Book Review - Forcing the Ace

As a kid, when asked "what do you want to be when you grow up," one of my answers was always "Magician." I had a collection of books on magic, magic props and often performed magic tricks in my elementary class talent shows. My goal never came to fruition but it did make the premise of Forcing the Ace appealing to me.

In Forcing the Ace, we follow the life of Alex, a teenage boy with aspirations of becoming a professional magician. He has significant enthusiasm and talent for magic but has less devotion or skills for the other elements in his life, particularly his schoolwork, much to the chagrin of his surgeon father.

In the first chapter of the book, Alex is performing in a local magic show with the hope of attracting the attention of a sponsor for a professional magician competition. Unfortunately, his act ends with a significant injury to his hand and it looks like his hopes for the prestigious competition are shattered. His luck changes when he is noticed by Jack, a retired magician who tells Alex that he'll sponsor him but only if he pairs up with Zoe, another teenage magician from the town. Alex has always been a solo act and has no desire to share the glory with anyone but he reluctantly agrees and they begin training.

Book Review - Words that Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What PeopleHear

Decades ago I was sitting in my Sophomore High School English class and we had an unexpected visitor. A previous "English Sterling Scholar" for the school stopped by to visit with our teacher and he was asked to give us an impromptu presentation. He'd gone on to major in English and was currently doing an internship on a speech writing team for one of our state politicians in Washington D.C. I remember him saying that he had a lot of people telling him that his English degree would be useless and he should choose something else. He told us that they were wrong and that there were plenty of job opportunities for people with English degrees. In fact, he suggested that a degree in English would be vital since more and more the future will have a dire need for people with the ability to write, read and understand language. He talked a bit about his experiences with political speech writing as well as opportunities to be professional writers for executives, colleges, research groups and others. I didn't have a great passion for politics so even though the speech writing thing sounded fun, I focused more on his points that an English degree had value. By that time I'd more or less decided I wanted to study English literature and writing but I had no idea what career might come of it. I definitely don't credit his entire impromptu speech as the impetus for my educational choices, but he did help me feel more confident in my plans.

I was given the book "Words That Work" as a gift by someone who knows my love of language and writing. Just glancing at the title I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the book but I dove in, eager to find out. The author, Dr. Frank Luntz may well be one of the "end results" of the path started on by my visiting English Sterling Scholar mentioned above. Dr. Luntz has a passion for language and has taken that passion not only to Washington D.C. as a speech and campaign writer but also to numerous high profile corporations and non-profit groups. He stepped beyond the "simple" role of being "just" a speech writer and has taken on a role of helping a person shape their language into the best possible form for the desired message.

Much of the book includes anecdotes and references to real-world experiences that the author had with some politician, executive, or other highly visible individual. Truly he has had a star studded career having worked with US President's, Congressional/House Majority leaders, Fortune 100 Executives and Hollywood stars. Many of his stories were rather funny even if only for the unfortunate results of poorly structured language. I had a hard time relating directly to the many examples that were deeply entrenched in political or corporate dealings. still, the construction and results were intriguing.

The subtitle of the book "It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear" was the main focal point that Luntz returned to again and again. He presented a number of rules and bits of advice to help ensure your message is received in the way you intend. The first step, of course, is to make sure you are personally very clear on the desired message. After that, you need to very carefully and methodically analyze and choose words with special focus on your audience. Every listener comes with his or her own paradigms or prejudices which can taint certain words or cause even a seemingly simple and straightforward message to be misunderstood.

Books Read in 2014

For the past few years (2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009) I've had a goal to read and review a bunch of books over the course of each year.

My goal has been to average a book per week and end up with 50 books read and reviewed at the end of the year. I usually don't include smaller books (early middle grade, picture books, etc) unless I feel really strongly about them.  In 2013, I was significantly below my goal.  Oh well.

This year (2014) I plan to improve on my downturn in 2013.  If I hit 50, great, but at the very least, I hope to reach 40 books read in 2014.  I will also try to share all of my reviews here so you can get a feel for what I liked or didn't like.  That said, I generally only pick up a book to read it if I feel like it "speaks to me" in some way, so chances are, most of my reviews will be fairly positive.  Even then, I'm sure I'll come across some stinkers.  :)

If you have any suggestions for books to read or ways I can make my reading goal more exciting, please let me know.

