2012 Book Reading Challenge Recap

READING CHALLENGES FOR 2012
*Reading Challenge Addicts Challenge for 2012

*150+ Reading Challenge for 2012
1) A Feast Unknown: by Philip José Farmer (Sci-Fi/Adventure)
2) The Burden of Guilt: by Daniel Allen Butler (History/WWI)
3) The Divide: by William Overgard(Alternate History)
4) Tunnel Through Time: by Lester Del Rey (Sci-Fi)
5) Planet Hulk: written by Greg Pak (Graphic Novel)
6) Gods of Manhattan: by Al Ewing. Part of the Pax Britannia series (science fiction/pulpy)
7) Six Days of War: by Michael B. Oren, narrated by Robert Whitfield (History/Middle-East) - Audio Book
8) Myth of the Great War: by John Mosier. One of the two best books on World War I to come out in recent years. (History/World War I)
9) Tarzan at the Earth's Core: by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Sci-fi/Fantasy)
10) The Untold History of the Potato: by John Reader. (audio book narrated by Martin Hyder) (History)
11) The Kingdom: by Mark Waid (graphic novel)
12) Into Africa: by Martin Dugard (History/Africa) - Audio Book
13) Sir Jolly Jingle's Beastly Journey: by Wallace Tripp (Picture Book)
14) Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom: By Robert Place Napton & Roberto Castro. (Graphic Novel)
15) The Red Baron: by Manfred von Richtofen (Memoir/World War I)
16) The Crying of Lot 49: by Thomas Pynchon
17) Forgotten Bookmarks: by Michael Popek
18) Oh My Gods: by Philip Freeman (Mythology)
19) Watson's Afghan Adventure: by Kieran McMullen
20) The Quantum Story: by Jim Baggott (Science)
21) The Other Teddy Roosevelts: by Mike Resnick
22) Kull: Exile of Atlantis: by Robert E. Howard
23) Snuff: by Terry Pratchett (Fantasy)
24) Firestorm: by Taylor Anderson
25) Ready Player One: by Ernest Cline (Science Fiction)
26) The Bloody White Baron: by James Palmer (History)
27) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: by Lewis Carroll (fantasy)
28) The Elephant's Child: by Rudyard Kipling (picture book)
29) Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm: by the Brothers Grimm
30) Children of the Sky: by Vernor Vinge (science fiction)
31) Iron Gray Sea: by Taylor Anderson (book 7 of Destoryermen series)
32) War is a Racket: by Smedley D. Butler
33) Coup d'Etat: by Harry Turtledove (part 4 of the War That Came Early series)
34) Brave New World: by Aldous Huxley
35) The Long Earth: by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
36) Space Wars: by William Scott
37) Life of Black Hawk: by Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak
38) Animal Farm: by George Orwell
39) Shakedown Socialism: by Oleg Atbashian
40) Red Orc's Rage: by Philip Jose Farmer
41) A Woman A Day: by Philip Jose Farmer
42) Jesus on Mars: by Philip Jose Farmer
43) Kingmaker Part 1 - Stolen Land: by James Jacobs (Pathfinder Adventure path)
44) Presidential Pulp: by Ivan Eland (Presidential history/Politics)
45) Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World: by Jack Weatherford
46) Through the Looking-Glass: Lewis Carroll
47) The Peerless Peer: by Philip Jose Farmer
48) Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II: by Keith Lowe (History/WWII)
49) Star Wars: Scoundrels: by Timothy Zahn
50) Rethinking the American Union for the Twenty-First Century: by Donald W. Livingston
51) Skull & Shackles part 1: The Wormwood Mutiny: by Richard Pett (RPG/Pathfiinder adventure path)
52) CCH Master Tax Guide: Didn't read this entire thing - but a lot of it for a 80 self-study course.
53) Across The Universe: The DC Universe Stories: by Alan Moore (graphic novel)
54) The Black Count: by Tom Reiss (history)
55) The Dardenelles Disaster: by Dan van der Vat (history/WWI)
56) The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle: Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)
57) Red Shirts: A Novel with Three Codas: by John Scalzi
58) My Ideal Bookshelf: by Thessaly la Force
59) Underground Warfare, 1914-1918: by Simon Jones (history/WWI)
60) Gulliver of Mars: by Edwin Lester Arnold

