Blade Dancer / S.L.Viehl

Blade Dancer
by S.L.Viehl

science fiction, action, a touch of chick-lit romance

copyright 2003
read in March 2013

rated 8 out of 10: really quite good

Take a girl with street smarts and attitude. She's a seven foot tall half alien with retractable claws... What's not to like?!

Blade Dancer is action and attitude from page one. From being kicked off Earth, through fights on spaceships, snarling at the status quo on her alternative "home" planet, to fighting for her life in a school for assassins... This woman is tough.

Yet she is also supportive and loyal to her few friends. She refuses to take sides in a meaningless war. And she never gives in.

And I just re-rated Blade Dancer, from seven to eight :-)

This book is solid science fiction, with an emphasis on alien humanity rather than technology. Okay, the technology is there -- and almost indistinguishable from magic. But the story is about people. And action. And romance :-)

As the heroine begins to get to know her friends, I see a pattern emerging: a group of close friends, each with a special ability. In this book they will learn to work -- and fight -- as a team. Next book, they will battle evil across the known universe.

Well, maybe they will. But that is not how the book ends.

The ending is, perhaps, a little contrived. Just a bit too "nice" to be believed. A nice ending to match the chick-lit romance which is also a theme of this book.

The ending surprised me. It was unexpectedly happy, upbeat... nice.

I like it.

I like a happy ending.

I like this book.

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Problems ? Solved

Pompeii / Robert Harris

Pompeii
by Robert Harris

action

copyright 2003
read in February 2013
rated 6 out of 10: read to pass the time

Perhaps Harris is trying to tell us that corruption is timeless. What I see is Dallas in togas. With a list of Roman names which made me think of Asterix.

Harris has read -- and acknowledged -- plenty of reference books. And he has used the material...

A Roman feast with incredible food... presented with so little feeling that it's almost as though we are not really there. Names, places, graffiti, quoted but with no extra life. Some of it supports the story. Some is simply there to show that the author had done his background reading.

Though the colour of the burning sulphur had me searching Wikipedia. And finding a different colour to that described in the book. And Pliny's personification of Nature as a "she" seems odd... Didn't the Romans have gods and goddesses rather than a direct personification of nature?

Still, I've never read Pliny...

It's just one of the ways in which Pompeii reads as a modern book where the characters happen to wear togas. And perhaps that's exactly the way it was in ancient Rome.

The story is centred round the aqueduct engineer. That is possibly the most interesting aspect of the book. The engineers actions are unbelievable but at least they show signs of being based on the author's own imagination.

There is just one sentence which has stuck in my mind: "The Aqua Augusta continued to flow, as she would for centuries to come." Now that -- to me -- is amazing. Well worth a book about it. What a pity that it is just one throwaway sentence, near the end of a fairly average story.

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Problems ? Solved

Reamde / Neal Stephenson

Reamde
by Neal Stephenson
action
copyright 2011

read in January 2012
rated 8 out of 10: really quite good

Really quite good and really quite thick. Not quite gripping but never boring. Paints the bad guys as fools but is willing to poke fun at the good guys...

Reamde is as wordy as Stephenson's earlier Anathem. In Reamde, however -- something happens. It just takes a lot of words to describe it. Take the bear, for example...

The girl wakes up to hear a grizzly bear sniffing and scratching nearby. She thinks, Uh oh, the bear is attracted to attractive girls. She moves to a ten page flashback, to tell the story of an uncle who told her about bears and women. The flashback includes commentary on conversations, lifestyle, her own upbringing, the uncle's family and beliefs. Back to the present and the girl changes her mind... The bear is only after food scraps lying nearby... So what was the point of the lengthy flashback? No point at all!

Then there's the planning...

Characters don't just do something, they discuss it first. No need for the reader to wonder, Why didn't they choose another action... Every possible action had been considered, analysed and logically selected or rejected...

Which is not as boring as it sounds. It's just a very wordy approach to writing. Wordy... and thorough.

Despite the wordiness, I have categorised this book as "action". It takes a chapter or two to really get started -- then it is non-stop action. Violent, deadly action.

It takes quite a few pages to get to understand the title of the book. It takes three times that many pages to get to the main story. Did you ever watch Some Mothers Do Have Them? A simple start leads... inevitably... to a complex and disastrous conclusion. That's the Reamde style.

The book is also very right wing, in the Heinlein -- or even Hubbard -- style. The villains are cunning but fools. The heroes use good old American (and English) know-how to win the day. Even the Canadian cougars eat villain in preference to hero.

Despite this bias, there is still time to point out some of the bad points of the American and English ways of living and working. Stephenson clearly delineates good from evil. Yet he is happy to point out that "good" is still not perfect.

This is an entertaining romp through action, violence and wrong-doing. Massive coincidences ensure that the plot keeps on twisting. And in the final chapters, right triumphs over might... Especially since right is supported by right-might, with enough weapons to fight a small war...

Oh, and there's an online game at the center of the plot. A game which is said to be a step beyond today's World of Warcraft. And the game includes many features which I had already decided should be incorporated in the next generation online game... (Though my own ideas predated WoW.)

Great action, over the top characters. And a massive computer game.

What's not to like?!

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Problems ? Solved

Legend / David Gemmell

Legend
by David Gemmell

fantasy, action
first (or last!) of the Druss / Drenai saga

copyright 1986
read in December 2012

rated 8 /10: really quite good

Started off just a bit clichéd... until I realised that Gemmell may have begun this particular boy-meets-girl, fight-side-by-side, fight-each-other, fall-in-love cliche...

Then there's the cold-looks, scares-baddie, sword-wielding-inspires-heroism-and-loyalty super-hero... Gemmell may have invented this one, too. He has certainly taken the cliches and run with them!

Anyway...

This is a rip-roaring yarn of sword and sorcery. A steady build-up of action. Heroic deeds against insuperable odds. With gentlemanly violence on either side.

You can almost imagine Bertie Wooster telling Jeeves to lay out the best silver: Tonight we dine with the enemy, tomorrow we slaughter them. Pip, pip, old chap!

It's a war of brutality, violence and Queensberry Rules. Fight for life and freedom, give no quarter, respect the enemy. And allow some time for true love to bloom.

Right from the start there is an expectation that the good guys are on a hiding to nothing. There is no way that they can win. Very little chance that they can even survive. And by the end -- nearly everyone is, indeed, dead.

Despite this, the book is positive.

The fighters know why they fight. The dead, gave their lives for a cause in which they believed. The survivors know that they did not fight in vain.

Apparently Lord of the Rings was an inspiration. LotR is an epic battle of good versus evil. Legend is also an epic battle... of good versus good-from-another-perspective. Interesting...

Legend is the tale of a single battle. Made epic by the scale, the people and the overall understanding of what makes a great story.

Legendary.

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Problems ? Solved

Gardens of the Moon / Steven Erikson

Gardens of the Moon
by Steven Erikson
fantasy / action
book 1 of Malazan Book of the Fallen

published 1999
read in November 2012

my rating: 6, read to pass the time

The book begins with an Introduction by the author. If the introduction does not put you off, okay. The author is smarter than us. He knows what makes a great fantasy book. Everyone else is wrong. So he says.

As one of those wrong people, I believe that an author should provide a story for the readers. A story. You know, one of those things with a beginning, a middle and an end. With plot to link them all. And characters to add interest.

Okay... in this story, Erikson has done that. So why am I complaining? It's not just the patronising introduction...

As I began to read, I began to think, these people are familiar. And yes, I have read another Erikson book. I read it in 2007, before I began this blog. The memory has stayed with me.

Erikson writes that his work is a history. So he can't help out if it's not a neat and self-contained story. What a cop-out! An author too lazy to pick out a coherent storyline, so he claims that it's part of a grander epic.

Just to interrupt this rant... Gardens is a coherent story. Feel free to read and, probably, enjoy.

Do not read later books on the series. Not unless you are prepared to read every book in the series.

My memories of that later book are awfully clear... One group of people battle across a continent, following another, smaller group. The smaller group do nothing much other than the minimum required to keep ahead of the first group. Meanwhile, two other people (?) also set off across the continent. Half way across, one of them is killed. Another person takes his place. The new two carry on.

