Archive for Book Review

Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune – Great Story, but Early Kindle Version was Riddled with Typos

October 7, 2011 edbok Book Review

The Heroes of Olympus series is best selling author Rick Riordan’s spinoff of the Percy Jackson novels. This is the second in the series, following the introduction of the Roman hero, Jason Grace. As expected, Percy joins up with Roman forces and we are introduced to two new main characters: Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque. As usual in a Riordan tale, the perspective changes from chapter to chapter among the main protagonists.

Riordan is maturing nicely as a writer, and each new book shows an emerging style that is both engaging and descriptive. Fans of previous Riordan books will find familiar elements, such as nods to popular culture. For instance, in Seattle the heroes find that Amazon.com is run by Amazon warriors, who are often found reading their Kindles.

Educational elements are skillfully intertwined in Riordan books, and this one is no exception. Young readers are introduced to Greek and Roman mythology and pick up quite a bit of classical detail despite the fact the story is modernized to a considerable extent. Even though the story is dealing with pagan gods of antiquity, quite a few Christian elements shine through, such as love, friendship, and shared sacrifice.

Character development remains strong, and retains typical Riordan memes such as teen angst and finding ones purpose in life (albeit from a demigod’s perspective). Fans will enjoy most all aspects of learning about and caring for Zhang and Levesque as well as other minor characters.

My biggest beef with the Kindle version of the novel I downloaded was the plethora of typos. Odd paragraph breaks were very common, and words were often smashed together to the point of distraction. For instance, here’s part of a sentence that typifies mistakes in the text: “… no wall she had to worry about …” It should read, “ … now all she had to worry about …” Mistakes like that went on chapter after chapter.

Today, Amazon sent an e-mail indicating the publisher is aware of these many mistakes in the electronic text, and has offered a corrected version. As I have already finished the book, and waded through the errors, it’s no big deal. One of the benefits of electronic books is the ability to quickly fix mistakes, but a simple read through by somebody in charge could have prevented these many errors from appearing in early electronic versions in the first place. That said, I’ll take off a star from an otherwise five star book.

4 out of 5 stars.

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Steampunk Fun for All Ages in Goliath, Last in Westerfeld’s Leviathan Trilogy

October 3, 2011 edbok Book Review

Goliath is the last in Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan trilogy, and it’s well worth the wait. In this steampunk alternate universe, the major world powers are divided between Darwinist and Clanker factions. Darwinists have learned how to grow modified animals to meet their needs, including giant sea creatures for naval battles, and giant hydrogen-filled floating creatures such as Leviathan where most of the action in the story takes place. Clankers, meanwhile, have perfected steam and diesel technology to the point where mechanical walking machines are common as well as a plethora of other devices. The two sides square off in World War I, with some countries using mixed technologies, such as the United States, and unwilling to immediately declare sides.

As before, readers meet a host of characters, some loosely based on our own history. Events and personalities are ably coordinated by Westerfeld, and fabulous artwork by Keith Thompson illustrates the action throughout. Of course, we’ve been waiting for Alek, the Crown Prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to learn of Deryn Sharp’s secret (she’s a girl, disguised as a boy serving as a middie on Leviathan) for two books now.

Westerfeld sends his characters off at the end with all loose ends tied up except one: the Great War itself. What happens next? In real life, the US was dragged into war with the sinking of the Lusitania. Things are altered “just a squick” as Deryn might say. Perhaps, and hopefully, Westerfeld can grace us with a continuation of the story at some point in the future. That is the highest praise I can think of to bestow on a fantasy series that is great fun to read for young and old alike.

5 out 5 stars.

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Book Review: How Firm a Foundation Safehold Series No. 5

September 18, 2011 edbok Book Review

I first became acquainted with David Weber’s Safehold series at a book overstock sale when I happened across the first title in the series. I’ve continued to buy the other books as soon as they are published. I’ve grown quite fond of the major characters, and I recommend the series to anyone who enjoys epic science fiction. His latest, How Firm a Foundation was recently published.

The background to the books is, a superior alien race has been going around the galaxy destroying all other civilizations it comes across. Humanity puts up a good fight, but the aliens have superior technology. In a last minute desperate retreat, the humans jump into hyperspace and fool the aliens by having them chase after a decoy fleet, which gets destroyed. The remainder escape to a far distant star system and settle a planet called Safehold.