And now, without further ado, here's the list of books I've read so far in 2014:
(I will be updating this post each time a new book is read/reviewed)

1. The Martian
2. The Forbidden Stone (The Copernicus Legacy Book 1)
3. At First Light
4. The Orphanage of Miracles
5. The High Druid's Blade
6. The Conjuring Glass (The Phoenix Girls Book 1)
7. The Bluest Eye
8. Frostborn (Thrones and Bones book 1)
9. Death in Venice and other tales
10. Shell Game (Kingdom Keepers #5)
11. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
12. Around the World in Eighty Days
13. The Rule of Thoughts (Mortality Doctrine #2)
14. Rat Runners
15. Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear
16. Forcing the Ace

And for additional reference, here's a link to my "to be read" list over at Goodreads. This list includes purchased books on my bookshelves (but not read) as well as tons of books that have been recommended to me over the years. As you can see, the list is huge...and never really shrinks since there are always new recommendations coming in. So tell me...what good books have you read lately that I should add to my list? Any that I "MUST" get to ~immediately? :-)

Book Review - Rat Runners

The blurb for Rat Runners had a number of things that grabbed my interest. The whole concept sounded pretty fun. Some of the preview blurbs called it an "Oliver Twist for the 21st Century" and "Blade Runner meets 1984."

Set sometime in the future, the story takes place in a dystopic London where high tech security organization WatchWorld keeps crime and violence under control through the use of countless street cameras, drones and satellites as well as "Safe Guards" patrolling the streets and buildings of the city. The cameras and drones are equipped with state of the art hardware and software to allow them to quickly analyze video and audio to quickly pinpoint crimes as they happen.

The technology goes a step beyond that with X-Ray scanning, audio analysis of voice and even heartbeats and chemical/sensory analysis of increased body temperature or sweat. The "Safe Guard" is a human wrapped up in armored technology in a way that reminded me of RoboCop but without being wholly roboticized. The human inside is given orders and information on their visor and is shielded from the outside world in a way that eliminates the appearance of humanity to an external viewer.

WatchWorld has full control and autonomy to stamp out crime in whatever way they see fit. Naturally this pushes the criminal element "underground" into "voids" they've created to keep out the peeping eyes of WatchWorld. Even though the general public allows WatchWorld to carry out this intense level of surveillance, the public wants to maintain at least some privacy for their children. As a result, the criminal underworld uses children and young teens to help with their legwork above ground. The book title comes from the skinny alleyways, nooks and crannies that the kids run through to avoid being caught on camera or stumble across a Safe Guard patrol. Because even though WatchWorld can't explicitly spy on a child, if they have enough suspicion that the child is involved in illegal activities, that rule changes.

Book Review - Around the World in Eighty Days

Jules Verne is considered one of the early authors of the sci-fi genre. While Around the World in Eighty Days may not immediately fit our mold of "science fiction", when you figure that this was originally written in 1873, the science involved is pretty significant even if it is all based on accurate science rather than fanciful imaginations. Prior to reading, I knew the basic story and characters but not much more than that. Eccentric and meticulously orderly Phileas Fogg places a bet with members of his social club that he can travel around the world in 80 days. The date is chosen based on a loose claim listed in the newspaper based on the outlined timetables for trains and ships.

The first thing I found interesting was the character of Phileas Fogg. Based solely on my knowledge of the plot, I had expected him to be some wild and crazy madcap character with all sorts of outrageous behavior. Instead, Verne spends the first many pages showing us that Fogg is very much a creature of habit with ordinary behaviors. If anything, Fogg is a bit boring as a character. He has a precise daily and weekly schedule dictating when he wakes, when he sleeps, when he eats and everything he does in between. He doesn't have any extravagant hobbies or pastimes and doesn't do much of anything to engage in social events of the day. His flippant and sudden placing of the bet seems out of character and is quickly followed by quick adaptation to a new schedule as he immediately rushes home from his club, packs a quick bag, grabs his servant and proceeds to his first destination. Even in his quick trip, we seldom see him Fogg rushing or impetuous in any way. He is the picture of calm even as his trip faces adversity.

As a contrast to Fogg, his servant Passepartout is a very emotional character full of as much passion and frustration as Fogg is full of calm. Passepartout is stymied by his master's wager but rushes along with him on the adventure, excited to see the world. He is dismayed as he realizes that the whirlwind tour will result primarily in him seeing the cabins of ships or trains and very little of the world they're passing through. With each obstacle that comes their way, Passepartout practically shrieks in frustration and really adds to the sense of suspense and tension in the adventure. He is a great counter to Fogg's character and really helped make the book more entertaining.

