Book Review: The Buzz on Professional Wrestling by Scott Keith

The Buzz on Professional Wrestling by Scott Keith
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Coming in at roughly 217 pages in an oversized format, The Buzz on Professional Wrestling was published just weeks before the 90s Wrestling Boom ended and began a slow declined thanks to the WWE monopoly. After spending a little time on “wrestling 101” and a “history of wrestling” (up to 1984), author Scott Keith then dedicated the rest of the book to look at pro wrestling from 1984—and the start of the WWF Golden Age—to sometime in 2000, covering both WWF (now WWE) and WCW through biographical sketches of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Sting, Steve Austin, Goldberg, and many others. The first time I read this book all the way back in 2001, I thought this book was pretty good, however after 20+ years during which I learned a lot more from other sources I can say this book is awful. There are a lot of issues from poor editing and basically lying about things people supposedly did, namely Hulk Hogan—who has done a lot of shady stuff in the business and in real life not covered in this book—who it turns out did not do everything Keith accused him of. Basically, this book was a cash grab in The Buzz on series to get in on the wrestling boom but given how bad it was written I’m happy that it was published just before the wrestling business cooled off and no one was interested anymore.

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Book Review: Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion by V.S. Naipaul

Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion by V.S. Naipaul
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A life-long bachelor a few years from retirement and without achievement in his career drastically changes everything in a few sudden bursts of inspiration. Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion is a novella by V.S. Naipaul detailing the how an average man achieved the one great achievement in his life.

The titular character is a middle management lifer in the late 1950s/early 1960s London with retirement slowly getting closer when he suddenly falls for a twice widowed woman and during a holiday finds inspiration to create a program for retirees for his company. Naipaul creates a mediocre man living an eccentrically self-regulated life that suddenly changes everything up not once but twice and sees how things turn out. The pacing is pretty good and the second characters alright, but Naipaul excelled in portraying his main character’s arc which was both triumphant—albeit all too brief—and sad all too predictable when you look at the whole novella.

Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion is only 126 pages long, but V.S Naipual shows the humdrum of a middling man whose one burst of inspiration is just a blip in his life.

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Book Review: The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The fallout from the first Nilfgaardian war is affecting politics and future war plans only for a certain white-haired individual to interfere. The Time of Contempt is the second Witcher novel by Andrzej Sapkowski sees Geralt, Yennifer, and Ciri come together at a conclave of magicians only for things to go to hell.

Throughout the book there is a sense that things are happening but the characters and thus the readers only see what’s happening to them until everything hits the fan. Sapkowski builds the events up slowly as the main characters come together on the Isle of Thanedd for a conclave of mages when two coups, one supported by the Nilfgaardians and the other by the Northern Kings who are planning covert action about the Nilfgaardians as well. The entire book feels more coherent than Sapkowski’s previous outing as the main narrative took over 60% of the book while aftermath took up the rest especially as Ciri makes an important decision near the end of the novel. Though there is a quick succession of point-of-view narratives across the continent, they are framed in a conversation between Dandelion and Geralt providing a better flow than the previous book. Thanks to a series by the YouTube channel Wizards and Warriors, I have a rough idea of the political and physical landscape of the continent which helped to understand where things were because there is no map which is the only thing that takes away from Sapkowski’s world building. Overall, this is a better book than the previous novel and makes me look forward to the rest of the series.

The Time of Contempt is an improvement on the opening novel but with the same great action and character development thus making me interested in where Andrzej Sapkowski takes things.

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Book Review: Tribal Bigfoot by David Paulides

Tribal Bigfoot by David Paulides
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Following up his initial investigation into Bigfoot incidents and witnesses, a former police investigator expanded his search area in northern California as well as expanding out to Minnesota and Oklahoma. Tribal Bigfoot is David Paulides follow up to his first book, The Hoopa Project, in which he gathers more evidence and proposes a new theory about bigfoot today.

Expanding his research area to the northern California countries surrounding the Hoopa Valley, Paulides methodically examined the terrain and wildlife before looking for witness testimony for the viability of bigfoot in the area. Like his previous book Paulides spends most of his time going over the witness testimony—which are back up by affidavits—followed by his personal observations of the area where the incident(s) took place in each interview. Once again Paulides hired law enforcement forensic artist Harvey Pratt to draw sketches from the memories of witnesses he interviewed, and it is the result of these sketches and local Native American knowledge that Paulides made his big conclusion at the end of the book. Paulides believes that bigfoot isn’t an ape as some researchers believe but a homininan that can reproduce with humans which seems to be showing with the amount of a more human-looking bigfoot seen by witnesses than the ape-looking bigfoot of the Patterson-Gimlin footage. Like his previous book Paulides’ is a little dry in his style though his writing did improve as did his referencing between witness accounts.

Tribal Bigfoot continues David Paulides’ research into bigfoot in northern California as well as glance at Minnesota and Oklahoma. The book not only contains Paulides well done research, but also a theory that bigfoots and humans can produce offspring.

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Book Review: Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The two most powerful nations on Earth are reaching for the stars when suddenly the stars reach down, and everyone waits. Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke is one of the most important novels of “the golden age of science fiction” with its surprising twist and interesting ending.

Given the time the book was published and how Clarke projected the “future” timeframe that the story took place, it didn’t hurt the overall story. The benevolent alien contact trope, but with a unique hidden agenda twist was good as well. The surprise twist of the appearance of the aliens was cool, though the later explanation at the end about how their appearance was ingrained in human consciousness was disappointing though it went with the ending of the book. Clarke’s point-of-view characters were a bit flat just there to move the narrative along, which overall was fine. Yet it was Clarke’s prologue for the 1990 edition—which I read—unfortunately undermined the story even before I had begun that I wish that Clark had decided to make it an epilogue. Overall, I thought this novel was okay, I wasn’t dissuaded from reading other of Clarke’s works.

Childhood’s End is one of science fiction’s most important works from its golden age and put Arthur C. Clarke on the literary map.

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Book Review: Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski

Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The child is hunted because of her lineage and the power in her blood, yet she is under the protection of a man mutated to protect people from monster beasts. Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski is the first novel of The Witcher series as the titular character Geralt of Rivia looks after Ciri, the child of destiny and heir of Cintra.

Set in the aftermath of a war of conquest a few years before, the story sees Geralt and Ciri—a politically neutral witcher and the fugitive princess of conquered Cintra—navigate the new political order was one looks to find those looking for his ward and eliminate them while learns not only to fight but her magical potential. The novel feels like a string of Sapkowski’s short stories that at first seemed to be linked towards a narrative climax, but suddenly in the middle of the book things just get fractured into different storylines and timeframes with no narrative cohesion nor a satisfying stopping point in the arcs begun in the book. Overall Sapkowski’s action scenes and world building are very good, but the biggest fault is the randomization of narratives that are just introduced haphazardly chronologically in the flow of the book.

