The Deplorables' Guide to Making America Great Again~Todd Starnes | Review

Title: The Deplorables' Guide to Making America Great Again
Author: Todd Starnes
Genre: Political Nonfiction
Length: 224 Pages
Release: February 2017

I received a copy of this novel trhough Netgalley. All views expressed in this review are my own.

Review

This is my first book by Todd Starnes and I think it is safe to say that it will not be the last. What I appreciate most about this book is the fact that Starnes doesn't use it as a way to discuss the presidential campaigns of the various candidiates, or to convince anyone that his way of thinking is the right way of thinking. It stays true to the name and is a guide for those people who identify themselves as Deplorables. 

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Although I knew about many of the things that Starnes mentioned, he defnitely gave me some new things to think about. And it was presented in such a way that forced me to really evaluate my thoughts and beliefs on many of the issues discussed. 

At the end of every chapter Starnes gives what he referst to as marching orders. These orders are suggestions for how we, as readers, can become involved in the causes that we feel most passionate about. Change doesn't come from one man or woman in a position of power in the white house, but from us, the citizens of the country. If we want to see change, we have to work for that change. The orders that Starnes includes are great ways of becoming more involved in the community and are things that I definitely want to look more into. 

This book is not designed to be a discussion book for groups of people from all political spectrums; it's a guide for those who already share many opinions and what they can do to make their voices heard. Having said that, this is a great book for those who do identify with this group and would like to become educated on issues that are affecting them right now and how they can become involved. 

I'm glad that I have read this book and look forward to trying out other books by Todd Starnes as well as branching out my political readings so that I can have a more rounded view of current issues. Starnes has given me a push that will help me become more involved and I hope to start using some of his suggestions to help make this great country great again. 

Snapshot~Brandon Sanderson | Review

Title: Snapshot
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Science Fiction/Mystery
Length: ~100 Pages
Release: February 2017

Review

Brandon Sanderson is my favorite author and I was excited to learn about this novella. I read it on release day in February and enjoyed it a lot.

The idea for the world is quite fascinating. In this version of our near future Snapshot technology has been invented. It allows individuals--detectives, mostly--to visit a recreation of a certain day and solve crimes. There are a lot more details given throughout the story, and restrictions on the use of the technology, but that's the basic gist. And it's fascinating.

This is a short story, roughly 100 pages, but it packs a punch. I had a few ideas about what might be going on throughout the story, or questioned if certain things were possible and what they would mean, but Sanderson managed to give me several surprises.

While the characters in this were not brilliant, I did very much enjoy them. It was fun seeing how the characters interacted and learning more about them. I was constantly trying to figure out how Davis and his partner felt about each other, what their history was. And of course I was surprised by some of the exploration with their characters.

This story also brought up some deeper questions to consider, like what does it mean to be real? It was interesting to see how the various people in the Snapshots reacted to things and made me think a lot. I already need to reread this in order to grasp some of the little things the story had to offer as well as consider some of these questions.

I've heard that this was optioned for film and I hope that it makes it to the screen. If done well this could make a really fun movie.

Old Man's War~John Scalzi | Review

Title: Old Man's War (Old Man's War #1)
Author: John Scalzi
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 316 Pages
Release: January 2005

Review

This book has been on my TBR for a couple of years now. I've heard so many great things about it from bloggers, youtubers, friends, and I knew I wanted to read it myself. Science Fiction is a genre that I've been wanting to read more widely, and this seemed like the perfect place to start. I was very excited to get started. 

At first this book was great. I found the concept fascinating. We're sending old people to war! They become young again (maybe), but still. It was vastly different from the novels that are recruiting the very young to be their soldiers. So the beginning was very promising, we meet John who is heading into space to join the military, and through him are introduced to a nice group of fellow "Old Farts." But that's when things started to fall apart for me. 

All of the characters had great introductions and I could see myself becoming very attached to them. Then nothing was done with them. There was little character development, really not that much of a plot, and the entire story kind of plodded along. I was expecting something more from this. 

The various characters, alien races, and technology were fascinating to think about, the story just never took things to the next level to make them relatable or great. It felt more like a detached observation of a man's life as he starts something new. Even the moments that should have been emotionally charged felt empty. 

Part of the issue could have been the age of the characters. While it was an interesting idea to have an army of 75-year-olds, Scalzi might have felt that he couldn't have them go through the trials that a younger person would have faced, since they, presumably, had already learned those lessons. But having a cast of characters that were too mature and too set in their ways made the story very dry and hard to relate with. 

This was one of my most anticiapted planned reads for the year, so I am disappointed to say that I did not enjoy it. I would like to give John Scalzi another chance, but I don't think I will be delving back into the Old Man's War series. 

The Book of Dragons~E Nesbit | Review

Title: The Book of Dragons
Author: E Nesbit
Genre: Children's Fantasy
Length: 112 Pages (5 Hours Audio)
Release: 1900
Narrator: Karen Krause

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

Review

This book was really hard for me to connect with. It's a collection of short stories that all focus around dragons in some way, with many princes and princesses throughout. 

I was very intrigued by many of the ideas presented in the stories, but the stories themselves never really resonated with me. The worlds were not very well developed or described, at times it felt like the narrator was talking in cirlces in order to make the reader forget what answers they were looking for. This was particularly true where world building was concerned. 

