Review: Greender than you Think by Ward Moore

Title Greener Than You Think
 Author Ward Moore
Year 1947
Stand Alone or Series Stand Alone
Pages 308
Reading Time March 11 to 27, 2014

Synopsis
Ward Moore's classic novel "Greener Than You Think" posits a world with Bermuda grass running out of control -- choking out every other plant and destroying the food supply of animals and humanity alike. Originally published in 1947.

Review

This was a book that took me a while to read. It's not because is not interesting but because from the second half of the novel it drags a little and it's the same thing over and over again. 

Basiclly the plot is a apocalpytic fiction but not the usual types out there. It was not a war, a plague, alien influence, divine action or something like that. It all begins with grass.


Indeed, grass. Bermuda Grass for that matter. 
We have here, a new experiment straight from the lab. It grows greener than green and will be the envy of all your neighbours. Nothing can destroy it so it will always be beautiful and green. Would you care to have it sir? 

If you said yes, then you doomed mankind. Because as it says... it grows and grows and nothing can destroy it. It thrives on everything, it eats everything in its path. This is the plot. How mankind tries to battle this devil bermuda grass.

The characters are few and underdeveloped. Most of the time we are being told what the grass did or what the masses, armies and such are trying to do to stop the grass from engulfing first california then after a couple of years USA and North America, South America then the world. I am not saying nothing that the synopsis don't tell.


Besides the repiteve My main problem with this book was the making of the characters. Besides our main character everyone is a stereotype of person/group. The woman scientist, african-american, the military, the goverment, the newspaper editor and our main character - a salesman turn into the bigest most important person on earth. The only character that is quite singular is a reporter, who is also a magician and every time he talks he talks with a different Accent. Also, everyone has some satyrical tone to them...

Some prejudice in this book is also in order...

"A woman scientist, ay? Funny things women'll do when they can't get a man. But long-bearded or flat chested it's all the same. Gruesome, that's what they are, gruesome. Forget it."

One of the most interesting is the way the editor talk... it remembers some editor from some series... 

"Gootes, you are the end-product of a long line of incestuous idiots, the winner of the booby prize in any intelligence test, but you have done yourself in bringing me this vermionus and maggoty ordure" said Le ffaçase, throwing my efforts to the fllor and kicking at them. The outrage made me boil and if he had not been an older man I might have done him an injury. " As for you, Weener, I doubt if you will ever be elevated to the ranks of idiocy. Get the sanguinary hell out of here and do humanity a favor to step in front of the first truck driving by."

"What the hell's this?" "By the balls of Benjamim Franklin and the little white fringe on Horace Greenley's chin, this goddamned thing's been wrote by hand! Aren't there any typewriters anymore? Did Mister Remington commit suicide unbeknownst to me?"

"You're a syncophant, Gootes, a miserable groveling lowlivered cringing fawning mealymouthed chickenhearted toadeating arse-licking , slobering syncophant."

This guy made me laugh. 
These book deserves three stars but with all those and many more monologues I raised it to four. 

Advisable? Well, it was written before the fifties so expect some prejudices, but if you want to read one of the first books on the subject end of the world then jump in. Don't expect a masterwork but it will be a fun ride, but a bit repetitive...

Review: William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope by Ian Doescher

Title William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope

Author Ian Doescher

Year 2013

Stand Alone or Series William Shakespeare's Star Wars #1

Pages 174

Reading Time  March 24 to 28, 2014

Synopsis

Inspired by one of the greatest creative minds in the English language—and William Shakespeare—here is an officially licensed retelling of George Lucas's epic Star Wars in the style of the immortal Bard of Avon. The saga of a wise (Jedi) knight and an evil (Sith) lord, of a beautiful princess held captive and a young hero coming of age, Star Wars abounds with all the valor and villainy of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. ’Tis a tale told by fretful droids, full of faithful Wookiees and fearsome Stormtroopers, signifying...pretty much everything.

Reimagined in glorious iambic pentameter—and complete with twenty gorgeous Elizabethan illustrations—William Shakespeare’s Star Wars will astound and edify Rebels and Imperials alike. Zounds! This is the book you’re looking for.

