Book Review: What If? edited by Robert Cowley

What If?: The World's Foremost Historians Imagine What Might Have Been by Robert Cowley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The path untrodden, counterfactual reality, or simply alternate history. Twenty of the late 20th Century’s eminent historians look might have been in the essay anthology What If? edited by contributor Robert Cowley.

The twenty essays range from 701 B.C. Assyrian siege of Jerusalem to Berlin and China early in the Cold War in the middle of the 20th Century, some deal with one event but some deal with several scenarios (i.e., the American Revolution, American Civil War, the beginning of World War I, and the early Cold War in/around Berlin). In addition to the essays were 14 sidebars from other contributors. Of the single scenario essays among the best was Ross Hassig’s “The Immolation of Hernan Cortes” and James M. McPherson’s “If the Lost Order Hadn’t Been Lost” while the two worst were Victor Davis Hanson’s “No Glory That Was Greece” and close second was Lewis H. Lapham “Furor Teutonicus: The Teutoburg Forest, A.D. 9”.

What If?: The World’s Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been is an good collection of counterfactual historical events and what the alternate history would have been for the world.

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Book Review: Deuteronomy: The Book of Love by Jiri Moskala

Deuteronomy: The Book of Love by Jiří Moskala
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The final book of the Pentateuch finds Israel on the border of The Promise Land listening to Moses’ final messages before he passes away. Deuteronomy: The Book of Love, the supplemental book for the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide (4th Quarter, 2021) by Jiri Moskala, shows the book as a organized manual of faith for God’s people both on the verge of crossing the Jordan and for His people on the verge of his Second Coming. Through 128 pages, that includes an appendix featuring the literary structure of the book, Moskala reveals God’s love for His people in all ages and how the book is Moses’ inspired magnum opus as the greatest prophet until the arrival of Christ.

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Book Review: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Over the last century plus, the affect of combat on its participants has changed in the perception of the population at large and popular culture but the view of anti-war literature seems to change depending on the wider political viewpoint. So it goes. Slaughterhouse-Five is Kurt Vonnegut anti-war magnum opus that not only focuses on the affect of war on its participants but also its crimes against noncombatants.

Billy Pilgrim survived the Battle of the Bulge becoming a prisoner of war and then surviving the firebombing of Dresden, survived a plane crash in Vermont, and was finally abducted by aliens who view time in a different way which helps Pilgrim because he has become “unstuck in time”. Vonnegut writes a layered story with shifting chronological perspective of the protagonist to write an anti-war novel without the text coming out explicitly to say it is an anti-war story. Not only is the anti-war theme present so is the affect of combat on its participants with Pilgrim’s—as a stand in for Vonnegut—PTSD from his time in the Ardennes through being a prisoner to the firebombing of Dresden, which affect everyone differently. A superficial read would say that Pilgrim’s head injury in the plane crash obviously resulted in brain trauma the created his alien delusions and exacerbated his war-related PTSD with more PTSD from the plane crash, but this shows Vonnegut’s writing mastery as there appears to be a simple explanation but doesn’t discount the fact that Pilgrim could still have been abducted by aliens. So it goes.

Slaughterhouse-Five is highly praised, but also can be divisive because of how Kurt Vonnegut wrote it. However, whether the reader turns out liking it or disliking it, this book is a must read. So it goes.

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Book Review: J.N. Andrews: Mission Pioneer, Evangelist, and Thought Leader by Gilbert M. Valentine

J.N. Andrews: Mission Pioneer, Evangelist, and Thought Leader by Gilbert M. Valentine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While Joseph Bates, James and Ellen White were the founding triumvirate of what became the Seventh-day Adventist Church, it was the fourth person to join the inner circle of leadership that would systematize the emerging Sabbatarian Advent movement. Gilbert M. Valentine’s J.N. Andrews: Mission Pioneer, Evangelist, and Thought Leader is the first major biography of one of the early Adventism’s most important figures.

Valentine approached Andrews’ biography in a chronological fashion with a few chapters set aside dedicated to Andrews the Sabbath historian and Andrews the theologian. As the longest book within the Adventist Pioneer Series at over 720 pages, one might have assumed that there was a lot to learn of Andrews life, however as Valentine stated in his introduction this book would also focus on James and Ellen White’s leadership in the fledging Sabbatarian Adventist movement. While Valentine’s biographical narrative of Andrews life was very well-written, at times his decision to make this book a secondary biography of essentially James White would effectively sideline Andrews which ironically mirrored real-life events—whether this was intentional on Valentine’s part I can’t guess. The analysis of Andrews as Sabbath historian and theologian were highlights of the book especially the praise Andrews received from Seventh Day Baptists both during his lifetime and today.

The life and scholarship of John Nevins Andrews were not only important during the early history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church but as Gilbert M. Valentine was able to show significant even today.

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Book Review: Odessa Sea by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler

Odessa Sea by Clive Cussler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three eras of Russian history in the last century converge in a dangerous combination of treasure, war, personal greed, and personal vengeance that affect four nations in various ways. Odessa Sea is the twenty-fourth book in Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series and the seventh cowritten with his son Dirk.

After three consecutive books that had fun narratives but were weighed down by tired tropes compared, the Cusslers wrote a book on par with their first three collaborative efforts. The backdrop of the still ongoing, even in 2021, Russo-Ukrainian war and an apparently duplicitous industrialist that appears to be selling weapons to both sides but with an agenda quite different was a great twist at the end of the book. The black-market smugglers-salvagers that the elder Pitt deals with throughout the book’s main subplot were competent villains, one half of which were stopped by Pitt and Giordino doing their thing while the other half were taken out by the antagonist of the second subplot. Dirk and Summer’s battle with a Russian spy to find missing Romanov gold was a fun mystery—that once again took them to London which is becoming a trope now—which featured the antagonist-antagonist battle and Summer for once not being a damsel-in-distress but showing she had the Pitt genes to take care of herself.

Odessa Sea is the penultimate collaboration between Clive and Dirk Cussler, but of the seven it probably is the best overall book featuring two intriguing subplots that interact in interesting ways without being weighed down by the tired tropes that hampered their previous three efforts.

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Book Review: The Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks

Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The novelization of The Phantom Menace, the first in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, was written based off the script of film by famed fantasy author Terry Brooks.

Brooks generally follows the script of the film, but importantly adds several scenes that help give background to several key characters. The chief beneficiary of the added scenes was Anakin Skywalker, who unknowingly has been using the Force his entire life to do amazing things as a 9-year-old especially as a podracer. Unlike the film where the identity of Darth Sidious is quickly known, Brooks effectively hides Padme Amidala’s dual identity through there clues are subtle enough for someone who has never watched the film. Though Jar Jar Binks can get on the reader’s nerves, Brooks is able to write him to be not so annoying as in the film and seeing things from his perspective is interesting. While Brooks can’t completely change the dialogue from the screenplay, he’s able to make it more palatable.

The Phantom Menace is a novelization that improves upon the film in various ways, which says something about the film itself and the quality of writing by Terry Brooks.

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Book Review: Edward IV by Charles Ross

Edward IV by Charles Derek Ross
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A devastating battle resulted in his father and younger brother dead leading to him taking up his family’s claim to the throne of England and he took it. Charles Ross’ Edward IV is the first modern biography of the first Yorkist king.

Ross essentially divided this biography into three parts, one for each of Edward’s reigns and how Edward governed over the course of his time on the throne. Edward’s reputation over the centuries was either a strong warrior-king or a lazy, debauched ruler who partied himself into an early grave depend on who was reviewing him; Ross revealed that both opinions were true as Edward was a charismatic individual who inspired men to fight for him but coming to the throne at such a young age made him enjoy it. Ross’ lively writing describing Edward’s reigns stood in stark contrast to his writing of Edward’s governance which was dry and at times snooze-inducing, while I understood Ross’ decision to compare various economic or law-and-order issues from both reigns it might have been better to mix the governance in with the happenings of the reigns.

