Salvation (Salvation Sequence #1) By: Peter F. Hamilton

Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I haven't read Mr Hamilton in a LONG while, but as always, I remembered very quickly HOW BLEEPING well he does science fiction. Salvation is a super fast paced, tightly interwoven thrill ride. The science is very hard edged and totally plausible which I am totally into and totally dug the fact that I didn't know exactly where the story was going (that happens alot more than I would like)

Great world building, great action, and I look forward to more of this (welcome back to my TBR stack, Mr. Hamilton)

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Port of Shadows (The Chronicles of the Black Company 1.5) By: Glen Cook

Port of Shadows by Glen Cook
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have a deep love affair with the Black Company, it hits all the high marks for a great read that I require. I love the characters, the world, the story and the WHOLE idea, It portrays military fantasy as it should be...from the eyes of the frontline guys and their trials.

This WHOLE series is great, and chances are if you follow my reviews, you have read at least one. GO pick this up..read it in one STUPID DAY. (insert sad face..now I got to wait for more)

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The Civil War As Seen From Slaves' Point of View

The Slaves' War: The Civil War in the Words of Former Slaves by Andrew Ward
Reviewed by Jason Koivu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A collection of quotes from former slaves with a focus on the Civil War.

This one's been sitting on my tbr pile for a while now. February seemed a good month to read it. Glad I did. I learned some surprising insights that made it all worth it.

The narrative is a bit disjointed at times since Andrew Ward is acting more as a compiler/editor than an author. It's quote after quote with a statement or two that mostly sets up a section or acts as a bridge of ideas when needed. Still, Ward relies on the former slaves' accounts without embellishment, so occasionally you get what feels like a non sequitur. Aside from that squibble, what you get are some tough-to-hear stories of humans being treated like chattel.

The author's note at the end was one of the most useful and necessary I've ever read. It answered questions I didn't realize I'd been forming while reading.

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Fairly Lights

Fairy Lights by Edward Lorn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What evil lurks on Palomar Mountain? Tony, Bobby, and Tony's mother are going to find out the hard way...

Most horror readers on Goodreads are familiar with Edward Lorn. Easy E is a good guy and doesn't come across as a complete asshat like a lot of authors. When DarkFuse hit the skids and dropped the price on a lot of their ebooks, my choice was made for me.

People fear the unknown and the wilderness represents the great unknown to a lot of people. Fairy Lights plays on those fears. A homicidal feral rapist doesn't help matters...

Fairy Lights was originally serialized on the DarkFuse website. While its roots show in places, I think the original format contributes to the horror. You never know who Lorn is going to introduce so he can kill them off in a brutal fashion a couple chapters later.

Bobby and Tony were well-realized characters. I hate when teenagers in books don't talk anything like real teens. I always think Ed does a good job with teenage dialogue and angst. Moss, as far as feral rapists go, was fairly detailed. I wouldn't mind knowing how The Handy trained him, though.

The Handy was hinted at for most of the story but only shown a couple times near the end, which I think was a good move. Once you see a monster enough times, it's not scary anymore. I'm looking in your direction, Predator II.

Fairy Lights was an entertaining read from an entertaining guy. As always, the Lorn delivers. Four out of five stars.


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Cold Front

Ann Somerville
Self-Published
Reviewed by Nancy
5 out of 5 stars

Summary

Dek tops. Ren bottoms. Neither gives an inch. Kinky, tough, troubled, caring. Cops and lovers, fighting crime and, sometimes, each other, in a vast cold land where the criminals read minds and the cops never know what they'll face next.

My Review

Every once in a while I come across a book that makes me want to go back and re-evaluate some of my 5-star ratings. Cold Front is one of those books. I am already familiar with Ann Somerville’s work, having read the fast-paced and gripping Interstitial and its equally engaging sequel, Impedimenta. My only complaint about these two stories is their short length. Cold Front consists of two novellas, “One Brief Encounter” and “A House is Not a Home” followed by the full-length novel, “Cold Front”. This book satisfied my need for a meaty and lengthy story. It focuses on the relationship between the two main characters, Dek and Ren, but there is also an engrossing mystery, paranormal elements, erotic romance, a lot of conflict and drama, emotional intensity, and a well-drawn cast of secondary characters, some good and some downright evil. I loved these stories like I love a full moon, strawberry sundaes, and walking in the rain. This is definitely a keeper and I look forward to reading anything Ann Somerville writes.

