Death or Redemption - Gregory Stoakes

I write this review while swigging a lemsip and feeling a bit rubbish. The winter cold has caught up with me it seems. Still, no rest for the wicked, I shall to the best I can with this review before retiring to the comfort and warmth of my bed!

Stoakes has done a good job with this novel, you can tell it's a first attempt but I shall come to that shortly. If I say only one thing (and I won't) about the upsides of this novel it is this; Stoakes can write a fight. The fight scenes are some of the best ones I have read in a while. They pacing is perfect and as I couldn't read fast enough as swords clashed together. There was no shortage of gore and guts either, nor is Stoakes afraid to have his characters injured in a fight either - a good quality in an author!

The characters in this novel are very well thought out too. I love a decent character as regular readers will know and Stoakes doesn't let you down in this area. The hero, Ishbun, grows throughout the story and it is a pleasure to watch him learn from his mistakes. He isn't the only one who travels a physical and mental journey either, the support cast all go through a steep learning curve to get where they need to be and it is this that made the book a good read for me.

The world building in the novel has been well thought through, I enjoyed reading the journey from the desert to a more temperate climate. I loved how it was described and how the group dynamic changed once Ishbun, a native to the desert, arrived in the cooler zones of the north. It was well written!

This book is not perfect. The pacing of the book is a little off, at times it was a bit slow and I felt that some of the passages could have been omitted.Then there is the grammatical problems in the novel. This is a pet peeve of mine and I must say there are a few in this novel. How you can mistake foul and fowl I don't know. (this isn't the only word mis-use) It makes some of the passages difficult to read and really jolts you out of the world. There are also passages that don't make sense, for example, 'The blood pumped freely once more and Nemisa turn to stand and run.' These are simple mistakes that could be simply solved with either another round of editing or by having someone else go through the last draft.

The other bug-bear with the novel was the dialogue. People don't speak in formal English, we use clipped language and contractions, 'It is not' sounds wrong when written as speech, 'It isn't' sounds far better in my opinion and would make the novel easier to read.

All in all this was a decent read, despite the novel needing another round of editing, and I would recommend giving it a go.

The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch

 

This is a review of a book I read some time ago. I don't feel bad reviewing it after the event as the book is so good that I can recommend it despite it being a while ago.

The characters make this story as good as it is in my opinion. The protagonist is every aspect of your archetype rogue/thief type without being a stereotype. There is enough mystery in him to keep you guessing and he starts off surrounded with a rather unique gang. It's a small gang and they all have their individual quirks. They are all different and have been well thought out. None of them are perfect and they all have flaws, including our 'hero'. I'm not going to tell you what they are, just that they get our gang into a lot of trouble along the way.

There are many twists and turns throughout the plot of this novel and it keeps you guessing. It is a real credit to Scott Lynch's skill as a writer and some of the language is beautiful to read. It is also wonderful in its simplicity; at no point did I feel the plot was too complex or hard to follow, it made the novel a joy to read. The narrative structure of the novel can be a bit distracting but when you realize how they're used at the end, you'll have nothing but praise for Lynch, trust me on this one!

I cannot finish the review without touching on the aspect of world building in the novel either. It's so well thought out and cleverly done that I would encourage all authors - new and old - to give this book a read, you'll be amazed at what you could learn. The novel is set in the city of Camorr, which is reminiscent of Venice, and its the small details that really embed the reader in the text. The different quarters of the city and the mix of the mundane with the fantastic make this book truly worth reading.

All I can say is that this is a brilliant read and you should give it a go. Scott Lynch has written a sequal, which I need to read again before I review - it involves pirates - and should get to work on the third installment, so I can spread the word about how awesome he is! Go and read this book!

The Left Hand of God - Paul Hoffman

The book I have recently read was really enjoyable in a lot of ways and yet has a good amount of frustrating points as well. Fortunately, its good points out way the bad; so onward with the reasons why!

The first paragraph is the perfect hook! From the very first word, I couldn't stop reading, it is so wonderfully crafted. 'Listen! The Sanctuary of the Redeemers on Shotover Scarp is named after a damned lie, for there is no redemption that goes on there, and less sanctuary." It raises so many questions that you cannot help read on. Of all the books I have read, this has to be one of the best openings I have come across. It rivals the first sentence of The Gunslinger, it's that good. The language through the rest of the novel is just as good and well worth a read if only for that reason.

