STARSHIP REPO – Patrick S. Tomlinson

Posted by Daniel on January 4, 2021
Posted in: HUMOR, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

What happens if you don’t make your payments on the starship you’re flying? It gets repossessed, of course. But what does it take to repossess a starship? Firstname Lastname is about to find out.


Firstname Lastname is a young woman (and yes, that’s really her legal name, due to a clerical error, but she goes by “First”) who is one of the very few humans left in the universe (a botched invasion of Earth left both the invaders and humanity nearly exterminated) and she’s wandering, looking for work wherever she can find it. Often that comes by way of jobs that aren’t exactly legal. She’s hijacking cars and selling them to a fence when she finds herself caught in a trap specifically to catch car hijackers. But this trap isn’t set by law enforcement, but by an individual pulling together a crew of skilled thieves to work as a legal (but just barely) team repossessing starships.

It takes some time for the team to adjust to, and trust, one another, but they find a common bond in wanting to truly be legit, and they respect each others’ talents. First may finally have a home and a family.

This is a fast read that doesn’t take itself too seriously. This is light space opera (think Guardians of the Galaxy without the cute raccoon and tree or Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) with a wafer-thin plot. In fact, the plot feels more like a set-up for future stories because we don’t get much here other than an introduction to the characters as individuals and as a team. We get a sense of what they are capable of but what they are doing never feels as important as how it affects their relationships.

I quite enjoyed author Patrick S. Tomlinson’s ‘Children of a Dead Earth’ series (is this a recurring theme in Tomlinson’s work … a dead earth?) and was really interested in reading this new series. I like Tomlinson’s writing style but we’ll need to see more plot and less forced humor for me to continue with future volumes.

Looking for a good book? Starship Repo by Patrick S. Tomlinson is a quick, light space opera that doesn’t offer much interesting story but does set up some fun characters that will hopefully be challenged in future books.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Starship Repo

author: Patrick S. Tomlinson

series: The Breach

publisher: Tor Books

ISBN: 1250302714

paperback, 336 pages

TO SLEEP IN A SEA OF STARS – Christopher Paolini

Posted by Daniel on January 1, 2021
Posted in: SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment
I suspect that there has been a great deal of anticipation for this book – the newest book by the much-acclaimed author of the Eragon series, Christopher Paolini.

Kira Navárez is on a routine survey mission when she discovers an alien artifact.  This might be an exciting discovery if it didn’t bring with it an invasion – not the first contact humanity was hoping for, but not unexpected, either. Now Kira is an expert on this aggressive race (often referred to as “Jellies” do to their resemblance to jellyfish) and will be meeting them on the front line of space battle.

That’s a pretty brief description for a book that’s nearly 900 pages long but I think it’s pretty appropriate and ultimately that’s the problem with the book.
This is a first contact novel, with the alien race being aggressive.  This is certainly not a new theme in science fiction, so we would be looking for some aspect that is original and exciting.  And I can’t find it.
There is a lot of exposition and repetition here which slows the read down.  While it contrasts nicely with the action scenes, the contrast is almost too severe – feast or famine – and the sluggish portions overwhelm the few active scenes.
Any time you go into an ‘epic’ novel (and a book well over 800 pages is definitely on the epic scale) you should expect to find characters that carry the story.  Paolini’s Eragon is a good example. But here we essentially have two characters – Kira and the Jellies.  Everyone else is so bland and uninteresting as to be just names on the page because someone other than Kira needed to do something or provide some information.
I thought Kira was interesting and a good protagonist. Unfortunately she doesn’t really grow through the course of the novel. There is a change, but I felt it was rather abrupt. And the Jellies, being such a major part of the story, remain an awfully big mystery.
Though I was never a big fan or follower of Paolini, I enjoyed The Inheritance Cycle and was very interested in reading this, especially since it was more sci-fi than fantasy.
This was certainly a much-anticipated book and interestingly, I recently read another highly anticipated sci-fi book by a best-selling author, and it, too, had a first contact with an alien race and also had two main characters – the protagonist and the alien. But that book pulled the reader in with interesting characters and a plot that constantly had the reader on edge. This book gets caught up in telling a story, forgetting that the story is more interesting if the characters brings some kind of stakes to what is happening.
Looking for a good book? To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini is a long, slow first contact sci-fi novel. It is not recommended except to those who will gladly read anything Paolini writes.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
* * * * * *
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars
author: Christopher Paolini
publisher: Tor Books
ISBN: 1250762847
hardcover, 878 pages