Edward IV looks at the man who founded a dynasty that lasted only two years past his death but began laying down the foundations that the Tudors would use to transform England especially his famous grandson, Henry.

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Book Review: Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Little House in the Big Woods recounts a little over a year in the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder living in the Wisconsin backwoods in the 1870s. Wilder recounts various events in her childhood that gives a modern-day reader a glimpse of what life was like in the northern frontier when your nearest neighbor was miles away, a trip to town a few hours would be an all-day affair, and wild animals of all sorts would visit throughout the year. Given the period written about and at what time Wilder wrote the book, there are things that would not be written or printed today however a responsible parent or educator would use that as an excellent teaching moment. And the illustrations of Garth Williams are a nice addition to the book and bring some of the stories to better perspective.

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Book Review: Havana Storm by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler

Havana Storm: A Dirk Pitt Adventure by Clive Cussler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An Aztec treasure that influences the history between the United States and Cuba plus adding into the narrative a Cuban underwater mining operation that is causing ecological damage that is linked to political shenanigans of the island nation’s leadership. Havana Storm is the twenty-third book in Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series and the sixth cowritten by his son Dirk.

A standard novel for the series with a fun narrative that has been the hallmark of the younger Cussler’s time writing with his father. As with the last two novels Clive goes back to the well with the elder Dirk being the hero and damsel-in-distress savior, this time with his daughter Summer being said damsel multiple times though on one occasion she is more active in saving herself. A nice change of pattern was the inclusion of a wealthy industrialist that isn’t a massive dirt bag but a nice human being. Unlike the hard retcon of Trojan Odyssey that has occurred over the past few books, this book had a soft retcon of some elements of Cyclops though the ones left in should have resulted in a few different narrative choices especially concerning the elder Pitt.

Havana Storm continues the fun narratives that have marked the series since Dirk Cussler has joined his father in writing, however Clive’s desire to keep on fall back on tropes continues to be a downside that has hamstrung these last few books.

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Book Review: Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson

Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

War always brings about innovation, but when immortal forces begin their conflict again like they’ve always done anything new will have dramatic consequences. Rhythm of War, fourth installment of Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive sees the war over a year old and looking like it might be a long conflict.

This latest installment takes place a year after the events of Oathbringer, Sanderson bridges the time gap for each character in various ways—Kaladin in battle, Shallan in an undercover situation, etc.—that is explanative while not making the beginning of the book a slog. While dealing with the war from the perspective of at least one participant from each side, Sanderson tackles the effects of various mental illnesses that two of his primary characters must learn to cope with as part of their greater narrative arcs which came across as well written and not glossed over. However, in attempting not to shortchange the issues the characters are dealing with it feels Sanderson dwells on them too much in some scenes. The twist-and-turns in allegiances in the war, the surprising other half of one of the most infamous events in the history of Roshar, and the agreement between two characters to bring the war to an end in a short time highlight the climax of the penultimate volume of the first half of the series.

Rhythm of War is filled with twists and turns in both the narrative and character development that sets the stage for what is shaping up to be a stunning climax to mark the end of the series’ first half. With each new book Brandon Sanderson expands the connections of the Cosmere and Roshar appears to be the place where a showdown will eventually take place, but what kind and between who is going to be interesting to find out.

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Book Review: Oddly Normal Book 4 by Otis Frampton

Oddly Normal Book 4 by Otis Frampton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After an interesting first week in Fignation, Oddly Normal is looking to begin a not so exciting routine to her life but she’s quickly learning that might not be the case. Oddly Normal Book 4 continues Otis Frampton’s young adult series with ‘classic’ storytelling.

Otis Frampton begins the series’ second story arc with Oddly learning more about Fignation as whole while meeting new characters from Ragnar and Reggie’s father, interacting with Oddly’s favorite comic book character who is fellow student, and their new old teacher who isn’t finished with Oddly. Frampton introduces young readers not only to elements of Mary Shelley’s classic novel but it’s most famous movie adaptation as well as classic comic tropes which all serve as both giving background to Fignation but also foreshadow events in Oddly’s own story in the future. Frampton’s art is vibrant and effective mood setting that enhances the storytelling, which given the medium is a major plus.

Oddly Normal Book 4 finds Otis Frampton giving his readers a follow up to the dramatic events of the previous installment while introducing them to classic tropes in an entertaining way.

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Book Review: How the Post Office Created America by Winifred Gallagher

How the Post Office Created America: A History by Winifred Gallagher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It began before the Revolution and was required to be proved for by the Constitution itself, the Post Office. How the Post Office Created America: A History by Winifred Gallagher covers the three-century plus long history of delivering the mail in America.

Throughout Gallagher’s text she brought forth evidence to support her argument yet save for helping foster the airline industry the Post Office appeared to have more of a symbiotic relationship with the country. Gallagher’s historical narrative begins early in the 1700s and ends approximately in the early 2010s, through this three-century period the ups and downs of the post in America were chronicles and how it interacted with the establishment of other forms of communication. The fascinating information that was brought forth were the crisis of the 1840s that changed the Post Office for the next century and the “golden age” from 1890-1920. Gallagher’s highlighting of various Postmasters General that headed the department that either innovated services or helped it in its time of need. The book also highlights the main efforts that some have attempted to privatize the post instead of being a public service and in the Afterward Gallagher explains the three scenarios of the now USPS could head in the future.

How the Post Office Created America is a look at the long history of the post in the United States and how it shaped and was shaped by the nation. Winifred Gallagher brought a lot of information to the text to support her argument, while I personally came away with a different conclusion based on the same it was an intriguing read.

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Book Review: Punderworld Volume One by Linda Sejic

Punderworld, Volume 1 by Linda Šejić
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How the earth got its seasons has been mythologized across the planet, one of the most famous comes from the Greeks and has been immortalized in various forms by Western culture. Punderworld (Volume One) by author-artist Linda Sejic is an awkward and relatable retelling of the myth.

When Sejic began sketching Greek gods during a creative break from her series Blood Stain she did not intend to create another graphic novel series, however as illustrated in her bonus material her characters Vlad and Eliot “begged” to be the templates for Hades and Persephone then suddenly she began doing scenes that led to an entire graphic novel. Sejic portrays Hades and Persephone as secret admirers for centuries who suddenly find themselves thrown together after Zeus tries to “help” in typical Zeus fashion by abducting Persephone and Hades attempts to stop it. Besides the two primary characters, the Zeus and Demeter appear as major secondary characters with the latter being a well-meaning overly protective mother true to the myth. But besides a well plotted story, a graphic novel must have the artwork to back it up and frankly Linda Sejic brings the story to life through her art. Not only does the reader have to follow the dialogue and the actions of the characters they must take notice of the overall scene for the subtle clues of what is going on behind the characters’ back and what is going to happen. It’s hard not to drone on, but frankly Sejic’s work speaks for itself and should be experienced book in hand.

Punderworld (Volume One) begins the retelling of a well-known myth just more awkward than the reader is used to. Linda Sejic not only writes a fantastic story, her art catches the eye.

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Book Review: The Hoopa Project by David Paulides

The Hoopa Project: Bigfoot Encounters in California by David Paulides
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A trained law enforcement professional turns his skills to investigating Bigfoot incidents and sightings based on witness interviews. The Hoopa Project: Bigfoot Encounters in California by David Paulides provides the results of a years long investigation in a specific area.

Paulides’ years as a police investigator shows early with his matter-of-fact recounting of how he got interested in the search for Bigfoot and what convinced him that it might be worth his time. This straightforward approach continued throughout the book especially in what led him to selecting the Hoopa Valley in northwestern California to be the focus of his search and how he gained the trust of the residents of the Hoopa Indian Reservation to get interviews and asked for signed affidavits. Paulides’ use of affidavits and the hiring of law enforcement forensic artist Harvey Pratt, a member the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe, to draw sketches based on interviews with witnesses gives this book extra weight for those believers and skeptics that read the book. Unfortunately, it appears the later editions, one of which I read, reproduces the images only in black and white thus making maps hard to decipher for the information that were included to provide. While Paulides straightforward writing can seem dry it provides evidence of his law enforcement background which makes it attempts at engaging the reader with more personable language jarring. As part of each witness interview Paulides gives the reader a description of the location based on his personal research in the area, however his attempts to connect a location to other witnesses comes off awkward due to referencing accounts that appear later in the book while not identifying where said account could be found in the text. Yet while these writing decisions are annoying, they do not take away from overall effort.