Book Review - The Rule of Thoughts

The Rule of Thoughts is the second book in James Dashner's new series "The Mortality Doctrine." For those who found Dashner through the recent exposure of the "Maze Runner" movie, you'll enjoy a similar level of writing and a similar general tone but a significantly different story. As with the Maze Runner series, our protagonists are teenagers and they are in a world/situation with motivations that aren't entirely clear. This series is set sometime in the future and involves a sort of "Massively Multiplayer Online Game" taken to the extreme and with a heightened level of "virtual reality" involvement. The gamers lay down in a box (which they morbidly call a "coffin") and through a series of wires and sensory mechanisms they are "dropped into" the game world with a full sensation of reality. They run around with the full sensation of being immersed in the program. Naturally there are gamers who are more technologically savvy than others and they find ways to hack through the game world and manipulate things to their advantage. Enter our protagonists.

In the first book, The Eye of Minds, Michael and his friends are having fun hacking through the game world and enjoying life to its fullest but they aware of rumors of some super hacker cyber-terrorist, Kaine, that's somehow killing people through the game program. Michael and his friends are approached by a government security agency and asked to help track Kaine.

SPOILER ALERT - (the next ~2 paragraphs contain spoilers from the first book which ends with some surprises)

Book Review - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

In spite of having been recommended my "classic 20th Century Sci-Fi" reading list has never included any work by Philip K. Dick. I've enjoyed a number of movie adaptations based on his work, so I felt like it was high time to give him a try. Not knowing the best place to start, I chose the iconic novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

While I was reading the book, my 14-year-old son noted the title and said "That sounds either very silly or very boring or both." I was about halfway through the book when he made the comment so I was able to let him know that even the "silly" concepts were presented in realistic and serious ways and that while it might not be a suspenseful edge-of-your-seat page turner there were some intriguing action sequences that involved death and destruction. My son left the conversation more educated but still not entirely convinced that this book would draw him in.

Now that I've finished reading, I'm also not sure it would draw him in. While the book has a sort of futuristic detective Noir element, it's not exactly the snarky and explosive detective novel of a Dashell Hammett and it's definitely not the sort of sensory explosion that is working so hard to pull in the short attention span of 21st century kids. At the same time, I think he, or any reader, can really get drawn in if they were to approach this book not looking at it as an suspense-adventure mystery thrill ride but as a thoughtful psychological exploration of humanity, technology and morality.

This book is approaching its 50 year anniversary and, as is often the case with futuristic sci-fi, it's starting to show its age in a few aspects. At the same time the story and the technology is presented in such a way that makes the world real and believable. Some of the futuristic high-tech ideas are great. They don't yet feel quite as prophetic as some that I've read from Bradbury, for example, but the concepts and technology still have shadows and nuances that exist in our modern world.

Even more than the technology, I found the psychological exploration of humanity and morality to be very intriguing. The book takes place on post-apocalyptic Earth. Most of humanity has emigrated to Mars or other space colonies. Those who continue to live on Earth generally either do so because they can't afford to leave, are just too stubborn to leave or are prohibited to leave because of physical or mental limitations that society doesn't wish to "infect" the new off-planet environments. The story follows a bounty hunter, Rick Deckard, who works for the L.A. police department to "retire" illegal Androids in the area. Androids are used in the various off-planet colonies as laborers and companions for the humans but some androids become a little too willfully self-aware and they break away from their assignments and flee to someplace new where they try to "pass" as human and create a new life for themselves.

Book Review - Shell Game (Kingdom Keepers Book 5)

In Shell Game (Kingdom Keepers Book 5), the crew are celebrity guests on an inaugural sail of a new ship traveling from Florida to California via the Panama Canal. Their presence also means that a new DHI server is being unveiled that will have their hologram counterparts working the crowd on the cruise ship and on some of the shore excursions.

Prior to the trip, we learn that the Overtakers have been mounting an assault in Florida at the site of the main DHI headquarters. The Keepers have recruited various other kids, park employees and Disney characters to help in the battle but a vicious siege is going on and the keepers are hesitant to leave the battle in the hands of others. Still, they are the face of the DHI and it's their job to go on this cruise. Even more important, the Overtakers seem to be coincidentally planning something on the cruise. It seems obvious that they would be interested in the new DHI server outside of the core theme park areas but as the story gets going it's obvious that there may be something even more sinister going on.