*2012 Read 52 books in 52 weeks
While I did read over 1 book a week I didn't write enough reviews or post to the challenge host blog. We'll count that as a fail.
*Chunkster Challenge 2012: Striving for Chubby Chunkster level
Reading 4 really large books.... didn't read even one over 1,000 pages - unless you count the Master Tax Guide, which I don't.
*Get Steampunked! 2012: Striving for Geared level
Got one out of five on this one. Maybe two if Tarzan at Earth's Core is included (it did have an airship in it) 1) Gods of Manhattan: by Al Ewing. Part of the Pax Britannia series

*Graphic Novels Challenge 2012
Missed a few months on this one.
1) January - Planet Hulk: written by Greg Pak
2) February - The Kingdom: written by Mark Waid
3) March - Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom: By Robert Place Napton & Roberto Castro.
4) April -
5) May -
6) June -
7) July -
8) August -
9) September -
10) October -
11) November -
12) December - Across The Universe: The DC Universe Stories: by Alan Moore (graphic novel)

*Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading 2012 Challenge: Master's Degree level
Was shooting for 25 books -
1) The Burden of Guilt: by Daniel Allen Butler
2) Myth of the Great War: by John Mosier
3) The Bloody White Baron: by James Palmer
4) Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World: by Jack Weatherford

5) Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II: by Keith Lowe (History/WWII)
6) Rethinking the American Union for the Twenty-First Century: by Donald W. Livingston
7) The Black Count: by Tom Reiss (history)
8) The Dardenelles Disaster: by Dan van der Vat (history/WWI)
9) Underground Warfare, 1914-1918: by Simon Jones (history/WWI)

*Read Your Name Challenge 2012
S: Sir Jolly Jingle's Beastly Journey: by Wallace Tripp
E: The Elephant's Child: by Rudyard Kipling
A: A Feast Unknown: by Philip José Farmer
N:
Man! That is the height of laziness. Didn't even look for a quick book for the letter N.
*Time Travel Reading Challenge 2012: Mind-boggling Voyage: 10 to 12 time travel books level
1) Tunnel Through Time: by Lester Del Rey
A couple other books I read this year had time travel elements in them. If I could go back in time I'd change the level I tried for in this challenge.
*2012 Short Story Reading Challenge: Tell Me A Story level (1-3)
1) Presidential Pulp: by Ivan Eland (Presidential history/Politics)
I did read at least one short story anthology for the 1-3 required for the Tell Me A Story level of the 2012 Short Story reading challenge. Got One! Just not a very impressive level of one.
*A-Z Book Challenge
A) A Feast Unknown: by Philip José Farmer
B) The Burden of Guilt: by Daniel Allen Butler
C) The Crying of Lot 49: by Thomas Pynchon
D) The Divide: by William Overgard(Alternate History)
E) The Elephant's Child: by Rudyard Kipling
F) Forgotten Bookmarks: by Michael Popek

G) Gods of Manhattan: by Al Ewing. Part of the Pax Britannia series
H) Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm: by the Brothers Grimm
I) Iron Gray Sea: by Taylor Anderson
J) Jesus on Mars: by Philip Jose Farmer
K) Kingmaker Part 1 - Stolen Lands: by James Jacobs
L) The Long Earth: by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
M) Myth of the Great War: by John Mosier
N)
O)Oh My Gods: by Philip Freeman (Mythology)
P) The Peerless Peer: by Philip Jose Farmer
Q)
R) The Red Baron: by Manfred von Richtofen
S) Sir Jolly Jingle's Beastly Journey: by Wallace Tripp
T) Tunnel Through Time: by Lester Del Rey
U) Underground Warfare, 1914-1918: by Simon Jones (history/WWI)
V)
W)Watson's Afghan Adventure: by Kieran McMullen
X)
Y)
Z)

