Review: Enemies & Allies - Kevin J Anderson

 Title - Enemies & Allies

Author - Kevin J Anderson

Year - 2009

Stand Alone or Series - Stand Alone

Pages - 303

Reading Time - June 2011

This was a surprising book. Superman and Batman were two of my favorite characters of DC Comics and when I saw this book in the store I had to buy it. I didn’t expect much of it but I was surprised… In a good way.

Enemies and Allies is 303 pages divided in 65 chapters each with only a couple of pages. The narration is between Batman (Bruce Wayne) and Superman (Clark Kent & Kal-El). There are also some chapters that the narration fall to Lex Luthor and Lois Lane.

Characterization

In my humble opinion Superman & Batman were done greatly never leaving what I knew from the comics / movies and while based on comic book readers unfamiliar with the background of Batman and Superman will have no problem following the storyline. Both heroes get their own lights but make no mistake because this is a Superman novel with the help of Batman. But at the same time we have more of Bruce Wayne than Clark Kent (or Kal-El).

Review

This book takes place in 1950 when the Cold War was beginning and the space program was also taking its first steps and both characters were beginning their “careers” as heroes or more correctly Batman as anti-hero. There is plenty of background for someone who doesn’t follow the comics and for me it was splendid. Some other readers who follow both characters will experience boredom because of all the fluff they already know.

The plot is simple but that didn’t take any interest on the book. Luthor, of course, wants to rule the world or be its hero and every action he takes superman and batman are one step ahead. The first half of the book we learn about Superman and it’s alter-ego Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne (Batman). Only at half the book they meet and only in the last couple of chapters they work together in their common enemy.

Throughout the first part Bruce Wayne tries to uncover problems within his own company and Clark Kent in his first steps as a journalist going from a love column to chasing aliens in Nevada and Area 51. At the same time Lois Lane was following is own leads against Luthor. Luthor also get his own chapters and we learn about some of his own ideas and links to a Soviet KGB General. The first attack of Luthor is trying to earn more money with new technology, some of them stolen from Wayne Enterprises, as a defense mechanism against a potential threats. And how did he do it? His allie in the soviet union send some false information to a couple of generals and they send three nuclear warheads  to the USA. With the warheads going and with no possibility  of USA to destroy them Luthor would test his new weapons and save America becoming his new hero instead of Superman and at the same time gaining some contracts with the military. But something goes wrong and Superman saves the world, yet again. As the book wents on Superman tries to uncover more of Soviet plans and it’s drawn to a place where a meteor had fall but unbeknowest to him the meteorite was from his own planet and we all know what Kryptonite does to him right? He was capture by the soviets and branded a spy and weak. With this Luthor sees the opportunity to  unravel his second plan. An fictious alien invasion of spaceships and with no superman in the way he would “save” the world. But Batman who was following some other leads help Superman escape and they travel back to America to save them from the “aliens”. At this point Lois Lane was following his own lead that led to a secret island of Luthor near Cuba. There she communicates with the USA’s army and they send a force to help but Superman arrives early and saves the day. In the end we learn that both Superman and Batman know each other secret identities but swear never to tell anyone.

Conclusion

Excellent tie-in conversion from a comic book to a novel. I know there are some out there in the market but I never read one or know about one. I learn that there are one written by the same writer called The Last Days of Krypton. Maybe I will try acquire it.


Also I found interesting the view both personagens had of each other. There is a chapter were Superman debates with Batman about "How help humankind?". Superman doesn't understand Batman work as a vigilante. Batman explains that Justice is not the same thing as Law. And both things are indepent. Superman on the other hand believes in Law. That's why Superman is a Good Lawful Hero (if this was D&D) and Batman is a Good Chaotic. It was one of the best chapters. 

To whom I advice it?

To anyone who wants a fast novel to read in the train or anyone into comics and want to learn more about the possibility of Batman working alongside Superman. And of course to all Kevin Anderson fans.

