Sunday, December 24, 2023

Eyes of the Void, Adrian Tchaikovsky

Eyes of the Void

The Final Architecture #2
by Adrian Tchaikovsky

space opera

copyright 2022
read in December 2023

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

for me, Doc Smith is the champion of space opera: 
1... hero has a simple technology.

2... villain develops bigger, badder technology which almost but not quite destroys hero.
3... hero develops bigger, better technology which almost but not quite defeats villain
4... repeat from 2...
This book offers a variant.
For 2, hero meets worse villains who have badder tech. there's a distinct feeling that the author has no clear idea of direction. he's placing the hero in danger, then inventing new threats to throw at him.
And for 3, hero is searching for a magic sword from the past, with an awful lot of, gosh that's amazing, gosh I'm almost there, gosh i see the light... but I'm not going to explain it... The author is demanding a complete suspension of disbelief.
That's just the magical science, there is some actual development of the plot.

the whole book is non stop action and adventure.
lots of excitement, not much sense. in fact... good fun all the way through




Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


As Conan says: What does not kill you
does not kill you

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

rebel sport terrasphere-towelling-cricket-hat

... polyester / made in China

rated zero/10: DANGEROUS.

This hat has a Sun Protection Factor close to zero.
I wore it on a 42-minute walk. On a cool, overcast day. Walking amongst tall shady trees.
At the end of the day I had itchy -- sunburnt -- scalp and ears.

This hat is not suitable for cricket.
Not for *any* outdoor activity.

It is worse than useless: It gives the impression of being a hat -- but provides no sun protection. This is misleading -- and dangerous.





Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===

"Knowing the direction doesn't mean you have to go." ...


Dying for you to read my blog :-)


Garmin ForeRunner 55

Garmin ForeRunner 55

This device offers all sorts of nice features... at least, it does according to the marketing notes.

Good luck getting any of those features -- except the most basic -- working: the Manuals are crap.

The Garmin manuals are meaningless, confusing, incomplete or just non-existent.
===

Workouts:
After much to-and-fro with support -- I did find out that workouts developed for the older FR220 can *not* be copied to the new workout-defining system. So why on Earth did I bother to buy a new Garmin?

I should have looked for any other GPS brand -- because the benefit of "brand compatibility" has been tossed out the window.



Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===

"Knowing the direction doesn't mean you have to go." ...


Dying for you to read my blog :-)


Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Who Runs the World?, Virginia Bergin

Who Runs the World?
by Virginia Bergin

science fiction, subadult
copyright 2018
read in December 2023

rated 8/10: really quite good

It's funny. I finished reading and *then* discovered that this book is for "young adult" I'm surprised but not surprised; I mean, it's obvious... when I know it.
I read it. Enjoyed it. Liked the characters. Appreciated the ideas. Sympathised with the granmummas. Worried with then cheered for the heroine -- and for the hero.
But young adult? Yes: the main characters are teens. The world is nice (with a dystopian secret). The violence is (mostly) off-stage.
Definitely subadult. Yet the theme is universal. Well presented. And well balanced. With a very satisfying ending.
I enjoyed this book.


Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===

"Knowing the direction doesn't mean you have to go." ...


Dying for you to read my blog :-)


Sunday, December 3, 2023

Hema GPS+maps

Hema GPS+maps

rated 2/10: get a book of maps

We have a Hema GPS which operates through an Aerpro.
Neither is worth the cost.

For example: We have just been away for six days. Driving round the SW of WA. For three of those days the Hema was convinced that we were in Canberra.
Once, it showed us a route across Australia. Several thousand km to get to a place that was 20km in *real* distance. Mostly it simply failed to navigate.

Of course it's hard to know when the Hema is failing to navigate. It is so very slooooww. It seems to be dead, it is just "working" ha.

On the rare occasions when it knew where we were, we would try to navigate.
Tap the search icon. type in a location. Have you ever tried to use a touch screen in a moving 4WD? Very difficult.
Made more difficult by the device.

Perhaps you want to go to Dullsville. You start to type...
You type D -- and the Hema waits. Hides the keyboard. Appears to die. It waits. Then lets you type u... then dies again.
With patience, you may get to type an entire place name.

The most likely response is a demand to type at least three words for an address.
Three words? We never did find a combination of words that was an acceptable address.

