Atlantis by David Gibbins

Amazon

Atlantis by David Gibbins is a novel that attempts to be a thriller, attempts to be an archaeological treatise, and attempts to be entertaining. It comes up only partially successful on all three accounts. David Gibbins was an archaeologist before turning to writing, so it's only natural that his books are filled with what he knows best. Gibbins however misses the train a bit when it comes to causing the reader to sit up all night, not knowing what is going to happen to the main character. I, being an anthropology student, find this type of book to be highly enjoyable, however I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who has not at least taken a few introductory courses in archaeology.

Synopsis

Two startling discoveries are made almost concurrently. The first is another disc, similar to the Phaistos disc, this one seems to be analogous to the Rosetta stone though, translating Linear A into Greek. The second discovery is a village, buried underwater. Mix in some Russians who are after nuclear missiles they lost (but were meaning to sell illegally anyway), a few more professors who know a lot more about fighting than they should, and you've got yourself a novel.

Review

I'm an anthropology student. I'm going to say that right away, because I tend to think I liked this book better than most people will. This book is heavy on the details of doing archaeology and low on the suspense/tension that a good thriller needs to have. That being said, the book was quite enjoyable. I especially liked how Gibbins linked his Atlanteans to all of the extent cultures in the world, and explained many of the myths and other religious traditions as having their origin in Atlantis. That said, I didn't feel a need to finish this book, I didn't particularly care what happened to the main characters. I read this book more to figure out what secrets Atlantis held (perhaps that was the goal of the book). In the end, the characters were uninteresting, and the villains were uninteresting. The bad guys...don't get me started. They had little to no reason to be there, and being there, they were not very good at being bad guys. I give this book a 3/5 for an anthropologist interested in the subject matter more than the story, and 1.5/5 for anyone else who would only be interested in the value of the story (of which there was very little).

Up next? I'm already about halfway through The Sword of the Lady. The nook is incredibly awesome and I love it. It also seems a lot quicker reading books on this device than actually flipping through them. Don't ask me why. I also finished up Dragon Age a second time and got most of the achievements. I need to finish it a third time to get those last pestering little achievements and then I will post a review of that. The next game? Well, I got my wii fixed, so I might finish up super mario galaxy (which has been 9/10 finished for almost a year while I farted around fixing the wii). The next serious game though will be Mass Effect (I'm so itching to play the second game, but i will restrain myself and do this the right way, getting a proper save before I head in).

Other Earths and Dragon Age: Origins

Amazon

Other Earths is a magnificent collection of alternate history short stories. This genre lends itself quite marvelously to short stories and any that I can get my hands on are good ones. However as is typical with collections from multiple authors, the quality can vary from story to story. This one in particular travels up and down the scale quite frequently as it is a combination of well established authors and some up and comers that I suppose the more established authors are helping to get their name out there.

Synopsis

A synopsis is difficult to give due to the nature of this book. However, in general the idea of alternate fiction is to take a point in time and to ponder 'what would happen if this decision had been made in the other direction?' or 'what if the other side had won that war?', or evidently in this book 'what if x, y, or z fictional creature were real?' This particular compilation seemed to roughly have the theme of alternate dimensions. In several of the stories, the action took place on an alternate earth, however the story did acknowledge the normal earth that you and I know exists. This is definitely not a rule to this book however.

Review

As I grow older, I increasingly like short stories. I think that it requires much more skill and imagination on the author's part to achieve good characterization and to tell a story in a shorter framework. In addition, I've found that many short stories are quite a lot better than longer stories. As I mentioned previously, the stories in this book are very hit and miss, with some genuine gems and some steaming piles of crap. I'm particularly fond of the story by Lucius Shepard. As a matter of fact, I'd have to say that I've found a new author to put on my top 5 list. Lucius Shepard (at least in this short story I read) is awesome. Before I deify him (along with Stirling, Weiss and Hickman, Salvatore, Asimov) I'm going to get a few more of his books. This particular book gets a 2.5/5 (How else can you mix such utter crap in some instances with gold in others? average them of course!). If only judged on the quality work, it gets a 5/5.

Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age origins is the latest release by BioWare, who will be coming out with Mass Effect 2, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Dragon Age however is the spiritual successor to BioWare's older Dungeons and Dragons games: Baldur's Gate 1 and 2. I recently beat Dragon Age...however I have not perfected it yet (thanks to the achievement system so common in today's games...I have a built in measuring stick to a games perfection!). That review will be coming soon! What's next for me? After Dragon Age, I think I'm going to go after Assassin's Creed 1. In terms of books, I'm not quite sure yet. I've been looking at a few on my bookshelves and nothing has jumped out at me. So far among the contenders, "The Dante Club" is the favorite...don't take that to heart though.

This is my biggest break of the year, seeing as how I attend summer school each year. I'm getting kind of bored with myself to be honest...so be expecting that Dragon Age review soon, and the next book to be finished!

"The Scourge of God" by S.M. Stirling

Amazon

This book took slightly longer to read than I expected. That's not a bad thing however, as I was able to savor every word and nuance of this master of the craft. Truthfully schoolwork took a large portion of the time I could have been reading, and that contributed primarily to the long time it took me to complete.

Synopsis

The Scourge of God follows the adventures of Rudi and company as they continue to traverse the changed North American continent on a trek to Nantucket. This portion of the series is almost beginning to become akin to the Odyssey by Homer, essentially a series of interconnected encounters with peoples who are different from the main character. The main character (Rudi in this case, Odysseus in Homer's) must solve a problem at each location. This problem might be his own, such as devising a method of escape, or helping the locals to achieve some goal. In terms of plot...this book doesn't advance the overarching goal of the series very much, but it does provide necessary time for Rudi and Mathilda to get to know each other more, and for the audience to get to know the characters more as well.

Review

Once again, a superlative outing for Stirling. The editing in this book is far superior to any other of his works I've seen so far. The storyline, though it doesn't advance very far does give us insight on what is going on in the characters minds, especially Rudi's. I do like that the magic and mystery of the world is becoming more and more aparent to the reader. I also like that there is just enough information about what is going on back home to keep our interest in affairs there, without it intruding into Rudi's Odyssey. Another excellent change novel. I can't wait to read the sword of the lady...

...and indeed it won't take nearly as long as it did to get The Scourge of God. On November 30, Barnes and Nobles is releasing the Nook. What I believe to be a better solution to the mobile e-reader problem. With memory cards that can be taken out and native PDF support...it makes me feel sorry for anyone who purchased a kindle.

Whats next literarily? I'm beginning a short story collection entitled Other Earths edited by jack nevers and jay lake. So far it's very interesting and i'm very into it. School ends soon, so I'll have more time to read, and in addition to that, I would like to finish dragon age: origins and Dragon Warrior 2.

Review of "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown

Amazon

Quite frankly, I'm honestly surprised at how quickly I was able to finish this book. I ended up reading it in roughly 10 days. That includes time to do homework and to study for tests, as well as attend a Bucs game. I must admit, Dan Brown books do not necessarily stretch the old gray matter. However, given my schedule, I thought it would take a bit longer at the least. Perhaps it was because I got a digital copy of this book and was able to read it wherever I was in a much more portable format. I can't wait to get a kindle, I think that it will be even easier then to read on the go. First, I have to say that I don't like the cover of this book very much. Especially when compared to what they were advertising the cover to be prior to publication (as seen below). What gets me even more though, is the change of
name. This book was originally titled "The Solomon Key". After having completed the book, I believe that would have been a much more fitting title.

Synopsis

Professor of Symbology Robert Langdon is surprised by an early morning phone call from his best friend and replacement father figure. Peter Solomon wants Langdon to give a speech at the US Capitol building later that night. Langdon happens to have a speech prepared (presumeably for just such occasions!) and aggrees. When he arrives however, he learns that he has been told the entire truth, or even been told the truth at all. His friend, Peter, has been taken hostage, and the villian will only let him free if Peter can recover and interpret a pyramid which will guide him to the Ancient Mysteries. What follows is a search through Washington D.C. for a piece of esoteric freemasonry lore which will save his friends life.

Review

I've been a fan of Dan Brown's since Angels and Demons. This book...quite frankly let me down. The characters tended to be cardboard cut outs compared to early Brown efforts. I didn't feel the need for haste that he should have engendered in me. I didn't feel the attraction that may, or may not have been built between Langdon and Solomon's younger sister. The characters appeared to resemble an encyclopedia on their subject of interest rather than a facsimile of a living breathing person.

