Book Review: Grandfather's Tale: The Tale of a German Sniper by Timothy Erenberger

Grandfather's Tale: The Tale of a German Sniper
by Timothy Erenberger

Pages: 317 (Paperback) ISBN 0-595-16462-5

Book Description

Every grandfather has a tale and this is the tale of Georg Frick, a German sniper for the German Army during World War II. Georg Frick is an old man now, but in 1937 the German Army drafted him.

Grandfather’s Tale is the story of Georg’s transformation from reluctant new soldier into a master sniper. Georg fought in dozens of battles in several countries, including Poland, Belgium, the Soviet Union, Crete, Italy and Germany. After proving himself to be an exceptional sniper, he joined a special team of German paratroopers. This group of expert soldiers was parachuted into Eben Emael, the strongest single fortress in the world!

Georg's story is one of adventure and survival under extreme circumstances, including the brutal Soviet winter, and the final battle, the Battle of Berlin. Join Georg as he recounts his harrowing experiences to his grandson, in hopes that he may learn the lessons of war, and not repeat them.

Grandfather's Tale is an action-packed journey through the entirety of the Word War II. German weapons, tactics and strategy on a platoon level are explained with meticulous detail. Several battles, including the Battle of the Bulge and the Invasion of Crete are told from a German perspective.

First part of review

First thing of all I should point out is that this is not real memoirs… This is a fiction book about Germans in WWII. If you want to read, and I would advise you to read a book about the German perspective then It would be “The Forgotten Soldier” by Guy Sajer. At least that book is not fiction. Even some people disputed it. (There will be always people who will dispute books about Germans on WWII. Jews and communists and allied fanatics will never be pleased and will never believe that there were good Germans, Germans who fought in the war because their country need them and they were ordered of course. And to them I would say something… but I won’t. I know story is written by the victors and victims. And the Germans were also victims. Before the war, in the war and after the war. Specially the soldiers. After the war ended the Germans soldiers who were capture (mostly) by the Soviet Union were or killed or put in the gulags. They executed more men in prisoner camps then in fields of battle. (This is a part history, if you just want to read the review just go to the end.)

The Beginning of a History Lesson

I will then put here some of the crimes that the Soviet Union made and in the end they were called the Saviors and the Germans beasts… Right?

From the beginning… Not counting with the The Ukrainian famine (1932-1933), or Holodomor as it is recalled… vary by several millions and numbers as high as 10 million. There isn’t an exact number since NKVD (the name prior KGB) didn’t made many records of that period. (Go figure out). Nowadays the numbers have dropped to around 4.8 millions in one year. The map that I show here is the Rate of population decline in Ukraine and South Russia.

Now let’s go to the war time, yes?

(I took this phrase from the wikipedia that says the following)

“Soviet war crimes gives a short overview about serious crimes, which probably offend against international law, committed by the Red Army's (1918-1946, later Soviet Army) leadership and an unknown number of single members of the Soviet armed forces during in 1919 - 1990 including those in Eastern Europe in late 1944 and early 1945, particularly murder and rape. Neither by any international military jurisdiction the Red Army’s leadership or any of its members have ever been charged with, nor has anyone of those ever been convicted of war crimes by a court of law.” (The power of… money, power, corruption and fear)

Now let us begin… and they begin with their own troops….

“From 1941 on, Stalin was willing to strike back against the invading Axis forces at all costs and led the war with extreme brutality, including against his own soldiers In accordance with the orders of Soviet High Command, retreating soldiers or even soldiers who hesitated to advance faced being shot by rearguard NKVD units: Stalin’s order No 270 of August 16, 1941 states that in case of retreat or surrender, all officers involved were to be shot on the spot and all enlisted men threatened with total annihilation as well as possible reprisals against their families.” (I never remember that to happen in German side, in special cases they had to fight until the end with honor and would be shot if failing that but I’ve never read anything about killing their families if they surrendered/retreat).

During the Winter War

“The Winter War, also known as the Soviet-Finnish War, broke out when the Soviet Union attacked Finland on November 30, 1939. In November 2006 pictures showing cannibalism and atrocities committed by Soviet soldiers and partisans conducting cross-border raids against Finnish civilians were declassified by Finnish authorities. The pictures include images of slain women and children. They had been kept secret for so long in order not to disturb relations with the powerful neighbor to the east.”

The winter War, was an interesting one… (Ye know that Christopher Lee, the actor who played Saruman went to that war fighting for the Finns?) It lasted three years and it showed to the world how weak the Russian army was. To compare the Russian outnumbered the Finns 4:1 in men, 100:1 in tanks and 30:1 in aircraft. In that period 500.000 Russian men were either killed or wounded. On Finnish side the dead and wounded didn’t get to 50.000. Ten times less... You know why? The Russian weren’t prepared to the Finnish winter, the generals played by the book and almost all veterans soldiers were killed or disbanded in the Stalin Purge or Great Purge. In the end the Russians won, not by power but because the Finnish army were so small and was almost depleted of men and armament.

Nikita Khrushchev the ruler of soviet union after Stalin said that 1.5 million men were sent to Finland and one million of them were killed, while 1,000 aircraft, 2,300 tanks and armored cars and an enormous amount of other war materials were lost. (The recent history put’s that number of kills around 400.000 men.

What they won? A piece of land worth of nothing and a bay in the northeast part of Finland… the zone they lost now is called Karelia. One Red Army General remarked that "we have won enough ground to bury our dead."

1939–1942

The Red Army, in accordance with the secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and 16 days after the German attack on Poland, invaded and occupied the eastern part of Poland and later, as negotiated with the Nazi regime, the Baltic States and parts of the Ukraine and Bessarabia. The Soviet policy in all newly controlled areas was ruthless, showing strong elements of ethnic cleansing. Many tried to escape from the Soviet NKVD; those who failed were mostly taken into custody by the Red Army and afterwards deported to Siberia and/or vanished in the "Gulag". During 1939-1941,nearly 1.5 million inhabitants of Soviet controlled areas of former Poland were deported, of whom 63.1% were Poles or of other nationalities, and 7.4% were Jews. Only a fraction of these deportees survived the war. After the conquest of those parts by the germans countless men of these countries voluntarily joined the Waffen-SS to defend their homelands against the Soviets, whenever the Red Army was approaching.