Didn't do to bad hear. Just that letter 'N' taunting me again. *2012 Picture Book Reading Challenge: Level One
1) Sir Jolly Jingle's Beastly Journey: by Wallace Tripp
2) The Elephant's Child: by Rudyard Kipling
Two out of twelve. I suppose I could have gone to the library and quickly read ten more picture books but that would have seemed cheap.
*Truth in Fiction Challenge: Master's Level (5 pairs of books)
Big fail on this one. Didn't coordinate my reading very well.
*2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
1) A Feast Unknown: by Philip José Farmer
2) The Burden of Guilt: by Daniel Allen Butler
3) The Divide: by William Overgard(Alternate History)
4) Tunnel Through Time: by Lester Del Rey
5) Gods of Manhattan: by Al Ewing. Part of the Pax Britannia series
6) Myth of the Great War: by John Mosier
7) Tarzan at the Earth's Core: by Edgar Rice Burroughs
8) The Red Baron: by Manfred von Richtofen
9) Red Orc's Rage: by Philip Jose Farmer
10) A Woman A Day: by Philip Jose Farmer
11) Jesus on Mars: by Philip Jose Farmer
12) Brave New World: by Aldous Huxley
I might have done a bit better on this one. Didn't get near the 41 I needed. Spent too much time reading new books.
*2012 War Through the Generations Reading Challenge: WWI - Swim level 11+ books
1) The Burden of Guilt: by Daniel Allen Butler
2) Myth of the Great War: by John Mosier
3) The Red Baron: by Manfred von Richtofen
4) The Bloody White Baron: by James Palmer (involves the War and Russian Revoultion
5) The Dardenelles Disaster: by Dan van der Vat (history/WWI)
6) Underground Warfare, 1914-1918: by Simon Jones (history/WWI)
Just needed five more to finish this one up. I know I hit one of the lower levels, but I aimed for the 11+ level (the highest). This is the most embarrassing one since I have so many books on world war I on my shelf and on my Kindle. It is also an area of history I specialize in. Drat.
*The 2012 TBR Pile Challenge
1 - A Feast Unknown by Philip Jose Farmer (COMPLETED - Review coming shortly)
2 - Tarzan at the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs (COMPLETED)
3 - Frankenstein Unbound by Brian Aldiss (to be completed)
4 - Hadon of Ancient Opar by Philip Jose Farmer (to be completed)
5 - The Divide by William Overgard (COMPLETED)
6 - Gods of Manhattan by Al Ewing (COMPLETED)
7 - The Red Baron by Manfred Von Richtofen (COMPLETED)
8 - Voices From the Great War by Peter Vansittart (to be completed)
9 - Myth of the Great War by John Mosier (COMPLETED)
10 - Tunnelling to Freedom by Hugh Durnford & others (to be completed)
11 - The Burden of Guilt by Daniel Allen Butler (COMPLETED)
12 - World War I The African Front by Edward Paice (to be completed)
Got distracted during the year. Note the unread books involving World War One that would have helped with the other challenge too.
*2012 Ebook Challenge: CD Level
1)Oh My Gods: by Philip Freeman (Mythology)
2)Watson's Afghan Adventure: by Kieran McMullen
2)The Other Teddy Roosevelts: by Mike Resnick
3)The Elephant's Child: by Rudyard Kipling
4)Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: by Lewis Carroll
5)Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm: by the Brothers Grimm
6)Presidential Pulp: various authors
7)Through the Looking-Glass: by Lewis Carroll
8)Gulliver of Mars: by Edwin Lester Arnold
9)
10)
Very close on this one too. I guess I shouldn't have spent so much time reading short stories on my Kindle.
*2012 Audio Book Challenge
1) Six Days of War: by Michael B. Oren, narrated by Robert Whitfield (History/Middle-East)
2) The Untold History of the Potato: by John Reader; narrated by Martin Hyder (History/general)
3) Into Africa: by Martin Dugard (History/Africa)
4) The Quantum Story: by Jim Baggott (Science)
5) Kull: Exile of Atlantis: by Robert E. Howard
6) Snuff: by Terry Pratchett (Fantasy)
7) Firestorm: by Taylor Anderson
8) Ready Player One: by Ernest Cline (Science Fiction
9) Children of the Sky: by Vernor Vinge (science fiction)
10) Iron Gray Sea: by Taylor Anderson
11) Coup d'Etat: by Harry Hurtledove (Alternate History)
12) Brave New World: by Aldous Huxley
13) The Long Earth: by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
14) Live of Black Hawk: by Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak
15) Animal Farm: George Orwell
16) Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World: by Jack Weahterford
17) Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II: by Keith Lowe (History/WWII)
18) The Black Count: by Tom Reiss (history)
19) The Dardenelles Disaster: by Dan van der Vat (history/WWI)
20) The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle: Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)
21) Red Shirts: A Novel with Three Codas: by John Scalzi
22)
23)
24)
25)
Came close on this one. If only I had re-joined my gym a couple months early.
*2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge: read 60 books in 2011 so must surpass this number for 2012.
I read 60 books again this year. I would grab a children's book that I could quickly finish to get up to 61 for this year - but that would be stupid. IN CONCLUSION Looks like I only succeeded in one of the challenges I entered last year. I would have bet on getting through half of them but something happened. What happened is that I didn't want my reading time dictated by random choices I made on New Year's Eve. New books came out that interested me and had be read. My interests shifted during the year. Most importantly I joined too many reading challenges. I'll have to enter only two or three for 2013. I should also get better at posting reviews of books I've read to potentially help others in deciding if it is something they should spend time on. I'll post something tomorrow on the new (and fewer) challenges I plan to participate in for 2013. Happy New Year to all. Sorry about the lapse in posts in the last few months. It has been a crazy end of 2012.

