Review of World War Z by Max Brooks

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is not a novel, but a series of short stories told in the first person by people interviewed by a reporter ten years after the ten-year zombie war.

Zombies, War, taking place all over the world? What's not to like?

Well, some people will love it. It was a #1 New York Times bestseller, so plenty of people did. They made a movie out of it (which I never saw).

As for me, I'm not a fan.

What this has going for it is the writing is excellent. The author's breadth and depth of military knowledge is impressive, but to me it's just boring and tedious, especially having to look at footnotes to understand the military jargon.

I like novels with character development and a great long story. This just doesn't have this at all. Not that it tries to. I suppose it's good for what it is, but I didn't care for it.

I compare it to The Martian. Man, I was really bored by all the sciency stuff (and I have an Engineering background!), it was way over the top. But The Martian had a great story, so I really liked it. This has a hundred of them, all too short.

There are, though, a couple of real gems in here (the one about the female paratrooper trying to survive comes to mind), but overall, I had to slog through it, and it put a serious wrench in my quest to read 48 books in 2018.



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Review of The Bane of the Black Sword by Michael Moorcock

The Bane of the Black Sword by Michael Moorcock

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This latest installment (5th) of the Elric Saga has him vanquishing and old foe and fighting for the survival of a city outside the ream of the Lords of Chaos and Law.

This book is good, but it is more of the same (see my earlier Elric reviews). That's not to say it's any worse, it's just that it isn't any better, or different. Hence I still give it 4 out of 5 stars, just don't expect anything different here.

Elric must travel to different reals, an evil forest, an incompetent citadel, and many planes of existence, including the insufferably boring Plane of Law. He is sorcerer, which means the spells he casts are petitions to his patron, the elementals, and other gods to help him out, usually to smite his enemies. He also carries a sword that steals souls and powers him to mow down many opponents at a time, so that also helps. He has a wife and has settled down, but he really can't because he, she, and everyone he loves is always in danger.

I have hopes for the next book, Stormbringer, for while the first five books are serialized short stories, I understand the sixth (and supposedly final, but not) to be a full-length novel (well, a short one, but purported to be a novel nonetheless; we shall see).



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Review of How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book has great insight into human behavior. I know I will benefit from it. That said, it's a little dated (published in 1936, updated somewhat in 1981). It's very male- and management-centric. Rather than get myself into trouble with awkward phrasing, I'll just point to a recent Dilbert to make the point:

http://dilbert.com/strip/2018-01-14

Write a book today on how to solve that problem, and you have a bestseller.

Nevertheless, I learned a lot from this book, and everyone can take away something useful from this.



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Review of The Vanishing Tower by Michael Moorcock

The Vanishing Tower by Michael Moorcock

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


There's not much more to be said about the Elric Saga that I didn't say in the reviews for the earlier books. It's more of the same good fun. Elric's quest for revenge on a sorcerer takes him to all sorts of fascinating places, culminating with three incarnations of himself venturing into a castle ("The Vanishing Tower") that continually jumps from one plane of existence to another. It turns out a "caretaker" has been murdering "guests" and robbing them, making it a treasure trove.

And stuff like that.

It hasn't gotten any better, but it hasn't gotten any worse, either. The intro to the fifth book is quite intriguing, so I have high hopes for that one.




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Review of The Weird of the White Wolfe by Michael Moorcock

The Weird of the White Wolf by Michael Moorcock

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The third book in the Elric saga is good, but it is also more of the same. Which is alright, it is still fun. In this one, the evil emperor betrays his homeland, searches for the Dead God's Book--a book which will tell him the true nature of divinity, hoping to shake off his contract with the evil Arioch, and investigates many disappearances in the vicinity of a Citadel that sings.

He still carries with him Stormbringer, the evil artifact soul-stealing black sword that he must keep in order to maintain his own health and vitality. He fails to get rid of it, and once unsheathed, must be fed a soul, friend or foe alike.

And he has a conscience, strange though it may be. He actually has capacity for mercy, must to the consternation of his people.

All in all, good fun. The writing, while very good, fails to convey the emotional impact that some events should have. It is written more like mythology than like modern fiction. I'd rather give it 3.5 out of 5, but if I have to choose 3 or 4, it definitely leans towards 4 out of 5.



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Review of The Sailor on the Seas of Fate by Michael Moorcock

The Sailor on the Seas of Fate by Michael Moorcock

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


MILD SPOILER ALERT.

The Elric Saga continues. This time the albino emperor-in-exile journeys the seas on supernatural ships that take him to other planes of existence. Eventually, he winds up at the island from which his ancestors came from, where he breaks a curse and brings on a worse one.

Elric weilds Stormbringer, an evil artifact sword with a mind of its own. It gives him life-sustaining power, helped by the souls that the sword takes (it doesn't just kill).

The reptilian savages are cool, as is the insect god that defeats them.

This installment is pure fun from beginning to end. It should take you about 6-7 hours to read.



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Review of The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

The Wake by Neil Gaiman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I recommend the entire fantasy Sandman series of graphic novels. I am not a fan of comics or graphic novels in that The Sandman is the first set of graphic novels that I have ever read.

The series is engrossing from start to finish, centered around a family of stewards of aspects of the human condition (Death, Destiny, Destruction, Delirium, etc.), with Dream as the Sandman, the main character.

Essentially, characters from the "real" world interact with the "dream" world, along with the other aspects of the human condition, with mainly disastrous results.

Do not read this if you are not an adult who loves the gruesome. If you are, you'll love it from beginning to end.



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Review of Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Insurgent is the sequel to the YA novel Divergent. There is no point in reading this one before Divergent. It's largely the same thing, and Divergent is slightly better.

The war between the factions, and the factionless, is in full rage. We have learned what it means to be Divergent. Or have we?

No one seems to care what is outside the fence of the city. I find this hard to believe, but everyone seems conditioned not to care. Still, the story is really fun, which makes up for my confusion and the continuation of the lame teenage romance (that's Young Adult for you). The Erudite faction, in combination with Dauntless faction traitors, is trying to attain full control over the city. Amity tries to keep the peace, but the factionless and the Dauntless who are remaining (not traitors) will not go quietly.

Then Big Reveal at the end is somewhat predictable, though not completely.

I'd really give this 3.5 stars, but I have to give a whole number. The quality of the story wins out and grants it a 4.

I will press on to listen to the audio book of the third and final novel in the series, titled Allegiant. I don't expect disappointment.




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Review of Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock

Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Elric of Melnibone is a great read, and I am eager to start the next book in the saga. I would give it 4.5 stars if I could (I reserve 5 stars for books that WOW me).

A once proud evil empire is now shrunk down to one island that is fiercely and easily defended. Elric is the emperor, by birthright, and his cousin, Yyrkoon, openly challenges Elric's rule, contending that Elric is weak because Elric espouses such heresies as mercy and compassion.

Elric is kept alive with drugs and sorcery, and demons and elemental begins figure prominently as they ally with Elric to keep his throne as well as the love of his life. His quest takes him to barbarian kingdoms that threaten the island, as well as another plane of misery and bleak existence.

This was a fast read, it should take about 4-5 hours to complete. If you are in the mood to read fantasy, this book will not disappoint.



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