Germany 1945

On January 12, 1945 army General Cherniakhovsky turned to his troops with the words: There shall be no mercy - for nobody, as there had also been no mercy for us... The land of the fascists must become a desert… However, German civilians were well aware of the way the Red Army was conducting war against civilians from reports by friends and relatives who had served on the eastern front and feared the Red Army. They fled to western counterpart for they knew that the allied forced would never treated like that. Fleeing from the advancing Red Army, more than two million people in the eastern German provinces of (East Prussia, Silesia, and Pomerania) died, some from cold and starvation, in the post-war ethnic cleansing, or killed when they got caught up in combat operations. The main death toll however occurred when the refugee columns were caught up by units of the Red Army. They were overrun by tanks, looted, shot, murdered and women and girls were raped and afterwards left to die. In addition, fighter bombers of the Soviet air force penetrated many kilometers behind the front lines and attacked columns of refugees.

Those who did not flee suffered by taking the burden of Red Army's occupying rules: Murder, rape, robbery, and expulsion. For example, in the East Prussian city of Konigsberg, in August 1945 there were approximately 100,000 German civilians still living there after the Red Army had conquered the city. When the Germans were finally expelled from Konigsberg in 1948, only about 20,000 were still alive. More 80.000 deaths. Despite the unconditional and complete surrender of Demmin to the Red Army, nearly 900 people committed mass suicides in fear of the Red Army. Coroner lists show that most drowned in the nearby River Tollense and River Peene, where others poisoned themselves. Although mass executions of civilians by the Red Army are not reported on a regular basis, there is a known incident in the Treuenbrietzen, where at least 88 male civilians were rounded up and shot on May 1, 1945. This atrocity took place after at a victory celebration of Soviet soldiers, at which numerous girls from Treuenbrietzen were raped and a lieutenant-colonel of the Red Army was shot by an unknown person. Some sources quotes even up to 1,000 were executed in this event.

After the war, rapes and pacifications

Germany

Sources listed below estimate that at the end of World War II, Red Army soldiers raped more than 2,000,000 German women and girls, an estimated 200,000 of whom later died from injuries sustained, committed suicide, or were murdered outright. In addition, many of these victims were raped repeatedly, some as many as 60 to 70 times. If you don’t believe me just search on the internet for rape victims by soviets… you will encounter dozens if not more cases… The rapes continued however until the winter of 1947-48, when the problem was finally solved by the Russian occupation authorities by confining the Soviet troops to strictly guarded posts and camps. It inflicted a massive collective trauma on the East German nation. (It’s not for nothing that the poorest country in europe when the communism fell and German was unified was the East German. Didn’t you know it? And they are still one of the poorest regions in Europe…)

Hungary

Just during the occupation of Budapest it is estimated that 50,000 women and girls were raped in this city alone. Hungarian girls in general were taken to the Soviet quarters where they were incarcerated, raped and sometimes also murdered.

There were also reports of rapes in Yugoslavia, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria.

As Stalin point out "understand it if a soldier who has crossed thousands of kilometers through blood and fire and death has fun with a woman or takes some trifle?"

Other atrocities

The Soviet military forces did not recognize hospital ships or ships carrying refugees as non-combatants but regarded them as military targets only. More than more than 40,000 civilians and wounded soldiers died when their ships were sunk.

The Soviet Union did not sign the Genevan prisoners of war convention of 1929 until 1955. Accordingly, the Red Army treated at first Polish and later prisoners of war from Germany, Germany's allies and Japan in a cruel way from the first days of WWII on. In 1941 and 1942 over 90 per cent of the caught soldiers of the Axis powers died. Thus for example 1941 made an emergency landing German flight crews were shot frequently after the capture. Tortures, mutilating, murders and other violations of international law were since June 1941 at the agenda. Since winter 1941/42 the Red Army took each month 10,000 German soldiers as prisoner but the death rate lay however so highly that the absolute number of the prisoners decreased/went back. The murder of the prisoners was arranged every now and then by instructions, reports and statements of Soviet commanders. "Captured officers were shot all without exception", it meant in the minute of a Red Army soldier. The death rate was reduced at the beginning of 1943, when with increasing prisoner number the establishment of a system was necessary to implement. 1,1 million died in soviet captivity, that is 1/3 of all German POWs in Soviet captivity.

One specific example of the Soviets' cruelty towards the German POWs was after the Battle of Stalingrad during which the Soviets had captured 91,000 German troops. The prisoners already starved and ill, were marched to war camps in Siberia to face the freezing bitter cold. Of the troops captured in Stalingrad, only 5,000 survived. The last German POWs were released only in 1955, after Stalin had died.

The Résumé

I forgot the purpose and my anger towards the soviet communists just increased again. Each time I read some of the pages I’ve read before I feel hatred towards it. If the Nazis were beasts then I would say that the soviets were daemons. Search on the internet for “Nazis rapes in WWIl”. You will not find any or very few… Wehrmacht were elite armed forces that compressed Heer (army), the Kriegsmarine (navy) and the Luftwaffe (air force), but normally we recognized as the army force. At its peak it had more than 18.2 million men. In the end about 2.3 million Wehrmacht soldiers were killed in action; 550,000 died from non-combat causes. More one million died by the end of Soviet forces (POW and executed). 6,035,000 were wounded.They made the fight, and of course as any army there were incidents but never in the numbers of the Red Army. There were also the mythical Waffen-SS division but a particular branch called Totenkopfverbände that administered the concentration camps. There were also Leibstandarte, Adolf Hitler's bodyguard regiment and Verfügungstruppe, up to 39 divisions in World War II that served as elite combat troops alongside the regular army Wehrmacht. More, most Wehrmacht generals were against Hitler and its continuous perilous decisions. There were several attempts against him.