The two groups do not interact. They never meet each other. The entire book is dedicated to journeys which would be one or two connecting chapters in any more reasonable book. As a single book -- a load of rubbish.

But, as I said, Gardens is more like a real novel. Beginning, middle and end. I have no trouble accepting a to-be-continued end to the book. At least the current adventure reaches some sort of conclusion.

Yet there are still problems with the author's view of his book as one chapter of a history.

Other authors use coincidences to link the plot. You know, the young man with the magic sword just happens to be the lost prince... It can be embarrassing. Done well, the links and coincidences can build to a gripping novel.

Erikson takes a simpler approach... Need to introduce some essential linking action? Just add a new character. Need more tension? Just add a new character. Need a reason for the characters to conquer a city? Introduce a new character who is mentioned in passing but never appears...

Gardens of the Moon is a mass of characters doing a loosely related set of exciting actions. In this book, it all adds up, eventually. In the one later book that I have read, the various actions fail to add up to a story. They remain as chapters of unrelated books. Total fail.

Read this book. Ignore the rest.

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Problems ? Solved

The Man who would be King / Rudyard Kipling

The Man who would be King
by Rudyard Kipling
copyright 1888
cat: action
rated: 7 out of 10

As I began to read this book I was confused. What's it all about? It's an old book -- written in 1888 -- so a lot is unfamiliar. People, places, attitudes, all are unfamiliar. What I was reading did not make sense.

Then I realised that I was failing to recognise irony. Okaaaay...

Start reading again. From the beginning. And it makes more sense.

Well, perhaps Kipling is simply reflecting the reality of his times. Or it may be social commentary, making a point with slight exaggeration. To me -- reading more than a century after the book was written -- irony fits.

Remember the King and the Duke in Huckleberry Finn? Con-men to the core. Transplant them to colonial India. Add courage and some honest intentions. Offer them as being typical representatives of a common class of people. You have this story.

White men with guns, the urge to rule and the ability to improve the primitive local lifestyle. Superstitious natives, tribal fighting, overawed by the white man's guns and apparent power. Vicious retribution and honest loyalty...

A fascinating view of a past empire. With some interesting insights into today's national identities. Plus a rip-roaring yarn of two-fisted adventure!

This book -- novella, actually -- is fun to read. And provides unexpected depths for the modern reader.

====
Problems ? Solved

The Pirate King / R.A. Salvatore

The Pirate King

category: fantasy, action, author:

R.A. Salvatore

book 2 of Forgotten Realms: Transitions
original copyright 2009

read in March 2012

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10: read to pass the time

You know how it is, the gradual build-up to the big battle at the end of the book... Individual conflicts, mysterious rumours, subtle treacheries... With all matters being settled or made clear in the open war of the final chapters...

Well...

Not in The Pirate King.

By half way through the book, the major battle has been fought. Yet that battle is -- as it turns out -- just one "small" step on the way to the "transition" to the reign of the Pirate King. All my preconceived notions have been shattered!

On the other hand, this is a story of the regular heroes of Forgotten Realms, Drizzt and his minor side-kick Regis. Okay, I like them. But I'm not desperate to read about What Drizzt and Regis Did Next.

On the third hand, I am continually amazed at the ability of Forgotten Realms authors to create new and interesting adventures with a limited number of star characters. As a part of a major history -- told as a personal and entertaining story -- The Pirate King does well.

Not as well, in my opinion, as The Orc King. Perhaps I just enjoy a book with a happier ending... Sure, plenty of people do survive The Pirate King. The ending is mostly satisfactory. The book's role as a part of a very long history, however, means that a lot of potential conflict will be left unresolved. At least, unresolved in this book.

The Orc King ended with a new status quo which could encourage peace. The Pirate King ends with a new status quo which will encourage fighting and war. Life -- and conflict -- goes on, in the world of Forgotten Realms.