Looking For the Best Books of 2020 – a year-end review

Posted by Daniel on December 31, 2020
Posted in: OTHER, Uncategorized. Tagged: . Leave a comment

At the end of each year I take a look back on the books that I’ve read and try to determine the best books I’ve read in each category and the best book I read during the year.  This is a best of those I’ve read and reviewed in 2020, not necessarily the best books published in 2020.

I read more books in 2020 than I expected or intended to read. This is a result of the COVID pandemic.  My summer job was cancelled, which left me with a bunch of time and a bunch of books queued in my Kindle.

There were some consistently good mystery writers that were a part of my reading this past year. David Housewright is always reliable for a good hard-boiled detective mystery and I read two of his McKenzie Mysteries this year.

I also read two novels and one collection of short stories by one of my new favorites, Gigi Pandian. I’m always eager to open a new Pandian book.

2020 saw a new arrival on the mystery scene – possibly over-looked by most mystery readers because here books are also science fiction – Amanda Bridgeman. As I look back, I think the two books in Bridgeman’s Salvi Brentt series stand out the most to me.

But only one mystery got a full five stars and so I think it’s appropriate to award it the best of 2020…

BEST MYSTERY 2020 – Atlanta Burns by Chuck Wendig

Chuck Wendig should be a household name because everything I’ve read of his, has stood out as tremendously powerful.

I don’t typically read a lot of Historical Fiction so there aren’t a lot of books in this category to choose from, making it an easy call.

BEST HISTORICAL FICTION 2020 – THE PARISIANS by Marius Gabriel

Last year I struggled to find some worthy children’s books and YA books.  That wasn’t a problem this year. It seemed as though everywhere I looked I found some worthy reading in these categories.  That Best Mystery could just as easily be the Best YA. 2020 saw the return of Bruce Coville – one of my favorite children’s book authors.

“Children’s Book” covers a lot of ground, and if I broke the category down more to include a specific “Middle Grade Reader” I think Coville would be a shoo-in, but for 2020 I think I have to award the Best Children’s Book to another perennial favorite – someone whose art is quickly recognizable.

BEST CHILDREN’S BOOK 2020 – COZY by Jan Brett

There were a lot of good Young Adult books read in 2020 but one of my newer favorite authors – someone I don’t usually think of as a YA author, but it definitely fits for this book. You just can’t go wrong with Seanan McGuire.

BEST YA BOOK 2020 – ACROSS THE GREEN GRASS FIELDS by Seanan McGuire

I like reading Westerns, but those typically fall into a good-but-not-great category for me.  This year I read a couple of ‘new’ authors (for me anyway) in this category, and I enjoyed them. And while I will read a Craig Johnson “Walt Longmire” any time, any where, the latest didn’t really stand out. This year’s best western book goes to one of my ‘new’ authors.

BEST WESTERN 2020 – DARK TERRITORY by Terrence McCauley

Non-Fiction books have typically done pretty well on my blog here – I think they typically get better ratings than any other category. Of the 17 books I logged into this category in 2020, only three or four were rated less than 4 stars.

Normally, any book that gets 5 stars will be higher in line than a book with 4 and a half (or four and three-quarter as in this case), and while John Cleese’s Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide is deserving of 5 stars, Hallie Rubenhold’s The Five sticks with me as a much more memorable book.

