All in all I don't have any reservations recommending this book to young readers.

I don't know when I will pick up the next books. They are certainly on the list and I look forward to reading them. The total length was just over 11 hours.

Book Review - Warbound by Larry Corriea

I got halfway through War of the Twins and then received a belated birthday gift. Or rather received a book that I had pre-ordered for my birthday. Larry Corriea is a genius when it comes to action, adventure, and the supernatural. His Monster Hunter series are my guilty pleasure books - a para-military organization that hunts supernatural monsters. They are the bloodiest, most profanity laced books I've ever read (which isn't saying a whole lot) and they are a total thrill ride to read. His Grimnoir Chronicles are an alternate history urban fantasy and, to me anyway, are even better than the action and excitement of Monster Hunter. The first two books in the trilogy are Hard Magic and Spellbound. The latest and last book is Warbound. Set in 1933 the world is very different. In 1850 people all over the planet started to display "magical" powers. As a result of super-science, magical abilities, and just plain old change the world is very different. The book was not a dissapointment and now holds my personal best for finishing a Corriea book, 24 hours from first page to the end. That's not 24 hours of reading, just totals hours between when I started and finished. My previous record was 28 hours. Edit: A year after this was first posted, I bought the Audible version. It is narrated by Bronson Pinchot who does an incredible job and is just over 17 hours.

Plot: In the first two books Jake Sullivan (a gravity spiker - someone who can increase or decrease the pull of gravity) has learned that the entity that gave people powers is a creature that has been pursued across the universe by a predator which feeds on the worlds "the Power" comes to reside in. He has recruit the help of some South Pacific pirates with an ax to grind against, fellow knights of the Grimnoir Society (a secret organization that uses magic to protect others), and a handful of outcasts including the most brilliant mind on the planet, a sociopath of a psychiatrist, and a dishonored samuri who has promised to kill him went they're done saving the world. They aren't sure where to look, but as they gain information the truth is far worse than they expected. At the same time, Faye, a traveler (person who can teleport) has learned that she may be the single most powerful person on the planet and that she may be destined to destroy it. As Jake and his motley crew look for predator Faye has to look for her own answers and what they both find out could either mean the end of the world or the power to save it.

My personal favorites: Corriea does not fail to excite and Warbound is no exception. Our heroes have new toys, new foes, and a iron hard resolve. The twists were exciting and many were unexpected but blended in well. The characters of Toru, Jake, and Faye were built upon even more. The side characters of Lance, Heimrick, and Lady Origami were well done too. The end battle was very well done with suspense, action, drama, and butt-kicking coolness. I also enjoyed the resolution and epilogue. I would love to read more in this world, but am very happy with the conclusion of this story. I think my favorite aspect to these books is how Corriea treats magic, how his characters figure things out, and how they use the new discoveries to do even cooler things. As always, the book had me at the edge of my seat for the whole ride.

Considerations: Like I mentioned earlier, Corriea is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. Even though his other series has more profanity and gore the Grimnoir is not without it's share. I can say that the profanity was less than Red Storm Rising and the descriptions of gore are never gratuitously done. But I mention it because it's there. There is also what may be called brief sensuality, consisting of one scene with no graphic descriptions.

I recommend this trilogy to anyone looking to try Corriea's work. The books are well written, engaging, and just fun to read. He sets up the world nicely and presents some really wonderful alternate history views. If you know your history you'll get a kick out of the ways that Corriea has flipped it around to fit his needs, but still left it intact to provide a really cool comparison. The total lenge was 417 pages.

Audible Book Review - The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs

I wasn't planning on getting this any time soon. This wasn't because I didn't like the first book, but rather because I recently finished three books that were all start of their respective trilogies (see last three book reviews). However, there were a number of factors that influenced me to get The Return of Tarzan from Edgar Rice Burroughs. First, two of the trilogies I got from the library and I didn't want to own the audio versions of the later books without having the first book. Second, in regards to the series I listened to Angel already bought the second book (and today the third) so I didn't have to. Third, as I won't make it to the library until Saturday, I wanted to start something right away, but needed to put some space between the last book and the 2nd in the trilogy. Fourth, a good friend recommended that I listen to book two of Tarzan as it wraps up Tarzan's undecided love story with Jane. So, all in all, I got The Return of Tarzan and now am ready to dive back into the other trilogies. Here is the link to the Audible's page for the book. It was narrated by Robert Whitefield and was a much better production then my copy of the first Tarzan.