Drizzt and Regis are just two of a small group of heroes who regularly adventure together. One other member of the group appears for a few chapters... Apparently, he is on his way to becoming a super-hero. Apart from that, the plot maintains a tight focus. People do appear from earlier books but only as part of the main plot. The series of books may form a grand and broad saga; each book is a self-contained story.

If you are a fan of the Forgotten Realms then Pirate is essential reading. If you are not familiar with these realms, well, it's still an enjoyable book to read.

---

Really, I have to mention the fighting styles...

Not the actual fight descriptions, which Salvatore does quite well. But the style...

Pirate is a Dungeons and Dragons novel; it says so on the back cover. World of Warcraft is a dungeons and dragons computer game. And yes, the fighting styles are so very similar... Fireballs, ice cones, elementals, mage shields, it's all there.

Not surprising, really, this similarity.

Still, it makes me smile :-)

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

Only Child / Andrew Vachss

Only Child

category: crime, author:

Andrew Vachss

book 14 of Burke
original copyright 2002

read in February 2012

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10: well worth reading

According to my local library, this book is "fantasy"... Hmmm... Though I must admit, it took a while for me to decide.

Is this book over the top? Or is it so far over that it has slipped into fantasy...

No, this is "crime". Gritty, underbelly, modern-day, crime.

I don't have a label for "crime" so I have labelled this review as action and other. Neither is correct. It's just easier than starting a new label :-)

"Burke", the hero, is a tough-as-nails rough diamond. Earns his money through crime -- except when distracted by his need to save children from the clutches of evil. Which is lightly phrased but the topic is treated very seriously.

Burke has many loyal friends. All extremes, almost caricatures. This had me confused, for several chapters. (Not that Vachss restricts the narrative flow by the use of chapters...)

I have never before read a "Burke" book. The characters are unfamiliar. The style is... choppy. Incomplete, jargonistic, abrupt. I was rather confused.

Is this book worth the effort? I wondered...

Last night I watched five minutes of a tv show called Luther. Tough-guy cop, plays outside the rulebook, talks in jargon. Standard bbc tv cop fare, in fact. The fact that he mumbled made the plot -- as far as I watched it -- incomprehensible. Sort of similar to Only Child...

Except that Only Child has no mumblers. One of the advantages of the written word! Still, I was confused.

Until, suddenly: the plot was revealed!

After some introductory settling-in of the characters, Vachss provides the key element of the plot. I do not know the characters, so I am confused rather than settled in. But suddenly...

The key conflict is revealed. I find myself sympathising with the victim. I begin to support the hero in his drive to solve the crime.

I am hooked!

This is a tough book. The good guys are willing to be violent, the bad guys are extremely violent. Yet the main villain turns out to be just a fool who set up a stupid situation which lead to a violent crime.

On the other hand, the violence is not overplayed. I dislike tv's gore-porn, where the point of the show is to describe -- in intimate detail -- the violence of the crime-of-the-week.

Yes, Only Child describes violence. In enough detail to shock but not enough detail to thrill the gore-porn addicts.

And real enough to make you think.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

The Doomsday Prophecy / Scott Mariani

The Doomsday Prophecy

category: action, thriller, author:

Scott Mariani

book 2 of Ben Hope
original copyright 2009

read in November 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 8 out of 10

There's a real problem with religious-themed thrillers: if you are not religious then the suspense is often rather weak. I mean, if you're not worried about a second coming then you won't be worried about whether it's this week or next... The Ninth Circle suffers badly from that loss of relevance issue...

So why am I so impressed by Mariani's thriller? I mean, it's just a book about "the end times", and whether they will be this week or next week or... never.

The Doomsday Prophecy is grounded in a reality that is believable -- whether or not you are a doomsday believer. Even the most cynical reader cannot dismiss the power struggle over doomsday-influencing relics. There is no need to believe that angels and demons are battling it out in our backyard. The conflict is very, very human.

The characters and the plot, though... well...

The hero is soooo heroic! No worries, it's a work of fiction :-)

The hero is also heroically nice... He is ethical. He is incorruptible. He is loyal to his friends and kind to passing strangers. He probably sends Christmas gifts to orphans...

All of which, I like.

So what about the plot? Well... It's a bit weak.

