Novelnaut

Exploring the Depths of Novels and Writing

American Gods

By: Neil Gaiman

I think that to properly understand some of what I’m about to say, you must know my back story with this book.  Literally, years ago (at least 5-6 years), I bought a used copy of this in hardcover off of amazon.  It’s been long enough ago that I don’t even remember why I bought it.  Perhaps it was recommended through the amazon recommended engine.  Or, perhaps I read something else by Gaiman that made me want to read something further.  Whatever the case may be, I bought a copy.  When I received the copy, I flipped through the pages as I usually do, only to find that the copy that I was sent was a signed, limited edition copy.  But, I still never read it.  Sometime spring, a local Relay for Life team was having a used book sale as a fundraiser.  People bring in and donate books to be sold for $1.  Who can turn down a book sale?  Not me.  While perusing the titles, I came across a paperback copy of American Gods.  I bought it.  That way, I could carry it around and read it without worrying about damaging the signed copy that I have.  And, so, I finally read American Gods.

And, I’m so angry at myself for not having read it earlier.  American Gods is easily the best book I’ve read so far this year.  Granted, it was only the 8th book of the year, but I think that it will remain right up there at the top.  Enough gushing.  Let’s get down to the review.

The book, quite simply, is about American Gods.  It’s an incredibly interesting look at what might happen to the gods of the old world when the people who believe in them visit and move to America.  Throughout, we follow an ex-con named Shadow who gets picked up on his way home by a man called Wednesday.  From there, we learn that there is an epic battle of survival among the old gods and the new gods.  (I won’t go too much farther, as even that is a bit more spoilery than I usually care to go.)

Gaiman does an very good job of giving life to the many old (and new) gods that we encounter through the book, and makes the incredible task of tying them altogether seem effortless.  There were times when the plot slowed, but the information there was tied to the plot and made the slight plodding worth while.  This is, very much, not a suspenseful story.  At least, not in the traditional sense that you are constantly wondering what is going to happen to this character or that character, or, when will that bomb blow up.  It is, however, suspenseful in that you find yourself wondering how each of the plot points that are introduced will develop.

I thought that the book was a wonderfully put together piece of literature.  (I should note that I quickly borrowed this to Jake, and he disagrees to some degree.)  I think that it owes a great deal of that to Gaimans skill.  He has an incredible grasp of language, and prose.  A lesser author would not have been able to breath the life into this story that Gaiman did.

I don’t know where to place this book, genre wise.  In a way, it’s a piece of literary fiction.  In another, it’s a paranormal fiction novel.  Maybe it’s best being called a literary paranormal fiction?  I don’t know.  But, if you’re a reader, I think you owe it to yourself to read it.  I know I wasn’t disappointed.

Goblin Hero

By: Jim C. Hines

The continuing adventures of Jig.  Now dubbed Jig the Dragonslayer after his adventures in Goblin Quest, Jig even has a song in his name.  Despite that, he still hasn’t overcome the title of runt.  Hines has done something interesting in this book.  In Goblin Quest, we met Jig and throughout the book, we really got a feel for what it meant to be Jig the Goblin.  The constant fear of his peers, the cowardice of the Goblins, and how Jig was just a bit different from the others.  In Hero, Hines leaves the bulk of that behind and heads off in a different direction.  And, I think, if he hadn’t, this book would have been a far lesser book for it.

In Hero, we’re immediately thrown into Jigs life post adventure.  He’s still just as looked down upon.  He’s still the runt.  But, he’s got his new god, Shadowstars healing ability to keep him alive.  Jig is once again thrown into an adventure when an Ogre comes busting into the Goblin lair demanding to see Jig the Dragonslayer.  Despite his best efforts to get out of going, Jig sets off with the Ogre down into the depths of Straums lair.

