woodge.com > books

		Below: dashed off notes on the last dozen books I've read.
		Shadow's Edge (The Night Angel Trilogy, book 2) • Brent Weeks mmpb 656 pages ISBN-10: 0316033650 ISBN-13: 978-0316033657 When I began this middle book in the trilogy I wasn't exactly drawn to the developing story. Our hero, Kylar, tries to renounce his job of master assassin -- wetboy -- to live a normal life with Elene, the scarred woman he's known since childhood. Of course you know things like that can't last but it takes a little while to start to turn. Meanwhile the Godking, Garoth Ursuul continues his evil ways as usurper to the kingdom of Cenaria. But then, as Kylar gets his mojo back, the story really kicks into gear and the pages fly by. Past the halfway point I was fully invested not only in Kylar's trajectory but several other supporting characters. This was an excellent middle book. I'm going straight to the final book to see what happens next. [amazon] [2 sep 2010]
		Brave Story • Miyuki Miyabe [ABANDONED] tpb 820 pages ISBN-10: 1421527731 ISBN-13: 978-1421527734 This story (translated from the Japanese) is like two stories mashed together. It begins in the real world with a young boy (age 11) named Wataru. There's some strange goings-on in a half-built house in his neighborhood (and it's pretty interesting). But then that bit gets overshadowed by Wataru's disintegrating family. Wataru wants to fix things and thinks he'll get a chance by fulfilling a mission into another world called Vision. Brave Story is fat, heavy, 800-page book and Wataru's entrance into Vision happens around page 220. Unfortunately, this is where things begin to bog down. I was non-plussed to realize that Vision was modeled after a Role Playing Game (RPG), something Wataru himself is crazy about. But I kept going. Somewhat interesting developments become less interesting. By page 380 I was completely bored with the story. I was bummed that I'd invested so much time into this story but after reading some of the less favorable comments from customers on Amazon, I now have Serious Doubts that persevering will pay off. So I'm not. [amazon] [18 aug 2010]
		Johannes Cabal the Necromancer • Jonathan L. Howard tpb 304 pages ISBN-10: 0767930762 ISBN-13: 978-0767930765 It can be very refreshing when the main character is a bit of a douchebag. The haughty, cold-hearted Johannes Cabal has sold his soul to the Devil in return for knowledge in necromancy. However, not having a soul, is throwing a wrench in his occult studies, so he wagers with the Devil to get his soul back. He only has one year to sign over 100 souls to Hell or else forfeit his life and his soul forever. The Devil throws in a fiendish carnival to make things interesting. To call this book unusual seems fairly obvious by this point. But I ended up enjoying this tale very much. It had me snickering in places and as much as Johannes is a bit of an ass, he can be very amusing which is all that I ask of a character. Plus, he's aided by his charismatic brother, Horst, a vampire. I'm looking forward to reading the follow-up tale in which Johannes tries his hand at detective work. [amazon] [7 aug 2010]
		Ordinary Thunderstorms • William Boyd mmpb 403 pages ISBN-10: 1408802856 ISBN-13: 978-1408802854 I was flipping through a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly and read Stephen King's column in which he was recommending books. This was his current number one choice and I'm happy I followed his advice. This was one of those rare books that are hard to put down. At first, I was annoyed by the protagonist, Adam Kindred. Although he had his reasons, he does something very stupid in the beginning that is the catalyst for this tale. But events progress from there and Adam proves to be not so stupid. To be fair, he realizes immediately afterward how stupid his initial actions were. But basically, this is the story of a character who loses everything and then takes off from there. He's a young guy in London with no money, home, or possessions. The police and a hitman are looking for him. It was very interesting to see how the story progressed. So now Stephen King's recommendations that I've followed up on have been hits 2 out of 3 times. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami was a fun read, but Dispatch, by Bentley Little I tossed half-read. Also, I bought Ordinary Thunderstorms as a paperback while on vacation in Sweden. But here, it's only available as a hardcover. Over on Amazon.com the average customer rating for this book is only 3 stars but I've long since given up trusting the hoi polloi to be arbiters of good taste. Philistines! [amazon] [2 aug 2010]
		God of Clocks (Deepgate Codex, Book III) • Alan Campbell mmpb 400 pages ISBN-10: 0553589334 ISBN-13: 978-0553589337 The concluding book in this trilogy is the weakest of the three, but overall this trilogy was endlessly inventive and unpredictable. The first in the trilogy, Scar Night, is still the best especially in terms of plotting. But beginning with the second book, Iron Angel, characters go off in different directions and new characters enter the fray. John Anchor was a favorite. Also, not all loose ends are wrapped up. The story concerns a fight for supremacy among gods (winged angels cast out of Heaven) and the ruler of Hell, King Menoa, the self-styled Lord of the Maze. I enjoyed it all but I it seems to me that the plotting was either more rushed after the first book or the author was nearly making it up as he went along. I'd be keen to see what he comes up with next, though. [amazon] [27 jul 2010]
		Fragment • Warren Fahy mmpb 528 pages ISBN-10: 0553592459 ISBN-13: 978-0553592450 Now here's a story that's seemingly modeled after some of Michael Crichton's fast tales. The Trident is a large ship chartered with carrying an attractive crew being filmed for a reality TV show called SeaLife. In a remote section of the Southern Pacific Ocean they come across tiny Henders Island. Soon after a landing party manages to gain access to the island, most of them end up being eaten by beasties never before seen on Earth. Good start! And then half-way in, things pick up and the pages fly by. I think some other blurb said it first, but Fragment is like a combination of The Ruins and Jurassic Park. A fast, diverting story with really nasty fauna. [amazon] [13 jul 2010]