The first portion of the book takes place in Florida and involves the Keepers making preparations to leave on the cruise securely prepared for whatever problems they may encounter. We learn that the the Overtakers have been recruiting their own forces. It seems that the Evil Queen (Snow White's queen) and Maleficent have been using their powers of "persuasion" (and magical spells) to entrance kids and adults to their cause. The Overtaker humans are usually recognized by their eerie green eyes though it is evident that there are others who are just following orders and may not even know that they are in the service of these wicked characters.

The story is generally pretty fun albeit a little convoluted and repetitive. It started off with some running through Epcot and other Florida parks as well as an exciting confrontation in the Typhoon Lagoon water park. The nostalgia that came from reading the descriptions of these parks was, as always, a lot of fun. Once the story moved to the cruise ship I was less familiar with the "real world" environment but cruise ships in general (even Disney ones) are fairly easy to imagine so I was able to envision the author's world fairly easily.

Book Review - Death in Venice and Other Tales

This book was assigned for a college course that I ended up dropping but I had already purchased the book. I decided to keep it because the book buyback/refund was ridiculous and because Mann's work is hailed as a quintessential part of German literature as well as insight on the concept of literature as art and of the relation between art and reality/humanity. Now years later, I finally picked the book up and worked through the dozen stories it contains.

From a high level I can say that I found the stories very evocative, descriptive and full of detailed emotion. A common tone that I felt throughout the reading was one not necessarily of despair but of longing...of a desire or yearning for something more. The exact focus varied somewhat from story to story but generally speaking we were usually presented with a protagonist who was an artist of some kind and who is struggling with balancing his passion and desire with the mundane and disappointing real world around him. That tone produced an overarching depressive feel that lingered throughout my entire reading. Even the happy and vibrant moments had a shadow of sadness behind them that I just couldn't escape.

A lot of the depressive nature came from the conflict between the desire and the ability to fulfill on those desires. In most cases, the yearning of the character in question was for something inaccessible or forbidden. Specifically, in the title story the artist/writer is an older man who is having romantic longings towards a younger boy...thus a yearning that is taboo and forbidden on multiple levels. By making these desires more taboo or forbidden, I felt less directly tied to the protagonist but Mann still presented the situation in a way that allowed me to feel the oppressive emotions of the struggle. In other cases the struggle is just one between a desire to create that great artistic masterpiece and the feeling of constantly falling short. It's hard to be an artist and it's easy to be hard on yourself as an artist.

Random review interlude -- A couple of favorite quotes:

"We are only as old as we feel in our hearts and minds."

"Solitude gives birth to the original in us, to beauty unfamiliar and perilous - to poetry. But also, it gives birth to the opposite: to the perverse, the illicit, the absurd."

I certainly appreciated the artistry of the story and I was impressed by the depth and detail added to the environments, characters and stories of this book. Some of the stories were a bit more engaging to me than others but generally I felt a bit disjointed from the stories and had a hard time really appreciating the various plots. What I probably enjoyed most (beyond some of the beautiful descriptions) were the semi-frequent existential and philosophical moments. Mann puts together some interesting thoughts that sat with me after closing the book. Mostly he left me feeling unsettled and dissatisfied and like I should get out and do something productive and worthwhile. To that extent, I applaud the effort of the book. Otherwise, this is a bit of classical literary artistry that I can appreciate but really don't feel like it was a "must read" or that my life is significantly improved by reading. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it. Overall, it just sort of exists on a menial plane for me.


3 out of 5 stars


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Book Review - Frostborn (Thrones & Bones book 1)

I've always been a fan of boardgames ranging from very thematic and involved games to the more abstract strategy games like Chess. I've also always enjoyed the Norse mythology and viking adventures. So naturally I was intrigued by Frostborn (Thrones & Bones). The quick summary tells of a young boy named Karn who would "rather be playing the board game Thrones and Bones" and of a half frost giantess named Thianna. While the story is set in its own fantasy world, it's based on concepts, ideas and creatures from the Norse mythos. The author invented the board game "Thrones and Bones" for the book but based it on the old Viking game Hnefatafl. The only risk I saw in reading this book was that it was rumored to be the start of a series and I sometimes have a hard time keeping up with a series.

This is a middle grader novel so the prose is simple and the plot is fast paced. This doesn't prevent the author from weaving a rather complex history and creating an elaborate world. The characters, races, mythology and environments are rich and vibrant. The writing is enjoyable and engaging and sure to appeal to young readers while also maintaining enough depth to hold the interest of adult readers.

