Adventurers Wanted – Book 3: Albrek’s Tomb – M. L. Forman

Robert @ ReadingOverTheShoulder, , Leave a comment

Hey Jared,

As I mentioned previously, I skipped this book during my recent reread of the series because the library didn’t have it in any format. However, since I finally convinced Lisa to try the series she immediately purchased the entire series as eBooks so she wouldn’t need to stop or even slow down. (It only took her a week, btw.) So now the book is at my very fingertips. *insert evil cackle*

albrek'stombTitle: Albrek’s Tomb
Series: Adventurers Wanted; Book 3
Author: M. L. Forman
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Youth
ROTS Setting: EU/AU, Medieval, Higher Magic, Dragons
Synopsis: Two thousand years ago, the dwarf Albrek went looking for new mines in the land of Thraxon in the hopes of becoming rich — and vanished. Now the dwarves must find Albrek’s magical Ring of Searching before their mines run dry, a possibility which threatens the livelihood of the entire dwarf realm. Alexander Taylor joins a familiar company of adventurers on a quest to discover what happened to Albrek, find his mythical tomb, and locate the lost talisman. But finding the ring may be the least of the adventurers’ problems once they cross paths with an ancient, wandering paladin, Bane, who warns of a great evil working in all of the known lands. Following in Albrek’s footsteps, Alex and his friends travel to the haunted Isle of Bones, where a mysterious creature lurks in a deserted village, to the cursed city of Neplee, where the dwarfs are hunted by the undead hellerash, and through the shadow of an empty oracle’s tower, where a whispered legend is about to come true.
Recommendation: I recommend this series. Great for younger and older readers alike.

Continue reading “Adventurers Wanted – Book 3: Albrek’s Tomb – M. L. Forman” →

Adventurers Wanted – Book 3: Albrek’s Tomb – M. L. Forman

Temeraire – Book 2: Throne of Jade – By Naomi Novik

Robert @ ReadingOverTheShoulder, , , , 2 Comments

Hey Jared,

I am once again completely astonished and enamored with this compelling series. Historical fantasy is not my fancy, but I’ll be making an exception from now on. I need more of these dragons in my life and have already got the next book from the library.

throne of jadeTitle: Throne of Jade
Series: Temeraire; Book 2
Author: Naomi Novik
Genre: Alternate History/Fantasy
Audience:Young Adult/Adult
ROTS Setting: Alternate History: Early 1800s, Dragons, Naval Ships
Synopsis: When Britain intercepted a French ship and its precious cargo–an unhatched dragon’s egg–Capt. Will Laurence of HMS Reliant unexpectedly became master and commander of the noble dragon he named Temeraire. As new recruits in Britain’s Aerial Corps, man and dragon soon proved their mettle in daring combat against Bonaparte’s invading forces. Now China has discovered that its rare gift, intended for Napoleon, has fallen into British hands–and an angry Chinese delegation vows to reclaim the remarkable beast. But Laurence refuses to cooperate. Facing the gallows for his defiance, Laurence has no choice but to accompany Temeraire back to the Far East–a long voyage fraught with peril, intrigue, and the untold terrors of the deep. Yet once the pair reaches the court of the Chinese emperor, even more shocking discoveries and darker dangers await.
Recommendation: I surprisingly/not surprisingly have fallen in love with this series. Highly recommend it.

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Temeraire – Book 2: Throne of Jade – By Naomi Novik

DNF – Communication Failure by Joe Zieja

Robert @ ReadingOverTheShoulder, , , 2 Comments

communicationfailureI really enjoyed the first book. It was the right mix of absurd, hilarious and sci-fi tropes. Sadly, what was once charming and unique has taken too far. Something closer to slapstick. The main character also seemed to be less of a character and more a handy device in which to hang all the insanity.

It’s also entirely possibly I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind. I can accept that. Whatever the reason, I’m done.

Robert

DNF – Communication Failure by Joe Zieja

Stormlight Archive – Book 3: Oathbringer – By Brandon Sanderson

Robert @ ReadingOverTheShoulder, , , 9 Comments

Hi Jared,

….

Did you hear that?……That was the sound of my mind imploding.

oathbringerTitle: Oathbringer
Series: The Stormlight Archive; Book 3
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Fantasy
Audience:  Adult
ROTS Setting: Cosmere, Magic, Big Swords, Epic Battles
Synopsis: Dalinar Kholin’s Alethi armies won a fleeting victory at a terrible cost: The enemy Parshendi summoned the violent Everstorm, which now sweeps the world with destruction, and in its passing awakens the once peaceful and subservient parshmen to the horror of their millennia-long enslavement by humans. While on a desperate flight to warn his family of the threat, Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with the fact that the newly kindled anger of the parshmen may be wholly justified. Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. And Dalinar realizes that his holy mission to unite his homeland of Alethkar was too narrow in scope. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar’s blood-soaked past and stand together–and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past–even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization.
Recommendation: This book (& everything Sanderson) is highly recommended!

