The Anvil of the World - Kage Baker

   2003; 350 pages.  New Author? : No.  Book 1 (out of 3) in the “Anvil of the World” trilogy.  Genres: Fantasy; Steampunk Fiction; Novellas.  Overall Rating : 6½*/10.

 

    Well, Smith, it’s time we found you a job.

 

    How’s about we try you out as a caravan master?  There’s one leaving from Troon shortly and going to Salesh.  Yeah, I know, you have no experience as a caravan master and the road to Salesh is known to be full to robbers and demons, but maybe you’ll do okay.

 

    If you’re still alive when the caravan reaches Salesh, and don’t think that job’s for you, there’s an opening for a proprietor at the Hotel Grandview.  It’s a boring job, but all you have to do is make sure no one dies while they’re staying there.  You think you can handle that?

 

    If that doesn't work out, all that’s left is to send you on a quest for something called the "Key to Unmaking".  That job is idiot-proof because we’re pretty sure the Key doesn’t exist.  All you’ll be doing is confirming that it’s a hoax.

 

    Good luck, Smith.  Try not to get yourself killed.

 

What’s To Like...

    Neither the Amazon blurb nor the hype on the paperback cover hints at it, but The Anvil of the World is actually three novellas scrunched together to make a novel-length book.  The stories all follow the same main characters, Smith and Ermenwyr, and do appear to be presented in chronological order, but each is an independent storyline.

 

    The first novella, the “caravan” tale, seems primarily aimed at presenting the book’s tone, the world-building, and the various races and creatures that dwell therein.  Kage Baker does a marvelous job of this.  There are three races: humans (the “Children of the Sun”), demons (who try their best to be evil, but don’t always succeed), and Yendri (who are into New Agey things like meditation and vegetarianism).

 

    The tone is delicately lighthearted, which was a pleasant surprise.  The action is set in a sword-&-sorcery world, but might usually trumps magic, as alluded to in the second excerpt, below.  I loved the way Kage Baker chose names for the various characters.  For example, Lord Ermenwyr’s bodyguards are dubbed Cutt, Crish, Stabb, Strangel, Clubb, and Smosh, and other surnames include Greenbriar, Crossbrace, Coppercut, and Beatbrass.

 

    There’s a bunch of wit and humor running throughout the book, such as the deadly “Fatally Verbal Abuse” duel in the second story.  I was also thrilled to see Chemistry play a part as well, in the form of a caustic drain cleaner, dubbed “Scourbrass’s Foaming Wonder”.  The novellas have no titles and there are no chapter divisions, but there are paragraph breaks aplenty, which means you can always find a convenient place to stop.

 

    Each novella has its own ending, with the most significant one coming, appropriately enough, at the close of the third one.  Amazon and Wikipedia indicate there are two other books in this series, one of which, The House of the Stag, is a prequel that was published five years after The Anvil of the World.  It doesn’t appear that either of the other two novels are available in e-book format.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Princox (n.) : a self-confident young fellow.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.3/5 based on 122 ratings and 45 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.89/5 based on 2,030 ratings and 195 reviews.

 

Things That Sound Dirty, But Aren’t…

“Mr. Hummyhum is ready to play now.” (pg. 180)

 

Excerpts...

    “Hear, mortal, the lamentable tragedy of my house,” Lord Ermenwyr intoned gloomily.  “For it came to pass that the dread Master of the Mountain, in all his inky and infernal glory, did capture a celestial Saint to be his bride, under the foolish impression he was insulting Heaven thereby.  But, lo!  Scarce had he clasped her in his big evil arms when waves of radiant benignity and divine something-or-other suffused his demonic nastiness, permanently reforming him; for, as he was later to discover to his dismay, the Compassionate One had actually let him capture her with that very goal in mind.  But that’s the power of Love, isn’t it?  It never plays fair.”  (pg. 155)

 

    “Could you summon us up a catapult that’s bigger than theirs, then?” Smith inquired.

    “Don’t be silly,” said Lord Ermenwyr severely.  “Sorcery doesn’t work like that.  It works on living energies.  Things that can be persuaded.  I could probably convince tiny particles of air to change themselves into wood and steel, but I’d have to cut a deal with every one of them on a case-by-case basis, and do you have any idea how long it would take?  Assuming I even know how to build a catapult—"  (pg. 247)

 

“Hey nonny no! (. . .) Light the hubblebubble, Nursie dearest.”  (pg. 111)

    There’s a fair amount of cussing in The Anvil of the World.  I counted 17 instances in the first 20%, but they were all mild ones of the eschatological ilk.  Later on, the phrase “What in Nine Hells” was used a number of times, which I don’t really think counts as profanity.