Thought XIII - Superman or Superevil

Superman couldn't bring world peace. He couldn't even bring safety to metropolis. There was someone commiting crimes. Batman couldn't either. Spider-man was a weakling as well. So what's the solution? Fight evil with evil mayhaps?

To bring peace someone must suffer. In these case criminal. So if a super hero could kill every major criminal peace would be obtained. 

Long live Vlad Tepes! Fight Evil with Evil to Bring Peace!

Review: Thunder from Fenris - Nick Kyme

Title - Thunder from Fenris

Author - Nick Kyme

Year - 2009

Stand Alone or Series - Audiobook

Pages - 80m

Reading Time - April 2011

As you all know I don't like audiobooks and even less e-books. I truly dispised them. Black Library launched a new short story about dark eldars and they made it only as e-book. I really want to read because they are my army and favoured race but I won't buy it until it's released as a paper book. 

But audiobooks are another story. I don't like it but I read them because as I work (sometimes) I can hear music. This particular audiobook I heard twice. It was fantastic. I truly want to read in paper version but I can cope with these.

Review:

Space Wolves vs Zombies

How can this go wrong?

And I must say it didn't go wrong for me.

I like the voice of the narrator but unfortunally he doesn't change the voice very often between characters. I also felt that the special effects behind the audiobook were poor and was a little let down. But, fortunally Nick Kyme made a good story about Space Wolves that made all worth it.

The story begins in a strange cold enviroment akin to the Space Wolves homeworld. As they battle Nurgle's minions and help the Cadia Imperial Guard, they are searching for a missing brother who may have fallen victim of Wulfen Plague amidst a Zombie Plague that ravages the land. They are space wolves but they are part of an elite of the already elite space wolves called Thunder Wolves. This thunder wolves ride or fight beside big wolves from Fenris. These Wolves are the most dangerous animal on a planet full of monstrosous beasts. 

The brothers then follow the carnifice wrought by the zombie plague and their missing brother. The Imperial Guard troops as they are infected they turn into a mindless zombie but the augmetic space marines are almost imnune to it.  After some encounters with a friendly general and other chaos cultists (including Death Guard space marines) they encounter a daemon, probably the causer of all this plague. Here they do a titanic battle and are helped by their missing brother. After deating the daemon the brother yet again escape. They leave the place of the daemon and follow their brother but they encounter a fierce resistance and only one man stands and he wants to help his Wulfen brother. The audiobook ends with a clinfhanger never knowing what happens to either one.

The characterization is one of the good parts of the novel and we can see that as two battle brothers argue what's the best course of action after they encounter their fallen brother. 

Conclusion

To whom I advice this book? To anyone. You don't need to know almost nothing to fully enjoy this book. The only advice I give you is to search for "Wulfen" state that befells some Space Wolves because the book doesn't fully explain what it is. And yes, there are zombies in the warhammer 40k and warhammer fantasy albeit a little different from the zombies from our "world".

8.5/10

Review: Fireworks - James A Moore

Title - Fireworks
Author - James A Moore

Year - 2001

Stand Alone or Series -Stand Alone

Pages - 376

Reading Time - June 2011

Review

A spaceship crashes into a small city in the southern US of A and a branch of the army (or not) arrives and isolates the town. This is the premise and it was good. 

The book is divided into three point of views. First a officer of Collier (the name of the city), then an intermission with a chapter with several characters points of view then it changes to a woman from that town for another couple of characters. Another intermission and the last POV is from the other side of the barrier, a guardsman who happens to had grown in that town.

I must say that despise everything it work alright. All stories are inter-connected and it gave a wider berth to the plot and view of what happened in that town. The book is well written and nothing is missing in my opinion in characterization or plot.

Unfortunally the only thing missing is the lack of knowledge that at the end of the book we have of the spacecraft that cuase all that.

James A Moore gives us is point of view of what covers the government can do and what we really know or think we know. 