Doomsday is action. There is a solid plot, but simple. Twists and turns -- but simple in that the hero just has to follow his nose. Or, at least, to follow the clear leads, from one twist to the next turn.

There is one point though...

The hero has finally reached the end of a massive red herring. He has nowhere to go. No leads left to follow. So what happens?

The villains decide, This man is dangerous, he must be captured. Alive. Which, of course, brings the hero back on the villains' trail!

If only the baddies had kept their heads down, they would be safe. Ah! if only...

That little bit of silliness aside, the plot flows well. Simply, but well enough.

Clear plot, realistic motives, almost-super hero, all good!

This is a good thriller. With tension that does not depend on religious belief.

Well worth the read!

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

Death Masks / Jim Butcher

Death Masks

category: fantasy, action, author:

Jim Butcher

book 5 of The Dresden Files
original copyright 2003,
read in May 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 8 out of 10

After a few rather disappointing books -- it's great to get back to an enjoyable author! I've read a few of Butcher's books and enjoyed them all. Action, humour, magic and great characters...

I've categorised Death Masks as "fantasy, action"... I don't (yet?!) have a category for "crime". The whole Dresden Files series is gumshoe: hard-boiled private investigator with dames, booze, thugs and scheming evil villains... Philip Marlowe, I think, is the original. (Must read some Philip Marlowe books!)

The Dresden villains are particularly evil. When bad guys can be demons and other supernatural creatures, evil is easy to arrange. On the other hand, there are also some really, really, good, good guys. Ones who work for the angel who reports directly to God, for example.

Amongst all this, the author -- via PI and wizard Harry Dresden -- maintains an almost science fiction attitude: all these gods, demons, faeries, ogres, they are just creatures from alternate universes -- or planes of existence -- with their own powers and drives and rules.

The Return of Tarzan / Edgar Rice Burroughs

The Return of Tarzan

category: action, author:

Edgar Rice Burroughs

book 2 of Tarzan
published by Penguin Group, original copyright 1913, read in May 2010

Agamedes' opinion: 8 out of 10

Agamedes' opinion is an 8?! Okay... I admit that this is not great literature. It's totally unbelievable, both characters and plot. It's either sadly dated... or a great window on its time. But for my own opinion -- it's great!

Read this book for a bit of heroic fantasy, for escapism, for fun. It provides all of those. Plus a plot so unbelievable that it could go straight to a Hollywood movie... Oh, wait... it already has :-) The women are beautiful, the good men are handsome. The evil men are dark and swarthy, with a tendency to lurk. Rescue is always, just in the nick of time.

What category should this book be under?

I could say, "classic" but I have no category for classic. It's not really "fantasy", just an exaggerated view of the world of the author's time. Or maybe it is fantasy? There is a note with this edition, that "Readers may note some discrepancies in the text regarding [the shape and geography of Africa]." But who checks the atlas when writing a novel?! The library has identified it as "action", so I shall stay with that.

I have also placed Tarzan in the "space opera" category.

Burroughs first books were (I believe) in the John Carter of Mars series. Tarzan is, really, John Carter of Earth. Both Carter and Tarzan fight the good fight, defeat evil villains and rescue fair damsels. Enormously strong, but willing and able to use weapons. Exploring new areas and discovering new, usually degenerate, civilisations.

Okay, Tarzan is not in space. But his stories fit well, in my definition of "space opera".

Back with the book, there is an old-fashioned innocence, mixed with plenty of implied sex. Tarzan, for example, is an absolute gentleman, where women are concerned... a gentleman who strolls naked through the jungle. Other characters lose their clothes though they then fashion garments from animal skins. Jane, "of course", was not expected to forage through the thorny jungle. "Her apparel was, nevertheless, in a sad state of disrepair."

Then there's the Ouled-Nail...

Tarzan is helped by a girl -- an "Ouled-Nail" -- who works in an Arab cafe. (One look at Tarzan and this girl was willing to risk her life to save him.) The girl has been a captive, a slave, forced to work for two years in this sleazy cafe. She and the other girls have individual rooms out back... with a single candle for each girl, "the better to display her charms to those who might happen to traverse the dark inclosure." Hmmm... waitresses, perhaps?