On their new home planet, the humans divide into two groups. One group wants to prepare for the inevitable future conflict with the aliens, and be far more technologically advanced so they can defeat them next time. The other group believes if humans are forever low tech, they can avoid detection by the bad guys and continue living. The latter group wins the argument, and kills off most members of the former group. They then set up a world perpetually stuck at the technology levels of the early 19th century. They do away with all world religions and leave one church in charge of enforcing this low tech philosophy on the population.

Into this milieu, one of the pro-tech group’s PICAs enters the picture hundreds of years later. Lt. Commander Nimue Alban had a Personality-Integrated Cybernetic Avatar that allows her essence to continue long after death. She sets about to become a Prometheus for the Safehold humans. Among the many super powered capabilities the PICA has is to change physiological characteristics, and so she turns into a male version of herself since the Safehold culture is male dominated. She, now a he, renames himself Merlin. This is one of many intriguing twists in the saga.

Another interesting feature in the series is the interpolation of futuristic high tech with the decidedly low tech lives of those on Safehold. Thus, satellites and space skimmers are mixed in with sailing ships. Weber obviously enjoys his sailing terms and much time is spent on the progressively high tech Charisian Empire, a group of countries reminiscent of England’s naval superiority back in the day. Readers also may enjoy watching the empire quickly advance toward Industrial Revolution levels of knowledge as they battle with a corrupt Luddite religion.

On the down side, it’s a very slow moving saga. Much time is spent on conversations as opposing sides examine possibilities from all angles in endless conferences. The lead time to battles may last over several chapters, as fleets draw near across the water at a glacial pace. When action finally does occur, it’s well written, but Weber fills the books with an excessive amount of conversation between the characters. Swearing is low to moderate, and usually reserved for bad guys. You can sometimes tell when new characters are bad if they start dropping F-bombs, for instance.

The latest in the series won’t disappoint fans. It’s not one a new reader can pick up and jump into; readers will need to start with the first Safehold book, Off Armageddon Reef. Once started, however, you will likely become anxious to read the next installment. You’ll mark your calendar, and begin an impatient wait.

4 out of 5 stars

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The Great A&P Review

September 6, 2011 edbok Book Review

The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America is a pleasant to read history of one of the country’s bygone retail institutions. At one time, A&P ranked among the truly robust retailers in the world, maintaining the largest grocery chain in the country. Following the passing of its guiding lights, the company foundered and A&P slowly became a shell of its former self.

Marc Levinson does an admirable job of making this corporate tale an interesting one. Though occasionally chasing a stray rabbit or two not worth pursuing, Levinson often brings interesting tidbits to the table. Even his endnotes are worth reading.

From its founding as The Great American Tea Company by the reclusive and eccentric millionaire George Gilman, to the silent partnership and eventual takeover by George H. Hartford and later his sons George L. and John, A&P holds a distinctly American pedigree. Levinson follows the company’s retail transition of opulent tea houses replete with chandeliers following the Civil War to Spartan grocery stores around the turn of the century and beyond. Along the way he guides us through technological transformations such as improvements in cardboard boxes and tin cans which allowed easier transportation of foodstuff thanks to the newly finished trans-continental railroad.

Other companies make brief cameos, such as Kellogg Toasted Corn Flakes, National Biscuit Company (Nabsico), S&H Green Stamps, and grocer Barney Kroger’s competing chain. We learn of the great grocery transition from hardware-store bulk selling of products to individualized containers and brand names via extensive shipping routes from factories to towns. We learn how groceries made up the bulk of family budgets in the newly industrialized country, and how independent merchants prospered seemingly on every corner.

The death of independent grocers, in part thanks to relentless downward prices at A&P stores, makes up the bulk of ensuing conflict in this story. With the country’s crusades against monopolies and trusts, along with the creation of the Food and Drug Administration, several forces were brought to bear against A&P. Low prices were portrayed as a scourge, driving mom and pop stores out of business, a charge later repeated when Walmart gained retail prominence.

Ultimately, Levinson is not interested in promoting either an overly positive picture of George L. and John Hartford, who revolutionized grocery shopping for America and led their father’s company to prominence, or an overly negative one. He duly notes the corporate homogenization, factory farming, and retail blandness A&P helped bring to grocery shopping, but he doesn’t go out of his way to condemn these realities, either. On the other hand, he notes the brotherly team’s strong management skills, and documents their travails in fighting the forces arrayed against them. Over all, it’s a satisfactorily balanced approach.

The book is a nice read, and once begun you’ll probably want to finish it. That’s high praise for a corporate history. Buyers of the electronic edition will note only 62% of the title is devoted to the narrative, with the remaining 38% set aside for endnotes, bibliography, and index.

