Books #4

Another few months have passed, and I have managed to read quite a collection of books since the last time I posted my last mini-reviews. Here is what I have finished lately:

Legend, David Gemmell
After being told for years that I needed to read this book, I finally got around to it over the Fourth of July weekend. This book was amazing. It was a fast-paced action and fantasy adventure and read fairly fast as the action progressed the story quickly and character construction and introduction occurred throughout the entire, rather than simply when the reader meets each character for the first time.

This was David Gemmell's first book and I look forward to reading his many other best-sellers. I mean, this is the man that the Gemmell fantasy award is based on, so I think I will eventually read through his entire catalog.

I highly suggest this novel to anyone looking for a good weekend read about a castle siege, unlikely heroes, and an aging legend looking for his one great, last adventure.

Arena, William R. Forstchen
This was the first book set in the Magic: The Gathering universe. It came out in 1995, and was one of the first books I bought as a young reader. I have kept it through the years and it has continually sat on my bookshelf.

The other day, though, I found myself wanting a quick read (and I mean quick, it took maybe five hours to read through it again) and felt a little bit of nostalgia when I saw it on my bookshelf. I don't even know if this book can be found anywhere anymore, but it has a neat plot that presented the concept and world of Magic and I remember reading the stories and looking at each of my cards trying to figure out which spell was being cast by the characters.

This book does not hold up as well as I remember on a second reading nearly twenty years later, but it was a very entertaining way to spend an afternoon. And I don't regret picking this book up again and putting the video games down for a while.

Zone One, Colson Whitehead
This novel involves zombies, but it is far cry from your normal zombie thriller. This book reads more like an expose on humanity in the wake of an apocalyptic-like event and how humanity deals with the pressures of trying to rebuild. The zombies play secondary roles in the book and operate as almost an afterthought as this story could have been told in the wake of nearly any major event. The looks into the character's pysches are chilling and I haven't read better internal character thoughts in a long time.

I devoured this book. It read at an amiable pace, but I just couldn't put it down. I hated to leave the characters and would find myself sneaking time to finish just another paragraph between work projects. I highly recommend this book to fans of smart fiction and people who are looking for a read that keeps one on their toes.




NOS4A2, Joe Hill

I hadn't read any of Joe Hill's other works except for his comic book Locke and Key prior to purchasing this book. I didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprise about this book. It is a suspense driven novel that involves the power of the mind, what it means to be a parent, and what can happen when one has abilities that others don't.

Although he has not quite achieved the acclaim of his father, Stephen King, Joe Hill has an great sense of suspense and I am looking forward to picking up his earlier novels. Highly recommended!








The Warded Man, Peter V. Brett
This book was recommended to me by a friend who said he couldn't put it down and read it over a weekend. I don't read as fast as he does, but when I borrowed his copy, it took me only a week (with work) and a weekend (with chores) to read. I really liked the plot of the book and the way it flipped between the three main characters.

The story is interesting and I am looking forward to reading the other two sequels.









Material Witness, Jonathan Maberry
This is a very short story involving Joe Ledger, a cop/military secret op guy that is the focus of Maberry's recent series. It fills in the gaps between the other Joe Ledge novels which I have all read up to the most recent one which was just released.

I wouldn't recommend this short story unless you are already invested in the characters of the series as the pacing and writing is a little lacking from Maberry's normal works.









Deep Dark, Johnathan Maberry
Another Joe Ledger short story. This one was much better than the previous story. Perhaps because it finished a few plot lines from some of the other novels, or maybe because it seemed more flushed out as an actual story rather than a chapter.

Once again, however, I would not recommend this story unless you were also already a fan of the Joe Ledger series. Instead, I would recommend either of the first two novels: Patient Zero or The Dragon Factory.








Blood Rites, Jim Butcher
The sixth novel in the Dresden series. This novel introduces some new characters in the form of more White Court vampires and introduces us to the White Court and its interplay with the other vampire courts. Also, there is big reveal about Dresden's family. This was a quick read that I enjoyed, but is probably a middling effort in terms of overall story. I would place this in the middle of my favorite Dresden novels.











Dead Beat, Jim Butcher
The seventh book in the Dresden series. This book follows Harry Dresden in his attempts to forestall a necromantic apocalypse. This book had one of the best visual scenes in all the novels so far; Dresden riding a giant bone Tyrannosaurus Rex through the park in Chicago against a zombie horde. I was laughing at the audacity of this dinosaur charge, but kept finding myself entranced by how well it fit within the overall theme and plot of the book. This is one of my favorite Dresden novels.










Proven Guilty, Jim Butcher
The eighth Dresden novel. (If you can't tell, I got on quite a Dresden kick in the last few months). This novel took a more dramatic turn for Harry than I was expecting. This is where I began to see the series take a much more darker turn and the threads of long term plot lines develop. This novel also reintroduces the reader to Molly Carpenter - Michael's daughter - at a much older age than the last time we saw her. The novel revolves around her as much as it does around Harry and ends with the fate of both forever entwined.










White Night, Jim Butcher
The ninth novel in the Dresden series. A serial killer is loose in Chicago killing practitioners with minor magical skill through what look like suicides. It is up to Dresden to track the serial killer down, figure out the end game plan, and keep those under his protection alive. This book also reintroduces us to some older characters from the earlier novels and fleshes out Dresden's history a little bit more. I liked this novel for its depiction of a much stronger and more focused Dresden after the events in proven guilty. This was a great follow up to the prior novel and really set the stage for where the Dresden novels were going to be headed.








Small Favor, Jim Butcher
The tenth Dresden novel. The Order of the Blackened Denarius is back in force, and only Harry Dresden (along with the Archive, the Carpenters, Kincaid, and Karrin Murphy) can save the day. The swords are back in action and Harry's power has been steadily growing. Harry also finds out about a secret island in the lake near Chicago that holds a special purpose. Harry also has a battle with the Billy Goats Gruff!!! How cool is that?











Turn Coat, Jim Butcher
The eleventh Dresden novel. Harry's oldest enemy is being suspected of being a traitor. Harry himself is falling under increasing suspicion and must work to clear his enemy's name and his own conscience. This novel leaves Dresden and the world of the council in an uproar that they may not recover from.













Changes, Jim Butcher
The twelfth Dresden novel. Wholly crap! This novel tops my favorite Dresden novels. The end of the Red Court of vampires, Susan Rodriguez's return, and a several chapter massive battle. This was a great book and ends with a huge cliffhanger. This book is fast paced and doesn't spend as much time on Dresden's detective angle. This is a novel about him kicking ass and showing the world at large what a powerful wizard and his likewise powerful allies can do. Fantastic all around!










Ghost Story, Jim Butcher
This novel follows the events in Changes, but a significant period of time has elapsed. This novel follows Dresden back to his detective roots as has him embattled in a game of cat and mouse for his very soul. This novel was a nice change of pace from the last few heavy action novels and focused more on Dresden's pysche and the aftermath of his decisions in Changes. I really liked seeing how Dresden's decisions affected his friends.