I started this book with some trepidation. It isnt really sci-fi to a major extent (Im not even sure if it is classified as sci-fi, though sci-fi and fantasy are the only books I get from publishers), yes it takes place in the near future and yes it deals with advanced technology but it isn’t a far stretch from World of Warcraft and games of that ilk.

The story revolves around Omnitopia a massive only gaming universe that packs almost every imanginable world into on massive bundle. Its creator (Dev) is busy working with his company to unroll the newest expansion pack and Phil , his chief competitor (and former partner) is working on his own release while colluding with the a hacker group to weaken Omnitopia so Phil can slip in and gain controlling interest.  The other main story arc consists of Rik, who is a player and was given a rare chance to create his own Microcosm inside of Omnitopias own universe.

This was a well written and very enjoyable book. It wasn’t too tech heavy and for the most part the advanced technology it dealt with wasn’t anything that a simi-literate computer user wouldn’t recognize (yes, that’s my classification). It’s a solid story with interesting characters and a fairly good plot.

8.5/10

Recently a book from a new author showed up and I decided to give it a go.

 Shadow’s Son is an assassin story staring Caim one of the most feared and deadliest knifes in the city of Othir. Othir is a city ruled by the True Faith, a corrupt and grasping religious order whose members are busy conspiring and plotting. Many other players are in town, from the former nobility to relatives of the powerful. Into this Caim suddenly lands in the midst of a power struggle between factions trying to become the new rulers on the block.

There is a ton of great action, decent characterization and a solid plot, toss in some cool magic that is lightly used and some powerful bad-assed  enemies and you have a winning combination. Granted there hasn’t been a lack of assassin based stories recently, but this one was well worth it! I’m sure looking forward towards more books from Jon Sprunk.

8/10

What do you get when you cross a typical fantasy world with a mass produced media tripe such as we are so used to in our world?  You get the “Stuff of Legends”. Heroes go out into the world to save the damsel, defeat the evil wizard and assorted other hero’esque stuff but behind it all is Glister Starmacher and the crew at Central Casting.

Elliott, a spoiled and none to bright Nobles son has just turned 15 (though I have to admit that he sounds and acts much more like an 8-9 year old than a teenager) and his Elvin babysitter has gifted him with some Elvin magic to produce his most desired wish. Elliott promptly uses it to track down Jordan the Red (the greatest hero evah) so that Elliott and Jordan can embark on a Awesomely Heroic Adventure. The main issue in this is that Jordan retired 20 years ago and is none to pleased to have this snot nosed brat show up at his doorstep. Of course Jordan stands no chance because Elliott just happens to get in touch with Glister who sets the gears a turn'n to bring Jordan out of  retirement.

Stuff of Legends is a spoof on standard heroic style fantasy. There are many gags and one liners that touch on other books and movies and in many cases it does work out pretty decently. Don’t expect deep characters, a complex plot or anything special, it’s a averagely written story that doesn't offer any twists or surprises that stand out.

 It is a light, fast and average read. No characters really seemed to do much for me and the kid was really a negative,

5.5/10

Kraken is the newest offering from China Mieville. I have to admit to reading several books by China in the past and have to say I’ve liked and disliked them at the same time.  His characters and places all intrigued me and I’ve enjoyed the stories, I just suspect that there has been too much “stuff” in the stories, to weird a location maybe, though I’m not 100% sure what has turned me off from the books.

Kraken takes place in modern day London, though the London is split between a normal city and one rich in magic. The story wraps around the theft of a Kraken from the Darwin Centre and drags its curator from the normal world into the one full of magic. A massive power struggle is going on between differing factions, all vying to lay their hands on the missing Kraken which as vanished into thin air. Some want to stop the end of the world, others want it for their own ends and others just want it because the other groups want it!

It’s a well paced, enjoyable read that has a decent plot is grounded in a recognizable world, albeit one that has a strong tendencies towards the fantastic.

7.5/10

Temeraire is BACK!

