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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Like the first book so much more. I think I only finished this one because I still cared about the characters from the first book.
I love Caine. I'm not sure about Hari Michaelson.
This book is pretty long. The Caine scenes are, of course, fantastic, and I really love the way scifi and fantasy are intertwined it this book.
That said, some of the scenes on earth are just long, and a tad annoying, but that's probably because I tend to feel too much for/with the characters. Still, definitely recommend it.
This book is pretty long. The Caine scenes are, of course, fantastic, and I really love the way scifi and fantasy are intertwined it this book.
That said, some of the scenes on earth are just long, and a tad annoying, but that's probably because I tend to feel too much for/with the characters. Still, definitely recommend it.
Huge disappointment. Caine has an extremely short screen-time, roughly 30% of the 800+ pages are actual "acts of Caine", the rest - I'm sorry to report - is over-bloated rambling. Also, Berne is sadly missing hence "Blade of Tyshalle" lacks a real sumbitch.
Damn shame, considering [b:Heroes Die|311864|Heroes Die (The Acts of Caine, #1)|Matthew Woodring Stover|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403193753s/311864.jpg|302782] is 24 carat badassery, and the concept of "Overworld" is amazing.
So, at the end of the day, "Chapter 0" was really promising, it's an account of how Caine came to be, and probably the best part of the book. The following pages are, ah... frustrating. Here and there, you get glimpses of the badassery that made "Heroes Die" a testosterone classic, but unfortunately it's only a few bits, such as...
"I fold down all but my first finger. “Rule One: Fuck with me, you die. No warnings. No second chances.”
This causes an astonished rumble to boil up from the mass of prisoners. Adder can only stare at me like I’ve gone bugnuts.
I pop the next finger. “Rule Two: What I say, goes. It comes out of my mouth, it’s law. Break a law, you get hurt. Break it again, you die.”
Adder snorts contemptuously. “Done yet? Anything else?”
“One more,” I tell him with a shrug. “Rule Three: Fuck with my friends, it’s the same as fucking with me. When in doubt, see Rule One. So—” I lift one hand up above my head and waggle it. “How many of you want to be my friends?”
Adder gives another one of those snorts. Sounds like he’s got a turd up his nose.
“C’mon, don’t be shy,” I call. “Let’s see some hands.”
And...
Now, the catechism.
“All right, Adder,” I say. “Who’s in charge here?”
“Motherfuck—” he starts, but a twitch of my arms cuts him off.
“Let’s try that again, huh? Who’s in charge here?”
“You are,” he growls.
“Very good. Who makes the rules in the Pit?”
“You do.”
Damn, 2.5 disappointed stars.
Damn shame, considering [b:Heroes Die|311864|Heroes Die (The Acts of Caine, #1)|Matthew Woodring Stover|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403193753s/311864.jpg|302782] is 24 carat badassery, and the concept of "Overworld" is amazing.
So, at the end of the day, "Chapter 0" was really promising, it's an account of how Caine came to be, and probably the best part of the book. The following pages are, ah... frustrating. Here and there, you get glimpses of the badassery that made "Heroes Die" a testosterone classic, but unfortunately it's only a few bits, such as...
"I fold down all but my first finger. “Rule One: Fuck with me, you die. No warnings. No second chances.”
This causes an astonished rumble to boil up from the mass of prisoners. Adder can only stare at me like I’ve gone bugnuts.
I pop the next finger. “Rule Two: What I say, goes. It comes out of my mouth, it’s law. Break a law, you get hurt. Break it again, you die.”
Adder snorts contemptuously. “Done yet? Anything else?”
“One more,” I tell him with a shrug. “Rule Three: Fuck with my friends, it’s the same as fucking with me. When in doubt, see Rule One. So—” I lift one hand up above my head and waggle it. “How many of you want to be my friends?”
Adder gives another one of those snorts. Sounds like he’s got a turd up his nose.
“C’mon, don’t be shy,” I call. “Let’s see some hands.”
And...
Now, the catechism.
“All right, Adder,” I say. “Who’s in charge here?”
“Motherfuck—” he starts, but a twitch of my arms cuts him off.
“Let’s try that again, huh? Who’s in charge here?”
“You are,” he growls.
“Very good. Who makes the rules in the Pit?”
“You do.”
Damn, 2.5 disappointed stars.
Dystopian world escaping into entertainment part 2 - spreading the dystopia from one world to the other.