Blood of Elves is an okay start of The Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski as it has good action scenes and background worldbuilding, but its overall structure especially in the second half of the book muddies things.

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Book Review: Daniel 11and the Medieval Divided Kingdoms by Perry F. Louden

Daniel 11 and the Medieval Divided Kingdoms: The Struggle between Rome and Constantinople for Church-State Supremacy by Perry F. Louden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The study of the books of Daniel and Revelation have been a hallmark of Adventism, yet in the former book there is one passage that keeps on mystifying researchers but there might be an answer. Daniel 11 and the Medieval Divided Kingdoms by Perry F. Louden proposes a different interpretation for passages of Daniel 11 that have long been debated.

The interpretation of Daniel 11:23-29 has always brought confusion to students of Biblical prophecy including Adventists. Louden using principles of interpretation consistent with Adventist theological history to bring forth his hypothesis that these verses take place between the fall of Imperial Rome and the wounding of the Papacy in 1798. The main feature of these verses that feature the continuing struggle between the Kings of the North and the South is that they represent two different church-state unions, one in which the church dominates that represents Papal Rome and the other in which the state dominates that represents the Byzantine Emperors.

While Louden’s proposition is sound and worth further study for those interested in it, his overall presentation in the book and trivial historical inaccuracies that do not undermine but could raise questions to his conclusions are issues. While the latter issue could be fixed with better editing and fact checking, those inaccuracies while not undermine his overarching proposal could cause some individuals to dismiss it out of hand without giving it any consideration. It is the presentation that Louden uses that is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed. While there are publishing errors that have footnotes covering the bottom lines of some paragraphs, page 44 most notably, the main issue was with how Louden presented his interpretations of Daniel 11: 20-39 in Chapters 6 and 9. Louden presents each verse and his suggested interpretation but then he presents a “Parallel Text” verse that can confirm his interpretation, but Louden only briefly touches upon these parallel texts in Chapter 4 of his book and no where in that chapter or at the beginning of 6 or 9 does he say he will be including those texts during his main interpretation presentation or for what reason. Thus, the reader can get confused about what is going on, if like myself, they had to put the book down for a few days before continuing to read and suddenly am dealing with these very confusing chapters. I was able to get through these parts of the book by completely ignoring the “Parallel Text” parts and focus on the main presentation then went back to discovery the reason for those “Parallel” sections but at no point did Louden really prepare the way for their inclusion at the heart of his presentation nor why they were important.

This is not to say Daniel 11 and the Medieval Divided Kingdoms should be ignored by Adventist readers interested in studying the issue Perry F. Louden highlights. I think Louden’s hypothesis should be studied and discussed, however I want to warn future readers—at least of the 2021 edition of the book—that the presentation Louden put forward was not the best and to give assistance for when they read the book.

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Book Review: The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson

The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A man decided to agree to a request from his mentor and now he is on the run for his life while unable to fight even though he is a Knight Radiant. The Sunlit Man is a standalone Cosmere novel by Brandon Sanderson that sees a familiar face from Roshar finding himself mixed up with a culture in conflict on a weirdly Invested planet.

A man called Nomad, known to longtime Cosmere fans as Sigzil, arrives on the small planetoid of Canticle on the run from the Night Brigade who want him so they can find the bearer of the Dawnshard he had briefly held. Unfortunately for him the planet is small, and the sun’s light is so intense that it burns and melts the land as well as vaporizes humans. Sigzil soon finds himself caught up in an ongoing rebellion of humans from the floating city of Beacon from the tyrant Cinder King who rules over the large floating city of Union. For most of the novel, Sigzil is the narrator while a native character named Elegy gets a point-of-view near the climax to show all the action that is happening. As a result, the narrative is tight as the reader gets an idea about why Sigzil is so different than when we last saw him and in a far future era of the Cosmere so different than seen before. As usual Sanderson’s worldbuilding and his characters are fantastic while a thrilling climax to the story is just icing on the cake. Give the time period the story takes place in, Sanderson only drops hints about events in various series that have yet to be seen so while Sigzil as the main character is a spoiler that he’ll survive the upcoming fifth Stormlight book and space travel by various cultures there is no massive spoiler that will make anyone mad. It took me a while to read this book, mostly due to real life issues but once I was able to sit down and read the last half the book, it was done in just two days and just shows that when Sanderson is on his game the quality of the work keeps you very much engaged.

The Sunlit Man is a fast-paced novel that only seems to gain momentum as the pages turn with fantastic Sanderson worldbuilding and fleshing out a known secondary character given the spotlight while keeping as yet unseen events hidden from the reader.

Book Review: Deceptions of World War II by William B. Breuer

Deceptions of World War II by William B. Breuer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The most destructive war in history and like all wars there were deceptions used by both sides to gain an advantage on the battlefield. Deceptions of World War II by William B. Breuer goes over various incidents of espionage and military trickery before and during the global conflict.

Over the course of roughly 240 pages, Breuer relates stories and anecdotes of incidents of underhand dealings, spying, and military intrigue surrounding World War II from both sides of the conflict. While some of them were interesting and worth reading about, many couldn’t be classified the same. Obviously what one person thinks is a deception could be different from someone else’s but to me when I think of deceptions in the context of a military conflict dropping spies behind enemy lines—while important to a military’s overall strategy—isn’t on the same level as the operations to create a phantom army to mask Operation Overlord or Operation Mincemeat neither of which were even mentioned in this book. And either Breur or his editors left in tiny mistakes that were factually incorrect with one of the most egregious being a line that said the Chief of German military intelligence was working for the British. So, while a nice book to pass the time overall I wasn’t impressed.

Deceptions of World War II is a slender volume of stories and anecdotes about the cloak-and-dagger events of the global conflict, but to me a lot didn’t feel like “deceptions”.

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Book Review: Endless Night by Agatha Christie

Endless Night by Agatha Christie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A piece of land in rural Britain is said to be cursed due to a tribe of gypsies being forced from it for a house to be built that was the scene of several mysterious deaths, now there are new owners. Endless Night by Agatha Christie follows the account of Michael Rogers whose fateful encounter with said property momentarily brought happiness then pain.

The story is a first-person narrative from Michael’s point of view, which in the mystery genre means he solves the death which centers the mystery, is the killer of said mystery, or is set up as a patsy at the end. Throughout the book Christie gives subtle clues that only become apparent at the climax, yet from the beginning there was a sense of doom that lingered for the entire narrative. Yet it was this depressing feeling, which for me affected my view of the book as while I was interested in how it was going it in my enjoyment of the reading was frankly nonexistent. Frankly it was a good mystery and very well-written but that depressed feeling for some reason stayed with me even when not reading which made the overall experience negative for me.

Endless Night is one of Agatha Christie’s favorites of her own works and is critically acclaimed, while I acknowledge it’s a good story and well-written the overall experience wasn’t for me.

