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dark_reader's reviews
683 reviews
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
I only read the first of four episodes in this apparently million-copy selling internationally beloved book adaptation of the author’s own play, and the extremely awkward writing in translation is a barrier to continuing.
I can’t say how much of the issue is the original Japanese text versus the translation, but it’s likely both. There were parts where it seemed the translation was excessively literal, but even just the manner in which characters’ clothes were listed when they entered the scene, and the time unnecessarily spent on describing mundane actions and character interactions, were enough to qualify it as poor writing.
I often love Japanese novels and the ways their characters act and think and the cultural details, but this was exceedingly sloppy. I shall overcome my usual urge to finish a book just because I started it and return it to the library now.
I can’t say how much of the issue is the original Japanese text versus the translation, but it’s likely both. There were parts where it seemed the translation was excessively literal, but even just the manner in which characters’ clothes were listed when they entered the scene, and the time unnecessarily spent on describing mundane actions and character interactions, were enough to qualify it as poor writing.
I often love Japanese novels and the ways their characters act and think and the cultural details, but this was exceedingly sloppy. I shall overcome my usual urge to finish a book just because I started it and return it to the library now.
The Thief Who Wasn't There by Michael McClung
5.0
The strongest book since the first. Holgren's POV is very appealing.
This is a direct sequel to The Thief Who Knocked on Sorrow's Gate, immediately following that book's cliffhanger ending. Holgren, everyone's favourite mage, takes over from Amra's first person narration that has led the series to this point, since Amra is somewhat indisposed, and damn is his fiery and driven perspective a blast. Sometimes literally.
This book is more substantial to the prior ones which leaned toward novella length. Those extra fifty pages are put to good use. The storytelling is as fast-paced as ever. This has been my one occasional complaint across the prior two books (it wasn't an issue in the first one): that the pacing is sometimes too fast, particularly when the books would speed through emotional moments. Dialogue in particular tends to flow at a fast clip, with nary a narrative interruption. Not that it needs those; the dialogue is EXCELLENT and I would hate to see unnecessary dialogue tags or mentions of furrowed brows or pursed lips or any of that junk gumming it up. But sometimes I find I have to force myself to read more slowly and savour the exchanges, because the writing lends itself to speedy reading. Anyway, that one complaint didn't recur during this book; I felt every moment of Holgren's frustration and emotional drive.
There was a five-year gap between this book and the next one's publication in 2019, but fortunately I don't have to wait and I expect to inhale The Thief Who Went To War right soon. But after that, if the story truly requires further sequels, it's unclear when they may materialize if ever. The last update I saw from the author was in 2022 and mentioned grad school so who knows? But even if there's more story left hanging, everything I've seen so far engenders confidence that it will be a satisfying literary experience no matter what.
This self-published book had a few more errors than I usually find acceptable, mostly simple typos but notably the spelling of one character's name changed half-way through (from Marl to Marle).
This is a direct sequel to The Thief Who Knocked on Sorrow's Gate, immediately following that book's cliffhanger ending. Holgren, everyone's favourite mage, takes over from Amra's first person narration that has led the series to this point, since Amra is somewhat indisposed, and damn is his fiery and driven perspective a blast. Sometimes literally.
This book is more substantial to the prior ones which leaned toward novella length. Those extra fifty pages are put to good use. The storytelling is as fast-paced as ever. This has been my one occasional complaint across the prior two books (it wasn't an issue in the first one): that the pacing is sometimes too fast, particularly when the books would speed through emotional moments. Dialogue in particular tends to flow at a fast clip, with nary a narrative interruption. Not that it needs those; the dialogue is EXCELLENT and I would hate to see unnecessary dialogue tags or mentions of furrowed brows or pursed lips or any of that junk gumming it up. But sometimes I find I have to force myself to read more slowly and savour the exchanges, because the writing lends itself to speedy reading. Anyway, that one complaint didn't recur during this book; I felt every moment of Holgren's frustration and emotional drive.
There was a five-year gap between this book and the next one's publication in 2019, but fortunately I don't have to wait and I expect to inhale The Thief Who Went To War right soon. But after that, if the story truly requires further sequels, it's unclear when they may materialize if ever. The last update I saw from the author was in 2022 and mentioned grad school so who knows? But even if there's more story left hanging, everything I've seen so far engenders confidence that it will be a satisfying literary experience no matter what.
This self-published book had a few more errors than I usually find acceptable, mostly simple typos but notably the spelling of one character's name changed half-way through (from Marl to Marle).
