Here Be Dragons : Dreamscapes and Murderers Make Up a Unusual But Astonishing Scifi Tale.

Here Be Dragons By Laurell K Hamilton

Once again, I’m in between books so I resort to shorts so I went to my current favorite short story collection call Strange Candy where all tales are written by Laurell K Hamilton. This time around the book is call “Here Be Dragons.”

Given the title, “Here Be Dragons,” the reader would automatically assume the it is a fantasy, but that not is the case. It is a science fiction actually and is as Hamilton says in the intro, her only science fiction piece. The story focuses on a phenomena that is happening. Children are being born with powers. Telekentetic. Telephatic. Dream control. That sort of deal. When they develop these powers they go to the “school” where children are evaluated and trained to operate in society and if they are considered too dangerous they are killed. The story focuses on Jasmine Cooper, a successful empath (Dream controller), who has the job of torturing sociopath murderers in prison as punishment. She gets a call from the “School” she went to as a child for a case about a girl killing other students by controlling their dreams. Jasmine arrived to meet the girl and having the ability to see pure evil in anyone, she sees it in this ten year old girl. Yet refusing to believe that the little girl is so shallow and sinister in nature, she tries to “fix” her. She tries to prove she is a person, not a sociopath to not have her killed by the school.

The good? This story has so much depth that no one would expect in a short. It has theme of what is evil? Can a sociopath be anything but evil or is that just their fate? The murderers are considered evil from the beginning but given that Jasmine has a shallow personality and tortures people for living she holds what seems to be sociopath tendencies as well. She even seems to struggle with it, but finds a lighter side of herself when she helps this girl. This girl was like Jasmine once, hurt others for fun, despite how innocent she seems. The idea and concept is very compelling it makes the reader think. It is also very dark. Though it is not graphic, there are things that happen in this story is not suited for anyone other than adults. And even then its not for everyone.

The bad? I would have to say is detail. There is very little detail about what the school looks like and less about the dream realm. The dream stages were dying for detail and tended to move too quickly.

So “Here Be Dragons” has no fantasy or dragons. But it has a strong psychological factors that makes the reader think. And that is exactly what science fiction should do. Leave the reader thinking what if? Its not a bunch of space opera or explosions. Its real world with deep problems explored in a scifi setting. I really wish Hamilton would explore the scifi field a bit more, since good scifi authors are lacking at the moment. I recommend this to the adult crowd out there who are not afraid to read something dark, yet intriguing.

Overall rating: Dreamscapes and Murderers Make Up a Unusual But Astonishing Scifi Tale.

4 smoothies out of four.

P.S. If you like books then check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/

Small Favors : A Surprising Fun Paranormal Thriller

Small favors By Jim Butcher Smoothie Review

Here is yet another book I pulled from the mount of the “To read,” books I own. This time it’s a Dresden Files novel. And with that said I never read a Dresden Files novel. I have been recommended the series for a very long time but never tried it. I think the reasoning behind that the only previous exposure I had it was a very boring TV show. But sooner or later I had to give it a try so it is either now or never. The book is Small Favors by Jim Butcher.

So what is the Dresden Files? It is a about a paranormal detective who happens to be a wizard. Or to simplify things further he is practically the male counter part version of the Anita Blake series in a sense. The book Small Favors is the tenth book in the series (Yes. I entered a bit late in the series) In this one, Harry Dresden is pulled into a deal with the winter court’s Ice Queen of the fairy realm Mab, because he owes her a favor. He must investigate the disappearance of a crime lord. While this is happening, summer court of the fairy realm believes Mab hired him as a knight and sent these crazy goat men after him to stop him. During the investigation he seeks the aid of his friends who is made up of a very colorful cast of characters and find that he desperately needs them as the case quickly turns into a war against fallen angels.