BEST NON-FICTION 2020 – THE FIVE: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

I have listed a Best Romance in previous years, but other than The Parisians, which I awarded Best Historical Fiction, I didn’t read anything worthy of awarding in 2020.

I’ve cut back on my Graphic Novel reading over the past few years but I did read a few this past year and I really enjoyed reading the reissue of Asterix, but one graphic novel really blew me away with its simplicity and power.  And it was a biography!

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL – BIX by Scott Chantler

And so we come down to the two categories that I might still consider my favorites … Fantasy and Science Fiction.  I enjoy a lot of different genres, but these are the types of books that first got me reading and continue to thrill me.  These two categories also have a fair amount of crossover and my selection for Fantasy could easily be considered Science Fiction.

In Fantasy books, it would be easy to award Seanan McGuire again for Across the Green Grass Fields.  It’s such a  good book! But my Fantasy award goes to an author whose work defines the field and should be studied in schools.

BEST FANTASY 2020 – FOUNDRYSIDE by Robert Jackson Bennett

And for Science Fiction there are some giants in the field – established and new – I read Jeff Noon, John Scalzi, Christopher Paolini, Amanda Bridgeman, Jim Butcher, Kim Stanley Robinson, to name just a few.  John P. Murphy’s Red Noise came out of nowhere, was terrific, and I look forward to more in that series. But the best book in the category is easy to name.  This book won’t be published until 2021 and it is one you won’t want to miss.  I hope they print enough first editions!

BEST SCIENCE FICTION 2020 – PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir

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There was one other book that I read in 2020 that I still think about.  It’s hard to define a category for it.  Science Fiction? Fantasy? Alternate History?  I’ll call it Speculative Fiction (a term used back in the 1970’s for authors like Harlan Ellison and Thomas Disch) and call a special award this year.  Read this book.

BEST SPECULATIVE FICTION 2020 – CORPORATE GUNSLINGER by Doug Engstrom

And so it comes down to The Best of the Best!  Some years it is difficult to choose the best of the best, but this year was pretty easy, despite some really fantastic reads. This is a highly anticipated book to be published in early 2021 and it is very easily the most exciting, riveting book I read in 2020.

THE BEST OF THE BEST 2020 – PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir

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It was definitely a good year, and I look forward to 2021!

A JOURNAL OF THE PLAGUE YEAR – Daniel Defoe

Posted by Daniel on December 30, 2020
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Like thousands of other readers, I thought that this seemed an appropriate year (2020) to read Daniel Defoe’s classic, A Journal of the Plague Year.

This is an unusual book as it’s part fiction, part historical reflection.  In today’s parlance we might call this “historical fiction” but many scholars today still can’t agree on how to classify this book.

It is 1665 and we follow one man, “H.F.,” as he explores the devastating bubonic plague, also know as the Black Death, and its effects on families and communities throughout London.

Defoe does a remarkable job at making this personal and bringing the reader right to the door of plague victims and neighbors of victims – those living in fear of catching the plague. We meet a wide arrange of people, giving us a snapshot of all the different fears and reactions during this dark experience.

Defoe wrote the book in 1722, likely based on actual journal accounts, such as that of Samuel Pepys, but his narrative makes this easier to read than true journals.

There is a little bit of humor here (or at least I found a couple of the encounters a little humorous), but overall this is a bleak story – as one would expect.

What really struck me were the counts.  The local parishes post the weekly burials:

The weekly bill, which makes out this decrease of the burials in the west and north side of the city, stands thus—

From the 12th of September to the 19th—

– St Giles, Cripplegate 456

– St Giles-in-the-Fields 140

– Clarkenwell 77

– St Sepulcher 214

– St Leonard, Shoreditch 183

– Stepney parish 71

– Aldgate 623

– Whitechappel 532

– In the ninety-seven parishes within the walls 1493

– In the eight parishes on Southwark side 1636

– ——

– Total 6060

What strikes me, aside from the numbers, is the fact that today I check the daily reports of the number of people infected with the COVID-19 corona virus as well as the number of people who’ve died, daily, from the virus.