Review

This was an interesting read. After reading a couple of years back the Star Wars - New Hope's novel that began it all and I thought that it had some interesting new things. As most tie-ins that are a prose version of the script that one gave some scenes that never went to the screen. Comparing it to this one is not possible because this is makeover of the scipt into a shakespearean play. Some scenes are funny as hell. If you are a fan of Star Wars you must read it. Don't expect anything new but expect drama and some hilarious scenes... 7/10

My favourite part of the movie is undoubtly this one... 

"VADER [to Motti:] Nay,

peace! I warn thee,

man, be not too proud

Of thy great terror

technological.

A weapon for the

mass destruction of

A planet—even to destroy

it whole—

Is no match for the

power of the Force.

"MOTTI - Thou shalt not ’tempt

to frighten us with

words

So like a man of magic,

Vader. Nay,

Thy sorc’rer’s act is

tir’d and overdone.

The sad religion thou

dost cling to hath

No pow’r to conjure

up the stolen plans.

Nor dost thou have a

third-eye’s sight to

make—

[Vader begins to choke Motti using the

Force.

More Epic than this.... Impossible!

Review: The Thousand Orcs by RA Salvatore

Title The Thousand Orcs

Author RA Salvatore

Year 2002

Stand Alone or Series Hunter's Blades #1, The Legend of Drizzt #14

Pages 367

Reading Time February 20 to April 21, 2014

Synopsis

One Dark Elf.

Two Enchanted Blades.

One Unknown Enemy.

And a Horde of Invaders.

When a blood-thirsty band of orcs led by an as-yet-unseen enemy comes rampaging out of the Spine of the World, it lays waste to everything in its path. Dark elf ranger Drizzt Do’Urden and his most trusted friends find themselves in the path of destruction. As blades slash and feet trample, even the heroes may not survive a desperate stand.

Review

Beware, several spoilers ahead.

This book was quite interesting. After the last two books that I thought that Salvatore and Drizzt were done and overdone - he throws a curveball with this one. 

With the passing of the king of Mithral Hall, Bruenor is called upon to take the crown. So he, his companions and the dwarves begin a journey to Mithral Hall, passing by Mirabar to ensure a better understanding between two cities. Afterwards, they travelled north but To-Be-King Bruenor, Catti-Brie, Wulfgar, Regis and Drizzt and a score of dwarves meet some dwarves that had been ambushed by Orcs. With the thought of revenge they travelled to warn the nearby human cities.

This is the premises of this novel. What we get is a lot but at the same time a bit overdo. Some things come from other books, and people starting here can be a bit lost. This book is full of philosophy and ways of life. 

-Catti-brie (human female; adoptive daughter of Bruenor) deals with her relationship with Drizzt a Drow. First should they be together, is it love and after, what would be their future?

-Regis deals with his way of life. He is an halfing and what he likes best his to live his life without many worries. But, with his companions that doesn't happen much. But after being rescued a zillion times by them he feels that he owns them and so he stays.

-Wulfgar, adoptive son of Bruenor is a barbarian with a soft heart. He deals with his past life (lover of catti-brie, imprisoned by a demon) and now together with a woman and her adoptive son. So he has a lot in his mind.

-Bruenor, all his life the dwarf only wanted to return to his ancestors dwelling place, Mithral Hall. But after retrieving he feels incomplete. This is characteristic that plagues almost every human (and dwarves). We are never happy with our life. We want more. And after doing what we achieve we want more. In one way that's what drives humankind ever forward but at the same time that's the reason for all evils humankind do. So in Bruenor, is the decision to be King or to be on the road with Drizzt and kill some foes (this same question dwells on every character).

-Drizzt, the main character. A goodheated drow(dark-elf). At times he is the most hated of characters. He is that kind of person that whines and takes everybody pains/difficulties as his own. He is a self-sacrificing guy and he is never happy with his decision... always wondering if he made the right choice and always suffering for past events. The problem relating with him his that. Nobody is that good. But at the same time, he is a god in the arts of war. He can kill everything. He reminds me of Gotrek the Trollslayer.

Nevertheless this flaws (to me they are); his battlescenes are probably my favourite battlescenes in any books I have ever read. His books are worth reading just for that. When Drizzt battles Entreri, where a battle takes ten or more pages, is glorious.

By the Way: This picture here. Didn't happened on this book. Misleading cover. Yes there are a thousand orcs but most of time Drizzt is fighting the Ice Giants. And when he fights Orcs usually is one or two.