So the good? This is a fun, light hearted and never takes itself seriously. Imagination is fantastic. Harry Dresden is just such a likable character. The story fell deeper on a emotion level than I would have first thought by the end. I was so worried about who would die, and I cared about their relationships. Another thing that is most impressive of it all, is that this is the tenth book in the series and this book had enough detail about what was going on, that I had a clue of what was going on. The writer did not assume that I knew the back history of everything and laid things out perfectly. Though the red court and white courts were just names to me, but the book made their importance very clear. So the author was doing a good job on that.

The bad? Well to be honest there isn’t much. The biggest problem I had was the attempts of the witty comments, that Dresden would throw in throughout the book. Some are funny and witty but half of them are lame and down right corny. I rolled my eyes who Dresden said, “Talk to the hand” after a punch. But the rest of the book does make up for that.

Overall, reading this book is like tuning into a random episode of a TV show that you never heard of. You don’t know the back story, but what’s there is a hell of a lot of fun. And since Anita Blake has taken the route of paranormal erotica rather than paranormal investigating lately, I’ll give Harry Dresden a shot. So you should know by now from the review if this is your thing. If you like this paranormal mystery adventures this book is a good one. I can’t say how it compares to the rest, but this book was fun.

P.S. If you like books then check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/

Throne of Fire : A Strong Second Installment In The Kane Chronicles

Throne Of Fire By Rick Riordan Smoothie review

Yes. As you may have noticed from the reviews so far, I am a very big Percy Jackson nerd. I can go on forever as to why I love those books so much and could go even further on how I find them more enjoyable than Harry Potter. But I’ll let that slide for a moment to talk about Riordan’s second series called The Kane Chronicle that I am also hooked onto, and this review is on the second book called Throne of Fire.

So what is it about? Well much like Percy Jackson it’s deeply set in a ancient mythology. This time it’s Egyptian mythology. The story focuses on Sadie and Carter, two siblings who are godlings. They have the ability to channel the power of two of the great gods, because they share the blood of the pharaohs. Carter can channel the power of Horus and Sadie can channel the power of Isis. The teenagers, after the events of the last book have created a new house of life (or order if you like that word better) where magicians are trying to restore the way of the gods. Magicians up until then have refused the gods way because they would corrupt people with power, which has been proven wrong as the House of Life society of magicians have became just as corrupt since without the gods influence. In this book Horus comes to Carter telling him that he and Sadie must find the three scrolls of Ra before the world ends in five days without much else info to go on. Sadie and Carter rush to the job to learn the whole truth. The great god Aphophis, (god of chaos) will break out of its prison in the Deut (A netherwordly other dimension for Egyptian gods and magic) and the only thing to counter act him is the long lost god Ra who was banished out of a fit of jealously by Horus and Isis. The only way to get him back is by finding the three scrolls and performing the spell to pressure Ra. Also the leader of the first sector of the house of life who does not support the gods, believes that bringing back Ra is part of some evil plan so he is planning to kill the Kane siblings and their order of the house of life, to stop all of it.

So now it’s time for the good and bad. I’ll start with the good. One good thing about this story is the characters are layered. Sadie and Carter both split up for selfish reasons bringing about the imperfection of both of them. At the end of the world, Sadie refuses to help to hangout with her friends on her birthday. Carter ditches Sadie as she searches for the last scroll, because he found out where his girl friend is held prisoner at. They are not cut and dry heroes we typically see in fantasy novels. And for the first time since book one, the author shows a softer and jolly side and Bast the cat god guardian of the Kane family reveals she made some big mistakes in the past. The book is unpredictable and fun. Action is always rolling and seeing things from Sadie’s and Carter’s point of view is always funny.

