An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Before I get started on the review I need to make it clear that I like John Green the man and that it might color my review a little bit. For years, John Green and his brother Hank have had a YouTube channel where they attempt to, and I quote, "decrease world suck". I like what they are trying to do and I also like the fact that the people associated with them are called Nerdfighters. The name just makes me happy. Do try to remember it isn't a group of people who happen to fight nerds, but rather a group of nerds who fight to make the world a better place.

John Green is much better known for his other novels, The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska. While this novel is also categorized as young adult it is quite different from the other two. In this book we are introduced to a young man named Colin. Like most teenagers he has issues, but unlike most his issues stem from the fact that he was a child prodigy. For him the was is the part that gets to him. He is worried that he is going to be one of those child prodigies that does not move along the path towards being a genius. While he was dating this didn't seem to bother him as much, but since he was recently dumped by his nineteenth girlfriend named Katherine (I haven't had nearly that many girlfriends, let alone ones with the same name) he is back to giving all his focus to his legacy.

Colin's best friend, Hassan, sees that Colin is all broken up so he suggests that what he needs to get his head right is a road trip. With their parents convinced they head out on the open road. While out there they meet up with some interesting characters and they each have a chance to face some of their biggest faults and inner demons.

This book was quite entertaining for me. It could be that the fact that Colin was trying to perfect an equation to explain how long relationships will last was something with which I could relate. I had been working on something similar when I was younger as well. (It was quite accurate, until one couple showed up and ruined it all.) It also could be the fact that I enjoy the way John Green writes. All of his characters are incredibly loquacious and verbose. They will use 12 words when 7 would have sufficed, but I like that for some reason.

If you are looking for a good coming of age story that has some entertaining footnotes and random mathematical formulas (not too many, I promise), you are in the right place. It is a quick read at fewer than 230 pages, but John Green makes good use of them.  

Rating: 4 Stars

City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett

In Robert Jackson Bennett's City of Stairs I found a fantasy book unlike any other that I had read. Instead of taking place in a world that felt like Europe in the Middle Ages it takes a different approach and throws you in a world that feels more like Russia than anything else. I am no historian, but that is what it felt like to me and I am sticking to it.

A big part of the premise of the book is trying to show you how our view of history can color all of our actions. It also discusses the effect history has on the perception of people. When we are introduced to this world we find out that the "divinities" (the local gods) have been killed off. The country that is currently in power had in the past been subjugated by the lands with divinities for their lack of a deity. Eventually a man discovered a method to kill the divinities and went to war and won. Now that they were in power they were doing their best to suppress all mentions of the divinities and to get rid of all the history that related to their power or the miracles they produced. This leads me to the magic system in the book.  

Not only was the setting unique, the magic system was also unlike any other that I had read. While the divinities were alive they created many miracles. Some of them could be as simple as a stone cup that left in the sun would fill with goat's milk every morning. They could imbue an item with power or teach others certain steps to take to have a miracle take shape for them. For example if they drew on a mirror or window with a certain symbol they could create a visual connection with another room to have a conversation with the person there.

When the divinities died most of these stopped working, but not all of them. All items and books that discussed these things were destroyed or locked away for fear that they would be dangerous, in that they would cause the newly godless people to remember what they had lost and cause them to riot.

This book is very well written. It has interesting characters, spies, political intrigue, religious fanaticism and plenty more. I will admit that the first 30-50 pages were decent, but I wasn't hooked until a little bit past that. Once I was hooked however, I couldn't put the book down. I am very interested to see what Bennett will offer us in the future and I hope that this world gets visited at least once more.

Rating 4.5 Stars

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

Once again I have found myself amazed at Brandon Sanderson's ability to create magic systems. Each time he starts writing a series he manages to fully capture and develop the most random and interesting magic systems out there. I was enthralled with the intricacies involved in the magic his Mistborn series. Next he managed to take that up a notch with the Stormlight Archives, and now he somehow did it again. In his first foray into Young Adult literature he went with a magic system that involves geometry and chalk doodles. Just reading that line makes you think that it might be ridiculous, but as you get into the book you find that again he has made a magic system that makes sense in the world he has created and it meshes well and never feels out of place. I will admit that if this were not a Young Adult novel it might not have worked out as well.