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
5.0
I have no idea what it was about, but damn was it delightfully melancholy and beautiful.
A Space Family Odyssey: Lost in Space by Charles C Vaden Jr
Finally, I simply must share my absolute favorite moment:
5.0
An amazing book that restored my faith in humanity. No notes.
. . .
. . .
. . .
Well, maybe some notes.
. . .
. . .
. . .
Well, maybe some notes.
As the crew prepares for a new day out on this new planet; Robert exclaims, “WOW ;we all look so different-every body look at each other-its’s a sif the short time travel aged us years ,some more than others, and their NASA flight suits even changed to different suits. There is no explanation for this ,I guess part of Einstein’s theories were correct-things have changed, but we are in good shape,every one feel OK?”[sic][sic][sic][sic][sic][sic]...
I really must thank the author for paying for a Goodreads Giveaway for this recently published book. See, I was despairing that because of the glut of A.I.-generated books, I would never again see a human-written disaster of a book like this again. I feared the days of Moon People, Antigua: The Land of Fairies, Wizards and Heroes, Kaileb's Dream, Timemaster Era: Beginning of a new universe!, and their ilk were over. What would I ever do, if people who have never seen a book stopped writing books and then publishing and promoting them?
But with this epic family space adventure, Charles Vaden, or DARTH, not sure what he's going with here, my faith in hilariously terrible books has been restored!
Just in case you missed it in the book title or blurb or extended "FOREWARD" that opens this magnificent creation, to help bring home the message that it's based on 1960s Lost in Space TV series, helpful photos of the show are included:
It's a good thing neither the show's original producer CBS nor its current distributor Disney have ever sued anyone over I.P. infringement! There are other photos, both in the introduction and peppered throughout the book, sadly many of these are AI images but with this book's level of incompetence they happen to fit right in.
Can this book out-Moon People Moon People? It's certainly going to try:
But with this epic family space adventure, Charles Vaden, or DARTH, not sure what he's going with here, my faith in hilariously terrible books has been restored!
Just in case you missed it in the book title or blurb or extended "FOREWARD" that opens this magnificent creation, to help bring home the message that it's based on 1960s Lost in Space TV series, helpful photos of the show are included:
It's a good thing neither the show's original producer CBS nor its current distributor Disney have ever sued anyone over I.P. infringement! There are other photos, both in the introduction and peppered throughout the book, sadly many of these are AI images but with this book's level of incompetence they happen to fit right in.
Can this book out-Moon People Moon People? It's certainly going to try:
DAY 2 Evening:
Robert – Ok Daisy – it’s about that time – lets head back and see about the reboot!” Daisy – “Ok – but Dad – what if it doesn’t work -?” – “Ok Lets take things one at a time – we have plenty of time – Meanwhile – at the ship – everyone is waiting as the Rover arrives – “Ok – this is it – Daisy – let her rip! Daisy – Ok – but this is my best guess – so don’t blame me if it doesn’t work!” – Robert – “Daisy – Reset Now!” As Daisy hits the reset button – nothing happens! – Daisy – “Crap, I knew we missed something – Lindy – what did we miss?” Lindy – (who seldom speaks – only acts – “We missed nothing – checklists was perfect hit it again!” – Daisy “Ok- here we go” Daisy presses the reset button again and after a flash of light – nothing! “Ok, says Robert – let’s wait a few minutes – let the trons do their thing!
Of course, there's no arguing with the book's math ...
The computer has calculated they are 88 million miles from the sun, G is the universal gravitational constant measured at 6.67 x 10^-11 N-m^2/Kg^2; where N (Newton is the force acting on the ship. 1 Newton = 4.45 lbp (pound force)
So; Adam – using the computer has figured out that their ship weighs = 25 tons with fuel and water, O2, etc – the sun Cigea61 is 1.8 x 10^28 Kg and the distance of 88 million miles in meters is 1 mile = 1610 meters ; the r = 1.4 x 10 meters
Plug it all in and the F from the sun getting on their ship in planet orbit would be F = 6.67 x 10^-11 N – m^2/Kg^2 (25,000 Kg x 1.8 x 10^28 Kg)/(1.4 x 10^11m)^2 = 4.5 x 10^32 (1.4x10 reducing – we get 6.67x10^-11 N-m^2/Kg^2 (4.5 x 10^32 kg)^2/(1.4x10^11 m)^2
... and certainly not with its science facts.
So, about our galaxy-it is a spral galaxy-
[. . .]
