(audiobook) Review - The Stand by Stephen King

The word "review" might be stretching what this actually is. It's more of a rambling story of my history with Stephen King and The Stand. Here's my review.

I know that was the longest way in the history of anything to say, wow, what a good book. From the rise of the super-flu to the dawning of a new civilization and the ever-overshadowing and always looming confrontation, this was one epic read. Not for the faint of heart (or even close – The Kid, just think of The Kid!), but definitely an experience not to be rivaled.

(audiobook) Review - Carrie by Stephen King

As you know, my audiobook reviews are posted over at SFFaudio.com, so here's that handy dandy link and a little teaser:

First of all, this audiobook was read by Sissy Spacek. If you’ve been living under a rock, she’s the one who played Carrie in the classic film based on this book. She’s a great actress, although I’ve not seen this film, and she’s perfect for the reading of this book.

This is a bit misleading, but I'll let you check out the review of Carrie by Stephen King for the rest of my thoughts.

(audiobook) Review - Star Wars: Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn

With a cover like that, you're almost compelled to read Star Wars: Scoundrels. It oozes cool and then with the teaser that there's Han AND Lando. Happiness, that's what that is. Okay, this one wasn't perfect, but it was fun.

Like all my audiobook reviews now this one's over at sffaudio.com.

(audiobook) Review - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, Read by Wil Wheaton

Here's my review.

As I announced before, all my audio reviews are heading over to SFFaudio.com, probably of their own accord even. Today, my review of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline went up. I don't know how better to explain my love of this book than with this awkward phrase we sometimes use - it tickled my fancy. It really did. This book won me over immediately and made me want to live there possibly forever. I don't even love the '80's all that much.

My New Gig at SFFaudio.com

Audiobooks seem to be on the rise lately with companies like Audible and a plethora of other sites allowing people to keep up with their busy schedule while reading the books they love.

If you're anything like me, I always have a book going in multiple formats so that no matter what, a spare moment can be used exactly how I want to use it - reading of course. I usually have a book going in paper on my nightstand, one on my Kindle for those moments when the phone app is more accessible, and of course an audiobook for my diving and walking.

I'm not joking, literally every moment is spent doing what I love. It's also the only way I can read as many books as I do.

I read a number of audiobooks every year and up until this time it has been almost the only way I can read all the books I've been meaning to read for ages, but haven't gotten around to. Well, now that will be changing a bit as I'll be posting all my audiobook reviews at SFFaudio.com.

As my last post pointed out, I read about 11 or 12 audiobooks a year, so it's nothing that will change too much about this blog, but yet I'm very excited about this tiny change. It also means that I will be getting audiobook review copies, so who knows when I'll read all the books I've been meaning to get to . I know, woe is me, the terrible life of getting the thing you love just slightly less than you kids for free.

With that riveting intro, I also wanted to let you know my first review is up today:

Island of the Sequined Love Nun was actually my first foray into his work, but what got me more than anything else, even more than Moore’s popularity and humor, was the title itself. It says it all. And after having read it, it’s an extremely fitting title. (Review - Island of the Sequined Love Nun)

(Audiobook) Review - The Dying Earth by Jack Vance

I've known for quite a while that George RR Martin thinks highly of Jack Vance and The Dying Earth and last year I had the opportunity to read his anthology, Songs of the Dying Earth, where a number of authors wrote short stories set in The Dying Earth universe.

I loved it. It remains, and easily so, the best anthology I've ever read. And that only meant one thing, I had to read the original tales.

I'm also very glad I read the anthology, even though one of the stories in The Dying Earth was spoiled a bit by it (actually, the title alone spoiled the story, but not bad at all). It was great to have an understanding of some of the world, the peculiar wordings, and some of the creatures. This usually isn't a problem, and I don't think will be for you, it's just that audiobooks make it harder to get into something that takes a while to explain things.

With my busy schedule (graduated law school Saturday, studying for the bar, my wife was just put on bed rest and we have a two-year-old, and twins in August...hopefully), I don't always have time to read everything I would like to, so I've become a huge supporter of audiobooks. This gives me somewhat of a chance to make a dent in my to-be-read pile.