This book takes place in a historically different version of the United States. Instead of it being one landmass the United States is actually a collection of autonomous islands that are loosely bound together and are called the United Isles. The thing that binds these islands together is an enemy located at the center of them all in a place called Nebrask. The enemy is a bunch of wild chalk figures called chalklings. There are people trained in the Rithmatics (the combination of geometry and chalk drawings) called rithmatists. They were called to the position in a ritual at age 8 and are taught special courses at prestigious schools.

It is at one such school that we meet the main protagonist. Joel is not from a wealthy family and he was not chosen to be a rithmatist, but he finds himself fascinated with it all the same. He finds that he understands the principles behind geometry much better that the actual rithmatic students, but sadly his work has no power. As he goes about his life he finds himself heavily involved in trying to solve an investigation involving kidnapped rithmatist students.

As the book continues the stakes continue to rise, friendships are made, lost things are discovered and new geometrical secrets are revealed. I really enjoyed this book. I finished it in an afternoon because I couldn't find the will to put the book down. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes unique magic systems, young adult fantasy or "gearpunk" enthusiasts. I am quite looking forward to the next installment in this series and I do regret that it is something I have to wait for, but I guess patience is something worth developing.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars  

Jade Sky by Patrick Freivald

I received this book from LibraryThing. When I first read the description of the book I felt like I knew what type of book it was going to be. The blurb mentioned that the main character, Matt Rowley, was a commando for the International Council on Augmented Phenomena and that he hunted down superhuman monsters with his own augmented abilities. In my mind I thought that meant that this book was going to be a cross between Monster Hunter International and the Dresden Files. I love those series so I figured I would love this as well.

As I started reading I found out that it wasn't going to be anything like those series, but that this wasn't a bad thing. Patrick Freivald was giving us something new. Imagine you are in a world that has the ability to augment humans. They can make them super strong, super-fast, give them the ability to regenerate and in some cases even see a few seconds in the future. There is a catch, however. If you augment yourself too much you will end up succumbing to the whispers in your mind and "bonking out". You end up killing anything else that is near. The more you augment the louder and stronger the whispering gets. With people augmenting themselves the government decided they needed a group of their own to handle these creatures, and so ICAP was born.

In this book you follow Matt on a journey as he seeks answers to what has been done to him and whether what he has believed from the beginning is true. This book is full of furious, fast and blood drenched fighting. The story is fast paced and the main character is likable and is someone to whom you can relate (Even though he can reattach a limb that has been hacked off). The book takes you places you do not expect and dives into some esoteric religious topics. If you are looking for a fast read (the book is only 236 pages) that has a lot of action and some religion and magic thrown in then this is the book for you.

Rating 4.25/5 Stars      

Warbound by Larry Correia

Man was this a fun book to read. In this thrilling conclusion to the Grimnoir Chronicles, Larry Correia has once again managed to write a novel that I was hard pressed to put down. As with his MHI series (Monster Hunter International) Larry has created a world that is full of violence and war, but that hasn't sunk itself so deep into a mire of misery and pain that it would be impossible for people with purely good motives to exist. While it is bloody, this book is not what I would call gritty. The  book doesn't leave you gaping at man's depravity, but rather it has you looking more towards a hope for the future of these people. I will admit that I do enjoy that type of book, but this one was refreshing change of pace.

This book series takes place in the 1930's. In this alternate history a power began to appear in certain people. These people began to develop certain abilities. Some were able to manipulate gravity (Heavies), some could control fire (Torches) and a whole host of other powers. Some of them are more common than others, but those with the same ability are limited in the same way, with the only difference being the level of power of the individual and their ingenuity with the power. As with any type of power, some will use it wisely and some will use it for evil purposes.

