Crown of Vengeance, Mercedes Lackey, James Mallory

Crown of Vengeance

( Dragon Prophecy #1)

by Mercedes Lackey, James Mallory

fantasy

copyright 2012

started reading in April 2024

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

I've only started reading. I expect that I'll read to the end. But... it seems a good idea to document my strong first impressions:

Is this "high" fantasy? I think that's right.

The story is set in "the favoured lands" or some such. Favoured by one hundred families who are constantly at war against each other. hmmm

Each family has a name that is complex, unpronounceable and instantly forgettable. Ditto the names of individuals.

Fortunately, the heroine seems to be the only person whose name begins with V and the possible hero has a simple, distinct and memorable name. Apart from that, a cast of dozens who are difficult to distinguish.

The plot is driven by a curse on the heroine. At the pace at which secrets are being revealed, I guess that the reader will need to read several books before the curse is revealed.

( Though one major surprise seems to be revealed in the back cover blurb).

The heroine grows up as a well-treated orphan servant. As soon as she discovers her family name, her sense of self-entitlement kicks in; she swears vengeance and a return to personal power. Very much like people in real life.

Then she has a few years being trained as a servant and being told that she can never enter her "rightful" Life as a princess. So, standard fantasy.

I may sound cynical (I am) but the book is still good fun. A complex world, revealed ever so slowly but promising lots of future blood and thunder and magic.

I fully expect to enjoy the rest of the book. Even if I never know who all those people are. Who knows, I may even get to like the power-obsessed heroine.

And now, back to the book....

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


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

world shuffler, Keith laumer

world shuffler

by Keith laumer

(lafayette o'leary #2)

fantasy

copyright 1970

not read in April 2024

rated 3/10: so bad it's embarrassing

It's possible that this book is meant to be funny. it's not.

the hero is an idiot. the sexpot is a fool. everyone else, as far as i can be bothered reading, is both stupid and ugly.

the plot is a string of nonsensical ridiculous incidents with, so far, neither logic nor point.

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


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

Fwd: Dumas, Alexandre, The Three Musketeers

Subject: Dumas, Alexandre, The Three Musketeers

The Three Musketeers

by Alexandre Dumas pere

historical action,

first published (in French) 1844

read (in English) March 2024

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

... but 7/10 (well worth reading) if you believe that a classic should actually be read.
This book is a "swashbuckler": with heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight for justice. That's according to wikipedia.

The story is well-known... until I start reading.
Yes, the heroes are heroic. They are also brave and clever. And broke.
They fight for honour, fame and... fortune. They have no money. they convince other people to invite them all to meals.
They are scrupulous in the fairness of their duels against other gentlemen. They beat their lackeys. Other peasants are ignored.
Women are seduced. Yes, for sex but mainly so that the woman will use her husband's money to pay the musketeer's expenses.

There are four key villains. The Cardinal, who threatens, admires and rewards the heroes. There is Milady, the only truly evil villain.
And the shadowy Rochefort who eventually, well, read it for yourself. His end is surprising but entirely suitable.
I was expecting a book of slashing swords and altruistic heroism. The swords are there but very little altruism. Dumas himself, writing 200 years after the time of the story, notes that attitudes had changed. In another near 200 years, attitudes have (perhaps) changed even more.

If you want a book with a similar story, similar characters -- but all a lot more fun -- try The Phoenix Guards.

02apr24: Although... I do prefer my heroes to be honest, upright and, well... heroic. The Disney version perhaps. I do not like the Dumas Musketeers.

Perhaps they are more acceptable for other readers... or to the modern-day French. It's their classic after all.

Still, Phoenix Guards is more fun :-)





Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper

Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

The Art Thief, Michael Frinkel

The Art Thief, Michael Frinkel

copyright 2023

part-read in March 2024

fantasy

rated 3/10: so bad it's embarrassing

To be fair, the writing is not bad. It's easy to read. It's the subject and style which are embarrassing.

There was a real art thief, this claims to be his story.

The thief is a snob, a psychopath and a criminal. He had an obnoxious family but so what. He was (is) a criminal.

The author glorifies the crimes. He claims that the thief was horrified at the thought of stolen paintings being damaged... In reality the thief destroyed -- or caused to be destroyed -- dozens of irreplaceable "Old Masters".

The book attempts to impress the reader with knowledge of art -- and of a syndrome which the thief may have. Knowledge straight from Wikipedia.

I read 20% with the only pleasure being the clear indications that the thief would be caught.

So I checked Wikipedia. Which lead to the article on the author: Frinkel

He writes fiction which he claims is true.

