Gates Of Fire

I never actually 'finished' this book. What it is, is a take on the battle of Thermopylae, (which Jay already knows) I have about an 8th left to read. It's all psychological really, I ruined it for myself, even though the two aren't 'the same' story. I watched 300 before I read the book. Granted I know that they are different accounts of the tale, different authors blah blah blah, (Adam gives me hell for this) but I just can't get past the movie. As I read the book, I see the characters from the movie in my head, even though they aren't portrayed the same way, and it really irks me. I will try to finish the book at some point, but it will take some doing. It's a shame really, I am so close to being done.

Dark Adeptus

This is the second book in the Grey Knights series and let me tell you, it kicks ass! Alaric and his squad of Space Marines, with the support of Inquisitor Nyxos and a small Imperial Navy fleet, are sent to investigate a planet that has mysteriously appeared. What they find on the planet is nothing short of heresy. The planet was once a Mechanicus Forge world but now is invested with Daemons, Dark Mechanicus and much, much darker secrets...

The book is spaced out very well. There is never a lull in the story, so your always being thrown right into the action. The Mechanicus are kinda tough to read about due to them being very logical and calculated. So they never portray very much emotion. It's very cut and dry to read, but it is still very interesting.

The next book in the series is Hammer of Daemons and if it's anything like the last 2 books, I know I won't be dissappointed.

Grey Knights

I know i know! Another Warhammer book lol!

"Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus have pledged their every waking hour to the discovery and scourging of the daemonic, wherever it is to be found. But there are times when the scale of a daemonic infestation is such that even the most formidable and righteous Inquisitors need to call upon aid to triumph. Only one force in the breadth of the galaxy has any chance of stemming such a daemonic tide: the Grey Knights. Armed with psychically charged force weapons, storm bolters and an unshakeable faith in the Emperor, there is nothing more daunting for a daemon to face. "

The above description really does not sum up the story behind the book. Basically the story takes place in the same time period as Abaddon the Despoiler is leading hordes of Chaos Legions out of the Eye of Terror on what has been named the 13th Black Crusade. Though the book does not touch on this much at all. It's mentioned to give the reader an understanding that Grey Knights takes place in dire times.

The book follows Justicar Alaric as he and his squad, accompanied by three other Grey Knights squads and the Inquisitors of the Ordo Mallus, in the search and capture of the recently gone rogue Inquisitor Valinov. Volinov has turned his back on the Emperor and now serves the Lord of Change, Tzeentch. He is doing this by trying to bring back into the physical world one of Tzeentch's most potent and all knowing Daemons. Ghargatuloth, the Prince of a Thousand Faces and Herald of the Change.

This book has one of the most gripping story lines I have read in a SciFi book and I would recommend it to anyone who's looking for a new series to try out. A prior knowledge of Warhammer 40k lore isn't exactly nessesary, but it definetly helps mesh the story together and lets you visualize what is happening. Grey Knights is book one in a three book trilogy, which is followed by Dark Adeptus and then Hammer of Daemons.

James Herbert - The Rats - Lair - Domain

I was given Domain late last year in a bag of post-apocalyptic novels from my boss and was told that I should read it first because it was probably one of his top five books. I have to say, I was not disappointed. I am going to review all three books in the order I read them.

Domain is actually the third book in the series of three. The story takes place in London and begins with five nuclear bombs dropping on the city. We follow the main protagonist, Culver, in his struggle to escape the nuclear fallout and find shelter. We soon learn that beneath the city streets the rats have been lurking. These are no ordinary rats; they are a mutated strain and are bigger, stronger and more intelligent than their typical cousins.

This story is not for the faint of heart.

From the get go the book is difficult to put down. It is a good fusion of post-apocalyptic and horror with believable, likable and well developed characters. Frank Herbert is a master of the proverbial "out of the frying pan and into the fire" situation. Just when you think things can't get any worse... they get much worse.

The Rats is the first book of the three. It's a gentler introduction to Herbert's writing style and twisted mind than Domain, but is no less gripping. The story follows Steve Harris, a London public school English teacher. Starting with one of his students being bitten by a rat, a series of incidents start happening in one of the poorer London districts and before too long, people start dying.

I really liked this book in that it focused more on the origin of the rats, which I lacked in Domain. It was a much quicker read, and kept me more than interested through all 200 pages.

Lair is the second book of the three and takes place 4 years after the initial London incident. Rat sightings are required by law to be reported immediately. These sightings are investigated, but with no black rat sightings in almost 4 years the rats are being forgotten. The story follows a Ratkill employee named Lucas Pender in his investigation of a woodland preserve just outside of London.

The first half of the story is a bit slower than the other two, but no less twisted. Each time the rats strike, it's always in some twisted manner that leaves me thinking: "Holy S#&@!"

In all three books, the character development of the secondary characters is very well done. Many may only live two or three pages, but by the time the rats strike you feel for them (one way or another).