One Brief Encounter

31-year-old Dekan hon Cerimwe den Tsikeni is a Defence Force Officer who is scheduled for police training and looking to spend a quiet night at a bar. The most gorgeous man he’s seen in 10 years just happens to be there. 28-year-old Rensire hon Parmin den Vizinken is also out for a quiet night and happens to be on the Force too. The two men are instantly drawn to each other, and though Dek’s military bearing and discipline demands he behave sensibly, Dek yields to his desires, boards the back of Ren’s two-wheeler and they head to a hotel.

Ren is a Level 2 empath. His ability to share others’ emotions and feelings causes him a great deal of stress at times, so in order to relieve his stress, he likes his sex a little rough and prefers to be controlled. Dek feels perfectly comfortable taking charge, and Ren willingly goes along with it. Their sex is scorching hot – lashings, restraints, and loving domination.

It’s just too bad that Dek and Ren are going back to work and won’t be seeing each other until Dek’s training session the following year. They agree to meet up at that time, but Dek is badly injured while he and his fellow officers are sent in to break up a prostitution ring. Oh, well. Fraternizing with other police officers is against the rules anyway. Still, Dek can’t quite get Ren out of his mind.

When Ren applies for a job in forensics at Ren’s station, both men explore that connection that started two years before, but are now faced with dealing with the stressful demands of their jobs and Dek’s painful past.

A House is Not a Home

Ren is now Dek’s partner at work and is well-liked by the majority of his co-workers. The two men are starting to develop strong feelings for each other, but there are still regulations and Dek’s grief over his dead wife to contend with. Ren patiently uses his empathic ability to lessen the intensity of Dek’s painful emotions while keeping his good feelings and memories intact. Dek’s acute suffering and Ren’s talent put to good use made this a very sweet and emotionally intense story.

Cold Front

Ren and Dek are now regular lovers. They work together to solve a series of gruesome murders of young girls. Their bodies are found mutilated and their bodies dumped in random locations. When an empath is found murdered, Ren believes the cases are connected, but they are ordered to focus on the girls’ murders. This is a very dark and satisfying murder mystery with plenty of twists and turns and lots of gritty forensic details. They are dealing with a deranged and sadistic killer who gets pleasure out of torturing his victims. It’s a tough case for the detectives, and time is running out when Ren goes missing. This is a heartbreaking, gut-wrenching story that left me a teary-eyed mess. Though it ends on a hopeful note, and Ren and Dek have a strong relationship, there are still lots of problems to be resolved.

Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-year Battle between Marvel and DC

Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-year Battle between Marvel and DC by Reed Tucker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Marvel or DC?

The two companies are the most recognizable names in the comic book industry and the two that have lasted the longest. They have depicted countless imaginary battles throughout their decades long history, but the biggest battle has been the one with each other. Slugfest tells the history of the 50 year battle between Marvel and DC.

Slugfest is exactly what it claims to be, a history book on the battle between Marvel and DC. It gives the facts with some small opinions and countless quotes from experts in the industry.

"DC characters are too perfect and pegged to a different time," said Joan Hilty, a DC editor from 1995 to 2010.

As a kid born in the '80s, DC characters being too perfect would be the perfect way to sum up my feelings about them. I grew up hating Superman and finding the Justice League dull except for Batman. Little did I know that when Marvel came on the scene and challenged the status quo of superheroes that my feelings were shared by the masses. DC was the behemoth before Marvel was even born, but due to their dominance they stopped feeling the need to innovate and Marvel took full advantage.

"...Marvel and DC's heroes are cut from different cloths. They're philosophically different and don't fit easily into the same story. DC's characters are clean, well-mannered boy scouts, and Marvel's heroes are flawed and more human."