The characterisation in this novel is to die for. They are so well thought out, so clever and so different that I was in love from the start. The protagonist and his companions are essentially Catholic boys being brought up in the cruelest manner. Trained to be soldiers, they are beaten, tortured and abused by their guardians - all before the novel starts. The story follows their escape from the sanctuary and their coming of age in a world very different from what they're used to. As a reader you interact with them, watch the change and become the very real enemies of the ones who trained them. There is real effort that has gone into them and this is another decent reason to read this book.

Hoffman's world-building could use some more thought. One of the things that annoyed me about this novel was the reference to real world places. The name of the city the heroes escape to is Memphis and there are other mentions of real world places, but nothing seems in context. Jesus was 'the one who was eaten by the whale' and although they are meant to show the similarities between our world and Cale's, I found them irritating and lazy on behalf of the author. (In the second book, he mentions a town names Fray Bentos...).

I found a couple of items forgotten as the novel went on as well. You never find out why one of the Redeemers is slicing up young girls for instance and this seems like a major part of the novel.A bottle of perfume Cale finds at the scene is shoved into his pocket and forgotten about, never to be mentioned again.

This novel has issues, that much is certain, but it is well worth a read regardless of these. The characters are beautifully written and as far as I am concerned, this is the most important aspect of a book.

Wand of the Witch (Misfit Heroes 2) - Daniel Arenson

I really enjoyed the different aspects of Arenson's first Misfit novel and thought I would give the second one a go. It has a tough first novel to follow and I feel it fell a little short, here's why.

There were a couple of things Arenson tried to achieve in writing that should be left in the realm of film. The Montage. This works very well as a time filler in films, where we don't need to see the entire training session of a group of soldiers for example. I found this did not translate well into words. For a start the placing of this montage in the book was a real jerk to the pacing. Normally montages are set to music and although a tune is mentioned in the novel, it was a real difficulty trying to suspend my disbelief enough to allow for random music, even in a comedy fantasy novel. It just seemed too far fetched for me to enjoy. Saying this, a huge well done to Arenson for trying something new and a bit quirky. It just didn't work for me.


The pacing of the novel was a bit off for my tastes as well, there seemed to be parts that dragged on when you just wanted to find out what was going on. Who needs a side story when you're about to go fight the baddie at the end? 

One thing that worked for me in the first novel was the use of accents and stutters. One of the characters suffers from a crippling stammer, she is unable to pronounce 'r's' and 'l's', instead they are typed as 'w', this was endearing in the first novel, it was annoying in this one. Some of the sentences were hard to understand and this was a hindrance to the novel as a whole. One of the other characters comes across as 'too stupid to live' and I have to wonder what they brought to the novel as a whole. I'm not going to name them as that would be unfair.

There are good points in the novel as well, the world is well written and some of the writing is well worth a read. I enjoyed reading about Mazrilla and I think her background is very cleverly written. It fits well and she has sound motivation for being the way she is. You learn a lot about the people from the world as a whole while seeing through her eyes and these part of the narrative are very good.

Putting aside the issues I have highlighted above, this novel is worth a read. It's nowhere near as good or as funny as the first novel and if a third comes out I doubt I will bother to look at it but to say the book is unreadable would be unfair. Give it a go, after all, this is just my thoughts and who's to say I'm right?

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Something a bit different for you today. This is a review I did while at university as a part of my degree. I don't recall what mark I got for it but I do remember spending my half term playing the MMO as a part of my course - win! I hope you enjoy this review, normal service will resume next time I assure you.

Expansion or extension? Did Wrath of the Lich King really shake up World of Warcraft?

Believe it or not it’s been four years since Blizzard released it’s eagerly awaited World of Warcraft into the awaiting arms of would be adventurers, and nearly two years since the first expansion, The Burning Crusade. Although the release schedule appears lazy on behalf of Blizzard compared to other MMO’s, such as Everquest, who release two expansions per year since it started, it remains massively popular, boasting around eleven million players world wide. Expectations for Wrath are high, otherwise respectable people will forget to go to work or eat during the first few weeks of release. I have prepared by stocking up with a crate of Red Bull to keep me awake during the first few days. All eleven million of us are due to hit the frozen tundra of Northrend before the first week is out. Which leaves me the problem of where to begin? The game is so in-depth and involving it’s almost impossible to know where to start.

