Category Archives: Chewing Up Books

Chewing Up “The Renegade Star” by J. N. Chaney

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Courtesy Mr. Chaney’s Facebook Page

Typically, you can get a decent feel for a new book from the first few lines. The Renegade Star begins:

‘”I’ll fucking kill you!” screamed William Emmerson as he ordered his security personnel to fire in my direction.

“Good luck with that!” I returned, running as fast as my feet would carry me.’

Now, I don’t know about you, dear reader, but this screams pedal to the metal to me.

Clearly inspired by Firefly, Chaney’s The Renegade Star is super charged action with intelligence to back it up. Spoilers abound.

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Chewing Up “The Armored Saint” by Myke Cole

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Courtesy of Wikipedia

About a year or so ago I happened upon this thing called “Book Bub”. This is an e-mail subscription where I get notified daily of e-books on sale for very low cost and in some case at no charge. It’s pretty damn awesome, if you ask me. The biggest drawback: I keep ordering these free books because they look interesting! 

Now, because of this, I have a plethora of options to read digitally that I never get around to reading. Well, last week, I was caught at work without a book to reed during my breaks and lunch. As a result, I opened my Kindle to see what magic I had downloaded previously due to Book Bub. I found “The Armored Saint” by Myke Cole. This book, dear reader, is why you read. This book: amazing. A quote:

“It is a person you love. Not a name. Not a she or a he. A person in all their shining glory. There is a thing in us, Heloise. A seed. It makes us who we are. It is our core. That is the think that we love. It alone exists. It alone is holy. It has a home, no name. It is neither male nor female. It is greater than that.”

As always, possible spoilers ahead, though I try to avoid major revelations.

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Chewing Up “Molly’s Game” by Molly Bloom

This was an interesting choice for me to read. I am not a poker guy. I am not a non-fiction guy. 

Ms. Bloom is an intelligent woman – she is great at reading an audience and then delivering what they want. In the case of this book, she gives the audience a portrait of an All-American girl made good. It’s a compelling tale of a strong woman dating influential people. I just wish I could believe it all. 

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Chewing Up Gray Part II by Lou Cadle

A few weeks ago, I posted about Gray Part I. and had rave reviews. The fact that I haven’t posted about Part II yet has nothing to do with the quality; instead the delay is entirely of my own making. Mr Cadle did not deserve the delay, as this book continued with the high quality of the first part.

Below, you will find my review of Gray Part II, by Lou Cadle. (Spoilers from here on, naturally.)

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Chewing Up “Gray Part I” by Lou Cadle

The idea of a post-apocalyptic world has been rampant the last few years. Zombies? Check. Being put into an arena to kill others your age? Check. The apocalypse is fashionable these days. Enter Gray: Part I by Loud Cadle. The first of a trilogy, this book has what others lack: reality.

Details below (spoiler alert, of course).

Gray Part I

 

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Chewing up “Ascend Online” by Luke Chmileriko

Ascend Online, whose name sounds like a beloved game I used to play called Eve Online, was immediately appealing to me for that reason. When I read some other online reviews, the book hearkened back to Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – a nostalgia piece aimed at video games the way that Cline’s work was a love letter to pop culture of the 1980’s.

Sadly I was disappointed. 

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In Which I Had Malicious Intent

Friday night, with malicious intent, I drove down the highway.

Friday night,  with malicious intent, I made a couple of pit stops along the way.

Friday night, with malicious intent, I cracked open a new book.

Tis a harrowing tale that brings us here. A tale of such frightening aspects like counting, and buying, and staying in on a Friday eve! Proceed with caution, if you dare to proceed at all.

After waking on Friday morn, I felt the urge to… correction… I felt strongly compelled (!) to count – yes COUNT – the number of books on my bookshelves. The tally: 303. But oh frightening part, the truly truly truly knee-shaking hair-raising turning-you-into-a-quivering-mass scary part is that I realized I needed more. More!

With malicious intent I counted and knew the number 303 was vastly too small. With malicious intent, I vowed to increase this number.

And so, with no compunction for those around me or for myself, on my way home that evening, I stopped at Half-Priced Books. I had the singular goal, the goal of filling in a gap in my collection. I needed Terry Pratchett‘s Small Gods. (You may have noticed the plethora of Pratchett quotes lately – this has been the result of this growing uncontrollable urge to re-read this very book.)

Alas, Half-Priced Books failed me on this occasion. They had precious few of Pratchett’s books, and Small Gods was not one of them. So I had to settle with the following:

Having been disappointed in my quest, I pressed on. Next on my barrage of book buying: Barnes (and his friend Noble). Surely a full priced book store would help me quench my lust for the printed word. “Surely!” I exclaimed as I fishtailed into my designated parking spot at the front of the lot (Summer’s Shadow had grasped the importance of my mission – she’s a good girl and how I love to hear her growl!).

Barnes quickly pointed me to the malicious intent section (which encompasses the entire store) and I managed to find not one, not two, but three (thank you Count, ah ah ah) books that I absolutely had to have:

And so when I arrived home, after feeding myself, and feeding Riley, (Summer’s Shadow wasn’t hungry), I proceeded to do something dangerous.

With malicious intent, I cracked opened a new book to feed my mind.

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth’s mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born—to fight the foes no single super hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then—for now, the Avengers Assemble!

Why am I a fan? Why does the world of “super heroes” appeal to me so much? Why am I attracted to that which is considered to be childish and immature?

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Quote of the Day – February 25, 2012 – Fluffy Unicorns

“I thought unicorns were more … fluffy.”
“See clear! Don’t let the glamour get you! See what’s in front of your eyes! It’s a damn great horse with a horn on the end!” said Granny.
Terry Pratchett

 

See also: Karen’s Unicorn

Quote of the Day – February 23, 2012 – Vampire Hunter

“On March 4th, 1861, Abraham Lincoln – exceptional boy of Sinking Springs Farm, apple of his departed mother’s eye, survivor of the trials of Job, and one of the nation’s most accomplished vampire hunters – was sworn in as the sixteenth president of the United States.”

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith