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Review: SORCERERS' DYNASTY

SORCERERS' DYNASTY by Stephen Perkins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In many ways, Stephen Perkins’s book Sorcerers’ Dynasty reminds me of American Gods by Neil Gaiman. However, instead of the Gods of ancient mythology, it plays on the mythology of Christianity. Sorcerers’ Dynasty features a wide collection of characters that intertwine throughout the novel. The characters are complex and dynamic, however, at times I am left wondering how a character can change so dramatically from one scene to the next. At times a character changes within the same scene. These inconsistencies mostly happen with the smaller less flushed out characters. The main characters give you a solid sense of who they are throughout the entire novel.

There is a lot that is going on in this book. At times you are completely caught up in the dynamics of the world that Perkins created. At other times you are left feeling lost and confused. Going between scenes, at times, can feel like a bit of a whiplash. I wonder if some of the side stories could have been cut, or if it could have been made into two or three books. When I was near the end of the book I wondered how it could possibly end with so much left unsaid. Then it did end, very abruptly. I am still trying to wrap my brain around the ending. I like when a book leaves an impression. It says something positive about the writer if they can impact the reader to that degree. That being said, I felt like I invested a lot into the book and would have rather it have been broken into two books then be left with an ending that was too fast.

Perkins is a good writer. I look forward to seeing how his style develops. He has an incredible imagination and is extremely vivid. However, he is a bit too descriptive. Each sentence seems to have four or five adjectives. Many of the adjectives are said over and over about the same characters. One character was described as loyal in nearly every sentence. Yet the reader already knew he was anything but loyal. The flowery language did not help set the scene, instead, it distracted me from what was actually happening. Also, at the start of the novel, the characters kept zoning out and reminiscing about their past. While this gave the reader great background information it did not flow naturally. Thankfully this ended once all the characters were established.

Sorcerers’ Dynasty is a good book that had the potential to be great. Unfortunately, it did not quite reach that bar. With a bit more flushing out the characters and more work on the timing of the novel, I think Perkins has the potential to be an amazing author. I look forward to reading more of his work.

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Review: ABC's

ABC's by Eden Crane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a cute ABC book lite on words and pictures. It is pretty much exactly what an ABC book is suppose to be. Everyone in my house is too old for this kind of book, but it was nice to see books for Kindle becoming more well rounded.

The book is pretty typical of a children’s ABC book. Each page has a letter and words that start with that letter. There are also a few pictures on each page. The book displays well in landscape in the Kindle app. By viewing it on the app you can also see the full scale of colors.

This is a great Kindle book if you have a younger child or if for some reason you want to review your alphabet.

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November 2017 - Reading Line Up

I know it is already the middle of November, but I want to start listing my monthly reading goals. I still have a fair bit of reading planned for this month, so I finished it would be best to start with November. Since the month is half over my list is fairly short. Some of the books I am in the middle of reading already. I am also hoping to catch up on some of my reviews from this year that I haven’t yet posted.

1. Sorcerers’ Dynasty by Stephen Perkins

A science fiction thriller that combines conspiracy with dysatopian.

2. Fire War by TT Michael

A military dysatopian novel in a world were the US and Canada have merged as one.

3. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Part of Amazons 100 books to read in a lifetime this true crimes books tells about the murder of a prominent middle class American family all in the vain hope of a quick buck.

4. Encounters With Authors by Dale Andrew White

A collection of interviews with famous older authors. I look forward to seeing who they were behind the pen.

5. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Edggers

Another book from Amazons 100 books to read in a lifetime. This one I will actually read in paper (a rarity for me). There seem to be a lot of mixed reviews. I am looking forward to seeing my perspective.

Review: Secrets Of A Digital Marketing Ninja

Secrets Of A Digital Marketing Ninja by Daniel Rosenfeld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Secrets of a Digital Marketing Ninja: A Marketer’s Guide to Sustainable Growth by Daniel Rosenfield is written by a digital marketer that is well established in his field. He is addressing those who have a foundation of marketing but are looking to increase their skills in digital marketing as well as small business owners interested in learning about marketing their products. This book is a mentor for an entirely new generation of digital marketers with a light, limited jargon, tone that can be easily read by those who are knew to marketing of any kind.

This book covers basic marketing concepts such as finding your market, social media, crafting a marketing plan, landing pages, affiliate programs, crowd sourcing, and many other topics. Each topic contains the wisdom that Rosenfield has acquired from his career, as well as a breakdown of the basic digital marketing concepts. Since it is assumed that the reader will have a basis in marketing already, there is not enough information on most topics to launch a digital marketing campaign off this book alone. You would need more practical ways to apply the strategies contained in Secrets of a Digital Marketing Ninja.

One exception to this is the section on app marketing. This is the most useful section of the book due to Rosenfield providing examples on how to apply the strategies that he presents. While I have zero plans of marketing an app at any point in the future, I appreciated a better understanding of how app marketing is put into play. I was also able to visualize the use of digital marketing in apps that I frequently use.

The communication in the book is clear and concise. If you are in marketing looking for a recourse on digital marketing then this book is for you. If you have limited knowledge on marketing then I would pair this book with other marketing books, ones that will help you to apply the strategies presented in Secrets of a Digital Marketing Ninja. While I found this book enjoyable I feel it would be better served by simply mentioning more direct examples of how to put the marketing concepts into use. It would also have been interesting to expand beyond Rosenfield’s experience to include some marketing research to illustrate the concepts that he introduced.

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Review: Out of the Shadows

Out of the Shadows by Ashlee Nicole Bye
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Out of the Shadows by Ashlee Nicole Bye is a debut Urban Fantasy novel that presents the paranormal world as a dimension that at one point connected with our own. The shadow world is filled with all the creatures of our myths, some that wanted to protect the fragile humans and others who wished to dominate. As an intermediary between these two fractions you have the Order of Dark and Light, which are reapers that schedule death and collect souls to carry them off to the world of shadows.

I have been looking for a new Urban Fantasy series to add to my must-read pile, and this is the series. The world building is not unique, which would be hard in such a saturated market, but it is solid and well built. Characterization is a strength of Out of the Shadows. At first, it was a little hard to follow who was who. I mixed up two of the main male characters a few times. It was never bad, I always felt connected to the characters and the story. There are quite a few characters in the story, with a few intertwining subplots. Bye does a good job, and as the book continues an excellent job, of giving each of those characters a unique voice. I knew that it was a story I was going to enjoy from the first chapter.

There were times in the novel where my connection to the story was halted because of the writing. The words and sentences did not flow as well as they could have, and I had to reread to understand what the author was trying to say. It was not major disruptions, but it was a slight concern when I first started to read. However, by the end those disruptions were rare. You can see the growth of Bye as a writer from the start of the novel to the finish. I am excited to read the second book in the series; I am sure that it will start out a lot stronger then Out of the Shadows. Although, Bye did an amazing job with her debut novel.


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Review: The Strange Attractor

The Strange Attractor by Desmond Cory
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Strange Attractor seems to be a Numbers episode put into a Sherlock Holmes book.

The book focuses on the main character John Dobie. Dobie is a Mathematics professor and as such the book is presented from that view point. The logical and structured thought process of Dobie makes for a unique voice. This very voice provides a humorous context to the entire story that is present even while investigating multiple murders.

I found the setting of the early technological era to be quite interesting combined with a main character who seems to be more of an applied mathematician making use of emerging computer technology. This played an important part in the story. However, Dobie’s ability to make logical deductions pulled me into the whole mystery of the story.

I was not a huge fan of how the police were portrayed. They were all incompetent cookie cutter characters until the very last part of the book. I think it would have made for a better story if they were not so over the top incompetent. I was also not a huge fan of the narrator randomly calling the killer Agatha Cristy to hide the identity. It didn’t fit, since any notion of the author was just introduced a scene earlier with completely different characters. That and it was fairly obvious who was behind it all by that point anyway.

There is one other aspect of the story that was distracting, that may just be a formatting issue in the Kindle book. There were no breaks in between scenes. The narration would just jump and I would have to realize that there were new characters in new scenes. Simple line breaks would have improved the flow immensely.

Overall I really enjoyed the book. It was fairly light reading, but still a book you will think about after you finish reading it.

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Review: Clockwork Prince

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Clockwork Prince is the second book in the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. Infernal Devices is the prequel to her best selling series The Mortal Instruments. It is also where I decided to start reading in the series.