I felt like I got to know Jig a lot more in this book.  Maybe that’s because, after the first book, all the wider picture stuff was out of the way and we could get in for a more character expanding look.  Another nice thing that I noticed is that Hines doesn’t weigh the book down with all of the details of what has happened since the first book ended.  He dribbles a bit here and there, but leaves the rest out, and, in doing so, leaves a great deal of it to our imaginations.

Goblin Hero is a good book.  It’s fun, and well written.  It’s not a literary masterpiece, but if you picked up a book about a run Goblin expecting that it would be, you need to have your head examined.  What it is, though, is a quick read that comes across light and entertaining.  What more can you ask for?  I don’t think you’d need to read the first book to catch up in this one.  But, I’ve always thought that if you’re going to read a book in a series, you might as well start at the start.

Out of the Dark

By: David Weber

Disclaimer: This review is based upon an Uncorrected Advance Reading Copy that I won through a giveaway on Goodreads.com.  That means I didn’t pay for the book.  It also means that it had multiple grammar and other errors, some of which may have affected the released book and make it different from that which I read.

The concept of the book is pretty simple.  An alien race, set on colonizing Earth and making humans into warriors and farmers, comes and kills about half the population in kinetic strikes all military targets and most of the major population centers.  What ensues is a story about how much the alien race misunderstood the human race, and underestimated humans’ ability to adapt and fight back.

The first two thirds of the book are actually pretty good.  The one dim spot there is that I though that the descriptions of the weapons and munitions was a bit overdone.  Maybe you need to do that for futuristic/sci-fi weapons, but the 20th and 21st century weapons that were used don’t need that.  Or at least I didn’t think so.  It also jumped around a lot at the beginning, introducing the characters.  It was a bit confusing, but as the story went on, they all started to gel and it was far less noticeable.  Weber shows his military sci-fi roots and really makes the story and plot believable.

Which brings us to the last third or so of the book.  More specifically, the ending of the book.  Without giving too much away, there’s a bit of a revelation at the end that changes much of the dynamics of the story.  My problem with the last third or so of the book is that it felt rushed.  One moment, the humans have suffered a pretty devastating loss in the battle to defend Earth, and the next, they’re silently and invisibly destroying entire bases of the aliens.  I’ll leave the what, why, and how of that to the book, but there’s very little leading up to the cause, and very little by way of explanation of how they got there.  If the back of the book hadn’t said outright that somewhere, vampires come into play, I would have thought that Weber was trying to leave the reveal as a surprise of sorts.  But, we already know that they are vampires, so why we don’t get any of the backstory, or the explanation is a bit of a mystery.

Maybe the future novels of this series will help ease that a bit and give more of the explanation.  But, as a stand-alone, it’s just too thin.  If I get the chance, I’ll likely read the next book in the series, but I won’t be one of the people waiting in line for it either.  If you’re into military sci-fi, it’s worth reading.

Gardens of the Moon

By Steven Erikson

I’ve seen this book on countless lists as one of the best fantasy books and series.  So, I picked it up off of PaperBackSwap so I could check it out.

It’s an epic fantasy set in a fantasy world.  The book follows several different groups of characters.  A group of veteran warriors called the “Bridgeburners” who are on the cusp of being eliminated by their own leadership.  A group that’s comprised of a odd, round talent, an assassin, a thief, and a displaced noble.  And a few others for good measure.

Erikson does a wonderful job of world building and an especially good job of building the system of magic in the world.  But, that’s about where my enjoyment of the book ended.

It’s been a long time since I’ve found a book that I’ve contemplated putting down and not finishing.  This was one of them.  The book dragged on and on.  I found parts of the book eternally slow, and in my opinion, unnecessary.  Whole sections of the book could have been cut and not detracted from the story at all.  Everything else seemed extra wordy as well.  Many of the more subtle plot points and plot point revealings were almost too subtle.  In fact, I’m sure I missed a few.