 

    There are also quite a few allusions to “adult situations”, and the partaking of drugs, in particular “opiates”, is a common vice.  And some bars have edgy names, one of which was “The Winking Tit”.

 

    Alas, The Anvil of the World wasn’t a page-turner for me.  The stories are too short for any depth to be developed, and the reader has to start fathoming a completely new plotline at the start of each new novella.  I think this is unavoidable though; it’s just the inherent property of three novellas posing as a single novel.

 

    I’ll keep my eyes peeled when I’m roaming the used-book stores for the other two books in this series.  If they too are a combination of novellas, I’ll probably give them a pass.  But if they are written as actual novels, this is a series worth reading more about.

 

    6½ Stars.  One last thing.  Every human’s surname is simply “Smith”.  A few have first names, but most humans just have a modifying adjective added for clarity’s sake.  Examples: “Old Smith”, “Young Smith”, “Mrs. Smith”.  Surprisingly, the inhabitants of Kage Baker's world don't find it confusing at all.

A Hat Full of Sky - Terry Pratchett

   2004; 406 pages.  New Author? : No.  Book 32 (out of 41) in the “Discworld” series.  Book 2 (out of 5) in the “Tiffany Aching” sub-series.  Genre : Fantasy; Humor.  Overall Rating: 8*/10.

 

    It’s time for Tiffany Aching to start her training to be a witch!  The first step is a big one—she’s going to leave home and move into her witch-tutor’s house.  This means saying goodbye to her parents for a while, even though she’s only eleven years old.

 

    Her tutor will be Miss Level.  Both of her.  We’ll explain that later.  Tiffany will also get to do a bit of socializing with other girls her age who are also training to be witches.

 

    Magic spells and flying brooms certainly sound exciting!  But keep your ears and eyes open, Tiffany.  Because there are other creatures out there who can sense when spells are being cast, and locate their sources.

 

    And not all of them have your best interests in mind.

 

What’s To Like...

    A Hat Full of Sky is the second book in a 5-volume YA coming-of-age fantasy series set in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld universe.  Book One, The Wee Free Men, introduced us to nine-year-old Tiffany, now it’s two years later.

 

    Being so young, Tiffany struggles with self-confidence and socializing with other girls, and it's fun to watch her progress in those areas over time.  She also learns that the essence of being a witch is more about caring about and rendering service to those in need in her neighborhood, not performing dazzling tricks.

 

    As with any Terry Pratchett novel, the character-building here is superb.  We are introduced to several local witches, each with their own quirks: one can’t make turns while flying on her broom; and Miss Level somehow has two simultaneous manifestations.  Oswald is a neat-freak ondageist (say what?!), and even the group of Pictsies called the Nac Mac Feegle, all have their own unique personalities.

 

    The tension in the storyline builds and leads up to a life-or-death confrontation between Tiffany and an unstoppable essence called “the hiver”, where the outcome-determining question is: how do you defeat something that is, by definition, invincible?  Things close with a festival called “The Witch Trials” where all the witches—whether they be initiates and old veteran hags alike—get to show off the tricks of their trade.  The story ends on Hogswatchday, a celebration on Discworld known as “the changing of the year”, or what you and I would call the Winter Solstice.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.8/5 based on 4,992 ratings and 598 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.32/5 based on 76,926 ratings and 2,742 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “PLN?” she said.

    “Aye,” said Rob proudly.  “We came prepared!  Look, it’s written doon.  Pee El Ner.  Plan.”

   “Er . . . how can I put this . . .” Miss Level mused.  “Ah, yes.  You came rushing all this way to save Tiffany from a creature that can’t be seen, touched, smelled, or killed.  What did you intend to do when you found it?”

    Rob Anybody scratched his head, to a general shower of objects.

    “I think mebbe you’ve put yer finger on the one weak spot, mistress,” he admitted.  (pg. 222)

 

    “I thought you might have a . . . a use for this.”

    The old woman slowly unwrapped the white paper.  The Zephyr Billow cloak unrolled itself under her fingers and filled the air like smoke.