In addition, there was a twist in this story. One that the average reader could see coming from miles away. Being a fan of twists, this one let me down heavily. It was so obvious that I thought it to be a mere aspect of the story. When it was presented as a plot twist towards the end, I thought to myself 'that's it?' The denouement (thank you Mrs. Knots, my 7th grade english teacher) was far too long. I got bored about half way through, and with no further action to look forward to, nearly abandoned the novel. The final reveal as to just what the Ancient Mysteries were, was an extreme cop out. Instead of inventing his own mystical, great mystery to astound his readers...Brown used a tired old prop stand in, and attempted to throw a new light on it (poorly).

This isn't entirely a bad book though. The actual subject matter was great. I do enjoy being lectured to (to a point) and so many of the encyclopedic characters were not a total annoyance. The freemasonry is an interesting subject, and the idea of lost knowledge of the ages is a great plot device. Honestly though, there was no immediacy. No pope to elect with the main electors held captive. Peter was a relatively minor character, and the prospect of his death didn't make me feel badly for either him, or Langdon. Only for Mr. Brown in the end. 2/5...he gets points for the subject matter, but the lack of a real story formula hurts him. My advice Mr. Brown? Take a bit of time off from Langdon and explore another character concept. Langdon is great...but just how much trouble CAN a professor of symbology get into...hmm?

Up next for me? THE SCOURGE OF GOD! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Already started on it...but this one might take a while. I think I'd like to savor it...plus school is hitting me with at least 2 tests every week. I'm never going to take this many classes at once again :/

"The Romanov Prophecy" and Buc bits

Amazon

The Romanov Prophecy is a book I picked up a long time ago and was saving for a rainy day. With the next emberverse book taking forever to get into paperback, I figured that for me, it was a literary rainy day and so I grabbed the book from it's place on the shelf and started to read. The Romanov's and the events surrounding their murder have always intrigued me and I'm happy to say that this book did not disappoint in the amount of true history it mixed in along with the fictional story.
Synopsis

The Romanov Prophecy is the story of a young lawyer from the states, who runs afoul of the turmoil in the re-establishment of a monarchy in Russia. Originally, the lawyer was simply there to do research into the claim of the pretender that his firm was supporting, however in his research he learned that it was possible that some of the Romanov children survived the terrible tragedy that occured in 1918 and took the lives of the ruling house of Russia. This, of course, jeopardizes the interests of some very powerful men, who would prefer that they establish their own puppet ruler, instead of the actual person who should be ruling. He ends up running for his life while the Russian mafia tries to put an end to his research.

Review

Honestly? I was a bit disappointed in this book. Don't get me wrong...it was a good book. However, after reading "The Amber Room" and "The Third Secret", I was expecting much more from Steve Berry. This particular tale was just a bit too cliched and predictible for my tastes, however I eagerly look forward to more by Mr. Berry. I must point out as well that this book seemed to be more of an effort to make the public aware of the awful events that destroyed the Romanov family. Truly, one of the most tragic events to befall Russia, and the entire world. This novel brings home the fateful day when the Romanov's were marched down to a cold basement for 'a picture', and ended up being slaughtered by the Bolsheviks. This novel also addresses some of the claims that Romanov children might have survived the slaughter. The story told by Berry was not a very good one, however it didn't really need to be, since the story that occurred in real life is one of the most tragic of all time. Had Berry upstaged the story of the Romanov's with his fiction...this book probably would not have been as good as it was. 4/5






What can I say about the Bucs? Everyone knew this was a rebuilding year. Everyone knew we were not going to contend. Still, with the good preseason play of Leftwich and Johnson, I think there was guarded optimism that the Bucs might end up being a darkhorse contender for the superbowl. Now the Bucs are sitting at 0-3, with no possibility for a win in sight as we head first to Washington, then Philadelphia, come home to face the panthers and then head off to London to take on the Patriots. Perhaps, just perhaps we could eak out a win in the Carolina game...but I wouldn't bet on it. Our offense is doing adequately well. Better than can be expected, but our defense is giving up the long ball and letting the opposing runners gash us for long gains on the ground. Our secondary is in shambles after Tanard Jackson's suspension, the loss of Jermaine Phillips for the year with a destroyed thumb, and the realization that while Sabby Piscatelli has a nose for the ball, he has no nose for making a tackle. The entire team as a matter of fact, needs to take a class on football fundamentals and wrapping up the tackle. There is no excuse for it requiring 3-4 guys to bring down a wide receiver. The only consolation is that with this kind of a showing, the offseason will be more interesting with a high draft pick and the possibility of finding some big name free agents. We sorely need to address the Defensive Tackle position. I don't see why the Bucs don't understand that the Defensive Tackle is nearly the most important defensive position on the field. With a good tackle applying pressure in the middle, the ends don't get double teamed so much and can apply pressure to the qb who will have to get rid of the ball quicker. This allows the corners and safetys to not get as tired in coverage and not have to chase a receiver all over the field. 6 and 7 seconds in the pocket simply allows the qb to scan the field and gives the receivers time to get open. Address the DT position this offseason. Hell, make a trade and address it now. Then again, Gaines Adams is looking more and more like a bust...so even with the help of an elite DT, he might not be able to get any pressure. So it goes I suppose.