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Book Review: The Games Do Count by Brian Kilmeade

The Games Do Count: America's Best and Brightest on the Power of Sports by Brian Kilmeade
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

They are known for their accomplishments on stage, on screen, in the political arena, the newsroom, and the boardroom, not on the athletic field but that doesn’t mean they didn’t “suit up” as kids. The Games Do Count by Brian Kilmeade collects the reflections from over—or about—70 individuals, including the author, about their time playing sports as kids shaped their futures once their competitive time on the field came to an end.

Kilmeade’s inspiration for this book was a segment he began one Saturday afternoon for his shift on an all-sports radio station in Los Angeles for listeners to phone in and talk about their own sports experiences, resulting in a flood of calls for people reliving their memories growing up and more than a few saying how their time helped them later in life. A decade later, Kilmeade thought the concept would work by interviewing well-known actors, singers-musicians, politicians, and television personalities about how sports affected their non-playing professional careers. Published in the 00s, some of those interviewed aren’t well known today as they were then or whose time in the political spotlight is long gone as well as the fact that many had a connection with Fox News at the time due to Kilmeade co-hosting Fox and Friends, and a few from family or friends about those who had recently passed. Overall Kilmeade wrote some great early life sketches based on the interviews he conducted with Robin Williams and Bernie Mac standing out to me. Because it’s been almost twenty years since publication some of the individuals have passed away—the aforementioned Williams and Mac along with President George H.W. Bush—or some individuals have destroyed their own reputations and careers since along with some active athletes that were mentioned throughout the book namely Lance Armstrong.

The Games Do Count is a nice collection of briefs snapshots of the early years of famous individuals and how sports shaped who they became before they transitioned to their non-playing careers.

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Book Review: Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals by David Hume

Enquiries Concerning the Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals by David Hume
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

One of the best-known modern philosophers wrote his masterpiece at a young age, it wasn’t well received at the time and to being important to Western philosophy, and so David Hume decided to do something to get his thoughts talked about. Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals are two pieces that Hume wrote from sections of his most famous work to enlarge and make them well known thus putting his name out into the philosophical community.

The two Enquiries are essentially extracts and revisions of sections from his A Treatise of Human Nature, his anonymously published most important work that was not received well and very long. In all honestly, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding was to me were words that signified nothing. Every statement and argument Hume put forward neither interested me nor really was convincing and his section “On Miracles” was nothing more than a circular argument that just wasted my time. An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals was not much better, while I understood Hume’s thinking, I just didn’t understand the reason for the entire piece existing and frankly the four Appendixes that were attached where the best part of what Hume wrote. The publishers decided to include A Dialogue in the book, and it was probably the best piece in the entire book as I took it as satire and if not, I don’t care because those 20 pages were better than the previous 326. Frankly I had hoped for Hume to contrast or compliment John Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and while I felt Locke was a bit bloated, at least I cared about what he wrote unlike Hume.

Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals are two of David Hume’s work combined in the same book, I read them and felt like I wasted my time.

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Book Review: The Story of Egypt by Joann Fletcher

The Story of Egypt by Joann Fletcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It was a civilization that lasted so long that its last independent ruler lived closer to us today than when its most defining structural achievements were built. The Story of Egypt: The Civilization that Shaped the World by Joann Fletcher shows the cultural development around the Nile that led to political and religious institutions that stood alone for nearly four millennia until it was absorbed by multinational, culture reshaping empire.

One blurb on the book stated that Fletcher wrote a “revisionist history” of Ancient Egypt, with that mind the only thing that could truly be considered “revisionist” is that it turns out that half the Egyptians were women and there was more than one female pharaoh (Hatshepsut) before the Ptolemies—in fact at least ten. Throughout the book Fletcher essentially goes ruler to ruler so how the political and religious life of the nation changed or stayed the same throughout the centuries. Given Fletcher has only the records of the elite, it hard for her to cover the life of the ordinary people through as time progresses even ordinary people learned to write and as that happened, she would mention it. Where there is not academic consensus on the chronological front, Fletcher puts forward her interpretation which to me wouldn’t be considered revisionist as that would be more a theory from knowledgeable academic who is putting her two cents in as every other academic is doing. As stated above the “revisionist” issue revolved around how much women were involved in the political and religious life of the ruling class, Fletcher throughout the book laid out how royal women were integral to maintaining political and religious power and legitimacy for pharaohs. Along with that Fletcher brought a new interpretation into the led up and consequences of Akhenaten’s monotheistic revolution, which while I don’t consider revisionist was a new spin on things that I felt shined a new light on events. Throughout the book the quotes Fletcher used from other sources were in quotation marks but without any footnote or reference number so when you looked in the back for any information you must remember the wording of the quote to find the source which wasn’t very efficient. Fletcher’s references to early 20th-century Egyptologists that put the male-spin on Egyptian culture while not full snarky were close even though I understood the point she wanted to bring across, it could have been worded it differently to get the same thing across. Yet, these two things can’t truly harm the overall quality of this history of Ancient Egypt.

The Story of Egypt brings the millennia of a ancient nation’s history into a readable form. While Joann Fletcher looks at that history from another angle, it’s only “revisionist” if you can’t come at this book with an open mind.

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Book Review: The Book of Daniel by Elias Brasil de Souza

The Book of Daniel by Elias Brasil De Souza
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Daniel is both a beloved and confusing book for Christians, the former because of such stories as the fiery furnace and the lion’s den but the latter when dealing with the prophecies that make up half the book. The Book of Daniel, the supplement book for the Adult Sabbath Bible Study Guide (1st Quarter 2020) by Elias Brasil de Souza covers a chapter of Daniel per lesson bringing out important items in the text itself and how it relates for us today either in our personal lives or how God is in control even as things appear to be chaotic in the world. At 144 pages, this has been longest supplemental book I’ve read as the author was given the freedom to work more when dealing with the prophecies in Daniel 7-12:4 especially for Chapter 11 which is one of the most challenging prophecies to interpret. While not recommended for an intensely in-depth study of Daniel, this is a perfect quick and easy study of the book for anyone.

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Book Review: Texas Bigfoot by Lyle Blackburn

Texas Bigfoot: History, Legends, and Modern Encounters in the Lone Star State by Lyle Blackburn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For those who do not live in Texas, what comes to mind when it’s mentioned? Deserts, plateaus, maybe the southern edge of the Great Plains and its prairies? All places one doesn’t associate with Sasquatch/Bigfoot, but all those locations are in the western part of the state and the eastern part of the state is very wet and woody. Texas Bigfoot by Lyle Blackburn sees the author tackle the legendary stories and modern-day encounters of the Lone Star state.

In roughly 230 pages, Blackburn covers many encounters of Texas residents coming across evidence of some other bipedal inhabitant of their state. While most of the book focuses on the eastern portion of the state, which sees almost a dozen rivers either flow into the Gulf of Mexico or eventually into the Mississippi, Blackburn surprises with a few reported sightings in the far west of the state that are hard to explain away. Blackburn, a Texas native, had only touched a little of the state’s history of Sasquatch encounters in a previous publication and lightly into the northeast corner of the state when discussing Boggy Creek in his first book. While Blackburn retreads some territory, he overall focuses on incidents he had never written about before to keep this book unique and doesn’t overdue the drive-by sightings like in another publication. Given the author’s easy to read prose plus all the informative encounters, this was another great read.

