Original Sin / Allison Brennan

Original Sin

category: horror, author:

Allison Brennan

book 1 of Seven Deadly Sins
original copyright 2010,
read in October 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10

I enjoy a book where the author happily throws out convention and invents their own mythology. After all, a novel is creative writing :-) Brennan has taken the standard "calling demons to Earth" story and built her own rules and methodologies.

aside: Though it does cross my mind that, perhaps, I have not read enough recent horror books to know what is now standard... So what?! This is a personal blog offering my personal opinions... I simply hope that you enjoy reading my posts -- opinions -- as much as I enjoy writing them :-)

Demons, it seems are all around us. Raise one and a host of others will be attracted by the ruckus. Well, why not? Not every demon will be successfully banished after its intended purpose is complete.

To add to the difficulty, magic is evil... The heroine can do magic -- she is a trained witch -- but she has realised the error of her ways. Evil demonic powers are the basis for magic so any use of magic is tainted by evil. Take that! all you Harry Potter fans!

Mind you, the heroes are constantly thwarting evil through the use of holy names, holy water and a quick prayer... So what is that if not magic?

The baddies are free to use evil magic as much as they like. The baddies also have their own people in key positions of power. The heroine spends as much time trying not to be arrested, as fighting straightforward black magic.

I wonder why the good-guy organisation has not also seeded positions of democratic power with its own minions of good? Perhaps the only people who can gain positions of bureaucratic power are those people who are inherently evil...

So it's a tough-yet-lonely -- and incredibly beautiful -- girl, battling the powers of evil and the legislatively-supported powers of the sheriff's office. With a small supporting cast, all fighting witches and demons, as they also battle their own internal demons... Simple fun, as they learn to use their powers for niceness and good.

This is an enjoyable book. With what I am beginning to think is a now-standard approach to backstory...

The backstory is revealed as the book progresses. But is it a backstory reveal? Or are these regular reminders of the previous book?!

There seems to be an entire novel in the backstory. Yet this is "book one" of seven. Have I missed book zero?

Or am I learning the new approach to writing... to provide an enormous history... which will only be presented as snippets in books one to seven.

It's confusing... but, hey, it works.

..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.

Chaos Space / Marianne de Pierres

Chaos Space

category: science fiction, author:

Marianne de Pierres

book 2 of Sentients of Orion
original copyright 2008,
read in October 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10

This book was a sad disappointment.

It's entertaining. It's imaginative. There is action and adventure.

So why is it disappointing?!

It is simply one chapter of a continuing saga... There are incidents but no story. The book ends with cliffhangers but no conclusion.

The High Crusade / Poul Anderson

The High Crusade

category: science fiction, author:

Poul Anderson

original copyright 1960,
read in Sep 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

A small group of low level lords, plus all of their vassals and villagers, head off for the Crusades. Instead... they end up in space. Where they promptly begin to "civilise" various planets and peoples.

It's a lot of fun -- and a good book, too.

Is it just a little, well, unrealistic? Or is it possible that space is populated by aliens with not too many street smarts... Is The High Crusade an example of a book based on the natural superiority of the good ol' US of A?

Not to worry: it's a book based on the natural superiority of the British !

There are some interesting aspects to this book...

Blue Diablo / Ann Aguirre

Blue Diablo

category: fantasy, romance, author:

Ann Aguirre

book 1 of Corine Solomon
original copyright 2009,
read in Sep 2011

Agamedes' opinion:7 out of 10

Now that's interesting... I selected the categories for this book: fantasy, romance. Then had second thoughts.

Is this really fantasy?

Is Blue Diablo fantasy? Or is it horror...

I changed the categories. "Fantasy, romance" became "horror, romance". Then I changed my mind again... back to, "fantasy, romance". The fantasy is fantastic -- but perhaps a bit too brutal. Is it slipping into horror? Time to check Wikipedia...

Horror fiction is a genre of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. (Wikipedia, 29 Sep 2011)

Yes, Blue Diablo could frighten its readers. If the readers were sweet innocents who had not grown up on graphic computer games and violence in tv news. If the readers could believe that evil could possibly conquer a heroine who worries that her arse is too big, or a hero who could probably crack walnuts on his abs. If the readers would have feelings of horror and terror when it's revealed that the villain is the person who has very shifty eyes and an evil sneer...

Yes, it's that obvious!