Once Marvel over took DC in sales they seemingly never looked back and apparently have largely dominated the competition ever since. There have been titles and certain areas where DC has been more dominate in like TV and animation, but the Slugfest states DC has constantly trying to emulate Marvel to capture more of the market share.

Slugfest is largely a story of business. One company believed it was too big to be challenged by anyone and is flabbergasted to find itself at number two. Marvel and DC found themselves embattled from then on stealing ideas and employees from one another with occasional ceasefires for crossovers over the years. Both companies have had instances where they were driven by artistry, greed, arrogance, and competition. One thing is clear though the two need one another in a strange way. The victories wouldn't be so sweet and it seems neither could have survived this long without each other.

Slugfest is an informative read for comic lovers who enjoy knowing the history of their favorite childhood comic book heroes.

3.5 out of 5 stars

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A NEW HOPE FOR MEXICO: SAYING NO TO CORRUPTION, VIOLENCE, AND TRUMP'S WALL

A New Hope for Mexico: Saying No to Corruption, Violence, and Trump’s Wall by Andrés Manuel López Obrador
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

”As the great novelist Carlos Fuentes wrote, ‘When we exclude, we lose. When we include, we win, and we shall never recognize our own humanity without recognizing that of others.’”



Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will take office as President of Mexico in December 2018. I can not be more excited for our neighbors to the South. While in college at the University of Arizona, I took a class on Mexican history as a summer course. It was an intense, comprehensive class that left me exhausted and with a swimming head in the desert heat as I walked home to my house just off campus. I was particularly taken with the series of revolutions that happened. The peasants would rise up and throw out a corrupt dictator, and then their leader, for whom they shed blood, sweat, and tears, would become as corrupt as the dictator they had overthrown. Reset: new revolution, more peasant blood, sweat, and tears, and another dictator replaced by yet another corrupt dictator.

It was depressing.

I had heard good things about Lopez Obrador, so when Alex Doherty from OR Books/Counterpoint contacted me about reviewing his book, I said, “FRILLING A!”

Lopez Obrador gave a series of speeches while campaigning for the presidency titled Oye! Trump! He was running against the corrupted neoliberalism that had gripped his country for too long, but he was also running against the whole idea of what Trump stood for and the harsh rhetoric about immigrants that Trump used to bring his base to a frothing, Build a Wall chanting, Fake News believing, children separated at the border supporting mob.

Trump called immigrants rapists. All of them. How many immigrants would have to be convicted rapists before you could call them all rapists? 60%, 30%, 10%, 2%?

When I lived in Arizona, I worked for a bookstore chain, and we opened a store in Mesa. I was in charge of the project, and even though the labor was subcontracted to renovate an old grocery store into a bookstore, I spent a lot of time with the mostly Mexican workforce. They called me jefe and were always respectful, even though I was a young, brash, just out of college, white guy in way over his head and stressed to the max. I’ve never seen people work harder. Their work ethic is still the bar I use for myself.

Lopez Obrador does not want that labor leaving Mexico. He wants them staying and helping to rebuild their country. He has a plan on how to do that. He wants to bring agriculture back to the level it was several decades ago. There is no reason for Mexico to be importing food when they have so much rich and fertile land. If he can do this, he will not only save the pueblos but keep young people in their communities instead of fleeing to the overcrowded cities, or worse immigrating to America.

He also wants to replant thousands of acres of rainforest. I am a big lover of trees, and I also understand the importance of the rainforests of the world in maintaining our beautiful climates. Make it so Obrador!

Corruption is the biggest issue that Mexico faces. Overpaid government officials are a disgrace to Mexico. Corruption in government has allowed the rampant crime rate to spiral out of control. To stop violent crime, Lopez Obrador has determined that the best place to start is ending the corruption at the top. Crime can not be fought at the bottom of a social pyramid if the top of the pyramid is corrupt.