The book begins with a prologue adventure. The prologue takes place numerous years before the primary plot of the book but the author leaves the reader in the dark as to how the prologue ties in for the first many chapters. I was able to guess at some of the connections but most of the intrigue and mystery is unraveled with just the right balance of clues and revelations to keep the plot surprising and yet teetering on the edge of allowing the reader to guess at the secrets.

Book Review - The Bluest Eye

Someone recommended The Bluest Eye to me shortly after it was released and it somehow fell off my radar. I read Beloved by Toni Morrison about 5 years ago and while I was impressed by the artistic elements of the novel, I wasn't as "moved" but it as I was "supposed to be" and as such I never bothered to seek out more by Morrison. I stumbled on Bluest Eye again recently and decided to give a try. Apparently The Bluest Eye is Morrison's first novel and frankly I enjoyed it more than Beloved.

From a form and method standpoint, Bluest Eye uses alternating narrative styles. It transitions back and forth from the first person narration of a girl named Claudia living through the experiences of the novel and her same voice as an adult with a third person omniscience.. I really enjoyed Claudia's child voice and the way Morrison presented her narrative. As a child narrator, Claudia's youthful view of the world was an interesting contrast to the omniscient adult narrator. The third person served as a good balance for the unreliable narrative from the first person child while the first person narrative helped provide the human and emotional element to the story.

The story also played with the idea of known knowledge and hidden knowledge. In early chapters, Claudia makes reference to elements that happen later in the narrative and have significant impact. She drops these references very matter-of-factly as though we already know all about the events and have already come to our own conclusions. This makes for an intersting suspense to the reader as we try to read between the lines and make sense of the little snippets provided to us. Knowing a little bit of the intended tone and plot of the story, I was able to make some logical inferrences. Not only does Claudia's narration tease the reader with elements but the narrative also plays with time a bit and meanders through the timeline of the story dropping fragments of scenes out of order.

The plot takes place in the ~1930s and revolves around a yound black girl named Pecola who has been taken in as a temporary foster child by Claudia's family. We learn that there was a fire that burned down Pecola's home but it is evident through hints and allusions that there was more to the tragedy than a simple home fire. As the novel progresses, we learn that Pecola's home life was an abusive one both verbally and physically. Her parents constantly fight and Pecola is constantly told that she is absolutely ugly.

Book Review - The Conjuring Glass (Phoenix Girls Book 1)

I was intrigued by The Conjuring Glass as a potential good “middle reader” book for my 10 year old daughter. It sounded like something she might enjoy. It focuses on a 13 year old girl, an orphan named Penny, who is moved to a new little town and discovers a secret magic that she is able to use. At the same time, evidence of some scary mystery starts to unravel around her and Penny needs to muster her courage and what little magic skills she’s learned to try and stop whatever is happening. Even though there is the risk that this could be a Harry Potter clone, it fortunately makes some conscious choices to differentiate itself while still potentially being appealing to Harry Potter readers.

The first thing I noticed as I read this book is that the writing is very simplistic and definitely geared towards younger readers. I’ve seen this categorized as “Young Adult” but the prose is certainly accessible to Middle Graders and the overall tone and depth of the story is more likely to be appreciated by those pre- and early-teens than older readers. Some of the content may be what pushes for the characterization as a “Young Adult” novel. While there was nothing that would be deemed as “mature themes”, there are some ‘intense’ scenes later in the book that could be a little frightening for younger readers. Thus I suspect this is the reason that some groups choose to “shelve” the book as a “Young Adult” novel, knowing that “Middle Grader” could potentially get readers as young as 7 or 8.

Assuming the role of a younger reader, I found myself intrigued by the story and by the character of Penny. She’s a bit of an outsider, not necessarily by choice but willing to adapt to that role. When she does finally make a friend in town, the hesitance and apprehension felt realistic and appropriate. As the girls discover the magic around them it is fun to see their excitement grow and I enjoyed the fun and playful way the girls just enjoyed being themselves and exploring the world around them.

Book Review - The High Druid's Blade

As many friends and regular readers know, I've been a fan of Terry Brooks since I was introduced to Sword, Wishsong and Elfstones books in Junior High School. I devoured them and found a taste for his style of fantasy adventure. For many years after that I regularly read each of his books as they were released and eagerly looked forward to the next volume. In recent years, I haven't been as diligent at keeping on top of his yearly (sometimes twice yearly) releases but I still have a fair amount of nostalgia towards Brook and Shannara and I am indebted to his books for helping to respark a love of reading that threatened to wane a little through middle school.

