Book Reviews 2014

February 11, 2014

Gears of War: Aspho Fields by Karen Traviss - 5/5 stars

I couldn’t fault this book. The characters were very realistic and the plot continued to engage me throughout.

Karen has done an incredible job bringing out the characters in ways that allow us to learn about them more. Their inner qualities don’t diverge from the characters in the video game series either.

The story seemed to center on Dom’s search to discover what happened to his brother Carlos at the battle for Aspho Fields. It isn’t all reflection though for we leap into the past for most of the book. The reader is there on Aspho Fields in an incredibly described operation involving characters everybody who has played the video game is familiar with: Hoffman, Dom, Marcus, Bernie, and more.

I totally recommend this book to anybody familiar with the video game series and to those who aren’t who like apocalyptic military science-fiction at its best and most human.

January 19, 2014

Scarlet Citadel by Robert E Howard

This was another great Conan story, more complex than The Phoenix on the Sword. There is a battle described, and the consequences of treachery are explained more. There were more sorcery elements involved than with The Phoenix on the Sword.

The prose was fantastic as well. Some of the writing makes very good writing look stale: ‘As a thunderbolt strikes, Conan struck, hurtling through the ranks by sheer power and velocity’.

I must say, despite my observation that Conan stories tend to follow a predictable formula, they are getting better and are some of my most favourite sword-and-sorcery tales.

January 16, 2014

The Phoenix on the Sword by Robert E Howard - 5/5 stars

This was actually one of the original short stories by Robert E Howard -- creator of Conan. I’ve been meaning to read more of his stories for a while. I remember having read Conan: The Conqueror, which was a very good read as well.

The story starts off with Conan as King Conan of Aquilonia, a civilized and mighty Kingdom in Robert E Howard’s world. It may appear odd to readers new to Conan stories that he is a King. His barbaric ways tend to run counter to the ways of a typical ruler in Aquilonia. In my mind Conan was ever the barbarian, and the muscle-packed warrior. However, the story develops quite well by introducing conspirators who threaten Conan’s rule for power and greed, and there is a bit of sorcery introduced.

Some of the sorcery seems a bit farfetched, but it is also done with a pinch of surprise and mysticism that is very pleasurable to read.

I hope to read another Robert E Howard story immediately.

January 12, 2014

Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov -- 5/5 stars

I had to read the sequel to Foundation after I had read it. Asimov’s ideas pulled me in the most with the strength of gravity; ideas that span the breadth of an Empire.

Hari Seldon, with psycho-history, foresaw the decline of the Galactic Empire and took measures to ensure its revival. Two Foundations were therefore established at each end of the galaxy, to reduce the period of inevitable barbarity after the fall of the Empire. Psycho-history deals only in general social and economic trends. Therefore Hari Seldon could not have predicted The Mule, a mutant who threatens the power of the Foundation with his ability to manipulate humans.

The book started out very exciting, and continued at a good pace. Asimov seems to be adept at using characters’ interaction and dialogue to construct plots with meaning. It makes for very entertaining reading, but the delivery of events outside of dialogue and understanding between the characters is absent as a result.

The conclusion to the story was full with gripping scenes, but I felt I wanted the conclusion to be developed earlier on, to keep me more engaged, especially since I had worked out what I felt to be an important part of the conclusion one hundred pages from the end (my book was 240 pages).

Overall this was intellectually stimulating, and Asimov’s ideas have continued to develop. I have high expectations for the Second Foundation!