So, we want to navigate to Dullsville. We don't have a street name. We want to get to the town. To see if they have a pub or a cafe.
We search for Dullsville. The only hope is, that the town has a Dullsville hotel. Or Dullsville oval. Or some other feature which is named for the town. Then the Hema is happy to navigate to that feature.
Just once, we were able to search for and navigate to a town.

When the GPS was working, we played with the Hema. Trying to understand it. To get it to navigate to where we really wanted to go.
Nine hours driving was not enough. We can now navigate to the Dullsville Community Centre. And hope that it is, in fact, in the town of Dullsville.

The Hema GPS is too complicated to use.
Our real success came when we stopped -- looked at a book of maps -- and followed the printed maps.







Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===

"Knowing the direction doesn't mean you have to go." ...


Dying for you to read my blog :-)


Aerpro sound system

Aerpro sound system.
Rated 3/10: at least it sort of works.

After twenty or so years the Prado radio/CD player finally died.
We replaced it with what I was assured was, the simplest sound system available.

CD players are old tech, no longer available. Anyway, we also want a built-in GPS. The Aerpro links with Hema GPS+maps. Unfortunately it plays either music or maps. Not both.

So it's a "simple" system. An "expert" installs it. He does not know how to display a Hema map.
Three months later -- after much asking and reading, we see our first map. My Hema review will be separate.

The installer has linked our phones to the Aerpro. Sometimes, as we drive, a google map appears on the screen. Appears. But does nothing, responds to no commands. It appears to be a copy from one phone. But it's not tracking. Total fail.

So, sound:
The radio works. Or it would. Except that most of our driving is out of range of any radio stations.

Music?
We have CDs copied to a thumb drive.
We can play music from the thumb drive -- as long as we do not also want to use the Hema.
The Aerpro can be convinced to show a list of folders. Then it can play songs. So far so good.
We have yet to work out how to select a specific folder. We certainly can't select a specific track. The device will play through the several hundred tracks on the thumb drive. One after another after another after another.
We have music. But no real choice as to which music we will hear.

The Aerpro is better than nothing.
Though -- if I could go back in time -- I would choose nothing. And save a lot of money.



Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===

"Knowing the direction doesn't mean you have to go." ...


Dying for you to read my blog :-)


Apple Air tablet computer

rated zero/10: so bad that it makes me angry.

For several months I owned -- and attempted to use -- the latest (2022?) model Apple tablet. The name had "Air" in it.
This review is from memory.  I bought it brand new. The device never worked properly. Now it is dead.

Have you ever dreamed of owning a computer which will support your work? Which will make your work -- and play -- so much more effective.
Apple says, forget it.

The Apple concept is that you will change your every way of working. And playing. Change to suit the apple way. 
Not that they tell you the way, that would be too helpful. They have their own language. Describing "features" with standard English words. But no hint as to what the feature *does*.Which makes it very difficult to search the Web for help.
Interesting: a quick search shows that "my" word crapple is, in fact, already in common use.

A tablet computer is very convenient for travel. For me it has two key uses: type emails and read eBooks.

My new crapple arrives. I'm excited. I'm going away for the next weekend, I can use the device to carry books with me and to email home. Wrong.

I have some ePubs that I want to read. I copy them to the tablet. It's not easy but I manage. And test-read on the tablet.
Standard ePub files. I have read them on PC and Android. Crapple refuses to open them.
Still, it accepts a few. Enough for a weekend's reading. Wrong.
Every indication is that the epubs are on the tablet. In fact they have been dumped to the cloud. Our weekend is out of town -- with no internet. So, no reading epubs. Total fail.

Still, I can always type emails. Then send them when I get back to the city. This introduces the next major fault The fault appeared on day one, I spent months just putting up with it:

Back in the city, several months later... I receive an email, it needs a rapid response. I start typing the response -- the apple stops, locks, restarts.
This is common. For no obvious reason -- the device crashes.
The crash takes perhaps 30 seconds to recover. Enough time to lose my train of thought. Sometimes nothing else is lost, sometimes it loses what was being typed.
I've owned the crapple for at least six months. Restricted my way of working in an attempt to work within apple restrictions.
I've had enough. I'm trying to respond to an email, the device crashes. I restart, try again to reply to the email, the device crashes.
There's an open door. I throw the crapple out that door.
When I can be bothered picking it up -- it never works again. I am glad. The crapple is dead. I'm still angry but I can use other devices -- non-apple devices -- devices that actually work.
===

The Apple Air tablet does not work. What it does -- is annoying.