		Lamentation (The Psalms of Isaak) • Ken Scholes mmpb 432 pages ISBN-10: 0765360918 ISBN-13: 978-0765360915 This the first in a proposed series of five books, this story begins shortly after the complete destruction of a central city of learning. The setting is somewhat medieval with splashes of steampunk. In fact, the Isaak of the series name is an automaton who emerged intact from the city's destruction. There's a bunch of incomprehensible foofarraw about ancient times and lost knowledge thrown about and several strangely named characters charging about with different agendas (Rudolfo, Jin Li Tam, Sethbert, Neb, Petronus, to name a few). But I found the story to be severely lacking in suspense. The level of interest I sustained was barely enough to keep turning pages. One important character was this guy who seems to be eight steps ahead of everyone else, hatching plans within plans, and annoyingly obtuse about what his motives are. I didn't end up caring much about any of the characters. I'll pass on the rest of the series. [amazon] [9 jul 2010]
		Masterpiece • Elise Broach tpb 320 pages ISBN-10: 0312608705 ISBN-13: 978-0312608705 I was looking around for a book to read aloud that would appeal to both my kids (age 8 and 5). This one is about a young, lonely boy named James who befriends a beetle who lives in his NYC apartment named Marvin. Together they get involved in an art heist. The story is a tad dry and slow-moving and without much conflict. All in all I felt the story to be unremarkable. But both my kids kept wanting me to read more when I was ready to say good night. So that's good. [amazon] [6 jul 2010]
		What Every American Should Know About the Middle East • Melissa Rossi tpb 512 pages ISBN-10: 0452289599 ISBN-13: 978-0452289598 This is the fourth "What Every American Should Know About..." book I've read and just as fascinating as the others. Published in 2008, this book is filled with facts, history, and the current state of affairs of the countries which comprise the Middle East. Although it's not the sexiest title in the world, it's a book that I read like a page-turning thriller. I kept putting down the fiction titles I've been reading and reading this instead. Before this book, I only had vague notions of what what was going on in this part of the world, and little idea of how it got that way. But after reading this, I've got a much better understanding of the area, it's diverse people, and how they got there. One thing that stands out is how you just can't paint these Middle Eastern countries as simply good and bad, black or white. They all have their good and bad points. And the USA is included in that assessment since the USA has had a big hand in shaping Middle Eastern affairs and it's not always been a helping hand. Nobody comes away cleanly from this book. Not the USA, the British, the French, or the many characters in the Middle East. It's a messy world and this book helped me put it in context. This is just fascinating stuff. [amazon] [21 jun 2010]
		Road Dogs • Elmore Leonard tpb 288 pages ISBN-10: 0061985708 ISBN-13: 978-0061985706 Road Dogs is the 19th novel I've read by Elmore Leonard. That's a record number by one author that I've read. The reason is that Elmore Leonard's stories are just consistently entertaining. You can't tell exactly where the story is headed and the journey there is just so much fun. In this story he revisits the main character of Out of Sight — haven't read it, but the movie adaptation is a favorite — Jack Foley, convicted bank robber. The title refers to prison buddies. In this case, Jack's buddy is Cundo Rey, a cocky little Cuban who's sitting on a fortune and helps Jack get an early release from prison. Cundo's girlfriend Dawn, a psychic, has some ideas on how to separate Cundo from his money, but it's not an easy task and Cundo is dangerous. Jack, of course, is one cool customer and not easily fooled. It's a fast-moving, fun tale. [amazon] [1 jun 2010]
		The Warded Man • Peter V. Brett mmpb 480 pages ISBN-10: 0345518705 ISBN-13: 978-0345518705 The first of a trilogy, The Warded Man takes place in a world where the human population is dwindling. As soon as the sun sinks below the horizon the demons emerge. The humans are protected by various magical wards that repel the wood, fire, sand, swamp, and wind demons. But if a ward circle is improperly painted or hidden my mud... the legion of demons can enter and feast on the tasty humans. This story focuses on three individuals that will take the fight to the demons. The characters are very compelling and the tale is deftly told. I enjoyed this story very much and will eagerly look forward to completing this trilogy. [amazon] [28 may 2010]
		Graceling • Kristin Cashore (YA) tpb 480 pages ISBN-10: 0547258305 ISBN-13: 978-0547258300 To be "graced" means you've been born with a special skill and the most telling characteristic that distinguishes the graced from the un- is that the graced have one eye with a different color than the other. Our heroine, the feisty Katsa, has one blue eye and one green. Her grace seems to be superior fighting ability. In her kingdom, one among seven, the king reserves the right to use those graced as he sees fit. Katsa is his enforcer of choice. But she's starting to get ideas of her own. And after meeting a skilled (and graced) fighter from the kingdom of Leinid, Katsa's life takes a decisive turn. This was an easy read, a little too grown up for the younger teens perhaps, and the obstacles facing Katsa are handled well. But I wouldn't classify this as a blazing page-turner either. Also: it's a fairly small cast of characters for a fantasy. This is a stand-alone tale but the author has written a separate book set in the same world. I'm not putting it on my To Be Read list, though. [amazon] [comment via blog] [13 may 2010]