Most books, despite being in a series, have an ending that ties things together and seals off some of the points.  But this book was very clearly meant to lead directly into the second book.  Only about half of the plot arcs seemed to be finished or, if they were, were finished in a very vague way.

To be fair to the book, I’m not an epic fantasy fan.  So, maybe fans of Tolkien might enjoy this book.  And perhaps they do considering how widely this book is recommended.  One things for sure.  It’s not for me.

I got a few more review copies in this week.  The prize of the bunch is a copy of “The Black Prism” by Brent Weeks, but I’m also excited about reading “Fungus of the Heart” by Jeremy C. Shipp (Fungus isn’t even listed on Amazon yet!).  Of course, I have to finish the book I’m reading right now first!

I’ve also got a few non-fiction books that I’ll be reviewing over the next few weeks.  Several of them are books from the “skinny on” series.  Pretty good books, and they are shorter than most (about 100 pages), so I should be able to crank through them rather quickly.

Plenty to read around here.  It never seems like I make a dent into my “to be read” pile.  Not that I’m complaining about having too many books to read.  That’s not a condition that truly exists outside of my wife’s mind.

Smartups

Lessons from Rob Ryan’s Entrepreneur America boot camp for start-ups

By Rob Ryan

This book came recommended by someone who I am working on another project with, so I figured I’d pick it up and give it a go.  I’m truly glad that I did.

Unlike many of the books like this that take a condescending tone or are terribly dry (or both), Smartups assumes that you have some idea of what it is that you are wanting to do.  Ryan then goes on to outline exactly what it is that he requires from the companies that come to him looking for mentorship and guidance.  And the bulk of the book is where Ryan goes into detail on what he does with those companies and their founders after he’s accepted them into his program.  It takes a bit of a high level look at it all, and obviously wouldn’t replace having someone like Ryan on board with your start-up company, but it will certainly give you a great idea of where you need to start and give you a head start on getting together all the info and research that any investor group or mentor group is going to want.

The book is well written and well put together.  Each section flows into the next and the information is clear and easy to understand.  There were a few places where I felt that the information that was given was a bit redundant and he used the same few companies as examples throughout the book.  Overall, though, it’s a very good book and I would certainly recommend it for anyone who want’s to immerse themselves into the fast paced start-up world.

It does seem to be somewhat rare, however.  It was published in 2002 and a used copy on Amazon is still running just under $9.  I attempted to find a copy through a few other avenues before I finally broke down and bought my copy there.  And it’s likely to be entered into my permanent collection.  For a while at least.

Under Heaven

By: Guy Gavriel Kay

Kay is one of my favorite authors.  His works are engaging and intelligent.  I have yet to be disappointed by one of this books.  And Under Heaven is certainly no exception.  What a spectacularly written novel.

It follows the adventures of Tai, a generals son who, after his father dies, goes off to the battlefield that haunted his fathers dreams.  For two years (the official mourning period), he buries the dead of Kuala Nor.  He overcomes the screaming of the ghosts of the dead, and becomes revered by those who man the posts of his country and the neighboring country.  The action of going to Kuala Nor and burying the dead changes the world around him.

Under Heaven is a book about choices.  About how the choices a person makes can affect that person, his family, his peers, and even his country and emperor.  Stemming from Tai’s choice to go and bury the dead of Kuala Nor, the novel branches off into many plot lines.  The cascade of choices that Tai makes based on what happens to him because of Kuala Nor and the choices that the people around him make because of those choices make for an amazingly intricate weaving of plots.  To the very end page, the ripples of that choice can be seen.  Kay uses his normal command of the written language to delicately lead the read on through the path, and carefully reveals only what we need to know.

The novel isn’t as good as some of my favorite Kay novels. It pales in comparison to Tigana, The Sarantine Mosaic, and The Fionavar Trilogy.  And, of course, that will depend on your reading tastes.  Part of the (minor) failing is that with Tigana, Sarantine Mosaic I felt a deep emotional connection to the cast of characters.  I felt the failings of their world.  I never got that connection in Under Heaven.  Now, you can make the decision on whether that’s my failing or the novels’.