Readers will also note other similarities to today’s pandemic reactions.  From those who don’t take it seriously, those who take advantage of the situation, those who are overwhelmed with fear, and those overwhelmed with grief. Essentially … humans haven’t changed much in 300 years.

The narrative style is just a little difficult to read (as many works of literature, 300 years old, are difficult, I find), but the story definitely resonates given our current pandemic.

Looking for a good book? A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe reminds us that humans haven’t changed much over the course of centuries, and that nature, by way of plagues and viruses, is relentless and unforgiving.

* * * * * *

A Journal of the Plague Year

author: Daniel Defoe

publisher: Open Road Media

ASIN: B07B678VJ2

Kindle Edition, 184 pages

THE ORPHAN OF CEMETERY HILL – Hester Fox

Posted by Daniel on December 28, 2020
Posted in: Dark Fantasy/Horror, ROMANCE. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Boston in the 1800’s. Sisters Tabby and Alice are on the run as they’ve just escaped their cruel, abusive aunt and uncle. They choose to split up so that they can reduce the likelihood of being found and Alice leaves Tabby to hide out in a cemetery for awhile.  There, Tabby meets Eli, an old caretaker at the cemetery. The two develop a respectful bond and Eli comes to think of Tabby as a daughter and likewise, Tabby thinks of Eli as the father she didn’t have and she helps him with his caretaking and grave-digging work.

Tabby meets Caleb who is at the cemetery to bury his father. He finds her beautiful but he’s engaged and Tabby doesn’t want to encourage him despite her own feelings. They remain good friends and they will need one another’s help  when each is in danger.

Tabby discovers that she can communicate with the dead – an ability that may prove useful as a secret organization is currently robbing graves in order to experiment on the bodies. But her ability is used against her though she may need it to save Caleb as he is accused of murdering his fiancé.

This was kind of a new genre for me to read.  I’ve read plenty of fiction with supernatural elements, but this strikes me as more of a gothic romance – a genre that I have mostly avoided because … well … I don’t know why other than it hasn’t appealed to me.

Author Hester Fox creates a dark, moody atmosphere (which is something I would expect in a gothic romance) and yet our central character, Tabby, somehow always seems bright and positive, even in the bleakest of moments.  It’s an unusual dichotomy, and I’m not even sure how intentional it was, but it worked because it kept me interested in the story. I cared about Tabby, and by extension, Eli and Caleb (and even Alice, though she isn’t in much), so what happens to them is always pressing for me as the reader.

I did expect, or want, there to be more to the “Resurrection Men” part of the story, but I felt it did take a back seat to the romance aspects.  Even Tabby’s ability to communicate with the dead didn’t contain as much interest or excitement as I was hoping for.

In all, not a bad read.  It doesn’t make me eager to read more of Fox’s work or the gothic romance style, but neither does it deter me from such.

Looking for a good book? The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox is a gothic romance with a strong, positive central character who will appeal to many readers.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

The Orphan of Cemetery Hill

author: Hester Fox

publisher: Graydon House

ISBN: 152580457X

paperback, 384 pages

THE REINDEER GIRL – Holly Webb

Posted by Daniel on December 23, 2020
Posted in: CHILDREN'S, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

How do you write a Christmas story for children that isn’t really a Christmas story? Write about reindeer, a little girl, and a country that we often think of as being in a perpetual Christmas look – Norway.

Lotta is a little girl who is traveling to Norway to spend time with her grandparents and her great-grandmother. Lotta makes a special connection with her great-grandmother (her Oldemor) and loves to hear the stories of Oldemor when she was younger and a reindeer herder.

Through dreams and desire, Lotta finds herself in one of Oldemor’s stories when Lotta and a cousin are responsible for a mother reindeer (Flower) and her calf (Karl). When the reindeer get separated from the herd, Lotta must find them, protect them from all sorts of danger, including wolves, and get them safely back to the herd.