The End of History Lesson

Second part of review

That said let’s go to the book…If you want to read about a real person fighting in the WW2 then read The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer or one of the numerous books by Sven Hassel a Denmark volunteer that fought for the Germans or if you want snipers you’ve got the memoirs of real life WWII German sniper Sepp Allerberger, Sniper on the Eastern Front, written by Albrecht Walker and edited by Geoffrey Brooks. There are also other books by other authors that depicted the life of a German soldier. There is also an interesting book about an Waffen-SS. (a Verfügungstruppe) but unfortunally I can’t recall the name… If you search for the first book I said in Amazon website several others books about Germany in the Second World War will appear…First the story, then the discrepancies

Characters of current timeline:

Georg Frick, Main Character

Ingred Frick – Main Character’s wife

Ron Frick – Main Character’s grandson

George – Main Character’s great-grandson

Characters of WWII timeline

Ellis – Sniper, Veteran from WWI

Misha – Trainee at the same time of Georg (Soldat)

Konrad - Soldat that Georg met in the attack on Eben-Emael.

The story begins with George’s father telling him that he should listen to everything his great-grandfather said so his memory could endure.George, as a young kid after arriving in the farm he goes exploring were he finds a box with several Nazi emblems and medals. Afterwards Georg tells his great-grandson his story…It begins with the draft into the army (Heer/Werhmacht) in 1937. Here he excels in his training and goes to a special training of sniping. The first annexiation of Sudetenland occurs without bloodshed in 38. Chapter 4, begins in the Invasion of Poland in September 1939. The first kill. From this point forward we met several personages, one his mentor called Ellis also a sniper and Veteran from WWI and afterwards in Eben-Emael he meets Konrad which becomes his spotter and friend. He also receives training in parachuting and mine detection. The plot itself we already know from history, the Nazis lost in 1945. But this doesn’t mean that it’s less interesting. After reading Sven Hassel I had some good impressions of true war. Many books that are about war aren’t that real. Sven Hassel’s books are not only about war books but horror books. This book had some parts that remind me of the cruel aspects of Sven Hassel but it lacks something…

The book itself has no plot whatsoever and the characters are minimally described, adjectives are sparse and uninspiring, and phrases and sentences are unimaginative. Every day is the same for young George. He spends them listening to the same basic story set in slightly varying surroundings: Russian soldier spied, shot, killed, victim's ammo (weapons, rations) collected, grenade (bomb, tank shooting) sounded, meal eaten, reflected, slept. (Then it changes to Americans and British and then again Soviet soldiers. Young George is mesmerized by the graphic details.I know that war was like that…

There was plenty of action and everyday was the same, only the surroundings changed and the opponents.In the end after reading the book, there are several aspects you will dislike and others you like. The most annoying thought the reading process was to read the countless typos, grammar errors and redundancy. The end of the book didn’t feel like an plausible end. Alright, there were thousands of men that fought in Poland, Benelux, France, URSS, Italy and Germany. That I believe. And those men were either officials or true survivors. And I also know that when those men bound for a time those men became their shadow and more closely then brothers or wives. They depended on them and they lived because of them. A bounding/feeling incomprehensible to most people outside the scenery of war. I say this because those people would more likely sacrifice for their brother in arms than to the Fuhrer or their motherland. In the end, already in Siege of Berlin in April/May 1945 Konrad who had become Georg best friend was wounded and Georg left him behind in a hospital (he was shot after the soviets captured the hospital). I don’t think the main character or anybody would do it… I have seen relates than people fighting alongside others would never abandoned their brothers into the fate… It’s too cruel and unbelievable.

There were some discrepancies and for that I have loath the writer... First he made arms of one calibre fire with other calibres. Which we all know it’s impossible. Then 88mm flak tanks would never destroy dozens of T34’s in one single shot. Probably Great Bertha would do it, but never a 88mm. (But, It is know that they used them in anti-tank actions)Another thing that bother me was the rate kill. We all know that the Simo Häyhä has the all time record with 542 kills. Of course they are confirmed kills... So there is need it that a person (an officer) would have to be present to confirm and a couple of other soldiers. We all know that snipers in great part of their actions worked alone so I know that some soldiers have killed more than 542 kills. (I believe that Hayha has killed more than 542.)

It’s not hard to kill a man in combat... if you have sub-machine gun just fire away... but the problem is staying alive to make the numbers higher. But the numbers our writer gives us are complentely antonished. By Belgium or Crete (I don’t know which he had more than 1000 kills.)

If you thing that the invasion of Crete was between may and june of 1941. In Russia he killed them by the hundreds... I bet that he killed more than 3000 or 4000 enemies...

Alright!

At the end of the book Georg carried the following arms and ammo...He carried 4 rifles( Kar98k, BAR, M1,and a Tokarev along with a suppressed pistol and a 30 pound bag of ammo.) For moments of the book I thought the named changed to Rambo, but in axis side. There are also other discrepancies about wars being fought and prisioners captured and even the number of the kills in specific battles.

Another thing that bothered me that most of his kills were shot between 700-1100 (as he said some longed for two seconds to hit the target, now just make the count for how long) and all head-shots. (The Russians were killed in their star.) Ahh, I forgot to said that in all shots I only read that he missed a few, I will not say numbers but I only remember missing 2.

Another interesting thing was when the enlisted soldiers salute other enlisted soldiers and call them "Sir.".

The title itself should be changed to Great-Grandfather’s tale.

There were other parts but I will stay here because as I remember some details I feel a bit of weary and feel regrets to wasting more time typing about a lousy book.

I will only advice this book for someone who wants to read a fast-paced novel that doesn’t care about characters, plot or anything else for that mattered. I would advise you all to just play Medal of Honor online and you will feel the same effect than reading it. Ahh, didn’t I tell you that he is a professional game-player? I wonder how the inspiration came…

I don’t know why the book as so many good reviews in amazon.com.

Munruthel

Great band with a interesting sound that will please most people inside the Black Metal genre. It's got symphonic parts and his voice is for some times raw as old nordic metal. The instruments are played well and make an interesting tune that catches your hear... as he says in his own website SLAVONIC HEATHEN SYMPHONY http://kolo.u-d-s.org/munruthel/

They are from ukraine and the main "character" has played in Nokturnal Mortum. The best band in the National Socialism Black Metal genre.
This is a video of one of their musics... I don't why but I can put the video here... some error appears.. so go check it for yourselves

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAHnxMX0w0Y

Book Review: The Enemy Within - Richard Lee Byers

Pages : 256

Publisher : Black Library

Author : Richard Lee Byers

Synopsis

Betrayal and corruption abound in the fantasy world of Warhammer.