    “It’s lovely, but I couldn’t wear it,” said Tiffany as the cloak shaped itself over the gentle currents of the clearing.  “You need gravitas to carry off a cloak like that.”

    “What’s gravitarse?” said Granny Weatherwax sharply.

    “Oh . . . dignity.  Seniority.  Wisdom.  Those sorts of things,” said Tiffany.  (pg. 396)

 

Kindle Details…

    A Hat Full of Sky sells for $13.99 at Amazon right now.  The other 40 books in the series range in price from $4.99 to $14.99, with no apparent pattern in the pricing strategy

 

It was dreadful when your own thoughts tried to gang up on you.  (pg. 308)

    A Hat Full of Sky contains zero profanity, zero gore, and zero adult situations.  The target audience is YA girls, so I expected this level of cleanliness, but if you’re not part of that target audience (and I’m not), you may find the story’s tone a bit “tame”.

 

    You might also find the pacing in the first half of the book, where Tiffany gets her first lessons in witchery, a bit slow.  But the second half of the story is vintage Pratchett storytelling, and is worth the wait.  I should also admit that I’m not reading these Tiffany Aching books in order, and I definitely got the feeling that was a mistake on my part.

 

    Although the story is set in Discworld, the only characters from the main series that play a role here are Granny Weatherwax and Death.  If your favorite character is someone like Carrot, Sam Vimes, or Rincewind, you might be a bit disappointed, although the Nac Mac Feegle do supply a fair amount of Discworld wit and hilarity to the tale.

 

    Overall, A Hat Full of Sky fully met my expectation for a Terry Pratchett YA novel, with some excellent insight for young readers about things like self-image and service to one’s fellow man.  Adults will likely find it thought-provoking as well.

 

    8 Stars.  One last thing.  When you’re given three wishes by a grateful genie or magic frog or fairy godmother, what should your third wish always be, according to Granny Weatherwax?  Answer is in the comments.

The Great Troll War - Jasper Fforde

    2021; 353 pages.  Book 4 (out of 4) in the “Last Dragonslayer” series.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Fantasy; YA.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

 

   The Trolls are coming!  The Trolls are coming!!

 

    And the entire population of the UnUnited Kingdom is quaking in their boots.  Well, everyone that’s still alive, anyway.  Trolls find humans to be a culinary delight.  There are so many good ways to cook them and eat them.

 

    The Trolls have advanced to the border of the Kingdom of Snodd, but they’ve been stymied there, thanks to the Button Trench.  Trolls despise buttons.  No one knows why, but the Button Trench is keeping them out of Snodd.  For now.

 

    Jennifer Strange has been put in charge of organizing Snodd’s defenses for if and when the Button Trench fails.  Things could be worse.  Snodd has called up hundreds of fencers, marksmen, and warriors to aid in her cause.  There’s just one problem.

 

    There seems to have been a bit of a communications mishap when recruiting those soldiers.

 

What’s To Like...

    The Great Troll War is the fourth and concluding book in Jasper Fforde’s “The Last Dragonslayer” fantasy series.  There’s a 7-year gap (2014-2021) between publication of the previous book in the series, The Eye of Zoltar, and this one.  The story is told in the first-person POV, Jennifer’s.

 

    As always, Jasper Fforde combines masterful storytelling with lots of wit.  How *do* you repel a horde of Trolls who have the advantage in size, power and most importantly, wizardry?  Meanwhile, Jennifer has to contend with princesses behaving badly, games of Thrones, and the realization that her magic is puny compared to the evil mastermind directing the Troll invasion, "The Mighty Shandar".

 

    The book is written in English, not American, which features weird spellings including centred, despatch, storeys, dykes, pyjamas, and manoeuvring.  Jeez, spellchecker hated that sentence.  There are some witty acronyms, such as HENRY, which stands for Hex Energy Neutralising Reversal Yieldiser, and even a brief moment where Jasper Fforde personally breaks down the fourth wall.  I liked the nods to Pachelbel and the movie Back To The Future, and enjoyed the ride on the Cloud Leviathan.

 

    The ending is a stutter-step affair.  After the titular Troll War issue is resolved, the storyline segues into a final showdown theme, pitting Jennifer and The Mighty Shandar.  Fortuitously, this allows Fforde to tie up several plot threads.  Things close on a sad-yet-hopeful, unexpected-yet-hinted-at, dark note.  It wraps up the series succinctly, yet leaves the door open for a sequel.  However, I have a feeling this series is done for good.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.5/5 based on 976 ratings and 45 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.17/5 based on 1,570 ratings and 212 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “Numerical values are seriously overrated.  Here’s another example.  If I were to tell you the mass of the sun is roughly 2 x 10³⁰ kilograms then it would just be a meaninglessly high number – ten with thirty noughts after it.”