Either way, it’s still an immensely enjoyable book.  One that I would recommend you pick up from Amazon or your favorite bookseller.

The Ghost Brigades (Old Man’s War #2)

By: John Scalzi

Old Man’s War Review

When I finished Old Man’s War, I immediately put my order in for The Ghost Brigades.  I’m glad that I did.  This is the second book that I’ve read by Scalzi, and I have not been dissappointed.  Enough so, that I ordered a copy of The God Engines and will have The Last Colony on it’s way fairly soon.  Scalzi has an incredible mastery of the English language.  One that is a wonderful pleasure to read.  Many times, I find myself stopping and thinking about what little twist of the wording he used and how I would have never thought to have put it that way.  But, once you’ve seen it that way, you can’t imagine it any other way.  But, enough about the author.  Let’s talk about the book.

When we leave Old Man’s War, the protagonist (one of) is retiring and moving on to a colony while his love ends up in the Ghost Brigades.  The Ghost Brigades is the nickname given to the special forces who are direct clones that have been heavily modified.  They don’t have an existing “soul” like the realborn soldiers and as such, many of the ethical roadblocks are eliminated.  They are able to test new modifications, and send them places that not even the realborn would bother to go.

We pick up at the beginning of this book with an important meeting of some commanders in the CDF (Colony Defense Forces), in respect to a dead scientist that isn’t really dead.  Seems he built a clone of himself and then staged a suicide, so that he could defect to help three alien races combine forces to declare a unified war on the human race.  And with that, we’re off and running.  The book follows the short life of Jared, a special forces soldier from his “birth” to his death.  Along the way, we learn a great deal about the relationship between the realborn soldiers and the special forces, and why the special forces are separated from the rest of the forces.  Much like Old Man’s War, Scalzi touches on several topics of ethical nature as well as what it would mean to have an adult consciousness while you’re still only a year or two old.

Ghost Brigades is only about 50 pages longer than Old Man’s War, and is just as quick a read.  The tempo of the novel is steady, with no slow spots.  As I noted, the writing is wonderful.  And even without the great story to back it up, the book would be worth reading for the writing alone.  But, Ghost Brigades is one of those select few books that has both.  In fact, all of Scalzi’s novels I’ve read have that.  I highly recommend that you pick up Old Man’s War (if you haven’t) and start there and then move quickly on to The Ghost Brigades.  Especially if you like science fiction.

The Gypsy Morph: The Genesis of Shannara, book 3

By: Terry Brooks

From the back cover of the book:

Eighty years into the future, the United States is a no-man’s-land, it’s landscape blighted by chemical warfare, pollution, and plague.  In fortified compounds, survivors hold the line against an enemy neither mortal nor merciful; demons and their minions bent on slaughtering and subjugating the last of humankind.

But from around the country, allies of good unite to challenge the rampaging evil.  Logan Tom wielding the magic staff of a Knight of the Word, has promised to protect the world’s only hope of salvation.  Angel Perez, Logan’s fellow Knight, has risked her life to aid the peaceful elvish race, marked for extermination by the forces of the Void.  Kirisin Belloruus, a young elf entrusted with an ancient magic, must deliver his entire civilization from a monstrous army.  And Hawk, the rootless boy who is nothing less than destiny’s instrument, must lead the last of humanity to a latter-day promised land before the final darkness falls.

Quite the blurb, for quite the book.  Gypsy Morph is the last in the Genesis of Shannara series, that tells the tale of the pre-Shannara world and how it becomes the world of Shannara.  As a long time fan of the Shannara books, and of Terry Brooks’, I couldn’t help but start the series.  I’m very glad that I did.  I’m also a huge fan of alternative history novels, and while this one tells of a alternate future, it feels the same.