Magic is very dangerous in the Old World. Wizards are feared and strictly controlled within the Empire, and rightly so as untrained magic users act as conduits for the dark powers of Chaos. If a rogue mage survives the daemons of the warp, they can only expect a merciless death at the hands of the Witch Hunters.

The Enemy Within delves into the strange world of magic when an imperial wizard is blackmailed into infiltrating a vile Chaos cult – if doesn’t, he will be denounced as a heretic himself. Can he complete his assignment without being corrupted, and can he trust his tormenter to honour his part of the bargain?

What can I say about this book. I read it in 5 days, well 3, I usually don't read on weekends. So I think it was fast. A quick review... like the plot, like the main character and hate the handling of magic and the mostly of other characters.

Now the why... the plot is simple... a Celestial Wizard, Schumann, is capture by a witch hunter, Krieger and is blackmailed to inflitrate an important chaos cult called Red Crown that worshipped Tzeentch. Having no choice he goes to a tavern which he knows someone belongs to a cult. May I say it now that a Celestial Wizard is a wizard that uses the power of the sky, divination. He can call for aid of thunders and such and asks for guidance, that's why he goes to the tavern. He talks to several people until a tavern girl called Jarla approaches him. Seeing him bitter against the Empire she becomes interested in him. He tells her that he wants to destroy the empire and she led him to a supposedly a chaos cult but seeing that he is more that it seems she drugs him and send for her lover to discuss what to do with him. Arriving to the body of the sleeping wizard, Adolph wants to kill him but a magic snake arrives to the place and starts attacking them. Dieter helps the chaos cultists deafeting and they take him to their leader, Mama Sorveig. Sorveig talks to him about their god and ideals and explains him their enemies. One of their enemies are another Tzeentch chaos cult the Purple Hand. Even if both are plotting to overthrow the empire both have different ways to do it. Purple hand tries to plot from within putting in higher places and even in the throne a cultist and the Red Crown from outside. The help rebels with weapons and informations and take mutants to the forest to raise their numbers. The story progress with Dieter trying to continue sane without reading any chaos lore but to continue with his cover he reads parts. Due to his education of magic he becomes aware of hidden secrets that the others cultists aren't. He becomes more powerful that the others cultists and Adolph becomes jeoulos of him. Jarla is becoming intim of him and Mama trusts him and has high expectations of him.

I think the writer does a great progress with the main character (is not for nothing that Byers have a MA in psychology).

Adolph after a failed miscast spell blames Dieter and starts to plot against him.

Leading a carriage to the woods with information, arms and a fresh reinforcement (a mutant) they drive to the hidden rebels/mutants. Adolph using Dieter parting to discover where they were killed the mutant riding with them and went to the camp of rebels saying Dieter did it.

The mutants start looking for him and when they were to deliever the killing blow they notice that he was a mutant as well. An eye had grown in his forehead. An eye which permitted him to see the near future. Interesting since he was a celestial wizard. Afterwards he confronted in the main camp Adolph and kill him. He then returned to the city and began to plot against Mama to kill her and take her place. Meanwhile he was advancing in his arts and spells. Not only that deformity had appear but his mind also was changing. Several times he saw a priest which talk to him and advice him. He could see him losing his sanity each passing chapter. New feelings came to him like hate and anger. He began enjoying several things that before he though horrible and unthinkable.

After killing Mama, the leader of the cult appear to him as an apparition and talk to him to make him a new cult sub-leader, taking Mama's place. The leader said that he had to bring Jarla with him because she was going to be sacrificed. Jarla and him were by now lovers and Dieter thought he loved her but feelings like anger and the thought that she was a cultist beneath everything make him feel anger and hate.

He then took her to the coven gathering and as he was to kill her making him official cult (sub)leader he said that he wouldn't do it and he was undercover for witch hunters which appeared soon after and start killing the cultists. In the end and after the death of the cult leader of the Red Crown he asks Krieger to honour is agreement and set him free (with Jarla). Krieger agreed but Schumann saw it as a betrayal.

Krieger was not only a Witch Hunter but also a Purple Hand member. Krieger tried to betray him because Schumann (he didn't though to honour the agreement) but Schumman was already aware of Krieger double "job" and was prepared. Krieger attack him anyway and Schumman kill him after Krieger kill Jarla. The other cultists let him go away even if was defenseless against him. He didn't understant that but the priest appeard again as he had appear before helping defeating the Red Crown leader and Mama Sorveig and told him that maybe they saw that he, Schumann, was a chosen of Tzeentch. He said also that it was everything in the Changer's plan. (this gives us an impression of Fate. The problem of believing in fate. What we do is because fate has already allowed and we have no choice. Our choice would be the choice of fate, even if we do... nah I am going to go this way, not the other as everybody think. But who knows? That was probably fate choice. We will never know if fate exits or no... ) Dieter said to the priest that he will walk his way and the Priest replies that option is excellent.

Great book of Warhammer. If you can put behind you the battles with magic you will enjoy the book and will read it in a day or two. You feel what the character is feeling and try to read more to see what is happenening. Even if you know already by the beggining of the book that Jarla is going to love Dieter and if you understand even by all the words that he doesn't care about her, you know that he will not kill her. There are some things you see a mile away, others like the revelation about Krieger you don't, unless you are detective. ;)

Either way is a good book to read.

Some persons, for what I read are not happy the way the author portrayed the cultists, like mama or Jarla. He make them normal persons (to damn nice and easy to trust to someone, even if they worship of god of lies) but it's an opinion. Not all worshippers of chaos are murderers and thieves. It's like depravity. From time to time it appears on the TV that X person had abused children or womans and you say... "What? Him? He is such a nice person or something like that". Sometimes people are not what they seem and not easily labelled. The chaos cultists, the ones, y portrayed as common persons with caring afection towards others are a way to see them. You may have others and certainly other authors have other. I've read dozens books and each portrayed in various ways.

Good book Mr. Byers. Loved your Dead God Trilogy and I hope to see you again in Warhammer. For what I see in Black Library these year and until may of the next there is not book from you. Let us see what happens....

Teasanna-Satanna - Incerteza

I've put a link with a music in putfile since I can't put it directly on Blog.

