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The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons – Book Review

08/23/202408/04/2021 by dr. gunga

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons – Book Cover

Exciting Opening with a Talking Dragon

Jenn Lyons’ book The Ruin of Kings begins with an exciting premise: we have a hero who isn’t going to save the world, but rather tear it apart like a kid with a piñata. At least, if the prophecies are to be believed. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; if we’re counting correctly, this won’t happen until about 2100 pages later. Assuming the next two volumes turn out to be similarly hefty bricks. (Yep, exactly that.)

You’ll notice from the very first pages that the story in The Ruin of Kings is densely woven, as is typical of high fantasy, with an incredibly detailed background world. Almost every page includes some integral piece of background information seamlessly integrated into the text. The story is teeming with gods, mages, demons, and dragons, but fortunately, Jenn Lyons’ writing doesn’t suffer from any excessive magical antics. Magic is barely used, and the author’s commendable restraint ensures that the result doesn’t come off as ridiculous.

Oh, and there’s a talking dragon too. Yes, those don’t always turn out well. Somehow, though, it doesn’t come across as a major issue here.

An Evil Mind by Chris Carter – Book Review

08/22/202408/01/2021 by dr. gunga

An Evil Mind by Chris Carter – Book Cover

Are All Chris Carter Books the Same?

I decided that An Evil Mind would be the last Chris Carter book I read; never again in my life. I only read this one so I could say goodbye to the series with a good, scathing review. But why? BUT WHY!?

Well, my friend, because every Robert Hunter story is exactly the same.

Victims drop like flies. Each book features increasingly horrific massacres. The detectives analyze, brainstorm, but they never get anywhere.

And in the end, it always turns out that some entirely average criminal has been weaving these elaborate, time-consuming, and ridiculously complicated plans. And it’s always disappointing when the Hunter books reveal that the GREAT MANIPULATOR is nothing more than, say, an ordinary hater, the ex-girlfriend or maybe poor old Aunt Maggie from next door.

Moreover, if Detective Robert Hunter happens to meet a hot woman who’s a perfect match for him, she’s likely to get killed off before Hunter even has a chance to sweep her off her feet.

But then, dammit, it turns out that the sixth installment in the series, An Evil Mind, is an entirely different story!

God of Broken Things by Cameron Johnston – Book Review

07/26/202407/26/2021 by dr. gunga

God of Broken Things by Cameron Johnston – Book cover

Edwin Walker is a bastard – but otherwise a nice guy

Let’s not mince words: Edrin Walker is a vile scoundrel. At least, that’s what he thinks of himself. However, his self-perception didn’t stop him from saving his hometown from a massive threat in the prequel to God of Broken Things (see The Traitor God).

In God of Broken Things, another massive threat looms over the ill-fated city of Setharis. This isn’t bad news for the reader, as the second installment is somewhat more skillfully crafted than the first. The story is better developed, more comprehensible, and has fewer pointless antics and clumsy scenes (nudist grandma, ahem).

Edwin Walker Uses His Brain – Advanced Mind Magic

The evil antagonists, literally brain-invading scarrabus, are dead ringers for the Goa’uld from Stargate. If I were Cameron Johnston, I would’ve definitely stolen the idea from there myself. At first, this seems quite lame, and, well, it is a bit, but not entirely, because Edrin is an excellent practitioner of mind magic, as are these wretched little creatures. Thus, they have plenty of great opportunities to match wits—or rather, brains—in various skirmishes and eventually an epic battle.

God of Broken Things, much like its predecessor, is not free from unnecessary and bombastic embellishments. For instance, the galactic-scale backstory literally involves some characters throwing moons and planets around, creating such a contrast with the book’s main plot that it’s incapable of eliciting any significant reaction other than mild boredom. Fortunately, it’s only a few pages long.

God of Broken Things is gratuitously vulgar, screw that!

And how much of a vile scoundrel is Walker? For some reason, Johnston compulsively has the protagonist repeat how much of a disgusting, insensitive worm he is—while, in stark contrast, our hero gives his last pennies to the hungry, volunteers as an anesthesiologist in a hospital, or saves the ENTIRE planet. Edrin’s constant self-flagellation is clearly meant to make the hero unique. However, the facade slips: besides a hefty dose of cynicism, disrespect, and self-pity, there’s not much wrong with Edrin. Except, of course, his foul, dirty mouth!

The constant and utterly unnecessary swearing drags down the text of God of Broken Things to a barroom level. And, as with foul-mouthed kids in kindergarten, it’s hard to see what purpose it serves beyond shock value.