Now the bad? Well there is nothing terrible. The Egyptian mythology though, Riordan seems to have trouble translating to paper time to time. With the first book, I didn’t really understand the mythology until halfway though and didn’t understand it completely until the end. This book however, he seems to be apologizing for that with over explaining things. Also there was a character I didn’t like all that much named Bes who is the ugly dwarf god. He has the power of scaring off demons by tearing his clothes off (he’s wearing a speedo underneath) and screaming “Boo!” If that strikes you as silly, well that’s because it is. Young adult novels are fun adventure books that can be aimed at anyone from thirteen and up. But I feel even a thirteen year old would look at Bes and think he is silly. But then again it could just be me.

Overall its fun. The story is still strong second installment in the series. (much better than Sea of Monster or Chamber of Secrets) and I’m interested to see what will happen next. So if you enjoy these kind of things and can handle Bes, then recommend it to everyone. It’s a great story overall.

Overall rating: A Strong Second Installment In The Kane Chronicles.

P.S. If you like books then check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/

Shadow Of The Lion: A Historical Soap Opera Told Against the Backdrop of Venice’s Magic, Religious Intolerance and a Upcoming War.

The Shadow Of The Lion smoothie review

I had a friend in high school who loved Mercedes Lackey. She always had a book in her hand reading her latest fantasy adventures. Oddly enough as I was just discovery Crichton and Ludlum, she was always pushing this author onto me. “Read them! They are so good!” she said. Now five years after high school I finally got a hold of one of her fantasies and took my friend’s advice. The book is The Shadow of The Lion By Mercedes Lackey which is also co written with Eric Flunt and Dave Freer.

So what is it about? Well that’s a bit complicated but let’s start. It starts with the crumbled version of the Holy Roman Empire, where the emperor has little control over the divided regions that can still be called the empire to some extent, as the church, or the holy trinity knights hold the most power spreading the word of god and burning anyone in relation to the northern Germanic pagan clans as witches. (As someone who took two years of European history, that info really helps with understanding the setting) Magic is seen as evil. This ideology also leads holy trinity to killing pagan gods, in the name of the Christian god. Meanwhile, a man from the north Japellion who made a deal with a demon and wants to take over Venice, sends a shaman, using the power of the demon Churnobog to spy on Venice. The demon is up to something very dark in the north. Also a Icelander Erik is hired to take care of the emperor’s nephew. The two soon go under cover as the holy knights discover odd things are brewing in Venice. There are magical murders that Venice is tying to solve. Then there are the Casa Veches, the of the noble families of Venice that play a big role here. Marco and Benito are the Voldosta brother, long lost members of one of the noble families. Benito is a skilled thief as Marco is honest hiding in the marshes. They hide who they are as there is another Casa Veche trying to kill them. After a assassination attempt the two hide under the over of the great assassin named Ceasure Aldonta. Katerina is a girl who works the canal and is a part of a financially dying Casa Veche family. She smuggles shipments with Benito, but builds a stronger relationship between a prostitute name Francesca and Marco over the story. The third noble family is Dorma. Marco is welcomed into the family as he fell for the daughter through leaving her poems, as he ignores him to be with Ceasure which causes a bad relationship between his girlfriend Maria. There is also a amnesia struck assassin named Bespi put under a spell by a friend of Marco’s in the swamp to protect him. Francesca holds a strong piece of the puzzle finding that she has noble blood as well. And through the story, war, and religious intolerance dances in the background. This also takes place over a number of years. And yes, this is the simplest way I could have explained it all.

So let’s start with bad? The story is very convoluted from the setting to the characters and there is not a flow chart detailed enough to make sense of everything. The only reason I could understand the politics and world, is I took the years of European history. I can’t think of what it would be like for someone who didn’t. As for the characters? Who’s in the council? Who’s part what family? Who’s partnered with who? It is a lot. Even at a point on the story, Marco tries to figure all out, and gives up because it’s too confusing. Also there is too much talk of politics too. They spend so much time talking about politics, that it is ridiculous. I mean there are a couple who talk about politics during a sex scene for crying out loud. They couldn’t stop for those five pages without inserting that politics. Also the last complaint would be very little does happen. The reviews that said “Fast pace and intense” on the back cover are lies. The book also has very little fantasy to it. It is overall historical fiction more than anything else. Magic shows up rarely.