The touch-screen extends all the way to the edge of the device. What this means is that it cannot be picked up. Try to pick it up -- or even to move it -- and you will touch the screen. Touch it anywhere and... something will happen. Something random. Not really random but, you want to move the device, you don't notice where you touch the screen. Wherever it is, something happens. Something which you did not intend.

The device is designed for use with 24/7 high speed internet.
I wanted to show photos to a friend. Put the photos on the tablet, share them over a coffee. Wrong.
There is no way to copy files onto the crapple. Not from a PC. Not via USB. Only through the cloud. If you want to spend hours transferring to and from. If you want to meet your friend in a cafe which provides high speed internet.
Another fail.
Oh yes, that "Air": Are there really people who roam the world (or the home or office) who want to share files with other apple owners? These would be people who have never heard of email attachments. Or who, like me, do not have 24/7 access to cloud sharing. Really?
The ability to share files on the fly is, apparently, a key feature of the tablet. I never felt the need to try it.

Apple Air tablet: A useless piece of junk. I was glad when it finally, completely, died.










Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===

"Knowing the direction doesn't mean you have to go." ...


Dying for you to read my blog :-)


Sunday, November 19, 2023

No Plan B / Lee Child, Andrew Child

No Plan B / Lee Child
by lee or Andrew Child
(Jack Reacher #28)

thriller,
copyright 2022
read in November 2023

rated 7/10: well worth reading

As I understand it this book was written by the brother, Andrew. No worry, it's in the same style and just as good.
The cover says, bigger twists. I would not say twists. More new revelations. The story begins on one path and continues, with other plot paths -- additions, explanations -- getting added. "Twists" imply sudden changes. Contradictions. Points where the author needs extra words so they change the plot. This book has "revelations". Not "twists".
As usual with Jack Reacher there is violence. For evil purposes or because the villains are evil. Reacher adds to the violence but only when provoked. Once he gets involved, no bad deed goes unpunished. Secondary good people are also well meaning and often competent.
Then there is the teenage runaway. Naive, ill-treated, has good clean motives. Reacher looks after him.Once Reacher is on your side... you are absolutely safe.
The book is full of evil characters doing evil things. There is death and violence throughout. Yet... at the end I think... Wow, that was great. The world is now a much nicer place.
Well worth reading: it cheered me up.

 


Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===

"Knowing the direction doesn't mean you have to go." ...


Dying for you to read my blog :-)


Friday, November 3, 2023

Revenger, Alastair Reynolds

Revenger
(Revenger #1 of 3)
by Alastair Reynolds
science fiction
copyright 2016
stopped reading, November 2023

rated 4/10: bad but could be read

The book starts with two girls being idiots. Either they are in serious trouble or this is a simplistic children's book.
Well, I read until nearly every caricature had been brutally killed. Yes, they are caricatures rather than characters.
So it's brutal and horrible. The title states the theme...
Except that this is book one of three. No, I can't see that anywhere on the cover :-(
I'm not enjoying the brutality. I do not want to wade through three volumes to get to the ultimate -- perhaps -- vengeful comeuppance.
I stop reading. If I already had all three books, it could be worth reading a bit further. But, there is no enjoyment. I stop.


Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===

Whoever said "fighting never solves anything" obviously never won a fight


Dying for you to read my blog :-)


Friday, October 27, 2023

Soul Music, Terry Pratchett

Soul Music
(Discworld #?)
by Terry Pratchett
fantasy, humour

copyright 1994
not read in October 23

rated: 4/10: bad but could be read

That rating deserves an explanation.
There is humour. Social satire. The plot is complex and entertaining. There is magic and mystic meaning.
I am not enjoying it.
It's like the books with Rincewind. There may be some sympathetic characters -- and they are losers. Worse, in this book they are losers because other characters take advantage of them.
It is humour but it is cruel humour.

After perhaps a third of the book I stop reading. There is no sense of fun. No enjoyment.


Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===

Whoever said "fighting never solves anything" obviously never won a fight


Dying for you to read my blog :-)


Thursday, October 12, 2023

Quest, Shannah Jay

Quest
Tenebrak #1
by Shannah Jay

science fiction, fantasy
copyright 1993
read in October 2023
rated 6/10: read to pass the time

What a load of New Age nonsense!
Meditation, love and dancing will save the world. Well, no argument against trying but I doubt that mystic mind melds will heal wounds and create doors through solid stone.
The good people are soooo very good. And so powerful thanks to their mystic Disciplines.
It's actually quite a surprise that the bad people are, in fact, really really bad. Except for those few who are healed and convinced by the nice people.
One odd thing with the characters: It is very hard to empathise with any of them. It is, I think because the likeable ones are so quickly converted to the New  Age religion.(And nasty ones so quickly turn to evil.) they are no longer human enough for our empathy. Or, perhaps it is because their magic meditation allows them to so easily deal with their inner demons so, why should *we* care.

Despite the embarrassingly twee religion, the book is quite enjoyable. Once the reader has achieved the necessary willing suspension of disbelief, there are believable adventures and unbelievable escapes.
But be warned: this is book one of at least three. And I believe that all of the books are out of print.
An ultimate happy ending seems inevitable... This book ends with absolutely nothing resolved. And yet... the story is fun as far as it goes... and it is so really silly that... well... who really cares how, or whether, it will all end.





Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===

Talk is cheap — but say the wrong thing to your boss and it'll cost you. (adapted from Alfred E. Neuman)


Dying for you to read my blog :-)


Sunday, October 1, 2023

Cytonic, Brandon Sanderson

Cytonic
(Skyward #3)
by Brandon Sanderson

science fiction, subadult

copyright 2021
read in September 2023
rated 7/10: well worth reading

No, the saga is not complete, there's at least one more to go. But at least the end of this one is not a complete cliff-hanger.
By itself it's 6/10, read to pass the time. As part of the series -- it is essential and worthwhile, so 7/10. Hmmm... I just double-checked my rating scale. For its subadult market, as one of a series, it could be 8/10, really quite good. Or? no. It's fun, action, adventure, imagination -- all good -- but not worth eight.
It's swashbuckling adventure set in a world with a lot of variety -- which is barely used. The adventure fits well within the series but this book is relatively narrow in scope. That said, I was constantly surprised as a new revelation was fitted neatly into the series-wide plot. Perhaps that's the problem: in order to build the series, this book is limited. Enjoyable though.

The whole book is rather simplistic: challenges set and met, sometimes met by discovering that people (and aliens etc) are all rather well-meaning. All part of the subadult genre -- and something that I enjoy as much as any subadult.
Yet many of the problems are solved by near-magic: Oh, I didn't know that you had that super-power... Not quite deus ex machina, more wish fulfilment.
And then there is the message... The heroine is constantly learning, growing and developing. As she learns, the reader is given the clear message that personal growth, understanding, helping others and so on, are all good things. Well yes they are, the message is just a bit heavy-handed. Not that I object... I agree with the messages, I am happy to see them in print. My own "moral compass" was set by reading Biggles. I enjoy a book with a positive message. Perhaps it could be by example rather than by instruction.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Action, adventure, a satisfying ending. I hope that, sooner or later, the entire series will reach some sort of satisfying conclusion.


Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===

Too many people consider themselves open-minded when they're really just empty-headed. (Alfred E. Neuman)


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Sunday, September 10, 2023

The Book of Phoenix, Nnedi Okorafor

The Book of Phoenix
by Nnedi Okorafor
science fiction
copyright 2015
read in September 2023

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

This book has several aspects.
It is science fiction: where the science may as well be magic. As SF the book is good fun.
The book is also fantasy. A special class of fantasy where all problems can be solved by chanting mystical spells while dancing naked in the moonlight. Or, as in this book, by using but not explaining the traditional magic of Africa.
Which leads to the third aspect of this book: It is a rabid racist rant where black and brown are good but all white is evil. It seems that various non-white races have moved on from their centuries of slaughter and slavery. Yet every white person still maintains the ancient master-slave attitude. Perhaps, in America, this is true.