With that in mind, the narrator can make or break a book sadly, but The Dying Earth's narrator was pretty much perfect for the job. This is a unique place and deserves a unique voice for all its characters and the land.

The Dying Earth is one of those magical places that doesn't exist in this new age of gritty, realistic fantasy. The dialogue is clever and full of vocabulary words to look up. Luckily I've read Steven Erikson, not to mention the anthology mentioned above, for some heads up.

The land is full of fantastic beasts and peoples and wizards and magic. The spells are so complicated, a wizard can only keep up to five in his or her head at a time. The story is full of riddles and extraordinary circumstances and I may have mentioned this before...magic.

This is the first book in The Dying Earth series of four books, called simply The Dying Earth. Instead of one long narrative it's just a collection of short stories that are loosely connected by the land of the dying earth and the stories are titled by the character the story follows.

As I understand it, the rest of the books in the series are also short stories collected into one volume, but unlike this first volume, the rest of the books each follow a certain character for the entire book. I'll keep you updated as I continue.

Do yourself a favor and pick up The Dying Earth. I know gritty and real are the buzzwords of the day, but while The Dying Earth is nothing of the sort, it's full of magic and whimsy and I now realize how amazing work the authors of Songs of the Dying Earth actually did.

4 out of 5 Stars (Loved it)

The Dying Earth ToC:

Turjan of Miir
Mazirian the Magician
T'sais
Liane the Wayfarer
Ulan Dhor
Guyal of Sfere

(Audiobook) Review - Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry

Jonathan Maberry has made a name for himself writing horror, but more specifically writing about zombies. Going into Patient Zero [US] [UK] [Kindle], I knew it would contain zombies, but it could probably fit just as well under the label of "covert ops" or some such (not that this fantasy nerd knows anything past dragons and magic). It technically contains a form of "zombie," but it really isn't a zombie book.

The real threat in this book is terrorism. Joe Ledger, the series' eponymous hero and Baltimore detective, is recruited by a special, super secret task force, the Department of Military Sciences (DMS). The DMS is charged with taking out a group of terrorists with a bio-weapon that turns people essentially into zombies.

Maberry does a great job getting you right into Patient Zero. Ledger's right in the middle of the action, gets recruited, gets tested to see if he can cut it. I was sucked in fast, but it also got old fast for me.

I love a good zombie book as much as the next guy, but as I mentioned above, this wasn't really a zombie book and I found myself getting a bit bored. I really think it was me more than anything the author did, these types of books just aren't my cup-o-tea. I don't mind watching these types of movies, but I like reading more about the supernatural than espionage, etc, and there really wasn't a whole lot of supernatural going on here.

And maybe that's kudos to the author. He did a great job explaining the plague/zombie-making disease and maybe too good because it all made sense and it was more like preventing the spread of the mumps.

But, while I admit that these types of books aren't my favorite, I also had a hard time with the main character, Mr. Ledger. He's a tough-guy, a meat-head so to speak (so we probably wouldn't hang out anyway), but he grated on me after awhile. It's almost like he's constantly pissed, but that's not quite it. He's not quite griping either, but he's got this attitude quite frequently expressed such as "you're doing it all wrong."

I'll admit that my disappointment could also be from the impression given by the narrator who was good but intense at times.

While Joe Ledger plays a large role in Patient Zero, he maybe only takes up a little over 50% of the book. The rest is in Afghanistan with the terrorists and specifically Sebastian Gault, a billionaire who specializes in pharmaceuticals. While considered a philanthropist by the world, he really takes advantage of ailing countries rather than really helping them, so of course something like this is right for him.

The Afghanistan parts are where most of the twists and turns take place, but I still can't say I loved it all that much. I think I'm over the terrorists as the "bad guys" and while it really was the only thing that worked for the story (who else could pull off bio-weapons?) I'm done with them just like I'm done with the Germans and Russians (as bad guys not as characters).

I think a lot of people will enjoy this much more than I did and I can't say I didn't like it either, I just didn't love it. The twists and turns were great and I really didn't expect the ending where he could have gone the way of I Am Legend, but didn't. 

Recommended, but not necessarily as a zombie novel.

3 out of 5 Stars (Liked it)

Download a free Joe Ledger short story here.

(Audiobook) Review - Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

This is another one of those, how-can-you-call-yourself-a-fantasy-fan-without-reading series. I really am sorry I waited this long because I loved it and can't wait for more...good thing there are 10 more and counting set in the Realm of the Elderlings.

That's not to say I loved it from the beginning, however. I had a bit of a hard time getting into Assassin's Apprentice [US] [UK-Kindle £1.99] [Kindle], but that could also be the fact that I had a hard time with the narrator of the audiobook at first. By the end, I actually found it quite fitting.

Assassin's Apprentice is the first book in the Farseer Trilogy. The Farseer's are a ruling family in the land of the Six Duchies and the book is told from the perspective of Fitz Chivalry, the bastard of Prince Chivalry Farseer.

Everyone knows he's the bastard, his name even connotes such, but he has an uncanny resemblance to his father. Also, no one really knows what to do about the bastard until King Shrewd Farseer decides to put him to good use by putting him to work as the title of the book suggests.

As an assassin for the king, Fitz learns about herbs and languages, stealth and subterfuge. He's given tasks that test his skills such as stealing certain artifacts and then putting them back without being seen.

The setup of the book works really well to build up the world without slowing down the action too much. It's told essentially as Fitz Chivalry writing his memoirs. Each chapter begins with some information about the world, the politics, the peoples of or around the Six Duchies, among other things. Following this, the story resumes as if we're right there with Fitz as he is experiencing things.

In this way, the world becomes a rich tapestry you can't help but feel yourself a part of. The world expands while we continue to see the important role (and roles) that the bastard is beginning to play.

As I talk about this book now, Assassin's Apprentice wasn't nearly as exciting as I thought it would be going into it. We learn a lot about the world, the history, the relationships and the assassin work is really just a small part.

Then again, the story is much more than I ever thought it would be. It's more than just assassins, it's a rich story with a huge history that's told impeccably. Hobb is a master at leading you to expect one thing while her real plans come out of left field...and yet are so obvious at the same time.

4 out of 5 Stars (Loved it!)

Farseer Trilogy
Assassin's Apprentice (1995)
Royal Assassin (1996)
Assassin's Quest (1997)

Liveship Traders Trilogy
Ship of Magic (1998) 
Mad Ship (1999) 
Ship of Destiny (2000)

The Tawny Man Trilogy 
Fool's Errand (2002) 
Golden Fool (2003) 
Fool's Fate (2003)

Rain Wilds Chronicles

Dragon Keeper (2009) 
Dragon Haven (2010) 
City of Dragons (February 2012) 
Blood of Dragons (February 2013)

Exciting News - Epic Wheel of Time Giveaway

I was way too excited about this, I had to share immediately.

I just talked to a publicist at Macmillan Audio (I don't know whether she wants her name here, so I'll leave it at that) and we are going to host a giveaway for each of the audiobooks of the Wheel of Time leading up to the publication of A Memory of Light in November (not including A Memory of Light or New Spring).

(and The Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight, minus New Spring)

These are amazingly well done, read by Kate Reading and Michael Cramer, and I think it's the perfect way to do a reread.

(My collection)

We'll start next week and hold a giveaway every few weeks until the final volume comes out in November. Anyone excited?

Addition to the Alloy of Law Giveaway - Alloy of Law on Audiobook

You may have heard we're running a giveaway of Brandon Sanderson's Alloy of Law, a Mistborn novel. Well, not only do we like to milk things for all they're worth, Macmillan audio found out about it too and decided to throw in a copy of The Alloy of Law on audiobook, whoot! Sorry, couldn't help myself.

I know there are lots of audiophiles (like me) out there, so now's your chance to give your eyes a rest and enjoy a book on your way to work/school/gym/dragon factory.

So, to sum up the giveaway. We're now giving away not only a signed ARC of The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson, but also the Audiobook.

If you've already entered the giveaway, do not send another entry. We will give the signed ARC to the first pick and the audiobook to the second.

Macmillan audio has also provided a clip for your enjoyment.

(Audiobook) Review - The Lost Gate (Mithermages 1) by Orson Scott Card

As controversial as Orson Scott Card has been in recent years, I think you have to admit that the man can write. Up until this point, I had only read some of his Ender and Ender's Shadow books, but I guess he can do fantasy too.