Teasanna Satanna are from Silves (Portugal) and even if they are together since 1995 they've got only 3 demos. This song is from the last demo that is called Incertezas. They forged their individuality; since the beggining when each band had originality, an own sound and an own way of doing things, they escape the Black Metal cliché in a number of ways, from the title ('Incertezas', meaning uncertainties) to the sound itself, which gathers a lot of different elements but is generally speaking fast and aggressive Black Metal, deftly executed. Despite this, there is an underlying sense of melody and occasional incursions into the unexpected, including an apt usage of female vocals. The songs are sung in Portuguese (although in a very nearly unintelligible way).
The sound quality is great for a demo.
I hope I am not doing nothing wrong putting their sound in my blog but if they do I hope they make contact with me because I want to buy their demos and to know where they playing next... :P

Books I've read in last six months...

I've been reading a lot all my life, but only since December that I've been tracking them. I use to remind all the main characters and plots of the books I read through the years. I now realize that I can't do that anymore.

My biggest fear is to forget things, I have no problems with dying, each and everyone of us will die eventually and I am not an excpetion. I have a ashma condition that severs me body and I almost die a couple of times because of it. So believe me I don't fear death, sometimes I feel anxious for it. But that is another story. And I am alive so my bigger enemy is my mind.

I will make a list of all books I've read since the beginning of the year....

Most of them are Black Library books and some I've review here. My ideia was to review them all.. Let us See if I can do it.... Now I am reading Brothers of the Snake (Hardback book which makes impossible to me to read outside... I am reading also The Swarm, a massive book with 881 pages... It's an interesting book (i am review it in a different way) that is about the sea... well I am putting here something I read somewhere and could help understand:
""Across the oceans, more and more incidents take place. It seems that the marine world is making a stand against the threat of evolution. Below the ocean surface man discovers that they are no longer masters of the world, as a new species emerges from the deep, one that is dangerous, intangible and intelligent."
And I am also reading a beacon of Fantasy.. One of true masters of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Gene Wolfe with his Book of the New Sun. This one I will continue after the Swarm and Dan Abnetts Brothers of the Snake because the book it's difficult and demans full atention.

Book Review: Thief With No Shadow - Emily Gee

Synopsis

Melke is one of the most unusual thieves ever to have walked the land of Bresse, aided by the magic which courses through her veins, allowing her to become unseen. When, however, it transpires that a necklace she has stolen holds the key to both saving her brother’s life and to breaking a terrible curse, she has to do the unthinkable: steal it back from one of the most dangerous places known to man – the den of the fire-breathing salamanders. Things are about to get very tough for Melke indeed, especially when she comes to realise that the people she thought were out to get her may actually be her only allies… Thief With No Shadow is a rich, romantic fantasy tale set in a world where the ordinary and extraordinary co-exist, where fire-breathing salamanders live alongside men, and magic runs in the blood of mortals.

. Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages

· Publisher: Solaris (April 24, 2007)

· Language: English

· ISBN-10: 1844164691

This appears in the webiste http://www.solarisbooks.com/ about the book. Let me say first and foremost I've been intrigued to read Solaris books. I've bought already three books, this one and Summoner and Helix. I have read Black Library books, I've got them all. And I've got a dozen books of Black Flame. They didn't disappoint me. I receive the book at 17/06 and start reading since I was anxious.... I began reading and start alright and then... I told myself... What a hell?

By the middle of the book I was totally demoralized and only ended it because I've never let one book go unfinished. Not surprising in any way (I saw all the 'twists' in the narrative coming). Dark Romance Fantasy these are the keywords. For me this was a Soap. It has ridicoulous characters. I will make a small synopsis.

Girl (Melke) robs Necklace from the family (Bastian and his sister Liana)

Not surprising in any way (I saw all the 'twists' in the narrative coming). Dark Romance Fantasy these are the keywords. For me this was a Soap Opera. It has ridiculous characters. I will make a small synopsis.

Girl (Melke) robs Necklace from the family (Bastian and his sister Liana). Gives Necklace to the Salamanders who have capture her dying brother (Hantje). Bastian encounters Melke and says my sister can heal him but you’ve got to steal the necklace back. Liana heals Hantje and Melke steals the necklace back. Hantje sacrifices himself for Liana. Bastian delivers the necklaces back to the rightful owner and the curse is broken. Bastian saves Melke from salamanders sacrificing himself. Liana heals Hantje after the sacrifice and Melke and Liana fells in love with Hantje. Hantje loves her and they marry. Bastian marries Melke.

Well this was a summary. Now I will elaborate.

The parts I did like… The dog Endal.

The parts I didn’t like… the plot and the four main characters.

Don’t get me wrong. If you like soap operas than by all means get this book. I tried to read the book and I was disappointment with the development of the story. In the beginning, Bastian hates totally the brothers Melke and Hantje (who are wraiths, persons who can become invisible). The author makes understand that because every phrase got some word of hate in it. Then Melke hates totally Bastian, again we are able to see it in the same way has Bastian.

Hantje for the first 200 pages don’t appear since he is hurt. Afterwards he feels anguished of what he did and as his sister he hates himself for being wraiths and for thiefing. As the book begins you can see… they all are good characters, good in the all term of evil versus good. There are no evil characters in the book. Well apart from the Salamanders and Psaarons but they aren’t characters. They are only there to make the story go. But the evil they do are only because the main characters permitted.

The story goes like these. Someone in family of the Ver’s (Liana and Bastian family) stole a necklace. That necklace was the Necklace of Psaaron’s Tears. Each tear has the memory of the dying Psaaron. So when the Ver’s stole the Psaarons wanted it back. When they didn’t return it the Psaaron’s cursed the family. Since that day no water would fall in the fields and the water became a true enemy of the family killing several characters.

Now the background of the families… (In tragedy this remembers the Dostoevsky in a good way) Both there parents were killed. Bastian and Liana parents both suicide. And Melke and Hantje killed by the authorities because they were wraiths. Let’s weep for them. (It comes to my mind the film Dr Zhivago. I just wanted to kill myself) Now that we felt sorry the main characters let us continue… They are all arrogant with the exception of Liana and the Dog. The same characteristics/qualities are bound to all characters, again with the exception of Liana and the Dog. Mainly this was the ongoing feelings… First Anger and Hate, then Guilt, Sacrifice and Redemption and finally Happiness. Liana is a goddess; Mother Theresa of Calcuta.