The good? Well it’s original. The setting is great. What makes this book strong are the characters. The are developed fleshed out and grow as the story goes on. They are done with great detail. The idea in this book of merging Christian and pagan beliefs were amazingly original. It brought about something I never seen in a book before and is one of the few fantasies that made me stop and think. Detail is fantastic. The world is fully explained, and the ending gives an appropriate fate to a surprising villain in the story.

Overall, the book is a historical fiction drama sat in the back drop of world where magical paganism and Christians must come together to save Venice from the darkness that growing in the north. There are not so many monsters. It had very little action that doesn’t show up until toward the end of 905 pages. Relationships and drama between the characters in the course of roughly three years and watching them become stronger people is the heart of the book. It’s not bad. It was not just my kind of book. I felt it was drug out of bit. But I’ll be generous with my ratings. Personal opinions aside, it wasn’t a bad book.

3 smoothie out of four.

Overall Rating: A Historical Soap Opera told against the backdrop of Venice’s magic, religious intolerance and a upcoming war.

P.S. If you like books then check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/

Carrie : A Tale of a Lonely High school Student In a Bland World

Carrie By Stephen King Smoothie review

Okay. Where did the book came from? I’m not sure. I just kind of found it. It had yellow pages and a battered paper back cover that made me wonder about it’s origins, but the mystery does not spark any interest enough to pursue why and how it ended up in my house. I just read the darn thing. The book is a very old copy of Carrie with a photo of Sissy Spacek on the cover covered with blood. The title had big drippy front and another bold message saying “Soon to be a motion picture.”

So in case you know absolutely nothing about the literacy world, Carrie is suppose to be a literacy horror “classic” by Stephen King. The film is also considered to be a sort of a cult classic too. I never saw it. So the book held all the surprises for me. The story of the book focuses on a teenager named Carrie. A girl who has been tormented and picked on by those around her, class mates usually and is obedient to her abusive psychotic overly religious mother. Carrie takes torment from everyone, that is until one day she discovers that she had telekinetic abilities. Meanwhile after treating Carrie badly, a girl named Sue, wants to make it up to her. But it was not like Carrie will take a apology. She had be abused and pranked too long. So she lines her boyfriend up to take Carrie to prom. She wanted to at least give the girl one night where she is not the butt of some joke but someone special.

Also during this Christine, a girl who hates Carrie because she lost her prom tickets for torturing the girl, wants to get revenge. She and her boyfriend intend to ruin her night unaware of the new power Carrie can now fight back with.

So the good? It is a interesting promise. The general story contain concepts and imagination that is wonderful. The potential is great. Also the layout of the story it self is that of third person and news reporters, scientific essays, and interviews with survivors after the fact. This is something I found a bit intriguing.

The bad? Well there wasn’t anything real bad. It was just overall bland. Given that Carrie is a neglected, abused teenager and the world hates, I was so surprised at how shallow of character she was. Most authors would try to make the reader understand the character. Show the humanity of her so you can feel pity. But it was so hard to feel sorry for a girl when the only emotion king decides to reveal for Carrie is rage. I wanted to know more about Carrie. I wanted to see a human being not a cardboard cut out, King created. The other characters were just as shallow with the exception for Carrie’s mother. Which brings another issue. Why is it that King’s novels there is always a psychotic evil Christian at work? I’m not religious, so I’m taking offence, but it is cliché that is very old. Also I felt the climax is a bit over the top. At the midway point of the book Carrie can barely levitate a hair brush, but just a couple days later at the Prom, she has powers that are godlike. Though this is ridiculous story not based on facts, it still stands the author put a little effort into logical reasoning behind this evolution so the reader will not be pulled out of the tale. The power is described as a muscle, but you can’t work a muscle up to do that much in two or three days. I felt it was too much to be taken seriously. Also interviews and news reports scattered through out the story foreshadowed things to come. They sometimes foreshadowed way too much. Such as who will live and who will die. It took away the shock value of any deaths. Also in her rampage, Carrie is evil, which was out place as she was portrayed as victim until that point.