 In the 6th installment of the series we find our favorite dragon and his rider/friend Captain Will Laurence sent off to Oz (Australia) for their “treason” of saving the French dragons from the plague.

Upon arrival they become embroiled in the politics of the land, namely a certain Capt. Bligh wants to be in charge (think Mutiny on the Bounty) yet the current leaders (who tossed him out) want nothing to do with him.  When a dragons egg is stolen this prompts Laurence and Temeraire to head towards the unsettled areas in a dangerous attempt to salvage the egg.

Overall this book is in the same league as the prior installments. it’s a good read with quality characters and a decent plot. However it seems to be a bit darker in some ways, I also found it a bit shocking that there wasn’t more contact with the natives and/or other dragons.

For those of you have read the series and liked it, this is a good book for you. If you haven’t read the series yet, get to it!

7.5/10

Here is another offering from Wild Wolf Publishing in the UK. Once I read Rhone (my review is posted for it) by John Karr, I was interested to get my paws on anything else put out by Wild Wolf.

The Killing Moon is a post apocalyptic hell of a story. Rough, gritty, violent and all together crazy. The world has gone mad and out into it are tossed 5 friends and their dog after the outside intrudes upon their home.

The story is fairly well written, decently put together and fast paced. The story pulled me in nicely, though it is a very rough story. Though the editing is an improvement over the issues with Rhone, there are a couple issues and I think the story could have used a bit of "tweaking" to cull a few dead ends and improve the flow. The ending I feel is the weakest part. Towards the 4/5th mark of the book everything had fallen apart for the 5 friends, but then a few surprising twists of fate puts things back together (to some extent).

Overall it's a pretty good read, it however is NOT for the weak of heart. It is gritty and at time disturbing with a lot of blood and guts tossed in for good measure.

6.5/10

Song of the Dragon by Tracy Hickman


I have to admit that I haven’t read anything with Hickmans name on it for a pretty long time. I really have always wondered why his books do so well since I have found the books fairly sub-par compared to some of the greats in the genre. Of course since I have that view everybody else should also, right?!

That being said I decided to give his newest book, Song of the Dragon a shot.

SotD has the standard players, Dwarfs/Humans/Elves/Gnomes with a few add-ons such as Manticores and Chimerians (shape changers) along with a hint of Dragons to come.

I  actually found the book to be fairly enjoyable, Drakis the main character is a fairly standard human warrior whose destiny isn’t that of a slaves, and try as he might, Hickman didn’t make it so I really felt anything for Drakis. So far the main Elf character is one of the most interesting “people” in the book. The Elves are not the high and mighty good guys, they are in fact “Dark” Elves who control most of the magic in the world and have dominated the other races reducing everybody else to the status of Slave.  I found the magic fairly interesting in the way the characters travel and  in the way the Elves use it to control their subject races.  Plus I’m a sucker for magic in general.

Drakis unintentionally starts a chain of events that frees himself and many other slaves from the power of the elves. He also just happens to have a Dwarf and a Manticore on hand who know the prophecy and that some human named Drakis will save everybody and crush the elves. This of course starts of a chain of events that result in Drakis and friends running to get away for the elves so that Drakis can be proved to be the savior, though he of course is in denial and isn’t buying that he is anything special.

A fairly standard book with a few nice touches. If you want some lighter reading and don’t mind some tried and true ideas then this is for you. If you have liked Hickmans other books, then this will be a book you will like also!

I do feel that this book (the 1st of a series) has some promise. If Hickman delves into the Elves a bit more and works on making Drakis a character that one can feel for, then this series will really gather steam. I did enjoy it and am giving it 6.5 out of 10.

Late last week a box showed up at my door with a few new books in it and one of them was The Fuller Memorandum by Charles Stross. I have to admit to having heard the authors name in the past, but to knowing absolutely nothing about the series.  Since the book I was reading was boring me to tears I decided to try this one.