We don’t yet possess cryosleep-to sleep for years without aging-or warp speeds like star trek warp 9, 1000 times the speed of light-still too slow to reach most of our galaxy and we are not even at 1/10 the speed of light!!! We have a long way to go-and its up to you little guys to develop that!! GOOD LUCK., and may the force be with you.
Nor can anyone find fault with any sentence in the book.
The flock of birds is quite putting.
[. . .]
All is well – Lindy logs it in and they continue – just as they power up – wham – something hits them from the side – a much larger ones are on this side of the canyon. Its as big as an elephant and as ferocious! Its carnivores and wonders off!
Finally, I simply must share my absolute favorite moment:
Kristen is checking each crew member for any damage and reassuring them! Bitchin Betty, the ships computer voice with AI is telling everyone their options and how things are going.
I laugh-cried for so long over "Bitchin Betty". Sadly, the ship's AI is never referred to like that again.
Rise of the Mages by Scott Drakeford
1.0
I thought I should DNF after Chapter 2 or so, but I read on. Dear Reader, I should have stopped. I almost did, but it didn't seem fair; I read this because the author is one of the two hosts of the Publishing Rodeo podcast which I enjoyed for its behind-the-scenes insight into publishing, and early on I decided to read the hosts' books. I decided to continue this book because I figured there had to be good qualities I simply hadn't gotten to yet, that the things that were irking me early weren't necessarily going to continue at the same frequency, that if I'm going to post negatives about my experience I should read the whole thing, and I could stand to do so. (Yes, I could have stopped and not posted anything but my brain's not good like that.) I trusted the review that said, "the final third of the book more than made up for the beginning," too.
Fortunately, the things that bothered me early on did indeed fade. They were replaced instead with new things that I did not enjoy.
There were good things too. The prologue was great. Part of why I kept reading was to see that story element come back into play. Dear Reader, it did not come back into play like I hoped. The other good part was Emrael's critical transformative chapter near the end. Those were the only parts of the story that grabbed me.
After the prologue came Chapter 0, yes there was both a prologue and a Chapter 0, and there the trouble started. Exposition! Everywhere exposition. Expositional dialogue especially, much of it of the, "As you know, Bob," variety. It felt very unnatural and immediately killed my opinion of the writing quality. This is not the writing that we like.
The next thing was infusori, this world's magic sauce. It's rechargeable batteries, except when it's the Force. That's not the problem, it's that infusori is exclusively written in italics, and repeated unnecessarily. There are infusori Wells and since wells is capitalized that word is already special, you can establish that Wells are where infusori Crafted devices get infusori from without having to specify infusori Wells every time infusori Wells are mentioned. Same for infusori Crafters. There are no other kind of Crafters, or even crafters, so why do they have to say infusori to specify what kind of Crafters in every instance? Why is infusori even italicized at all? Is it a foreign word? It's quite integral and integrated into the book's societies, it's part of their regular lexicon, there's no reason to italicize it.
Let me demonstrate with an omelette. I'm using the British English spelling because it works better for the example, sorry Yanks with your omelets and prologs. 'Omelette' was once a foreign word but it ain't anymore.
Fortunately, the things that bothered me early on did indeed fade. They were replaced instead with new things that I did not enjoy.
There were good things too. The prologue was great. Part of why I kept reading was to see that story element come back into play. Dear Reader, it did not come back into play like I hoped. The other good part was Emrael's critical transformative chapter near the end. Those were the only parts of the story that grabbed me.
After the prologue came Chapter 0, yes there was both a prologue and a Chapter 0, and there the trouble started. Exposition! Everywhere exposition. Expositional dialogue especially, much of it of the, "As you know, Bob," variety. It felt very unnatural and immediately killed my opinion of the writing quality. This is not the writing that we like.
The next thing was infusori, this world's magic sauce. It's rechargeable batteries, except when it's the Force. That's not the problem, it's that infusori is exclusively written in italics, and repeated unnecessarily. There are infusori Wells and since wells is capitalized that word is already special, you can establish that Wells are where infusori Crafted devices get infusori from without having to specify infusori Wells every time infusori Wells are mentioned. Same for infusori Crafters. There are no other kind of Crafters, or even crafters, so why do they have to say infusori to specify what kind of Crafters in every instance? Why is infusori even italicized at all? Is it a foreign word? It's quite integral and integrated into the book's societies, it's part of their regular lexicon, there's no reason to italicize it.
Let me demonstrate with an omelette. I'm using the British English spelling because it works better for the example, sorry Yanks with your omelets and prologs. 'Omelette' was once a foreign word but it ain't anymore.
"Hey dear, I'm warming up the omelette pan. Would you like an omelette made of eggs?"