Texas Bigfoot explores the history of Sasquatch in the Lone Star State that Lyle Blackburn brought together from old news reports, Bigfoot research groups, and personal investigations to allow readers to come to their own conclusions.

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Book Review: The Renaissance by Will Durant

The Renaissance by Will Durant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Italian Renaissance began in during the Middle Ages and with the Reformation in northern Europe ended the Middle Ages and brought about the beginnings of the Early Modern world that we live with today. The Renaissance is the fifth volume of Will Durant’s The Story of Civilization series as he explores the history, culture, and artistic achievements of the various Italian polities from Venice and Milan in the north to Florence and Rome in the center and Naples in the south and such individuals as Petrarch, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Titian.

Taking up the historical narrative where he left off in the previous volume, Durant presents a wide-ranging survey of nearly three centuries worth of events, individuals, and artistic accomplishments while putting them all in context with one another. Not since the volume focusing on Greece has Durant’s prose brought across his excitement for covering a subject, mostly because of his meticulous descriptions on the artistic accomplishments of so many individuals that includes not only the very well-known to those we might only read about in this volume. Yet those lesser-known individuals are given such a treatment by Durant that readers could quickly search for images of their work on the Internet today to see why he is so passionate about them. Given Durant’s issues with problematic language and his seeming contempt of religion in previous volumes, those issues didn’t really come up until close to the end of the volume with the emergence of the domination of the Italian peninsula by the Spanish at the conclusion of the Italian Wars with Valois France.

The Renaissance features the best aspects of Will Durant’s prose as he lovingly gushes over the accomplishments of nearly three centuries of Italian culture even as it was politically divided which would lead to its eventual subjection to foreign rule.

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Book Review: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An orphan raised harshly by her non-blood related aunt, survived a harsh boarding school, became a governess only to be ogled by a man twice her age who is already married, and she’s not even alive two decades. Jane Eyre by Charlette Bronte is a first-person novel of a woman recounting her early life in Victorian England.

While I appreciated the first-person narrative and thought the story was fine, it was the clichés that took me out of this novel overall. Whether it was that the clichés are somewhat dated today or just didn’t hook me or the overall romance aspect just didn’t click thus making them fall flat I haven’t decided. Without any knowledge of what would happen in this book I guessed that Jane and Rochester’s first wedding wouldn’t go off, mainly because basically a third of the book was left. The Chekov’s gun that was Jane’s paternal uncle’s fortune was waiting to be dropped and the twist of Jane being saved by and later befriending her disinherited cousins resulted in a “meh”. After I finished, I didn’t feel like I wasted my time, but I have no interest in ever reading this book again as well.

Jane Eyre is a first-person narrative romance that many put on par with one or more Jane Austen novels, however I would not.

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Book Review: Ephesians by John K. McVay

Ephesians by PhD John K. McVay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The book of Ephesians is only six chapters long, but Paul packs in so much that it takes three months just to scratch the surface. Ephesians, the supplement book for the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide (3rd Quarter 2023) by John K. McVay covers every verse of the book through 14 short chapters that tease out the meaning of Paul’s message in those passages. Coming in at 128 pages, this book is an excellent way to study one of the Apostle Paul’s most important letters.

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Book Review: The Spirit of the Laws by Montesquieu

The Spirit of the Laws by Montesquieu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A French aristocrat spent his life looking at the laws of various people, though mostly those of his native country, to develop political theories related to different governments that would influence the coming “Age of Revolution”. The Spirit of the Laws by Montesquieu is a treatise on political theory that covers a large range of topics including law, social life, and the study of anthropology that would change the way people would look at the development of government.

In a little over 700 pages Montesquieu covers a lot of material but three major themes throughout this treatise that influenced readers of his time and up to the modern day. Those three themes were the classification of political systems and the “principles” that motivate them and that the lack of means they don’t endure, the political liberty that is defined as personal security especially that provided by system of dependable and moderate laws, and the development of political sociology in which geography and climate interact with particular cultures to produce a spirit of the people that influences their politics and laws. Based on these themes Montesquieu pleads for a constitutional system of government with separation of powers, the preservation of legality and civil liberties, and the end of slavery. At times the material Montesquieu covers could be somewhat tedious especially close to the end of the treatise as he covered the transition of French institutions from the Frankish conquest of Gaul to the medieval French monarchy. Yet even with that tediousness the reader gets the thoroughness in which Montesquieu dedicated a lifetime of study to produce this treatise, which influenced the American Founding Fathers, French republicans, and others around the world.

The Spirit of the Laws is the life’s work of Montesquieu, a pioneering work on comparative law, but a treatise on political theory that would be influential almost immediately after it’s publication and be relevant to this day.

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Book Review: Exploring Galatians and Ephesians by George R. Knight

Exploring Galatians and Ephesians by George R. Knight
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The two books are back-to-back in the New Testament, but they represent the earliest and one of—if not the—last epistles that the Apostle Paul wrote to the churches that stress theology and then living ethically. Exploring Galatians & Ephesians: A Devotional Commentary by George R. Knight explains how these two books each focus on a particular element of the theology of salvation and how to live as a Christian.

Knight divided both Galatians and Ephesians into 25 segments each, allowing him to not only explain each passage within the context of the specific book but within the rest of the Bible as well providing commentary about what the passage means for us today. Throughout Knight stresses throughout Galatians Paul’s message of justification by faith and how we are to live with that knowledge all after defending his original message and apostleship; while focusing on Ephesians Knight notes Paul’s emphasis how God’s grace for an individual’s salvation is equal for everyone and thus puts all believers into a new community, they must live up to no matter their position while on Earth. Though Knight doesn’t emphasize this, Galatians as the first of the epistles reveals Paul’s insistence on the basics of the faith while Ephesians as potentially Paul’s final message is that for a mature believer thus providing an interesting symmetry.

Exploring Galatians & Ephesians is an excellent commentary and devotional by George R. Knight that gives an in-depth understanding of two of Paul’s most important epistles and how their contents apply to us today.

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Book Review: Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski

Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Geralt of Rivia is a witcher, a human given up as a child to be supernaturally mutated so as to fight monsters that endangered humanity, but he is a “dying” breed. Sword of Destiny is the second story collection by Andrzej Sapkowski that follows the adventures of Geralt in a chronological fashion that will lead to the main Witcher Saga.

