Sword Play by
Clayton Emery
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
This is the first novel I've read that's tied directly to the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse, and according to the lists I found online, is the first chronologically in the extensive Forgotten Realms library. I think knowing beforehand how campy a lot of the material from first and second edition D&D can be increased my enjoyment of Sword Play.
I started reading these books in an attempt to get a feel for the world and lore that makes up the Forgotten Realms. Taking that approach made this book very enjoyable. I think if someone reads this book expecting it to be on par with Lord of the Rings, they're probably going to be disappointed. That being said, I thought this book was a lot of fun. I mean, if you can't laugh about a main character's name being Sunbright Steelshanks, you may be taking this particular branch of the fantasy genre more seriously than it may have ever been intended to be taken.
Is some of the dialogue bordering on, or even crossing over into terrible? Yes. Are the fight scenes over the top and sometimes ridiculous like Saturday morning cartoons from the late '70s and early '80s? Absolutely! But I think that's what makes this book, and maybe even this entire fantasy subgenre so enjoyable for me thus far. It made this 42 year old guy feel like a kid again. I can't find anything wrong with that.
Stick around for future reviews to see if my thoughts about this particular line of books changes, or if the campy holds its enchantment for This Aaron Guy. Only time will tell if the enjoyment holds as I make it further into the Forgotten Realms.
Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.
That Aaron Guy
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The Blue Light Project by
Timothy Taylor
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
I've had this book on my Nook for years, and I don't even remember where it came from, honestly. I'm thinking it must have been from a Free Friday promotion from Barnes and Noble. I started reading it the other day simply to clear it off of my device, since it's been there for so long. I'm glad I did!
The Blue Light Project is a very interesting commentary on society at large, and of fame and those who seek it in particular. Does fame change both those who achieve it, and those who seek it at all costs? Does the media hold excessive sway over society and dictate not only what, but how people think? These are two of the biggest questions the author explores in his telling of this story about a hostage taker who storms a show called Kiddiefame during a live broadcast.
I thought Mr. Taylor did a superb job introducing the reader to the various characters throughout the book, and I especially liked Rabbit and Eve. When Thomas Pegg was first introduced, I felt like I had just been slimed, and I pretty much hated the character, and hoped he wouldn't be in the book for long. Later, I still didn't really care for him much, but I did find myself feeling a bit of sympathy for him, because even though he's kind of a terrible guy, he had things happen to him in the past that even he didn't completely deserve.
The building tension throughout the book was very well forged, and I felt it pushed the storyline along quite nicely. As the crowds gathered outside the theater where children were being held hostage by an obvious madman, tempers flare, and it seemed that full scale rioting was inevitable. I think reading it now, after our entire country has so recently gone through such a hard time over the past few years, mostly due to the media and their slanted views of pretty much EVERYTHING makes this novel even more poignant, since it was published almost eight years ago.
If you haven't yet read anything by Timothy Taylor, I highly recommend you check out The Blue Light Project. I found it both entertaining and thought provoking.
Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.
That Aaron Guy
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Soul Survivor by
Susan Faw
My rating:
3 of 5 stars
I thought this book was a decent fantasy series intro, and found it to be entertaining, but some of the descriptions were a bit vague and confusing, and sadly, most of the confusing bits had to do with the magic the story revolves around. This was a fairly quick read, but I'm not sure I'm sold on buying the other books in the series to see what happens next. I just wasn't sucked into the story enough to become invested in the characters. They didn't really seem to be as fleshed out as they could have been. A lot of the fantastic things in the story seemed a bit cliche and unoriginal.
Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.
That Aaron Guy
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Dinosaur Lake by
Kathryn Meyer Griffith
My rating:
1 of 5 stars
I received this book free as an ebook from a giveaway I found on Google+. Now I kinda want my money back.
I somehow made it 164 pages in, after talking myself into continuing several times. I started reading this one over a month ago, and only made it this far into it. That should be an indicator of how much I didn't really want to read it. Usually, I can burn through a book of this length in a matter of two or three days. The poorly written account of the dinosaur attacking the family on Phantom Ship Island put an end to that, though. I should've grabbed a clue from the hokey dialogue earlier in the book, so I can only blame myself for continuing this far into the book.
If you're going to use an actual location for your story, you should write realistically for the geography. Boat tours at Crater Lake don't drop people off at Phantom Ship, because there's no way anyone could walk around on it. And for the love of all things decent, please, please, please, don't string sentence fragment after sentence fragment after sentence fragment together and try to pass it off as writing. If you do that in dialogue, and actually pull it off, I may forgive you. Do it in an attempt to describe what should be an action sequence, and you've lost me.
Yet another book relegated to the Did Not Finish shelf.
Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.
That Aaron Guy
View all my reviews
The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry Into the Old Testament by
Sandra L. Richter
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
In The Epic of Eden, Sandra Richter does a great job of pulling back the curtain on the Old Testament and explaining how it all fits together in an amazingly understandable style. I've been reading the Bible on an almost regular basis for almost two decades, and this book explained how and why things are laid out in the Old Testament in a way that I've never seen before.
The author does an exquisite job of defining the where, when, and why of the main events and people of the Old Testament and what they mean to us as New Testament Christians. The blurb on the back cover of the book claims that "This book will not only expand your knowledge, it will deepen your spiritual life," and it accomplishes this in an epic fashion.