He was sacked as a journalist for "lying in print". I imagine that this book is also a thin smear of fact overlaid with fiction... lies.

The author's style is, up himself. The thief is similarly dislikeable. He is not an antihero, just a criminal.

The book is embarrassing. There is no pleasure. I stop reading.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

===

A good pun is its own reword.

...Dying for you to Read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com

stealing infinity, alyson noel

stealing infinity, 

by alyson noel

subadult, fantasy chicklit

copyright 2022

read in February 2024

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

the target audience is teenage girls. there's school cliques, high fashion clothing, angst and boyfriends. all night kissing but no sex, for the heroine, misunderstandings and  back stabbing.

there's also time travel. it's central to the plot but so ludicrous that i classify the book as fantasy.

there's family ties. a mix of races and genders which is so natural that it is not at all woke.

and a moral dilemma. again, a natural presentation that does not become a moral lesson. though it may need to be resolved in a later book... if ever.

because this is only book one.

the ending is satisfying enough. lots of lose ends, some only introduced in the last few pages. if i see book two i will read it. but i won't worry if i never read more.

but then, i am not in the target demographic. i like some of the characters but... there's noone i identify with. nor anyone that i want to follow.

i enjoyed the book. despite chuckling at the... well, chuckling at quite a bit of it. but i would recommend it for its target audience.

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


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

The Ripping Tree, Nikki Gemmell

The Ripping Tree

by Nikki Gemmell

copyright 2021,

read in January 2024

rated 5/10: readable but only if there's nothing else.

or 3/10: so bad it's embarrassing... but that's for the plot, not the writing.

This book is so woke that I won't sleep for a week.

Whyt guilt wrapped round thin straws of history, all viewed in the self-righteous glow of modern sensibilities. With a self-centred heroine who rejects any idea that is not her own.

The heroine is orphaned. Her brother sells the family house. To settle his debts, she claims. Really? It turns out that he owns a valuable farm in the colonies.

The brother could return to his farm and leave the heroine to shift for herself. Instead, he arranges a marriage -- standard idea for those days, though now less in favour -- in British-Australian culture. The heroine rejects the man, finally meets him, has the hots for him, realises that he and she would be a perfect match, but too late.

She sails to Australia. Has the hots for the stable boy. Is shipwrecked. And rescued by The Noble Savage. Who, incidentally, she has the hots for. Of course if she'd stayed put she would have been rescued by the local whyts, who scour the coast looking for survivors (or bodies).

The blak deposits her at the nearest whyt house. Where she immediately begins her work of destroying the family. Her first task is to manipulate the youngest son into supporting her and thus she  alienates the boy from his family.

Then she has the hots for the eldest son but is less able to manipulate him.

Every few hours she will make a new discovery. Fail to look for any explanation. Storm in to confront the family and accuse them of committing not very explicit atrocities.

The whole book is not very explicit. The author uses some similes and many, many meaningless metaphors. She also plays with and misuses language. Despite all that, the book is easy to read. Just difficult to know what is happening.

Finally, the heroine forces the family to reveal its secrets.

They live in a colony where Saturday sport involves a massacre of Blaks. After church on Sunday, father announces that he has rounded up and slaughtered a few more blaks, the locals welcome this news with jolly back-slapping, warm handshakes and cheery congratulations.

And really, the family believes that the locals will be upset by the accidental killing of a couple more blaks. Really? Is that the big guilty secret? Good grief.

Just a few more bits of writer's rubbish:

The rich family settled in the one part of Australia where flies and mosquitoes come out at the same time of day. Unlucky and very unusual.

We're told that it's a terrible thing for blaks to be removed from their land, they will get sad.

Yet there is no sympathy for the mother, driven mad because she has been removed from her own land of Scotland. Because who cares, she's whyt.

In the West blaks cannot return to a house where someone has died. Yet the blak girl keeps returning to the site where her mother died and laid for days. Are blak customs different in the East?

Oh, and Chekhov's gun: The story is told by "our Grandmother" who must be well past 160 years old. One "nameless" listener decamps then returns... Oooh! how mysterious. How very significant! Except that it's not. He or she just disappears from the story.

The author says that it took her ten years to write this book. It would have been better if she had written it in ten weeks -- then taken another week to remove some of the obvious contradictions and overblown nonsense.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

===

A good pun is its own reword.

...Dying for you to Read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com

Hoka trail shoes

Hoka trail shoes.

Rated 5/10: some good but overall bad.

Use them only suitable if you enjoy running in boots. These shoes are solid and inflexible. tough enough to be light hiking boots (with no ankle support.) But with good grippy tread.