In the beginning of the story I already knew the end.

I will not waste any more words saying anything about the book and I will only say this. In my humble opinion the book it’s fast-paced but has a weak plot and weak characters. But if you like soap opera, then by all means: read the book.

Book Review: Bringers of Death - edited by Christian Dunn & Marc Gascoigne

Synopsis

In the grim darkness of the far future, mankind teeters on the very brink of destruction. The galaxy spanning Imperium is under threat on all sides by a multitude of alien races and from within by the insidious forces of Chaos. Constant war is humanity's only chance of survival and standing at the forefront are the Space Marines - genetically engineered warriors, and the massed ranks of the Imperial Guard, each willing to lay down their lives for mankind’s survival.Brimming with action packed tales of bloodshed, heroism and courage . Bringers of Death throws you headlong onto the desperate battlefields of the 41st millennium.

Contents

Even Unto Death - Mike Lee 26

Red Reward - Mitchel Scanlon 30

Menshad Korum - CS Goto 36
Xenocide - Simon Jowett 124

13 Sector - Sandy Mitchell 28

This first story given to us by Mike Lee, the writer behind Malus Darkblade series, is of Space Wolf Scouts on an Ork occupied world. The plot is plagued by too-convenient devices toadvance the tale, and the Orks are written as boring, brainless antagonists manipulated by dark eldars. Interesting plot but I didn't like it. On the other hand I love Malus Darkblade serie.

"Red Reward" written by Mitchel Scanlon, is a story that continues where "15 Hours" left of or began. In the story nothing is said about it. Either way, "15 Hours" is one of my favorite WH40K book, and I was glad to take another look at the doomed planet of Broucheroc. The endless war, the violence and the grit really come through in a story that, by itself, might come off as creatively weak. The atmosphere is the most important part of the story. I really hope to see one more book or story about that planet by Scanlon.

C.S. Goto seems to champion the Xeno-tale for the Black Library and his offering here, Menshad Korum, is no different, using Eldar as its main characters. Unfortunately, though he provides a very interesting concept for his tale, its execution leaves something to be desired. He works a little too hard to integrate named characters from the wargame into the tale, and his action sequences push beyond "suspension of disbelief." The year after this story was release he wrote a book about Eldar called Eldar Prophecy and one story about eldars in another anthology. It was the most confusing story to me. Maybe I don't know much of eldar race or their actions. Either way it was good.

The longest tale, Xenocide by Simon Jowett, is a well crafted yarn dealing with an Orkish invasion of an early-gunpowder era world (one quite similar in devolved technology to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, but otherwise unconnected). The characters are engaging and cunningly combine many disparate elements of the 40K background. Both the primary and secondary climaxes are unexpected and enjoyable. By the end, we learn that the salvation that some look for can condemn us just as easily. A challenging and ultimately sad story. It's a suitable centerpiece for the anthology.

If Xenocide was one of the saddest story this one was the opposite. It brings back Sandy Mitchell's Ciaphas Cain in a story called, Sector 13. The short story is actually better than some of his longer works (it brings back memories of second book), ,presenting Commissar Cain at his worst, which is at his best and most humorous for the reader. It's a fitting, almost light-hearted, ending for an otherwise dark collection of tales.

Althought I prefer the warhammer world rather than warhammer40k but from time to time I like to travel to 40k. After all I have them all. Probably the next book from warhammer 40k to be devour is Brothers of the Snake from Abnett.

Book Review: Death World - Steve Lyons

Book - Death World

Author - Steve Lyons

Pages - 256

Publisher - Black Library

The Catachan jungle fighters of the Imperial Guard are an elite regiment, that specializes in destroying the Emperor’s foes on the most dangerous worlds of the Imperium. Their training is really put to the test when a squad is sent to the death world of Rogar III in response to an ork incursion. But as well as dealing with the green-skinned orks they must do battle with the planet itself and the mysterious figures that stalk them across the deadly terrain.

When I received this book on december I had to read it immediately. I had read Fifteen Hours and love it and read it in less than 2 days. I was not mistaken and again I read it swiftly enjoeyed every bit. (Now I know that I love the Imperial Guard more than Space Marines).

I sympathised with almost all the characters and I loved to read about Sly Marbo (changing the words makes Rambo, didn't thought about it until reading the book)

It begins with a platoon of Catachan that are in a mission that has nothing out of extraordinary. They just want to kill some orcs. If the main phrase in the book is "What you call hell, they call home!" then they got what they wanted.

The planet around them it remind them of home but it was different in several ways. It changed and attacked them. It evolved defending itself from outsiders (orcs and IG). The group itself was eleven catachans plus the commisar and his retinue of one man. Then there was Marbo. As soon as they start the voyage they knew this was not an ordinary mission. There was something wrong. The main character is called Lorenzo. And Lorenzo is beggining is career and as all of Catachan soldiers wants to prove is valour and make a name of his own. If he can't do it he will never be remember in Catachan and will die in shame. So in every oppurtonity he tries to do it but in vain. I like the book because of the enviroment and the evolution of nature. The various attacks and the dead of several Catachan soldiers. I like that. (In my personal feelings I hope our Mother Nature one days rise and kills the vampires that suck her blood, well I mean humans). In the end was a very interesting book and it draws a person into the world and mind of the Catachans.

In the end there are one question remaining (the question about what happened to Baxtree and Lorenzo "Long Run" doesn't count) is why that particular enviroment needed the evolution step. And what happened to the world?

Well I am waiting for the next book IG , Rebel Winter by Steve Parker and Desert Raiders by Lucien Soulban.

I have a reclamation if you understand this way.. Why do the IG books only have 256 pages? I'm sad. Well I hope they continue with other Regiments.

- Armageddon Steel Legion

- Attilan Rough Riders

- Death Korps of Krieg

- Mordian Iron Guard

and others...

Book Review: The Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King

Stephen King - The eyes of the DragonPages : 380

This was my first completed book from Stephen King. I had bought it because was a different book from Stephen King and it was set in the world of THe Dark Tower. Yes I come to know that Flagg (one of the main characters) is a important character in the dark tower series.

(Taken from wikipedia)

The Eyes of the Dragon takes place entirely within the realm of Delain. It is told from the perspective of an unnamed story-teller, who speaks casually and frankly to the reader, frequently adding his own commentary on character's motivations and the like.