    “I agree with that,” said the Princess.

    “Right,” said the Troll.  “But if I were to tell you the sun has 99.86 per cent of the combined mass of the entire solar system, what would that mean?”

    “It would mean . . . wow,” said the Princess.

    “Exactly,” said the Troll, grinning broadly.  “Wow.”  (loc. 1344)

 

    “I’ve only got a few things to say, and I shall be brief.  Firstly, I am to wield absolute power in all the Kingdoms, and anyone who has not signed the book of allegiance in the foyer will be considered an enemy of the Crown.  But, to show my caring nature, they shall not be executed, but banished: thrown forcibly across the Button Trench in the direction of the Trolls after being painted with gravy.”  (loc. 2069)

 

Kindle Details…

    The Great Troll War presently sells for $2.99 at Amazon.  The other 3 books in the series range in price from $6.07 to $9.99.  Jasper Fforde offers about 16 other e-novels, in the form of several other series, and costing anywhere from $2.99 to $14.99.

 

“There are always a few naysayers who want to rain on your parade when you contemplate galactic domination.”  (loc. 3239)

    The target audience is YA, so The Great Troll War is virtually profanity-free; I noted just one “damn” and three “hells” in the entire book.  I don’t recall any adult situations.  The editing is superb; the only typo I saw was a variant spelling of Princess Jocamanica’s name: “Jocaminca”, and I’m not even sure if that wasn't just a deliberate snubbing of her. 

 

    The seven-year hiatus between Books 3 and 4 means a lot of readers, including me, remembered little about recurring characters and overarching storylines.  The author cleverly addresses this by back-referencing past events and beings from earlier books via footnotes, but some reviewers thought this was overdone.  Personally, I found that I could follow the storyline easily even when bypassing the footnotes.

 

    Overall, I felt that Jasper Fforde’s ultimate aim in writing The Great Troll War was to bring closure to this series, and in this regard he succeeded nicely.  I wasn’t blown away by the way it ended, yet the story kept me entertained throughout.  There is a rumor afoot that a series-ending eighth book in Fforde’s fabulous Thursday Next series, Dark Reading Matter, will be coming out in June 2025, and I’m looking forward to finding out how he pulls that one off.

 

    8 Stars.  One last thing.  Two catchy little sidelights in The Great Troll War are the “20:1 Quickener Spell” and the “El Carisma pout”.  I simply have to figure out some way to learn both of these talents.

A Count of Five - Erin L. Snyder

   2015; 259 pages.  Book 1 (out of 9) in the series “The Citadel of the Last Gathering”.  New Author? : Yes.  Genres: Time Travel; Fantasy; Alternate Timelines.  Overall Rating: 5½*/10.

 

    Alaji has learned a new spell!

 

    Actually, that’s not such a big deal, since magic, at least on a limited basis, is a common ability among her people.  Men learn spells to help them in combat.  Women, including Alaji, are taught household magic, such as self-weaving thread and fire-starting spells to instantly light torches.

 

    However, Alaji has figured out how to do a decidedly more powerful spell, one that allows her to travel through time.  So far, all she can do is skip back a couple seconds at a time, not a very useful talent unless, say, someone is trying to punch you.  There must be some way to make bigger time-jumps, transport others through time with her, and jump forward in time.  Alaji plans to keep experimenting with the spell until she discovers how to do these things.

 

    There is a catch in all of this.  Time-travel is considered to be “a spell of the gods”, reserved solely for deities, and forbidden to humans.  If any of Alaji’s fellow tribesmen find out she’s learned how to cast this spell, they will kill her without any hesitation.  The gods demand it.

 

What’s To Like...

    A Count of Five is the first book in Erin L. Snyder’s sword-&-sorcery/time-travel series “The Citadel of the Last Gathering”.  The book’s title references the Alaji's people’s counting system, based on 5 digits, instead of our 10-digit system.  Surprisingly, that allows them to quickly do complex additions via their fingers, and presumably their toes if whatever they’re counting are numerous enough.