There’s likely to be a few spoilers beyond this point, so if you don’t like that sort of thing, stop reading now.

In the first two novels, we meet all the characters as they begin the journeys that will lead them to the end of the world.  With demons breathing down their neck, they’ve managed to secure the Loden Stone and the Elfstones as well as begin their trek to the promised land.  Brooks takes us through the rest of the story in what feels like a very short time, but really isn’t.  The book is an incredibly good read.  I only made it to about half way before getting that ever familiar urge to just keep reading until I had it finished.  I found myself falling deeper and deeper into a wonderfully sculpted world melded of the one I live in and the one that Terry Brooks has created.
Like usual, the overall plot was a bit formulaic, but the story kept it from being feeling that way.  It’s a small nitpick, but one of the laws of writing is broken within the pages.  That law being that if there’s a gun on the mantle in the first act, it must go off in the third.  In the course of the story, Logan Tom finds a Ventra AV that possesses a weapon called “Carbon Seekers”.

They targeted carbon-based life-forms — everything human, for starters — dispatched a dissolver, and the target simply ceased to exist.

And so, Brooks gives us a horribly tantalizing gun on the mantle.  Throughout the rest of the book, I was waiting for it to go off.  It never did.   But, if that’s the worst thing that I can find about the book, it’s still a pretty good book.

I think that Brooks wrote himself into a bit of a corner by the end of the novel.  The series is a very good series.  The plot encompasses the death and salvation of races and the rebirth of those races to an entirely new world.  And being so epic in scale, I don’t think the ending would have satisfied no matter how it was written.  As I have mentioned before, one of the key indicators of a books worth is how well it draws you in to the story, making you want to not put it down and finish it.  Another indicator is in whether you are saddened by the fact that, at the end of the story, you have to leave the characters and their world.  This series and this novel have both of those things.  Well worth the read.

If you want to start at the beginning, and I suggest you should, you can pick up the first two books in the series at Amazon (and since these are affiliate links, you can support this site at the same time!) Book one is Armageddon’s Children and book two is The Elves of Cintra.

Neverland

By: Douglas Clegg

When I received this book for review, I felt that it was going to be a bad read.  As you’ve likely noticed if you’ve read any of my reviews, I normally read Science Fiction and Fantasy.  Neverland is neither of those.  When I read a few of the blurbs on the book, however, and there were a couple that compared the book to early Stephen King, I changed my mind.  I’ve read nearly every Stephen King there is, and enjoyed most of them.  Especially his early works.

Neverland puts us deep into the south, with cousins Beau and Sumter, and their families on vacation at their Grammy’s house on Gull Island.  Shady things begin happening in an old tool shed in the woods and Beau finds himself deep in the brewing supernatural storm.

The book is written in the first person from the perspective of Beau.  Some have problems writing in the first, but Clegg certainly pulls it off here.  There were a few places where the thoughts of the ten year old Beau seemed a bit mature.  But, I don’t really remember 10 all that well, so couldn’t say for sure that they really were all that mature.

The story and plot are good, but not great.  There are several places where I felt it dragged along, and it fell apart for me a bit at the end.  Without giving too much away, the ending seemed almost anti-climactic and left me wondering a bit if it was truly over or not.  Despite those small holes, the book pulled me along with it.  And that’s what makes a good book, good.

As I got to the last 100 pages or so of the book, I began getting that urge each time I tried to put it down, to keep on going.  And a book that pulls you in, and keeps you reading, is a good book.  The writing does remind me a bit of the earlier works of Stephen King.  I don’t think it’s nearly as powerful, but the style is very close.  In short, if you have any taste for works like IT or Pet Sematary, you’ll want to add this book to your list.  It’s worth the read.

If  you want a bit of a taste, you can read the first few pages of Neverland at Clegg’s website, DouglasClegg.com Or, you can go and buy Neverland at Amazon.

Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book to review.  I’ve tried my best to not let that influence my judgment.