The opening concerns itself with establishing five characters: King Roland, Queen Sasha, Prince Peter, Prince Thomas, and the wizard and royal adviser, Flagg. Flagg has been covertly attempting to assassinate Queen Sasha (who is more intelligent than her husband, well loved by the people of Delain, and therefore more of a threat) for some time; he finally succeeds by bribing the Queen's midwife to slit an unidentified vein open while Sasha gives birth to Thomas. Outwardly, it appears that the force of giving birth to Thomas caused Sasha to bleed to death.

Peter and Thomas develop into almost entirely opposite people. Peter is smart, honest, handsome, and in spite of his youth, has already gained the respect and admiration of many people. Thomas is chunky, clumsy, and just intelligent enough to hate himself for his shortcomings. The narrator describes Thomas as often sad and confused, "not a bad boy". Possibly to contrast their personalities, the story-teller describes how Peter once rescued a horse with a broken leg from being killed, carefully nursed it back to health, and kept it as his personal steed. A bit later, the story-teller describes how Thomas once carved a small boat as a present for his father. Roland ignores the gift almost entirely, in favor of lecturing Thomas on how well Peter had done at archery that day. When Thomas sees how little Roland cares about the gift he hobbles out of the castle and has a fit of vomiting and weeping. He then sees a mangy, sick dog, which he stones to death in a fit of rage.

As time passed, and Peter grew older, it became more obvious to Flagg that the crown Prince was a far greater threat to his position as royal wizard than even Sasha was. It would be too dangerous to simply leave him to become King — yet Roland loved him so dearly that if Flagg tried to kill the Prince it was likely the King would find out who would be responsible for assassinating Peter. Flagg then hits upon an even more devious plan: assassinate Roland, and frame Peter for the murder.

The scheme succeeds entirely. Roland's wine is poisoned, Roland drinks it and dies in three days, Roland's youngest son watches in horror as he drank the poison. Peter is blamed for it, and is locked up in the enormous tower, called the Needle, in the center of the city. Thomas is then crowned King, although he is only twelve years old; due to his youth and his fearful inexperience, he allows Flagg enormous amounts of power, as his chief advisor. However, Flagg has overlooked two flaws in his plans. Someone saw Flagg pass on the glass of poisoned wine to Roland. And Peter has made two requests for things he wants in his cell: his mother's dollhouse, and a napkin with every meal.

Peter takes 5 threads from each napkin and with the help of a working loom from the dollhouse weaves them into a rope. The rope breaks when Peter tries to climb down, but he is rescued by Ben and Naomi. The three rush to get the bow and arrow Roland used to slay the dragon but Flagg catches up with them and is about to kill them when Thomas reveals himself and the fact that he watched Flagg poison Roland. Flagg is shot and gets away.

Review

I have read dozens of fantasy books and this one is the one I least enjoyed. First I don't care much about the narrator. I don't like when narrators give their own expressions and views. It is horrible. Then all characters are one view only. They are like that and that is final. The only one which isn't too much like that is Thomas. The plot was simple but it teach the readers something. Even small things are important. Napkins are the key for this story. Who would had thought it? Well I have others books from Stephen King but probably won't read it in the near future. I have the complete set from the dark tower but I want to read the Stand as well. Let us see what it brings to us.

Book Review: Necromancer - Jonathan Green

Title - Necromancer

Author - Jonathan Green

Pages - 256

Book DescriptionThe fall from grace of a physician who becomes a necromancer in an effort to raise the dead in order to fulfil his own megalomania and finds the true nature of terror.

Necromancer deals with an interesting story of the ways of the necromancer.It starts has Father Ludwink a priest of Moor of 55 years old that comes into a cell where he was summon by another Brother of the order, Brother Matteus Oswald. The priests of Moor have the duty to easy the burden and make the passage from this life to the other more easily.The priests of Moor are used to be the confessors of the near-death. Even if that is not their work. Brother Matteus Oswald begins to told his story and begins telling his real name, his profression and his age. Deiter Heydrich a necromancer with 213 years.The story he is about to tell begins with his coming to the town of Bögenhafen to study the arts of physician. There he meet his roomate Erich Karlsen an student with several complains with the teaching methods of the Doktors. In school he befriends Leopold Hanser. He then becomes the personal pupil of the Headmaster Doktor/Professor Theodrus.He then learn about the Tale of the Corpse Taker. And after some several occurrences he becomes interesting in the art of necromancy but not with the vile person he thinks of it. He wants to make people live longer, probably never die. He find a doktor The plague comes to the town and allows him and his friend Erich to learn more with dead corpses. Heydrich talk to a madman who seems to know about necromancy and lives in fear that the necromancer will come for him. Afterwards the templars are summon to the town to take care of this problem of body snatchers and they think Heydrich is behind this. But there is a turn of events and the madman is convicted for heresy. The friend of Heydrich founds him and Erich doing some experiments and Heydrich kills him and make experiments on him. The loving sister that Heydrich loved so much passed away, and Heydrich comes to a dilemma of raising her or not. But in the end he couldn't do it.Meanwhile Doktor Drakus, who is the man behind the plague and the necromancy practice, and the man Heydrich and Erich had spied before, reveals himself that he from time to time, change bodies with an healthier person. He tries to do it on Heydrich but is unsuccessful. In the end we return to the confession where the father Oswald is taken aback from all events. In the end the real reason Heydrich was doing this was to take the father body and so he did.

About this book.. Well this was a different type of book. It had that sence of doom and gothic tales that we are accoustumed in warhammer but it was it. There was little or no action, not that it can't be good. It can. But I think the book should had something more. If I didn't know I would say that this was the first book of a series. Because the question is made. What happen to him in that 200 years. Well on the end I must say that It was the book I liked less in all warhammer fantasy set. But If you like a story where you can see a character development and the beggining of the necromancers I would advice it.

Book Review: Mark of Chaos - Anthony Reynolds

Book - Mark of Chaos

Author - Anthony Reynolds

Publisher - Black Library

Pages - 416

Book DescriptionAs the forces of Chaos sweep down from the north to threaten the civilised lands of the human Empire, a young Empire commander must prove his honour by tracking down and destroying the enemy leader. Epic fantasy set against a backdrop of war on a grand scale.