“The rise of neoliberalism over the last thirty years (which has entailed privatization, abandonment of our rural areas, economic stagnation, unemployment, neglect of our youth, inequality, and corruption) ushered in the crisis of violence and instability that plagues us today.

This corruption and looting of the Mexican economy by the rich has left the Mexican people with three choices: attempt to survive in the informal economy; migrate to the United States; or survive through criminal activity.”

Carlos Salinas was elected President of Mexico in 1988. At the start of his reign, there was one billionaire in his country, and by the end of his reign in 1994 there were 24 billionaires in Mexico. This was all due to the banks, companies, and mines, that were at one time owned by the government, being allowed to be privatized. The wealth that was taken from Mexico and given to a handful of people is staggering. Lopez Obrador does not want Mexico to be more like the United States. He wants it to be better, and one way to do that is to reclaim what belongs to all of Mexico.

Redistribution of wealth is one of those terms that make Republican-- you know what-- pucker. If the few end up owning everything worth owning, we will be a feudal society. Under Presidents W. Bush and Obama, the gap between the 1%ers and the rest of the country widened astronomically and has continued under President Trump. We are ruled by an oligarchy of rich, white guys. The free market economy, that we all grow up believing we can be a part of, is a myth. Trickle down economics, which has failed every time it has been attempted, including most recently in the state of Kansas where I live, is a term that makes my-- you know what-- pucker. As Lopez Obrador says, money is not water. It does not trickle down. It does seem to be very good at fluttering back up to the top.



If Lopez Obrador can do what he says he will do in this book, Mexico could very well become a shining beacon. His plan is bold. He will have to rebuild Mexico’s policies along with the infrastructure that will lead them back to economic prosperity. The resources are there; all they have to do is be managed by someone who is wanting to make the lives of millions better, instead of allowing 24 billionaires to continue to get richer at the expense of the people. 24 billionaires only have 24 votes though their money may buy more.

I will keep an eye on President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. He is going to make a lot of enemies, but if the people stick with him, he could make it so any wall on the border is more to keep Americans out of Mexico than Mexicans out of America.

***Special thanks to Alex Doherty and OR Books/Counterpoint for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.***

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Getting Real About Mythology

Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton
Reviewed by Jason Koivu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Edith Hamilton may have written Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes more than a half century ago and she may have been fairly ancient when she did so, but she still put out one seriously readable book!

Hamilton took from the best sources to cobble together slick summaries of all your old time myth favorites. Before giving each mythical story's highlights, she details the different writers who created a version of it and explains the qualities of the best ones. Sometimes she berates the lesser attempts and I appreciated the balance, especially since she explains her critique.

Now having said, I have to note the caveat that this is not a scholarly work. This is a summary, a boiling-down, a sugar-coating of a topic that frankly could have been presented in a much more academic, dry manner. I'm glad it wasn't. These are not cursory run-throughs. They're full of detail and color.

The main issue with a book with that title is that you expect a wide ranging survey of the topic. This, however, is almost entirely about the Greek Myths. The Roman versions are only mentioned, because the Romans stole their myths wholesale from the Greeks. Aside from that, we get a very superficial mention of the Norse myths that takes up maybe the last 5% of the book. Nothing else in all the rest of humanity is even slightly touched upon. Disappointing. But if you want an easy, fun read on the Greek stuff, this is the book for you!

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Zero Lives Remaining

Zero Lives Remaining by Adam Cesare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The ghost at the arcade was largely harmless until it had to kill to protect its favorite patron. Now, the soul of a sociopath is melded with its own and the remaining people in the arcade will have to fight for their lives...

As someone who whiled away many Mountain Dew-fueled hours playing video games as a youth, a novella about a murderous video arcade was something I couldn't pass up. Plus, it was on my kindle and I had to read SOMETHING while my tires were getting rotated. What was I going to do, talk to the other patrons?

As I've said before, I think Adam Cesare and I would be best buds if we'd grown up in the same neighborhood. His video game references hit all the right notes for me without feeling patronizing or pandering. The Ghost and Goblins reference was spot on. Fuck, that was one hard game!