"Yes, please, I would love an omelette made of eggs. What kind of omelette?"
"Well, I can make a Western omelette. "
"Oh, is a Western omelette the kind of omelette with peppers and ham?"
"Yes, that is a Western omelette. Do you like that kind of omelette? I could also make a cheese omelette, but decide now. The omelette pan is heated. I'm cracking the omelette eggs now."
"No, I'll stick with a Western omelette. Thank you for making me an omelette!"
An early section of the book was so dense with infusori talk like this, with infusori appearing multiple times per paragraph, it drove me nuts.
Both the density of infusori on the page and expository dialogue eventually went mostly away. But dialogue never really became natural. Characters spoke and even thought artificially and at much greater length than made sense, especially when expressing sharp emotion. I didn't enjoy character interactions at any point, and characters themselves were basic and blandly either good or evil. Downtime scenes for character and relationship development made me cringe. I never bought into or enjoyed the experience of any character or plot development; it felt like ham-handedly forcing the characters to meet the requirements of the story outline at every turn. Action scenes were, eh, okay, but unexciting and made me want to skip to the outcome. This is not the writing that we like.
My experience throughout 95% percent of the book was one of lousiness. The closest book experience I can think of is Eye of Obscurance. That also felt, after a good start, simply lousy. I don't know how else to describe it, but it failed to fulfill any of the things that thrill me or impress me in other books. It probably fits in well with some older fantasy; I haven't read the Belgariad but this made me wonder if it was similar, something about more "classic" plot-driven fantasy. There were many points in the book where I was reminded of some other specific thing in fantasy media, which is fine if the point is to take inspiration from multiple sources and put them into a particular kind of story. But with the fantasy novels I have loved, I can't remember ever thinking, "This is like this other thing."
I feel a little bad leaving such a negative review but I can't be anything but honest (and my brain won't let me not review at all). I shouldn't have to feel bad though, because it's just, like, my opinion, man, and it's probably only because this book was the one that got the "bad" publishing deal according to the podcast that led me here. The podcast full of the author's dark, dark laughter at how shit a deal he got. And I don't know, if he received more marketing support from the publisher (Tor) if that would mean more good reviews or bad reviews, but I do know this:
Tor made his books very small.
I'm basing this on the hardcover of book 2, assuming book 1 was published to the same dimensions. I tried to take some pictures of it next to other, "regular" sized hardcovers to illustrate this but the pictures don't properly capture the effect, which is this:
This book's hardcover is smaller than normal adult fantasy hardcovers (and adult hardcovers in general). In height and width, it's notably a tinier thing. It is, in fact, the same dimensions as a standard YA or Middle Grade hardcover. Is it a YA or Middle Grade book? It is not, but since the medium is the message, that's part of the visual impression I get when I see this book. The cover art, at least, does not convey YA or MG. The page margins are also tiny, thus cramming more words into each page than most other books. I've seen some of this in small press releases with clearly tighter profit margins, but for a Big Five publisher to do this is cheap.
I recently encountered the same "tiny book" effect recently with Blood of the Old Kings, also published by Tor. Clearly, this is a cost-saving approach the publisher is using on specific titles, and to me it conveys that they don't expect those books to see great success. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, because it communicates that lack of confidence to the reader and creates genre/marketing category confusion.
Eh, here's a picture anyway, of this book's sequel in hardcover next to another hardcover, and with some YA and MG books and adult fantasy hardcovers and a small press trade paperback. The books are aligned at the ends the open, the opposite of the spine. The book belly? Whatever it's called:
It doesn't necessarily look that tiny here, but believe me, when you pick it up off a shelf, it's like, "Why the heck is this book so little?"
In summary: I didn't like the book (but I finished it!), and also the book got a wonky print treatment that isn't helping it any. Unless other people like the format, what do I know, really.
Both the density of infusori on the page and expository dialogue eventually went mostly away. But dialogue never really became natural. Characters spoke and even thought artificially and at much greater length than made sense, especially when expressing sharp emotion. I didn't enjoy character interactions at any point, and characters themselves were basic and blandly either good or evil. Downtime scenes for character and relationship development made me cringe. I never bought into or enjoyed the experience of any character or plot development; it felt like ham-handedly forcing the characters to meet the requirements of the story outline at every turn. Action scenes were, eh, okay, but unexciting and made me want to skip to the outcome. This is not the writing that we like.