Third Sentence Thursday - Underground Warfare 1914-1918

1. Take the book you are currently reading and open it to a random page. Share the third full sentence on that page. (If there isn’t a third one – like at the end of a chapter or a blank page – you can share the third sentence of the book or just choose another random page.) Feel free to share more than one sentence, if you feel the need to do so.
2. Share your thoughts on the sentence (or sentences).
3. Post a link on Proud Book Nerd's Third Sentence for the week by clicking on the image above.
4. Visit one or two of the other blogs to check out their third sentence(s).

"He also asked that new units be recruited from the class of 1915, which need not be trained in the full range of field engineering, but only in sapping and mining." (from Underground Warfare 1914-1918 by Simon Jones (p.36)

Both sides were unprepared for the type of war that would develop. Little training had been given to sapping and mining in the years prior to the Great War, is was assumed that it would be a war of mobility. It quickly became apparent that the old skills would still be needed, and by the end of the war they would be greatly refined and many new developments in underground warfare would take place. French General Foch realized the need for sappers and made this request regarding the class of 1915.

Book Review - The Crying of Lot 49

Tax season is finally over. Time to get back to a more regular blogging schedule. Not only my blogging has been neglected in recent weeks, but my reading time as well. I have finished The Crying of Lot 49, by Thomas Pynchon. I've written up this short review, which was mildly difficult. It is a bizarre story and I wanted to be sure not to put any real spoilers in it. So here's what I came up with.

(image from Amazon.com) THE STORY
Oedipa Maas is made executor of an ex-boyfriend's estate. She uncovers the secret history of a mysterious group called W.A.S.T.E. and the Trystero family which operates an underground postal service for those who don't want to use the government postal monopoly.

During her journey Oedipa encounters a large number of eccentric and strangely named characters. She begins to piece together the secret history of the group and its attempts to overcome the postal monopoly of Thurn und Taxis in 16th & 17th century central Europe. Things begin to get more bizarre and then people start to die or change. Her psychiatrist goes insane, her husband's personality alters, and many people who might know something about Trystero die or stop talking with her.