Review

Mark of Chaos written by Anthony Reynolds based upon the game with the same title.The story flows nicely and it's divided by the main view of the two characters. Stefan von Kessel a captain of Ostermark and Hroth a champion of Khorne.The story begins after the defeat of Warlord Asavar Kul at the hands of the emperor Magnus Pious. The invasion force was scattered and most of tribes destroyed. But several tribes of the Norscan, Kurgan and the Hung wandered through the lands of Kislev and within the empire. In the beggining of the book we see an attack by Hroth, a Khazag in a village of the Empire. After murdering all the residents he made a duel with another champion of Tzeench which he defeats. After each duel the followers of the loser will join the winner. That is the way of the Norse.After the defeat appears Sudobaal, a sharman that is searching the sword of Asavar Kul. Hroth is his champion. After that they move north and arrive at the shores and there they are received another champion of Khorne, Ullkjar, which is defeated by Hroth. As Hroth is kiling his enemy, Sudobaal intervene and he is spared. Instead Hroth kills several of Ulkjar's men.Meanwhile Stefan von Kessel was defending the northern borders. After a bad decision by the Count of Ostermark, Gruber, that refused to sent troops to the north, Stefan made a choice of withdrawing from the norther border. Gruber was mad but did nothing. Afterwards it appears Reiksmarshall Wolfgange Trenkenhoff that leads his army and Stefan army to the north to help the elves entrechened there. After an succefull attack they attack the fort and save the elves. There they meet the elf mage Aurelion and Khalanos and his dragon. Reiksmarshall have to move south and gives Stefan the command of his army to sail, with the elves, to the island where the artifact the Chaos hosts desire.Meanwhile a scout of Stefan arrives with a letter that confirms his innocence and his grandfather and the treachery of the Count Gruber and his alliance with the dark powers of Nurgle.Stefan drives south with his army leaving the elves alone. Afterwards he meets a hero of the Great War, the warrior-priest Gunthar. Then he drives his army to meet his enemy. Two Ostermark armies clash and knowing of his fate Gruber reveals himself and invokes the army of Nurgle which attack both of armies.Meanwhile Wilhelem the cold-hearted scout complete his quest to arrest Gruber in the middle of the fray and Stefan kills him with a magic-sword entrusted by Gunthar. After killing most of the plaguebearers the plague demom was killed by Gunthar.Meanwhile Hroth arrives at the island as the elves attack him. He leaves his hosts behind and with Sudobaal he goes to a cave where Hroth shows his treachery finally and strikes the sharman. He then enters the portal where he meets and bests Asavar Kul retriving his sword, the slayer of kings and Khorne makes him a demon Prince. Exiting the realm of chaos and in the cave he makes Sudobal his pawn. He leaves then the cave and join the battle on the beach where he slays most of the elfic horde and then battle and kills Khalanos and kills his dragon.After the killing against Gruber and his fiends of Nurgle his moves his armies to Talabheim where Hroth is going to attack.Olaf the Berserker and a thousand warriors strike Teclis the elf-mage. They all die. Making defenses in Talabheim with the surviving warriors of the previous war, and boosted by milita and the reaming soldiers of Talabheim, Stefan prepare for war. The attack come in several waves until the the daemon prince attacks. In the end, we might expect for stefan to kill the daemon prince, what would be very unrealistic but in the end the daemon prince is hunt down by the wrath of Sigmar.

I think in overal it was a page turning book. It was never slow and made you want to continue all night on. But there are several things that made me think.. the main question is the final battle why weren't the previous 200 knights of the household march forward to defend their city? They were waiting to be overrun? I didn't understood that tactic, but is minimal. But 200 knights as household guard? Strange. How expensive that would be.

I am looking forward for the next two books from him. Dark Apostle and Empire in Chaos.

Book Review: Traitor Hand's - Sandy Mitchell - Ciaphas Cain III

Title : Traitor's Hand

Author : Sandy Mitchell

Pages : 416

Publisher : Black Library

Traitor Hand's is the third installment on the Commissar Ciaphas Cain Series.Commissar Ciaphas Cain of the Valhallan 597th was sent to help a peculiar world where the one part of the world is in darkness and cold and the other part in light and hot. This world is going go to have a rough time since a chaos fleet are inbound towards it.The books of Ciaphas Cain in general and The Traitor's Hand in particular do not read like other Warhammer 40k novels Rather than reading a simple story told via the traditional first person perspective the reader is immersed in an historical record. The escapades of Cain are told not by the author but by the Commissar himself in the form of his memoirs. Throughout the work we are also treated to the comments, in the form of footnotes, of an Imperial Inquisitor who has taken it upon herself to provide additional detail, sub-text, and explanation of key points. Additionally there are occasionally comments from other characters from Cain's story gleaned from their own memoirs or journals and presumably corralled by the aforementioned Inquisitor. Through the use of this style Sandy Mitchell slickly gives us the perspectives of numerous characters on the events transpiring all the while keeping the focus of the work tightly and seamlessly placed upon the shoulders of Commissar Cain.

However, our misunderstood hero, Imperial Commissar Cain in this book, where his only motivation seems to be to preserve his over-inflated reputation, he isn't terribly cowardly at all, since regardless of inspiration he virtually always does the right thing. As one definition of bravery is doing the right thing even in the face of fear, his continual protestations of his own cowardice wear thin by the end of the book. This time Cain must also deal with an old classmate, Commissar Tomas Beije. The two were never friends. Beije is still as pig-headed and stupid as always, but his jealousy of Cain's career makes things much worse.

It soon becomes apparent that a sinister cult has formed and is summoning something so horrible that the entire universe is in peril. Thats nothing unique.... But this book has several things that make it unique. First They are sent to defeat a chaos cultist there. Second they encounter cultists of chaos in the planet already. Third they discover that the chaos cultist in the planet are Slaneshi and the inbound fleet is from Khorne. In the end we are able to conclude that the "Khornes" are as much trying to destroy the humans and probably with more intensity to destroy the Slaneshi. That thing was something of interesting. In the end the Imperial Guard has as much to thank them to stop the menace than to thank the Khorne cultists.It's a good book, probably with the best plot that the other two books.