In his latest book, The High Druid's Blade, we're introduced to new characters and new plot but it does have a large sense of familiarity. The book is set within the Federation reign and druid rebirth sometime after the High Druid and Dark Legacy series. The book is listed as part of the Defenders of Shannara series but I've read that the intent is to have 3 stand alone novels in the series rather than a serial story. So, as you might expect, this novel wraps things up with moderate tidiness.

As is common in other Shannara stories, the central characters in this book are descendants of a powerful family. This time, it's the Leah family. Even though the Leah's have been involved in the novels since the first Shannara book, I believe this is the first time a Leah was the central character rather than a supporting actor helping out the Ohmsfords or others.

We are introduced to teenage brother and sister Paxton and Chrysallin Leah. Paxon spends his days managing the family air shipping business while Chrys apparently spends her days trying to get into trouble by being a flirty little teenage troublemaker. For those unfamiliar with the family heritage, Brooks gives us a little background and points readers to the heirloom sword of Leah which, many years ago, held mystical powers and helped slay demons and turn the courses of numerous battles. Today it hangs as a reminder of days gone by.

Once we're adequately appraised of the mundane lifestyle of the Leah's things are thrown into upheaval. Chrys's friend rushes over to Paxon to reveal that Chyrs has just made a stupid bet in a dice game and gambled away her freedom to a stranger. Paxon races to the pub to get details and help pay the debt but instead finds Arcannen, the man who won Chrys. He shows Paxon, from a distance, that Chrys is very willingly boarding his airship bound for the big city where she'll serve in his house of ill repute. Paxon tries to fight the situation but cannot. Instead, he rushes home, grabs some supplies and the sword of Leah and sets of to free his sister.

As you might expect, Arcannen is not your ordinary businessman looking to add another harlot to his bordello. Rather, he hoped Paxon would come for his sister and bring the sword. And yet, in spite of an elaborate scheme, Paxon somehow manages to free his sister and return home. While there was some fun action in the escape scene and there was magic involved, the whole thing felt way too lucky to be believable.

Setting believability aside, Paxon returns home and is approached by the druids who want him to come and wield the sword of Leah in a sort of bodyguard position. Since he was disatisfied with the airship business anyway, he agrees and leaves his home and family, exacting a promise from Chrys that she'll stay safe and not make any stupid decisions. He spends the next many months training and learning how to use a sword properly and how to hone the innate magic of the family heriloom. Naturally Chrys is not safe and Arcannen makes an appearance again causing Paxon to set off on a quest, this time with the help of the druids though still largely on his own. There are a few moderate twists and turns in the plot though even those had a twinge of familiarity as I think back to earlier Shannara books.

The plot was relatively quick and fluid with solid adventure elements and fair character building. In my experience, I've generally found the psychological interactions between the characters to be stronger than some of the story arcs in Brooks' books. This time, they felt pretty balanced at the detriment of the character building. Sadly they felt a little watered down and static. I definitely enjoyed the book for the nostalgia and for the fun adventure that always permeates the Shannara story. But I missed some of the depth and meat that's been present in Brooks' work of the past. Compared with some of his more epic stories (such as the Genesis or Heritage series) or his more contemporary Knight & Void stories, this book felt a little more flat or maybe more "bubble-gum"-y. A night light adventure but not much more too it. That said, it did accomplish its goal. It entertained me and I had fun reading it. Even when believability was stretched I was still drawn in enough to enjoy the story and accept the little hiccups. So not the best Brooks out there, but still an adventure worthy of the Shannara title.



3 out of 5 stars

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Book Review - The Orphanage of Miracles

Even though the high level premise felt similar to other books, The Orphanage of Miracles caught my attention with the subtle variety in the plot. The story takes place in an unknown medieval land where magic is real and an evil sorcerer has waged war against the people and king. Seems like a pretty mundane synopsis. The difference comes with the idea of the Orphanage of Miracles. Not much is told about this Orphanage other than that it exists as a mystical place somewhere in the land where miracles are somehow manufactured. I immediately thought of Miracle Max from The Princess Bride, but after that imagery died down, I gave the book a chance. The book has two main stories working to meet one another.

