Monster Hunter Alpha

Monster Hunter Alpha
by Larry Correia

8 out of 10
Adult Science Fiction / Horror

This is book three in the Monster Hunter series.  Larry Correia does not disappoint.  Incredibly well-written and well-paced.  His books thus far show the promising trend of improving with each new release, leaving readers excited for more.

That was really more of a review of the author than the book itself.  But to be honest, I would read anything Larry Correia puts out and have yet to be disappointed.  Caveat: this is NOT young adult fiction.

That being said, this book didn't receive higher marks for one reason: it was missing my favorite characters.  Learning more about Earl was really awesome, and I agree that showcasing Earl precluded having Owen be the main character.  The fault was neither the author's nor the book's; I think the problem is that I have developed a teensy crush on Z.  Of course, as a glasses-wearing sci-fi fan who likes to imagine herself as being as rockin' as Julie, I suppose it was inevitable.  Now Correia comes along and makes Earl as awesome as Z, and what's a girl to do?

Book Reviews--Children's Edition

We got some new kids' books in the mail this week and had a great time reading together.

Freight Train
by Donald Crews

4 out of 10

In spite of this being a Caldecott honor book as well as a Mulberry book, I didn't really love it.  I didn't particularly dislike it, either, but it was just blah.  We read it once and I feel no great desire to read it again.  It's a train.  Each car is a different color.  The end.  Not so exciting or interactive.

 

In the Town all Year Round
by  Rotraut Susan Berner

9 out of 10

This is a wonderful look-and-find book.  It's large enough that one girl can sit on each side of me and feel like they have plenty of book to look at.  Many of the characters are named, and my four year old especially likes to make up stories about them.  There are lots of silly things, like a magpie who likes to steal interesting items and hide them in her nest. The pictures follow a pattern, which makes it possible to make up sensible stories with beginning, middle and end.  My two year old gets quite a kick just trying to find some of the funny things, like a penguin hiding by a nun or a motorcyclist who turns out to be Santa.




Jump!

by Scott M. Fisher 

10 out of 10

This is such a wonderful book.  We love it.  It has a great rhythm and is really fun to read.  The story falls into a pattern, so the girls can guess what is coming up.  They get very excited when it is time to shout, "JUMP!" and, of course, jump up to say it.  There are great sound words, really cute illustrations, and it's just so much fun. There are also a lot of rhyming words, which is something we're working on.  Both my two year old and my four year old love this book. 

I Don't Want to Kill You

I Don't Want to Kill You
by Dan Wells

9.5 out of 10
YA Fantasy/Horror

From my recent book reviews, you may get the idea that I read a lot of horror.  I don't.  As a matter of fact, these series represent almost the sum total of my horror genre reading, with the notable exceptions of classics such as Frankenstein and Dracula, only one of which I have read in the recent past.

You may also get the idea that I read a lot of fantasy.  That one is true.  I do read other books, but I prefer fantasy.  Young adult, middle grade, adult, military, or post-apocalyptic; if it has fantasy, I'm drawn to it.

This series, of which IDWTKY is book 3, falls in the young adult category.  It's intense, though; not for readers with delicate constitutions.  I remember reading book 1 alone late at night...I had to crawl in bed with my three-year-old.

Amazingly enough, the series gets better with each installment.  By the end of book 3, which is, as far as I understand, the end of the series, I'm ready to read the next twenty books.  It had twists and turns I never saw coming.  John has some real stand-up-and-cheer moments, and as a reader, you just ache for him.

It's an amazing, horrific fantasy full of adventure, psychology, and drama.  Now that all three are out, don't wait.  If you haven't read any, start with I Don't Want to Be a Serial Killer and go on John's journey with him. You'll want to have all three...the wait was a killer.

Monster Hunter Vendetta

Monster Hunter Vendetta
by Larry Correia

9.5 out of 10
Fantasy/Horror

Still not suitable for young persons.  I have recommended this book to some of my seniors, but not to any freshmen.  The violence is a little graphic, though I'm sure they see worse on their video games.  Language and sex are pretty clean, but I wouldn't read this book sitting in a church pew.