This is a sweet story and it has just the right amount of excitement and danger to be exciting to a young reader/listener.

Author Holly Webb brings in some magic by weaving  in some idyllic history of a simpler life. But we come to realize that simpler isn’t without different kinds of dangers.

It’s the Christmas season and we get all the wintry good feels of Christmas, and of course there are reindeer, but we don’t actually celebrate either a religious or a secular Christmas.  It’s the perfect book to get young readers in the Christmas mood, and youngsters who love animals will be especially drawn to this story.

I enjoyed the glossary – I learned a few things about the Nordic and Sami cultures from the glossary.

The book is lightly illustrated with wonderful drawings by Simon Mendez.

Looking for a good book? The Reindeer Girl by Holly Webb is a sweet story that is sure to become a favorite  holiday book for some young readers.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

The Reindeer Girl

author: Holly Webb

artist: Simon Mendez

publisher: Tiger Tales

ISBN: 1680104748

paperback, 192 pages

GONE TO THE WOODS – Gary Paulsen

Posted by Daniel on December 22, 2020
Posted in: MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, OTHER. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I almost missed reading books by Gary Paulsen. His books came out well after I would have been interested in reading his kind of adventure stories, and my children had interests in other themes and genres. Fortunately there was a teacher or two who required my children (and their classmates) to read Hatchet – and I often tried to read what they were reading (if I wasn’t already familiar with the book) so that we could talk about.

I enjoyed it and quickly read many of his other books. Which of course brings me now to this, Paulsen’s narrative autobiography.

This is one of the most unusual biographies I’ve ever read.  It does not read like a biography. It does not read like a memoir.  This reads exactly like one of Paulsen’s adventure tales.  This means a couple of different things.

First, this means that the book will be easily read and devoured and enjoyed by the same audience that reads Paulsen’s novels This younger audience is already familiar with how he lays out a plot and narrates a story. He spends most of his time here relating about his early years – the same age as Brian from Hatchet or Russel from Dogsong.

The second thing this means is that Paulsen had an extraordinary childhood.  The subtitle, “Surviving a Lost Childhood,” isn’t just hype to make the book sound more interesting.

Before he was even school age, Gary was witness to the horrors of war. He lived in Manilla where his military father was stationed. His father was mostly absent – which was probably a good thing. When he was home, Gary’s parents were abusive alcoholics – worse together than separate. He learns at this time to fend for himself and to not trust adults.

He is shipped off to live with and aunt and uncle – the first time he’s ever shown any warmth or caring – and it is here, through the gruff manner of his uncle that he learns how to venture safely outside in the wilderness.

But just as he is learning to trust in his family foster parents, his mother and father move back to the United States and want him ‘home.’ A young child doesn’t have much say in this, and most would assume that being with his real mother and father is best for him.

Not much has changed in their behavior and when he’s not stuck living in the corner of a cold basement, he is living outside, sleeping under the stars.

Another positive, memorable moment in his early life is when he discovered the public library and the kind librarian (whom at first he didn’t trust because, like all adults, she must have had a secret agenda) who exposes him to the many worlds found in books, and encourages him to write down his own thoughts (when he tells her all the inaccuracies in the books he’s read).

It’s a powerful autobiography, and more than just a little depressing. Paulsen saw, and experienced, more terrible things before he was a teen than most people will in a lifetime.

This will definitely appeal to anyone who’s read a Gary Paulsen book, and it might very well reach a new audience who will come to discover some of his classic books because of this biography.