My experience throughout 95% percent of the book was one of lousiness. The closest book experience I can think of is Eye of Obscurance. That also felt, after a good start, simply lousy. I don't know how else to describe it, but it failed to fulfill any of the things that thrill me or impress me in other books. It probably fits in well with some older fantasy; I haven't read the Belgariad but this made me wonder if it was similar, something about more "classic" plot-driven fantasy. There were many points in the book where I was reminded of some other specific thing in fantasy media, which is fine if the point is to take inspiration from multiple sources and put them into a particular kind of story. But with the fantasy novels I have loved, I can't remember ever thinking, "This is like this other thing."
I feel a little bad leaving such a negative review but I can't be anything but honest (and my brain won't let me not review at all). I shouldn't have to feel bad though, because it's just, like, my opinion, man, and it's probably only because this book was the one that got the "bad" publishing deal according to the podcast that led me here. The podcast full of the author's dark, dark laughter at how shit a deal he got. And I don't know, if he received more marketing support from the publisher (Tor) if that would mean more good reviews or bad reviews, but I do know this:
Tor made his books very small.
I'm basing this on the hardcover of book 2, assuming book 1 was published to the same dimensions. I tried to take some pictures of it next to other, "regular" sized hardcovers to illustrate this but the pictures don't properly capture the effect, which is this:
This book's hardcover is smaller than normal adult fantasy hardcovers (and adult hardcovers in general). In height and width, it's notably a tinier thing. It is, in fact, the same dimensions as a standard YA or Middle Grade hardcover. Is it a YA or Middle Grade book? It is not, but since the medium is the message, that's part of the visual impression I get when I see this book. The cover art, at least, does not convey YA or MG. The page margins are also tiny, thus cramming more words into each page than most other books. I've seen some of this in small press releases with clearly tighter profit margins, but for a Big Five publisher to do this is cheap.
I recently encountered the same "tiny book" effect recently with Blood of the Old Kings, also published by Tor. Clearly, this is a cost-saving approach the publisher is using on specific titles, and to me it conveys that they don't expect those books to see great success. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, because it communicates that lack of confidence to the reader and creates genre/marketing category confusion.
Eh, here's a picture anyway, of this book's sequel in hardcover next to another hardcover, and with some YA and MG books and adult fantasy hardcovers and a small press trade paperback. The books are aligned at the ends the open, the opposite of the spine. The book belly? Whatever it's called:
It doesn't necessarily look that tiny here, but believe me, when you pick it up off a shelf, it's like, "Why the heck is this book so little?"
In summary: I didn't like the book (but I finished it!), and also the book got a wonky print treatment that isn't helping it any. Unless other people like the format, what do I know, really.
In the Moons of Borea by Brian Lumley
3.0
This is a direct sequel to 1978's Spawn of the Winds that loops the story back into the increasingly ill-named 'Titus Crow' series, in which Titus Crow has not appeared in either of these two books, nor did he appear to be the actual main character in the ones before.
In any case, Henri-Laurent de Marigny, in his cross-spacetime quest to join his friend in the distant realm of Elysia, finds himself stuck in Borea's space, that world normally accessible only by Cthulhu's pal Ithaqua, the Wind-Walker. Since the prior book, in which Texan strongman telepath Hank Silberhutte found himself and friends stranded on Borea, ingratiated themselves then took over leadership of the good-sided plateau people, hooked up with Ithaqua's sultry daughter Armandra, and sent the Old One himself reeling, a few years have passed, and Hank and Armandra have a boy child, not that we ever see this child nor does Hank seem to spare a thought for him. I guess being the strongest guy around, able to kill lesser men with a single unarmed blow, beloved hero of all, and a telepath to boot, doesn't leave room for attentive fatherhood.
Henri's time-space clock is stolen by Ithaqua and hidden away on one of Borea's moons, leaving Henri with only his flying cloak to perform his own heroic feats. Henri and Hank travel to these moons via a super-tornado generated by Armandra, encounter new foes and allies and counter more of Ithaqua's long-standing machinations.
I've got two editions of this book in my Lumley collection. This one, the Paul Ganley hardback, has cover art that always make me think it's an owl, until I focus and see it's the coffin-shaped spacetime clock vehicle hovering in front of Ithaqua's enormous face. (Desktop site required to see the images in this review, btw).
Each book so far in this edition of the series has featured different artists, for cover and interior plates, with mixed appeal. As for this book's illustrator, Jim Pianfetti, I don't think his style is particularly well-suited to the material. For comparison, here are some visualizations of Ithaqua NOT from this book:
Pretty rad, right? Here is Ithaqua in this book:
'Adventure Time' would not premier for another 23 years after this book's publication.