The blurb for The Lost Gate [US] [UK] [Kindle], which after all my attempts, just does a better job:

Danny North knew from early childhood that his family was different, and that he was different from them. While his cousins were learning how to create the things that commoners called fairies, ghosts, golems, trolls, werewolves, and other such miracles that were the heritage of the North family, Danny worried that he would never show a talent, never form an outself.

He grew up in the rambling old house, filled with dozens of cousins, and aunts and uncles, all ruled by his father. Their home was isolated in the mountains of western Virginia, far from town, far from schools, far from other people.

There are many secrets in the House, and many rules that Danny must follow. There is a secret library with only a few dozen books, and none of them in English — but Danny and his cousins are expected to become fluent in the language of the books. While Danny’s cousins are free to create magic whenever they like, they must never do it where outsiders might see.

Unfortunately, there are some secrets kept from Danny as well. And that will lead to disaster for the North family.

While I enjoyed this book, I can't say I absolutely loved it like I can about the Ender books I've read. I enjoyed it, it has an amazing magic system, but it has some parts that were pretty boring, not to mention seemed like just a set up for the rest of the series.

Danny finds out, and look away if you don't want the very beginning to be spoiled, that he's actually a gate-mage, one of the rarest and most powerful mages - one that's supposed to be killed on the spot by any of the family members if found out.

So Danny jumps ship from the family...and here's where the story gets boring for a while. There's some meandering, some pointless characters and finally we meet some people who matter who lead to some actual development in the story.

Danny's a good character, but having only read the Ender books, I guess Card's pretty good at writing 12-year-olds? Okay, I couldn't help that one. But seriously, Danny's a smart kid (the smartest in fact), with a great memory, who's not afraid to talk back to adults...dang, I'm still doing it.

Listening to the audiobook, the afterword by the author is pretty interesting. I assumed it was in the book, but if not, it's worth a listen just to see the the process behind how this book has come about, especially given the fact that it's been in the making since 1977. Usually I'm not a big fan of the OSC foreword or afterward since they give way too much information and almost kills any interest I had in reading the book, but things seem to be easier to take on audio.

Why Read (or Listen To) The Lost Gate?

If you've liked Card before, you'll probably like this one too. It's not his best, but it's not bad either and I'm really looking forward to the sequels. Now that the stage is set, I really think it can go places and I'm not quite done with the magic system either.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

(Audiobook) Review - Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card

While still a proponent that Card should have left it at Ender's Game and been done with this saga, Ender's Shadow [US] [UK] is not only good, it's definitely worth reading.

As a parallel novel to Orson Scott Card's classic Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow follows Bean, the kid Ender treats like the teachers treated him.

While hesitant to pick this up, I had heard that the Shadow series is better than the original quartet, but I couldn't get away from the feeling that it would pretty much be the same book. I'm glad I was wrong.

The first quarter or so of the book takes us from Beans upbringing in the slums of Rotterdam as he barely survives on the streets through the child gangs and bullying to his discovery and entry into Battle School.

Already, Ender's Shadow is completely different from Ender's Game. Bean has obviously survived because of his immense intelligence, which not only rivals Ender's, but far surpasses it. The only problem is there is one other person on the streets who happens to have it out for Bean because of what Bean's done to him. Achilles (pronounced Asheel) holds grudges like no one else, but also knows how to work the system, especially adults.

Card is a master storyteller, even turning what is essentially the same story in Ender's Game into something new and unique. Characterization is flawless and while Bean is a super-intelligent kid, he is in every way relatable to the reader. Let's be honest, kids can be brutal and Card understands this perfectly.

Bean is able to out-think everyone at flight school from the kid commanders to the teachers and officers. He knows what will get him in trouble whether it's bullies or teachers, but he also knows most everything else that is going on in Battle School even those things the teachers don't want him to know. Those things that make him a risk and have the teachers wondering whether he belongs.

Audio Commentary

There is a full cast for this one and Scott Brick, playing Bean, does an amazing job. In fact there's not one bad performance and even the great Stefan Rudnicki plays a minor role (Worth it just to listen to him).