The six stories in the collection are loosely linked in chronology and two are directly linked to one story in the previous collection that will bear directly on the upcoming Saga. Throughout the stories, Geralt becomes more complex, and his world gets bigger through a lot more human, as we see that the witchers overall had been doing their job very well. Yet it’s the last two stories that are directly linked with one another as the reader is introduced to Ciri, whose existence was hinted at in the previous volume. Half of the stories are very good with the beginning and final stories among them, though the best of the lot was “Eternal Flame”. Only one story was just fine and that was “A Shard of Ice” which features Geralt and his relationship with Yennifer and a major downgrade to their story in the previous volume. Overall Sapkowski gave Geralt more character and weaved together various story threads that the reader will be looking forward to seeing how they develop in the bigger Witcher Saga.

Sword of Destiny is a good collection of short stories with half of the stories very good and only that was “just fine”.

The Bounds of Reason (4/5)
A Shard of Ice (2.5/5)
Eternal Flame (4.5/5)
A Little Sacrifice (3/5)
The Sword of Destiny (3.5/5)
Something More (4/5)

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Book Review: 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline

1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed: Revised and Updated by Eric H. Cline
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Their world was connected through trade, diplomacy, and cultural cross-pollination but within a lifetime everything changed. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed sees Eric H. Cline unveil the prosperous Late Bronze Age of the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean, the Fertile Crescent, and Egypt and theorizes about how they disappeared from history or were weakened apparently out of nowhere.

Using a variety of disciplines, from archaeology to linguistics, Cline shows the reader the world of the Late Bronze Age and the cultures that dominated it and their relationships with one another in an ever-increasing interconnectedness. Yet as Cline goes on to show this interconnectedness was also it’s down fall as natural disasters, climate change, internal and external migration, and numerous other factors that could have been weathered individually created a “perfect storm” of events that caused the international system to collapse. Cline doesn’t shy away from engaging in the long-held belief that the “Sea Peoples” were responsible for the collapse but shows how those migrates were reacting to the world falling apart and either taking advantage or running away to find stability. Throughout 187 pages, Cline packs in a lot of facts and speculations besides the confirmed history on events that could point to the truth of Troy and maybe the Exodus, though his speculation on the latter is weaker than the former.

1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed is a very fact dense book that is aimed for a general audience, but inquisitive and ready to get into nitty gritty of knowledge. Eric H. Cline knows his subject and is able to communicate it fairly well on page, but not as well as he comes across in lectures or presentations.

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Book Review: Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An Arab ambassador finds himself headed to the lands of the Northmen against his will to help fight an evil menace. Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton is a historical fiction retelling of the Old English poem Beowulf as seen through the eyes of real-life noted Arab traveler Ahmad ibn Fadlan.

Conceived to make the story of the hero Beowulf not boring, Crichton combined the real-life experiences of a historical traveler and imagined how he would have written an account of the original poem in his own style. Narrated as if a scientific commentary on an old manuscript, Crichton created an interesting take the well-known story as well as making the antagonists relic Neanderthals which at the time of the original publication were emerging from under the shadow of the Victorian description of “brutish primitives”. Given my reading of annotated history texts, I found this book right down my personal lane and the fact that I watched the adaptation, The 13th Warrior, meant that it would have had to be awful for me to dislike it.

Eaters of the Dead is a different way to look at the epic tale of Beowulf and was impressively written by Michael Crichton.

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Book Review: The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

He is a beast hunter given supernatural abilities at a young age to battle wild beasts and monsters, he is a witcher and his name is Geralt of Rivia. The Last Wish is the short story collection by Andrzej Sapkowski that follows the adventures of his creation Geralt and the world he lives in.

The seven stories are connected via “The Voice of Reason” which is used as a framing story as either the aftermath of the Sapkowski’s original short story, “The Witcher”, or as an introductory device for the other stories before ending the collection. All the stories a good, though the standouts are clearly “A Gain of Truth”, “A Question of Price”, and the collection’s titular story, “The Last Wish”. Geralt instantly comes across as interesting character that the reader would want to follow and over the course of the collection, the reader is introduced to other great characters that Geralt interact with some of which will be important later in Sapkowski’s larger saga. Using Slavic mythology given his Polish background, Sapkowski bring additional creatures to the reader attention that is usually more familiar with Western European fantasy tropes and Sapkowski’s use of twisting or subverting known fairy tales and tropes gives another dimension to his writing.

The Last Wish turned out to be a great way to be introduced to Andrzej Sapkowski’s world of The Witcher.

The Witcher (3.5/5)
A Grain of Truth (5/5)
The Lesser Evil (3/5)
A Question of Price (4.5/5)
The Edge of the World (3.5/5)
The Last Wish (4.5/5)
The Voice of Reason (3.5/5)

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Book Review: The Age of Faith by Will Durant

The Age of Faith by Will Durant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The death of two men bookends the Middle Ages, one transformed the Roman Empire by injecting Christianity into the government and the other was the man who ended the reign of Latin in the literature of Italy to produce the greatest of medieval Christian books. The Age of Faith is the fourth volume of Will Durant’s The Story of Civilization series focusing on the end of the Western Roman Empire, the rise of Christian Europe, the zenith and slow decline of Byzantium, the birth and stagnation of Islamic civilization, and the continued resilience of Jewish faith and culture.

Unlike the previous volumes of the series, Durant does not need a prologue to introduce anything as the volume beings where the ends the death of Constantine. Over the course of a millennium from the death of the first Christian emperor to the death of Dante the champion of vernacular Italian and champion of the dream of a unified Italy. For Durant this millennium isn’t all about Christianity, but the rise and continuation of the Abrahamic religions so the rise of Islam and the blooming of Islamic civilization as well as the continuation of Judaism are significant portions of the volume and whose contributions would be interwoven into the medieval fabric in the 12th and 13th centuries. However, three-quarters of the volume shows how Christianity fought against, preserved, and built upon the classical heritage of Greece and Roman to form medieval Christendom in culture, science, art, and political theories. Yet, as with previous volumes Durant’s word usage can be problematic though as well as distaste for religion when comparing/contrasting it to philosophy even though he praises the sincerity of those that live their faith while showing the twists and turns of theological development that intertwined what those in power thought was orthodoxy in opposition to those who thought differently. Durant demonstrates that modern Europe is essentially still medieval either as it’s extension of classic antiquity that would birth the Renaissance or it’s civilized barbarity that would bring about a Reformation.

The Age of Faith was a millennium of decline, rebirth, preservation, innovation, of change and stability that was needed in Will Durant’s view before the coming of an “age of reason” that would bring about modernity.

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Book Review: Blood Stain (Volume Four) by Linda Sejic

Blood Stain, Volume 4 by Linda Šejić
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Elliot ‘Elly’ Torres has been hired officially as Vlad Stein’s assistant, she finally has a steady job but now both she and Vlad need to figure out how to communicate and work together. Blood Stain Volume Four begins the second arc in Linda Sejic’s webcomic series as Elly and Vlad not only figure out how to work together but also figure out how to get their own lives figured out as well.