Of course, no pulp adventure serial in the style of A Princess of Mars or Outlaw of Gor would be complete without a nubile maiden for the hero to hook up with. Hank already acquired Armandra in the previous booking, but Henri needs his own love interest to be complete, so this book provides Moreen, ready to be rescued by a real man on the moon of Numinos. No, I don't know what became of his love interest from the prior book, dark eyed Litha, daughter of the Underbys in Dreamland, for whom Henri planned to return and build a chalet at that book once he finally located the mythic Elysia, but let's not worry about her, because here's Moreen!
Moreen, a nineteen-year old lithe maiden, the product of generations of breeding the most beautiful human specimens Ithaqua could capture, lives alone (aside from her giant bat guardians) at the highest peak on the Isle of Mountains, thought safe from Ithaqua's Viking hordes, enjoying her solitary existence and rejecting the advances of the occasional disgusting, hunched, cave-dwelling young men who seek to woo her. She's saving herself for the real man that her witch-wife sister told her would come one day. She wore little but a sachet of powder around her neck, containing the special powder that she would consume minutely on occasion to stay warm so who needs clothing?
Alerted by her bat companions that something was coming, she hurriedly bathed,
In any case, Henri-Laurent de Marigny, in his cross-spacetime quest to join his friend in the distant realm of Elysia, finds himself stuck in Borea's space, that world normally accessible only by Cthulhu's pal Ithaqua, the Wind-Walker. Since the prior book, in which Texan strongman telepath Hank Silberhutte found himself and friends stranded on Borea, ingratiated themselves then took over leadership of the good-sided plateau people, hooked up with Ithaqua's sultry daughter Armandra, and sent the Old One himself reeling, a few years have passed, and Hank and Armandra have a boy child, not that we ever see this child nor does Hank seem to spare a thought for him. I guess being the strongest guy around, able to kill lesser men with a single unarmed blow, beloved hero of all, and a telepath to boot, doesn't leave room for attentive fatherhood.
Henri's time-space clock is stolen by Ithaqua and hidden away on one of Borea's moons, leaving Henri with only his flying cloak to perform his own heroic feats. Henri and Hank travel to these moons via a super-tornado generated by Armandra, encounter new foes and allies and counter more of Ithaqua's long-standing machinations.
I've got two editions of this book in my Lumley collection. This one, the Paul Ganley hardback, has cover art that always make me think it's an owl, until I focus and see it's the coffin-shaped spacetime clock vehicle hovering in front of Ithaqua's enormous face. (Desktop site required to see the images in this review, btw).
Each book so far in this edition of the series has featured different artists, for cover and interior plates, with mixed appeal. As for this book's illustrator, Jim Pianfetti, I don't think his style is particularly well-suited to the material. For comparison, here are some visualizations of Ithaqua NOT from this book:
Pretty rad, right? Here is Ithaqua in this book:
'Adventure Time' would not premier for another 23 years after this book's publication.
Of course, no pulp adventure serial in the style of A Princess of Mars or Outlaw of Gor would be complete without a nubile maiden for the hero to hook up with. Hank already acquired Armandra in the previous booking, but Henri needs his own love interest to be complete, so this book provides Moreen, ready to be rescued by a real man on the moon of Numinos. No, I don't know what became of his love interest from the prior book, dark eyed Litha, daughter of the Underbys in Dreamland, for whom Henri planned to return and build a chalet at that book once he finally located the mythic Elysia, but let's not worry about her, because here's Moreen!
Moreen, a nineteen-year old lithe maiden, the product of generations of breeding the most beautiful human specimens Ithaqua could capture, lives alone (aside from her giant bat guardians) at the highest peak on the Isle of Mountains, thought safe from Ithaqua's Viking hordes, enjoying her solitary existence and rejecting the advances of the occasional disgusting, hunched, cave-dwelling young men who seek to woo her. She's saving herself for the real man that her witch-wife sister told her would come one day. She wore little but a sachet of powder around her neck, containing the special powder that she would consume minutely on occasion to stay warm so who needs clothing?
Alerted by her bat companions that something was coming, she hurriedly bathed,
being satisfied merely to splash her face and breasts with the chill waters of a streamlet cascading from on high.
Ladies, these are the usual quick-wash targets, right? Face and breasts?
In greater detail, the book describes her thusly:
In greater detail, the book describes her thusly:
Moreen . . . The "woman" Moreen, in actuality little more than a girl. Almost twenty years of age and all of them spent on Numinos, an alien moon in an alien universe.