The Hoopa Project is the first to two books David Paulides wrote in the late 2000s before going on to his more well-known Missing 411 series. Overall, it’s an intriguing read for those interested in the search for Bigfoot.

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Book Review: Breach of Peace by Daniel B. Greene

Breach of Peace by Daniel B. Greene
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

You begin the day in the heart of an empire lead by the Almighty who came personally to change life and at the end of the day, you realize you live in a dystopia. Breach of Peace is the debut work of Daniel B. Greene, the first of a trilogy of novellas that introduce his world.

Though the book follows the investigation of an extremely violent crime by three top inspectors of God’s own police, it gives a look into how average people view the area they live in and by the end how what they believed is completely wrong. Greene mixes a crime mystery in a fantasy world that quickly is ensnarled in political intrigue with significant religious overtones that is a lot to attempt in 134 pages with so-so results. The three main characters—Inspectors Khlid, her husband Sam, and their colleague Chapman—are a mix of good and cliché. The main narrative viewpoint of Khlid is well written in which we get a feel for the world an average person experiences—though from a law enforcement perception—and how it comes crashing down, Sam comes off as a quick-tempered cliché while Chapman comes off as a smart incompetent especially when one considers his divided loyalties. Given that the beginning s dark with the aftermath of a violent crime, the fact that the ending is darker not in violence but how a character’s worldview is completely shattered is effective.

Breach of Peace is a nice debut work as Daniel B. Greene gives readers a look into the fantasy world he is creating. Some elements work as well as some characters, he attempts to put a lot in a small page count to mixed results, but he does have good prose that makes for an engaging reading experience.

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Book Review: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You find yourself living a charmed existence thanks to the wonderful World that provides for you, but what if you find all you believe to be real was a way to cope with being trapped in a magical pocket dimension? Piranesi by Susanna Clarke follows the journey of the titular character slowly learning over time that what he thought was reality was not what it seems.

Clarke immediately puts the reader into the fantastical element of this story with the titular character’s narration of journey in the House and its labyrinthine set of statue-dominated Halls in all directions. But Piranesi’s insistence of “the World” having had only fifteen people of which only two are living as the rest our skeletons gives the reader a sense of something not quite right especially when we meet “The Other”. The happy and seemingly content journal entries slowly change throughout the book especially our narrator goes back to his earliest journal entries as his world becomes increasingly crowded with new faces appearing in the many Halls. The book’s conclusion of man recovering from traumatically caused mental breakdown readjusting to our world while still being able to travel to his wonderous prison to keep himself grounded ends his story on a sad yet hopeful note for his future.

Piranesi is a magical, yet sad tale of a man just attempting to live only to realize everything he had believed was a way to cope with a traumatizing situation he finds himself in. Susanna Clarke is able to find a way to give us insight into the though process of a individual having suffered a mental breakdown and learning how it happened to him.

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Book Review: Oxymoronica by Dr. Mardy Grothe

Oxymoronica: Paradoxical Wit and Wisdom from History's Greatest Wordsmiths by Mardy Grothe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Oxymoronica is essentially a collection of oxymoronic and paradoxical quotes throughout history as assembled by Dr. Mardy Grothe. Dividing the book and the collection into 14 separate entries (literature, politics, wit & wisdom, etc.), Grothe gives introductions to each category and giving examples to the part of the collection he is emphasizing before finished the last half of the chapter with quotes from various sources. Though Grothe tries to bring context and interest to each topical entry, it sometimes comes off as pompous. Overall the collection is pretty interesting, but it’s not the greatest read.

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Book Review: FDR by Jean Edward Smith

FDR by Jean Edward Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

He is the man who served in office the longest and once the most Presidential elections in history, he is most identifiable by his initials. FDR by Jean Edward Smith shows the life of the 32nd President of the United States from his birth in high society New York to his death just months before total victory in World War II.

From the outset Smith makes the reader aware Franklin Delano Roosevelt is one of the most written about of Presidents thus giving an indication that he will not do anything new but give a new generation of readers a straightforward look into Roosevelt’s life. Three-quarters of the book is Smith’s text with the final quarter being notes and an index, but during the biography proper Smith’s footnotes are in-depth and as interesting as what is in the text proper. Smith devotes a little over a third of the biography to Roosevelt’s life before his run for the 1932 Democratic nomination thus transitioning to focusing on the final 13 years of Roosevelt’s life. During that first third, Smith not only covers Roosevelt’s life but also foreshadows how his early political career in New York would later affect his entrance to Washington politics as Assistant Secretary of State and his later New York career as Governor. While in Washington Smith shows how Roosevelt learned the ways of the city that would come in handing once he assumed the Presidency. Once on the national stage, Smith gives the political backstories to campaigns and later to battles for legislation as well as the overall atmosphere of the Great Depression of the time. Yet while Smith devotes most of the biography to Roosevelt in the White House there is no really in-depthness like some books that devote themselves entirely to an individual’s Presidency and this is telling once the U.S. enters World War II as Smith essentially says ‘FDR did not micromanage the military once he made decision to an objective and left the generals do their thing’ while barely covering his relationship with Churchill.

FDR gives a detailed—but not in-depth—look at the life of the longest-serving President in the history of the United States. Jean Edward Smith writes in an engaging style for a very readable book but with wonderful footnotes that adds to the text. For a general biography this is a must read, but those looking for political or military details this is not.

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Book Review: The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas, Donald F. Glut, & James Kahn

Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This collection of novelizations of the original trilogy of the Star Wars franchise is based on film scripts that Alan Dean Foster (ghostwriting for George Lucas), Donald F. Glut, and James Kahn used to bring the films to the printed page. Ultimately only Glut’s treatment of The Empire Strikes Back is the best of the bunch as it was readable, and the characterizations were good. Unfortunately, Dean’s Star Wars and Kahn’s Return of the Jedi while each having one good thing to them were overwhelmed by either poor writing or horrible internalization of characters along with a myriad of other issues to go along side them. I would recommend watching the films over the reading this collection if you’re a general reader, but if you want to dip your toe into the novelizations go for The Empire Strikes Back.

Star Wars by George Lucas
The Empire Strikes Back by Donald F. Glut 3/5
Return of the Jedi by James Kahn 2/5

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Story Review: Return of the Jedi by James Kahn

Return of the Jedi by James Kahn
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars

The novelization to the final film of the original trilogy came out close to the theatrical release, but hopefully those purchasing it decided to read it after seeing the film.  Return of the Jedi by James Kahn transfers the script into literature.

The novelization flows the film without any new scenes to expand the narrative of the story. Kahn wrote action scenes good, but his writing character’s internal thoughts could not even be called a mixed bag. The main trio’s internal thoughts were passable in the case of Luke, bad in the case of Han, and done right awful for Leia while Vader’s thoughts came off as someone struggling which was effective, in fact the only internal thoughts that came off well were those of Lando Calrissian. Kahn didn’t really go into how the Ewoks had all those traps set up to fight the Imperial troops, but he worded well enough that it made better sense than what was in the film.

Return of the Jedi is an okay novelization as James Kahn brought out good action scenes but came up lacking with internal thoughts. I would not recommend the novelization and suggest sticking with the film.

Book Review: Poseidon's Arrow by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler

Poseidon's Arrow by Clive Cussler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The huge leap forward in technology has the United States poised to make every submarine fleet obsolete, but the need for rare earth metals and industrial espionage put it at risk. Poseidon’s Arrow is the twenty-second book of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series and the fifth with his son Dirk, as NUMA Director Dirk Pitt finds himself attempt to protect the interests of the United States like he did back in the day.