Which chapter did lead me to an internet search for "Ouled-Nail". Turns out that they are a tribe from Algeria. Who have their own style of Ouled-Nail belly dance. Which led me to YouTube. Which was, really, quite an eye-opener! I now have a better appreciation of the seductive power of "belly dance" and the more overt styles of its modern derivatives.

Read Tarzan for the action and adventure and just a lot of good fun. Follow the less common references to learn more about the world.

And if you find that there really is a Rue Maule in Paris -- please let me know!
Buy the book from Amazon and earn me a commission... Or, search the web for one of the free copies of the text.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

Hung Out / Margaret Weis & Don Perrin

Hung Out

category: science fiction, author:

Margaret Weis & Don Perrin

book 3 of Mag Force 7
published by Victor Gollancz, original copyright 1998, read in May 2010

Agamedes' opinion: 8 out of 10

This is a bang-gotcha bunch of overdrawn stereotypes fighting evil and defending the weak, though they will also defend nice people who can pay well. That is, mercenaries with heart.

That all seems fairly ordinary. Trite, even. There are two aspects of Hung Out which take it from "readable" to "really quite good": likable characters, and good plot.

The members of Mag Force 7, the mercenaries, like each other. They are all loyal, tough, honest... with each other.

The hero is, of course, a troubled soul. In particular, he is a cyborg -- half machine -- and this has caused him to separate from his much-loved wife. Having taken three books to wipe out the last of the baddies, the final chapter of this book is where the couple reconcile. Wife admits that hero's best friend in the mercenary gang had contacted wife, to ask her to get back together with hero. Then it turns out... that every single member of the gang -- plus the mother of one of them -- had asked the wife to forgive and forget. Ah shucks! how sweet :-)

But that's just the last chapter.

The book has two main plot lines running through it. By the end, we have discovered that the two lines are closely connected. Better yet -- there are clues throughout the book. Not red herrings, just clues. The good guys are mislead, though they suspect that there is something odd going on... and the reader is given enough hints to connect the dots.

No false trails, no deus ex machina, no sudden revelations... We are following the good guys' logic but are given enough hints to work out what is happening. Well done, the authors!

Aside: I really dislike traditional whodunits. As far as I can tell, there are enough clues to convict any one of the characters. The whodunit author simply picks one and claims, that is the murderer... and very seldom provides evidence to clear the others.

Hung Out has likable characters. It has a solid and effective plot. Plus lots of action, some positive messages about love, hate, revenge and freedom. Plenty of humour, usually based on the eccentricities of the mercenaries.

Over the top. Unbelievable. Great fun.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

White Night / Jim Butcher

White Night

category: fantasy, action, author:

Jim Butcher

book 9 of the Dresden Files
published by Orbit, original copyright 2007, read in May 2010

Agamedes' opinion: 8 out of 10

It's great fun watching this author develop his skills. Actually, I just checked his website... Butcher has written Dresden Files books (twelve, now) -- plus ten or so other books. So the skill development is not just through the Dresden books that I've read. Too bad! I comment only on what I've read:-)

So, it's great to watch Butcher develop his skills. An earlier book had every chapter ending with, "Oh no it looks as though I'm doomed!" The next chapter would start, "With a final burst of magical energy, I used an amazing new spell to escape..." Butcher still likes his cliff-hangers -- but, in White Night, they are a bit more subtle! Except for the combination of cliff-hanger and flashback:

One of the earlier Dresden books used flashback, very effectively. There were hints of past battles -- which could well have been references to past books. The flashback revealed all -- at an appropriate moment -- without interrupting the flow of action. White Night uses a similar flashback technique... except that the flashback occurs just as the hero has said, "Oh no it looks as though I'm doomed!" Sure, it revealed essential information. But it was a bit of an unsubtle and overworked cliffhanger.

Then there's the title of the book; it has me a little confused. White Night. Ah! wait! now I see it! Of course!