So what's next literature-wise? Well, I'm about halfway through Dan Brown's next book "The Lost Symbol". After that, "The Scourge of God" FINALLY came out in paperback and I'm eagerly waiting to devour it as soon as I finish Brown. With tons of school work and a 10 page paper coming up...that appears to be about all I'll be able to finish for a little while.

The Monster of Florence, Madden 10, and thoughts on the Bucs

Amazon

The Monster of Florence is a book I had been waiting for since I had learned
of it's writing. When I learned that the authors had been put in jail for the very crime that they were writing about...I knew I had to read the book. Especially when one of the authors is one of my favorite thriller writers. I came into this book expecting something akin to the true crime mafia books that my mother reads occasionally (being Sicilian, I suppose its difficult to get away from that sort of thing). I got that, and so much more.

Synopsis
In 1968, two people were murdered while making love in their car. This began a decades long murder spree committed by someone who has come to be known as the Monster of Florence. Italy had never before seen a serial killer and so the investigation of these atrocitys has become almost like a national pastime for some Italians. Among these are Mario Spezi and Douglas Preston, the authors of this book. There is incompetence among the Italian investigators, stupidity among the judges, and a general lack of anything even slightly resembling a fact finding mission. Mario and Douglas lay out in excellent form the facts and history of the case, as well as putting forth their suspect for just whom the monster might be.

Review
I'm honestly not a big fan of true crime books. I'm not a big fan of nonfiction in general. This book however interested me because it was directly related to one of the authors I read on a regular basis. The evidence is presented well, and conclusions are rightly met. I'm not entirely sure as to the authors bias in this book however. There is definitely an element of revenge toward the Italian legal system in this book. Preston is trying to make them look like fools for their handling of this and other cases (and he aptly succeeds). I liked this book, I liked the pacing, and I looked forward to each new chapter. In general though, even though this was a good book, it doesn't make me want to go out and read more nonfiction. It does however, make me want to keep up with and find the eventual outcome of the monster of florence case. 3/5 (good story, I'm not just not a fan of nonfiction. The world outside my 4 walls sucks enough without having to read about the parts that suck just a little bit more).




I'm not prepared to give a full, in depth review of Madden 10 (and truly I probably never will be. Im more of an RPG guy). I must say though that from having played the last few iterations of the Madden franchise...I am very pleased with this latest version. Previous Madden games were filled with little things to do in order to make your team better and to progress them. I'm not sure I am altogether in favor of their removal in this latest game, but I must say that it definitely takes the game back to it's roots of being a football game, as opposed to some sort of football hybrid/RPG thing. I do miss some of the advancement elements. I'd like to be able to easily see how my players are progressing through the seasons. I know that my players get better in their first few years and decline in their...declining years...but without memorizing the stats, it's just too difficult to see where those changes are.

The pro-tak technology is a plus...I like how all aspects of it's implementation have added to the overall feel of the game. I like the Extra Point bonus show. And I especially like how the defensive line play is much more intuitive than it has been in the past. A few things I don't like? holding calls. No one plays as an offensive lineman. Holding is a great thing to have in the game...but I got called on holding 4 straight extra point trys in a row (i mean...one extra point try, 4 holding calls in a row). thats freakin ridiculous. It was a 50 yard extra point. Having holding is great, but reducing the number of times you see it per game would be awesome. Also, they went crazy with interceptions. Seems its much more easier to make them and much more difficult to throw them.

