January 31, 2014

“Civilian Warriors” by Erik Prince – Trained Thugs or National Heroes?

Civilian Warriors by Erik Prince (Book cover)
There are very few out there who haven’t heard of the private military company called Blackwater. It was founded by former U.S. Navy Seal Erik Prince, and its main purpose was to take on high-risk and intense security jobs around the world, with its members consisting of special force veterans… none but the elite may enter.

As is usual with such organizations, the contracts they undertook bound Blackwater’s members to secrecy, meaning that for many years we could only guess and approximate our knowledge about them.

January 30, 2014

“MaddAddam” by Margaret Atwood – The Conclusion with no End

MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood (Book cover)
Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood were very interesting starts and middles to the MaddAddam trilogy (as it was dubbed by the fans), and the final chapter in this body of work by Margaret Atwood is rather appropriately titled MaddAddam.

It takes off right where the last chapter ended, with the two villains being tied to trees and Toby and Ren having rescued Amanda from the Painballers.

January 28, 2014

“An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth” by Chris Hadfield – Thinking Like an Astronaut

An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield (Book Cover)
For those who aren’t familiar with him, Chris Hadfield is probably the most famous Canadian astronaut out there, having logged more than 4000 hours in outer space and being the first man of his nationality to set foot abroad Earth’s gravity.

Those of us down here on the ground, staring like Lilliputs at those men who undertake perilous voyages into uncharted territories, often wonder how such trips affect a person, and what kind of mindset one actually needs to do what astronauts do.

January 27, 2014

“Andrew’s Brain” by E.L. Doctorow – The Infinity Within

Andrew’s Brain by E.L. Doctorow (Book Cover)
Virtually every story we have available to us is pushed forward through external influences on the character. In other words, characters make events happen, or in some cases they happen by themselves, and subsequently deal with the consequences which advance the story.

There are very few authors out there who have tried to write an entire novel in the form of a monologue and succeeded, and I believe that E.L. Doctorow is one of them, having penned Andrew’s Brain.

January 26, 2014

“The Year of the Flood” by Margaret Atwood – A New Perspective

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood (Book Cover)
Though The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood is the second book to be released in her trilogy, with the first one being Oryx and Crake, it isn’t exactly a sequel nor a prequel. Rather, it is a novel which covers the same time span as the first one, but this time focusing on different characters and storylines.

In other words, one can easily read this novel before the first one without being confused or anything of the sort; minor characters in the first novel become major ones here, and vice-versa.

January 25, 2014

“One Summer” by Bill Bryson – Taking a Giant Step Forward

One Summer by Bill Bryson (book cover)
When we look back on the events which took place over the course of the last century it feels as if there are only a few major events that really stood out.

However, the closer we start to look at the happenings of each year, the more it becomes apparent that so many different things happened that it is simply impossible to remember them all.

January 21, 2014

“The Man in the High Castle” by Philip K. Dick – Alternative Nightmares

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (Book cover)
Though we know beyond all doubt that the Allies were victorious during the Second World War, I believe there are only a few of us who can honestly admit to never having imagined what it would be like had the Axis won. Well, Philip K. Dick surely asked himself the same question, or at least that’s his novel, The Man in the High Castle, leads me to believe.

As you can guess, the book takes place in a reality alternate from ours, one where Nazi Germany and Japan have won World War II and have come to occupy the United States.

January 20, 2014

This Changes Everything, Volume I, The Spanners Series, by Sally Ember, Ed.D. – The End of Humankind’s Loneliness

This Changes Everything by Sally Ember, Ed.D (Book cover)
Most of the novels which we come to read and review are found through critics, other reviewing websites, online stores and their customer reviews…etc…etc… Recently though, for the first time ever, an author has requested that we write a review for her book. That author is Sally Ember, and the work in question is This Changes Everything.

Before getting on with the actual thing, I need to make this absolutely clear; this review was written with total and complete honesty, no punches pulled or special treatments given.

January 19, 2014

“My Promised Land” by Ari Shavit – Understanding Israel

My Promised Land by Ari Shavit (Book cover)
In the short time during which the country of Israel has existed on this planet it has made the headlines all over the world a surprising amount of times, with there always being some type of tension or crisis to discuss.