Overall, the story wasn’t bad. It wasn’t good. It was just meh. Maybe with stronger and more developed characters I might have enjoyed it more. It’s something to pass up and skip reading. I only suggest this your one of those Stephen King fans.

Overall Ratting: A Tale of a Lonely High School Student In a Bland World.

2 smoothies out of four.

P.S. If you like books then check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/

Bourne Deception : A Disappointing And Brainless Bourne Novel

The Bourne Deception By Eric Van Lustbader Smoothie Review

Okay, the reason why I am reading this book is not as random as usual. Yes. I did get it used from a odd source, but my reasoning for grabbing it went well beyond “Hey, why not?” The book is The Bourne Deception, a Bourne novel written by Eric Van Lustbader who bought the rights to the series shortly after Robert Ludlum died. (RIP Mr. Ludlum. I adored your work.) And I read his first Bourne novel (where he continued off of the original series) a while back called the Bourne Legacy. I had low expectations at first with this, “How dare they!” attitude of taking the work of my favorite espionage writer, taking it as his own, and was pleasantly surprised by how much I love it. So I decided to try another.

So to start off with, before I go into detail about the review, I want to get something clear. Lustbader Bourne is not the Ludlum Bourne. Ludlum Bourne was serious, was written with deep knowledge of the CIA woven in, and was set in the sixties and seventies. The last one he wrote, the Bourne Ultimatum was in the seventies focusing on how Bourne is getting too old to do thins anymore. The Lustbader Bourne is magically young again set in modern day as well as the fact the characters from Ludlum’s books with the exception of his wife and kids are dead. It’s more fun dumb action scenes in exotic locations. They are nothing like the earlier novels so you can’t expect the same thing from the two.

So as I started reading I realized that there apparently a book of two between the last one I read and this one. (a very annoying thing I hate about book series. I try to read stand along more often a than not because of this.) Jason Bourne is on the tropical island Bali with his new girlfriend Moira. His wife Maurie is not mentioned other than the fact he mourns her, so I could only assume she is dead and there’s no mention of his children at all. And while there Arkadan, Bourne’s arch enemy from Treadstone (Introduced in the previous books I assume), sends a man to kill him. Bourne’s shot right in the chest and among the chaos it assumed (except for Moira who knows the truth) that Bourne is dead. But of course Bourne is not dead. A doctor and old friend from Treadstone got him in a hospital where he went through multiple surgeries to get the bullet out of his chest that graze his heart.

Meanwhile Moria goes back home. She hears from a friend that there is something she needs to know only to see him shot but not before getting a thumb drive from him. From there on out, she is on mission to find out what is happening as men from Noah Pearl’s government agency Black try to kill her every step of the way. Meanwhile Soraya another government figure heads to Egypt with a team, to arrive at a suspected terrorist attack on a plane. But as she investigates, she find that it might not be Iranians as they first thought, but Americans behind it falling into a web of conspiracy. Arkaden meanwhile is viciously training a army for a secret mission with the help of some their crooked Russians allies. And for the first half of the book Bourne is in Bali recovering on a spiritual journey annoyingly pondering questions about his identity (which were all answered in the Ludlum novels) until someone sends a man to kill him again making him seek revenge finally to track down his killer. All of this does oddly tie up into one web of conspiracy thankfully.