The appearance of the new zones certainly did something for me. Blizzard kept their promise by not making the entire continent of Northrend snowy frozen wastelands. The howling Fjords must have been based on the Norwegian Tundra, with more than a few hints of Norse mythology as well, players are sent to work in and around Viking encampments add to the feel as well. Grizzly Hills has a North American forest air to it; you can almost imagine the cool air as you explore the zone. Zul’Drak defiantly captured my imagination while playing too. It is possibly the most atmospheric zone of the entire continent, which enhances the type of mission you have to do in the zone. Battling undead trolls and freeing old Gods is not your everyday run-of-the-mill jaunt. Two of the new zones however seem totally out of place with the snowy theme. Borean Tundra, one of the starting zones is just a mash of different landscapes randomly stuck together; boasting everything from Salt flats to scorched charred earth, lush grassy plains to frozen tundra. It is almost as though the designers ran out of ideas and shoved everything they had left together. To even further disrupt the impression players are in the frozen north Blizzard have stuck a jungle basin in for good measure; Sholzar Basin, although it looks fantastic, would be better suited to a more southerly location rather than have a jungle in what is supposed to be a frozen wasteland.

So, what has Blizzard changed about the mechanics of the game itself? Not a great deal really. OK, there are some new quest formats which were fun, controlling a frost giant to stomp on some undead is one that sticks out. Being disguised as a ghoul in order to bring down one of the Lich King’s minions is another. These quests however are few and far between. I find myself once again killing X amount of Y mob, one quest in Winterhoof Village had me picking up Hippogriff feathers. I thought I left all this behind in the Hinterlands! Let us not forget the odd bombing run for good measure as well, because we didn’t have enough of that in Outland. It’s not all rinse and repeat though, the addition of phased areas is a huge step forward for the game. It makes individual players feel like their actions are making a difference in the fight against the Lich King.  I aided one faction in the capture of an undead base, and since then it has been a place of refuge for me and the faction I was working for. It was also a grand kick in the proverbial for the Lich King, who personally turned up and threatened to kill me for my actions. This is another great change for Blizzard; apparently, the major bad guy for Burning Crusade was Illidan, he never turned up to threaten me with a painful death! I didn’t know who Illidan really was until I got to kick him in while on another quest chain in Ice-mordor, which showed me a little of the history of the Lich King. This is another innovative Quest chain for “noobs” like me who never played Warcraft 3 or any of its expansions.

This leads me nicely into commenting about the lore of Lich King, Northrend is filled with it, not so obvious it is forced onto players unwillingly, but those who want to know more can seek it out. Players have the opportunity to find out how and why the Lich King came into being and even get to go back in time to aid Arthas Menthil while he was still a goody-two-shoes prince of the light, although some may argue how good slaughtering a load of plague-infested peasants really is. It’s refreshing to see Blizzard expressing a less wholesome side to its usual moral self. The new hero-class they have added starts off as a minion of the Lich King, being ordered to do general bad guy stuff, steal horses and  murdering innocents is all in a day’s work for the Death Knight. Although in the end you’re redeemed and sent off to become a member of the Horde or Alliance depending on your choice of race. The downside to playing the killing machine that is the Death Knight is by the time you’ve turned to the good guys your only level 58, which means having to play through The Burning Crusade content and both you and I have levelled enough alts through that already. It also seems that the new class has received a lot more of the developer’s attention than the already existing ones. Ok, they got a few new abilities here and there and a talent reshuffle, which seems to have made some abilities a lot more awkward than they used to be, and that is it. Maybe we should expect more from the company that’s supposed to be the leaders of the MMO market.

Accessability is another issue I have to raise with Lich King and any future releases from Blizzard. Every expansion they have released has raised the level cap by 10 levels. At level 80, the idea of starting again at level 1 turns my stomach, even taking the time to level my alts through from 70 is a daunting task. The game play is wonderfully easy to learn but very time consuming and this may put potential new players off. All the new content seems to be aimed at the high end players too. There has been nothing new for those casual players who are content to remain somewhere between level 20 and 40, and I know a number of people this applies to. Some new instance or maybe a new battle ground for these players certainly won’t go amiss. On a more positive side, Blizzard has applied Heroic mode to all their raid dungeons. Players now have the choice of either 10 or 25 man groups, meaning smaller guilds can now see the content without having to merge with larger guilds or brave the elements and entering a Pick up Group (PuG for short) and the very thought of doing so will send most players running away screaming. Naxxramas, the first 10/25 man of Lich King is the same as it was at level 60, exactly the same... except the mobs are designed for 10/25 people, not 40. I am not entirely sure how to take Blizzard’s recycling of old content. Admittedly I am one of the lucky few who actually saw Naxx at level 60. It was the hardest dungeon in the game back then and only a handful of people got to see it, it needed 40 of the best geared hardcore players, and even then it wasn’t easy. One part of me wants to accuse Blizzard of being lazy and to slander the designers as lazy good for nothing no brainers, the other thinks this is brilliant because now everyone gets to see it and enjoy what I think is one of the best instances in the game. Everyone can now have their chance to shoot Mr Bigglesworth and alert Kel’Thuzad that we are coming and these in game jokes are now shared with the entire 11 million players, not just those lucky, or nerdy enough to be in the top end guilds.