Harry Dresden is a wizard, in modern-day Chicago. In White Night, he battles -- I had overlooked the obvious! -- he battles the vampires of the White Court! Vampires of the White Court kill you with pleasure, Red Court prefers misery, Black Court work on the agony angle. So this book is about the battle, possibly at night, of Harry & friends -- and the White Court.

And, as with other books in the series, the title is a pun.

Harry is a nice guy. Tough, but nice. Protector of the weak, defender of the innocent, always ready to help a damsel in distress. In White Night, Harry helps protect a whole coven of wiccan witches: sweet & cheerful ladies with only minor magical powers. A sort of sewing circle with cup cakes and candles, altars, magical wards and a nice, hot cup of tea.

Harry the hero rushes in -- like a white knight, of course! -- to save these (possibly) damsels in distress. Also convinces an evil spirit to become good, demonstrates that he is still true to his one true love, and wipes the floor with the very vicious ghouls.

Yes, this book has a strong theme of Harry the white knight hero. Yes, there is non-stop magical action -- backed up by plenty of non-magical bullets and bombs. Yes, there is a solid plot, gradual discovery of means and motives, a hint of sex, lots of good versus evil action and violence. Yes, there is humour, heroics and a good side to nearly everyone...

Yes, this is another, great, Dresden Files novel!

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

Grave Peril / Jim Butcher

Grave Peril

(category: fantasy)
book 3 of Dresden Files by

Jim Butcher

published by Orbit, original copyright 2001
Nick read a library book, in April 2010

Nick's rating: 7 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

Another great book from The Dresden Files -- but, perhaps, not quite as great...

This is the fifth Dresden book that I have read, all within three months. Perhaps I have Dresden overload? I enjoyed Grave Peril but was -- just slightly -- dissatisfied. It is partly that Butcher is (it seems) still experimenting with his writing style. I also have a problem with the way in which the hero's personal life is going downhill...

You could say that this book has a complex plot. Or, you could say that the pace is frenetic... Either way, there's a lot happening. Non-stop, in fact. In each chapter the hero gets in trouble, just a little deeper; each chapter ends with a cliff-hanger. Still, the cliff-hangers are not as bad as in the previous book, Fool Moon.

Then there's the general happiness of the hero, Harry Dresden.

My first experience with Harry Dresden was with the tenth in the series, Small Favour. My next experience was with Summer Knight -- the fourth in the series. I noticed the difference, that book four was darker than book ten. At the end of book four, Harry Dresden has been drawn out of his funk. In this third book (Grave Peril), he reaches deep into the depths of despair.

For me, I enjoy the happy ending. I don't mind ongoing plots -- but I don't really like the hero to be quite so depressed at the end of a book!

So it's a great book, an exciting adventure, with lots of human and fantasy creatures to battle and to save. But for full enjoyment, I'm considering re-reading book four... just so that I can see Harry Dresden end a book in a cheerful frame of mind.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes & documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

Fool Moon / Jim Butcher

Fool Moon

(category: fantasy)
book 2 of Dresden Files by

Jim Butcher

published by Orbit, original copyright 2001
Nick read a library book, in April 2010

Nick's rating: 8 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

I do enjoy these Dresden Files books!

This is the second in the series. In the first (Storm Front) there is magic, violence and a lot of sex. In Fool Moon, there is more magic, some sex and a lot of violence -- especially violence to Harry Dresden, the hero. And every chapter ends with, "... oh dear... this looks like the end for me!" An author learning his trade? No worries: Butcher began well and was still able to improve.

The hero is a true good guy. He believes in using his powers for good, protecting the weak, saving damsels in distress. Most of the damsels are attractive and the men are handsome. Interestingly, though, even the overweight, suspicious, less attractive characters have their good points... Even the murderous killer has an understandable motive.

Then there's the female werewolf who loves the mad killer and looks after the younger werewolves: I just love the final explanation of her origins!

I've read four Dresden books in the last few weeks. And I'm still looking forward to reading the next. An excellent series of books!