I really enjoyed reading all three books and they were an excellent primer to two genres that I have not read much of before.

-Adam

Wuthering Heights

Another treat for my mind! If you have never read a classic before, you might want to try this one first. You'll either love it or hate it. Personally, I love it. Every character is flawed. I would call this a heart wrenching, vindictive romance. (I know when someone says 'romance', they think of the Harlequin books, erase that dirty H word from your mind this instant! lol) It's full of blind love, undying hate, cruelty, selfishness, disdain, violence, suspense, revenge... so many true emotions flow through this book.
I certainly did not find it in the least boring. But this is only my opinion, you will have to decide for yourself...

Blood for the Blood God

Just finished this one today and I have to say it was a great read. The characters are sort of two dimensional and predictable, but the story is very gripping!

"The Skulltaker is a feared champion of Khorne, a lone warrior of hideous strength and power who roams the Chaos Wastes slaying all who stand between him and his destiny. Blood for the Blood God tells the tale of this terror of the north and his gory quest to be free of the curse inflicted by the Blood God, Khorne. Can anyone defeat him or will the Wastes be drenched in the blood of fallen champions?"

The only character that I grew attached to was Dorgo, the son of Hutga Khagan chieftain of the Tsavags. You can't help but cheer for him as he and his band of tribesmen set out in search of a way to save his tribe from the Skulltaker, by trying to reforge the legendary sword of Teiyogtei, the bloodeater, deep in the Chaos Wastes where not time, but emotion and thought, are the only realities.

You should give it a try if you like books about war and desperation. You won't be dissappointed!

The Lightstone

I finished this last night, and I'm now itching to read the next book...which I don't have. (And I'm kind of confused which book comes next, but before I get into that...)
This story was so easy to fall into, it's a mixture of the legend of the grail, and I thought the Arthurian legend also. It's kind of like they are living out our legends from Earth, on Ea?
You're introduced to the main character at the very beginning of the story, and you feel for him instantly. He is the seventh son of a King, but is not recognized as a prince, you have to earn your station, you are not just merely born into it. This concept I also liked. He sets out with two other companions on the quest for The Lightstone, and the party grows along the way, and the quest continues. I don't want to give anything away so I won't say anything else other then Zindell does a wonderful job of making you enjoy the company of all the characters involved. That's one thing that I look for and love in a story, you have to be able to connect/care for/enjoy the characters who are in it. He does this so well.
At the very end of the copy that I have, it gives you a prelude to Zindell's book, The Silver Sword. I read the first two pages of this, (not wanting to get too into it because I don't have this book yet) and it is a continuation of where The Lightstone ends. But, when you look at the book orders online, the second book of the Saga is called The Lord Of Lies. I'm pretty sure the The Silver Sword is supposed to be the sequel, that is the order that I am going to read it in anyway...
Here is a preview of the book if you are interested in learning more. You'll have to copy and paste, not sure how to do links yet.

http://books.google.ca/books?id=ZBUrt3oA3joC&dq=David+Zindell+the+lightstone&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=aBCgcxtXDW&sig=FUcDKiEUCQonLAT457fPKbTGJbY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA6,M1

The Door into Summer

This Robert A. Heinlein novel was published in 1957 but the edition I read was one from the Seventies with a psychedelic cover full of colour.
The Door into Summer is mentioned early on as a pipe dream of Pete the Cat, who makes his owner Daniel Boone Davis open each of the doors in their house, only to turn his nose up at the snow waiting outside each of them.
But Davis' 'door into summer' is time travel.
Time travel is possible - one way - through cryogenics. You can get frozen alive, and woken up at a predetermined date in the future, as set out in your contract.
In 1970, Davis is a businessman who runs into some trouble with his business associates, and loses control of his robotic creations.
In 2000, when he wakes up from his cryogenic sleep, he finds a world he barely recognizes, except for the fact that his robotic designs, or their descendants, are commonplace. Eventually, e discovers a way to get transported back to 1970 so he can try to set things right.
Apparently, this novel was written in 13 days, and it shows. The story is an adequate time travel piece, I suppose, but is so trite an predictable, that I couldn't wait to finish it. In places it is downright disturbing (his affection for little Ricky, for example), but in general, the tone of it all just rubbed me the wrong way. This was a very disappointing read.

Angela's Ashes

I found this one truly infuriating, frustrating and heartbreaking! But, there was also a lot of humor, and he always seemed to hold onto a glimmer of hope. The author goes through his early years, telling about his upbringing and hardships, living with his drunken dead beat Father, and a Mother that really was never given any real help. He shares the losses of his 4 siblings, sicknesses different family members went through, and gives really good insight of what it was like for him growing up. He gives great descriptions of everything, and reverts back to his childhood mind to write the book. It's set in Ireland in the late 1930's, and the story follows him till he's 19. The next book of his story is called 'Tis, and yes I do want to read it =) He's made a fan of me, and I'm glad I had such a lovely childhood!