The other major new input for the game is the new Player verses Player (PvP) zone Wintergrasp. This is a high level PvP chaos that rewards good team work, either the Horde or Alliance takes control of Fortress Wintergrasp and has to destroy the workshops before they can construct siege weapons to smash afore mentioned fortress to smithereens, which awards coordination and team work on behalf of the two teams. Those brave or foolish enough to go it alone soon find themselves killed off by packs of opponent players, no matter how good a players experience or gear is, they are not going to win against a catapult. It is a refreshing new take on PvP however; this is not the drop-in drop-out available-to-all zone that it could have been. For a start it is totally inaccessible for those who do not have a flying mount and given the nature of the area only really going to work for those players that go there all the time. Instead of being available for all players it has turned into a club for elitist PvP players, perhaps not what Blizzard wanted in its answer to the PvP-centric Warhammer online.

The expansion has its good and bad points, it may not have shaken up or reinvented Warcraft as maybe it should have done, it has merely extended an already massively popular, easy to use game mechanic. It has had two years to develop and shake up the genre, instead it just prolongs the same experience that people have been waiting to continue for years. Despite its faults I, and around 11 million others, will still be chewing our way through the masses of new content, staying up way too late on a ‘school’ night, forgetting to eat and playing until our eyes bleed.

The Diamond Girls - Jaqueline Wilson

I read this book as it's the one we are going to be looking at as a part of our theme next term in school. No harm in getting a head start and certainly no harm in reviewing it either. It's a bit different to my usual read but that's a good thing!
It is a beautifully written book, perfect for the age group I work with (9-10) the language is very easy yet there are some challenging aspects to the words that will get the kids brains working; good thing, it is school after all!

The story is set on a council estate and follows the Diamond's as they move from one estate to another, detailing he challenges they face from both inside their family and the outside world. The five main characters are very well thought out and indeed thought provoking. I don't think there will be any shortage of questions we can ask the children.Some of the characters you fall in love with in a moment and others you want to slap some sense into. It's great that the characters are so well written you get this reaction from them. It's a credit to Jacqueline's writing skills!

I really enjoyed reading this book and I hope the kids enjoy it next term too I haven't read a book for children for a long time and this one was not a disappointment, I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoyed reading books about relationships, it's well worth it!

Shoot to Kill - Ben Bridges

This is not a Star Trek novel, although going by the title you may indeed think that. This is another Western novel that I have chewed my way through and I'm going to be honest, really really enjoyed.

Ben Bridges appears to have written more than a handful of westerns, which I was unaware of when I chose this one. Kindle recommended it to me and I gave it a chance, what I found when I got there was good. The book itself is easy to read, fast paced and well written. The fight scenes in particular are just amazing. I read them so fast, I just couldn't wait to find out who lived and who died.

The hero, Carter O'Brien, is your typical western hero, as can be seen on the cover there, however he is beatifully written.Not everything comes easy to him and he doesn't always win a fight! He spends a good deal of his time injured, shot or being beaten up by Mexicans (as every good western hero should). He is engaging for the reader and you care what happens to him enough to overlook his flaws.

The plot for the book starts off seeming like a very basic 'get the evil baddie' affair but Bridges has long mastered the art of twists and this book is no exception! I didn't expect the book to end how it did and that was a welcome surprise. I also liked how the lead character had no love interest in the book to distract him. There was a couple involved along the journey but they were not the focus of the novel, this too was a welcome change.

I really loved Bridges' novel and now know who I can turn to when I feel like endulging in my guilty pleasure next time. If you have a thing for books on the Wild West, I can recommend him to you, its well worth it.