 

Four out of five stars

 

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Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld is Good Old Fashioned Steampunk Fun

August 26, 2011 edbok Book Review

A delightful speculative work of fiction, Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld is a rollicking romp through an alternative history of Great War Europe.

In Westerfeld’s world, the British have advanced knowledge of animal DNA, and can breed exotic species to serve their many needs. Giant sea creatures are protectively tethered to their navy’s warships. Giant hydrogen whales serve as dirigibles. Small message lizards scurry though conduit to parrot back missives from their senders.

Meanwhile, the Continent has charted a different course, following a mechanized plan to serve mankind. The Germans and Austrians, in particular, are adept at producing excellent machines, and have achieved similar ends through inventions rather than biological means.

Into this mix we meet Deryn Sharp, who wishes to serve crown and country aboard one of those magnificent airships / flying whales. Since she’s a young girl, she must perforce disguise herself as a boy to become a middie. Soon, through a confluence of events, the murdered Archduke Ferdinand’s son, Prince Aleksandar, boards the ship, and misadventure along with potential romance ensues.

This is a very well written series, and most definitely a page turner. Penned ostensibly for younger readers, fans of science fiction and alternate histories of all ages will thoroughly enjoy all three books.

Five out of five stars.

Other books in this series:

Behemoth

Goliath

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Rape Scene and Profanity Detract from The Magician King

August 20, 2011 edbok Book Review

Second in The Magicians trilogy, Lev Grossman’s The Magician King picks up shortly after the story left off in the first book. Julia is back. Although she failed the entrance exam to Brakebills, she struck out on her own to learn magic while Quentin received his more formal education. The book is divided between the present, in Fillory, and Julia’s past on Earth, and details are filled in over the course of the narrative.

Quentin is now one of the kings of Fillory, and Julia is a queen. Older and wiser than he was during his college days, Quentin still suffers from the angst of a pointless existence. Eventually he embarks on a quest which promises a satisfying answer to the meaning of his life.

The first book is crucial to understanding the entire story, and readers will need to go through it beforehand in order to appreciate The Magician King. Although presumably aimed at a younger audience, the book is absolutely not appropriate for youth. The F-bomb is laced throughout the text, with several other profanities intermittently interspersed. Julia’s group becomes interested in summoning ancient gods. The resulting chaos includes a graphic and disturbing rape scene.

Ultimately, the book ends in an extremely unsatisfying manner, with no answers to multiple questions. Presumably Grossman will tie up all loose ends in the next book.

One out of five stars

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The Magicians by Lev Grossman Not Suitable for Younger Readers

August 20, 2011 edbok Book Review

The Magicians by Lev Grossman is one of many young adult titles in the fantasy genre. The book begins by introducing three high school seniors, Quentin, James, and Julia. They are among New York’s finest: extremely smart and privileged white kids from wealthy households. It’s something of a love triangle, since both boys like Julia, but she’s going with James. Quentin is the awkward teen, socially inept and struggling with the meaning of life. He’s also the main character.

The boys are off to interview for Princeton, but discover their interlocutor has died moments before they arrive. Quentin receives another invitation, though, that leads him through a portal to a secret and reclusive college upstate called Brakebills. He’s ushered into an examination room with smart high school kids around the country who all undertake a magical exam. Quentin is one of the few who passes, and is thus admitted into the exclusive college.

If this sounds a little like Hogwarts, it is. Only, Brakebills is in America and is a college instead of a high school. There are college hijinks such as heavy drinking and lots of sex. Only, it’s a magical place so some of the sex occurs after everybody has shapeshifted into animals. An openly gay character gets in bed with Quentin during a night of group sex. Other graphic TMI bits abound.

At graduation everybody gets a pentagram tattooed on their back with a fire demon trapped inside it they can summon to help in a fight, and off they go. Another running theme is a series of books by a British author about a magical world that siblings travel to for adventure. There are talking animals, and a couple of goats that are gods of the place. If it sounds a little like C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, it’s because it is very much like C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.

After graduation, Quentin and his friends find a way to go to the Neitherlands, which is a deserted city filled with fountains. Jump in a different fountain, you go to a different world. They make the trip to Fillory (Narnia), and begin their adventures there, saving one of the goat gods from peril.

It’s a well written book, and things work, for the most part, regarding plot. Constant reminders of previous young adult fantasies, including those from the Harry Potter and Narnia series, may leave readers wondering if they’ve traveled down this literary road before. There is considerable foul language and graphic content, so it’s not suitable for younger readers.

Two out of Five Stars

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