 

    I liked the character-building of our protagonist, Alaji.  Yes, she has the usual heroic qualities, but she is also capable of cold-blooded murder if need be.  Her on-again/off-again sidekick Yemerik is equally “gray”; he will quickly switch allegiances if the situation calls for it, and his past is shrouded in mystery, both as to where he comes from, and when.

 

    For now, the fantasy angle takes a back seat to the time-travel element.  The only otherworldly creatures I noted were goblins and dragons.  Both species can be a threat if you’re wandering around in the wilds, but they don’t have a major impact on the plotline here.  However this is only Book One.

 

    There’s much greater emphasis on the time-traveling.  It has a huge impact on the main storylines: Alaji wants to get back home and “revive” her dead brother by altering the timeline; Yemerik wants to get to the titular Citadel of the Last Gathering and (from his viewpoint) restore the timeline to its original and proper sequence of events.  Along the way, they will make use of a huge Time Portal door, which, if you have trouble envisaging it, is depicted on the book’s cover.

 

    The ending is more of a stopping point than the culmination of a tale.  Alaji is still honing her chrono-hopping skills, her traveling companions change frequently, and both Yemerik’s and her quests are a long way from being completed.  The book closes with some helpful background information about time-magic and what I presume is a teaser for the next book.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.0/5 based on 26 ratings and 12 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.14/5 based on 22 ratings and 7 reviews

 

Excerpts...

    “The words may be different or have altered meanings.  Even the syntax could have changed.  I have a pendant that will equalize my speech, but it might take time to adjust.  Until it does, I’ll have to make do with body language and tone.  It will be awkward until then.  Even after that, you won’t understand much of what we’re saying, if you understand any of it.”

    “And if they attack us?”

    “Then forget everything I just said and kill as many as you can, starting with the leaders.”  (loc. 1546)

 

    “Well.  I think that should do it, more or less.  I hope.  We’ve got several thousand years leeway, so there’s reason to be optimistic, anyway.”

    “The gate is . . . open?”

    “No.  It’s primed to be opened.”

    “Then . . . what?  It opens when we go through?”

    “Yes,” Yemerik replied, somewhat surprised she’d figured that out.  “When we go through with the fragments, the gate will open.”  He cleared his throat then corrected himself.  “Should open.  I’m still working more from theory than experience.”  (loc. 1951)

 

Kindle Details…

    A Count of Five is presently priced at $2.99 at Amazon, as are the other eight books in this series.  Erin L. Snyder also offers three standalone novels for your Kindle; they too cost $2.99.  The most recent e-book by this author, the closing volume in this series, was published in 2020.

 

“I’m a constructive historian, not a thaumaturgist.”  (loc. 1515)

    There are some things to quibble about.  First the good news: there’s amazingly little cussing in the book.  I noted just five instances in the first 40%, one excretory mention and four references to cosmic condemnation.  I’m always impressed when an author doesn’t rely on an overuse of cusswords to set the tone in a book.  That's what adjectives and a thesaurus are for.

 

    I found the pacing of the story to be slow and, for most of the book, not a lot of action to keep the reader turning the pages.  To be fair though, the ending does include an exciting and unanticipated calamity.  Still, I expected more thrills-and-spills given the presence of dragons, goblin, magic, and time-traveling.

 

    A map would have come in handy, although admittedly that would be a challenge since landmarks change over the course of centuries when centuries of time leaps occur. There are no page numbers in the Kindle format, but to be fair, the reader can use the "percentage read" figure to estimate how much more he has to go.

 

    Last, and nit-pickiest, syncing the “time remaining” estimates to the 70 “Sections” instead of just the five “Parts” would have been far more useful.

 

    Overall, I greatly enjoyed the time-traveling aspects in A Count of Five.  Erin L. Snyder is not afraid delve into the realms of Time Paradoxes and Timeline Manipulating, and I was impressed with that.  A few readers found that confusing, but I like it when a storyteller isn't afraid to tackle thins like "what happens if I go back in time and meet myself?"

 

    For me, the main issues were the shortage of action and lack of any of the plot threads being tied up in the ending.  This is a nine-volume saga, and I have to wonder if other books in the series have the same drawbacks.  Luckily, Book Two, A Tide of Ice, is on my Kindle, and perhaps reading it will give me a better idea of where this series is heading.

 

    5½ Stars.  Yemerik is an enigmatic character.  He is aware of things like tuning forks, coins and other historical anachronisms.  I found myself wondering if he’s actually from our present time and world, and can't wait to learn more of his backstory.