Plot: Tarzan has left America and is intent on returning first to Paris and then, ultimately to his jungle Africa. While on the boat however, he interferes in the affairs of a man who will come to plague Tarzan. Rokoff, a Russian spy stationed in Paris, is as devious and sinister as Tarzan is noble. In Paris, Tarzan meets and becomes friends with others that help him secure his first job, a special agent for the Ministry of War. His mission takes him to North Africa to ferret out a spy. Next he is sent to Cape Town, but is caught by surprise and is tossed overboard, only to wind up at his original cabin, built by his own father. In a search for weapons to arm himself (there were none left at the cabin and he had none on him when he was thrown overboard), he meets and befriends a wild tribe, the Waziri. Helping to save the village from slavers and cannibals endears him to them and they elect him their king. While with the Waziri Tarzan hears of a land of gold to the south and leads a group of warriors there to try and claim some. Tarzan is captured by the misshapen inhabitants, but is able to escape and with the warriors returns laden with gold ingots. At this same time, Jane Porter, the only woman Tarzan has ever loved is on a cruse around Africa with her fiance and some friends when they are shipwrecked not far from where they originally met Tarzan. But Rokoff is among them and how will they survive without Jane's "Jungle God" to watch over them?  From the journey across the Atlantic to Paris, to North Africa, and ultimately back to his cabin by the sea Tarzan meets this villain and strives to foil his plots both as they threaten others and Tarzan himself.

My personal favorites: This book moved faster than the first Tarzan. There was lots of action and Tarzan was either kicking trash or facing dangerous peril. I was surprised on the occasions that Tarzan made mistakes or was caught off guard. It made him a little more human. Although, like most good adventure stories he rallied and came back stronger for it. I found it entertaining how Burroughs would phrase many of Tarzan's inner thoughts as "Tarzan soliloquized." Tarzan working as a special agent for the war department (in essence a spy) made sense and was a fun twist on his story. The character of Rokoff was suitably despicable and made a good adversary for Tarzan, balancing strength for cunning. Not to say that Tarzan was stupid, but that Rokoff was good at coming at him in ways he didn't expect. It was also interesting to read of Tarzan's comparisons between "civilized man" and the savage jungle.

Consideration: Like the first, this book has some early 20th century opinions and some may find offense with comments made about women or people of color. I didn't think the Burroughs was unfair to women, as a whole, but there were times that a comment made would make me shake my head. Tarzan is just as superhuman as ever and "has the devil's own luck." The whole idea that a man was thrown overboard on one day should land on a beach that two months later should house shipwrecked mariners was rather far fetched, as were some of the things that assisted Tarzan. But again, these troupes are common in the adventure genre and should be taken with a grain of salt.

All in all, I enjoyed the book immensely and found it hard to put down. There is a lot that happens over the course of the book and it had both the surprising and the inevitable. It was a very good distraction. The totol length was nine hours.

Book Review - King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard

I've started taking the bus to work which gives me time to actually sit down and read and not just listen. I figured that I would review those books as well as my Audible.com books. I picked up King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard (later Sir Haggard) from the library. Considered a classic work of literature and the start of the adventure genre I first heard about it after watching League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Allan Quartermain was played by Sean Connery, but I must say that after reading the book, I don't picture Quartermain as an old, bearded James Bond. I did enjoy the book and the style it was written in.

Plot: Allan Quartermain is an English game hunter, trader, and general outdoors-man who makes his life out in the bush and between the cities. While traveling, he is approached by two Englishmen, Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good (ret.), to help find Sir Henry's brother, lost while attempting to find the fabled diamond mines of King Solomon. Quartermain has not only heard of the mines but knew a man who tried to find them. He is hesitant to lead the men, fearing that as none have returned that his death will impact his son's ability to study medicine in England. Sir Henry provides means to placate Quartermain's fears and they set off. Over the course of their adventure they face angry elephants, deserts, frozen peaks and caves, savage native kings, cruel witches, treachery, forbidden love, and outright war. In the end the escape and are able to accomplish their respective goals to varying degrees. The ending was quite satisfactory and the read was enjoyable.

Personal Favorites: I enjoyed the action and the situations the characters found themselves in. While not the most surprising read, there were elements of suspense that kept me interested. The action was uncomplicated but enjoyable and the pacing wasn't bad. The book is framed as a memoir with Quartermain narrating it so he'll skip over bits that he thinks are boring, enabling the story to flow rather well. I liked the diverse characters from the warrior Sir Henry, to the properly attired Good, to stalwart and clever Quartermain. As I mentioned, Quartermain is very different then how he is portrayed in League of Extaordinary Gentlemen, but he is still an engaging and very human character. He has realistic fears, desires, considerations, and sensibilities. He is not perfect, but he is capable and likable. Call me a delinquent but one of my favorite scenes is when the three Englishman "cast a spell" before a tribe of natives (who don't speak English) and while Sir Henry and Quartermain quickly run out of nonsense words Good, being a seaman, is able to sustain his cursing and swearing for a long time "with very little repetition."