In 1943, an Italian submarine-turned-freighter sails the Indian Ocean with material from Japanese-occupied territory headed for Germany when an American plane flies over and damages it so it can not complete its mission. In the present day, the President learns of a secret prototype attack submarine the United States is developing, but just after he learns about it a ruthless an Austrian-born multimillionaire with a vendetta plans on stealing its plans to sell to the Chinese while stopping the development of the prototype. A group of mercenaries knocks out a California mine that specializes in rare earth metals and kills an engineer and defense contractor that are developing the new sub then steal the engineers plans before also stealing one of the submarines revolutionary new engines. Dirk Pitt and NUMA enter the scene when bringing up the dead engineer’s boat only to be attacked by the mercenaries, then it is a race between the two to find first the plans then later the engine with the mercenaries always a step ahead or right on Pitt’s tail which leads to him and Al Giordino getting captured while attempting to stop a hijacking of a shipment of rare earth metals to the United States thanks to an informant. The Chinese while not opposed to paying for all the technology they can get, learn that the millionaire is stealing their rare earth metals as well and decide that enough is enough. A Chinese spy plans to destroy the millionaire’s secret refining facility alongside the Panama Canal where Pitt and Giordino were taken eventually meeting Pitt when he escapes. Pitt, alongside his children, leads a Panamanian security back to the facility just before it blows to save everyone else slaving away there when he learns that the stolen engine and plans are coming through the Canal. Pitt stops the stealing of the engine and gets back the stolen plans though doing so results in the destruction of one of the Canal’s locks. Meanwhile off Madagascar, Dirk Jr. and Summer are attacked in a NUMA submersible by a boat owned by the same antagonist after getting to shore Summer finds the remains of some of the crew of the Italian submarine as well as the boat’s logbook. After finding their father in Panama, the two’s investigation leads them to Terra del Fuego where the submarine had been washed up on shore decades after it’s last appearance. Inside, the twins find tons of rare earth metals that the United States’ purchases from Italy to complete the prototype submarine.

Once again, Dirk Cussler’s writing alongside his father brought a fun narrative to the series. Unfortunately for the second book in a row there were issues that weren’t present in the first three books that father and son cowrote. There were two major issues that were really annoying with the first being Pitt at his age and what he had gone through doing what he did during the climax especially since several books ago he complained he should not be put in those situations again. The second was that the chief mercenary instead of killing a NCIS investigator that he happened upon while stealing the engine, he takes her with him so he can have sex (rape) just so she can be in danger during the Panama Canal chase. The appearance of a Chinese spy and the regulation of Dirk Jr. and Summer to an essentially tertiary position in the story makes me fearful that Clive wants to go back to Cold War spy novels that the early books of the series had while completely forgetting why he decided to retcon the existence of twins, the age of Dirk Pitt.

Poseidon’s Arrow continues a string of good narratives written by Clive and Dirk Cussler, but for the second book in a row there are issues that while annoying doesn’t derail everything.

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Book Review: Red Country by Joe Abercrombie

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What would a fantasy western be like? Red Country the sixth book and third standalone novel of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law world answers that question in its blood-splattered pages with a cast of morally questionable characters some of whom are looking to save family, become better, and to get rich.

Shy South, her sister Ro, brother Pit, and their stepfather Lamb live on a farmstead near the little town of Squaredeal in the Near Country, a lawless and large unsettled land west of the Union ruled Starikland that is constantly in rebellion. While Shy and Lamb are in town, their farm is burned to the ground, their friend Gully murdered, and Shy’s siblings kidnapped by an indebted Grega Cantliss who plans to sell children to the Dragon People who reside in the mountains northwest of the goldrush boom town of Crease. Shy and Lamb begin chasing Cantliss’ gang and eventually find three deserters who Lamb beats up for information then kills in a tavern in Averstock to Shy’s surprise. The legendary scout Dab Sweet and his ‘associate’ Crying Rock catch up with the duo and offer them a chance to join their caravan to Crease in the Far Country that they accept. Meanwhile the Union with ‘help’ by Nicomo Cosca’s mercenary company defeats the most recent rebellion in Starikland, Cosca’s company is paid by the Inquisition to head into the Near Country to find rebels much to the chagrin of the Company’s lawyer, Temple. After sacking Squaredeal, Temple and another Company solider go into Averstock to convince the rebels to save the townspeople but Cosca sends in the Company to sack it before the time he gave them was up. Temple runs from the Company and through a series of misadventures falls into a river and is saved by Shy and allowed to join the caravan but in Shy’s debt that he must work off. The biggest incident on the trip was an attack by the Ghosts, native tribesmen, lead by Sangeed through the instigation of Sweet and Crying Rock to get money for their retirement. After fighting off the Ghosts, Lamb kills Sangeed at the negotiation leading the band retreating. Upon their arrival in Crease, Shy and Lamb learn that Cantliss is employed by Papa Ring who is feuding with The Mayor with each control one-half of the city (on either side of the only street in town). Lamb agrees to fight for The Mayor in an upcoming fight for control of the town and later learns his opponent is Glama Golden. Temple helps build a shop for one of the caravan’s participants to finish off his debt to Shy and at the party upon its completion hooks up with Shy but runs out on her when Cantiss bursts into their room to kidnap her before the fighting. Another of the caravan’s members rescues Shy during Lamb’s fight in which he goes berserk and kills Golden resulting in The Mayor winning the town. Ring is hung and Cantliss is captured to lead Shy and Lamb to the Dragon People when Cosca appears forcing a change of plans. Shy, Lamb, Dab, Crying Rock, and a few others of the caravan lead Cosca’s company now including Temple again to the Dragon People and rescue Ro and Pit along with many others as the mercenaries ransack the mountain hideaway that includes a cave full of gold. On the way back, one of the caravan’s members is found out to be the leader of the Starikland rebellion leading to the rest of the caravan members attempting to rescue him by stealing the Company’s pay wagon while Lamb fights his way into where the Inquisition is questioning him. Temple and Shy crash the wagon but are saved by the real rebel leader who takes the gold to start a new war. They return to Crease before the mercenaries and arrange a trick to convince them that the town has pledged allegiance to the slowly rising Old Empire, the Inquisition strips Cosca of leadership of the Company and head back to Starikland. Lamb returns a few days later and the family head home only for Cosca to reappear only to be killed. Upon their return to Squaredeal, Shy takes over the general store while Temple becomes a carpenter/lawyer. One day Caul Shivers appears looking for Lamb to get revenge for his brother but decides not to fight. Lamb leaves the same day for his own reasons.

The amount of morally questionable characters in this Joe Abercrombie work should not be a surprise, what is how many of them are at least trying to not be total…jerks. Shy and Temple were both fun characters to read, each having their previous screw ups to live down but also wanting something better. Seeing the return of one of Abercrombie’s best characters from the first trilogy answered the cliffhanger ending he had at the end of The Last Argument of Kings, but his years long struggle to be a better man ended when he once again became the Bloody Nine. Though I have never read a western, this had the feel of one not only with the caravan and it’s obligatory native tribesmen attack but also a goldrush boom town that its literally isn’t big enough for the two factions opposing one another. Abercrombie also shows that the overall political situation in the world is changing as the Old Empire of the original trilogy is apparently revitalized and a potential rival for the Union, yet the long shadows of the past as seen with the Dragon People means that the fantastic elements of the world are still around ready to play a role.

Red Country is the answer to the question we didn’t know to ask, what would a western be like set in Joe Abercrombie’s First Law world. The mixture of previously established and newly introduced character makes a engaging story that keeps you reading from beginning to end.

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Story Review: The Empire Strikes Back by Donald F. Glut

The Empire Strikes Back by Donald F. Glut
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The novelization of one of the greatest film sequels in history came out a month before its release on the big scene but the biggest surprise in film history didn’t hit the cultural zeitgeist. The Empire Strikes Back novelization by Donald F. Glut brings the amazing film to the page.