The cover blurb from the San Francisco Chronicle stated “Stross gives his readers a British superspy with a long-term girlfriend, no fashion sense, and an aversion to martinis.” I have to suspect the blurb was based on  another book in the series and not this one since, well, he seemed to be married to this long term girlfriend at this stage…

The story is based around Bob Howard, who is an agent with the Laundry. The Laundry is a cross between the CIA, Men in Black and Ghostbusters (to be slightly over-simplistic), they are on the front line in keeping the dead … dead, the boogyman out of downtown London and in short keeping the UK (and the rest of the world) safe from all sorts of things that might go bump in the night.  There is a ton of Evil out in the world and a lot more knocking at the door to get in.

Overall it was a fairly well written and truly enjoyable read. it’s the latest part in the Laundry Files series but I didn’t feel unduly lost by not having read the prior books. Howard is part bad ass, part geek and all fun, good characterizations, plenty of humor, solid action and enough plot twisting to keep you wondering.

Overall I would give it a 7.5 out of 10 stars!

I just had to kick back for a little while and read a book that I’ve been wanting to pick up for some time, but have been just to busy. Red Iron Nights by Glen Cook.

For those of you who haven’t had a chance to read Cook’s Garrett P.I. novels yet, you really need to get going! Garrett is a classic P.I., always willing to slack off, get into a fight and go after the beautiful woman. The catch is he lives in a world full of sorcery, elves and all the stuff that dreams are made of.

In this round Garrett has to help the Watch deal with a serial killer, who is of course subject to a curse. This makes for some twists and jumps before the Dead Man can get a handle on the situation and direct our buddies to the right path. Toss in the Mob and a conspiracy theorist and the book becomes a fun ride.

Once again Cook offers up a good, light and fully enjoyable read.

Im sure some of you have noticed that John asked my help in getting a good word out there about this book. Let me assure you that no matter how much I like a free book and ego stroke I have not colored my views on Rhone.

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I just finished Rhone, a book from a new fantasy author named John A. Karr and what follows are my opinions of it. 

I found Rhone to be a very enjoyable book, that’s not to say I didn’t have any issues with it, and those I’m going to start with.

Rhone was published by a small UK based publisher Wild Wolf and if John is any indication of Wild Wolfs talent selection then I suspect they may have a stable of pretty good authors. However, the biggest issue I have is based on editing. I’m not the pickiest reader out there and I’ve read reviews by some very good reviewers who have had fits over books that I didn’t notice any errors in. With Rhone there were several cases of editing that stood out and I really hope Wolf takes a little longer on Johns next book so I don’t have to mention this again. By no means do I think you should not buy this book due to the issues, just be aware of them and not think your too crazy when some things show up.

The main character is of course Rhone, a human/demon cross bred. The story revolves around a Demi-Gods desire to cast down his betters and rule the Heavens and Mars for his own amusement. To do this Rhone plays a very important part in the plan, and because of certain actions taken by the Demi-God, Rhone is pissed off enough to do what needs to be done.  Rhone is a good character, John took some time to develop him and show some depth. Rhone also is a total bad ass who grows in power slowly through his trials and tribulations.

The world building is pretty standard, even though it is Mars, for the most part one can consider it just a fancified earth. The author doesn’t try to toss too many crazy ideas at the reader, just enough so you know that you sure aren’t in Kansas anymore. One complaint I have was the mention of a 6 legged deer. It felt like a new author trying to toss something out there that somebody could sort of relate to. As a reader I didn’t need to hear about a 6 legged deer, just call it a deer or make up a name and describe it a little so the reader knows what it “is”.

Magic tends to play an import, yet fairly small role. With any story that has Gods and Demons running amok there has to be some, but for the most part it doesn’t try to take over the story.  At times, and towards the end there is a bit more, but again, it isn’t overwhelming.

So far for the books I’ve read in the last 6 months I have to put Rhone near the top, and unless something changes John A. Karr will be on my Top 10 list for the end of the year. If it wasn’t for the editing I feel John could be easily in the top 5.

I haven’t been this into a new author since I picked up The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie. I really feel that if you like the Abercrombies and Gemmells of the world you should really give Rhone a shot.