Doug Lewars's Blog, page 19

The Burned Man #1

Drake by Peter McLean

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I was about ready to DNF this around the 50% mark. Fortunately it improved in the second half.

The good news is the author keeps things moving. Don moves swiftly from one danger to the next, barely keeping his head afloat as any number of mythical beings, largely demonic in nature, threaten his life. In this respect the book is a fine fantasy adventure with a touch of horror.

The bad news is the protagonist. I can handle unpleasant characters although the author seemed to go to lengths to test my resolve. What I have trouble with are whiny, inconsistent ones. Don is a killer, a hit-man. True, he targets underworld figures, but he's still a murderer and he makes use of diabolic powers to commit his crimes. Sounds good so far, right? Unfortunately he's also a spineless jellyfish. When he accidentally kills a kid, he completely falls to pieces. Now I find it difficult to believe someone how makes his living by murdering people in remarkably brutal ways, is going to turn soft. It would seem more realistic for him to take the position, 'accidents happen' and carry on.

I think what I really dislike is the author's obvious determination to have a proper character arc in his book. Character arcs are fine in their way, but when they're so artificially contrived, I find myself cringing. The only really well-written character in the entire book is Debbie, a comparatively minor actor who finally punches Don in the face and walks out of his life forever. This I appreciated.

If you like plenty of action and don't mind a protagonist you'd like to step on and squash, then I think you'll enjoy this book; otherwise, try something else.



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Posthumous Education

Posthumous Education by Drew Hayes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This is a perfectly acceptable fantasy adventure but it's far from great. It's also misclassified. It has a tag of 'humour'. Only the premise is humourous. The execution is not. I liked the idea of a vampire working as an accountant, and then teaching accounting at a university targeting para-human students but the author used these ideas as little more than a setting convenient for assembling a number of characters over protracted period of time. He could have cut the time and used a conference instead or any gathering lasting for several days. Fred teaches for much of semester but outside of a few adventures the scenes could have been set anywhere.

Because this is part of a series and I haven't read any of the earlier books, I found it a little confusing at the start but the author does a pretty good job of providing context so I was never completely lost.

In general the book is okay. I found the altruism a little over the top in some places but the story never became maudlin so while I wrinkled my nose a bit I wasn't utterly turned off. I might read other books by this author even within this series but I'm not rushing out to look for them.



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Mayhem in Montreal

Mayhem in Montreal by Auburn Tempest

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This book is okay but it didn't stand out for me in any way. I listened to the audio version. Perhaps I might have enjoyed it more in text. Also, the author wrote in first person but I think this particular book might have been better in third. That way the author could have brought more characters forward. The pacing is good and the book moves right along, from one danger to the next, but somehow the drama and excitement didn't come through. I'm sure you've heard of cozy mysteries. This one made me wonder if it was a new sub-genre, 'cozy fantasy'. Of course in cozy mysteries, the protagonist is generally older while here she is quite young; however there was the same cloying atmosphere you get in the cozy mysteries. I can't say I disliked it and I'm not ruling out reading other books by this author but I'm certainly not going looking for me.



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A Practical Guide to Conquering the World

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K.J. Parker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

An interesting book, well paced with lots of action. The author is good at figuring out ways an intelligent leader can thwart an enemy led by incompetents or even competent leaders if their hands are tied by bureaucrats. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Unfortunately the title is a bit of a misnomer. This is not a text book suitable for Conquering the World 101.

Mixed in with the action is some speculation regarding religion, heroes and the truth. I found his ideas quite interesting although many might disagree. In any event I highly recommend the book.



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A Practical Guide to Conquering the World

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K.J. Parker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

An interesting book, well paced with lots of action. The author is good at figuring out ways an intelligent leader can thwart an enemy led by incompetents or even competent leaders if their hands are tied by bureaucrats. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Unfortunately the title is a bit of a misnomer. This is not a text book suitable for Conquering the World 101.

Mixed in with the action is some speculation regarding religion, heroes and the truth. I found his ideas quite interesting although many might disagree. In any event I highly recommend the book.



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The Brain Fog Fix

The Brain Fog Fix: Reclaim Your Focus, Memory, and Joy in Just 3 Weeks by Mike Dow

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

DNF at 55%.

I listened to the audio version of this book or I'd have DNFed it much sooner. It reminded me of an Infomercial, in this case for organic, non-gmo foods.

For those wondering what might work to reduce bra1n fog:
1. Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.
2. Minimize sugar and carbohydrates.
3. Eat more fish.
4. Get plenty of sleep.
5. Get plenty of exercise.
6. Reduce television/screen/phone time.
7. Don't smoke or take drugs.
8. Meet with friends and family from time to time.