The novelization sticks close to the flow of the film without many extra scenes to flesh out the overall story. What could not be expressed on screen, the inner thoughts of characters and what the flow of the Force is like to name just a few, is included in the narrative and helps flesh out the overall feel of the galaxy far, far away. Due to being based on a previous draft of the script there are continuality artifacts, the biggest is Yoda who is blue. Unlike the Star Wars novelization this was a very readable adaptation resulting in completing it faster than its predecessor.

The Empire Strikes Back is a good novelization as Donald F. Glut was able bring the film to the page in a very readable manner. Though the film is preferred, the novelization is something nice to while away the time.

Book Review: Grant by Ron Chernow

Grant by Ron Chernow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The man who was Lincoln’s main military and policy instrument then ultimately his true political heir has been maligned as a martial brute to his supposedly noble opponent at the tale end of the American Civil War. Grant by Ron Chernow chronicles the life of one of—if not—the greatest general in American history.

As with many biographers, Chernow goes into generations of Grant’s family history—including alcoholism—as well as the personalities of his parents Jesse and Hannah who each shaped Grant for both good and ill. Much the biography covers Grant’s service in the Civil War and his Presidency, yet in the little over 100 pages that Chernow covers Grant’s life from his youth through West Point and career in the military including the Mexican War then his interwar civilian life. Chernow not only used these pages to chronicle the young Grant’s life, but also how the struggle of alcohol and his business naivete that would cause issues throughout the rest of his life. With the start of the Civil War, Chernow goes in-depth into how Grant his first command and then how he slowly progressed up the chain of command while dealing with the rebel soldiers but army politics. Then upon Grant’s ascent into the high councils of Washington, Chernow shows how he reassured Lincoln that he was his man and fully embraced his agenda. It was this adherence to Lincoln’s vision that ultimately led Grant to accept the Republican nomination in 1868 and his policy in the South throughout his presidency. Throughout the pages dedicated to Grant’s time in office while the scandals surrounding those individuals that he naively appointed and supported were covered but Chernow balanced it out with achievements of Grant and many of his outstanding cabinet members did during the eight years. Though devoting a little more space to the later years of Grant’s life than those prior to 1860, Chernow focused on Grant’s battle with cancer as he raced to write his memoirs then his legacy.

Chernow knowing the general view of Grant as an alcoholic that defeated Lee through manpower and resources then presiding over a scandalous presidency took his time to address during the biography via themes throughout. Grant’s battle with alcohol was a constant theme until the latter end of his presidency and post-presidency when it appears the presence of his wife Julia and Grant’s own determination essentially conquered the problem. Throughout the Civil War portion of the text Chernow examines Grant’s tactical and strategic thinking especially when he was facing off with Robert E. Lee in Virginia or more accurately tying down Lee’s army while the rest of Union forces crushed the armies opposing them and the will of rebel civilians. Chernow’s chronicling of the scandals of Grant’s presidency was firmly tied to Grant’s naivete with people and always supporting people who he believed to be his friends, something that made him a huge mark for flim-flam men of the Gilded Age. While Chernow’s biography could be seen as “revisionism” by today’s historical readers, it could also be seen as reversing the ‘Lost Cause revisionism’ that occurred during Grant’s own lifetime.

Grant is a fantastic addition to Ron Chernow’s chronicle of great American lives like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. Chernow shows that while Grant was flawed like everyone else, his status today is beginning to return to where it was after he militarily reunited the country after being diminished by those who wanted to pretend the American Civil War didn’t happen.

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Book Review: This Fiery Trial: The Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln

This Fiery Trial: The Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln by Abraham Lincoln
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This collection in the words of editor William E. Gienapp is to “provide the most direct record of his [Lincoln] ideas.” Given that Abraham Lincoln was a public individual, as hardly any of his private non-political correspondence survived, his speeches and writings not only shows his progression in eloquence and learn but how his political thoughts developed over the decades from 1831 to the end of his life. Divided into seven chapters separated by years—the first chapter covering the longest period—especially when it came to his years in the White House. Lincoln’s most famous speeches are the obvious highlights of the book, but other speeches and letters are added bonuses.

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Book Review: Crescent Dawn by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler

Crescent Dawn by Clive Cussler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Records recovered from the ancient port of Caesarea, Roman artifacts aboard a sunken Ottoman gallery off Turkey, and two murderous siblings looking to resurrect the Ottoman Empire. Crescent Dawn is the twenty-first book of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series and fourth with his son Dirk, finds the Pitt family in the eastern Mediterranean and Britain unknowing find evidence to an ancient mystery while coming across political terrorists and rogue archaeologists.

The plot begins first in 327 AD a Roman galley carrying cargo so important that a contingent of the Emperor Constantine’s own guard is aboard when it is attacked by pirates off Crete before jumping 1916 in which a British warship mysteriously explodes and sinks in the North Sea. In the present, important mosques in Egypt and Turkey are damaged by planted explosives that raise tensions amongst Muslims across the Middle East, but especially in secular Turkey where a popular fundamentalist Istanbul imam is convinced to jump into the upcoming Presidential election by Ozden Celik. Celik and his sister Maria are behind the mosque bombings are the heirs to the last Ottoman sultan and are attempting to resurrect their family’s place in the country while also grabbing up anything connected to the Ottoman family. While doing underwater explorations off Turkey and on the Israeli coasts respectfully, Dirk Pitt and Dirk Pitt, Jr., find historic discoveries but the elder Pitt’s gets him in the sights of the Celik’s due to its connection to Sulieman the Magnificent. Pitt and NUMA are instrumental in help prevent a massive terror attack in Istanbul by the Celik’s just days before the election and prevent the fundamentalist candidate from winning. Summer Pitt stumbles upon a manifest in England that dates to the time of Constantine and sheds new light on early Christianity through relics found by his mother Helena but finds herself followed and foiled by a rogue British archaeologist. It turns out all three Pitts have found things connected to the 4th century Roman gallery that is found in a cavern in Crete with numerous holy relics connected with Christ and the disciples.

This book continued the fantastic run of narratives since Dirk Cussler joined his father in writing the series, however this is the first that had some annoying plot holes. The biggest and most important for the narrative plot is how getting a fundamentalist Islamic candidate win the Presidential election of the secular republic of Turkey would lead to the Celiks once again coming to power, without really touching on this the Celiks are just psychopathic terrorist siblings of which Maria is the better character of the two. The secondary antagonist, Bannister Ridley, was a cleaver annoying—in a good way—character that added spice to the book. The Pitts being split up into individual stories before coming together at the end was smart decision because it allowed Dirk Jr. and Summer to grow as characters even though Pitt and Al Giordino continued to be the A-subplot.

Crescent Dawn continues the strong narrative installments since Dirk Cussler has joined his father in writing though a significant plot hole marred it slightly. Regardless of the usual clichés of the series, Clive Cussler’s signature franchise is going through its best stretch of books.

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Story Review: Star Wars by George Lucas

Star Wars by George Lucas

My rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Based on earlier drafts of the industry changing film of the same name, Star Wars gave readers an early view of the film that would change media forever.  Though credited to George Lucas, it was ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster to very mixed results.

Not surprisingly the novel follows the narrative of the film, but with added scenes that help flesh out some of the backstory of characters and elements of the setting.  While these aren’t surprising, what is surprising is that the novelization is based on earlier drafts of the film script and before the film was edited due to important scenes that are radically different between the two.  These differences are not entirely bad, but they could have been better if they were well written.  Throughout the novelization the writing is dry or clunky and the dialogue somewhat wooden, if not for the fact that I knew the plot of the film and was able to power through it might have taken me longer to read the story.

The novelization of Star Wars is fine as Alan Dean Foster did an admirable job in fleshing out the backstory though the overall quality of the writing isn’t his best.  Personally, I would stick with the film as the novelization does not really add to the overall narrative.