Of course, we know that there are somethings that the Government don't say to us and in this book we get it first handed. First a spacecraft crashes and the organization (later called ONYX) arrives and tells the world that it was a terrorism doing and it's closed for everyone sake. Then in the end we learn that this agency controls the media and everything else and they might not even being part of the government but apart. It's explicit that the president of USA doesn't know nothing about it and there are rumours of several crashes. Then we learn about some people that erases people mind and the rest are silenced and in the end everything is okay, the president gains votes because the army did good and the people of Collier (the ones who aren't dead) gain a new life without memories of the past. So what this means is that everything we know may not be truth. This book is to be included in the Goverment conspiracy theory range of books.

Now back to the book itself. After the initial set of rules imposed of the organization, the people of Collier starts to get resentful and later some of them revolt against it. There are also white supremecists who fight for freedom but at the same time James A Moore gives us gentle oppressors who don't like what they are doing to that town because they are taking orders from someone who they never seen it. In the end the space ship just escapes and all is for nothing. Terrible!

Conclusion

It was a good book for anyone who like a good politic book about conspiracy theory and also for psychological warfare. I also advice this book because the setting is simple but very nice.  8.5/10

Note: If anyone knows a good book about conspiracy theory say something.

Review: Mark Of Heresy - James Wallis

Title - Mark of Heresy
Author - James Wallis

Year - 2003

Stand Alone or Series - II of a Duology (?)

Pages - 416

Reading Time - April & May 2011

This is the second book of a duology. I saw somewhere that there was a third book planned but it was never published. Instead these year Black Library released a omnibus containing the two books plus two short stories linked. The two short stories are prequels (or at the same time) of the first book. I found out that there was a book called Mark of Mutation but was never published. Unfortunally for us we never find out what happens to Karl Hoche in them.

So who is Karl Hoche? He is the main protagonist of this duology and what a character he is.

This is undoubtly one of the most interesting reads on the warhammer world. And why? Because James Wallis captures beautifully the grim dark atmosphere of the gothic world. The second book it's twice as good because there is so many conspiracies and sinister cults.

James Wallis was a co-author of Hammers of Ulric and that's it. I wonder why he stop writing books for BL since these two are very good novels. I found out later he was in the games industry but nothing more.

Review

This two books can be review at the same time because the second follows the events of the first. Unfortunally the second also ends with a major clinfhanger but nevertheless we never learn what happen to him or other main characters. Well, that's not so true. Valten and Huss story is well known but Hoche? I reviewed the first book here but I am going to make here a small synopsis.

In the first book we are presented with Karl Hoche an army officer as he uncover chaos cultists among the Knights Panther. After this incident he enters the Untersuchung, a secret organization inside of the Reiskguard. The following chapters we follow him as he pass some trials and difficults. The end of the first book he battles the Khorne cultists inside the Panthers Knight but later his organization his  coined by the witch hunters as an heretic organzation and many are trial and sentenced to death. In the end due to an infection he is slowly turning into a mutant and so he leaves civilization and goes to the wild.

The second book returns after the first with Hoche living as mutant but nevertheless a chaos-hunter. After meeting some people he then tries to find some Untersuchung members living at large since they were all hunted or incoroportated into other factions. This book follows the beginning of Archon attack on the empire and how Huss found Valten and was helped by Loche. I am interested knowing how Chris Wraight is going to talk about this. This second book is even better than the first. Here is spies and counter-spying and triple or quadruple spies working for various factions. Even in the end there are some we never learn who they were or worked for. It's excelent. I never read anything so confusing as these and I loved it. Why? Because it's the way of society noawadays and even in the past. Everyone could be a chaos cultist or a secret organzation to help the Empire and even chaos Cultists fighting for the Empire. Every page turns rapidly as we try to figure out who is who and what happens to our heroes (or anti-heroes). We have some characters from the first book and some new. Unfortunally the only downside of the book is the clinfhanger. Why? We know what Valten did afterwards and Huss but not Hoche. I would like to know if Hoche accompanied Huss and Valten to fight Archeon or if he tried to hunt other chaos cultists that he knew about or even if he return to the wild so he could die in peace. I guess we will never learn because it's now 6 years and James Wallis never wrote another book.