Moreen of the golden hair, shoulder length and shining with its own lustrous light; Moreen of the wide blue eyes. Her natural, intrinsic warmth covered her like a blanket only ever torn aside by Ithaqua, black walker on the winds that blow forever between the worlds.
Tiny Moreen, at least by Numinosian standards. Sixty-four inches of unaffected grace, loveliness, youthful litheness, and not-quite innocence; for she has seen the Wind-Walker at his worst, and no one could remain wholly innocent after that.
Do you have a mental picture of this character, inspired by decades of Boris Vallejo art, Conan book covers, etc? This woman with whom Henri will fall instantly in love the moment he alights by her cave and she throws her nubile body into his arms?
This is the accompanying illustration:
(view spoiler)
. . .
Aaaaaand here's another illustration of her from later in the book. THE SAME CHARACTER, remember, from the same illustrator:
(view spoiler)
I appreciate the vivid blood splatter in this one, excellent inking.
Illustrations aside, this was a passable pulpy space fantasy Cthulhu-adjacent "adventure for men" type of story. It was rather tiresome at first, but it picked up in part II once the heroes arrived on the first moon in their journey. This is because we are presented with new material at that point: new peoples, new threats, new allies, and fast-paced plotting. Typically, there's no real sense of danger because there's never a moment of doubt that the heroes will fully triumph and beat back Ithaqua once more, but it's moderately entertaining as these things go, and Lumley's depictions of strange beings and monsters, ice caves, lava pits, hallucinatory hellscapes, etc, are as strong and juicy as ever.
Initially this was the final book in the "Titus Crow" series, with five novels published between 1974 and 1979, with short stories in which Titus Crow actually appears also trickling out from 1969-1983. But the true finale, which would incorporate additional Lumley novels yet to come, would have to wait until 1989's Elysia: The Coming of Cthulhu. I don't remember whether that book resolves the issue of de Marigny's abandoned Dreamlands girlfriend, but I shall discover this soon enough.
This is the accompanying illustration:
(view spoiler)
. . .
Aaaaaand here's another illustration of her from later in the book. THE SAME CHARACTER, remember, from the same illustrator:
(view spoiler)
I appreciate the vivid blood splatter in this one, excellent inking.
Illustrations aside, this was a passable pulpy space fantasy Cthulhu-adjacent "adventure for men" type of story. It was rather tiresome at first, but it picked up in part II once the heroes arrived on the first moon in their journey. This is because we are presented with new material at that point: new peoples, new threats, new allies, and fast-paced plotting. Typically, there's no real sense of danger because there's never a moment of doubt that the heroes will fully triumph and beat back Ithaqua once more, but it's moderately entertaining as these things go, and Lumley's depictions of strange beings and monsters, ice caves, lava pits, hallucinatory hellscapes, etc, are as strong and juicy as ever.
Initially this was the final book in the "Titus Crow" series, with five novels published between 1974 and 1979, with short stories in which Titus Crow actually appears also trickling out from 1969-1983. But the true finale, which would incorporate additional Lumley novels yet to come, would have to wait until 1989's Elysia: The Coming of Cthulhu. I don't remember whether that book resolves the issue of de Marigny's abandoned Dreamlands girlfriend, but I shall discover this soon enough.
Swords: An Artist's Devotion by Ben Boos
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
As a dad, I've made better use of libraries than ever before. I loved drifting through a well-stocked children's section for picture books that could fire the imagination, with amazing and well-suited artwork, and text that reflected heart, love, and wit.
This is not one of those—although, "Hey, small child, look at these cool swords," has its appeal—but I did discover its companion, Fantasy: An Artist's Realm on this one beloved library's oversized children's book shelf (there was a lot of awesome stuff there, like Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time and multiple Graeme Base books). And a love of that one led me to this one, and when we moved away I bought copies for our home, and here we are.
Boos was a talented digital artist in California who died too early, I believe in a motor vehicle collision, in 2011. These two books of his demonstrate his sheer love of creation and open self. While this book of swords isn't indispensible, it's a joy to pick up and flip through time and time again. For all the purpose of these weapons, the book demonstrates no violence; it's a simple ode to craftsmanship and design.
The book is divided into various sections to highlight different cultural representations and uses of swords around the world and across time. There are small tidbits of historical information and explanations of the use of different types of blades, but mostly it's just a visual presentation of the variety of such things. I can't fault his research, and he cites multiple sources for deeper exploration. The digital media tools he worked with show their age now, but the layout and design of the book are perfect.
I love that the artist was able to share his love with the world in this way.