Book Review: Watership Down by Richard Adams

Watership Down by Richard Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are many rabbits in popular culture, but none of them are as tough as the rabbits in this book. Watership Down by Richard Adams chronicles a colony of survivors throughout their adventures to create a new life for themselves while avoiding predators and rabbits that have gone off the deep end.

In the Sandleford warren, Fiver, a young runt rabbit who is a seer, receives a frightening vision of his warren's imminent destruction. He and his brother Hazel fail to convince their chief rabbit of the need to evacuate, they set out on their own, accompanied by nine other rabbits who choose to go with them. After eluding the Owsla, the warren's military caste that believe they are trying to spread dissent against the chief, they make their way out into the world. Hazel quickly and suddenly finds himself the leader of the travelling group. After a series of dangerous situations, they come across a rabbit named Cowslip that invites them to join his warren. At first Hazel’s group are relieved, but soon several of them—especially Fiver—believe something is wrong which is confirmed when Bigwig is nearly killed in a snare. Fiver tells the group that Cowslip’s warren is managed by a farmer who protects and feeds the rabbits, but also harvests several of them for their meat and skins. Hazel’s group continue their journey and are joined by Strawberry, a rabbit from Cowslip’s warren. Following Fiver’s visions, the group finds a safe place to settle, the titular Watership Down. They are found by Holly, the head of the Sandleford Owlsa, and Bluebell find the group and related the violent human destruction of their former warren. Hazel soon realizes the new warren needs does or it would eventually die out. With the help of their useful new friend, a black-headed gull named Kehaar, they locate a nearby warren called Efrafa, which is overcrowded and has many does. Hazel sends a small embassy, led by Holly, to Efrafa to present their request for does. Hazel scouts the nearby Nuthanger Farm finding two pairs of hutch rabbits that express willingness to come to Watership. Hazel leads a raid on the farm the next day and rescues the does and one buck but at the cost of Hazel getting seriously injured a hind-leg. The embassy returns with news that Efrafa is a police state led by the despotic General Woundwort that they barely escaped. However, Holly's group has managed to identify an Efrafan doe named Hyzenthlay who wishes to leave the warren and can recruit other does to join in the escape. Hazel and Bigwig devise a plan to rescue Hyzenthlay's group and bring them to Watership Down; Bigwig is sent to do the mission, with infrequent help from Kehaar, and the group escape using a raft. Again, Bigwig nearly dies in the escape attempt. Once they are at Watership Down, the Efrafan escapees start their new life of freedom. Shortly thereafter, the Owsla of Efrafa, led by Woundwort himself, attacks but their surprise is ruined by Hazel’s friendship with the field mice. Through Bigwig's bravery and loyalty, and Hazel's ingenuity, the Watership Down rabbits seal the fate of the Efrafan general by unleashing the Nuthanger Farm watchdog. After the battle Woundwort is missing and Bigwig severally injured while Hazel is almost killed by one of the Nuthanger cats but saved by the farm girl Lucy. The epilogue finds Hazel visited by El-ahrairah, the spiritual overseer of all rabbits and hero of the traditional rabbit stories told over the course of the book. He invites Hazel to join his own Owsla, which Hazel does after assurance of the warren's success and its future.

How can a nearly 500-page book about rabbits be so entertaining? Is this a children’s story or just literature? Honestly, I don’t care as this book was a fantastic read from the characters to the various adventures to the unique types of warrens that Adams has the rabbits encounter and create. In any case I will never view rabbits the same again, both in a good and a bad way (they are violent little furballs).

Watership Down is a fantastic book with not only adventures but stories of adventures that inspire said rabbits. Richard Adams crafted not only a great narrative but great characters that grew throughout the book. This book was recommended this book by a friend and now I can recommend it to others as well.

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Book Review: A Country of Vast Designs by Robert W. Merry

A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent by Robert W. Merry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From a political has been to the first dark horse President candidate to the first President to preside over a war ending with the annexation of foreign territory, the last five years of James K. Polk’s life changed a lot about the United States. A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent by Robert W. Merry reveals how America’s first dark horse President came to the White House and how he changed the office and the changed the nation through expansion to the Pacific.

Merry sets the stage to cover Polk’s presidency by setting up his election in 1844 with a history of the Jacksonian era to that point and place Polk and his main opponent Henry Clay occupied in it. After two electoral defeats, Polk’s attempt at a political comeback by being presumptive Democratic nominee Martin Van Buren’s running mate is upended with John Tyler’s decision to annex Texas that eventually resulted in the pro-annexation Polk to get the Presidential nomination instead of the anti-annexation Van Buren. His close victory over Clay appeared to call for Texas annexation and passed Congress just before his inauguration in March 1845. Merry then sets about explaining how Polk obtained his four goals for his promised single term (obtaining California, settling the Oregon dispute with Britain, lowering tariffs, and creating an independent treasury). The domestic priorities were covered in a few chapters, much of the book was on Polk’s negotiation Oregon and the situation with Mexico regarding Texas annexation, the border, and later the war. Polk’s administrative talents, working relationships with his cabinet (mostly Secretary of State James Buchanan), and relationships with members of Congress from both parties were detailed throughout the historical flow of events. Merry’s overview of Polk’s place in history amongst scholars and how he is viewed by the public is examined as an epilogue to a transformative single Presidential term.

Merry’s biographical work on James Polk is probably the best part of this historical examination of his presidency followed by his explanations of the internal fissures within the Democratic Party of the mid-to-late 1840s. His interpretation of Polk’s very hands on approach to day-to-day business in the White House on top of managing a foreign war culminating in his death soon after leaving office was well established. Also, his description of the Mexican’s internal political merry-go-round and factions leading up to and throughout the war was a welcome addition to the history. However, Merry’s analysis of the Whig Party and the slavery issue in this period are major issues of the book that should caution readers. The Whigs were portrayed as an elitist only view of America that only those it would benefit supported and that Henry Clay’s American System was soundly rejected, unfortunately the likes of Abraham Lincoln would disagree that the Whig platform was for elites and today’s debating of infrastructure improvements shows that in fact Clay’s American System still influences politics today. But Merry’s attempt to push the big blowup over slavery to being a result of the war with Mexico is problematic as Polk’s victory was the result of an anti-slavery party—the Liberty Party—costing Clay votes in New York and thus the election. It also paints over the fact that for over a decade John C. Calhoun had made every issue he could be about slavery to inflame fellow Southerners and that slavery itself was a banned topic in the House of Representatives because of the gag rule.

A Country of Vast Designs shows how during one single term the United States changed its trajectory both nationally and internationally. Robert W. Merry’s while providing a good biography of James K. Polk and the internal workings of his administration, but either misunderstands or completely misrepresents the opposition and the political role of slavery during this time thus giving a false impression to those not well versed in the era.

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Book Review: The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln by Anthony Gross

Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln by Anthony Gross
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Through various sources, Anthony Gross brings together a collection of stories told by or about Abraham Lincoln. While some of them are well known, others are not and are interesting. However, some stories need a lot more context or are related to the era that getting them is somewhat hard to do. Given the number of stories that others wrote about Lincoln either say or about Lincoln after his death, it’s hard to know how many are true and not invented by those wanting to be connected slain President. Overall a nice collection, but the reader should be weary that maybe everything might not actually be Lincoln stories.

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Book Review: Artic Drift by Clive & Dirk Cussler

Arctic Drift by Clive Cussler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Global warming is causing the Artic ice sheet to melt opening the Artic Ocean for the once fabled Northwest Passage and a Canadian businessman plans to do anything including ruining relations between Canada and the United States to exploit resources in the region. Artic Drift is the twentieth book of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series and third with his son Dirk, finds NUMA navigating the quickly troubling waters around Canada to solve not only the threat facing the entire globe but peace between longtime international friends.

