last reads

It has been a rough but rewarding slog as I finish up the final nine books in Mark Lawrence's Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off. However, at long last I am finished. As I did in the knockout rounds, I will give a brief synopsis about the books and then my thoughts. I figured I would also talk about the runner up and finally, will give my thoughts about the winner. I will say that each of the books covered the gambit of the genre so it made for some interesting reads and kept me from seeing the same themes over and over. Lastly, before I go into the reviews I want to thank Mark Lawrence for the opportunity to take part in the challenge. 1. Weight of a Crown by Tavish Kaeden Thousands dream of it; still more die for it. Yet once obtained, how many can truly bear it? After centuries of bitter conflict the realm of Esmoria is at last united under the banner of a single king. On the surface the realm appears to be enjoying its first taste of peace, but lingering resentment and the untime...

The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell Publishing information: Paperback; 352 pages Publisher: HarperCollins; 8 Oct 2015 ISBN: 9780008139476 Series: Saxon Stories #1 Copy: Out of pocket Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: In the middle years of the ninth century, the fierce Danes stormed onto British soil, hungry for spoils and conquest. Kingdom after kingdom fell to the ruthless invaders until but one realm remained. And suddenly the fate of all England—and the course of history—depended upon one man, one king. New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom is a rousing epic adventure of courage, treachery, duty, devotion, majesty, love, and battle as seen through the eyes of a young warrior who straddled two worlds." Cornwell has been on my radar for quite some time and I just have never known where to begin, or if I should undertake one of his books as his list of published works all seem to be positively reviewed. That all changed when I just happened to lea...

Star Wars Battlefront: Twilight Company by Alexander Freed Publishing information: Hardback; Publisher: Lucasbooks; 3 Nov 2015 ISBN: 0345511212 Series: Takes place between Episode IV and V Copy: Out of pocket Reviewer: Tyson Amazon : Synopsis: "A companion novel inspired by the hotly anticipated videogame Star Wars: Battlefront, this action-packed adventure follows a squad of soldiers caught in the trenches of the ultimate galactic war between good and evil. The bravest soldiers. The toughest warriors. The ultimate survivors. Among the stars and across the vast expanses of space, the Galactic Civil War rages. On the battlefields of multiple worlds in the Mid Rim, legions of ruthless stormtroopers—bent on crushing resistance to the Empire wherever it arises—are waging close and brutal combat against an armada of freedom fighters. In the streets and alleys of ravaged cities, the front-line forces of the Rebel Alliance are taking the fight to the enemy, pushing deeper into Imperial t...

Discovering the North-West Passage: The Four-Year Arctic Odyssey of H.M.S. Investigator and the McClure Expedition By Glenn M. Stein. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2015. ISBN 978-07864-77081 Reviewed by Jonathan Dore In October 1853 the sensational news was announced in London that the captain and crew of HMS Investigator had discovered the last link with previously known routes in the Arctic to complete a maritime North-West Passage, finally proving its existence after some three centuries of uncertainty. Those who had brought the news, Lieutenant Samuel Cresswell and the Mate Robert Wyniatt, were almost certainly the first individuals ever to make a complete transit through the passage, but at the time of the announcement the captain and most of his crew were still in the Arctic, far from completing the passage and still far from safety—and it would be another year before they returned home. The discovery had actually taken place in the autumn of the voyage’s first year, 1850, when a sl...

PRIMAL Mirza by Jack Silkstone Publishing information: Kindle Publisher: Amazon Digital Services; 22 May 15 ASIN: B00KIAMGDQ Copy: Out of Pocket Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "PRIMAL Mirza is a prequel in the PRIMAL series. It reveals the back-story of Mirza Mansoor, a former Indian Special Forces soldier turned PRIMAL operative. It is approximately 150 pages long. The year is 1999 and tensions between Pakistan and India are at breaking point. When critical intelligence prompts a cross border raid Indian Para Commandos arrive too late to prevent the deployment of a team of Lashkar terrorists. Mirza Mansoor, a Special Group operative and his partner Himesh Arjun, are all that stands between highly trained jihadists and their sinister objectives. As they track their quarry from the mountains of Kashmir to India’s capital they realize that terrorism is not the only threat they face. In the poverty-stricken slums of New Delhi crime and terror have free reign, greed is king, life is...

Neuromancer by William Gibson Publishing information: Kindle; 271 pages Publisher: Ace Books; July 1984 ISBN: 9780441569595 Series: Sprawl #1 Copy: Out of pocket Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "Case was the sharpest data thief in the Matrix, until an ex-employer crippled his nervous system. Now a new employer has recruited him for a last-chance run against an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence. With a mirror-eyed girl street-samurai riding shotgun, he's ready for the silicon-quick, bleakly prophetic adventure that upped the ante on an entire genre of fiction." Neuromancer is one of those books that always seems to make the must-read list for Science Fiction and I thought it was high time I took some time out of my reading schedule and gave it a go. Henry Dorsett Case is a hacker who is past his prime, washed up. He was one of the best who got over his head when he started skimming from his employers. As punishment for his crime, they damaged his brain so that ...