Cameron Johnston Creates a Memorable Hero… and…

However, after a while, you hardly notice the foul language anymore, fuck you, but you realize that Cameron Johnston somehow succeeded. Despite some bumps in the writing, the protagonist remains memorable. Especially as, over the course of the second part, the character finds himself more and becomes more agile and effective, turning into a true badass figure. And the mind games, distinct from typical fantasy, guarantee some uniqueness.

And in the end, the only thing you don’t understand is why, if Johnston went to the trouble of creating such a complex mythology and background world, he crammed the story into just two volumes. Because, truth be told, after the abrupt ending of God of Broken Things, you’re left feeling a bit incomplete.

Rating: 7.2/10

God of Broken Things (Age of Tyranny #2) by Cameron Johnston
432 pages, Paperback
Published in 2019 by Angry Robot

Thin Air by Richard Morgan – Book Review

07/19/202407/20/2021 by dr. gunga

Genetically Modified Noir on Mars

In 2008, Richard Morgan wrote a book about a genetically modified Martian super-soldier who wins a lottery ticket back to Earth and comes home to do some sleuthing. Ten years later, he wrote another one titled Thin Air, where the protagonist is again a genetically modified super-soldier, but this time he’s investigating the disappearance of the Martian lottery winner – on Mars, several hundred years later.

I’d bet on it, that Morgan captures many of us with his macho protagonist because it’s truly heartwarming to see such a competent, skilled individual at the center of the action, someone who occasionally rips apart those who get in his way during his investigations. But the focus isn’t on the ripping apart, of course – despite a strong emphasis on action, Thin Air is ultimately a crime novel, specifically in the noir sub-genre.

Washed-up protagonist? Check.
Femme fatale? Check.
Nefarious conspiracy in the background? Check.

Legion versus Phalanx by Myke Cole – Book Review

11/02/202407/17/2021 by dr. gunga

Legion versus Phalanx by Myke Cole - Book Cover

The one with the longer stick wins, right?

“The Epic Struggle for Infantry Supremacy in the Ancient World.” Yeah, but which one triumphs? The phalanx or the legion? As the reviews on this blog are typically spoiler-free, don’t expect me to give that away. Those astute readers who can dredge up from the depths of their minds the not-so-well-known fact about whether the Romans or the Greek-Macedonian tandem held sway over the Mediterranean coastline for hundreds of years, might have some preliminary guesses. The book Legion versus Phalanx is mainly for those who have no idea.

Myke Cole is an amateur military historian but also an enthusiastic and practicing soldier. Through six ancient battles, he attempts to provide a clear answer to this burning question, using a wealth of source material; alongside the well-known ancient historians, he also quotes authors you’ve probably never heard of in your life.

Moreover, Myke Cole skillfully dramatizes the events, making the battle descriptions particularly thrilling. (Though, in the case of the unfortunate water-carrying mule at the Battle of Pydna, he may have gone a bit overboard.)

Wildlife by Richard Ford – Book Review

06/16/202507/14/2021 by dr. gunga

I’m not saying Wildlife is boring, but I don’t know why

Richard Ford’s novel, which has won both the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN Award, cannot be definitively declared boring or completely uninteresting. Instead, you might simply say that Wildlife is not particularly engaging. The story of a slowly unraveling marriage, observed through the eyes of a sixteen-year-old boy, is quite ordinary and could happen to any of us. There are no major dramas, and perhaps not even any real reasons for the breakdown. Maybe it’s an escape from the mundane.

(And as a book review blog author, I must note that those facing such issues might find fewer problems by enrolling in a library. Hello, Great Falls Public Library!).

Young Joe analyzes the unfolding events with a Vulcan-like detachment reminiscent of Lieutenant Spock.

Wildlife isn’t gritty enough for “dirty realism”

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon – Book Review

07/13/202407/08/2021 by dr. gunga

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon - Book Cover

Not So Amazing Adventures

What comes to mind when you see a book title that includes the phrase “amazing adventures”? I’d bet you’re thinking of amazing adventures. Well, those are largely absent from Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Or at least they are only present in traces. The title is a classic example of (deliberately) misleading titling. The story of Josef Kavalier, who escaped to America from the Nazis, and his cousin, Clay spans about fifteen years and is a semi-family saga about the golden age of American comic book writing and the “survivor’s guilt” of those who lived through the Holocaust.