Towards the end of the story Oedipa can't even be sure that this whole scenario isn't an elaborate prank by her dead ex-boyfriend. He had vast amounts of money and resources and might have set up the whole situation to torture her. As the estate assets begin to be disposed over a group of W.A.S.T.E. stamps are to be auctioned off as lot 49 and a bidder who Oedipa believes is a member of Trystero will be in attendance to make sure the stamps don't fall into the wrong hands. She will finally have a chance to confront one of the higher ups in the secret organization. She just has to wait for the crying of lot 49.

THE GOOD
While bizarre the story was very interesting. Interesting and obscure bits of real history tied together with fictional connections and events. A strange stage play described in detail which gives Oedipa some of her clues. I even got a number of the more obscure references; I'm going to have to read it again at some point to try to find the stuff I missed. Truly a product of the 1960s.

THE BAD
Nothing really bad about this book. It can be confusing at times but since the main character is confused it helps the reader identify with her more, if that makes any sense. The ending is similar to endings in some stories I've written for a writing group I belong to, it's a type of ending that might annoy some people.

QUOTE
There are a lot of good quotes that could be pulled out of this book. There is a scene later in the book where Oedipa thinks she is going crazy over this whole conspiracy. She visits here shrink, Dr. Hilarius.... just as he has gone insane himself. She tells him that she was hoping he would talk her out of her fantasy and he responds:
"Cherish it! What else do any of you have? Hold it tightly by its little tentacle, don't let the Freudians coax it away or the pharmacists poison it out of you. Whatever it is, hold it dear, for when you lose it you go over that much more to the others. You begin to cease to be." (page 103)

OVERALL
I loved this book.

PUBLISHER: Bantam Book
AUTHOR: Thomas Pynchon
GENRE: bizarre, mystery
PAGE COUNT: 138
ISBN: 553-05764-095
2012 CHALLENGES: 150+ Reading Challenge 2012, A-Z Challenge

COH Profile - Atomic Cow

Work has been busy the last couple weeks. Big deadlines on the 15th and 20th are now over. Time to start blogging again. Here is my newest character for City of Heroes; and also one who has advanced more rapidly than any other I've played. THE ATOMIC COW!

DESCRIPTION
Bessie is a gentically engineered cow from an factory farm. Humand DNA was combined with a cow's in hopes of making better milk. Bessie's intelligence was beyond anything that could have been imagined and she rose up against her captors. After escaping she managed to find her way to Paragon City and used her vast intellect to create her Atomic Hammer, a swarm of nanites that produce stone armor for her and allow her to teleport.

POWERS
Titan Weapons: Crushing Blow, Titan Sweep, Defensive Sweep, Follow Through, Rend Armor, Whirling Smash, Arc of Destruction

Stone Armor: Rock Armor, Stone Skin, Earth's Embrace, Brimstone Armor, Mud Pots, Rooted, Crystal Armor

Teleportation: Teleport, Recall Friend, Long Range Teleport

Speed: Hasten

Energy Mastery: Focused Accuracy

Set Bonus: Large Improved Regeneration Bonus x 3, Large Accuracy Bonus x 2, Large Increased Negative Energy Res Bonus x 2, Gift of the Ancients: Run Speed, Huge Increased Damage Bonus, Large Fear Resistance Bonus, Moderate Hold Resistance Bonus, Moderate Improved Recovery Bonus, Moderate Increased Endurance Bonus, Moderate Increased Fire Res Bonus, Moderate Increased Psionic Res Bonus, Moderate Stun Duration Bonus, Moderate Stun Resistance Bonus, Small Fire and Cold Resist Bonus, Small Improved Regeneration Bonus

OTHER DATA
Science - Brute
#Badges = 111
Alignment = Heroic
Current Level = 36


I've learned a few things playing with Titan Weapons. First is to up your difficulty as quickly as possible. There are some great area effect attacks, its nice to have a huge group around to take advantage. Before I reached 20th level I set my self at -1 level x8 players. Huge groups of enemies, a little weaker than normal so they don't overpower my defenses too quickly. That and going through inspirations like water help greatly. Also, being a Brute the large groups quickly drive my rage bar near maximum and greatly magnify my damage. Heck, even mud pots becomes effective at that point.