I wanted two things in my new trail shoes: enough length to fit my toes, and plenty of grip. That much works.

But for my style of chi running -- these shoes do not work. In fact they are bad. Causing damage.

Wearing the hoka is like running in moon boots. the shoes provide a firm framework, your foot fits in... or not. The shoes are too solid to allow adjustment with the laces.

My running style is chi-square: I run to suit the natural structure and mechanics of my body, especially the skeleton.

The original, commercial, chi running is "mystic-chi". a lot of the explanation smacks of candles, crystals and chanting of ommmm.

chi-square is more logical... but both versions of chi result in much the same running style.

So I run on the front of my feet. Heels touch briefly, for balance.

Impact is absorbed by the arch of each foot, that's what the arch is for. There is very little impact transmitted through to the knees and hips.

The hoka shoes have a firm sole and thick, stiff sides. The feet are forced into position, there is little ability to flex.

The hoka shoes reduce the ability of the arch of the foot to absorb impact. They also reduce the ability of my leg to flex.

After a couple of hours' gentle running -- I have a sore knee.

The shoes were sold as trail shoes and as also good for road running.

Wrong.

The grippy soles are excellent for loose surfaces on trails.

On a hard surface, the very firm soles prevent the feet from flexing. So what, you say, the road is flat, no need to flex. Except... The grippy doles are a result of deep tread. the tread digs ín and grips a soft surface. On a hard surface -- the treads are not level. Where they touch the ground, they curve. This twists the foot to the side. Just a tiny amount, just enough to twist the leg to one side. Just enough to put sideways pressure  on the knees.

As I ran, I could feel the slight tension. After running -- the side of one knee is sore.

Running impact has been transmitted --at a slight angle -- to my knees. The hoka trail shoes -- running mostly on easy trails -- are already damaging my knees.

I'll try adjusting the lacing. i may be able to force the shoes to fit correctly, I doubt it. These are very firm shoes. Highly inflexible. Built to protect the foot, not to work with the foot. Not safe. Not for a running style which works *with* the body and bones.

But the grip is good.

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


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

Dreamhunter, Elizabeth Knox

Dreamhunter

one of two :-(

by Elizabeth Knox

fantasy

copyright 2005

read in January 2024

rated 6/10: read to pass the time (but may be better)

Quite an enjoyable book, with one major fault.

The magic background is interesting. Doubly interesting in fact, there are two unrelated systems of magic. the world is rather sweet, steampunk, perhaps? characters are pleasant.

Yet there are some characters and incidents that go nowhere. until... the book ends.

there is no indication that this is book one of two. until... it ends. with nothing resolved. this is the fault, i guess, of the publisher, not the author. but it causes my rating to be lower than if the cover clearly stated that this is not a standalone book.

If you already have both books then this could be seven/10, well worth reading. Pity :-(

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


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

The Curator, Owen King

The Curator

by Owen King

horror.

copyright 2023

part read in January 2024

rated 4/10: bad but could be read

guess what? owen has mastered Daddy's ability to write many many words with very little interest.

I read a few chapters. Skimmed a few more.

So far, think Animal Farm, all animals are equal but some are more equal than others, but with more words, less clarity, very little interest.

The characters so far are a mix of unpleasant and uninteresting, noone that I want to read about.

So I jumped to the end... there seems to be an army of zombies. Someone who was not on the first chapters is killed by another unknown. I change the category from fantasy to horror (for the zombies).

Okay. I'm not interested in filling in the gaps. I've read less than a quarter.

It could be read. It's just not worth the effort.

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


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

Hellgate/Exodus, Mel Odom

Hellgate
(#1 of 3: Exodus
by Mel Odom
horror
copyright 2007
read in January 2023
rated 7/10: well worth reading

Seven out of ten, really? Not really... except that I did enjoy it.
Enjoyed it more than I expected -- for a book based on a video game.
The characters are fitted into the game categories: paladin, warrior,
cleric, mage, roguishly uncertain... Yet they are definitely
characters. With motivations, characteristics, some depth.

The book could be fantasy -- demons, magic -- and high-tech weapons.
Or science fiction.
I've labelled it as horror -- for the theme of battle against demons.
And also to warn that there is an awful lot of blood-spattered
violence. But it's not just nasty. The hero does save the mother and
her two little kids :-)

The plot is simple but not boring. And the action is... non-stop.
Mostly involving blood and gore. Video game style.
Right from the front cover it is made clear that this is book one of
three -- good, we are warned. The end of this book is conclusive --
with obvious problems left over for the next books.

An enjoyable book. Good fun... and not entirely mindless.



Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
===

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


...Dying for you to Read my blog

... (notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com)