Thoughts...

I follow some blogs throughout the web and for some time and I am trying to stop reading them because I am failing to believe most of them. Why? Because they are offered every kind of books and they gave the reviews the editors want. When was the last time anyone gave me a book?
I've bought more than 1500 books. Only one was offered by C L Werner (and it was him who offered me not the publisher).
I've got every book Black Library published... Why can't they offered me one to review? It was a good company policy. To me and anyone who buys them month after month. Enfin...
I talk of Black Library as I would have talk Orbit which I've got a hundred books. Or Abaddon which I've got them all. Or.. You get the picture.

I know they are in this for the money but it would be a nice policy. Most books I buy for bookdepository.co.uk so most companies wouldn't know I've got them and this "thought" would be fruitless but black library ones I buy them directly. They are expensive that way and maybe I am a fool doing it. Maybe I should be buying through my normal buyer or amazon... oh well..

Review - Fragment by Warren Fahy

Title Fragment

Author Warren Fahy

Pages 488

Year 2009
Reading Time 6 days (June 2010)

Rating 7.5 out of 10

I have always enjoyed books with strange phenomenons, odd animals that make ye wonder, mysteries and such.. so when I saw this book I knew it was a must have. I bought it and read it. This is a author to check out later.

The book begins with the introduction of several characters, giving us too much description and large background for all. I think it was unnecessary because some of the characters disappear around page 50 or 60. It was a little confusing with all the names and characteristics (most of it was not necessary). Then another set of characters appears and again we find ourselves in their life. Apart from two or three characters I found it hard to connect to them. Nell (our main character) was one of the few exceptions along with Geoffrey and Andrew. I also found Cynthia the show producer plausible alongside Zero the cameramen.

This tale begins with the discovery of an island that was isolated from all biological contact with the outside world. There a strange and unique forms of life flourish. One good thing, though is the menagerie of beasts that inhabit Henders Island. Spigers and Henders wasps are cool. Still, I kind of wish they hadn't almost all been arthropods, with a few exceptions seeming to be the "trees". Suffice to say that it was the most lethal ecosystem on the planet, where every living being, plant and animal, is hostile to one another. The environment he envisions is nothing short of terrifying, and the chapters in which the island is explored are easily the best of the book.

The crew of the show are drawn to the island by an emergency beacon from an abandoned sailboat. After the first bloody encounter prompting a naval quarantine and full-scale scientific expedition that uncovers many of the island's mysteries - and illustrates the threat they could pose to the world.

I think the author has gone lenghtly far to put into developing the inhabitants of his own little lost world. In the back of the book there are some drawings and explanations of some of the inhabittants. In his website we find several dozen sketches and drawings.

On the downside the rest of the novel didn't receive the same degree of thought and attention with two dimensional characters with few exceptions. Even the bad guys are not that good (?). The ending was what I expected. Something that gives you time to wonder in a sequel (if this book succeeds). If not the ending is satisfactory. (The ending was a hollywood likewise).

Now the science part... that's the hardest to explain. The author tries to give an scientific explanation like Crichton used to do. He gives us a history of island and inhabitants and how the evolution evolved. Some of the creatures are quite good as I said before but some are ridiculous (like the giant ones) in a small island. I know they evolved from a pre-historic continent but they should have died by now. But that was not enought for enjoying the explanation.

Review: Vampire Hunter D -3 Demon Deathchase - Kikuchi

Title Vampire Hunter D Volume 3: Demon Deathchase
Author Hideyuki Kikuchi & Yoshitaka Amano (Illustrations)
Pages 178
Year 1985

Reading Time 10 days (June 2010)
Rating 7.5 out of 10

After reading the first two books I had mix feelings about the character and the author. I will continue to read them (that's no doubt) but as the previous book I was not all that glad about this book. This book suffers from the translation (it seems that sometimes the english language is not suitable or makes all that sense). I think it's hard to translate a book from japonese to a western language. Since I don't understant japonese I can't say anything. If there are some differences from english to portuguese I think what would be the differences from japonese to any other language. Moving along..

This book as the first was adapted for a tv film. If the movies were something good the books I can't say that. This third book the persons doing it changed everything. Even the ending is completely different. In the movie they go happily to the stars but on this book the noble Mayerling is killed and the female counterpart impales herself in his nails (sharp as steel).

I know this book has the right ending but I did see the movie first so...

In the end I think the book (small as it was) drag on in some parts.. In seemed that nothing happened for some time... But as I Said maybe is my perspective of the film. I will read the fourth book in a couple of weeks and see what changed.

The companion-manga book is doesn't feel right and i'ts not that good. I think it add nothing to the all mythologie.