Like so many of my characters I have to also take advantage of the invention system and create plenty of Recovery Serum to make up for the large amount of energy I burn.

Third Sentence Thursday - The Red Baron

1. Take the book you are currently reading and open it to a random page. Share the third full sentence on that page. (If there isn’t a third one – like at the end of a chapter or a blank page – you can share the third sentence of the book or just choose another random page.) Feel free to share more than one sentence, if you feel the need to do so.
2. Share your thoughts on the sentence (or sentences).
3. Post a link on Proud Book Nerd's Third Sentence for the week by clicking on the image above.
4. Visit one or two of the other blogs to check out their third sentence(s).

"Therefore, it never occurred to me to become a pilot." (from The Red Baron by Manfred von Richtofen (p.63)

An interesting quote from the greatest fighter ace of the First World War. Of course in context it was early in the war, he was recently transferred from the cavalry to become an observer in a two-seater aircraft. At that point he felt that in the time it would take him to train to become a pilot the war would be over.

Review - Tarzan at Earth's Core

(image from Amazon.com)

THE STORY Tarzan gets hired by an American, Jason Gridley, for an expedition to find the legendary polar opening to the inner world of Pellucidar. Gridley had learned that David Innes, the Emperor of Pellucidar, has been captured by enemies in that world and is in need of rescue.

An incredible airship is constructed. Tarzan and Gridley lead an expedition of specialists to find the opening to the Earth's core and rescue Innes. The airship manages to find the opening and descends into the Earth.

In the core things are very different than on the outer crust. A central sun provides light across Pellucidar, but gives the illusion that it is constantly noon. There is no night in Pellucidar. Navigation is also difficult, even looking for mountains as landmarks can be tricky since the horizon curves up and this creates tricks that men from the outer world have trouble compensating for.

Then there are the animals that have been long extinct on the surface. Dinosaurs, sabertooth tigers, and other prehistoric beasts dominate much of this new land.

After the airship lands Tarzan becomes lost and expeditions are sent out to find him. Many of these also become lost and things begin to look hopeless. Gridley even comes across a primitive yet beautiful princess who he falls in love with but manages to accidentally offend because of their different cultures (a standard storyline in many of Burroughs' books).

In the end incredibly lucky (or contrived) circumstances bring all of the various storylines to a successful and happy conclusion.

THE GOOD Tarzan and dinosaurs. Doesn't get much better than that. Fairly standard Burroughs story so if you like his other works you should love this one. Quick and easy read. Early on it also shows that Tarzan is highly intelligent, including about scientific matters. This is often overlooked by people since they think that since he was raised by apes he has to be some sort of idiot. Tarzan taught himself how to read - only a true genius could manage such a feat.

THE BAD The contrived and predictable situations. I know that convenient events are sometimes needed, especially in adventure stories, but they can many times border on unbelievable and could possibly threaten to ruin an otherwise good story.

The ending also seemed a bit rushed.

OVERALL A solid offering in the Tarzan series. It also ties the Tarzan and Pelluciar series together. Recommended for those who want a quick and entertaining story.

PUBLISHER: Ballantine Books
AUTHOR: Edgar Rice Burroughs
GENRE: Science Fiction, pulp adventure
PAGE COUNT: 191
ISBN: 345-24483-4-125
2012 CHALLENGES: 150+ Reading Challenge 2012, 2012 Read 52 Books in 52 weeks, 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Year of the Dragon

Just got back form roller derby bouts at the Dome Arena. Guess I'll give a quick report. This was the first night of derby action of the extended travel season. The local B-sides took on the Worcester Roller Derby and the Roc Stars battled the Tri-City Thunder.

The B-Siders had the advantage in the first bout. The Worcester team had a long trip to get to Rochester and were also short on players. There were times that players would play in consecutive jams without a rest. While this fatigue would hurt them in the long run the B-Siders still pulled to an earlier lead with some outstanding playing. In the end the B-siders won 125-71.