The second book takes the focus and puts it on, Will. I would say his backstory is a little melodramatic except it left me feeling appropriately sorry and remorseful for him. That and seen through the eyes of a twelve-year-old, it is completely plausible. I just don't get the connection between Terresa and Jem. I mean Jem is a pretty amazing character, but why did anything develop between the two? I don't feel like there really needed to be a love triangle. Although, that does seem to be in the formula for teenage fantasy.

The writing is good, although not amazing. The world is pretty classic steampunk. What really made me like the second book more than the first was the characters. I connected more with them then I did in the first book. They were more dynamic, even in their simplicity. I will pursue the third book soon, there is too much unsettled for me not to.

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Review: Clockwork Angel

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Clockwork Angel is the first book in the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. Infernal Devices is the prequel to her best selling series The Mortal Instruments. It is also where I decided to start reading in the series.

The main character Terressa Gray was introduced right away, and right away her life is put into danger. Yet, while at no time does the action seem to stop in this book, it is still by far an introduction book. A lot of time is devoted to helping the reader understand the world that they have found themselves in. This has a natural flow, as the reader learns about the world right alongside Terressa.

There was nothing epic or amazing about the series. It is a good read, and I plan to finish the trilogy at least, if not the entire series. It just does not have the special appeal to rank as one of my favorites. Although, as the characters become more central to the story than the history that may change.



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Review: The City of Ember

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have no idea why it took me this long to read this book. I am almost embarrassed to say that this is the first time I have picked it up. My only saving grace is that I was an adult by the time that it was published - which is why it missed being read by my much younger self. I would have loved this book when I was in elementary school.

I love this book now.

The world is dying, or rather it is running out of lights, and the key to saving the city was lost buried in a cluttered closet. Now it is up to two children, who do not quite fit into the norm of society, to save the world. Well, they at least need to save themselves.

The concept of the book is a unique twist on a very common theme. Dystopian literature seems to dominate at the moment. The last part of the book answers a lot of questions, but it was still not satisfying. I hope that as I continue on in the series more questions will be answered.



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Review: Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours

Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours by David Mack
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours is my first entry into the Star Trek: Discovery world. I was not thrilled with the concept and have steered clear of the actual television show. However, I was excited to see that David Mack wrote the introductory novel. I had confidence that he could mesh this series into the already well-established era of the Star Trek Universe.

This novel did not disappoint. At its core, it was Star Trek. It contained the overall goal of striving for good that is essential to be considered Star Trek. It also contained an amazing focus on the characters and a dynamic plot.

The book started off a little slow, or confusing, as I tried to orient myself to new characters. While they were described, it still seemed like I was expected to already know them. By the end of the novel, I knew them quite well. The writing was superb, not once did I stop and question the use of word choice or flow of the story.

I also listened to this book in audio. I quite enjoyed the narration. I prefer audio narrators that make you forget they are there so that you focus exclusively on the story. Susan Eisenberg did an amazing job at this.

I am still not sure about the vision for the new TV series of Discovery, but if the novels continue in this fashion I will keep current in reading them.

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Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Bel Canto

by Ann Patchett

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Genre: Litterature, fiction

I truthfully had no idea what to expect when picking up Bel Canto. The title was a bit intimidating and I was afraid it was going to be some fluffy classic piece of work. However, Bel Canto is nothing like I expected.

The book was first published in 2005, so it is still a relatively modern piece of work. The title comes from the opera which is a central theme in this novel. You could probably summarize the entire book as opera is life. Except that I am not a big fan of opera and I did enjoy this book.

Bel Canto is a character novel. It is the characters more than the action that moves along the plot. The male characters are portrayed in such detail and with such depth that I could not help but fall in love with the book. The female characters, however, are cartoon characters only described by how they impact the males around them. Most of the wives are just random people who happen to raise their children. The main female character, the opera soprano, is just an idol for male affection. Everyone loves her yet she never becomes real. This is emphasized by how the story ended. The only female characters that are ever seen as people are the two female terrorists. Yet, they both start and end the book being categorized as boys, which seems to be the only way that this depth is acceptable.