Well with so many critics, why did I rate four? Some critics are not critics. It's good to see characters wonder about their life choices. The problem is overdoing it and Salvatore is overdoing it for some books.

This book is life Two Towers (movie) as a small force of dwarves and humans try to stop the power of orcs and giants. Again our main characters are overpower in relation of their enemies but I can handle that.

The Regis scenes, of all companions, are the best ones. And the highlight must be the almost comic appearance of Ivan and Pikel Bouldershoulder. They are quite interesting characters.

The story moves forward in the end and end with several cliffhangers. First Drizzt thinks his friends are lost beneath the rumbles of the destroyed city. Then we've got Torgar of Mirabar and his band of refugees who aid Bruennor. We have most of companions of the hall hurt or demoralized. We have Ivan and Pikel Bouldershoulder as they meet Bruenor. The elves as they see with caution the appearance of the Orcs in the forest and then we've got the evil alliance of Drows, Orcs and Giants who want nothing more than to destroy Mithrall Hall and Drizzt. 

7/10

Book Review: Tagus, the Horse-Man by Adam Blade

Title Tagus the Horse-man 
Author Adam Blade
Year 2007
Stand Alone or Series Beast Quest #4
Pages 128
Reading Time April 18, 2014

Review
If you read my previous review Cypher The Mountain Giant you can skip this review. It's the same formula. Someone gets in trouble, our heroes appear, they get into trouble and then help the villagers and in the end deal with the beast. The characters don't evolve from one book to another. And the little girl, well this book she didn't get into trouble. She was almost absent. Enfin... 2/10

Book Review: Arcta The Mountain Giant by Adam Blade

Title Arcta The Mountain Giant

Author Adam Blade

Year 2007

Stand Alone or Series Beast Quest #3

Pages 128

Reading Time April 18, 2014

Review

I read this book in one sip to take my mind from Thousand Orcs by RA Salvatore (which I am enjoying so much). This book was a little boring. Well I guess from now on, will be like this. First we are introduced to some poor characters which were attack insert name of the beast here , then they meet Tom and Elenna. Afterwards they do a chore or two for some small town which got themselves into trouble; and then go straight to save; not kill or harm; the beast while Tom do all the work and Elenna, that frail yound girl, gets into trouble, and Tom usually have to help her

too. In the end the beast gives something to help Tom in the next book Quest and never to be used again. In the end the Magician comes and congratulates them and says off you go, you lazy youngsters, you've go more work to do, that us men cannot. 

That's it. If you change a word or two, the second and third book and I think the next few ones, will be like this. 

Oh well... This is what I get for reading childrens books. 3/10

Book Review: Sepron the Sea King by Adam Blade

Title Sepron the Sea King

Author Adam Blade (Pseudonym)

Year 2007

Stand Alone or Series  (Beast Quest, #2)

Pages 128

Reading Time  February 21, 2014

Review

This new adventure is a bit weaker than the previous one. If what I enjoy are anti-heroes and evil characters, in a childrens book I don't expect that. I expect good values of life, for a child. Then when he grows up it's expected that he learns that the world is a bit different. That there are different kinds of lies, that not all that shines is pure and good. And so on... So I didn't expect Elena to convice our main character to steal a boat. That was unexpected. This is a straightfoward tale about Adam, his friend Elena (Both around 9 or 10), her wolf (Silver) and his horse (Storm) as they travel from land to land to find a free the beasts imprisioned by an evil magician, which never appears, well so far.

It's not very imaginative even by children standards of tv series. An this book was a bit quick. There wasn't really a challenge and all seems to easy...

Nevertheless my opinion still stands. This will be a nice introduction to my future, to born, well to be conceived, children to fantasy. I can imagine telling a tale per night, or so to him/her. 3/10

Review: Ferno, The Fire Dragon - Adam Blade

Title Ferno The Fire Dragon

Author Adam Blade (Pseudonym)

Year 2007

Stand Alone or Series  (Beast Quest, #1)

Pages 128

Reading Time December 20 to 21, 2013

Review

This is a children book no doubt about it. The beasts of Avantia that have protected humankind are now attacking them. 

Tom, in a strange unrealistic action, is helping the king to remove those beasts from the power of a evil mage.

As he travels to meet Ferno, the first quest, with his spirited horse Storm he encounters Elenna a bowman girl and Silver her faithful wolf. 