Looking for a good book? Gone to the Woods, Gary Paulsen’s autobiography is quite possibly more adventurous and frightening, more a tale of survival, than his classic children’s books.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood

author: Gary Paulsen

publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

ISBN: 0374314152

hardcover, 368 pages

THE HARP OF KINGS – Juliet Marillier

Posted by Daniel on December 21, 2020
Posted in: SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Liobhan is an eighteen-year-old singer and whistle player.  She is highly skilled and such skill runs in the family as her brother, Brocc, has a meltingly beautiful singing voice and unusually adept skills on the harp. But Liobhan wants more than the life of a performing artist. She wants to be a warrior. She and Brocc train on Swan Island with an elite band of warriors and there they receive a special assignment that is suited specifically to their talents.

A rare harp has gone missing.  It is a symbol of ancient kingship and if it is not played during the coronation ceremony for the new king, the people will not accept his rule as legitimate.

Liobhan and Brocc will go undercover as musicians to perform at the ceremony while they try to find what happened to the harp.  They will find more than they bargained for and Liobhan will find that ‘good’ and ‘bad’ aren’t as cut and dry as she thought and she will have to make some hard decisions in order to follow through on her mission.

I knew nothing about author Juliet Marillier prior to this, but the basic story appealed to me. I’m always a sucker for incorporating music and musicians into a book so this really looked like something I’d enjoy.

The music and spy aspects of the story blended together better than I expected they would. We get both stories (talented music/clever spies) and Liobhan and Brocc navigate back and forth easily. Music is a deep part of who they are as people, and the spying is their profession. Marillier keeps the reader well mindful of what is happening and what our protagonists are thinking and planning.

Though there is a solid story here, this definitely seems to be more of a character-driven book rather than story-driven … which I like. Connecting with these characters (specifically Liobhan) brought me deeper into the story.

There was some cleverness to the mystery and wonder behind the missing harp, but for the most part this plot point just felt – “eh.” It’s a good thing we care about the characters!

The book seems to be written for young adults.  There’s nothing wrong with that, other than it doesn’t get too deep into anything and there has to be some sort of romance that comes front and center at some point.

I enjoyed this and I’d read more.

Looking for a good book? The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier is a YA fantasy blending music and spy/thriller themes for a fast-paced story.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, thought Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

The Harp of Kings

author: Juliet Marillier

series: Warrior bards #1

publisher: Ace Books

ISBN: 0451492781

paperback, 448 pages

INTO THE DARK – Claudia Gray

Posted by Daniel on December 18, 2020
Posted in: CHILDREN'S, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Padawan Reath Silas has a lot to learn, and he’d really prefer to stay at the Jedi temple on Coruscant to keep studying, but as a padawan, he’s at the mercy of the Jedi and they’ve determined that he has to visit an un-(or under-)developed area farther out. But the trip goes awry when a galactic-wide disaster knocks the ship out of hyperdrive and Reath and his his traveling companions seek refuge on an abandoned space station but soon find themselves in the center of some serious action. The High Republic is a glorious era, but a new enemy threatens the peace.

This middle-grade reader is an exciting foray into the ‘new’ world of the High Republic.  The book works quite well on a couple of different levels. First, it is a really nice introduction to this High Republic era. Disney is doing well to keep the franchise alive and staying current to attract new readers.

But I think this is even more successful purely as an adventure story.  Author Claudia Gray has captured the spirit of a middle-schooler quite well and although training to be a Jedi Knight, Reath feels like an ‘everyman’ character – someone young readers will connect to and identify with. His struggles aren’t just the unique challenges facing a Padawan, but often they are thoughts and worries that strike most youngsters as they transition from puberty to adulthood.  Reath is full of questions and self-doubt, but learns to trust himself (and the Force) and those he’s chosen to surround himself with.

Overall, this was a lot of fun and full of exciting adventure.  It will do well to keep interest high in the Star Wars franchise and will keep younger readers interested in checking out the local bookstores for new Star Wars titles.