So the good and bad. First, I think I will start with the bad. It is sticking in my mind so much better than the good right now. The first thing I must mention is that this is a Bourne novel with very little Bourne at all. It is much more about Soraya and Moira. Bourne’s spiritual journey and reacting to the fact that his fate is the same as that of Shiva, the god of death and resurrection, did not fit. And once the ball gets rolled on the action, Bourne is in only two fight scenes. Also I wonder if Lustabador read Ludlum’s books at all, because if he did, he would realize that all of Bourne’s questions of identity were answered. Believe it or not he did get his memory back in Supremacy. So playing the confused tortured soul in book seven or in this case four of Lustabador series seemed silly to me. The pacing was disjointed making it boring and there was huge problem with this book, was the lack of realism. I know I’m not expecting this author to live up to Ludlum but there’s a difference between dumb fun and insulting stupidity. For being a spy as clever as Bourne, he makes some of the dumbest decisions and the people around him were just as stupid. Not to mention some of the things done in this book was absolutely ridiculous. Like there is scene where Moira’s locked in a closet. They tape it off leaving a crack. Then crank the vacuum to suck the air out. But excuse me, what kind of house vacuum does that? Even if it was a secret government weapon of some sort, it would have to have a fitting that is air tight in relation to the opening. Highly unlikely . And the key hole anyone? And then as the book builds up the tension in this scene. Guess what? There’s air vent like in every room in a house has. So there is name chance of suffocation. Just one example of a stupid area showing this author’s mistakes, not just with the spy themes, but just physics to general. Also the climax is disappointing.

So now I’m moving onto the good. Even after I just butchered the book, you’re probably asking what could be good? Well there are a couple redeeming qualities and that comes in from of a couple side stories later in the book. The first is Arkadan tries to help a abused wife and child after he fails to stop the killing of her son. Though it has nothing to do with the main story, its nice to see another side of the bad guy. I always love it when the author is bold enough to blur the lines between good and evil. It Reminds us all, that not all bad guys are pure evil and are human in some sense. It was interesting. Another side story is a girl Bourne meets. She’s delivering a painting, and is oddly suspicious, is lying to Bourne, just as Bourne is lying to her.

……………………………..Spoiler alert……………………..

It turn out she is a spy as well, living a double life just as Bourne is never being herself. She double crosses Bourne leading to her death. As she dies she talks to Bourne. “Why is it people feel they have to lie with each other?” she begins the scene with. It is such a moving sub story. At her death, I thought I might have been reading a different book. It was done so well another compared to the rest, which only frustrates me. Why couldn’t this be the central story of the novel? A story where Bourne ran into a femme fatale double agent maybe. It just had so much more substance. Collectively this is above thirty pages out of six hundred though.

……………………………..End of spoiler…………………………………

The only other interesting element is Bourne trying to limit what he can do. But this is not used to potential it had. It is only mentioned off and on here and there.

Overall, the book biggest crime is, as it tries to be smart, the dumber it becomes. Simple fun like his first novel the worked perfectly, but the entire book here was ultimately horrible and the exception of the two tiny subplots. I have another Lustabader Bourne novel somewhere and now I’m afraid to read it. That’s how bad it was. And if for some crazy reason, you have it laying around, I say rip out those tiny substories and read those only. Other than that I recommend you to avoid this novel. I read reviews of this on Goodreads after finishing and a reader said, “Ludlum would be rolling over in his grave if he knew what became of his work,” and sadly I must agree.

Overall Rating: A Disappointing and brainless Bourne Novel.

1 Smoothie out of four.

P.S. If you like books then check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/

The Thief Lord : Despite Its Imagination Originality, It Can’t Save The Story From The Lack Of Action.

The Thief Lord By Cornelia Flunk Smoothie review

So another book from my giant “to read” list is pulled at random. It has been read now and is ready for a review. What is it this time? Its called the Thief Lord by Cornola Funke. Where it came from? I’m not sure. I just know my edition is a very battered paperback and with the imagination this author put into her previous Ink Heart novels, I could only hope that this would be just as good.