My wife and I like reading books like this one together and discussing what we've read and learned as we go along. What I enjoyed most about The Epic of Eden is how clearly I now understand the culture, history, and geography contained in the Old Testament. The books contained there are not archaic or removed from my faith as a Christian. They are the very foundations on which my entire worldview rests. The relationships God establishes within its pages reveal His love, heart, character, and aspirations for the entire human race. I have a deeper understanding now of the character of Christ Himself, and the true proportions of what His sacrifice and love for me truly entail.
Whether you consider yourself to be a Biblical scholar or not, I strongly encourage you to read this book. It will reveal the Old Testament to you in ways you never before have seen. It explains the history of mankind and our relationship with Almighty God within the cultural context of the people with whom He originally established covenant relationship. This, in turn, explains the relationship He desires to have with you and me today.
If this book sounds interesting to you, you can find it on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/2fOxFOY
Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.
That Aaron Guy
View all my reviews
The Lincoln Lawyer by
Michael Connelly
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
Somehow, I've made it most of the way through 2017 without having read any of Michael Connelly's books. I'm not talking about just this year, but ever! I know I saw the film adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer a few years ago, but it either wasn't memorable, or it deviated drastically from the book, because I was on the edge of my seat through the entire 500+ pages. I don't remember the movie being nearly so spellbinding.
Mickey Haller is a defense lawyer who honestly does not care a whit whether his clients committed the crime they're being accused of. He's in it for the money and to see how many prosecutorial cases he can successfully shoot down. Then Louis Roulet comes into his life, and his perspective begins to shift a bit. Roulet is accused of a brutal assault, attempted rape, and threatening to murder his victim. So, did he do it, or not? His defense is actually feasible at first blush, even though it seems far fetched, and he sells it to his new lawyer fairly quickly. Then Haller's world gets turned upside down, because he's always been afraid he would miss it when he came across a truly innocent client. He's also faced with what can only be described as true evil.
I've read quite a few thrillers from the likes of John Grisham, Tom Clancy, and Lee Child, and they all have their own unique style and flavor. Michael Connelly doesn't fit in any of the molds left behind by these other writers. His storytelling is fast paced, intelligent, and technical without getting bogged down in minuscule details. The pacing works, the characters are all believable, and the dialogue just fits the situations.
If you're looking for a fast-paced legal thriller that seems to turn its own pages, look no further than The Lincoln Lawyer. Mr. Connelly, you've found another dedicated fan here, Sir.
If this one sounds interesting to you, you can find it and other books by Michael Connelly on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/2wuMn1r
Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.
That Aaron Guy
View all my reviews
Die Trying by
Lee Child
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
***WARNING!!! SPOILERS!!!***
Die Trying is another great read in the Jack Reacher series. The book kicks off with him getting kidnapped along with F.B.I. agent Holly Johnson, and the action just picks up from there. Jack is fine just biding his time and protecting her, right up until the kidnappers make it personal by trying to kill him. Reacher feels this just made it personal, so in true Jack Reacher style, it's time to bust some heads. It doesn't take long at all before he's running through a field, dead body in tow, to hide the guy he just killed. Seems like the aforementioned dead guy made a grave mistake in his life choices.
The way this book is written, you'd think Lee Child had grown up in the U.S., particularly in the northwest, where there have been numerous militia groups like described in this novel. It's hard to believe he was born and grew up in England. In expert fashion, he delves into the conspiracy theories that seem to surround such groups and drive their actions and separatist beliefs.
In case you missed my last review of Lee Child's novel, Killing Floor, I'll repeat what I said at the end of that review. If you enjoy Mystery/Thriller/Spy/Military/Action novels, and you haven't started reading Lee Child, I think you're missing out. Pick one of his books up today. You can thank me later!
Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.
That Aaron Guy
View all my reviews
Killing Floor by
Lee Child
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
Although this is the first Reacher novel that was published, it's actually the third one I've read, having read The Enemy and The Affair a few years ago. I'm a bit of a nerd, so I like reading series novels in chronological order if I pick them up when several books have already been released. I've given that up now on the Jack Reacher series, though, as Lee Child keeps releasing prequel stories.
I really, really enjoyed this one, as is evidenced in my finishing it in only 4 days. In Killing Floor, Jack Reacher is travelling across the deep south by bus when he decides on a whim to walk the fourteen miles to smalltown, U.S.A., also known as Margrave, Alabama. In a downpour of a rainstorm. After walking for hours, he gets arrested for murder as he's finishing his breakfast in the local diner. Of course, he knows the charges are trumped up idiocy, but the resultant situation is the perfect set up for Reacher to bust a few heads. He does this in fantastic fashion, as a matter of fact, and this wouldn't be a Jack Reacher story without a bit of violence, now would it?
In the back of my mind, I was expecting this to be at least slightly inferior to the other two books I've read from the series. I mean, this was novel #1, and the other two were #8 and #16, respectively. Most writers get better with time and additional writing, but I honestly think Child hit his stride right out of the gate.
If you enjoy Mystery/Thriller/Spy/Military/Action novels, and you haven't started reading Lee Child, I think you're missing out. Pick one of his books up today. You can thank me later!
Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.
That Aaron Guy
View all my reviews