The Escapist Makes Comic Book History

So, what’s amazing about The amazing adventures of Kavalier and Clay? It’s the comic book history. (Of course, the adjective in the title of the book refers to this.) I can imagine that the early history of this classically American genre, the ninth art form, was enough to earn Michael Chabon half a Pulitzer Prize. (The other half was probably due to his humble and passionate homage to 1940s and ’50s New York.) The novel’s Escapist didn’t actually exist; the masked hero is a kind of paraphrase of Captain America, and the memorable cover featuring a punch to Hitler’s face is also connected to the latter.

The second amazing thing in Chabon’s book is the love between Joe and Rosa. After all, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is also a love story, and the focus gradually shifts more and more towards this aspect. But no worries, it’s a love story devoid of excess, borne with patience and perseverance, so you can’t help but root for the involved parties.

But Where Did the Prague Golem Go? And Especially Clay???

The third amazing thing is the pre-war, glimpsing Prague, with its famous golem (a massive but passive participant), a crash courses in escapology, and the increasingly suffocating presence of the Nazis.

Who doesn’t get much attention in this novel is poor Clay himself, who eventually gets relegated to a mere supporting role. Even when he does get some presence, it feels forced. (Another puzzled brow-furrowing moment considering the title.)

A Humanist Grand Novel – With Minor Shortcomings

The style of writing in The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay oddly matches the time of the story: sometimes you feel like you’re reading lines written several decades earlier. This is due to the endlessly leisurely pace, the boldly drawn-out scenes, or the meticulous descriptions of characters (or even interior spaces) who appear only for a few pages. Some people might find this frustrating, but it oddly suits the melancholic tribulations of Kavalier (and Clay), mimicking the expression of a grand novel, which, unfortunately, Michael Chabon’s work doesn’t quite reach. Nonetheless, it is still a very enjoyable read, mainly thanks to its humanistic perspective and its far from flawless but highly likable characters.

Rating: 8/10

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
639 pages, Paperback
Published in 2001 by Picador USA

Cari Mora by Thomas Harris – Book Review

07/10/202407/05/2021 by dr. gunga

Cari Mora isn’t just tough, but sexy too

Thomas Harris’s protagonist, Cari Mora, a former child soldier from Colombia and current Miami Beach hottie, is the caretaker of Pablo Escobar’s old villa. The meticulous and careful Pablo once hid $25 million worth of gold in the mansion. The mafia and a despicable German psychopath, whose hobby is organ trafficking, are both vying for the gold. (Cari Mora has no such plans; she simply wants to be a veterinarian.)

Thomas Harris has returned with a renewed style of novel – as you’ll gather from the blurb. As for why, only God knows, because there was nothing wrong with the old style: The Silence of the Lambs was almost as good in book form as the brilliant film made from it. This new style means the whole thing is a bit flatter and more superficial. And faster-paced – perhaps due to changing reader preferences or maybe because it’s much easier to write a book this way.

Thomas Harris seems to have forgotten how to write a good novel

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski – Book Review

07/10/202407/02/2021 by dr. gunga

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski – Book Cover

The Monster Hunter Steps Out of Fairy Tales

Geralt of Rivia, the professional monster hunter (or Witcher) created by the now world-famous Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, made his debut in a collection of short stories in 1993. The Last Wish is set in a fantasy world reminiscent of early medieval Eastern Europe, populated with dwarves, elves, and dragons, and enriched with creatures from Slavic and Germanic folklore—from strigas and succubi to a twisted version of Snow White.

It quickly becomes apparent that the strength and weakness of Sapkowski’s book are one and the same. While it may be somewhat different from a typical Anglo-Saxon fantasy, you might find yourself questioning the seriousness of it all when a monster conjures a feast from thin air or a girl transforms into a giant bat only to turn back into a clothed girl. And then there’s the genie and the three wishes, of course.

After all, fairy tales lose their credibility past a certain age.

Cold Storage by David Koepp – Book Review

07/10/202406/29/2021 by dr. gunga

Cold Storage by David Koepp – Book Cover

Cold Storage Delivers a Cinematic Experience

The guy who put this book on the table is the screenwriter behind movies like Jurassic Park and Spider-Man. What does that mean? Clearly, that Cold Storage feels like a movie.

A B-movie.

A low-budget B-movie set in a few locations.

But hey, wait a minute!

It’s one of the good ones. Okay, the basic premise of Cold Storage is entirely clichéd: a new, aggressive fungus starts spreading in an abandoned military storage facility. The smooth-talking underdog with a good heart, his dream girl, and the slightly over-the-hill, retired problem-solver take up the fight against it.