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X Marks the Scot by Kaitlyn Dunnett

04 Monday Feb 2019

Posted by chadwickheller in Author, Book Review, books, cat, Coffee, recommendation, Writer

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In Moosetookalook Maine we meet up with the owner of the Scottish Emporium, Liss MacCrimmon at an auction being held at the old Chadwick mansion. The mansion has been sold to a developer so all the items that belonged to the estate are being auctioned off. Liss is there in the hopes of purchasing a painting that will decorate her store.

Upon winning the painting, Liss soon discovers that a map has been hidden behind it. After an initial inspection, Liss realizes the map is old and may lead to a treasure once owned by the old wealthy family who lived in the Chadwick mansion.

After her discovery, Liss learns that there is a historian who knows a lot about the Chadwick family history and may have some insight regarding the map that she has found. She plans to meet him on her way to a planned business trip. When she gets to the historians location, she finds the historian murdered, and Liss suspects someone who knows about the map killed him.

X Marks the Scot by Kaitlyn Dunnett is an enjoyable book full of twist’s and turns that keep the story moving to a very enjoyable conclusion.

I have never read a cozy mystery before and decided to pick one up simply for the experience. Kaitlyn Dunnett has written several books featuring her sleuth; Liss MacCrimmon. All of them are Scottish inspired. In time I’d like to read more of Dunnetts work. If you are looking for a cozy mystery, I do suggest X Marks the Scot.

Thanos; Titan Consumed by Barry Lyga

31 Thursday Jan 2019

Posted by chadwickheller in Author, Book Review, books, Coffee, Currently Reading, Discussion, male friendship, recommendation, review, science fiction, time, Writer

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In a prequel to Marvels Infinity War, Barry Lyga writes a non-canon backstory of Thanos that illustrates how Thanos becomes the intergalactic warlord we know him to be in Marvel’s Avenger: Infinity War THANOS: Titan Consumed.

On Titan, Thanos is born with genetic mutations – purple skin and a series of vertical ridges on his face – that mark him as a deviant. Thanos is also born a genius. This combination causes Thanos to become an outcast. Purple is the color of death on Titan which causes citizens to fear him.

Thanos’ father A’Lars decides that what is best for Thanos is to have Thanos separated from society essentially for his own safety. A’Lars even goes and finds Thanos a friend to help him to stave off any loneliness that may occur in this imposed exile.

Through a series of events, Thanos realizes that Titan is facing an ecological disaster primarily due to over population. Thanos, using state of the art technology, presents a solution to this inevitable disaster directly to the citizens – that 50% of the population must die, if not, then the planet Titan itself will die. This presentation causes extreme fear to go through Titan – the punishment for causing this panic is to send Thanos into exile off the planet.

While in exile, Titan succumbs to the fate that Thanos had warned about. Upon learning this, Thanos goes on a mission to save planets in the universe from the same fate. He gives each planet an option; either they willingly kill off 50% of their population or Thanos would kill everyone on the planet.

This initially begins as a slow process, but Thanos soon learns of a faster way to save, essentially, the universe – or, at least every advanced civilization in the universe – and that is by collecting the infinity stones.

Overall the book is enjoyable despite several disturbing scenes that showcase how cold-hearted Thanos is. Barry Lyga’s ability to novelize comic book characters is phenomenal, (see Lyga’s recent middle grade Flash trilogy as an example). My primary critique however is in regards to the story itself. Since every advanced civilization is destined to the same catastrophic fate – doesn’t that suggest that this ‘fate’ isn’t unnatural but, rather, natural? Thanos can’t seem to discover one planet that an ecological disaster isn’t that outcome of civilization, therefore he believes the only way to save them all is to wipe out 50% of the population off of all of them.

Thanos epitomizes the type of ideology that you’d find on the Georgia Guidestones.

Thanos believes he is doing good, yet he also delights in being a destroyer of worlds. Thanos goes through a terrifying transformation through the book while on this self imposed mission. He becomes an example of the phrase, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” He believes the genocides that he is carrying out is the only viable option to an idealized universe. Thanos is never quite presented as pure villain or hero. His existence and self imposed duty lies in a moral gray area. His belief that destruction is the only way to save the universe seems contradictory – but Thanos doesn’t see it that way. He see’s it as the only way to bring balance back to universe and no one, not even his close friends can stand in his way of restoring this balance.