So what is the story about? It’s about a number of different things. A great number of story lines intertwine into one by the end. The main focus is the band of orphans living inside a abandoned movie theatre and doing what they can to live on the streets of Venice. The gang is a likable bunch who gets some things they value from being thieves. But most things come from this shadow in the night, Scipio, the thief lord who robs from the rich and give to the orphans in Venice. Two of these orphans are brothers, who ran away from their rich aunt. Their aunt wanted to keep the younger boy named Bo and then throw his older brother in a boarding school. Not wanting to be separated, they went on the run to a place that their late mother called magical, “Venice.” So anyways their aunt hires a detective to find Bo. So the kids run into trouble when the snoop starts chasing after them. Meanwhile Scipio, and the gang are offered a great deal to rob a expensive house and revenue the equivalent of $500,000 in return So they start to get to work on the house, but odd events unfold as Scipio is not who he says he is. Even odder things happen when they uncover thee mystery that ties a old Venice fairy tale and their client together.

This story is a mix of elements taken from Robin Hood, Oliver Twist, and oddly enough toward the need it has a little bit of “Something Wicked Comes This Way.” It has a lot nods to those earlier works. So if you read the classics, you’ll know what sort of book it is.

Anyway onto the good and bad? Let’s start with the good. It is a young adult novel that manages to stand out from the rest. With an over saturation of supernatural teen romances and epic Harry Potter and Percy Jackson like fantasies, it s nice to see some do something that does not fall in with all the others. Though written in a simple fashion, the characters are enjoyable. And most of all, the book is unpredictable, which is great. I hate knowing the ending of a book.

The bad boils down to one real element that hurts the whole story. Since it is oriented for a younger audience, the author was very hesitant about inserting any violence. There were parts, where they were leading you to something exciting and then it turned into a kid friendly solution and I would sadly find myself disappointed. There was so much more potential with the story than what the author did.

Overall its original and interesting. But it is directed toward a younger audience, so it’s not for everyone. So I say its great for kids, and if you are a lover of classic you might get something out of it too. Despite my praise for originality it gets a mediocre score.

2 smoothies out of four.

Overall Rating: Despite its imagination Originality. It can’t save the Story From the Lack of Action.

P.S. If you like books then check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/

Geese : A Dark Yet Charming Masterpiece About A Swan Princess.

Geese By Laurell K Hamilton Smoothie Review

Just finished another long book, so I decided to read something short. Once again I read a short story from Laurell K Hamilton’s Strange Candy collection. And yes I know, I said I would alternate through these but as I reach for my short story collections on my book shield, this has been my favorite anthology so far. So sorry for what should I call it? Repetitiveness. Anyway, the story is called Geese.

So what is Geese? It is about a young sorceress called Alatir and is set in a medieval fantasy sort of world. As a child the evil lord Madaux killed her family and took the kingdom. Being extremely powerful, Alatir challenged him. She lost and for that, he cursed her. He puts a “geas” spell on her, where she will keep trying to kill him even though he is more powerful and she will die. It’s a uncontrollable urge of a curse. She does the only thing she knows to do to escape it. She turns into the only animal immune to it. A goose. And among the geese, she loves the free life with no worries. She even falls in love. But after a many years pass, she see children captured by Madaux men who returned into the county side. And seeing this Alatir leaves her new life and accepts her fate in order to save the children.

So the good? It’s just so simple and fresh. Yes it has some swan princess elements in it, but it is a great tale. Everything worked so well. Even the love story aspect worked. Sure falling in love with a goose may seem weird, but told from her perspective with a fantastic ending it didn’t seem weird at all.

The bad? It’s so short. This is such book material. I feel Hamilton needs to take a break from her erotic stuff she’s doing to write a amazing novel like this. It holds so much potential. Such a shame. I an only hope she’ll return to it one day.

Overall, it’s a wonderful story. I loved every bit of it. And its is just so darn charming. I recommend it anymore. Well not children of course. Hamilton always has a preference to throw something dark here and there. Anyone ever thirteen I would say. It’s such a great read.