Zero Lives Remaining is a survival horror tale set in a haunted arcade. For a b-horror enthusiast like myself, it reminds me of the part of Maximum Overdrive when they're holed up in the gas station. No one can enter, no one can leave, and it's only a matter of time before the next person dies. Some of the characters are surprisingly well crafted for a novella where most of the cast is destined to die horribly. Dan Bowden, in particular, really had me rooting for him.

There's a fair amount of gore but nothing nausea-inducing. I thought I knew who the survivors would be at the beginning and I was way off.

Zero Lives Remaining is a fun horror novella and a perfect way to kill time waiting for your car to get serviced. Four out of five stars.

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Neko

P. L. Nunn
Self-Published
Reviewed by Nancy
3 out of 5 stars

Summary

The neko are a cat-like race that live separate from humans. When Dharsha, a young neko is captured and enslaved he learns just how cruel humanity can be. Sold to a group of brutal woodsmen, who despise his differences, he becomes less than human, an object for them to sate their frustrations and lust. Only when a passing trapper frees him of their cruel ownership, does he discover that not all humans are evil. And in a new land, he discovers as well, that he can find love and clan with the one man who needs him as much as he is needed.

My Review

I would not have read this book if several of my friends have not already read and enjoyed P.L. Nunn’s work. Since I have read many books that explore the darker side of humanity and the evil things people do to each other, I wasn’t going to let a few warnings like, “bestiality, torture, and exaggerated scenes of humiliation, sadism and bondage” scare me away.

In Chapter 1, a young Neko named Dharsha was captured and sold as a pleasure slave. He went through hell with his first few masters until he was sold to a woman who introduced him to pleasures he knew little of. Though she was mostly kind, she would never let Dharsha forget he was just a slave, and he rebelled. His rebellion earned a brutal beating and his sale to five woodsmen who didn’t waste any time showing Dharsha how to behave like a proper slave.

I read this chapter just before going to bed and had a dream that I had a Neko of my own. Like the Neko in the story, he was a young man with feline characteristics such as tail, claws and tufted ears. He was sitting in my father’s favorite chair drinking a tall glass of Coke while I was sitting on the couch with my grandmother across the way. My father comes home unexpectedly, and my grandmother and I race to the kitchen, leaving the Neko sitting quietly. From the kitchen we can hear glass break, and my father shouting about cat hairs on his chair. Then he proceeded to beat the Neko until he howled. When I came out of the kitchen to beg my dad to leave him alone, my dad started pounding on me for referring to the Neko as a “him” and not as an “it”. I remember waking up and thinking that this author must have some serious issues with men and cats.

Chapters 2 through 7 nauseated me with the relentless torture, physical and sexual humiliation, and deprivations Dharsha endures with the five woodsmen. It took me a couple of days to read these chapters, as they were too much, even for me. I then had a dream that my former boss called me into work (after I was laid off) because he couldn’t find any of the employee files. When I arrived at the office, I saw the file cabinet drawers were open and my former office was a shambles. The files were nowhere to be found. My boss then grabbed me, bent me over the desk, tied my arms over my head, pulled my pants down, and took a switch to my bare ass. By this stage, the Neko’s spirit was so broken and my feelings so numb that nothing that happened next could have shocked me. So I kept reading.

In the next chapter, a trapper comes to the woodsmen’s cabin wishing to spend a night or two in the stable while his horse recovers from injury. Neko reveals the woodsmen’s plans for the trapper and the two make their escape.

Though Dharsha is relieved to be away from his brutal masters, it takes some time for him to adjust to his freedom. Gradually, his feline senses become more attuned, his claws grow back and he demonstrates skill as a hunter. These skills become useful when the trapper’s life becomes endangered.

It was a pleasure watching Dharsha grow and change, though I wish more of the story would have been devoted to his adjustment to his new life and his developing relationship with Caled, the trapper, rather than the brutality he endured.

I suspect this is the most violent of P.L. Nunn’s works and will read another of the author’s stories, just not right away.