The second bout got off to a bad start for the Roc Stars. Tri-City Thunder jammers were becoming lead jammer on a regular basis and got in a really large lead in the first few minutes. Penalties were quickly racked up by both teams, some players were spending so much time in the penalty box they should have been paying rent. By half-time Tri-City had outscored Rochester by about two to one.

In the second half the Roc Stars had a wonderful opportunity to close the gap in the score. A few jams later they were actually a few points ahead of Tri-City. Things were looking good and it was certainly exciting, and the penalty box was still pretty full. Unfortunately the Roc Stars jammers would end up in the penalty box too often giving Tri-City power jam opportunities that allowed them to re-establish a dominating lead which they held until the end of the bout. Final score, the Roc Stars lost to Tri-City 92-124. Still a great bout.

The musical interludes were performed by Roarshark. Normally I'm not too much into music, a bit hard of hearing. It's always hard to have conversations with friends during intermission with the music playing. While I had the same problem tonight, I actually did enjoy their music.

All in all it was a great time. Next bout is March 24, 2012 at the RIT Field House.

2012 Book Haul

Recently I sold about 48 DVDs via Amazon Trade-In. Ended up getting about $68 in credit for them. It may not seem like that good of a deal, selling DVDs I originally paid nearly $500 for at such a low price. But a number of the DVDs were old and most I hadn't watched in a couple years. Amazon will make money off them and I cleared out shelf space and was able to buy some books I've wanted for some time. A win-win situation.

I ended up clearing some of the books off my want list. Nine of them in all. A wide variety of topics from science fiction, graphic novels, and pulp fiction to anthropology, history, and political science. A very interesting haul, and possibly the only “book haul” I'll manage this year. Total postage for all of these was about $35.55; more than half of the amount I traded the DVDs in for.

Doctor Omega: by Arnould Galopin. A French sci-fi novel from 1905 translated to English. Unfortunately it has been “modernized” a bit in the process of translation. Possible inspiration for Doctor Who.

The Ayn Rand Lexicon: edited by Harry Binswanger. Looks like this will be a great reference guide to learning more about Rand's philosophy. I'm not really an Objectivist but want to learn more about them.

Adventure volume one: edited by Chris Roberson. Well over a dozen new pulp-style stories by about seventeen different authors. This promises to be very good, and was much larger than I anticipated. Overall I'm usually very happy with Monkeybrain Books.

The Political Philosophy of Bakunin: by G.P. Maximoff. I know a little about Bakunin. I want to read some of his writings to see if my picture of him is correct. Even if my initial perceptions of him are wrong I'm sure he's still a better man than Marx.

Road Belong Cargo: by Peter Lawrence. An anthropological study of the Cargo Cults of New Guinea. Has a bit of underlining and highlighting. Looks like it may be an ex-college book. Looking forward to reading it; I've always wanted to learn more about the Cargo Cults.

The Seychelles Affair: by Mike Hoare. The story of Hoare's failed attempt to liberate the Seychelles after being hired by its government in exile. I've read some magazine articles on the subject, it'll be nice to read the memoirs of the man in charge of that operation.

The Kingdom: Graphic novel by DC Comics. A sequel to the awesome Kingdom Come series. While not nearly as good as the original I do remember the stories begin entertaining.

Gold & Iron: by Fritz Stern. A study of the relationship between Bismarck and Gerson von Bleichroder and how it influenced the rise of the German nation. Hopefully there will be some useful insights in this book. Some very light pencil underlining and a little stained but good binding.

Pearls from Peoria: by Philip José Farmer. A large collection of short stories by Farmer. This book is huge; about 770 pages or so. It is an ex-library book but in pretty good shape considering that.

The biggest problem I have now is to decide which of these to read first. And since they are new acquisitions for me they won't count for my TBR Pile reading challenges for this year. Well, there are far worse problems to have.

Third Sentence Thursday - Tarzan at Earth's Core

1. Take the book you are currently reading, and share the third sentence in the first chapter (NOT the preface, preamble, introduction, etc. – Chapter 1). Feel free to share more (maybe the first three, the second through fourth, or the third plus the two following) if you’d prefer.
2. Share your thoughts on the sentence (or sentences).
3. Post a link on Proud Book Nerd's Third Sentence for the week by clicking on the image above.
4. Visit one or two of the other blogs to check out their third sentence(s).