This book is certainly worth your time if you want to have an understanding of what made Thanos the type of being we know him today.

The Flash & Arrow Duology by Clay and Susan Griffith

29 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by chadwickheller in Author, blog, Book Review, books, Coffee, Currently Reading, Discussion, male friendship, recommendation, review, science fiction, snow

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We first meet up with Barry Allen (AKA the Flash) as he is going from vehicle to vehicle rescuing citizens from a horrific traffic accident. It is here in the midst of the chaos that we and the Flash first learn that something is not right with the Flash physiologically. This first reveals itself in the form of a tiny glitch that only the Flash is aware of. As we discover, along with the Flash, that there is something wrong inside the Flashes body we learn that Central City is under attack by a small group of metahumans.

As Pied Piper, Weather Wizard and Peekaboo carry out their attack on Central City, the Flash continues to experience glitches in his power that completely incapacitates him – often times in the midst of fights with various villains. These glitches that the Flash experiences are so troubling that the Flash and his team at S.T.A.R. Labs call on the help of Oliver Queen – the Arrow to defend Central City as they try to come up with a cure to save the Flash.

The Flash: The Haunting of Barry Allen and Arrow: A Generation of Vipers by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith makes an incredible duology. The first book is depicted from the Flashes perspective while the second is from Arrows perspective. The books share an over-arching story line – finding a cure for the Flashes near fatal glitches, yet independently carry within themselves self contained stories that pertain to the Flash and Arrow respectively. The books also explore the complexities of the two heroes friendship as they come to terms with their respective histories.

The Flash and Arrow have different philosophies when it comes to how they do their jobs in protecting their cities, and these differences play a strong role on how the story plays out. Arrows story centers around getting a device that will save The Flash from the glitches he is experiencing. Arrow also helps The Flash to cope with the glitches as they occur.

Each book in this duology clocks in at over 400 pages making this over all story quite the tome. Although I enjoyed the concept of these two books, I did find it difficult to find the same type of connection with Arrow in the second book that I did with the Flash in the first book. I always felt that there was some distance between myself and Arrow as I followed him around in the second book. Perhaps, due to the nature of Arrow, this was deliberate, but I felt it seriously slowed down the pacing of the story especially in the second book. I was thoroughly engaged with Barry Allen in the first book but I always felt like I was being kept at arms length with Oliver Queen in the second book.

I strongly recommend this duology especially if, like me, you enjoy stories involving The Flash. These books are based on the Warner Bros. series created by Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns. If you enjoy the television series, I would also recommend these books.

 

#Thursday @Quotables

26 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by chadwickheller in Author, books, cat, Life, Quotables, Quote, Thursday Quotables, time, Today, Writer

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“I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done, of everything done-to-me. I am everyone everything whose being-in-the-world affected was affected by mine. I am anything that happens after I’m gone which would not have happened if I had not come.”

— Salman Rushdie (Midnight’s Children)

#Thursday #Quotables

19 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by chadwickheller in Author, books, cat, Coffee, Life, poem, Quotables, Quote, Thursday Quotables, time, Today, Writer

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“Every poem should remind the reader that they are going to die.”
— Edgar Allan Poe

#Thursday #Quotables

12 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by chadwickheller in Author, blog, books, cat, Coffee, Discussion, Life, Quotables, Quote, rain, Thursday Quotables, time, Today, Writer

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“I just can’t help thinking what a real shake up it would give people if, all of a sudden, there were no new books, new plays, new histories, new poems…”

And how proud would you be when people started dying like flies?” I demanded.

They’d die more like mad dogs, I think–snarling & snapping at each other & biting their own tails.”

I turned to Castle the elder. “Sir, how does a man die when he’s deprived of the consolation of literature?”

In one of two ways,” he said, “putrescence of the heart or atrophy of the nervous system.”

Neither one very pleasant, I expect,” I suggested.

No,” said Castle the elder. “For the love of God, both of you, please keep writing!”

― Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Cat’s Cradle

RAISING RUFUS by David Fulk discussion & review

07 Saturday Oct 2017

Posted by chadwickheller in Author, Book Review, books, Discussion, Fantasy, recommendation, review, science fiction, Writer

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Martin is on a mission to capture a bug for his extensive collection, which leads him to an open pit mine that, if he were paying attention, he’d know he wasn’t supposed to go in. The bug Martin is pursuing is not being cooperative and when it finally does land it’s not in a safe location. Quickly Martin finds himself in trouble when a rock slide occurs. The rock slide leads however to a discovery – Martin discovers a very unique and rare rock that he decides to take with him back home.

The rock that Martin has discovered isn’t quite a rock however. He learns the truth about his “rock” when it hatches and a lizard emerges. With his parents “No Pets” rule, Martin must keep his strange lizard a secret.

raising rufusRaising Rufus is a very enjoyable read – I picked it up after realizing what Rufus is and thought it would be a fun, light read. I absolutely loved this story, it brought back to me all the stories I used to read and love as a kid. Perhaps the best part is that the author, David Fulk, did not go the easy way with the ending, which is the route I thought he’d take.

This is one of those books that I think would be amazing if it were made into a made-for-TV movie for kids.

If you happen to come across Raising Rufus, I highly suggest picking it up, it’s superb.

★★★★★   RAISING RUFUS by David Fulk

#Thursday #Quotables

05 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by chadwickheller in Author, books, cat, Coffee, Fantasy, Life, Quotables, Quote, recommendation, Thursday Quotables, time, Today, Writer

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“What use is a god with boundless mercy, sir? You mock me as a pagan, yet the gods of my ancestors pronounce clearly their ways and punish severely when we break their laws. Your Christian god of mercy gives men licence to pursue their greed, their lust for land and blood, knowing a few prayers and a little penance will bring forgiveness and blessing.”

― Kazuo Ishiguro, The Buried Giant

#Thursday @Quotables

28 Thursday Sep 2017

Posted by chadwickheller in Author, books, Coffee, Quotables, Quote, Thursday Quotables, time, Today, Writer

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“It is clear that the books owned the shop rather than the other way about. Everywhere they had run wild and taken possession of their habitat, breeding and multiplying, and clearly lacking any strong hand to keep them down.”

— Agatha Christie (The Clocks)

ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY by Charlie Jane Anders discussion & review

27 Wednesday Sep 2017

Posted by chadwickheller in Author, Book Review, books, Discussion, Fantasy, recommendation, redemption, science fiction, time, Today, Writer

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All The Birds In The Sky is a book that defy’s all possible genres and does so quite successfully. It’s the story of a witch and a tech mogul and the world between them.

The novel opens with a young Patricia in a Doctor Dolittle-esque that consists of a wounded bird, a mean older sister, a cat and a wise old tree. The scene serves as an introductory to Patricia and her abilities as she begins to discover her own uniqueness.

all the birdsFollowing this initial glimpse into Patricias life, we are soon introduced to a young tech nerd named Laurence who is quite the savant when it comes to technology. Laurence finds himself  being a social outcast at his school, he spends his free time building devices that he finds instructions for on the internet. One of his projects is an Artificial Intelligence program that dwells in a computer in his bedroom.

Inevitably Patricia and Laurence meet and become friends as they go to the same school together. They begin to mature into their respective abilities. This gets the attention of a certain member of a Nameless Order that attempts to interfere with the ultimate destiny of these two. As the children grow, Patricia starts exhibiting the powers she possesses as a young witch while Laurence hones his technological abilities. They help each other get out of trouble when necessary. Interestingly, Patricia and Laurence begin to grow together and apart almost simultaneously as they each have to come to terms with each other.

This attraction and polarization of Patricia and Laurence is done quite well by Anders – it showcased that despite these twos sharp differences, there is something that transcends these that’ll bring them together. Although the book does focus on the relationship between Patricia and Laurence, it does so in a world that is on the verge of complete collapse. Hurricanes are wiping out large portions of the United States while other disasters arise that must be confronted. Can magic and technology come together to help solve these crises instead of warring against one another?

This is perhaps the strength of All The Birds In The Sky as it serves as an allegory for the world that we live. Anders does not make an assertion that one field of thought is better than another, that true strength comes with solidarity rather than war.

★★★★★   ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY by Charlie Jane Anders

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