The story is a very romantic idealization, that actually makes sense from a psychological standpoint. When you spend a lot of time with a person you start to see them as actual people. They no longer are just filtered by your stereotypes. There is an entire syndrome characterizing individuals who become devoted to those who are holding them hostage. This novel is an entire fictionalized account of Stockholm syndrome in beautiful prose.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

Rating: ** (2 stars)

Genre: thriller, fiction, mystery

The honest truth is that Gone Girl is a very forgettable book. I am trying to catch up on my reviews of books on Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime. Gone Girl was one of my most recent books I finished and to be honest I had to go refresh myself about what is the twist ending.

I remember the characters. I remember hating the characters and wondering how to despicable people ever ended up marrying. I also remember the writing being engaging. I read it over a few day period - although that is not abnormal for me. What is abnormal is completely forgetting how the book ended.

I admit I did an internet search to refresh myself on the ending. Then it all came flooding back. Maybe it is not that the ending is forgettable as much as I chose to forget. I mean it is about as screwed up as you can imagine. I remember finishing the book and waiting the next day to talk to a coworker who had seen the movie. I just stared at her. She shook her head and said, "I know."

It is a brilliantly written book with a fairly consistent plot. It took a lot of talent to write. It took a lot of talent to create such deplorable people. Yet, the book itself is screwed up on so many levels.

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

by Christopher McDougall

Rating: ***** (5 stars)

Book Length: 287 pages

Genre: Non-fiction, Sports, Fitness, Running, Adventure

I hate running. I have hated running my entire life. Now I think that I may have just been doing it wrong. I have a sudden urge to go spend the next six hours running. Unfortunately, my parental responsibilities preclude me from having that time. That being said, McDougall has given me an appreciation for the art of running that I have never had before.

One of the reasons I like picking a reading project, such as tackling the Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime, is because I end up picking up books that I would have never read. I end up finding books that I would never have thought I could love. This is one of those books.

Born to Run is not about how to run. It is about the history of running presented alongside the history of human evolution. It is about different cultures such as the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico. However, what this book is mostly about is people. The best part of the book is how McDougall describes the people that you encounter on his journey to learn how to run. They are colorful and real. You could meet them in real life for the first time and feel like you already know them. It takes a talented writer to make people so alive.

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Beloved

by Toni Morrison

Rating: *** (3 stars)

Page Length: 324 pages

Genre: African American, Literature

I have very mixed emotions about this book. On one hand, it is a brilliant story of an African American family transitioning from slavery to freedom. In that regards it is a brilliant piece of literature and I can understand why it is cherished.

Yet, the writing is extremely confusing. The story seems so abstract at times that I found myself completely lost. When I would catch up on what was happening I was still very disconnected to the characters. A huge part of that may be my own cultural disconnection. However, I think it was also done on purpose by Morrison.

The story was disturbing. How it was told was even more disturbing. I am not a huge fan of disturbing. However, even with that opinion, I do see value in reading this book. There is also a high likelihood
that you will fall in love with it. It seems to be the type of book that you love or you hate. While I can appreciate both sides I ultimately was not very fond of this book. I did rate it three stars because Morrison is a genius writer, the story has value, and I could understand how others could really connect to this book.

All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward

All the President's Men

by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward

Rating: ***** (5 stars)

Page Length: 480 pages

Genre: Nonfiction, Politics, True Crime, Journalism

Sometimes books are situational. How you feel about them depends on the period of your life that you are in. I feel like this is the case with this book. 

No matter when I would have picked it up it would have been well written with engaging storytelling. Yet, I do not think it would have held my interest as much as it has now. 

I picked this book up because it is on Amazon's 100 Books To Read in Your Lifetime. Coincidently I started reading the same time the comparisons between Trump and Nixon began. I am not a history buff, and my knowledge of politics is confined to basic Political Science courses. None of these ever covered Nixon. Reading this book helped me to understand why comparisons were being made between administrations. 

There is another amazing component about this book. It was fascinating reading about the journalistic pursuits of Bernstein and Woodward. For one, they had to put aside their differences in personalities to work together on a story of a lifetime. It was evident in the writing that both were aware of potential conflicts of personality and tried to create a clear picture without causing offense. It also showed how their relationship changed from conflict to check and balances, using each other's differences to make sure they did not cross a line in their story. 

It also showed their journalistic integrity. They created rules about the number of sources they would have at a minimum when publishing. They held off on publishing when they did not feel there was enough evidence to support their claim. They also became the bad guys of D.C. for a while. It leads me to wonder how Journalism has changed with the increase of technology. 