Though it certainly isn’t very long, Israel’s history happens to be very complex, and in order to be completely understood every detail needs to be examined.

“Oryx and Crake” by Margaret Atwood – Answers from the Apocalypse

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (Book cover)
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood is the first part of a three-book trilogy, taking place in a world that has been defiled and destroyed by an unimaginably powerful plague.

Though much is unknown about the whole incident, one thing is certain: once corporations took over genetic engineering, nothing was the same anymore, and humanity took a turn on doom road.

January 17, 2014

“Longbourn” by Jo Baker – Looking at the Other Side of the Fence

Longbourn by Jo Baker (Book Cover)
There are many out there who like to refer to Jo Baker’s Longbourn as being something of a reply to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and I wouldn’t say that the statement is completely wrong.

The story takes place in the same British society, and we follow the events which take place in a large household: the Bennets.

The difference here, however, is that the focus is turned away from the high-class people in favor of the often-forgettable and yet mysterious servants which populate the house.

January 16, 2014

“Command Authority” by Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney – The Essence of Power

Command Authority by Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney (Book cover)
Sadly, not too long ago worldwide-beloved author Tom Clancy left a giant void in both our world and that of literature, but it seems he did not depart before giving us one last tour de force in Command Authority, a Jack Ryan novel co-authored by the renowned Mark Greaney.

Now, before moving on to the book, some things should be made clear; Greaney truly did the bulk of the work on this one (as have most co-authors with Tom Clancy), and the writing is pretty much all of his.

January 13, 2014

“The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman – A Melting Pot of Worlds

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Book cover)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman tells a rather unusual story surrounding a boy named Nobody Owens(also known as Bod).

As you can guess, Nobody is his adopted name; as a young toddler, he was spared the fate the rest of his family suffered at the hands of an indomitable assassin, and somehow found himself living in a graveyard, protected by an assortment of spirits and ghosts from different periods in time.

January 12, 2014

“Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang” by Chelsea Handler – Life Through Laughter

Most of you know Chelsea Handler for her work as a comedian, but she is quite an active writer with Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang being the third of her six books.As in her previous ones, there is no real sense of direction, nor is there an ultimate goal here; what we get is Handler describing her thoughts and feelings on various events and situations encountered during the course of her lifetime.

January 9, 2014

“Vanished” by Wil S. Hylton – A Mystery for the Ages

Vanished by Wil S. Hylton (Book Cover)
We will never know of all the events which transpired during the Second World War… there were simply too many of them, and too few witnesses left to tell us about them.

Nevertheless, we already have our hands full trying to solve the mysteries from that time that we know actually know about, and perhaps one of the more intriguing ones is the crash of the American bomber in the Palau islands.

January 8, 2014

“The Tell” by Matthew Hertenstein – The Untapped Power of Instinct

The Tell by Matthew Hertenstein (Book cover)
Even though people tend to remind each other to trust their gut/instincts and just make the choice that first springs to mind, decisions are seldom truly undertaken in this manner.

Most of us simply dismiss our predictions due to a lack of concrete evidence, preferring to analyze things logically and making a decision based on the known information.

January 6, 2014

“The Napoleon of Crime” by Ben Macintyre – The Original Victorian Gangster

The Napoleon of Crime by Ben Macintyre (Book cover)
Though we tend to frown upon crime in society, there is no doubt that we nevertheless glamorize many aspects of the criminal world, with some people even developing an ever-growing fascination with them.

Just to support the point, in recent years we have seen countless books and movies where the protagonists are criminals in one capacity or another, from small-time crooks and thieves all the way to megalomaniacal assassins and cold-blooded avatars of destruction.

January 4, 2014

“A Life of Barbara Stanwyck” by Victoria Wilson – Immortalizing a Legend

A Life of Barbara Stanwyck by Victoria Wilson (Book cover)
It feels like it has been around forever, but in the grand scheme of things, the industry of audiovisual entertainment (movies) is still in its infancy, having only existed for a bit more than a hundred years at this point.

Nevertheless, we have already seen a fair share of people gain respect and popularity like none else before them, and one of the most notable silver screen stars to have ever existed is arguably named Barbara Stanwyck.