The characters in the stories were not particularly likable. There was a lot of instalove between young princes and princesses, each princess was portrayed as silly and brainless, and the boys weren't much better. There was definitely a lot more tell than show throughout. And a lot of violence that would randomly just pop up, be resolved, and no one cared. 

This review is somewhat scattered, but it was difficult for me to find specific things to pinpoint as far as likes and dislikes. There were interesting ideas, some fun scenes, but overall it wasn't something I could connect with. 

While these stories were written for children, they don't seem like stories that would appeal to most of the children that I know. 

Treasured Dreams~Susan Hatler | Review

Title: Treasured Dreams, A Short Story Collection
Author: Susan Hatler
Genre: Contemporary/Romance
Length: 112 Pages
Release: May 2016

Review

Ocasionally I decide that I want to read something that's sappy and cute. Susan Hatler's stories are usually perfect for that. They have some deeper elements that keep them interesting, but always have a focus on romance. And the best part about them is that they are clean. Just the kind of romance I enjoy, when I read the genre. 

Treasured Dreams is a collection of short stories that focus around one central character, Holly, and her life in the mountain town she fell in love with as a child. The first story is about Holly meeting Dave and going on a date. The story continues from there, highlighting various points in Holly and Dave's relationship. 

There really isn't a lot to say about this collection other than it's cute and sweet. If you enjoy clean romances with likable characters, this is a collection for you. It's short, quick to read, and a good book when you need something to cheer you up. Which is generally what I think of all Susan Hatler's work. 

City of Thieves~David Benioff | Review

Title: City of Thieves
Author: David Benioff
Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: 258 Pages (Hardcover)
Release: May 2008

Review

This is a hard book for me to talk about. Did I love it or hate it? It's a little of both. I am glad that I read it, but at the same time I kind of wish I hadn't. I don't know that I have ever read a book that had me conflicted in quite the same way. 

At first I found the narrative style a little off putting, but once I got a few chapters in that started to bother me less. It worked for this story. 

One thing that I really enjoyed about the book was how honest it was. Lev and Kolya were young guys trying to live in a war torn country. Something as mundane as finding a dozen eggs suddenly becomes a life or death mission. It sounds silly, but it worked. This, more than anything, showed the time and happenings better than anything. I also really enjoyed the progression of Lev and Kolya's friendship. You could tell that they genuinely came to care for each other in ways that they hadn't for others, at least not in a long time. Kolya thought of Lev as a younger brother, someone who needed taking care of and that worked really well. 

There are some dark themes explored in this book, as there are in war stories, and it doesn't tread lightly. You see the horror that the everyday citizens face, that the soldiers face. And while I appreciated that, I still wasn't ever really able to connect. The entire time I was reading I felt very detached. I'm not sure if it was the writing style, the overabundane sexual references (which served a purpose, but were used too much for my liking), or something else entirely. 

I can see how people would love this story and I wish that I had been able to connect with it more. 

Promise of Blood~Brian McClellan | Review

Title: Promise of Blood (The Powder Mage #1)
Author: Brian McClellan
Genre: High Fantasy
Length: 545 Pages (Hardcover)
Release: April 2013

Review

Brian McClellan has created an intriguing world full of intersting and varied characters in his Powder Mage world. It has an interesting and complex, but not overly complicated, magic system and some great action scenes. I very much enjoyed this first book in the trilogy, but did not love it. 

The characters, while interesting and varied, were also somewhat lacking. Their are three main viewpoints in the novel: Tamas, the Powder Mage who overthrows the kingdom, Taniel, Tamas's son and a skilled Powder Mage, and Adamat, a police officer-turned-private-investigator. We get a few other perspectives thrown in here and there, but the bulk of the story and main action happen through the eyes of these three. Taniel was definitely my favorite to follow. His portions often had the most humor, were fairly action packed, and had Ka-Poel, one of my favorite secondary characters. Tamas and Adamat were both likable, and I found their portions enjoyable, but as characters they weren't as well rounded as Taniel in many ways. Perhaps because they were older and we don't see or hear about as many of their mistakes. 

So while I really like the characters, I do think they could all use something more that would help me to connect with them. They were introduced well, tapered off somewhat in the middle, and by the end I was more invested again. I am hoping that means that each of them will continue to improve going into the next book. 

My main issue with the book was not the characters, however. The world building was where I found this most lacking. The magic system, while interesting as previously mentioned, took a while to really be explained. It consists of three main types of magic users: the Knacked, the Marked, and the Priviledged, with the Priviledged weilding the most power. This was all introduced in a jumble and took a while for me to sort out in my head. Once I did, I really enjoyed it. The rest of the world could also use some work. Stories involving politics are generally intersting to me, but the relationships between various kingdoms was vague. The same applies to the gods that are mentioned and introduced in here. Incorporating more of the history of Adro and the gods would have made some of this clearer. 

While I did have some issues with this story, I very much enjoyed it. This is the type of fantasy that I typically enjoy most and McClellan's style seemed to improve as the book progressed. I am hopeful that the rest of the trilogy will continue to improve. The ending to this was very exciting and left plenty of open questions that I am eager to have answered in the next installment.