Review: Mark of Damnation - James Wallis

Title Mark Of Damnation

Author James Wallis

Pages 287

Year 2003
Reading Time 5 days (June 2010)

Rating 8.5 out of 10

This is a great book. I do not understand why he only wrote two books for Black Library. So far this one was a great novel with good characters. We get war, espionage, history and plenty more. It good. The second book is called Mark Of Heresy and it was the last book. Amazon says there is a third called Mark of Mutation but the book was never published. If the second book is as good as this one I can't understant why.

In this book we have only one main character called Karl Hoche first a army officer then joined the ranks of Untersuchung - a clandestine group dedicated to fighting the dark forces of Chaos in all of it's guises.

In this book we to know more of the Reiksguard and how the military works. Not only the Reiksguard but also the Witch Hunters.. It is quite good. In this book no character is what it supposes to be. It begins with one thing then another. It's quite good even if a little difficult to know who's who and who's helping who or what. The travels of Hoche begins in the army camp and after discover that some Knight Panthers are Khorne worshipers, he goes to Aldorft where the Knight Panthers tries to kill him. Then the Untersuchung recruits him and he goes throught training which is quite good and probably one of the best parts of the novel. Then he goes in his first mission to Marienburg and then he travels back to Aldorft where he learns of the fate of his organization by the hands of witch hunters. He is captured and tortuted but with the help of a female spy of the Untersuchung he escapes and goes into the wild because he has a mutation of a mouth growing on his neck/shoulder. He mets some other mutatns and live with them. This is probably the best part with the training. Here we see him change from a god-fearing man of Sigmar to a disbeliever and trying to embrace and then fight chaos. In the end he gets yet again to the camp where is a plot to sacrifice an army to Khorne.... The fighting was quite good.

This book is not easy to read as everyone changes and changes and you get confuse with all changes. It's quite good but you must read it carefully. I think if this book had 400 pages instead of 287 it would be even better..

Review: Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

Title Hobbit
Author JRR Tolkien

Pages 392
Year 1937
Reading Time 21 days (May/June 2010)
Rating 7.5 out of 10

Since I was reading other books at the time I aimed reading one chapter per night. The book was not what I thought it would be. It has nothing to do with the pace and language of the Lord of the Rings. Even some things didn't felt right. But it wasn't all that bad. This book is for childrens and young teens. There's no doubt of it. But adults can read it without problem. But I advice reading this before LotR or you will not be able to feel the magnitude of the book.

This story tells us of the adventure that gave Bilbo the One Ring but that was a secondary plot in this book. This book was about the entourage of dwarves, gandalf and bilbo to recapture a mountain and kill the dragon Smaug that inhabbit it. We get to see goblins tottally different from the ones in LotR as they chant are (even if they are antagonists in this tale). We get to know the elves without the god-like grace from the LotR. We get to know dwarves that don't behave as dwarves in the LotR. But overall I enjoy it and it was a book that I wish I had read before LotR and when I was a youngling. Alas life is not as we want it to be. Nevertheless It was a great ride..

To finalise by review I must warn you of the beautifully crafted images made by Alan Lee. He is a great artist no doubt. It remids me of Rackam's craftsmanship. Beautifull. Worth having if only by the paintings...

Review: Hour of the Daemon - Aaron Rosenborg

Title Hour of the Daemon (Book III Daemon Gates)

Author Aaron Rosenborg
Pages 256

Year 2007

Reading Time 5 days (June 2010)

Rating 8 out of 10

After reading the first two novels I had to read the last one as soon as possible. What can I say? Again Aaron did it again but it was the weakest of the three.

If the characterization was good and the turning of Alaric to the dark side was very entertaining in the other hand this book had almost nothing of fluff to give us besides a few hints of the sacred forest of the wood elves.

On the plus side Kristoff is back from the first adventure and the tracker called Lankdorf from the second.

So why the dissapointing? The end. It was almost anti-climatic...

Let me begin from the start. Both Alaric and Dietz have travelled around the Olde Worlde and defeated for two times a Daemon. In the third book they travelled again from Middenhein to the grey mountains. There they defeated a demon with the "help" of some wood elves who have threatened them. As they for the third time thwarted the plans of the daemon the elves appear and yet again say that they are trespassing Athel Loren so they must die.... And the last chapter ends with them three (Alaric, Kristoff and Dietz) charging the elves (with superior numbers). The epilogue is set on the river on a small boat with a dying man who we get no gilimpse of who it is... (well it says that he's got a scared face so it must be Alaric who got his face scared by Glouste when saving him from the daemon).