A Lion Among Men - Gregory Maguire

   2008; 309 pages.  New Author? : No.  Book 3 (out of 4) in the “The Wicked Years” series.  Genres: Revisionist Fairy Tale; Fantasy; Fairy Tales.  Overall Rating : 5*/10.

 

    Let’s face it, in the classic movie The Wizard of Oz, the Cowardly Lion gets portrayed in a pretty poor light.  He’s the King of the Beasts, yet he’d be the first one to tell you that he’s a chicken at heart.

 

    He joins up with Dorothy and her little troupe on the Yellow Brick Road as they journey to meet the Wizard of Oz.  The WOO (the Animals’ moniker for the Wizard) gives the Cowardly Lion a magic medal, promising that it will make him brave, but in reality, it has a placebo effect, because it turns out the Lion already was imbued with bravery.  He just needed to realize it.  What an idiot.

 

    But that’s just one side of the story.  Maybe the Cowardly Lion only thinks he’s a scaredy-cat.  Or maybe he’s a victim of a smear campaign, either by the Emerald City citizens or those pint-sized Munchkinlanders.

 

    It’s time to hear the other side of the story.

 

What’s To Like...

    A Lion Among Men is the third book in Gregory Maguire’s “The Wicked Years” series.  The first book, Wicked, was a fantastic success as a novel, a musical, and a soundtrack album.  I’ve been reading the series in order, but at a rate of about one book every six years or so.  Each book focuses on a different character from the world of Oz: Wicked retells the story of Elphaba Thropp, aka the “Wicked Witch of the West”.  Book 2, Son of a Witch, examines the life of a boy rumored to be Elphaba’s son, Liir.

 

    Now it’s the Cowardly Lion’s turn to grace the spotlight. His name is Brrr, and he knows next to nothing about his parents, clan, homeland, and early years.  He wanders all over the countryside, asking anyone he meets whether they might remember a stray lion cub.  For the most part, it's to no avail.

 

    Along his way, Brrr and the reader meet all sorts of interesting creatures.  Almost all of the animals talk, including Bears, Ocelots, Squirrels, Apes, and Boars.  But there are also Trolls, Dragons, Dwarves, and Tree Elves to cross paths with, as well as lots of humans.

 

    One of the two main storylines features Yackle, an incredibly old Maunt (aka “Nun”) who’s forgotten how to die.  As an “official court reporter” for the Emperor of Oz, Brrr is entitled to interview her, ostensibly looking for information as to the whereabouts of Elphaba and Liir.  However it turns out that Brrr has an ulterior motive.  The other main storyline doesn’t get started until around page 260, and it would be a spoiler to give any details.

 

    The ending is a mixed bag.  Some of the plot threads are tied up, such as Yackle’s.  At least I think hers is.  Others remain unresolved, presumably to be addressed in the next and final book in the series, Out of Oz, which resides on my Kindle.  I wouldn’t call A Lion Among Men a standalone story, although at the rate I’ve been reading these, for me it essentially was.  Methinks it would behoove me to read Book 4 in the not-too-distant future.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Come a cropper (v., phrase) : to suffer a defeat or disaster.

Others: Demimonde (n.); Put paid to (v., phrase); Haut monde (n., phrase).

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.5/5 based on 979 ratings and 359 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.32/5 based on 27,838 ratings and 2,037 reviews.

 

Things That Sound Dirty But Aren’t…

    “I’ll come with,” said the Squirrel succulently.  “Not if you value your nuts.”  (pg. 166)

 

Excerpts...

    “Do you know why the chicken crossed the road?”

    “Is this a joke?”

    Nothing was a joke to Dorothy.  “Because I was on the other side,” she finished.  “I was standing on one foot and singing a little song about, oh, I don’t know what.  And that brave little hen crossed the dangerous road to be with me.”

    “What happened to her?”