That's pretty much it. True the author wants you to go one step further and avoid anything possibly exposed to something chemical in its lifetime but frankly I'm not convinced the author, a psychologist rather than a nutritionist knows what he's talking about. If you choose to read the book pay attention to the number of 'may's and 'can's as in 'This MAY cause cancer', 'X CAN lead to something bad'. You will find precious little use of the word 'will'. 'Studies suggest something MAY be bad for you'. 'There are as many studies suggesting something is, as opposed to isn't. Therefore ...' And on and on we go riding the merry-go-round.

In terms of nutrition I think we can summarize as follows: If it tastes good, avoid it.



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Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I thoroughly enjoyed this book although it wasn't as humourous as I was expecting. The pacing was good and everything kept moving right along. The ending was a little sad but I saw it coming so wasn't shocked. I was particularly impressed by the author's ability to think up viable solutions to difficult problems. I don't believe K.J Parker, aka, Tom Hold was ever an engineer but to a large extent he is able to think like one. Very impressive.



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Literary Wonderlands

Literary Wonderlands: A Journey Through the Greatest Fictional Worlds Ever Created by Laura Miller

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

Not bad. Not good. Sort of in between.

This book is a summary of a large number of books within the fantasy genre. The good news is there are a lot of them. The bad news is there are too many for the author to discuss in detail and so we received a two or three page synopsis of the overall plot and what the author might have been intending.

I don't understand who the intended reader is. I read it hoping to receive some tips on world-building. There were bits here and there but nothing significant. The only reader I can imagine is someone, possibly at the university level, performing a literary analysis on certain type of fantasy. For such a person, this might serve as an index of authors and possibly books to explore. I read it cover to cover but I don't recommend doing so. Frankly most of the useful information was in the table of contents. There you can discover a large list of authors with one of their books. If you are interested in the author, take a quick look at the summary of the book and then, if you're still interested, you can dig deeper., Beyond that I can't see much point in this thing.



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The Magician's Land

The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I loved this book. It is possibly the best book I've read in years. It's the third in a series and I came kin cold without having read the first two so I had to scramble a little to catch up but while I may have missed a couple of things I was able to follow the story quite well. It's basically a cross between Harry Potter and Narnia. Unlike in the Harry Potter series, this school for magic operates at the university level and chooses the creme de la creme of graduating high-school students. What isn't clear is whether the students already have a magical ability or whether they start from scratch but that doesn't matter. There are two plots apparently running in parallel, one in the real world and one in Fillory which is similar to Narnia. I was amazed at how well the author changed his style in each world. When writing about those in Fillory, he creates a sense of unreality, or more a fairy-tale style which makes the characters, even though they are adults, appear quite childlike. It's like he describes events in Fillory using pastels while the real world in painted in oils. I thought the author's ability to switch between the two was absolutely amazing.

I got the impression that although the author was familiar with Narnia, he really didn't like it very much and over the years I've come to a similar conclusion. Narnia, and Fillory, are too perfect, fine for children of course but ultimately vacuous.

Among the keywords describing the book, 'humour' was not included. Therefore I was surprised and delighted by the author's little side shots at fantasy tropes. I found this book much funnier than most of those classified with the 'humour' keyword.

Although I loved the book, the ending was a disappointment. I really thought once Fillory was being destroyed, it should end once and for all. At least the author killed off the two gods. Evidently the author couldn't bring himself to destroy Narnia/Fillory altogether but certainly took pleasure in killing the two gods. The idea of sacrificing deities goes back to the earliest of human mythologies but it has never been sufficient. (see Joseph Campbell for details). Recreating Fillory didn't work for me. Likewise the land created at the end had possibilities until the cozy horse showed up. It was a cute touch but made for a maudlin ending. I think the ending could have been improved without the fantasy lands and the group striking out to make something of the real world, however, this is not my book and the author has ever right to do things his own way in his book. Despite the ending, I still recommend this to fantasy readers, particularly those who appreciate a droll sense of humour.



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Lethal White

Lethal White by Robert Galbraith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

Definitely a page-turner. it's a long book and I found some of the relationship stuff tedious but it was comparatively minor. Strike reminds me a little of Colombo, always asking a few more questions, putting together disparate pieces of information to form a whole. I really enjoy these books. Because it wasn't available when I wanted to read it, I skipped volume three in, and based on backward reference in this one, I think I was better off. I may read it someday but I'm in no hurry. One thing I like about JKR is she managed to send me to the dictionary from time to time. These words were pretty obscure and I doubt I'll ever use them, but who knows, an opportunity may present itself. I'm not so keen on her use of the word 'row' for a squabble. Whenever I see 'row', I think of a boat. In any event, I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it.



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