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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