The book focuses on the next stage of Elly and Vlad working relationship—something Serge stresses needs to be done before leaving with his girlfriend—which basically means communicating each other’s insecurities with the other. Sejic moves away from the comedic misunderstandings phase into grown-ups working together phase very well and allows the story to branch out, namely how Elly’s job is affecting her relationship with her boyfriend and family while we begin to see what Vlad’s professional life is like and keeping his primary job becomes the focus so Elly can keep being his assistant. As always Sejic’s art is amazing and while the focus of the humor shifts, there are still nice little gags like the Vlad-dragon that appear but in a new frame of reference.

Blood Stain Volume Four basically sees Linda Sejic showing the fallout from the previous story arc and shifting to the new one doing so very well.

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Book Review: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Two individuals must deal with the spirits in two different ways as one must be creative to get their attention to ask for help while the other must search for them before they attack the residents of his city, but what if they switched places? Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is a standalone Cosmere novel by Brandon Sanderson that sees the action take place in a never-before-seen corner of his universe.

It all begins with a spirit asking for help from Yumi and teams her up with Painter, the problem they’re in each other’s bodies—well sort of—and must learn each other’s skills when dealing with spirits as well as figure out why the spirit needs help. Hoid narrates this standalone novel but does take part in the action until the book’s denouement, and because of this the prose was engaging and as always Sanderson’s climax is a highlight. However, there was something that just did not hook me as there were days I didn’t pick up the book because I didn’t feel the urge to keep reading until the last third of the book when it was hard to put down. Honestly, I can’t really figure out why as both titular characters were great and the worldbuilding was spot on, so it was either the romance subplot or maybe one of the characters must endure a monotonous routine every time they go to the other’s place. Whatever the issue I had influenced this review and thus relates only to myself.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter has two very well written characters, Sanderson quality worldbuilding, and a fantastic climax. Yet for whatever reason there was something in this standalone novel that just did not click with me.

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Book Review: A Promised Land by Barack Obama

A Promised Land by Barack Obama
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A devastating economic environment, a politically divided nation that less than a decade before was united, and then there was everything else going on in the world; what a way to start off a very different presidential administration. A Promised Land is the first volume of Barack Obama’s memoir that covers his life leading up to the presidency to the death of Osama bin Laden in May 2011.

An important thing to begin this review is that throughout the book this felt like it was from Obama’s voice and not a ghostwriter. This is important because since Obama details his life up to the presidency followed by his first two and a half years in office, the authenticity is needed especially as he explains his decision making once in office and his impressions of the individuals he interacted with. Frankly while I knew a lot of what happened during Obama’s administration because I paid attention to the news, I read this more for the “inside” details that he could provide and wasn’t disappointed. How Obama approached each major legislation or event of the first half of his first term was something I appreciated as he tackled it whole before moving out but was able to reference those events later to give context as the book progressed, the separate but interconnectedness was better than trying to blend everything together and hope the reader kept everything straight.

A Promised Land is a well-written look into a recent American presidential administration by the man who led it. Barack Obama’s voice comes across clearly throughout thus giving the reader great insight into events and background on how things went.

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Book Review: Three Cosmic Messages by Mark Finely

Three Cosmic Messages by Mark Finley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Revelation 14: 6-12 is God’s final message to the world and is seen by Seventh-day Adventists as their mission to the world at the closing time of Earth’s history. Three Cosmic Messages, the supplement book for the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide (2nd Quarter, 2023) by Mark Finley not only gives the importance of each of the messages from the three angels but also their context within the confrontation between good and evil. Through 128 pages Finley not only provides a study of the three angels messages but also intertwines a evangelistic focus to challenge the reader to take the warnings to heart.

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Book Review: Native Son by Richard Wright

Native Son by Richard Wright
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

A native of poverty and having learned to survive on the streets gets a job for a rich family, has his luck changed? Native Son by Richard Wright tells the story of Bigger Thomas, a black youth living in a poor area of 1930s Chicago South Side.

Even with an introductory warning, this novel begins in a harsh mood with unlikeable characters and doesn’t improve as the narrative continues and more characters appear. Bigger is a thug other thugs look down on, which while Wright’s intention doesn’t take away the fact the reader has to deal with this character for roughly 430 pages even with a few near misses of sympathy. Of Bigger’s two victims, his girlfriend Bessie is frankly the better character than Mary Dalton as the latter is a foolish white knight that talks in “code” believing every black person would know said code. The only character that is anyway decent is Bigger’s lawyer Boris Max that is the primary character in the third part of the book, even though he’s idealistic he’s smart enough to face reality by knowing Bigger has only 0.001% of staying alive and does everything he can against the odds to do so. Personally Max comes off as a surrogate for the author than Bigger does, which is why that particular character comes off as the best one in the book.

Native Son is a controversial yet well-known novel and is Richard Wright’s best fictional work, but as soon as I started reading it, I hated everyone in it.

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Book Review: The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the Cosmere having interactions with a god is not uncommon depending on what planet you live on, but sometimes one just can’t stand meeting them and frankly don’t like them personally because of that god’s actions. The Bands of Mourning is the sixth Mistborn novel within Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere as Waxillium “Wax” Ladrian, Wayne, and Marasi travel to the south of the Elendel Basin to save a kendra as well as to save Wax’s sister from his villainous uncle.

In just over 500 pages Sanderson covers a lot of ground as the main characters travel, develop as characters, and learn about one another. Besides the long narrative of Wax versus his uncle and “the Set”, Sanderson adds nascent political intrigue outside the city of Elendel as well as expanding the world of Scadrial by showing the Sazed-Harmony is not a very good god by ignoring half the world’s population that is only surviving outside the Basin thanks to the creator of the titular Bands of Mourning that many are looking for. There are several twists throughout the novel, the main one was blatant mainly because Sanderson didn’t want to insult his readers and try misdirection however the twist at the very end has ramifications for the history of Scadrial and possibly the entire Cosmere going forward.

The Bands of Mourning sees not only Brandon Sanderson continuing the arcs of the second Misborn era and setting up a potentially fantastic conclusion, but also is a good narrative on its own.

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Book Review: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of the greatest mystery writers of all time and she might have written the greatest mystery novel of all time. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie finds 10 strangers on an island and one by one they expose their darkest secrets then one by one die.

Ten people, some the readers barely get to know, make their way to Indian Island just off the coast of Devon to find their host gone and a gramophone record accuse them of various murders. Throughout the first 193 pages, the reader is left to figure out who is murdering people and how they’re getting it done and soon are joined by two Scotland Yard officials who can’t figure things out though they give the reader clues before the truth is revealed in the last 10 pages. As this is my first Christie novel, I didn’t know what to expect and given that I accidentally spoiled myself—the last page gives the murder away and faces the back inside cover which is awkward when you’re reading a book on work breaks and sometimes said book opens where you don’t want it—I didn’t know how she would do it. Overall, this was a great introduction to Christie and I enjoyed the story, don’t know if it’s the greatest of all-time but I plan on comparing this book with others soon.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is considered one of, if not the, greatest mystery novels ever. This was a page-turning read and I can see why it’s given such accolades.