A girl named Kelsey has left her home on a quest to find the Orphanage of Miracles. There’s a disaster in her home town and she’s determined to help if she can. She’s not thinking about the bigger picture of getting a miracle for the entire land as a way of ending the war. As she travels, Kelsey meets some interesting characters who both help and hinder her journey.

Meanwhile, a parallel story is presented. The reader finds out that the Orphanage DOES exist but something isn’t quite right. We follow the life of Nicholas, a young orphan inside the Orphanage. We learn that the orphans each assigned a different specific job or calling to perform. Nicholas and his friends have had bad luck trying to find their perfect calling but they are excited because their new prospect involves working directly with the creation and cultivation of Miracles. As Nicholas’s story progresses, it becomes very clear that there are major problems at the Orphanage. The entire Orphanage is shrouded in mystery both from the outside world and even to those living and working inside its walls.

As the story progressed, I saw a number of moral allegories presented. Some were more veiled than others. I think for the intended age range (grade schoolers, probably maxing out at middle school), the symbolism and suggestions may be subtle enough to be interesting ideas without being overt commentary on ethics or other moral issues. I personally found the messages to be refreshing in their veiled subtlety as a way of helping present some thoughtful ideals for children to digest.

There were a few times where I felt like the editing could have been tightened up again. The biggest problem I felt was that the mystery was perhaps a bit too obtuse which could lead to unnecessary confusion. There were a lot of elements that were left very vague or completely undefined. I saw this as a core plot device to keep even the nature of the mystery intentionally ambiguous. This became problematic during the last few chapters of the book when the revelations came flowing out with such rapidity as to be a little disorienting. Still, this imbalance was acceptable in light of the length and nature of the story.

I really enjoyed the light tone and writing of this book. The presentation of the story and the mystery were both compelling and easily accessible for young readers. I didn’t initially know that this was the first book in a series. The book ends with a nice conclusion that wraps up a lot of the core mysteries and issues with the story but it also opens up a compelling new plot that I’m genuinely interested in following up in the next book. Overall, this is a nice, light read with slightly deeper themes and ideas lingering just below the surface.


3 out of 5 stars



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Book Review - At First Light

I received a free copy of At First Light as a gift in exchange for an honest review. The adventure premise of the book was compelling enough for me to accept though I must say that even just reading the initial book summary I was a bit concerned as to the quality and nature of the novel. At First Light is an ambitious story that, in my opinion, tries to do too much all at once. The book bounces between two distinct story lines for the first half (or more?) of the book with nothing to link the two other than the knowledge from the synopsis that they will intersect at some point.

Plot one focuses on Jesse and his adrenaline-addict style life. He races his motorcycle up and down mountain roads and around blind turns just to get his blood rising. He’s dissatisfied with his life as a construction foreman and recklessly bounces around the site Parkour style trying to bring some excitement to the job. After the “last straw” on the job site, he sets off aimlessly on his motorcycle and randomly stops at a roadside diner in the middle of the lumber harvesting mountains of British Columbia. He narrowly avoids a fight, talks himself into a job and stumbles across a pair of other adrenaline seekers…this time in the form of hang gliders looking to use the science of air flow to take the ultimate flight. His engineering skills come in handy as he devises the best way to use the current and fly the peaks.

Plot two happens simultaneously and focuses on Piper, a young woman from a family with two much money. In an effort to make a statement to her parents, Piper has run off to South America and is hiding out in the city of Manaus. One morning she stumbles across a child tied to a post and being sold on the street like livestock. Piper is enraged and tries to stop the sale. The natives laugh at her and try to conclude their business. Fortunately for Piper, she has plenty of money so she goes ahead and buys the girl. She takes the girl into her hotel room, cleans her up and feeds her. Then Piper decides to turn the event into her own personal crusade and sets out to find a way to reunite the young girl with her family. Piper hires a boat and sails up the Amazon in search of the native tribe. She learns that the tribe not only has trouble with slavery but also with the ultra-violent leader of a neighboring tribe. Turns out this guy is sadistic and evil and has methodically murdered all of the men and works to maintain his power and influence by spewing terror around the area.

These two plots bounce back and forth for a while, moving between one another every few chapters. Each story was interesting but without being directly connected, the alternating from one to another was distracting and felt disjointed. It also felt like each story potentially suffered from full and proper development because of the need to keep each story balanced against the other. Thus instead of two separate, distinct fully alive stories, I found myself reading two stories trying to mesh their tone and feel against one another. The result felt less than satisfying.