Looking for a good book? Into the Dark, a Star Wars: The High Republic novel by Claudia Gray is an exciting story in the new Star Wars world of the High Republic.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Into the Dark

author: Claudia Gray

series: Star Wars: The High Republic

publisher: Disney LucasFilm Press

ISBN: 1368057284

hardcover, 352 pages

THE WISDOM OF PICARD – Chip Carter, editor

Posted by Daniel on December 17, 2020
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Let’s be honest.  If you are thinking of buying this book, it’s because you are already a big Star Trek fan (or at least a Picard/Next Gen fan).  You are probably interested in buying it because you are a Trek/Picard fan, or you’re thinking of it as a gift for a Trek fan. In any case, a review is not likely to sway you one way or the other.

This book is filled with quotes, spoken by Captain Jean-Luc Picard in any of his television or film appearances.  Well … not filled with quotes exactly. More like – there is a smattering of quotes within.  Sometimes there may be two quotes on a page.  But that almost makes up for the pages of photos rather than quotes.

At best this is a coffee-table type of book.  It’s something you leave out so that guests know you’re a Star Trek fan and that they can thumb through while you’re getting drinks or chips.

At less than best, it’s a bathroom reader.  Something that you won’t get too involved in and that you can put away easily.  The only problem with this as a bathroom reader is that it won’t tide you over very long because there’s not much to this book.

I love quotes – pearls of wisdom in a simple statement or sentence. I collect quotes (I’ve shared a few through my blog) and I have picked up more than a few books of quotes and honestly, I was hoping for something here that was either essay-like, taking a look at the Wisdom of Picard, or, if going with the quote idea, a heftier collection categorized by type. 

To be fair, editor Chip Carter does give us five ‘chapters’ with specific themes to the included quotes. We have Philosophy and Humanity; History and Science; Literature and the Arts; Exploration and Adventure; and Politics, Leadership, and Diplomacy.  The chapters have between 26 and 35 quotes each, and a small handful of photos.

Aside from the sparseness of the book, I was a bit disappointed that while Carter gives credit to the episode in which the quote was delivered (and the season and episode number of the show, he doesn’t give any credit to the writers … the people who put that wisdom into Picard’s mouth!  (I know I could look it up pretty easily, but in that case I could just watch the episodes and not bother picking up this book, too.

To say I was disappointed would be putting in gently.  This feels like just another attempt to make a buck off of Star Trek fans who will often buy things just because it says “Star Trek” or “Picard” on it.  I’d rather save my money for a replica phaser.

Looking for a good book? The Wisdom of Picard, edited by Chip Carter, is a wise way to relieve some Trek fans of their money.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

The Wisdom of Picard: An Official Star Trek Collection

editor: Chip Carter

publisher: Adams Media

ISBN: 1507214731

hardcover, 208 pages

CALVIN GETS THE LAST WORD – Margo Sorenson

Posted by Daniel on December 15, 2020
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Calvin loves words.  Really loves words. So much so, that Calvin, a young elementary school student, carries an encyclopedia around with him wherever he goes. Calvin wants the right word for things. He can find that right word in his dictionary … for most things.  But he can’t quite figure out the right word for his rascally brother who makes him snort milk out his nose and maybe picks on him at times.  But at home at night. with the two of them laughing over a prank Calvin manages to pull on his brother, the right word comes to him.

The book definitely has a cute theme and ends on the appropriately touching note, but for the most part, I really didn’t find this very enjoyable.

The familial relationship between the brothers is definitely honest and true.  I really like how this captures a child’s life with siblings.

But the book is also teaching the reader/listener new words.  These words are bold and in color, so we know these are the words to learn with the book.  And these words are: Revenge, Mayhem, Bewilderment, Subterfuge, Courageous, Pulverize, Retaliation, Slumber, Prank, and Hilarity.  Really?  Six of the ten words are aggressive – typically toward another person.  Are these really the words to be teaching young readers?  They’ll grow to know them, but I don’t think I agree that these are the lessons to teach in a picture book.