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Book Review: The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are many versions of medieval England as seen in various media, but what if those existed a short trip through a dimensional portal? The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson is a science fiction romp through a version of Anglo-Saxon England on the verge of a massive Viking invasion while dealing with an infestation of a Seattle-based mafia boss and his cronies.

In the only non-Cosmere related novel among the Kickstarter Secret Project, Sanderson combines an alternate version of early medieval England with trans-dimensional travel. The narrative follows a dimensional travel who didn’t take precautions for his travel and wakes up with amnesia after an explosive entrance then we follow him as he navigates his way through this different version of England while trying to figure out himself. As my first non-fantasy Sanderson book it was interesting to see if there were going to be any differences and frankly there weren’t as only the “rules” of the world were different, but the interesting characters and engaging narratives were the same high quality. The interludes of outtakes from the titular handbook were excellent worldbuilding devises while the bottom of the page doodles were nice little stories appeared independent of the main story but nice additions.

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson is a fun, interesting, very well written science fiction novel that any Sanderson fantasy fan who is looking to check out his science fiction work.

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Book Review: 1776 by David McCullough

1776 by David McCullough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is the year that some point to repeatedly to show off their patriotism but seem to forget that the nation almost died in the cradle mere months after the signing of the Declaration Independence. 1776 by David McCullough is a companion to his fantastic biography of John Adams but focusing on the military history of the start of the American Revolution.

McCullough covers the history of the American Revolution from the time Washington takes command of what would become the Continental Army around Boston through to the Battle of Princeton. Throughout McCullough analyzes decisions or indecisions in most cases of not only Washington, but Nathanael Greene, Henry Knox, and all the senior British commanders they faced; the missed opportunities of one side or the foolish decisions are not shied away from either side and show the bits of history that some would rather whitewash or ignore. For all the talk about the Declaration of Independence, the year 1776 is when the nation almost died, and McCullough brings that out at the end of the book as the hope survived with the Continental Army that stayed together not only with the leadership of Washington, Greene, and Knox but also the galvanizing effects of the Trenton-Princeton campaign on the men in the ranks who held together. For a general audience this is a very well written book, for those looking for more in-depth it’s fine.

1776 is a book of the early struggles for the newly birthed United States and the Continental Army for a general audience, the research and the prose of David McCullough effectively brings that to the reader.

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Book Review: Sasquatch: the apes among us by John Green

Sasquatch: the apes among us by John Willison Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of the famous ‘Four Horsemen of Sasquatchery’, he originally was a journalist looking into the situation in Bluff Creek when the first prints of a big foot gained media attention and soon became immersed in researching the existence of a upright-walking primate in North America. Sasquatch: the apes among us represents twenty years of research by John Green about the titular subject.

Green begins the book by reviewing how he got involved in investigating the premise of an upright-walking ape, his personal experiences throughout the years, and the evidence he was able to examine with his own eyes. Green then goes over all the reports throughout North America he has been given or found in old newspaper reports, some going back to the early 19th Century. The ends with Green going over trends in sightings and reports then in comparing sasquatches with humans and apes clearly pins them as animals and that one needs to be shot to confirm the species. The amount of evidence Green presents is both the best part and the one little negative, the later mostly because some of the reports blend into one another as the book goes on yet the sheer amount of the reports to even have the effect can be seen that this “phenomenon” is not isolated to one part of the continent.

Sasquatch: the apes among us has been reprinted multiple times since it’s original publication in 1978, even now 45 years later the amount of evidence John Green provided only after two decades at the time of research shows that there might be something up.

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Book Review: China: A New History by John King Fairbanks & Merle Goldman

China: A New History by John King Fairbank
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Only Ancient Egypt and India rival the length and development of the near three millennia long development of Chinese civilization, one that for centuries was more advanced than other locations on the Eurasian landmass until suddenly it wasn’t and challenged. China: A New History is the last work by noted historian John King Fairbanks with addition from Merle Goldman covering the post-Mao years to the beginning of the 21st century.

Covering a 4000-year-old civilization in a total of 455 pages of text, of which only 405 were written by Fairbanks, is a daunting history however Fairbanks quickly develops the threads and themes he will follow throughout the history of a nation and a culture. Barely over half the book is dedicated to the ‘Imperial’ period from the first appearances of the elements that would become then shape Chinese culture to the fall of the Qing dynasty and the rest of the book covering the 20th Century that saw the Republican, Nationalist, and Communist eras. Goldman’s last chapter and epilogue attempts to follow Fairbanks threads and themes though in her own words and style which meshed well. This is not a history the delves into important people until the arrival of Mao, yet those Fairbanks points out and gives significant page space to are connected to the threads and themes. The number of sources and closer we get to our own time means the speed of history slows down, which given the number of pages is understandable but there were some sections of Chinese history I which Fairbanks would have given more time to.

China: A New History is the masterpiece of noted historian John King Fairbanks with a well written addition by Merle Goldman bringing the nation’s history up to the 21st Century. Given the amount of time needed to be covered and the number of pages its down in, it’s a fantastic history.

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Book Review: New Science by Giambattista Vico

New Science by Giambattista Vico
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Enlightenment was just starting to bud into existence, but an Italian scholar thought the “modern” thinking was ignoring the light of knowledge from classical antiquity and the Renaissance that he proposed had not been looked at properly. New Science by Giambattista Vico was meant to be the debut of a new scientific method that was better than the rationalism that was developing among the European intelligentsia, but what he helped developed was something completely different than his intent.

Using the mythology and histories from Greece, Rome, and other ancient civilizations Vico proposed a ‘history of philosophy narrated philosophically’ which would be a new variant of Renaissance humanism. However what Vico produced has been interpreted as ‘cycles of history’ by later philosophic thinkers or inspiring anthropologists and sociologists by using myths to figure out a culture’s historical memory and how language, knowledge, and society interact with one another. While Vico’s overall ideas were interesting and I could see how his ideas would later influence others in years and centuries to come, this wasn’t the best written book especially because the modern translator had to insert multiple corrections to Vico’s text because he had the wrong person referenced even though this was the third and last edition of his work. While I was intrigued while reading, if I had never seen this book, I would not have missed anything.

New Science is an interesting read, Giambattista Vico’s theories didn’t not have the exact impact he was hoping for, but they were influential.

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Book Review: Lincoln by Gore Vidal

Lincoln by Gore Vidal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The man who divided a nation, who endured a political divided Cabinet, and lived in a divided house yet somehow got them united in some form or another before his death. Lincoln by Gore Vidal looks at Abraham Lincoln’s time in Washington from his secret arrival in late February to his death a little over four years later not from the titular character’s point-of-view by those around him.