So what happenned? After defeating an horde of enemies they die by the hands of a bunch of mythical elves who are not even evil? It's an inverted deus ex machina... enfin

Review: Night of the Daemon - Aaron Rosenborg

Title Night of the Daemon (Book II Daemon Gates)
Author Aaron Rosenborg
Pages 256
Year 2007
Reading Time 4 days (May 2010)
Rating 9 out of 10

This is the second on this awesome trilogy. The first I reviewed here and I must say that so far I am enjoying it. There are many trilogies where the second book suffers from the plot, characterization or whatever. But this book I didn't feel like it.

This second book is almost set in the Border Princes, which for me worked just fine since I think I've never read anything set there.

Again this author gives us a good story (I think it was not as good as the previous one) but what lacks in depth gains in history lessons. We learn a lot about the Border Princes. How they work and what are made off. We learn of other humans settlements outside the empire and the history of the Tomb Kings which resembles (a lot) with the old egyptians. I don't think I have ever read any book in Black Library that gave so much of this fluff... ( i think this is the correct term). Again this book we have our two main (and the tree-fox) characters from the previous books. Alaric the noble and archaelogist and Dietz the tomb raider and the one doing all the dirty work (and Glouste). We get to know a little more of their relations and how they think. So another point to characterization. There are more than a dozen small characters helpers or villains but no one worth mention. There are only two that I hope to see them later. One a bounty hunter that in the beggining captures then turns their friend (if you can call it that) and another a araby woman which controls a small kingdom. Besides those characters the others are flat and not that good.

The story begins in the end of the other book as they go search for clues about a artifact with heretic powers. In the way they battle humans and skeletons and even a lich. For the second time they defeat a Khorne Demon (this one not trapped inbetween dimensions as the previous one) but inside a man (nevertheless trapped). Maybe in the third book he will be fully released.

We get to know a lot more about Alaric and it's transformation... There is something odd in that character. A change. Being a avid reader of Black Library that's not a good thing. When I mention odd I mention things like healing super fast or the demons knowing his name or dreams that reveal something important like a way to a tomb or a city. I think the development of this character will be the most important thing on the third book.

I really hope that the third book continues with this pace and characterization and plot. The question forming in my mind is this... Why didn't he write more books to Black Library?

2010 so far... What did I do?

Well first of all I must say that my collection didn't grew that much compared to what I have to read. 1333 books to read (plus around 200 Black Library books). I've read 10 Black Library books which is good. I want to read at least 30 BL books this year. Maybe 40. I've read as well the fourth book of Harry Potter and I want to read another one this year. Somehow I can only read them in cold days so I won't be reading in it for a 4 or 5 months. I am getting into Wizards of the Coast again. I have my first book this may and I want to read two books per month maybe. My goal is also to read one portuguese a book every couple of months (Agatha Christie's books). I read the first two Vampire Hunter D novels and so far I am enjoy it. The tie-in manga books are not that great and I will not be buying anymore. They are only interesting for the bare woman breasts. I read also the first book of Terry Prattchet and I was dissapointed. But the book called Mort is quite good so I don't know what to make of it. Maybe Rincewind sucks eheh.

Now my favourite so far... (in no particular order)
Grey Seer - C L Werner Black Library (Fantasy)
Day of the Daemon - Aaron Rosenborg - Black Library (Fantasy)
Masters of Magic - Christ Wraight - Black Library (Fantasy)
Flu - Wayne Simmons - Snowbooks (Horror)
Sea of Swords - R A Salvatore - Wizards of the Coast (Fantasy)
Hater - David Moody - Gollancz (Horror)
Empire of Ants - Bernard Werber - Bantam Books
Vampire Hunter D - Hideyuki Kikuchi (Writer) Yoshimata Amano (Drawings) (Fantasy, Sci-fi, Horror)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Fantasy)
My not so favourite...
Counting up, Counting down - Harry Turtledove (Alternative History)
The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett (Fantasy)
Dradin in Love - Jeff Vandermeer - Spectra (I can't even say it)
Read by Dawn vol 3 - (Horror)
How to train your dragon - Cressida Cowell (Young Fantasy Novel)
Stardust - Neil Gaiman (Fantasy)
Now the ones I didn't finish but plan to do in the coming months...
Black Angel - Graham Masterton (horror)
Dune - Frank Herbert
Un Lun Dun - China Miéville
Daedalus 1 the florians - Brian Stableford
Northern Lights - Philip Pullman
Meat - Joseph D'Lacey
World War Z - Max Brooks
Peril at End House - Agatha Christie

I am trying to read 100 pages per day but so far my average is on 70 pages per day. Maybe this coming months I improve...