This book was still enjoyable, but the action was not as fast paced, there were a lot more disturbing images (violence and sexual), and a LOT of deus ex machina to keep things moving along.
This book was still enjoyable, but the action was not as fast paced, there were a lot more disturbing images (violence and sexual), and a LOT of deus ex machina to keep things moving along.
Hoo Boy, this one was a long time coming. I read the first book in the series a year or a few ago (I have no idea, and am too lazy to look it up right now). The return to Caine's world and story seemed a little far fetched to me at first, as the first novel was a stand alone and tied up the story well. But there was more to tell.
This one is depressing, no doubt about that. It's great fun to read still, but it did make me want to pull all my hair out. The author apparently decided that he'd just break his characters, and see what was left at the end. Without ruining much, Caine is gonna have some series issues after this one.
Great fun novel, though it seemed a little slower than the previous ones.
This one is depressing, no doubt about that. It's great fun to read still, but it did make me want to pull all my hair out. The author apparently decided that he'd just break his characters, and see what was left at the end. Without ruining much, Caine is gonna have some series issues after this one.
Great fun novel, though it seemed a little slower than the previous ones.
Heroes grow old –
so does Caine. That, I fear, could possibly be an alternative title for the 2nd book of the Caine series. Sadly [a:Matthew Woodring Stover|1567394|Matthew Woodring Stover|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1301265530p2/1567394.jpg]has a very monochrome view on this topic. While the whole book could have done with a good third less of the pages, while still keeping the story line intact, what has been written is largely covered in – pardon me here but I only repeat what was repeated over and over in this book – piss and shit and blood and makes me wonder whose stiffened penis would react to the stench of the whole mess while body parts rot away and everyone gets mutilated and raped.
Though I’m really no reader with a weak stomach, I soon got bored by the sheer amount of excrement and pus in this book, to the point it was just disgusting.
And it all started so promising. By playing with the never extinguished fear of epidemic, Stover created a compelling setting for his 2nd book, while even introducing the reader to new and complex characters and (finally) some deeper back ground story to the whole earth/Overworld setting. And then he lost that thought somewhere along the way.
2 stars for getting me all fired up at the beginning!
so does Caine. That, I fear, could possibly be an alternative title for the 2nd book of the Caine series. Sadly [a:Matthew Woodring Stover|1567394|Matthew Woodring Stover|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1301265530p2/1567394.jpg]has a very monochrome view on this topic. While the whole book could have done with a good third less of the pages, while still keeping the story line intact, what has been written is largely covered in – pardon me here but I only repeat what was repeated over and over in this book – piss and shit and blood and makes me wonder whose stiffened penis would react to the stench of the whole mess while body parts rot away and everyone gets mutilated and raped.
Though I’m really no reader with a weak stomach, I soon got bored by the sheer amount of excrement and pus in this book, to the point it was just disgusting.
And it all started so promising. By playing with the never extinguished fear of epidemic, Stover created a compelling setting for his 2nd book, while even introducing the reader to new and complex characters and (finally) some deeper back ground story to the whole earth/Overworld setting. And then he lost that thought somewhere along the way.
2 stars for getting me all fired up at the beginning!
I want to get this out of the way right off the bat. I loved this book. Filled with great action without ever using it as a crutch. These books aren't just shooting for the thrill ride that other books of it's type do. I suppose that's my one caution, if you thought the first book got to philosophical and metaphorical then steer clear, because those aspects not only persist but magnify, making this not only one of the bloodiest things I've read this year but also one of the most thought provoking.
Heroes Die was one of my favorite reads of last year. It had a certain pulpy elegance in its freight train plotting and the core protagonist/antagonist duo of Caine and emperor Ma’ElKoth was genuinely compelling. It read like the novelization to a potent late 80’s/early 90’s Hollywood SFF blockbuster that never went into production. The follow-up, Blade of Tyshalle has some inspired stretches, but even at it’s best it feels like a ghostly retread of more compelling material from Heroes Die. And what’s being freshly explored in this sequel is more often miss than hit. The swings that Stover takes in BoT aren’t inherently bad, he wanted to tell a darker, more interior story. Fair enough. Unfortunately, the flatter character writing and not infrequent amateurish philosophizing nearly sink it.
On the heels of Heroes Die, this was an uncharacteristic disappointment. I expected much better from Stover.