Abraham Lincoln is the central character of this historical fiction novel that only has three paragraphs from his perspective in the whole 655 pages of text as Vidal’s cast of characters either interact with or reaction from afar to the man in the White House. Though the many valleys and the peaks of the Union war effort are mentioned, Vidal focuses on the political atmosphere within Washington D.C. from faction ridden Republican Cabinet and Congress to the pro-secessionist inhabitants of the capital. While Vidal pieces together an excellent narrative and interesting characters, he obviously stretches the historical facts or downright makes stuff up including reversing some character’s real-life opinions, so reader beware. The focus on Lincoln the man as told from the perspective of those around him is an intriguing premise and Vidal’s prose make it a good read.

Lincoln is a well-written historical fiction novel by Gore Vidal that shows the 16th President in the middle of a political maelstrom inside a civil war.

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Book Review: The Mystery Knight: A Graphic Novel by George R.R. Martin

The Mystery Knight: A Graphic Novel by Ben Avery
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The graphic novel adaptation of the third of George R.R. Martin’s Dunk & Egg novellas not only stays true to the original story while also giving it a new dimension with fantastic renderings of all the characters, the locales, and the action. Drawn by artist Mike S. Miller based on the adaptation by Ben Avery, The Mystery Knight immediately builds upon the previous adventure of Ser Duncan (Dunk) the Tall and the future Aegon (Egg) V as they stumble upon conspiracy from an enemy from across the sea.

Avery adaptation and Miller’s art effectively brings the novella to life though to be honest some of the character designs while not off-putting or interesting, particularly a character that is attempting to kill Dunk due to jealousy. The appearance of the often-mentioned Lord Bloodraven is particularly amazing, not only the character’s artwork but the double page appearance with him front and center. There was a small change in the order of the story, but it worked well in the flow of the graphic novel and didn’t affect the overall work.

The graphic novel adaptation of The Mystery Knight is something every A Song of Ice and Fire fan should get their hands on.

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Book Review: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A young woman sees her noble-born go off to find a “proper” wife with his parents only to disappear at sea, so she decides to find him then the adventure begins. Tress of the Emerald Sea is a standalone Cosmere novel by Brandon Sanderson that sees the reader travel to a never-before-seen planet within his fantasy universe.

After Tress learns her best friend is in the clutches of the evil Sorceress she doesn’t give him up for dead, but goes to rescue him even though no commoner is permitted to leave her island home. After tricking her way onto a ship after a well thought out plan, Tress begins thinking about the next hurdle when things go awry, and the story takes off. This is the first book in which the Cosmere staple Hoid not only plays a significant role—even though he isn’t like we’ve usually seen him—but also narrates. The titular character is a great character to follow as she is both naïve but quick-witted to figure out how to stay alive on the spur of the moment, but as the story progresses wises up a tad. The various antagonists slowly escalate in danger to both Tress and those she befriends throughout the book, which ultimately helps teach her skills. The magic system and the unique environment are high tier Sanderson creations which are engaging as readers learn about things at the same time Tress does throughout the book. It’s hard really find an issue to criticize in this adult fairytale, but there is a reveal that I guessed right off mainly due to a friend’s nickname from my childhood though I wouldn’t be surprised if people got it as quickly as myself but for different reasons.

Tress of the Emerald Sea is a fun adult fairytale set within the Cosmere with quality worldbuilding that Brandon Sanderson is known for.

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Book Review: The High Country by John Jackson Miller

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The High Country by John Jackson Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Before the famous five-year mission, but still exploring strange new worlds the USS Enterprise finds a world where the laws of physics don’t work and strands four of the crew including Captain Christopher Pike on the surface in this first tie-in novel for the newest live action Star Trek series. The High Country by John Jackson Miller takes place late in the first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as Captain Pike, Number One, Spock, and Cadet Uhara are trapped on the planet Epheska on which no electricity works.

During a search for a missing vessel and testing a new type of shuttlecraft, Pike and crew encounter a planet in which the laws of physics appear to not apply and need to be transported to the surface of the planet as the shuttle crashes. Separated on the planet, the four crew members each encounter elements of the mysterious culture of numerous species including humans that were abducted from their home planets and deposited there to live on a planet that can’t have electronics to create the perfect society. Inevitably the crew of the Enterprise find out not everything is as it seems as Pike finds those who want to create machines, Spock eventually finds Vulcans who are the perfect society’s scourge in their independence from “the system”, Number One finds herself amongst the society’s leadership, and Uhara ultimately finds the reason what’s happening with the planet’s physics. The overall narrative and the Enterprise character depictions from Strange New Worlds are top notch, however the book does go into cliché with the society’s leader depiction slowly sliding towards authoritarian after apparently benign introduction and a childhood friend of Pike’s from current Earth who is on the planet and turns out to be a villain with a tragic past. Yet it was a fun, engaging read that made me satisfied with picking it up.

The High Country is the first of hopefully many tie-in novels connected with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as John Jackson Miller not only gets the vibe of the show and the characters but puts together a good story.

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Book Review: Lore Olympus (Volume One) by Rachel Smythe

Lore Olympus: Volume One by Rachel Smythe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Greek gods all to human in character but with fabulous cosmic power that is used to reward or punish human beings, now let’s retell their mythological stories in a 21st Century type setting. Lore Olympus: Volume One by Rachel Smythe follows the young goddess of spring Persephone who is newly arrived on Olympus and is figuring out how to fit in.

The central arc of this webcomic turned graphic novel is the story of Persephone and Hades, yet in this first volume that covers the first 25 chapters of Smythe’s work the two protagonists briefly met before going their own ways, so we learn about them. Beyond the central myth that begins, Smythe interweaves several other myths into the narrative from Eros and Psyche, the shadiness of Apollo, and other myths. Set in the 21st century in the mortal and various divine realms means that Smythe doesn’t shy away from the toxic relationships of various sorts, malicious drugging, and rape in just this first volume of her work.

Lore Olympus: Volume One by Rachel Smythe begins the story of Persephone and Hades in a 21st Century setting while keeping an anchor in it’s mythological roots.

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Book Review: Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson

Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The city of Elendel is seething with angry workers, corrupt politicians, and crime syndicates running amok now throw in an insane immortal out of legend. Shadows of Self is the fifth book in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series as legendary lawman Lord Waxillium “Wax” Ladrian, his sidekick Wayne, and future sister-in-law and new constable Marasi race to stop a conspiracy that has even the god Harmony concerned.

Over the course of almost 450 pages that cover an exhausting day and a half, Sanderson writes a racing narrative that sees Wax and Wayne come up against a creature of legend that has gone insane and meet characters the readers remember from the original trilogy who are themselves considered holy now. As the two and the constables of the 4th Octant race to save the city’s governor, who probably is corrupt, from assassination there are priests of various religions getting killed by imposters from competing religions ramping up tensions from overwork or no work and growing concern for food. Not since the fall of the Lord Ruler has there been this many people on the streets, but to save the day Wax confronts something that makes him question everything.

Shadows of Self is a quick-paced fantasy thriller that sees Brandon Sanderson take us the reader through a myriad of emotions and action scenes to a stunning conclusion.

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