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Stormlight Archive – Book 3: Oathbringer – By Brandon Sanderson

REPLY – ALL SYSTEMS RED – BY MARTHA WELLS

Jared, 1 Comment

Hey Robert,

all systems red

I’m glad you recommended this book even though I couldn’t find it as an audiobook it only took like 5 hours to read and I don’t even read that fast.

So Murderbot is definitely the most interesting character. That is interesting, not likable. Relateable but also not likable. Murderbot has an interesting perspective of being non-gendered as well as being a slave to humans. It is actually kinda funny that with the freedom it has it chooses to watch tv with. So basically Murderbot is a millennial.

The rest of the characters are just kinda there, a backdrop for Murderbot’s feelings. Most of the plot is also just kinda there, not all that interesting or important.

The world could be amazing, but we just get this snapshot. More hints than many real details and I hope book two really lets us sink our teeth in and learn about this world. Could it continue with Murderbot, maybe? I’m just not sure if they can really bring around the change in its attitude to make it have some kind of interesting plot. Could we have a new character and Murderbot be a secondary character? Definately.

All in all, I look forward to seeing where this series goes.

 

Jared

 

LINKS

REPLY – ALL SYSTEMS RED – BY MARTHA WELLS

Adventurers Wanted – Book 5: The Axe of Sundering – By M. L. Forman

Robert @ ReadingOverTheShoulder, , Leave a comment

Hey Jared,

It’s good to see you finally writing, both reviews and some of your own projects.

This review has been really difficult to write. I was generally OK with the book, but steadily became more dissatisfied as time went by. Thus the super late timing of this post. Sorry, not sorry.

axeofsunderingTitle: The Axe of Sundering
Series: Adventurers Wanted; Book 5
Author: M. L. Forman
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Youth
ROTS Setting: EU/AU, Medieval, Higher Magic, Dragons
Synopsis: Whalen Vankin is the world’s greatest wizard, and he has only ever personally trained two other wizards. One is Alexander Taylor, a young man who has earned a reputation as a brave adventurer, a warrior, and man of honor. The other is Jabez, Vankin’s nephew and a man whose choices have led him down a different, darker path. Dark magic has covered Westland, and evil is stirring. Whalen and Alex must journey together into the heart of danger, confronting a sea serpent, battling their way through a goblin army, and facing down more than one dragon. Alex must find the legendary Axe of Sundering the one weapon that offers a chance to defeat Jabez and protect the land from the dark wizard’s plans. But finding it will be an adventure of its own as the only pathway to the Axe leads through the underground tunnels and secret passages of Castle Conmar. But Jabez has one final weapon at his disposal: the powerful Orion Stone, which could spell the end to Whalen and Alex both.
Recommendation: Highly recommend this series (just not the ending). Great for younger and older readers alike.

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Adventurers Wanted – Book 5: The Axe of Sundering – By M. L. Forman

REPLY – THE MARTIAN – BY ANDY WEIR

Jared, , Leave a comment

 

Hey Robert,

Like you I really liked the Martian by Andy

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Weir. You talked about it being a good or great book I argue it was just a fun book. I have already watched The Martian film starring Matt Daemon. The movie was really interesting and funny and honestly now having read the book I feel it was a pretty faithful interpretation of the book. The book just goes into more detail and expands the story more I was totally prepared to find the book boring because I already knew what would happen but it was just as interesting and exciting as I expected. I liked how dark the book was in some parts. Like when the crew it talking about what they would do if they missed the resupply rocket. How they would kill themselves and just one would go on eating the rest of the crew to survive and rescue Mark Watney.

You are right the plot is a weak point. But not as bad as other books, I didn’t feel cheated by the Deus ex machina surprise Chinese rocket. What shocked me was that there was no epilog. “Yep, we’ve got Watney” The End. Nothing about the trip home or even what was going on a year later nothing.

Of course, because science Mark Watney would never have survived there are chemicals in soil that would make growing potatoes impossible.

Links

 

REPLY – THE MARTIAN – BY ANDY WEIR

Bobivese – Book 1: We Are Legion (We Are Bob) – By Dennis E. Taylor

Jared, , 1 Comment

So I found this book on audible and it looked kinda interesting, what really sold me was the Sample of the book which talked about Bob who waking up can remember being hit by a car but nothing after. He attempts to talk with a shrink who was waiting for him to wake up. Unfortunately, he is talking with a synthesized voice. What happens next is amazing.

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Title: We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
Series: Bobivese; Book 1
Author:  Dennis E. Taylor
Genre: Sci-Fi
Audience: Teen
ROTS Setting: Future
Synopsis: Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it’s a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets. The stakes are high: no less than the first claim to entire worlds. If he declines the honor, he’ll be switched off, and they’ll try again with someone else. If he accepts, he becomes a prime target. There are at least three other countries trying to get their own probes launched first, and they play dirty.
The safest place for Bob is in space, heading away from Earth at top speed. Or so he thinks. Because the universe is full of nasties, and trespassers make them mad – very mad.
Recommendation: I would definitely recommend this book.

Continue reading “Bobivese – Book 1: We Are Legion (We Are Bob) – By Dennis E. Taylor” →

Bobivese – Book 1: We Are Legion (We Are Bob) – By Dennis E. Taylor