    “One Saturday night Uncle Henry wrung her neck and Auntie Em made chicken stew.  I cried and cried but actually she tasted pretty good.”  (pg. 159)

 

    One may, oh, cook poorly, or be socially graceless, or invest unwisely, or fail to achieve the best of personal hygiene.  But one doesn’t want to live wrong—from breath to breath, from start to finish, to get it wrong, so wrong, so fully wrong, that one has never had the glimmer of an idea that it might be better.  Or does one?  Maybe if you’re going to get it that wrong, it’s better to get it all wrong.  The proverbial stupid ant crawling on the hat brim of the prophet, eager only for the shade behind the prophet’s left ear, and ignorant of the civilization-altering sermon it is witnessing.  (pg. 194)

 

“Fate is only fate once it has happened.  Even our own deaths are only theoretical until we croak.”  (pg. 261)

    There are some quibbles.  The amount of cussing is low – I counted 8 instances in the first 20%, but it does include some f-bombs.  There are one or two rolls-in-the-hay, and a couple mentions of feminine cycles.

 

    One reviewer complained about the excessively flowery language, and there is at least one passage like that.  But I think Gregory Maguire was making a point there, and frankly, 99% of the text is easy to comprehend.

 

    There’s lots of extras at the start of the book: Ruling Family Trees, Oz’s recent history, and an excerpt from Brrr’s backstory.  Only the last one is worth your time, and it just gives a valuable hint as to how Brrr came to be, which is good to know as we tag along with him seeking information of his family tree.

 

    The biggest problem with A Lion Among Men is the slow pacing and lack of excitement.  The first three-quarters of the book is really just a lot of talking and zero action.  Given that the armies of “Loyal Oz” and the “Free State of Munchkinland” are itching to go to war, and that the mauntery (“nunnery”) where Brrr is interviewing Yackle lies in the direct path of both those armies, there was ample opportunity for some thrills and spills.  But it never happens.

 

    All of which made for a boring read.  Hopefully Out of Oz will be a lot more exciting.

 

    5 Stars.  As shown above, there’s a sizable disparity between the Amazon rating of A Lion Among Men and the Goodreads one.  In most cases, I’ve found that the latter’s score is the more accurate of the two.  Certainly its database (27,838 ratings) is a lot larger than Amazon’s (979 ratings).

The Deaths of Tao - Wesley Chu

   2013; 460 pages.  Book 2 (out of 3) in the “Lives of Tao” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Action-Intrigue; Sci-Fi Fantasy; Humorous.  Overall Rating : 7½*/10.

 

    Right now, there’s a global war going on, and not many people are aware of it.  That’s probably because it involves two factions of an alien race that was marooned on Earth a long time ago when their spaceship crashed here.  How long ago, you ask?  Well, the dinosaurs were walking around back then.

 

    Our planet’s atmosphere is toxic to them, but they’ve found an effective way to overcome that.  They simply “inhabit” the body of a living creature.  It could be a human being, it could be a shark, it could be a brontosaurus.  The earthly creature is referred to as its “host”.

 

    Nowadays, the two alien factions—the Prophus (the good guys) and the Genjix (the baddies)—both utilize humans almost exclusively as their hosts.  But the Prophus view the arrangement as sort of an equal partnership (kind of like roommates), while the Genjix consider it a master-slave relationship.  Guess which one’s the master.

 

    So the next time you hear voices in your head—well, just a single voice, actually,—choose your words back to it carefully.  You don’t whether it’s a Genjix or a Prophus.

 

What’s To Like...

    The Deaths of Tao is the second book in Wesley Chu’s (completed) trilogy called “Lives of Tao”.  The Prophus-Genjix conflict is heating up, and the Prophus continue to get the worse of it.  The protagonist from the first book, Roen Tan, is back again, along with his Quasing (that’s what you call an alien that’s inhabiting your body) Tao.  This time he shares the spotlight with his wife Jill (although they're separated now), who’s Quasing is named Baji, and an up-and-coming an bad guy named Enzo, who’s Quasing is named Zoras.

 

    There are 45 chapters covering the 460 pages of the story, and for the most part, they cycle among the three protagonists.  There are a bunch of plotlines, but the three main ones mostly take place in Taiwan (Roen’s), China/Tibet (Enzo’s), and the US (Jill’s).  The Taiwan setting became my favorite, because you very rarely find a novel set there and because it is where the author was born.

 

    If you’re a lover of Action-Intrigue stories, The Deaths of Tao is the book for you.  All three storylines have plenty of it.  The fight scenes are well-written and easy to follow: you can feel the punches, kicks, bullets, and deaths.  The intrigue is equally fascinating – why are the Genjix so concerned about US trade sanctions, why is a Quasing prison camp in Tibet so crucial to their long-term plans, and where in the world did Dylan disappear to?

