Audiobook Review - The Sandman (Act I) by Neil Gaiman, Adapted by Dirk Maggs, Read by Full Cast

Here is my review for Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, Act I, which is currently free on Audible through October 22, 2021 to US residents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRF-wa3BQBw

Please like, subscribe, and visit the channel to lay down some snark. I'm really missing it!

Kindle and Audiobook Deals for July 28, 2021 - Sandman 1 (Neil Gaiman) is Free, 5 Wheel of Time Books 1/2 price

My video description has a list of links. Yep, that's how I get you, one more click away, sorry to be that way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-Mqg_-JW9g&t=1s

Please visit, like, subscribe, tell me to stop making you click multiple links to get to the deals.

eBook Deals - Gaiman, Pratchett, Howey, Clarke, Barnes, Clines, Klima, Frohock, Crouch, McCammon

Tons of eBook deals this month. Thought I'd share.

[$1.99] Unnatural Creatures (short stories) by Neil Gaiman
[$1.99] The Wee Free Men (Discworld #30) by Terry Pratchett
[$1.99] Dust (Silo #3) by Hugh Howey
[$1.99] Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
[$1.99] The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke
[$1.99] Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
[$1.99] The Garden of Stones (Echoes of Empire #1) by Mark T. Barnes - My Review.
[$1.99] The Obsidian Heart (Echoes of Empire #2) by Mark T. Barnes
[$1.99] The Pillars of Sand (Echoes of Empire #3) by Mark T. Barnes
[$1.99] Ex-Patriots (Ex-Heroes #2) by Peter Clines
[$1.99] Ex-Communication (Ex-Heroes #3) by Peter Clines
[$1.99] Ex-Purgatory (Ex-Heroes #4) by Peter Clines
[$1.99] Happily Ever After (anthology), Edited by John Klima
[$1.99] Miserere by Teresa Frohock

[$2.00] Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch
[$2.00] Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch
[$2.00] The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3) by Blake Crouch

[$2.99] Stinger by Robert McCammon

eBook Deals - Posey, Gaiman, Abercrombie, Kadrey, Chu, Scalzi, Grossman, Bester, Schwab,

I don't know what's going on lately, but there are a ton of great books on sale right now in the US.

[$0.99] Three (Legends of the Dustwalker #1) by Jay Posey

[$1.99] The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
[$1.99] Half a King (Shattered Sea #1) by Joe Abercrombie
[$1.99] The Getaway God by Richard Kadrey
[$1.99] The Lives of Tao (Lives of Tao #1) by Wesley Chu
[$1.99] Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon

[$2.99] The Human Division (Old Man's War #5) by John Scalzi
[$2.99] The Magicians (Magicians #1) by Lev Grossman - I can't recommend this enough!
[$2.99] Virtual Unrealities, short fiction by Alfred Bester
[$2.99] Vicious by V.E. Schwab
[$2.99] Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi

eBook Deals - Sanderson, Gaiman, Martin, Beaulieu, Cameron

I haven't read any of Brandon Sanderson's novellas for the Infinity Blade game on iPhone, but I've played the first game and it's pretty fun until everything gets ridiculously pricy. They've always been $2.99, but I just saw they are reduced at the moment so of course I'm jumping on it. Anyone know how good they are?

[$0.99] Infinity Blade: Awakening (Infinity Blade #1) by Brandon Sanderson (novella set in Infinity Blade world)
[$0.99] Infinity Blade: Redemption (Infinity Blade #2)by Brandon Sanderson (novella set in Infinity Blade world)
[$1.99] Stardust by Neil Gaiman
[$2.99] A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire #5) by George R.R. Martin
[$2.99] The Winds of Khalakovo (Lays of Anuskay #1) by Bradley P. Beaulieu
[$2.99] The Red Knight (Traitor Son #1) by Miles Cameron

eBook Deals - Weeks, Gaiman, Card, McClellan, Cornwell, Sanderson, Butcher, Martin, Jordan

I thought I was keeping my spending under control, until the last couple weeks. These deals are insane. I hate them. So much that I can't stop buying everything that ever went on sale. And of course I have to pass them on to you. Does that mean I hate you?

[$1.79] The Way of Shadows (Night Angel #1) by Brent Weeks - I still have fond memories of this series years later.

[$1.99] Stardust by Neil Gaiman - My review.
[$1.99] Ender's Game (Ender #1) by Orson Scott Card
[$1.99] Promise of Blood (Powder Mages #1) by Brian McClellan - My review.
[$1.99] Death of Kings (Saxon Stories #6) by Bernard Cornwell - Not fantasy, but it does have a GRRM quote on the cover.

[$2.49] Steelheart (Reckoners #1) by Brandon Sanderson
[$2.49] The Blinding Knife (Lightbringer #2) by Brent Weeks
[$2.49] Cold Days (Dresden Files #14) by Jim Butcher

[$2.99] The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson - My review.
[$2.99] A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire #5) by George R.R. Martin

[$4.29] A Memory of Light (Wheel of Time #14) by Robert Jordan

[$9.99 or $1.99 a piece] All 5 Books of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin (usually around $27)

Only the Best of 2011 - End of the Year Wrap-Up and Top 10

It's that time of year, I've always wondered why we do best of lists before the year's even over, I mean, there's still time to finish books. I also fully realize the end of a year is a time for reflection and the new year is a time for new beginnings. At least awards for books occur in the following year, they know what they're doing.


Top 5 (2011 Releases)

5. Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
4. Shadow's Lure by Jon Sprunk
3. The Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer
2. Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan



1. Heaven's Needle by Liane Merciel

It's really sad there won't be any more books in the Ithelas series as the publisher has discontinued it. I still say it's worth a read along with the first book, The River Kings' Road.


Honorable Mentions

I could pretty much place these in my top 5, it was THAT hard of a decision.


Low Town by Daniel Polansky
Demon Squad: Resurrection by Tim Marquitz


What's Missing? (I stole this from The Speculative Scotsman)


Well, I decided to take my time with some of the biggies this year, you know, wait until there's a bit more progress in the series before I do my big reread... so A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin and Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss.


Oh, and remember The Unremembered (that was on purpose)? It was enjoyable, but not quite an end of the year best.


Top 10 (Published any year)

There wasn't really a big chance for the new kids on the block with some of the classics I read this year and I decided not to count the books from The Wheel of Time that I listened to because that's just not fair. I also didn't include any of the novellas that I snuck in the last few weeks.

10. The Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer
9. I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells
8. Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan
7. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
6. The Waste Lands and The Drawing of the Three by Steven King (same series, same number, doesn't make sense I know)
5. Heaven's Needle by Liane Merciel
4. Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
3. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
2. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (Even got my wife to read it and she's loving it)


1. Songs of the Dying Earth Edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois


I'll have some posts about goals and how I did this year (sadly not all were met) probably sometime in the new year. Otherwise Happy Holidays and see ya in 2012!

Review - Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I've always considered myself a Neil Gaiman fan, but then I realized how can that be? Yes, I watched the movie Stardust and I DID read Good Omens...but wait. I never actually read a book solely by Neil Gaiman.

What kind of fan does that make me? A terrible one (if you were wondering about the answer).

But now, all that's changed...kinda. I'm still a crappy fan, but a fan nonetheless, one who's actually read a book solely written by the author. This will also not be the last. I loved Stardust [US] [UK] [Kindle].

The best way to describe this book is that it's a modern day fairy tale. It's lyrical, it's magical... whimsical would also work here. And the modern day part is evidenced in that Gaiman doesn't shy away from sex and one hilarious use of profanity.

Niel Gaiman is a master.

The Movie

I can't help but compare the book to the movie. I watched the movie first, so I was constantly comparing throughout, catching the subtle and brilliant uses of foreshadowing, Robert DeNiro in a tutu, and the amazing Mark Strong as Septimus (the brothers were easily my favorite parts).

I know plenty of people hated the movie after reading the book, but having been sullied prior to my reading, I thought the movie did a great job capturing the atmosphere and humor of the book. Obviously there are some changes, especially with the ending, but overall the movie stays true to the book.

This is a movie I can watch over and over and over again...to my wife's constant chagrin.

Why Read Stardust?

If you watched the movie and loved it, this will only heighten your enjoyment. It's a quick read and a masterpiece. The movie captures the book impeccably, but it is still well worth your time to read.

5 out of 5 Stars

Bona Fide's Two Cents: Seven Essential Second-step Fantasies

On 12th of August 2009, The New Yorker posted an online-article about fantasy book recommendations for readers of books like "Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, His Dark Materials, Twilight, Narnia, A Wrinkle in Time, The Dark Is Rising." Of course this list aroused interest and it didn't take long until you could read about it on several blogs. I don't want to bother you with a long list of links. I recommend to read the article by Aidan over at A Dribble of Ink. I mostly agree with him except The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers because it did not work for me.

From the original list I read five books. I didn't read The Scions of Shannara by Terry Brooks and nothing by Guy Gavriel Kay.

That lead me to questions: Am I a fantasy book lover? Am I experienced enough to comment this list? Is it hubris when I try to recommend other books?

As I told you before I'm a fan of Aidan's list but there are still books which I recommend which are not mentioned there. That means I didn't create my own list. I just present you some proposals. Anyhow there are still too many books I have not read so far.....

I start my recommendations with The Last Rune series by Mark Anthony. I don't want to repeat my last post. So please read Bona Fide: Living in a Fantasy World? for more information. I think this series is proper next step for readers of Harry Potter and Narnia. It delivers two worlds and adult heroes.

I'm not a fan of Twilight. But within this year I read a book which shows completely different vampires. I'm talking about Fevre Dream [US] [UK] by George R. R. Martin which has been published first in 1982. I know that Twilight and Fevre Dream are like two sides of coin. That means it is a challenge for Twilight readers.








I liked to read the following two books after Harry Potter - yes I have read all Potter books.

The first one is Un Lun Dun (2007) by China Miéville [US] [UK]. A book with exuberant imagination. You will meet an extraordinary house pet: Curdle, an empty milk carton. Discover the secret life of broken umbrellas and, and, and, ......






The second one is a bit older but still worth reading.
Discover a bizarre realm beneath London and follow Richard Mayhew into a world full of monsters, saints, murderers and angels in Neverwhere (1996), by Neil Gaiman [US] [UK].







Now I want to direct your attention to a historical fantasy book. As I don't know Guy Gavriel Kay I would like to recommend: Midnight Never Come (2008) by Marie Brennan [US] [UK]. This is the first book of The Onyx Court series. The books (so far Marie Brennan has signed a contract for four books) in this historical fantasy series are set in my favorite town, London, and cover different periods of English history. The title of the book is derived from The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlow [Free online read].

"Now hast thou but one hower to live
And then thou must be damned perpetually:
Stand stil you ever moving spheres of heaven
That time may cease, and midnight never come!"

For more information please read my review.

My last recommendation is a real intense book and I know a lot of people will tell me that it is no fantasy from a technical point of view. And it is a big book (more than 900 pages). But when you like an awesome story with a historical background then there is no way out to read Terror (2007) [US] [UK] by Dan Simmons.
He tells the story of the last expedition of John Franklin, who tried to find the Northwest Passage in 1845 with the ships HMS Terror and HMS Erebus. Based on the know facts, Dan Simmons presents an expressive and quite impressive metaphor of the expedition. I felt the cold on nearly every page. Let's not forget the intense description of the feelings of the expedition members. Beside all the obvious fun, the reader gets to learn a lot about the customs and traditions of the Eskimos.

The appendix contains the list of crewmembers, a glossary and explanations of Eskimo terms. I recommend this book warmly to everyone who is interested in Arctic Zones, Explorers, and the depths of the human soul.