The characters created by Larry Correia were all very well done. Each character is unique and each character had something that drew me to them and made me want them to succeed (villains excluded). The world building in this series is top notch. He manages to take magic and the world state of the thirties to create a believable world situation. It shows that the setting and background were both researched quite well.

As I stated with Monster Hunter International, this book is not going to test your intellect and force into any deep philosophical discussion or contemplation. Rather it is what I would call a fun summer read. It is a lighthearted fare, full of action and guns and interesting superpowers. While it does have some things in common with the other series (like being awesome), this series is quite different. Larry manages to keep both worlds afloat without crossing the ideas of one into the other.

If you are looking for a fun summer read full of action, guns, superpowers and a smidgen of Lovecraftian horror, then this is the book for you. I am sad that the trilogy has come to an end, but at least I know that Larry is working on other books that will take me on lighthearted romps through worlds of violence and mayhem.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

Emperor of Thorns is the final book in the trilogy The Broken Empire. I have found myself engrossed time and time again by the characters and story that Mark Lawrence has created. The main character, Jorg, is not what you would call a hero, not in any sense of the word. He murders, sometimes for the fun of it. He sleeps around and at times is contrary just for the hell of it. Even with the fact that he is a clear antihero, you find yourself rooting for him and his goals.

If one line could sum up the contents of a book the phrase "Dark times call for dark choices. Choose me." would be the phrase. This book is dark. The world in which this book takes place is not a pretty one. People are living in the crumbling remains of a past society that has mainly been forgotten. There is clear evidence that this world was devastated by nuclear disaster and they are trying to put things the way they were as best they can.

As with the first two books of this series the timeline jumps back and forth. It gives you a current look at Jorg and his situation and it also gives you a glimpse into different parts of his past that has some import on what is going to happen. When you reach the end of the book you will not find the ending you expect, but you will find an ending that makes perfect sense given the world and the character.

If you are looking for a book to set aside all fantasy tradition and tropes, a book that treads in uncharted territory, then this book is for you.  This book series, in its way, is just like the New York Yankees. You either love it or you hate it. Middle ground is basically nonexistent.

Rating: 4.5 stars

The Eyes of God by John Marco

Recently I won the fourth book of this series. I figured to give it a fair shake I should probably read the first three. As I started into the first book of the series I couldn't help but make comparisons to a famous legend.

As the book starts out King Akeela (Arthur) is trying to make peace with the lands around him and he ends up engaged to a lovely princess named Cassandra (Guinevere). The King's champion is named Lukien (Lancelot). He has never been beaten in battle or game, he is simply the best my far. (Camelot reference for you folks out there) Both Lukien and Cassandra love the king, but sadly they both love him like a brother. They try to tell themselves that their affection for each other is wrong, but it is too powerful. They end up betraying the king by getting together to act on their love. They hate what they are doing to the king, but they are unable to stop.

Sound similar at all? Oh and did I mention that the young king is an idealist who is trying to make his kingdom one that is based on equality? To make your life easier just remember this legend and skip to page two hundred and once you get there be prepared for a rough slog through the next few hundred pages. Normally a book of this size will take me a few days to read. Pages 200-370 took me about a week and a half. I just could not find the energy or interest to keep reading. When I read a book and I am distracted by needing to work or do real things (it happens on occasion, not often mind you, but it happens) I will almost always head right back to the book as soon as I am able. That was not the case with this book. I would finish my work, look over at the book and decide that staring out the window seemed like a much better use of my time.

Eventually the writing of the book improved and the story seemed to take off. After the rough start I finally found myself interested with what was happening to the characters and the story arc. Maybe it was because the story jumped to 16 years in the future or maybe it was just the fact that the characters seemed more rounded and less like their counterparts in Arthurian legend or maybe I knew that I couldn't move on to another book until I finished this one. No matter the reason the last four hundred pages went by like a breeze.

If you are willing to give an author a chance on their first book and you don't mind a blatant rehashing of a legend for a quarter of the book I guess you could do worse than pick up this book. The last half of the book gave me enough hope to go on with the rest of the series. Fingers crossed that this doesn't become a decision I regret.

Rating: 3 Stars