To be more accurate I should say that this book is "romance, fantasy/horror". It is a romance. With a plot based on fantasy or horror themes, take your pick. In the genre of Twilight and True Blood. With the be-still-my-beating-heart feel of Twilight. The beautiful yet insecure southern heroine of True Blood but without the tie-me-up-and-whip-me-please approach to "love".

Corine Solomon -- the heroine of Diablo -- is sweet and uncertain but with a tough and independent centre. She's a slave to her hyperactive hormones -- but attempts to fight back with realism and logic. Of course, her hormones will win -- and be right :-)

. . .

Perhaps I just haven't noticed it before... Perhaps a heavy back-story has been used for many years. Perhaps it's just that I have only noticed it in relatively recent books: Blue Diablo -- apparently the first Corine Solomon novel -- is written as though it is book two. At least, for the first half.

The heroine is constantly referring to past adventures. I began to wonder, Have I missed book one? Yet by the end of the book, all is clear. The back-story is merged into the current action; merged in smaller chunks than I am used to.

I have struck that before, in just five or six other novels: a back-story which is referred to as though it were an already-published prequel. Diablo makes it all clear by the end. Of the others, perhaps half left me wondering. And for one, there was an already-published prequel...

So this book is a heavy breathing, should I shouldn't I, which incredible hunk is my true love, sort of book. Set in a fantasy world of modern America with warlocks and other magic.

The body count rises rapidly at the end. The blood flows, flesh is splattered. The evil warlock uses magic to support the modern evil of sex slavery. The violence is cartoonish but it is not kids' stuff.

Yet the key conflict remains unsettled, waiting on book two, or three, or... The key conflict? Will the heroine ever get back with her one true love...

Ah shucks :-)

btw: I passed this book to a young woman who needed a light book to fill an idle hour. She commented, Yes, it's good. Very tight.

So Blue Diablo may, in fact, be a tightly written novel. But I don't worry about that.

I enjoyed the book. That's what PissWeakly reviews are all about: Did I enjoy it?

I enjoyed reading Blue Diablo. You may, too.

..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.

Dark Space / Marianne de Pierres

Dark Space

category: science fiction, author:

Marianne de Pierres

book 1 of Sentients of Orion
original copyright 2007,
read in September 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

Complex, violent and well-imagined. An interesting world and one which is not really missed when it is mostly destroyed...

Lots of characters. Most have a part to play -- though some do not. Yet. This is clearly book one of... several. It does, however, stand by itself.

Lots going on, it takes a while to follow the various characters. After a while it gets clearer.

Still, there is -- perhaps -- too much going on. It does make for an interesting book. It could have been simplified... perhaps.

This book can be read by itself; there is a satisfying conclusion. Really, though, it is very clearly a book which is meant to be read as, part one of... several.

..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.

The Venus Series / Edgar Rice Burroughs

Pirates of Venus
and
Lost on Venus

category: space opera, author:

Edgar Rice Burroughs

book 1 & 2 of The Venus Series
original copyright 1932, 1933,
read in September 2011 (and before, in 1997)

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

Carson Napier makes a one way trip to Venus... How does his story get back to Earth? Luckily for us, Carson was taught telepathy...

Amtor (or Venus, as we call it) is populated by humans, near-humans and sub-humans. Evolution on Amtor follows a similar path to that on Earth, with the human form being top of the evolutionary ladder. The good humans look good and the bad humans have shifty eyes.

The jungles of Amtor are populated by wild beasts -- mostly ferocious, mostly bad-tempered. There are many harmless beasts but they are generally eaten then forgotten. Only the vicious killers get more than a page of description!

These adventures on Amtor are full of heroic acts and incredible coincidences...

Do androids dream of electric sheep? / Philip K. Dick

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

category: science fiction, author:

Philip K. Dick

original copyright 1968,
read in September 2011 (and before, in Feb 05)

Agamedes' opinion: 5 out of 10

Sadly dated.

Or, perhaps, it's just me...

In 1968 -- when Androids was written -- perhaps I would have agreed with Dick, that the world was going downhill fast. That nuclear war, lifelike androids and interplanetary migration were just around the corner. That by 1992 emotional control and telepathic empathy would be implemented and automated. By 1992!

Perhaps it is just me. Perhaps I have changed.

As I started to read Androids I thought, What a gloomy world. What an extreme case of all that is bad overcoming all that is... well... better. I seem to have a less negative view of the future of humanity.

Not a positive view. Just, less negative.