The battle between them and Ferno is quite brief and unsatisfactory. Overall is a quick read and It's advisable to boys and girls with 7 through 10 years. I will pass this book to my own children... when I have them. 4/10

TV Series Review: Quirke

Great series. With only 3 episodes, each with 1h20m I really enjoy the atmospheric feeling (1950's in Ireland) with Gabriel Byrne and Michael Gambon and Colin Morgan. He is a pathologist and if the first episode tend to set one tone the second and third episodes changed the tone and the first plotline just dissappear. If, in the beginning we thought that the dissapearances of the babies/killing of women was something to do with his own family the second and third episode turn that to a bigger and more powerful family. 

I really enjoy, as I said the atmospheric/setting, Ireland in 50's, and the filming. Classic television series. No speciall effects needed. Only the master skills of our actors are sufficient. Gabriel Byrne is an excelent actor.  After seeing Miller's Crossing, the Usual Suspects and the late Vikings I really thought he was a great actor - but now I have a deeper respect for the man.

Quirke, is our pathologist with an alchoolic problem and some problematic family. After the first episode we got an interesting backstory and the last episode had one or two curveball, as the americans say, that made me say "wow".

If you enjoy a good old fashioned mystery series with a bit of CSI and Drama then you are going to get a treat. Nevertheless I recommend to anyone.

Challenge: Month of Before the 70's

So, this month is being the year before the seventies but it's getting a little hard reading with all the work I have. Unfortunally I only have finish two books. Let us see if this last few days I can finish more two or three books.

Next month will be the seventies.

What about May? What should it be?

Review: The Mask of Cthulhu by August Derleth

Title The Mask of Cthulhu

Author August Derleth

Year 1958

Stand Alone (Short stories &Novellas)

Pages 204

Reading Time 8 days

Synopsis

Sheer Terror from the Gruesome Lore of Cthulhu

These are tales of horror grown from Mankind's ageless struggle between good and evil, which H.P. Lovecraft formed into his concept of the conflict between the Great Old Ones and the Ancient Ones - Hastur, Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep and other ghastly beings of the Cthulhu Mythos. August Derleth absorbed the power of Lovecraft's concept and in these stories captures the very essence of terrifying macabre dread, the palpable horror of cosmic evil perpetually poised to obliterate puny mankind...

Cover illustration: Tim White

Review

Everyone knows who is HP Lovecraft.Every one knows who is Edgar Allan Poe. Don't you? Poe and Lovecraft are the masters of horror. They are what other writers read and judge. I don't think that there aren't any like him. I enjoy reading Ligotti but he is too unknown. It's hard as hell to get a book by him. Of course Stephen King is the one who should sit nowadays at the throne vacant since Lovecraft removed Poe. But even Stephen King doesn't write the same way as Lovecraft. Even Derleth his protegé and most important the creator of Arkham printing company is way out of league of Lovecraft. Maybe Edward Wagner, Bloch or Brian Lumley tried to reach for the stars but they are not Lovecraft. I have yet to read every single story by him but I know a lot about Cthulhu Mythos. 

Derleth changed a lot about what is called today Cthulhu Mythos. Damn, he created the term. Unfortunally he also created the Elder Gods who want to protect humankind. He also gave the Great Old Ones a counterpart of the Eldar Gods going further in the "Seal of R'lyeh" to compare Good and Evil, Christianity and Satanism duality. I don't think Lovecraft ever commented on that. 

They are alien beings. They are incompreensible to us. No-one can discern what are their plans or ambitions. A mind would go blank or suffer a psychic attack if he tried to compreehend Their mind. That's why many of them go insane... isn't it?

Derleth also tried to explain a lot about the Mythos destroying (in my humble opinion) what Lovecraft expected to achieve. There are 6 stories... now look at the plots and characters.

-Every single story is told in the first person point of view;

-In the first story a man inherits a house full of occult books and his curiosity made him realize the full extend of Cthulhu mythos. The same happened in the second story, the fourth, the fifth and the sixth stories;

-It's always male characters. Besides the last story and the second where woman talk on the phone constantly there aren't any woman in it.

-In the first story our main character dies (not the one telling the narrative).