"You could have smelled nothing but the mustiness of decaying vegetation, which blended with the aroma of growing things." (from Tarzan at Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs)

Sounds like Tarzan is at home in the jungle. It turns out he is in Africa about to be approached by an American who offers him a chance to take a journey to Earth's core.

In this book Burroughs crosses over his popular Tarzan series with his Pellucidar stories. Should be quite an adventure.

Review - Gods of Manhattan

I'm already slipping behind in my reading challenges. While I know I'm not going to reach the 150+ goal I hope to make a much better showing than the 60 I read last year.

After doing some heavier reading I decided to read some fiction. Back during a Borders clearance sale a book caught my eye. It had a really cool cover and I figured, "what the heck, 80% off is worth it for the cover." So I picked it up. It was Al Ewing's Gods of Manhattan, part of the Pax Britannia series.

(image from Amazon.com)

The book is set in an alternate universe where it appears technology is more based of steam-tech than regular science. There were going to be potentially cool characters like Doc Thunder, the Blood Spider, and El Sombra. Pulp adventures in a world that won't limit it to our history. Lots of potential.

Overall the book is well written and does have some interesting characters. The story had many references to events that the characters were involved in years earlier and all the back story felt real in that 'comic booky' sort of way. It feels like a 'lived-in' world which helps enhance the realism of the setting.

Basically a man is murdered, a man who was long thought to be dead and who wasn't a very nice person to begin with. That death leads to a chain of events that will grow to threaten all of Manhattan, the United Socialist States of America, and possibly the entire world! Nice flow of action as the events progress and escalate.

While there are multiple main characters Doc Thunder got the most 'screen time.' Despite that I got the feeling that El Sombra was THE main character of the story. There was a rather interesting supporting character who is Doc Thunder's chef; a man who made a very interesting deal with the Devil. Too bad that wasn't developed a bit more... but then again that would have distracted form the main storyline.

There was a hints of modern day politics being thrown in. There were a couple times I got pulled out of the story because I felt like I read something from the comments section of a news article. None of it ruined the story, it was just a little distracting.

Some of the main characters are in desperate need of development. For the Blood Spider there is no development, he is a one-dimensional character whose only motive seems to be murdering minorities. The Batman/Shadow-type character is actually a fascist? I've seen that on numerous occasions; nothing new there. In fact it was done much better in From the Notebooks of Doctor Brain by Minster Faust.

That being said there is one highly used character that will never get old. Although he did not make an appearance he was mentioned.... Hitler's brain in a jar! Well something like that was mentioned anyway.

THE GOOD
Overall the story is interesting. Not too many surprises, but there are plenty of nice pulp & comic book schticks to be entertaining. There was a bit of a mystery, some good action, and plenty of great concepts. The writing was well done for the most part.

Nice looking cover too....

THE BAD
Some of the main characters are weak. Blood-Spider is very one-dimensional, Doc Thunder is a bit better but I would have preferred if he was a bit more on the level of Doc Savage instead of an early Golden Age Superman. El Sombra was almost as fanatical as Blood-Spider but had a little more to him. I'm sure he got great development and back story in his own book, El Sombra, which predated this one.

OVERALL
Overall I would recommend this book to any one who likes pulpy action or who wants to explore a world that is filled with great potential. I'll be returning to Pax Britannia at some point. The cover of Dark Side of the Moon looks cool.... of course you can't always judge a book by its cover.

PUBLISHER: copyright 2010 by Rebellion.
AUTHOR: Al Ewing
GENRE: Science Fiction, pulp adventure, some steampunk elements
PAGE COUNT: 238
ISBN: 978-1-906735-86-9
2012 CHALLENGES: 150+ Reading Challenge 2012, 2012 Read 52 Books in 52 weeks, 2012 A-Z Book Challenge, 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge, Steampunked reading challenge