Now, if violence scares you off, let me preface this by saying I hate violent movies.  I don't watch horror shows or war movies.  I don't enjoy watching people get hurt.  That being said, the violence in books doesn't bother me as much.  I used to skip battle scenes when I started reading mil SF, but I've come to realize that reading about blood and guns and whatnot just isn't as graphic.  Though props to Larry, it's very well described.

I bought this book recently when I went to a conference in Phoenix.  I wanted to get this book since before it came out, but (if you followed my blog previously, you know this) we were pretty broke.  So I put a hold on book buying, online ordering, and any non-necessities.  Now that we're jobful again (that obviously being the opposite of jobless), it was one of the things on my immediate to-do list.  There was a Borders bookstore right by the restaurant (which as an aside, I am very sad that they are going out of business, but very happy at store-wide clearance), and I told my colleagues as they pulled the car up--"I'll be RIGHT back.  I know exactly what I'm getting."  That was the fastest I've ever been in and out of a bookstore.  Ever.

Anyway, the book was totally worth it.  Larry Correia is my third-favorite author, the first two being John Ringo and Brandon Sanderson, and the order switches around depending on whose book I'm currently reading.

This is a follow-up on my review of Monster Hunters International, the first in this series.


Owen Pitt has become more butt-kicking than ever.  After pissing off a majorly evil multi-dimensional being in book 1, Pitt is now the target of a fanatical cult led by an evil necromancer.  Agent Franks has been assigned to 'keep him safe,' and, as you can probably imagine, nothing remotely safe actually occurs in the course of the book.

My favorite parts:  the zombies and gnomes.  But, as far as I know, no zombie gnomes.  But the best part, most definitely, was the penguin.  I still pick my book up and turn it upside-down every so often just to get a smile.
Least favorite: the troll.  It was a little over the top.  But then, I suppose that trolls are.

I love this book.  There are so many things about it I absolutely loved.  I could go on and on.

I hate telling too much and giving away spoilers.  So, rather than have me tell you the plot, just let me tell you this:  you should read it.  But read book 1 first.

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte

9 out of 10
Gothic Romance

I loved this book.  It isn't the first time I've read it, and I've seen the movie, albeit a while ago.  It was wonderful a second time through, and I admit I missed a lot when I read it the first time.

Jane is raised by her aunt, who hates her, and finally sent off to a charity boarding school.  Upon leaving the school, she takes a position as a governess and promptly falls in love with the master.  This book has far beyond a love triangle; it's more like a love pentagon.  A loves B, who flirts with C to make A jealous but is married to D, at which point E enters the picture and proposes to A.  I hope that's intriguing enough while being nonspecific enough to qualify as spoiler-free.

The language is a little dense for the general reader, but I think it is worth it.  I would recommend this book for readers 14 and older.  I may have been younger on my first read-through because I remember having no idea what a 'mistress' was and assumed it was a girlfriend.

Your Puter a Splode

That's what Homestar Runner would say about what happened last night. 

My computer restarted for no fathomable reason while I was in the middle of doing something.  Then, after I let it reboot, it did it again.  This time, though, it would only load in safe mode.  Then, it did it again.  This time it wouldn't start up at all.  Finally, it refused to turn on any more.  So, I'm short a desktop.  This doesn't make me as upset as it should, because I have been a part of a writing group.  All of the work I've done thus far on my novels has been emailed out to my group every week.  Thanks to the wonderful properties of Gmail, I have copies of my works at every chapter. 

I've also uploaded all of my pictures to Picasa, so I didn't lose them either.  I did lose about 500 words on two separate novels, but I can handle that.  If I'd lost the whole novel thus far, I think I might have a heart attack.  So thanks, Writing Group, for making me back my work up.

I read Anthem by Ayn Rand yesterday.  It's pretty short, only 100 ish pages of a paperback.  It took me less than an hour, but it was very good.  If you haven't read it, I recommend it.

 I've also read The Fountainhead by the same author, which has similar themes.  Ayn Rand writes about collectivism and why it destroys your soul.  Her religious views are very different than mine, but I find it interesting that our moral and political stances are very similar.