Tag: Book Review Page 5 of 13

I am a big fan of Christie Golden‘s work; in the past it’s mostly been her Warcraft novels. I kept hearing a lot of good things about this book so I was excited to finally read it. Suffice it to say, I was not disappointed. If you are not familiar with the nefarious Sith-gone-bounty-hunter Asajj Ventress, then you’re not reading enough canon. You also, clearly, haven’t watched enough of the animated series Clone Wars. Ventress is one bad ass bounty hunter, Force sensitive chick.

The Jedi Council has devised a plan to take out Count Dooku. Obi-Wan knows a Jedi with the resources and talent for the mission, Quinlin Vos. Much to the Council’s chagrin, they must also work with Ventress, Dooku’s former apprentice. Now Quinlin must earn her trust, despite her rules to always work alone. Is her hatred for Dooku enough to convince her to work with the Jedi? Will Quinlin’s dedication to his mission compromise his Jedi teachings?

Ventress is one of my favorite bounty hunters so I was very excited to read a book with her among the protagonists. What I wasn’t expecting was seeing a completely different side of her. I am so used to the bald, ruthless Nightsister from Dathomir, the blonde hair threw me off. Then the love story is a very unexpected twist. I’ll admit that I am not much for love stories, but there are very few in Star Wars. Coincidentally the love stories always seem to involve Jedi thus challenging the Jedi mantra. I really enjoyed the book. The duels with Count Dooku are gripping! The end, however, I did not see coming!

Also, a quick post script, after you read the main story, you should check out the short story at the end. It’s just an extra 10 pages or so but it’s more Ventress ?

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“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss

Olympus Union: Jovian Wars: Omnibus [Book Review]

By Biggs

On March 18, 2018

In Book Review, Science Fiction

Olympus Union: Jovian Wars: Omnibus by Gary Bloom
My rating: [rating=5]
(Click here to go to Goodreads)

This book is Science Fiction at its best. It’s an interesting blend of Tom Clancy and George R. R. Martin (GRRM). I feel like Bloom captures the essence of Clancy in that he brings the political depth and tumult to the science fiction genre. He also brings quite a cast of characters, like GRRM, (without murdering every character to which you have become endeared). Olympus Union Jovian Wars begins by describing the political landscape of Earth’s solar system. The Jovian Moons (aka Jupiter’s moons) have been populated by man and each has a minister, a ruling representative from the overall governing body, the Olympus Union. As robust as the system seems, rumors begin to circulate about a group wanting to secede.

War is Visceral

Conflicts involving emancipation inevitably lead to war. Those hidden members of the Jovian Free League emerge and announce their declaration of independence from the OU. Now the mercenaries of the JFL face off against the Ares Elite, the well-trained guerrillas of the Olympus Union.

The first half of the book sets up the conflict, so that is where you are going to get a lot of your politics. I know sometimes politics can feel like it slows a book down, but I did not feel that way. Besides, war is visceral and when you reach that half way point, you will become fully engaged. Bloom does well to keep you guessing whose side a character might be loyal to but there are a lot of characters to keep straight. The Olympus Union website is a great companion to help you keep characters sorted out (a lesson GRRM should have learned), so make good use of it.

I would definitely recommend this book especially to Sci-Fi fans and if you enjoy books similar to Tom Clancy. This is a book I will re-read, mostly so I can revisit the politics leading up to the conflict. I think this will be especially useful because I don’t think this is the end of the conflict between the OU and the JFL. I will also be adding more of Gary Bloom’s book to my “want-to-read” list.

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“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss

Book Review: Thrawn

By Biggs

On February 21, 2018

In Book Review, Science Fiction

Thrawn by Timothy Zahn
My rating: [rating=5]
(Click here to see this review on Goodreads)

It has been a long since I have read a book written by Timothy Zahn; far too long in fact. The last books I read would have been the first time Grand Admiral Thrawn was introduced to the Star Wars Universe. Sadly those books are now considered “legends”, as they are part of the defunct post-Jedi canon. So it is quite the understatement to say I was excited to see a new Thrawn book by Timothy Zahn. What makes this book even more exciting is that it’s an origin story that also positions Thrawn to be apart of the new “Disney canon”.