This is not one of those—although, "Hey, small child, look at these cool swords," has its appeal—but I did discover its companion, Fantasy: An Artist's Realm on this one beloved library's oversized children's book shelf (there was a lot of awesome stuff there, like Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time and multiple Graeme Base books). And a love of that one led me to this one, and when we moved away I bought copies for our home, and here we are.
Boos was a talented digital artist in California who died too early, I believe in a motor vehicle collision, in 2011. These two books of his demonstrate his sheer love of creation and open self. While this book of swords isn't indispensible, it's a joy to pick up and flip through time and time again. For all the purpose of these weapons, the book demonstrates no violence; it's a simple ode to craftsmanship and design.
The book is divided into various sections to highlight different cultural representations and uses of swords around the world and across time. There are small tidbits of historical information and explanations of the use of different types of blades, but mostly it's just a visual presentation of the variety of such things. I can't fault his research, and he cites multiple sources for deeper exploration. The digital media tools he worked with show their age now, but the layout and design of the book are perfect.
I love that the artist was able to share his love with the world in this way.
The Trials of Empire by Richard Swan
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
5.0
There’s always a fear when starting the last book in a series that you’ve been loving so far. Will the author stick the landing?
With great relief I have just closed the cover on a perfect ending.
With great relief I have just closed the cover on a perfect ending.
The Icebound Land by John Flanagan
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
This series continues to captivate my boy through our bedtime readings. When we started, we had no idea how serialized the story would be. Even after the banger cliffhanger of book 2, I couldn't have predicted that so much would be unresolved by the end of this one. This is not a complaint, just noting the evolution of my understanding of this series.
There's a lot of heavy material in this one, handled appropriately for the intended readership. At least, as appropriately as one can make crippling drug addiction, near drownings, severe beatings, the very lightly and cautiously implied threat of sexual assault, and slavery.
The story is split in two parts, told through alternating chapters. One set follows Will and Evanlyn after they were kidnapped away from Araluen by Skandians at the end of the prior book. The other follows Halt and others as he faces the loss of Will and sets out to recover him, with plenty of major events complicating that goal.
We've moved directly onto the next book. Will there be a potential stopping point, or will the next half dozen books continue one prolonged adventure?
There's a lot of heavy material in this one, handled appropriately for the intended readership. At least, as appropriately as one can make crippling drug addiction, near drownings, severe beatings, the very lightly and cautiously implied threat of sexual assault, and slavery.
The story is split in two parts, told through alternating chapters. One set follows Will and Evanlyn after they were kidnapped away from Araluen by Skandians at the end of the prior book. The other follows Halt and others as he faces the loss of Will and sets out to recover him, with plenty of major events complicating that goal.
We've moved directly onto the next book. Will there be a potential stopping point, or will the next half dozen books continue one prolonged adventure?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, and War
Ghost Dick: Private Eye by Peter Derk
funny
5.0
My first book of 2025! This was a welcome stocking stuffer (as in, I ordered it for myself to put in my own stocking. When you're a parent and the main person making Xmas happen it's the kind of thing you have to do).
A laugh out loud (god I hate writing that, it makes it sound stupid, and yeah it is actually stupid, but it's supposed to be and also it's stupid funny, so there,) account of a paranormal investigator's training and typical day-in-the-life. Peter Derk writes the best and funniest pathetic loser characters. I sincerely hope this is not reflective of anything.
I note that the author's name appears nowhere on the book-as-physical-object. Not the spine, not the front cover, not the back cover, not the title page, not the copyright page (there isn't one). Presumably this is so that if someone enters his dwelling, and if he even has physical copies of his own work lying around, in case that person picks up it and scoffs, "Wow, someone actually wrote this?" then he has plausible deniability. Which is probably the correct way to go in this case.
(Seriously, Peter, I love your stuff, thanks for it.)
A laugh out loud (god I hate writing that, it makes it sound stupid, and yeah it is actually stupid, but it's supposed to be and also it's stupid funny, so there,) account of a paranormal investigator's training and typical day-in-the-life. Peter Derk writes the best and funniest pathetic loser characters. I sincerely hope this is not reflective of anything.
I note that the author's name appears nowhere on the book-as-physical-object. Not the spine, not the front cover, not the back cover, not the title page, not the copyright page (there isn't one). Presumably this is so that if someone enters his dwelling, and if he even has physical copies of his own work lying around, in case that person picks up it and scoffs, "Wow, someone actually wrote this?" then he has plausible deniability. Which is probably the correct way to go in this case.
(Seriously, Peter, I love your stuff, thanks for it.)