4 smoothies out of Four

Overall Rating: A Dark Yet Charming Masterpiece About A Swan Princess.

P.S. If you like books then check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/

The Curse Maker : Makes Something Old Seem Fresh Again

The Curse Maker By Laurell K Hamilton Smoothie Review

Back to the short stories. Between long novels it’s good to read one or two. So I decided to continue with a tale from Laurell K Hamilton’s Strange Candy collection called the Curse Maker.

So what is it? It is a story set in a medieval sort of fantasy world. It focuses on a warrior Sidra, her mentor and sorcerer Gannon to help a dear friend who is dying from the death curse. It follows them as they put together clues to find the curse marker who can lift the curse.

So the good? Despite the fact it is set in a dangerous and dragons set of world, it doesn’t feel like it. It’s not convoluted with dozens of new terms to remember. Also it is a crime story. Nothing epic. The simplicity in fact is what makes it so enjoyable and accessible to other readers who are not die hard fans of the genre. The characters are fun, and the imagination is brilliant. Instead of pulling out the old fashioned trolls, dragons, or elves she went with a evil sword that likes to drink blood. It is portrayal in a very creepy fashion.

The bad? It is not action based. The climax feels like its leading to another part of the story when there isn’t one. So it does leave the reader at a cliff hanger wondering what will happen next rather than a true conclusion. And also I wanted to know so much more about this world. The detail is so minimal in this piece.

Overall it interesting. If you have the collection it’s worth reading this one. If you got it for a dollar in ebook format, I don’t think that is disappointing either. Beyond that, you might want to question whether it is worth sinking money into this individual story. It is in no way a must read. Just a very mediocre fun story.

Overall Rating: Makes something Old Seem Fresh Again

2 smoothie out of four

P.S. If you like books then check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/

Excavation: Nothing new, but breaks the hell out of old ground.

Excavation By James Rollins Smoothie Review

James Rollins is the a master of treasure hunting and tomb raiding adventures, as Ludlum is to spy novels and as Crichton is to science fiction. It is a bit of a tall claim. But this is my fourth book I’ve read by him and so far it proves to be true. He has not proven me wrong with the exception of the Sigma force novels. So now I’m about knee deep into the James Rollins novels and the latest adventure is called Excavation.

So what is it about? It centers on a professor and his nephew. The professor just found a mummy from the jungles of Chili and is sure that it is proof of a civilization that predates the Inca. But he finds that it is actually a Spanish priest. As he looked further he also finds that the skull of the priest is filled with liquid gold. Upon this discovery a secret society of Spanish monks take him hostage because they are searching for this rare gold that they call “the blood of the devil,” because with it they believe they can build the vessel so god can come to earth. The professor’s nephew is Sam, who is with a team of student archaeologists down in the Andes. They have just discovered a new temple in the side of a mountain. They are accidentally trapped in it as it crumbles during a attack from tomb robbers. The temple into the mountain goes to the source of the “blood of the devil,” And it is no surprise that in and professor Conklin’s and Sam’s path intertwine.

So the good? After reading Ice Hunt, and Deep Fathom, I was relieved to not see the military or army of any kind as a big factor. It’s much simpler. The team is stuck inside living on limited supplies, facing a cave of dwelling creatures and booby traps as Conklin’s side foreshadow things to come and reveal secrets behind the temple. Action is fun. The story is also one of the oddest. So it is unpredictable.

The bad? It is very similar to Rollins other book Subterranean. In more ways than one. At one point I thought I was re reading a old book. So there is nothing new or groundbreaking here except for the off the wall scifi twist at the end. I also felt for the first time in a Rollins’ book, the characters were shallow. They felt like cardboard cut outs to me.

But overall it’s a fun read. The end may be silly but its still fine. If you like adventure novels. I most definitely recommend this one.

P.S. If you like books then check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/