And honestly, I was a little disheartened at the two-page spread (this is only a 30 page book) of the school bus.  Using the chaos on the bus (“everyone is pushing and hollering and shouting, running up and down the aisle, throwing backpacks”) for the word “mayhem” might be appropriate for the word, and while it’s been a few years since my kids were school bus age, I know that in our area at least there has been a concentrated effort to not have mayhem on a bus for safety reasons.  Running up and down the aisles on a moving bus?  Is that still allowed?  Could we not have had mayhem on a playground?

What rescues this book, somewhat, for me are the pictures.  Mike Deas’ art is perfect for this type of picture book.  It is realistic but whimsical and actually manages to tone down the aggressiveness of the story.  I love the cutaway view of the house at night.  I could easily see my kids – pre-reading age – thumbing through this just for the art.

But if I was in a bookstore, looking for a new picture book to buy for my family, or for friends with children, being a lover of words, I would probably pick this up, give it a read, then put it back on the shelf and look for something else.

Looking for a good book? Calvin Gets the Last Word by Margo Sorenson, with art by Mike Deas, is a picture book that maybe unintentionally gives some inappropriate consideration to aggressive behaviors.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Calvin Gets the Last Word

author: Margo Sorenson

artist: Mike Deas

publisher: Tilbury House Publishers

ISBN: 0884488225

hardcover, 32 pages

THE RUSSIAN CAGE – Charlaine Harris

Posted by Daniel on December 14, 2020
Posted in: SF/FANTASY. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

I jumped into this series three books in, and I think that was a mistake! Sometimes you can pick up a book in the middle of a series and still get everything you need to know about the characters and relationships and the world in which it is set.  And sometimes each book relies so heavily on the previous books that you might easily become lost if you haven’t read the previous installments.  This books leans toward the latter.

Lizbeth Rose is a woman on a mission.  She is traveling from Texas to California to rescue Prince Eli, her partner.  Except that they aren’t “Texas” and “California” anymore.  They are Texoma and the Holy Russian Empire.

Looking at the map provided in the book, Canada has expanded its territory and has taken over some the former United States’ northern states.  Mexico’s boarder with the U.S. has changed a bit, and the United States has been divided into five countries: Britannia, Dixie, Texoma, New America, and Holy Russian Empire.  Why?  I’m not sure.  Either that information was provided in an earlier book, or it hasn’t been given yet.  But what’s clear is that this is an alternate future and not all the territories are on good terms with one another.

We get the impression that Lizbeth is a fighter, a gunslinger. The few times that she is not permitted to carry a gun (or even a knife), she feels lost, uncomfortable.

Prince Eli is being held captive inside the Holy Russian Empire and Lizbeth manages to stop an assassination attempt on the HRE empress and gains an audience with the tsarina.  She also manages to visit a school where her younger sister, Felicia, is studying. She finds she will need Felicia’s help navigating through the HRE.

The tsar and tsarina had no idea that Prince Eli Savarov was being held captive – by their own guards – and promise to get him released.

Lizbeth and Felicia have ‘Grigori’ powers.  They are descendants of Grigori Rasputin and now they are being hunted since Rasputin died.  Rasputin’s blood was keeping the Tsar alive.  With Rasputin gone, the Tsar’s only hope is that blood of his descendants will have the same powerful effect.

Charlaine Harris is a very good writer (I’ve enjoyed the Sookie Stackhouse books I’ve read, as well as the Aurora Teagarden, Lily Bard, and Midnight, Texas books) and there is a lot going on in this book.  But I definitely felt  behind when I started this, and even further behind the more I read. I’d like to go and read the first two books in the series and see if this all makes more sense.

Looking for a good book? The Russian Cage, by Charlaine Harris, looks to be an exciting series, but as a stand-alone book, you can’t help but feel you’ve missed something really important to understanding the story. Try the first book before reading this.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Russian Cage

author: Charlaine Harris

series: Gunnie Rose #3

publisher: Gallery / Saga Press

ISBN: 1481494996

hardcover, 304 pages