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

by Ishmael Beah

Rating: ***** (5 Stars)

Book Length: 229 pages

Genre: Memoir, War, Nonfiction, African Nonfiction

Imagine your entire world changing one day while you are going about an innocent childhood day. That is what happened to Ishmael Beah. One day he was working on a rap group with his friends. The next he was struggling to survive. 

The story is one that everyone should hear. 

Unfortunately, Ishmael's story is not unique. What is unique is his gift to share that experience with the rest of the world. He is clearly a highly intelligent and communicative young man. This was realized long before the book was released when he was chosen to represent his country at the United Nations. That experience gave him a way to get out of his country. Yet, how many children were left behind?

Once you read this book it will become a part of you. It is due to the topic, children as young a six picking up a gun to defend their country is not something that will leave your mind. Yet, it is also due to Ishmael Beah's gift with words. 

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Goodnight Moon

by Margaret Wise Brown

Pictures by Clement Hurd

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Book Length: 32 pages

Genre: Picture Book, Children

Goodnight Moon is a bedtime story for very young children. The wording is extremely simple and repetitive. It is meant to be read aloud, and when it is it is a calming rhythm. This is important when trying to get a child to quiet down and sleep. 

However, Goodnight Moon is also a great book to use to help children to learn objects. It continually repeats object names over and over and provides brilliantly colored illustrations of the objects. Even for object naming the audience is fairly inexperienced or young as there is only a limited number of objects that are said over and over again. 

The book is a nice calming read, with cute pictures, and any young child can relate to wanting to say goodnight to everything to avoid going to bed. While it is not my favorite children's picture book it is hard to write a good book to engage the very earliest of readers and this book does so extremely well. 

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

by Laura Hillenbrand

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Book Length: 473 pages

Genre: Non-Fiction, War, WWII, Biography

One of the reasons I really love reading through lists of books is to reach outside of my normal reading patterns and pick up a book that I would have completely overlooked. This year I have been fortunate to discover a lot of amazing books and read from a variety of perspectives. There is nothing about Unbroken that would have compelled me to read it. I am not a huge fan of war stories or even history stories. I would have completely passed by this book, but I am so glad that I didn't. 

Unbroken is a complete biography of Louis Zamperini starting at his youth, his brief Olympic career, his time in World War II, and his transition back from the War. While the majority of the book focuses on WWII the part that I enjoyed most about the book is that it was more than a war story. It was a story about people, mostly Louis Zamperini, but also his family, his war buddies, the Japanese soldiers and civilians, and his wife. Reading this book I felt like I was transported to a whole different world. Most of the time the world was extremely unpleasant,  yet despite that you persevered right along with Louis and the other prisoners of war. 

Louis Zamperini was the trouble maker kid, the town juvenile delinquent. With the help of his older brother, he tamed that spirit to become an Olympic runner. If his life had led down a different path he would probably be known as an Olympic gold medalist. Instead, he is known as the man who's Olympic story ended in war. Yet he used his spirit to survive what was unsurvivable to so many. Then, after the war when he could have been broken again, he started to thrive and to make a better world for all the other juvenile delinquent boys who have the capacity to accomplish so much. 

Laura Hillenbrand wrote in such a way that you were brought into the world. The story would continually branch off of Louis and the reader would learn about his brother, his war buddies, his captors, the friendly guard. If it was done with less skill this could have been a distraction while reading, yet the story continued to flow and the reader is left feeling more complete for having known about not just Louis, but the wide assortment of people that came into his time. 

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Where the Wild Things Are

by Maurice Sendak

Rating: ***** (5 stars)

Book Length: 37 pages

Genre: Fantasy, Children, Picture Book

Where the Wild Things Are is a picture book about a boy who got a bit too worked up in the evening. When he threatened to eat up his mother he was sent to bed without supper. There he dreamed up a world full of Wild Things just like himself. He was the wildest of them all and was crowned King of all Wild Things. Until he missed his family and his stomach rumbled and he gave up being a Wild Thing to return home to his loving home.

This classic picture book has been around for over forty years and has won numerous awards because of the amazing writing, brilliant pictures, and classic tale. The book has two stories. The first is about a boy who travels to a amagical land to become Kind of the Wild Things. The second story is about a boy who gets in trouble for being too active, goes to his room upset, and uses his imagination to calm himself down.