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes & documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Storm Front / Jim Butcher

Storm Front

(category: fantasy)
book 1 of Dresden Files by

Jim Butcher

published by Orbit in 2000
Nick read a library book, in March 2010

Nick's rating: 8 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

Magic in modern-day Chicago... The hero is a wizard in the private eye mold: tough, honest, fair, put-upon. And he's a gentleman who wants to protect the innocent. It doesn't hurt, that the innocent are often incredibly attractive young women. For even more emphasis on Dresden's nice-guy image, one of the attractive women is protecting her two adorable children... Mind you, there are also a lot of young, attractive women who are involved in the sex trade.

I like the fit of magic into modern Chicago. There are magic-user rules which -- in general -- protect non-magic users. When these rules are broken, Karrin of the Chicago police gets very upset. Dresden helps Karrin solve magical murders, while protecting Karrin from magic threats. Not everyone uses magic but there are still strong though minor roles for the non-magicians. One very minor character is a policeman: he is scruffy, cynical, dislikes Dresden -- but is still recognised as being an extremely intelligent cop. See the positive in everyone!

Meanwhile, Dresden meets, argues with and fights against all sorts of magical creatures and forces. These are sort of familiar but uniquely interesting -- characters who are interesting, helpful, scary, threatening -- without being too outlandish. Lots of action, solid plot, good characters, mystery to be resolved, life-threatening climax followed by a happy ending. Enjoyable. Very!

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes & documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Summer Knight / Jim Butcher

Summer Knight

(category: fantasy)
book 4 of The Dresden Files by

Jim Butcher

published by Orbit in 2005
Nick read a Library book, in March 2010

Nick's rating: 8 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

Did I enjoy this book? Well, I finished reading it. Wondered a bit about the various characters, trying to sort out who was who... then read the book again. Yes, I enjoyed it... the second time, too ! This is only the second Dresden book that I have read; I would like to read the entire series. It seems to me that Summer Knight is slightly darker than Small Favour. In this earlier book (Summer Knight) the hero Harry Dresden is suffering guilt, for imagined failings from earlier books. This book brings him through the guilt; the later book has less emotional baggage. Summer Knight is excellent fun, with a cast of likable characters. Even the villains are not simply evil for the sake of it. Well, not all of them, anyway. Dresden is a wizard with strong and developing powers. He is also a nice bloke. As he says, "For me, chivalry isn't dead; it's an involuntary reflex." I suspect that this book scored high in part because I was in a mood where I needed "a good read"... but is is still, definitely... a good read.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

The Green-Eyed Monster / Peter O'Donnell

The Green-Eyed Monster

(category: action)
book 7? of Modesty Blaise by

Peter O'Donnell
(illustrated by Enric Badia Romero)

published in newspapers in 1970
published in book form by Titan Books in 2005
Nick read a library book, in March 2010
(and previously in The West, certainly two of the three stories)

Nick's rating: 7 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

You're either a Modesty Blaise fan... or you're not. I am -- and I enjoyed each of the three stories in this book. It seems that the artist -- Romero -- was new to Modesty Blaise, so they started him with a simple plot: based around a troupe of dancing girls trapped in an Arab harem... Riiight... I wonder if the harem theme is why I can't remember reading that story before... Too many harem outfits to be published in The West!?

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Small Favour / Jim Butcher

Small Favour

(category: fantasy)
book 10 of The Dresden Files by

Jim Butcher

published by Orbit in 2008, read in February 2010

Agamedes' rating: 7 out of 10

Agamedes' opinion:

A lot of fun, with a wizard and all sorts of mythological magic wielders battling it out in modern-day Chicago. Yes, there is a lot of brutal violence -- but it takes a lot of hitting (and gouging and cutting and burning) to keep a good monster down. In fact... most of the main monsters seem to survive anything that is thrown at them. Which is a bit annoying: This is the tenth book of The Dresden Files and there are a lot of "well known" characters. On the other hand... it is easy to read by itself, and makes me want to read earlier books -- not to find out who is who but because I enjoyed this one. I also like to read a book where the hero is incorruptible and where even the worst of the baddies is approachable... albeit carefully! I also enjoyed the humorous / sarcastic insults by the hero, though there could, perhaps, have been less references by that same hero to his propensity to make humorous / sarcastic comments to the baddies...