Thoughts on: War & Peace: Book 3 Part 3
Fiction , Historical Fiction , Latest Posts / December 29, 2012

The French army is hurt, moving out of Borodino, it advances towards Mosco. Kutuzov, realizing that the French momentum cannot be stopped, gives up Moscow without a fight or sacrificing lives to defend it. This move is very unpopular and meets with general disapproval of the populace. The “haves” evacuate Moscow.

Guest Review: The Jedi Academy Trilogy II: Dark Apprentice (Star Wars) by Kevin J. Anderson
Fiction , Guest Posts , Latest Posts / December 22, 2012

Buy this Star Wars Book in paper or elec­tronic copy* Andrew: Orig­i­nally pub­lished at: http://www.rancorslovetoread.com/2009/01/andrews-review-of-jedi-academy-trilogy_30.html 2/5 Rancors – Kevin J. Anderson’s Jedi Academy Trilogy continues in this second volume, Dark Apprentice. At the conclusion of the first entry, Jedi Search, Luke Skywalker had laid the groundwork to start his new academy for training potential Jedi on the planet Yavin IV. Here Anderson explores the early days of the Academy itself, along with continuing the plotline of Admiral Daala’s exploits and also devoting a large amount of the story to a new storyline involving Princess Leia and Admiral Ackbar. There is a reasonably interesting story present in this book. Unfortunately, it is dragged down by pedestrian writing and Anderson’s inclination to directly spell out exactly what the characters are feeling and thinking. There’s not any room for subtlety and what drama there is gets undercut by passages that feel more like summaries than prose. The most engagingly written plotline in this book is the tragedy that befalls Admiral Ackbar on a trip to Vortex to visit the legendary Cathedral of Winds. In the aftermath of the Vortex disaster, Ackbar resigns from the New Republic government and returns home to Mon Calamari. Soon after, Chief of State Mon Mothma falls gravely…

Book Review: O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
3 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / December 20, 2012

Article first published as Book Review: O Pioneers! by Willa Cather on Blogcritics. About: O Pioneers!By Willa Cather was written in 1913 and is considered the first novel of the Great Plains trilogy. The novel has many themes including isolation, love and feminism. 128 pages Publisher: Dover Publications Language: English ISBN-10: 0486277852 My rating for O Pioneers! – 3 Buy this book in paper or FREE in electronic format More Books by Willa Cather Thoughts: I’ve only been recently introduced to the writing of Willa Cather. I believe it was on some “top 100” list (who said they’re lame?) and figured I’ll give it a try. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather is considered a classic and I can certainly understand why. The writing is outstanding and it has all the makings of the great American novel. The story tells of hard work, wide eyed innocence towards the future and opportunities abound as seen through the eyes of the immigrant class. The scenery plays a major part in the novel, the lyrical episodes about the pastoral land are sprawling and majestic. As is with many other novels, the setting of the harsh and beautiful land is playing out as another character in the…

Book Review: Flash Gordon: The Tyrant of Mongo by Alex Raymond and Don Moore
5 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / December 18, 2012

Flash Gordon: The Tyrant of Mongo: The Complete Flash Gordon Library 1937-1941 by Alex Raymond and Don Moore is an outstanding book which will introduce new readers to the wonderful art of Alex Raymond, drawn to the exciting story of Don Moore. For those who are familiar with the art and story, the format would make the book easier to read and the clear and clean pages make the images jump up much better than the cheap Sunday newspaper.

Book Review: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
5 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / December 5, 2012

Article first published as Book Review: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas on Blogcritics. About: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas is the author’s best known novel. The story was originally serialized between March and July of 1844 in Le Siècle magazine. 704 pages Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Language: English ISBN-10: 0199538468 My rating for The Three Musketeers – 5 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format* More Books by Alexandre Dumas Thoughts: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas is a fast paced adventure into French history which has cemented itself as a classic and refuses to let go. I have been a fan of this story for several decades, it is a silly fantasy riddled with intrigue and adventure crossing borders and nationalism. The story is difficult to read at first, the French names and seemingly high brow storytelling, but soon one can tell why this novel is one of the most popular of all times. Peculiar, memorable and quirky with adventures galore and an air of arrogance could define The Three Musketeers, but there is plenty more. Dumas peppered this book with historical figures, but not so much historical accuracy (to be generous). As with many other novels, the author took real figures…

Book Review: Farewell to Freedom by Sara Blædel
4 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / December 3, 2012

Article first published as Book Review: Farewell to Freedom by Sara Blaedel on Blogcritics. About: Farewell to Freedom by Sara Blædel is a fictional book in a series featuring Copenhagen detective Louise Rick and her friend Camilla Lind, a reporter. This is the third novel translated to English written by the best selling Danish author. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 384 pages Publisher: Pegasus Language: English ISBN-10: 1605984531 My rating for Farewell to Freedom – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format* More Books by Sara Blædel Thoughts: Farewell to Freedom by Sara Blædel (web­site | Face­book | @sarablaedel) is darker than the previous books I read in the series. Previously Ms. Blædel explored drugs, honor killings, online dating and more. This time however the author turns her sights on prostitution and trafficking women. The book is very well written and it seemed to me that the author has upped a notch her research and storytelling. I was surprised that instead of writing fallacies and inaccuracies, as many others do, Ms. Blædel examined the issues objectively and inserted them into her novel. For example, the point that few prostitutes are…

Guest Review: The Courtship of Princess Leia (Star Wars) by Dave Wolverton
Fiction , Graphic Novels , Latest Posts / December 1, 2012

Buy this Star Wars Book in paper or elec­tronic copy* Andrew: Orig­i­nally pub­lished at: http://www.rancorslovetoread.com/2008/12/andrews-review-of-courtship-of-princess.html 3/5 Rancors – Dave Wolverton’s The Courtship of Princess Leiawas one of the first books published by Bantam Spectra after the resounding success of Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy in the early 1990’s. As such, it has the exciting, adventurous, and sometimes plain wacky feeling that a lot of the early books had (especially before the advent of the prequel films and the onslaught of stories about Jedi, Sith, and clone troopers). It is an enjoyable romp of a story with some very puzzling characterizations. The setting is four years after the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi. Princess Leia and Han Solo have been involved over this period but are still not in a fully committed relationship. Han has spent the prior five months commanding a task force hunting Warlord Zsinj and his Super Star Destroyer Iron Fist: the tale of his search is ably documented by Aaron Allston in the fifth through seventh novels of the superb X-wing series. Leia has been attempting to kickstart diplomatic relations between the New Republic and the secretive Hapan Cluster, an alliance of sixty-three wealthy and…

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