Considerations: It is an older book and so older sensibilities and opinions are expressed. Some may find their relationship, opinion, and treatment of the natives as undesirable, although they are considerate to all they meet and are not harsh to others. It is expressed that whites and blacks cannot intermarry and are quite separate from each other, but beyond this their relations seem equal in many respects. Our heroes are hunters and are not opposed to killing elephants for the ivory and other things. While the book was not particularly graphic, it did have violent parts. It is not a complex story so if you're looking for something really cerebral I wouldn't recommend it. I saw all of these considerations as minor inconveniences to the story and none of them were of grievous offense. I mention them simply because some may be sensitive to such things.

Overall I enjoy the book very much and am glad to have read it. It's overall length was a little under 300 pages.

Audible Book Review - Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Yesterday I finished listening to Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the same man who wrote John Carter of Mars. Considered one of the first adventure novels it was published in 1912 Tarzan is a character known by many across the world and was even one of the inspirations for Jane Goodall. My mother (and I want to say older sister as well) read it a few years ago and mentioned how much they enjoyed it. I wasn't sure what to expect going into it but found myself enjoy it immensely. The only version of the Tarzan story that I was familiar with prior to reading the book was the Disney movie which came in in 1999 and enjoyed finding the small things Disney paid tribute to in their version. Although, I thought it was funny that the name of Tarzan's father in the book is the name of the villain in the film. Here is the link to Audible's page for the book. The book was narrated by David Ian Davies and while there were some technical oddities, it was enjoyable to listen to.

Plot: John Clayton (Lord Greystoke) and his pregnant wife, Lady Alice, are marooned on the west coast of Africa after a horrible mutiny. They live there for the space of a year and a half before are killed by the wild apes - Alice from mental trauma after an attack early on, and John at the hands of Kerchak the morning after Alice's death. Kala, an ape in Kerchak's tribe who had lost her own child to Kerchak's rage the same morning he kills John, see's the "young Lord Greystoke" and leaving her own dead infant in the cradle takes Tarzan for her own. Tarzan grows and as he gets older returns to the cabin build by his father, discovering his hunting knife and the books they had brought to teach him. Over the course of many years he teaches himself to read and write English, rope, maintain his knife, shoot a bow and arrow, and starts his path to becoming Lord of the Jungle, and his own tribe of apes. Eventually another party of people are marooned on the same beach as his parents. The party includes a young American, Jane Porter, her father, his secretary, her maid servant, and William Cecil Clayton, Tarzan's own cousin and the current heir to the Greystoke estate and wealth. Tarzan, seeing them as fellow "men" strives to help them survive all the while falling in love with Jane. When the party is rescued by a french navy ship things go wrong as they are attacked by cannibals and Tarzan leaves to rescue one of their officers, D'Arnot. As Tarzan cares for the man's wounds in the midst of the jungle the ship sets sail without them. After reading a note left by Jane, who by now feels something for him, Tarzan decides to search her out in America. But first he and D'Arnot has to get out of Africa. And to complicate things that blasted D'Arnot had to teach Tarzan to speak French instead of English.

My personal favorites: Growing up on stories of Mowgli of India, I loved watching another character become a superhuman, supernatural force. Able to communicate and overcome the wild. Tarzan is not a perfect person, is very human. He likes to play pranks on the local cannibal tribe. Throwing the bodies of those he ambushes into the midst of the village from the trees, or leaving the body to peer around the side of the gate when they flee the at his antics. The action was fun and the other characters entertaining. Particularly the interactions between Jane's father and his secretary. There's something inherently funny about an academic being so wrapped up in his thoughts that when his companion tells him that there is a lion approaching them he objects to the interruption and then complains about the use of use "slang" as the term "lion." The ending was satisfying, if unexpected, and the extent of the adventure was gratifying. One other thing I like was the language used to describe everything. It was full of terms that are uncommon today (anthropoid, rapidity, etc.) that reminded me of Kipling, and other writers of the time and added a flavor that was a lot of fun.

Considerations: Some might take some offense at the constant references to Tarzan's superior heredity, race, reasoning, etc. While the vast majority of this language is used to compare him to the apes it almost sounds like racial and royal supremacy. While I found it mildly over the top, because it was excessive in its expression (not necessarily it's frequency) it was also humorous. I mention it only because some have strong feelings about such language. Also, I mentioned the technical oddities in the recording - sometimes the volume would change slightly, or a voice would be different, or there was a hint of static. In many ways it reminded me of an old radio story. It added a fun air to it and was a decent recording, albeit not the best.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and am now torn about going right the the second book, or listening to the one I planned on prior to finishing. I could go either way and be completely satisfied. The total length was 7 and a half hours.