-The Second story our main character goes insane

-The Third disappears (again it's not the one telling the story)

-The Fourth disappears (again it's not the one telling the story)

~The Fifth our main character goes insane

-The Sixth disappears to serve Cthulhu alongside his wife and child

The references of the books are always the same. In each story we get the mention of the same books over and over again

- Necronomicon

- De Vermis Mysteriis

- Cultes de Ghoules

- Unaussprechlichen Kulten

- Book of Eibon

- Pnakotic Manuscripts

- R'lyeh Text

And of course each tale has the most famous phrase by HP Lovecraft

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn..."

"In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming..."

I would advice to anyone who wants to dwell more on the Cthulhu mythos but only after reading HP Lovecraft stories.

There is also a comic reference that Lovecraft and two other writer friends dissappeared or were killed becasue they knew too much. 7.5/10

Review: The Shining by Stephen King

Title The Shinning

Author Stephen King

Year 1977

Stand Alone or Series First of Two of Shining Series

Pages 683

Reading Time 300 days (started on setpember of 2012 then stopped. Re-started on June and finish on july of 2013)

Synopsis

The Overlook Hotel is more than just a home-away-from-home for the Torrance family. For Jack, Wendy, and their young son, Danny, it is a place where past horrors come to life. And where those gifted with the shining do battle with the darkest evils. Stephen King's classic thriller is one of the most powerfully imagined novels of our time. The Shining

Review

This book is suppossedly the best Stephen King book or at least the one that drove him into stardom. Unfortunally to me it is overrated. Don't get me wrong. It's a excelent book but in the movie we get the feeling of the hotel and of Jack Torrance and Danny. In the book... It longs to get somewhere. Some parts add to understand why Jack acted as he acted and Danny's "Shine" but nevertheless in the end, in my opinion it dragged. This book should had no more than 300/400 pages. 

Is it a scary/horror book? Meh. It's more of a psychological transformation story. 

I won't delve much to it because everyone either saw the movie or read the book.

To get a small synopsis. "See how a hotel with a history of violence and decay helps some wannabe writer to be what his father was but to a greater extent. See how a boy is special and a woman is a dumb lady that sticks side-by-side with a man who clearly is a drunk bastart". Yeah I know, different times.

Undoubtly this book will be one of those books people will read in fifty years as we read gothic novels.

With 3 starts. Would I advice it to you? Yes. May not be my favorite King's book but it's his trademark.

Will I read more of his books? Of course. After all I bought all the books and besides draging in each story he knows how to write and make a plot. I just ask to cut the small talk. 6/10

Review: The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie

Title The Thirteen Problems

Author Agatha Christie

Year 1932

Stand Alone or Series Miss Marple #2 - 13 stories

Pages 218

Reading Time  8 days (August 2012)

Synopsis

The Tuesday Night Club is a venue where locals challenge Miss Marple to solve recent crimes...One Tuesday evening a group gathers at Miss Marple's house and the conversation turns to unsolved crimes! The case of the disappearing bloodstains; the thief who committed his crime twice over; the message on the death-bed of a poisoned man which read 'heap of fish'; the strange case of the invisible will; a spiritualist who warned that 'Blue Geranium' meant death! Now pit your wits against the powers of deduction of the 'Tuesday Night Club'

Review

This was a bit different from Poirot books. First where Poirot is a travalled men who solves the cases based on logic and those little cells he referes; Marple solves her crimes because of similar experiences on her little town that she refers often that she never left.

The stories are small and easily read. Some are easier to understand who the culprit is but others are quite difficult to discover. 

Each tuesday several people join and tell tales of mystery that only them know the finale and each participant must make a guess to solve the mystery. OF course this is where the book fails in my opinion (is some way). Each participant is quite dull that never finds nothing (one of them is even a retired from the Scotland Yard) but that lady that never left that small village discovers each and every crime. 

If Poirot is quite a character (in some ways almost a perfect detective), Miss Parple it's even perfect. That's the reason I couldn't enjoy the book more, or as much as I love Poirot's. I really hope this is the fault of being a short stories collection. 6.5/10

Thoughts XXII: Challenge: March and April

This last month was disastrous in terms of reading. My work is consuming a lot of time. Let us hope that before the idles of March it all be over and my reading pace returns... But March will be a change. I am going to read only books from before the seventies. (With the exception of Thousand Orcs by RA Salvatore that I am trying to finish...

Next month probably I will start reading a series. Either Louis McMaster Bujold saga or Michael Moorcock Eternal Champion tales... I have almost all books in both series... What should I choose?