Brief Synopsis

As I already mentioned, this book is an origin story of our favorite Chiss Imperial Grand Admiral. It’s the origin story of his rise to power, it does not take us through his childhood. It begins on a desolate Outer Rim planet where Mitth’raw’nuruodo has been exiled. He finds his way onto an Imperial Star Destroyer where he is taken to Coruscant and becomes the Emperor’s new pet. His military successes causes him to climb the ranks quickly.

Biggs’ Review

So this book has two big positives; it’s written by Timothy Zahn and its about Grand Admiral Thrawn. The Chiss is one of my favorite, under appreciated, species in the Star Wars universe. If you are looking for the classic confrontation with Jedi and the Rebellion, that is not in this book. The premise covers a lot more of military strategy and Imperial politics. Trust me, it is not as boring as it sounds. Zahn does an excellent job keeping you engaged. In fact you forget that you are reading about the “bad guys” of the Star Wars universe. You will become invested with characters of the Empire.

Each chapter begins with Thrawn sharing some of his military philosophy, which is a really cool story mechanic; easily one of my favorite things about this book. The only caveat I would have to provide to the reader is that the book does often jump forward in time. The leaps in time are not always immediately obvious so pay attention to each chapter to better understand how much time has passed. For a book that never includes a single Jedi or Force moment, it’s a really fun read. I’m excited for the next book in the series!

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss

Biggs Zone – 2017 Year in Review

By Biggs

On January 2, 2018

In General Cogitation, Year in Review

I rather enjoyed writing a post reviewing 2016 so here we are again, doing a 2017 year in review. Everyone was ready to get 2016 over with because we just lost too many beloved celebrities. While 2017 also took more, it didn’t feel as though it was happening daily (more on this later). Again, I will cover NO political or hot topics, that’s not what I write about here.

Celebrities to Whom We Said ‘Good Bye’

This year it was the music industry that suffered some of the greatest tragic deaths. As a child of the 80s and 90s it was awful to hear about the passing of Tom Petty and Malcolm Young (from AC/DC). Full Moon Fever was the first cassette tape I ever bought for myself which contained Free Fallin’, one of my all time favorite Tom Petty songs. As a Country music fan, I was sad to hear about the passing of Glen Campbell; however I don’t it was as devastating as hearing about the accident that took Troy Gentry. Montgomery Gentry has some of my favorite songs and it just won’t be the same without Troy.

We lost some great names in the Movie and Entertainment industry. The biggest names that probably stand out are Hugh Hefner, Jerry Lewis and Adam West. It was awful to lose the Mayor of Quahog and the old school Batman (and a better one than Ben Affleck). Some of the lesser known, but iconic celebrities we lost this year are John Heard – the father of Home Alone, Stephen Furst – famous for the movie the Dream Team, and Peter Sallis – the voice of Wallace from Wallace and Gromit. We also had to say good-bye to the amazing talents of Mary Tyler Moore, Bill Paxton and Roger Moore (probably my favorite James Bond actor).

2017 Year in Review: Gaming

Blizzard/Activision was the big name in gaming in 2017 with the end of the current World of Warcraft expansion and the release of Destiny 2. The Destiny 2 release was probably one of the most anticipated release of the year. Console players were lucky to meet the guardian’s early while PC gamers had to wait until October. It was quite the obsession for me, until the first DLC came out and asked for another $20 from me. I haven’t played it since that time.

I’ve had a fantastic year in the Warcraft expansion. I think, not only is this the best expansion since Wrath of the Lich King, but I’ve had an awesome time with my new raid team. We have cleared all normal and heroic difficulties in time to receive the “Ahead of the Curve” achievement. We are already working through the final raid on heroic difficulty.

Blizzcon met everyone’s expectations by revealing the next WoW expansion: Battle for Azeroth. I’m not entirely sure the name of the expansion was received well. Many are on the fence about it, including myself. The content of the expansion seems a bit lackluster. I am excited to be visiting Jaina’s homeworld and the Allied Races seems interesting but I feel like it’s lacking more player content. We’ve had garrisons and order halls and then nothing. I feel like there needs to be another evolution of that system. Perhaps more will be revealed as the launch approaches.