At the end of the book, Card gives an afterword that mainly discusses the movie Ender's Game that he says will be a combination of Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow. This wasn't the original decision, but actually helped to cut down the script being able to play from both point of views.

Card also mentions that once someone writes a book everyone starts asking when it's going to be made into a movie, to which he replies, it's already in it's perfect form, it's a book. Too true!

Sadly, this movie will probably never come to pass - I don't know how long these talks have been going on, but it's been a while.

Why Should You Read Ender's Shadow?

This is a great follow up (or beginning) to the classic, Ender's Game. It puts you right into the setting and mind of the main character and everything becomes real. Coupled with Card's writing, you can't go wrong - this is a great book. Highly Recommended.

4.5 out of 5 Stars

(Audiobook) Review - The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett

Mankind finally has a way not only to defend themselves from the demons that have taken over the night, but they have the ability to combat their enemies. Arlen, aka the Warded Man, wants to distribute the combat wards he found to everyone in the world so they don't have to suffer at the hands of the demons as he did when his mother died.

Compare this to the Krasian method of enslaving all mankind and forcing them to fight in alagai'sharak, the Krasian's name for their nightly battle with the demons.

In this respect, I couldn't help but compare The Desert Spear to The Matrix Reloaded. Not because there was a decrease in quality like the Matrix films, but moreso because suddenly the demons aren't as scary just like the agents lost all their spunk in the second film.

There are so many ways and means that have been found, especially by Leesha and those of Deliverer's (formerly Cutter's) Hollow, to either combat the demons or make oneself invisible to them that it's almost like the demons aren't even there anymore. This was a little disappointing especially in a series that is all about groups of people coming together for the cause of warring with demonkind.

Luckily, there's enough going on that this isn't too big of an issue, just something that was a little disappointing.

The Desert Spear (2010) [US] [UK], book 2 of the Demon Cycle, begins by following Ahmann something something something Jardir, who we met in The Warded Man (Alec's review, my review), and exclusively deals with the events in Krasia and Jardir's history...and this lasts for about a quarter of the book.

I know many have complained about this aspect of the book, that the book takes far too long to get to Arlan, Leesha, and Rojer, but I'm a firm believer that delayed satisfaction does in fact make you appreciate your favorite parts.

But, I can't really say that I even loathed reading the first part. The more I read/listened, the more I found I was sucked into Jardir's past/present and the effort that went into creating this society.

Not only are new wards created/found, but we find out there are more demons than we have seen so far, one of them being the Mind demons, who rule all of demonkind. These guys make a couple of appearances and prove that although most demons aren't much of a threat, there are still some that could pose some difficulties, especially since they have the ability to think and reason like man.

Leesha and Rojer have become mainstays in Deliverer's Hollow where many refugees have fled to escape the flood that is the Krasians. This is where we also find out the advancements that Leesha has made on warding. Many have mentioned that Leesha is a bit of a wonder woman in this book and while that's true to an extent, I think a lot of this comes from the fact that we see Leesha through the eyes of Ahmann Jardir, who has a bit of a skewed perspective of her.

The issue of The Deliverer, or Shar'Dama Ka in Krasia, is central to The Desert Spear. While Arlan does everything he can to fight this distinction, the people of the north will believe what they want to believe, and many times to Arlen's frustration.

On the other hand, in Krasia, Ahmann Jardir not only convinces himself and Krasia that he is the Shar'Dama Ka, but takes his unified Krasian army to the north to force the people of the north to fight demonkind.

Audio Commentary

I realized I haven't been that good at discussing the audio portion of the book when I do an Audiobook review, so I wanted to add this section so that the review will actually be handy to those who were debating on whether to listen or read, having already made the decision to obtain this book.

Pete Bradbury does a great job in both The Desert Spear and The Warded/Painted Man audiobooks. He has a gruff voice, which works well for Arlen, Jardir, all of Krasia, Messengers, etc. But, at the same time, it doesn't even sound weird when he does the female characters' voices. The Audiobook is really well done and definitely recommended.

When Should You Read The Desert Spear?

The Desert Spear continues on the same level as The Warded Man, which I highly recommend and while the characters are great, the world that Peter V. Brett created has created a huge fan in me.

4.5 out of 5 Stars