Book Review - The Forbidden Stone (Copernicus Legacy Book 1)

Mixing science, adventure, history and fantasy, The Copernicus Legacy sounded like an enjoyable adventure story for kids and adults. The premise has some definite similarities to other middle grade series of recent years so I was worried it was just fall into the “more of the same” category. While there are elements of “sameness”, there are also enough differences to keep the story fresh and fun.

The older series I most thought of when starting this book was the 39 Clues series. In that series, a group of different family lines are pitted against each other in a global treasure hunt for some ultimate power. As with many/most series for middle graders, the central characters were kids. In 39 Clues, I had a hard time accepting the plausibility factor of a bunch of pre-teens globe hopping and competing against powerful, wealthy adults without facing immense problems. I felt like Copernicus Legacy handles this one complaint much better than the 39 Clues.

The initial story in “The Forbidden Stone” starts with a pair of brothers, Wade and Darrell, who intercept a message sent to their father, professor Wade Kaplan, by an old school professor just before he dies. The message is mysterious but what really starts the family off on the adventure is the revelation that the old professor had died. Professor Kaplan wants to go to the funeral in Germany. Because his wife is out of the country on assignment, he has to bring the kids along. In addition to Wade and Darrell, they bring their cousin Lily and her friend Becca who were planning to spend some time at the Kaplan home. Thus the initial problem of getting the children to Europe is solved by setting up a family outing.

Once they arrive in Germany, it becomes clear that there is a centuries old mystery to be solved. Professor Kaplan tries to encourage the kids to just leave it alone and go home. The kids are torn between partly wanting to dive into the adventure and partly wanting to go back home. As time goes on, they are discovered by a secret society, The Knights of the Teutonic Order, hunting for the ancient Copernicus Legacy. It turns out that Kaplan’s old university professor was a Guardian of the Legacy. The Teutonic Order have identified and killed the Guardians and believe that Professor Kaplan and his kids now hold the clues required to find the artifacts that Copernicus left behind. As a result, the Kaplan family is now in danger and it seems the Teutonic Order has influence in numerous law enforcement agencies such that the Kaplans don’t know who to trust or who to turn to.

Book Review - The Martian

I haven’t yet seen the recently acclaimed Academy Award winning movie Gravity, but the concept seems entertaining and suspenseful and I plan to see it sometime soon. Anyway, when I heard about the premise of the new book, The Martian, my first thought was to think it sounded vaguely familiar to Gravity but it seemed strangely more plausible to me (once you get past the whole “manned mission to Mars” thing).

For those unfamiliar with the story, we are in the future and have just engaged on the first Mars mission with the plan to have a group of astronauts spend a few months on the red planet conducting experiments and basically living on Mars. Unfortunately, just a few days into the mission, a huge Martian sandstorm rolls in and the decision is made to scrap the mission. The crew races for the escape launcher. As they hustle to escape, the storm breaks up the satellite dish and poles from the communications system. The pole slams into Mark Watney and sends him flying off into the dust. The captain searches for him, but time is short and based on remote life support monitors, it appears that Mark Watney is dead, so the rest of the crew escapes back to the long range transport ship and begin the return trip home. Shortly thereafter, Watney wakes inside his damaged spacesuit with alarms blaring and spends the next 500 pages trying to figure out a way to survive and hopefully return to Earth.

I haven’t read many “man versus nature” books since reading Jack London and other similar stories back in my High School days. The Martian takes the man versus nature idea and turns it on its head with a wild new set of criteria for survival. The entire concept sounded very compelling and I was thrilled to dive in. Even before cracking the cover, I was hoping to recommend the book to my 12 year old, space/astronomy loving son.

Sadly, upon reading the first sentences, I decided this book is NOT a book for kids. The book is mostly written as a first person series of journal entries by our stranded astronaut. His situation is understandably dire and as a result, many of his journal entries are smattered with cursing. The first entry begins by dropping the F-bomb…twice. The swearing continues through the book. And while it feels more “realistic” especially given the situation, neither myself or my family and friends swear and I am not a fan. The “realism” factor of the swearing in the journals felt slightly strained for me knowing that these journal entries are technically “mission logs” and while it seems logical that Watney might have cursed like that verbally, it seemed less likely that he would swear like that in “formal” professional reports, even if he expected to be dead by the time anybody read them. So...the swearing was the first knock against the book in my estimation.