 

    Each chapter opens with a short “intro” written by one of the Quasing.  It’s not crucial to the story, but it is a clever way to give the reader their version of “history” here on Earth.  I chuckled at the mention of durian; I once had an opportunity to partake of this fruit when I was traveling in Asia, but passed on it.  I think I would do the same with the “stinky tofu” mentioned here.

 

    The ending, or “endings” to be precise, are okay but incomplete.  Each of the three main storylines closes with an exciting battle, but none of the plot threads are resolved.  That’s “none" as in "zero”.  The Prophus are still in dire straits, only they’re more dire now.  Both sides have suffered some deaths, including both Quasing and humans, but the losses by the Prophus are far more grievous.  The human world has become more aware of aliens amongst us, but discover there’s not much they can do about it.

 

    Oh well, that’s why there’s a Book Three, The Rebirths of Tao.

Kewlest New Word ...

    Ghillie Suit (n.) : a type of camouflage clothing designed to resemble the background environment such as foliage, snow, or sand

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.3/5 based on 216 ratings and 150 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.91/5 based on 3,580 ratings and 329 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    Zoras watched with disdain as Enzo played the crowd like a politician walking the rope line.  Keeping his face stoic, he touched the outstretched hands and made eye contact with the worshipping masses.  It was a far cry from how Devin, who played the role of an isolated Egyptian Pharaoh, treated his people.

    You are a god.  Remember that.

    “A god who leads, Guardian.”

    To lead is a human trait.  A god demands obedience.  (pg. 79)

 

    Sixteen behind you.  Ten on both sides.  All armed and probably awful shots.  Four bosses in front.  Oh, and you have Hutch, the narcoleptic guard.  You got a plan to get out of this?

    (…) He shrugged.  “I got nothing.”

    I find it ironic that you had a plan to fight your way out of Prophus Command, but not out of a triad warehouse.  I am starting to doubt your loyalties.

    “Or intelligence.”

    Or will to live.

    “Or delusions of invincibility.”  (pg. 166)

 

“He should be alright when he wakes.” (…) “Ground hit him in the head when he jumped out of a second story window.”  (pg. 223)

    There are some nits to pick.

 

    There’s a moderate amount of cussing in The Deaths of Tao, 16 instances in the first 20% of the book.  That’s not excessive, but given that I didn’t note any adult situations or other R-rated stuff, it has to be asked whether the cusswords could've been omitted.

 

    More serious is the abundance of errata, something other reviewers also pointed out.  Spelling miscues such as eying/eyeing might be shrugged off as choices of British-vs-American English. But grammar boo-boos like “Sure buddy”/”Sure, buddy”, “several startled crewman”, and “could happened” are just sloppy proofreading.

 

    So are continuity issues such as a guy named Jim showing up (page 432), followed one paragraph later by Roen asking where Jim is, and being told one paragraph after that that Jim was blown out to sea by a grenade.

 

    The most egregious typo is the misspelling of “Genjix” on the back cover of the book, where it is rendered as “Gengix”.  Sheesh.  Angry Robot Publishing is already rivaling Tor Books as the publishing house with the worst set of copy editors.

 

    At the other end of the Picky-to-Egregious Scale was a chemical cited on page 315 as “Osmium Quintoxide”.  We’ll forgive the chemistry issue regarding Osmium’s possible/impossible valence states.  But calling those five Oxygens “quintoxide” instead of “pentoxide” is like fingernails-on-the-chalkboard to a chemist.

 

    Still, cusswords can be tolerated when they’re used in moderation, typos and grammar can be corrected by copy editors, and if you aren’t a chemist, you won’t care whether it’s quintoxide or pentoxide.  True, the ending doesn't tie up any plot threads, but the story has lots of action, significant character development of all three protagonists, and a rapidly deteriorating outcome for the Prophus that now seems inevitable.

 

    7½ Stars.  In summary, The Deaths of Tao didn’t captivate me the way Book 1, The Lives of Tao did (and reviewed here).  But that doesn’t merit the 1-star and 2-star ratings that some reviewers gave it.  Book 2 in any trilogy is mostly just tasked with linking the first and third books together in a coherent, if forgettable, manner, and The Deaths of Tao does that successfully here.

 

    For comparison, consider J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy.  You probably remember the epic endings in both The Fellowship of the Ring (Book 1) and The Return of the King (Book 3).  But how much, if anything, do you recall about the ending of Book 2, The Two Towers?