The plot begins in the year 1847, when the Franklin Expedition becomes stranded trying to find the Northwest Passage and they experience a harsh winter during which the men are seemingly going mad. Their stranded ships, Erebus and Terror, are loaded with a mysterious, unidentified silvery metal. The story switches to the present day as the United States is in a major energy crisis due to other nations, including Canada, restricting oil and natural gas production due to global warming. The resulting loss of northern icecap has opens resources in the Artic Ocean that a Canadian businessman, Mitchell Goyette, looks to exploit for his bottom line while publicly being seen as an environment-first businessman. Using his extensive bribery network that has ensnared the bellicosely patriotic Canadian Prime Minister and the natural resources Minister that he uses to get the fossil fuel deals he wants and sets up faux “environmental saving” businesses to hide his activities. When President initiates a nationwide effort by the government and scientists to find a solution to crisis, a scientist at George Washington University accidentally discovers a process to break down carbon dioxide but her assistant on the payroll of Goyette informs the businessman’s hitman Clay Zak who attempts to kill her. But wanting to keep the United States out of the Artic, Goyette sets up incidents that appear to be American businesses and military threatening Canadian citizens which quickly spirals into various other international incidents between the two nations almost to the verge of military action. During this Dirk Junior and Summer are studying the waters off Alaska and British Columbia when they come across a boat of dead fishermen who have all died of asphyxiation, one of whom is the brother of a Canadian wildlife scientist Trevor Miller. The three investigate the mysterious deaths under the cover of the Pitt’s NUMA & Canadian sponsored research and find Goyette’s recently opened carbon dioxide storing facility is a front for dumping it into the sea and save a cruise ship from a massive cloud of carbon dioxide. Meanwhile the GWU scientist has meal while Dirk Senior and Loren, telling them of her breakthrough and the need for a rare element in the platinum group. After Dirk Senior saves the scientist after her lab is firebombed by Zak, he goes searching for the element and finds himself in a race with Zak who is attempting to find the element as well so Goyette and corner the market. The trail leads to the Artic and the failed Franklin Expedition. Dirk Senior joins a NUMA expedition to explore ocean floor for thermal vents taking Rudy Gunn’s alongside Al Giordino and Jack Dahlgren. The NUMA ship flying under Canadian colors and avoiding various Canadian government ships get to the area where the missing expedition might have come to an end to find a Goyette owned cargo ship lead by Zak looking for the same thing. Dirk Senior and Zak confront one another in the haul of the Erebus with Zak dying and Pitt coming out very much the worse for wear, but thanks to the arrival of a U.S. sub the NUMA crew gets control of the cargo ship with evidence of the illegal activities to Alaskan waters which leads to the decrease in tensions. As the Canadian government is shaken by the bribery scandal, Trevor Miller gets revenge on Goyette in his own country club. Dirk Senior’s search for the rare element came to not, but the NUMA Artic expedition hits on a motherload of platinum group elements thus allowing the GWU breakthrough to go full speed ahead on combating carbon dioxide.

Since Dirk Cussler joined his father in writing the series, the narratives have been some of the best in the series and this book is no exception. While Dirk and his children tackle the same problem and antagonists, they do so without interaction from the other allowing their respective subplots to develop independently to independent resolutions without attempting to bring together in some complicated way. Having Dirk Senior not able to save the day though his actions were a nice change of pace, but the NUMA discovery would have played out better if the Cussler’s hadn’t changed Rudy’s character to be forgetful about bringing samples back to headquarters to be studied. Though once again the antagonist was a greedy businessman, a trope for many books now, however the main actions were caused by his hired hitman who was one of the better henchmen villains of the series. The only other complaint would be the retconning of the fuel cell technology from Trojan Odyssey that was to solve global warming, though maybe because that book was bad it was decided to ignore somethings about it.

Artic Drift continues the string of strong books that began with Dirk Cussler joined his father Clive in writing the series. Though there are the usual clichés, the overall narrative over comes these and gives the reader an enjoyable time.

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Book Review: The Promise by Gerhard F. Hasel & Michael G. Hasel

The Promise by Gerhard F. Hasel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What are Biblical covenants? What do they mean? Who initiates them? Are they conditional? In The Promise, the supplement book for the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide (2nd Quarter, 2021) originally by Dr. Gerhard F. Hasel—originally titled Covenant in Blood—though revised and updated by his son Dr. Michael G. Hasel, it’s discovered that “the Covenant” began all the way back in Eden through the ages been refined by God in fuller and greater detail beginning with Abraham and going through Sinai and leading towards Christ after the fall of Judah. All the while the Covenant is reflected in the Sanctuary, the Law, and the Sabbath as well as being reflected upon. Over the course of 127 pages, the reader learns the sure foundation of on which they stand as a child of God.

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Book Review: This is Not Florida by Jay Weiner

This Is Not Florida: How Al Franken Won the Minnesota Senate Recount by Jay Weiner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On November 4, 2008, an historic election took place that would determine policies that would affect the entire nation, but the winner wouldn’t be determined until the following June. This is Not Florida: How Al Franken Won the Minnesota Senate Recount by Jay Weiner shows how a vicious mudslinging campaign turned into a long dragged-out recount fight that put the state of Minnesota centerstage on how the Senate would operate.

To put the 2008-9 Minnesota recount in context, Weiner explains how it got to that point through the mistakes of the Franken campaign and the truly mudslinging exchanges between the two campaigns that resulted in the Obama campaign deciding not making one appearance in the state that they had in the bag. Once the recount began, Weiner explains how the Franken campaign after getting a tip to a wrongly rejected absentee ballot turned their focus to getting all legal ballots to be counted while the Coleman campaign went into “prevent defense” since they had the most votes on election night and wanted to keep it that way. These decisions at the very outset would ultimately decide the outcome of the recount in the Election Contest trial, but before that the hand recount revealed that Franken had more votes before the wrongly rejected absentee ballots were event counted and increased Franken’s lead. After Coleman challenged the results of the hand recount, his campaign’s inadequate examination of wrongly rejected absentee ballots came to rooster as the Franken campaign ran circles around them during the trial and even increased their lead through their preparation and rejecting Coleman’s initial strategy of “prevent defense”. The unanimous ruling of the three judges at the end of Election Contest trial and the unanimous ruling of Minnesota Supreme Court—after Coleman appealed—certified Franken’s victory.

This book was based on Weiner’s own coverage of the entire recount saga, but while Franken and Coleman were the candidates the really “stars” of the book were their lawyers. Drawn from around the nation—besides the local lawyers hired by the campaigns—and specializing in recounts in which they faced one another numerous times including Florida in 2000 which was always referenced to by Weiner in comparison and contrast. To Weiner the entire process of Minnesota law regarding a recount worked, but like the Secretary of State and others said afterwards the fact that legal absentee ballots were rejected showed something needed to be corrected for the future though not all the changes Weiner thought were necessary have been enacted.

With the backdrop of the 2000 Florida recount as well as a filibuster proof majority in the balance, the Minnesota recount put the state in the political crosshairs. This is Not Florida shows how and why the events of the recount happened from the perspective of a journalist who had to cover every twist and turn. Jay Weiner covers the main players and events thoroughly through a tightly written 288 pages that any political junkie will appreciate.

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Book Review: The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

War! What it is good for? To everyone there is a different answer and when all those people populate the same battlefield it adds another layer to the fight. The Heroes is the fifth book and second standalone set in Joe Abercrombie’s First Law world as old foes locked in a new war that suddenly comes down to a devastating battle for all involved.

Eight years after the end of the original trilogy, The Union and The North are at war once again, but impatience is growing on both sides. Prodded by the ancient Magi Bayaz the Union army under commander-in-chief Lord Marshal Kroy with his ally The Dogman advance towards the town of Osrung that is situated next to a Stonehenge-like structure on a hilltop named The Heroes which is on the road to the capital of the North that Protector of the North Black Dow had slowly retreated towards. Seeing the sudden change of plans of the Union, Black Dow rallies his forces that are feed up with his fighting retreat strategy. Over the course of a little more than a week as the opposing forces head towards the battlefield, fight for three days, and aftermath which results in peace are seen by six characters: Curnden Craw, the aging chief of a crew of Named Men, known to all as a real straight edge; Prince Calder, Bethod's younger son, an infamous charmer and schemer among the straightforward Northmen; Bremer dan Gorst, King Jezal's disgraced former bodyguard, and a near unstoppable one-man-army; Finree dan Brock, the venomously ambitious daughter of Lord Marshal Kroy; Corporal Tunny, a long-serving veteran and cynical profiteer, who also does his best to keep his misfit rookies alive; and finally, Beck, a young farm-lad craving to follow in his famous father’s footsteps, until his first taste of the atrocious waste of human life. By the end of the book, the Union sets up a protectorate under The Dogman while transferring its army to Styria to fight the Snake of Talon while the North regroups under the rule of King Scale as his brother Calder begins manipulating things behind the throne.