Conclusion

If there is one book where we learn the spying world hidden from other books is this one. Usually the books are about some character as he tries to find something or fight someone. There are books about witch hunters against chaos but I never read one that dwelve so much into the politics and spying world inside the Empire. It makes you think everything you know about it. 

The maxim of this book is "Trust no one" because it's true. Everytime you think you know about someone bang! something happens to him or he turns to be someone else.

Would I advice this book to someone? Buy the duology because they are only one book in my opinion. Go check Black Library website.

Small Reviews: Olde Library (12)

Harry Potter

I've being watching the Harry Potter movies until the fourth and I always enjoy them. The books were a problem to me because I thought it was for children and it was damaging the image of fantasy. But I can't say something bad and not read it so I tried reading them and I was suprised. The first four books are good and most of them enrich the universe I knew from the movies. I am now reading for two months the fifth book and unfortunally I am not into it.

It's a phase. This last four months of the year are being awful for my reading and I am breaking records on the negative side on pages read by day.

Maybe I will try again on this weekend to end the fifth book.

Small Reviews: Olde Library (11)

E-Book or not e-book.
Definetly not e-book. I tried. I really tried to read some e-books but it was awful. Trying to read it on my Samsung Galaxy was a awful experience. I will not read anything more there for years and years to come.

I tried some fan fiction called Chill, Kills & Snowflake, Spore, The Phantom Ship, It wails and Rise of the Zombies. Most of them were awful short stories. Only the last one had some good thing going on but I as I said. E-Books are not for me. When in the future I say I want to read an e-book freely even if I have a paperback someone shoot me dead because I will be insane or a parasit would be control me.

Small Reviews: Olde Library (10)

Darkblade: Reign of Blood If Titan was the best from the comics from 40k this one did the same for the fantasy counterpart.What a character Abnett create. Malus Darkblade the infamous dark elf. This comic book was what started it all. The novels are great even if they were done by Mike Lee and not Abnett but I think Mike Lee makes him even better. There are some differences from the novels and the comics but that doesn't upset me. In some way it gives something more to look forward. The 5 novels published so far only cover a third of the comic so there is much to been writen now. From what I read in some blogs Mike Lee is coming back for Malus. Delightful. 10/10

Tales from the Ten Tailed Cat and The Call of Chaos are two comic books with short tales about the olde worlde. The first focus on every single type of beings and professions and the latter independent tales. They are both great I still remember some of them vividly. Unfortunally both suffer from the difference between writers an most important artists. There are some tales that could have been great but the paintings sucks it up. 7.5/10

Small Reviews: Olde Library (9)

Looking back it's now five years since I've entered the Warhammer World. With 97 books read I am a third of the way. Of course I've read every single comic novels they made.

First Titan - God Machine This was my first perpesctive about what a battle with a Titan looks like and I enjoy it a lot. They battle chaos, orks and such other monstrosities and everytime they win. They have also battles against gigantic daemons and other small fiends. But the book is not all about war and carnage. There also the insight about the crew of a Titan and also the mechanics behind it. I really enjoy this book specially the mythos behind the Titans. The people on 40k really believe that they are alike-gods and indeed they are. Probably with a Titan I could conquer a country noawadays. Another thing that I still remember after years of reading is the link between the Princeps and the sentient Titan - Very revealing. I must read Titanicus by Abnett. 9.5/10

Kal Jericho is the only Comic book depicting Necromunda and one of the mythic characters from that world. There we see him, his sidekick and some allies. Interesting this character had some faults in my opinion. He was to light-hearted for all the situations he was in. But besides that it was the most comic comic (sorry the pun) of all books. I have some novels to read. Unfortuanlly only one is from Gordon Rennie and the reviews from the other books are not that good.