2017 Year in Review: Star Wars

I only saw one movie in the theater this year; the only movie worth seeing: The Last Jedi. Since 2017 was the 40th anniversary of the Star Wars franchise I decided to make that a topic instead of movies. Click here to check out my review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. I was, at first, alarmed the movie’s audience rating was so low. Then I discover it was just some trolls creating multiple accounts on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes to drive down the audience rating. It didn’t work, the movie is still insanely profitable. HAH!

I cannot believe it has been 40 years for the Star Wars movie franchise. Thanks to Disney, J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson it is still going strong. 2017 was a good year for Star Wars fans, like myself. There were quite a lot of promotions going on all year for the anniversary. One promotion that I found very interesting was the Rule the Galaxy Virtual 5K. There is an organization called the Virtual Running Club where you can register and complete a 5K anywhere you want. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a limited edition medal for completing a 40th Anniversary, Star Wars themed 5K (click the image to see a larger view of the medal).

2017 Walk to Mordor

On the note of 5K races and running, I completed the Walk to Mordor challenge, again! I, honestly, do not remember exactly when this year but I want to say it was much sooner than the year prior. My ultimate goal is to be able to complete the second leg of this challenge which adds another 1600 miles. It’s going to be a stretch goal and one, I doubt, I will achieve in 2018. However, if I keep finishing the base challenge earlier than the previous year, I’m sure to get there eventually. Perhaps 2020 will be my target year for completing the extra distance.

I think I am going to end my 2017 wrap-up here. Overall it was a pretty good year and I’m looking forward to what 2018 has in store.

/cheers

I could accomplish so much more if I only had minions!

Book Review: Shatterpoint

By Biggs

On December 31, 2017

In Book Review, Science Fiction, Star Wars

Shatterpoint by Matthew Woodring Stover
My rating: [rating=4]
(Click here to check out this review on Goodreads)

Even the strongest of gems have that one spot where they are weakest. The one spot that creates a cascading effect which causes it to shatter. Everything has a shatterpoint, including Jedi. This is Jedi Master Mace Windu’s talent, he can find a person’s shatterpoint. The one thing where they are weakest and thus use it to claim an advantage. He will need this ability when he has to return to his home world of Haruun Kal to find out what has become of his former padawan, Depa Billaba. What he finds when he gets there, is far worse than he expects.

I’ve had this book sitting on my bookshelf for so many years I don’t even remember where or when I bought it. I probably picked it up at a Star Wars Celebration event or Comic-Con. I’ve been saying, for a while, that I need to get back into reading more Star Wars books and this is the book I picked. It turned out to be an excellent pick!

I think it helps to have Samuel L. Jackson in my mind while reading this book. It really gives me a whole new appreciation for Mace Windu. I was really surprised how much I enjoyed this book and found it difficult to put down at times. I’ll admit, it had its slow spots but overall it was pretty good. Whether your opinion of the prequels is vulgar or compassion, I would recommend reading this book.

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“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss

Book Review: Isle of Dragons

By Biggs

On November 22, 2017

In Book Review, Fantasy

Isle of Dragons by C. Greenwood
My rating: [rating=4]
(Click here to read on Goodreads.)

This book is another solid start by C. Greenwood. She is beginning to remind me of other great fantasy authors like R. A. Salvatore and Robert Jordan. It didn’t occur to me until I finished this book is that the name of the main character is rarely mentioned.

In fact it may have only happened twice, three times at most. I know its peculiar to mention that fact but you become so invested with the story and what will happen that the name of the main character becomes irrelevant. You know she is a humanoid race of dragonkind (this makes sense when you read the story), whose wings have been clipped because of her rank in society. Her curiosity causes a terrible tragedy and now she’s on a quest to try to reverse what has happened.

Isle of Dragons is a good read. There were a couple of parts where I became so lost in the adventure I hadn’t realized people were talking to me. As a final note, I really like the art design for the book covers; again its very Robert Jordan-esque. It’s a quick read, like most of her books, so one could easily read it in a weekend.

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“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Tag: Book Review Page 5 of 13

Book Review: Dark Disciple