In general though, I like how the focus has moved back to the actual game of football as opposed to the minutiae of running a franchise. However, I would like to keep in mind that there IS a place in a game such as Madden for that kind of thing. Sometimes I WOULD like to create an expansion franchise and go through the entire rigamarole of getting funding, creating a team and seeing where I can get them...bidding for free agents...talking to their agents...etc. Running the game more as a football simulator/RPG than a football game. Either way...I'm happy with how this game turned out.




The Bucs have only played one preseason game and already I'm getting excited. The defense, long the mainstay of the Bucs teams has taken a hit in recent years with aging veterans (who have mostly been turned loose) and the loss of key coaching staff members. The assumed focus this year would be on our offense (and indeed, thats how free agency seemed to go, and our first round draft pick being a new quarterback). So when the first preseason game was played, it came as a shock of just how good our first team defense played. We scored 2 interceptions early and a sack against the Titans first team offense. This is good news. Sabby Piscatelli...who MUST play well this upcoming season made some nice tackles and was responsible for one of those interceptions. Our drafted defensive tackle and end both played decently well as well. The offense...was not quite as stellar as it should have been (welcome to life as a Bucs fan). It took a bit before we got the running game going...in fact our first team running backs didnt get much going at all...our running game ended up relying on our third string back. In the preseason though...backs don't get much action. It's so easy to hurt a running back that many teams dont even play their feature backs in the preseason. The quarterbacks though...aye yiah yiah. Only one of them had over a 50 percent completion rate. And that just barely over 50 percent (the NFL average is about 60 percent). Byron throws ropes that might just be too hard for our receivers to grab a hold of. Luke looks...ready to move on. Josh Freeman looks like a rookie, making rookie mistakes (which hes allowed to do at this stage of the game...better start making some better decisions though). Josh Johnson honestly looked like our best option during that game. He ran for a 43 yard td, passed for over 50% with no ints. Unfortunately...hes probably the guy we are going to let go :(

Lets see how things go next week when we get one of our top 2 receivers back. That should make a difference at QB at least.

Up next to read? Perhaps T.S. Spivet. School is starting in a week though, and I have a...workfilled (not difficult, but definitely a lot to do) schedule this semester. Also, I'm going to get myself a kindle for my birthday, and it feels wrong to purchase books when I would rather have them on kindle in the coming months.

"The Book of Air and Shadows" by Michael Gruber

Amazon

I know, I know. this book comes out of left field. I hadn't even said that I owned this book, much less that I was thinking about reading it. I must confess however, that after I had read the first chapter or so (a habit I must confess to, whenever I acquire a new book), I was immediately hooked. This book definitely grabbed me and would not let go.



Synopsis
This book opens in an antique bookstore introducing the main characters of the story, and setting down the foundation of the world we will be inhabiting. An ancient manuscript is found hidden within the end covers of a younger book. This manuscript tells the incredible story of a man set to spy upon William Shakespeare and find evidence of his Catholicism. In the course of his investigation the spy entices Shakespeare into creating a new play that will 'entice the king' into giving in to the papacy and expelling the protestants from the land. The spy takes the play and hides it, discovering that Shakespeare, papist or not (and he doubts that he is) is a good man. This story is about the recovery of that play, and the multiple societies trying to acquire it at the expense of the person who found the hidden manuscript.

Review
Like I said in my preamble, this book grabs ahold and does not let go. The writing is excellent. The plot is something I have not read previously (though, I am aware of many such books with a similar topic). Other reviewers have complained about the author's preoccupation with sex, but I must admit, I think these reviewers to have been prudish. There is no description of sex acts, and nearly always when the topic is brought up it is to further develop one of the main characters. I think that the previous reviewers are toting a moralistic line without thinking of the topic that this book conveys. The sex is by all means not gratuitous but does press topic. There are twists, turns, double and triple crosses, and not much is as it seems in this book. Definitely worthy of your time. In addition, there is a bit of the history of cryptography contained in this book. Enough to get me interested in a topic I have had no interest in, in the past. 4.5/5 (lost .5 a point because the 'puzzles' were not difficult. I would have much preferred it had it been difficult for me to figure things out)

Next up? I'm currently about 1/4 of the way through 'The Monster of Florence' a true crime novel by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezzi. So far it's been a quick read, and a very interesting one. Another new experience for me, being that I don't typically read nonfiction.