Finally, the heroine learns to use her super-powers. Not for revenge, she says but for justice.
I rather like the justice that she serves to the seven ultra-villains. It's a pity that this "justice" involves killing every other person on Earth. Black, white, brown or brindle. Oh, the seven villains will probably survive... the "justice" is that they will not have anyone else to push around. Oh my.

The book is easy-reading rubbish.




Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===

Too many people consider themselves open-minded when they're really just empty-headed. (Alfred E. Neuman)


pwMapAppreadMe)


Friday, September 1, 2023

Frugal Wizard's Handbook / Brandon Sanderson

Frugal Wizard's Handbook
(#1 of probably many)
by Brandon Sanderson

subadult, fantasy
copyright 2023
read in August 2023

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

I often take the hero's age as a measure of the expected age of the target audience. In this book the hero is mid-twenties or older? yet the message(*)  is aimed at late teens.

It's an enjoyable book. The author has devised time travel without needing to travel through time. How does it work? well... it is all explained. At great length.
Remember those great Heinlein novels? Where the plot is interrupted as a character spends several pages explaining the author's political views? This book uses a similar approach: there are pages of a "marketing brochure" where the "science" is explained.

I'm sure that novelists are told to show not explain. This book tosses that advice out the window. The "brochure" is amusing -- and satirical -- but lazy. Pure exposition. With no attempt to "show".
The book uses several of these lazy tools.
In an afterword the author is glad to have started his hero with amnesia. It allows the reader to learn along with the hero, he writes.
It is also an easy way to solve problems by suddenly providing the hero with a new and unexpected power. No need for an early hint of the power, just spring it on us when all else has failed. Okay, discovery of a new power is not over-used. Yet.

The book is subadult: all the locals are rather nice. Polite, clean and welcoming. Perhaps this is, as the author claims, a valid reflection of the historic era. It seems false.
Then there is the art: modern drawing techniques play an important part in the plot (though the importance is barely followed through). The author explains the "modern" use of shadow and perspective. Either he does not understand perspective or he is unable to explain it.
And then... the book lays on the (*)message: Try hard, do well, do not give up, do not run from the challenge. The tone of this message is aimed at uncertain teens.

Not to worry, the book is enjoyable.
Until it ends -- albeit satisfactorily -- with a clear excuse for a future book series. Clear excuse and very artificial. Another piece of a good author -- being lazy.




Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===

Too many people consider themselves open-minded when they're really just empty-headed. (Alfred E. Neuman)


pwMapAppreadMe)


Wednesday, August 30, 2023

in the Lives of Puppets/T.J Klune

in the Lives of Puppets
by T.J Klune
fantasy
copyright 2023
started reading in July 2023
rated 5/10: readable but only if there's nothing else

The beginning is a bit strange. Too many gaps in the explanation.
A few pages in -- plus a reference somewhere to Pinnochio -- and I have a vague idea.
But I have no interest in reading more.
The characters are interesting but... not interesting enough that I want to follow their adventures. The backstory is vague -- unexplained -- too simplistic to pique my interest. My worry is, if the rest of the book is this silly, it will be terribly boring.
On the other hand... if a villain suddenly appears with an axe -- I will be upset, the characters are harmless, unexciting but sort of nice.
I put the book aside... and have no interest in reading more. I do have other -- known to be good --  books to read.


Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===

Too many people consider themselves open-minded when they're really just empty-headed. (Alfred E. Neuman)


pwMapAppreadMe)


Thursday, August 10, 2023

Gods of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs

Gods of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs
Barsoom #2
copyright 1913
read in August 2023
... and I must have read it before, years before, because I remember the ending.

rated 7/10: well worth reading

Well worth reading? but it's rubbish!
No... it's a vastly enjoyable book in the category of bloodthirsty but heroic sword and sandals. I enjoyed it :-)

John Carter and his princess, the incomparable Dejah Thoris, are separated by vicious creatures, enemy armies, half a planet, a religion which demands their death. John Carter carves his way towards his princess. Every step of the way, there is a new obstacle. But he is unstoppable. Until... the final pages... a quick kiss and cuddle... and a further obstacle -- which will not be beaten until the next book. Oh no!