Once again Abercrombie writings a compelling narrative with very questionably moral characters, though as his arc goes throughout the book Beck appears to be the most morale character by the end which is saying something. Though not directly connected, the effects of Monza’s vengeance tour through Styria have had ramifications in the North as the two supernatural powers of the world have to contend with this third player on the game board and that effects decisions on both sides of the battle. This is seen from the beginning when Bayaz joins the Union army looking to test new weapons while getting out of a needless war in the North but with a complaint King of the North who will not go along with his rival’s plans to spread Union forces on various fronts. For those following Black Dow, the long stretches of campaigning are tiring and frankly privately agree with Calder that the North needs to rebuild again but cannot come out and say it. Added to the mix are those looking for personal glory or advancement that themselves impact the broader battle and thus effect the politics on both sides for good or ill. Over the course of 541 pages that covers roughly seven days in which three are flowing with blood these interactions as well as in the heat of battle events shape not only the battle but the world in unexpected ways.

The Heroes might focus on one battle, but Joe Abercrombie packs so much into this battle that the reader realizes that so much more is going on that they’ll want to see what the fall out years down the road will be.

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Book Review: The Complete Novels by Jane Austen

The Complete Novels by Jane Austen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The novels of Jane Austen are among some of the most beloved, most read, and most adapted from the English language. Featuring memorable characters, locations, and narratives the “big four” Austen novels—Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma—all have similar narrative clichés, but all done in unique ways that makes each story fresh. The later three novels are a mixed back of youthful inexperience (Northanger Abbey), different tone (Persuasion), and unique literary style (Lady Susan) with mixed results. Overall, this is a great collection especially as it has all four of Austen’s major works together.

Sense and Sensibility (3.5/5)
Pride and Prejudice (4/5)
Mansfield Park (3.5/5)
Emma (2/5)
Northanger Abbey (1/5)
Persuasion (3/5)
Lady Susan (2.5)

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Review: Lady Susan by Jane Austen

Lady Susan by Jane Austen
My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

A beautiful middle-aged recent widow is on the prowl for a young man for herself and one to take her despised daughter off her hands. Lady Susan is the last complete work of Jane Austen published, over 50 years after her death, in which the titular character is annoyance to her family.

Lady Susan Vernon, a beautiful and charming recent widow, visits her brother- and sister-in-law, Charles and Catherine Vernon, with little advance notice at Churchill, their country residence. Catherine is far from pleased, as Lady Susan had tried to prevent her marriage to Charles and her unwanted guest has been described to her as “the most accomplished coquette in England”. Among Lady Susan's conquests is the married Mr. Manwaring. Catherine's brother Reginald arrives a week later, and despite Catherine's strong warnings about Lady Susan's character, soon falls under her spell. Lady Susan toys with the younger man's affections for her own amusement and later because she perceives it makes her sister-in-law uneasy. Her confidante, Mrs. Johnson, to whom she writes frequently, recommends she marry the very eligible Reginald, but Lady Susan considers him to be greatly inferior to Manwaring. Frederica, Lady Susan's 16-year-old daughter, tries to run away from school when she learns of her mother's plan to marry her off to a wealthy but insipid young man she loathes. She also becomes a guest at Churchill. Catherine comes to like her—her character is totally unlike her mother's—and as time goes by, detects Frederica's growing attachment to the oblivious Reginald. Later, Sir James Martin, Frederica's unwanted suitor, shows up uninvited, much to her distress and her mother's vexation. When Frederica begs Reginald for support out of desperation (having been forbidden by Lady Susan to turn to Charles and Catherine), this causes a temporary breach between Reginald and Lady Susan, but the latter soon repairs the rupture. Lady Susan decides to return to London and marry her daughter off to Sir James. Reginald follows, still bewitched by her charms and intent on marrying her, but he encounters Mrs. Manwaring at the home of Mr. Johnson and finally learns Lady Susan's true character. Lady Susan ends up marrying Sir James herself, and allows Frederica to reside with Charles and Catherine at Churchill, where Reginald De Courcy “could be talked, flattered, and finessed into an affection for her.”

This novella is essentially the titular character playing havoc with her in-laws and their familial relations while attempting to pawn her daughter off to the richest man that will have her while looking to score an even richer man whether he is currently married or not. If this had been a full-length novel with Susan Vernon as the lead character, she would have been one of the most hated characters in the English language who is not evil incarnate. As for the other notable characters, Mrs. Vernon and Frederica were written as morale opposites to Lady Susan and came off well-written, meanwhile Reginald comes off as a fool and is played like one by Susan through much of the story.

Lady Susan was completed by Jane Austen 17 years before her more famous works were published and itself published over 50 years after her death. It’s short length is one of it’s best features as the titular character would not be someone a reader would want to follow for an entire novel.

Book Review: President McKinley by Robert W. Merry

President McKinley: Architect of the American Century by Robert W. Merry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Though nowadays overshadowed by his young, energetic successor that built upon his foreign policy successes in history, if not for his transformative Presidency the 20th Century could have gone differently for the United States. President McKinley: Architect of the American Century by Robert W. Merry explores the four and a half years of William McKinley in office and whether he led events or where led by them.

Merry begins his biography by leading up to its end, the assassination of McKinley in Buffalo at the Pan-American Exposition after the recently reelected President made a speech that seemed to show him turning towards freer trade and away from the protective tariffs that had defined his political career. After this dramatic beginning, Merry goes back to the first McKinleys to arrive in the Ohio territory where the future 25th President would live his life when not in the Union Army or in politics. Quickly going through McKinley’s early years, Merry spent a little more time following McKinley’s military career and how he rose quickly from a private to a Lieutenant within a year before finishing the war as a Major. After quickly covering McKinley’s time in law school, Merry covered his early years in Canton as a rising lawyer and meeting his future wife, Ida. As McKinley’s political career began and slowly took off, Merry slowed the pace of the narrative to give more facts including the how McKinley became a specialist on the tariff and dynamics of the Ohio Republican party that would impact his career. Once McKinley is in the White House, Merry slows down the narrative and focuses on the eventual four and a half years the redefined the United States at the end of the 19th Century leading to the 20th on the world stage from the lead up to and through the Spanish-American War to the Insurgency in the Philippines afterwards and the Boxer Rebellion in which the United States became a Great Power. Though McKinley’s time in office is now viewed as more foreign policy Presidency, McKinley himself had wanted to focus domestically more and Merry covered the many issues at home from the tariff to the gold standard to anti-imperialist sentiment that McKinley dealt with.

Merry began and ended his Presidential biography with how McKinley having been reelected based on his accomplishments of his first term was evolving his long-held political positions to meet new requirements to set up and complete his view of McKinley making decisions then incrementally push the political attitudes of others towards supporting his new position. Throughout Merry’s look at McKinley’s time in office, he showed evidence of McKinley’s incremental decision making and its high success rate but also the times when events moved too fast and how McKinley dealt with those events. Though focused on McKinley’s time in office more than the rest of his life, Merry’s biographical background of McKinley before his Presidency was fine but at times went back and forth in time during his political career that made things hard to follow and anticipate.

President McKinley is a well-written, informative political biography by Robert W. Merry of the 25th President’s time in office and how he made the decisions he made. While not a thorough biography of McKinley, it succeeds at it’s aim at covering the four and a half years that dramatically changed the United States standing in the world.

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