In that next book, the hero has a habit of overhearing just the right bit of information which allows him to overcome the next challenge. In this book it is the villain who manages to overhear just the right few words to further his nefarious schemes.
Yes, the plot is complex but weak. The goodies characters are strong, loyal, heroic... etc :-) admirable and worthy of the reader's expectation of ultimate success. (I almost wrote likeable, worthy of smpathy. But neither of those suits the strength of these characters.)
It's all a lot of highly imaginative fun Though violent.
This book does mention that John Carter is on the planet Mars -- named for Mars, the god of war -- so we should expect the planet and its people to be very warlike. Mind you... that logic would have made a huge difference to Burroughs' Venus stories :-)


Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===


In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Also, there's lots of competition for handicapped parking. (Alfred E. Neuman)

pwMapAppreadMe)


Friday, August 4, 2023

city of last chances / adrian tchaikovsky

city of last chances
by adrian tchaikovsky
fantasy, dystopia
copyright 2022
rated 4/10: bad but could be read

It's a fantasy world. Complex and miserable. So I've added the dystopia category.

Miserable and/or nasty characters. Doing miserable and/or nasty things.
One interesting idea, a character who travels with and worships God. A real god who only his one worshipper can see.
Then there's a more ordinary idea of a magic forest that will take you... somewhere. Or kill you.
As far as I read, several chapters, it is complex, nasty, barely explained.
Could be read but not by me.




Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===


In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Also, there's lots of competition for handicapped parking. (Alfred E. Neuman)

pwMapAppreadMe)


Wednesday, July 26, 2023

UnderMajordomoMinor, Patrick de Witt

UnderMajordomoMinor
by Patrick de Witt
fantasy
copyright 2015
part-read in July 2023

rated 4/10: bad but could be read

Years ago I read that a book should draw in its readers in from the very first sentence. I had barely read the first page of this book when I was driven away. Nasty characters doing uninteresting things.
"read to pass the time"? I thought. I read a few more pages. skipped to a few random pages. Read the final few pages and gave up.
Really, I need a different category... perhaps 4.1/10: so tedious, nasty, and/or stupid that it refuses to be read.
Because this is not a "bad" book. There are well-written evocative passages. Evocative of pointless stupidity and despair.
Even the most ignorant character speaks with a university education. "but "could be read" is wrong, I could not bear to read it.

Yet there is one very good idea in this book: Want to get rid of a character? No need to invent an interesting yet realistic death. They simply jump, or are pushed, into "the very large hole". Which may be a metaphor for some deeply significant state of mind. Or it may be... a very large hole. A clever idea for a comic. Here, just as stupid as the rest of the book.


Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===


In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Also, there's lots of competition for handicapped parking. (Alfred E. Neuman)

pwMapAppreadMe)


Sunday, July 23, 2023

Warlord of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs

Warlord of Mars, 
(Barsoom #3
by Edgar Rice Burroughs

fantasy
copyright  1914
rated 7/10: well worth reading

Look. That's *my* rating. 
As a recommendation to others it could be 6/10, read to pass the time. But*I* enjoyed this book.
Not least because I've been waiting *decades* to find out what happened after A Princess of Mars.

At the end of Princess the incomparable Dejah Thoris is trapped behind a door which opens only once each year -and -- oh no! she may be dead!

Finally... I find out. Though it takes half the book to catch a glimpse of her. Phew!

Meanwhile, John Carter has been busy. Is there really only one book between Princess and Warlord?! I may need to re-read Princess to see how much happened in that book.
By the start of Warlord, Carter has defeated and/or made allies of tribes of the Green Men and two nations of Red Men. He has defeated the ruler of the Black Men and been offered the Black throne. He has destroyed the Mars-wide religion of the White Men. His son has hatched. Various jeddaks including his son have raised armies, set off to do good -- and disappeared. Now Carter meets the Yellow Men: defeats some and allies with others.
Yes, the various races of Mars are colour-coded for convenience. Though with not much basis on Earth colours, as far as I can tell. Each race it unique, a mix of good and bad -- and very Barsoomian.

The plot is ... weak. Straightforward. Muscles rather than brain. With an awful lot of lucky overhearing of vital information
It's ridiculous... and it is very enjoyable :-)



.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===


In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Also, there's lots of competition for handicapped parking. (Alfred E. Neuman)

pwMapAppreadMe)