Archive for June, 2012

Review: An Unquenchable Thirst – Mary Johnson

Thursday, June 21st, 2012
Hardcover: 560 pages
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau (September 13, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385527470
ISBN-13: 978-0385527477
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Synopsis:

Mary Johnson documents her 20 years of service with Mother Theresa as Sister Donata in the Mission of Charity.

Review

This book gives the reader a very intimate look at life within the walls of the Mission of Charity. We get to see through the eyes of Mary Johnson and later as Sister Donata the life of a Nun and what it entails, at least in this instance of being a bride of Christ.

Sometimes her life was rewarding as when she was serving the poor, other times I found it quite disturbing. The order was allowed no connections to people, no friendships, no touching, no outside interests, no discussing your previous life.

There was also the requirement of self flagellation (beating oneself) that I found quite disturbing. While I understood why they felt it was necessary, it’s still hard to grasp the concept of why a human being would want to be a part of a group that required that.

Some of the more conservative readers may find it disturbing when Sister Donata is awakening to her sexuality, particularly when this awakening occurs mostly with other sisters in the order.

It’s a book I definitely recommend, it’s an interesting memoir, and a look at a subject we don’t get to see much.

About the Author

As a teenager, Mary Johnson thought she was on her way to a career as a thinker and communicator, when she spotted Mother Teresa’s eyes on the cover of Time Magazine. After reading her story, Mary felt God calling her. For twenty years, as Sister Donata, Mary Johnson was a Missionary of Charity, a nun in Mother Teresa’s order, until she left in 1997. Mother Teresa professed that she had “promised to give Saints to Mother Church”, but a life pursuing humility, poverty, love and obedience wasn’t easy. Mary Johnson’s book, “An Unquenchable Thirst”, is the memoir of her life as a Missionary of Charity, and a story of her search for love, service, and an authentic life. Today Mary is a respected teacher and public speaker. She has been named a Fellow of the MacDowell Colony and is on the board of the A Room of Her Own Foundation. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband. For more information, please visit: www.maryjohnson.co

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to LeYane at FSB Associates for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review. You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

Review: Service – Marcus Luttrell

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012
Hardcover: 352 pages
Little, Brown and Company; First Edition/First Printing edition (May 8, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316185361
ISBN-13: 978-0316185363
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Synopsis:

A look inside a Seal’s life in the city of Ramaldi during the Iraq War.

Review

In Service, Marcus Luttrell documented how he’d been the lone survivor in a battle during the Iraq War. In Service, we find Mr. Luttrell recovering from his wounds and going back into the war. That is the major theme of this book, what it is that drives men to serve and lay down their lives for their country.

I found the book to be quite interesting in getting a very in depth look at seal teams. I found myself riveted to it as if it were an action novel at some points. I also found myself moved emotionally at other points.

While the book was very well written, and you can tell Mr. Luttrell is a true patriotic American, there was one thing that disturbed me about the book. Mr. Luttrell kept seeming to emphasize God as if it were God’s will that we be in war. I think a faith in a higher power is one thing, but quite another when you are dealing with a situation of war, particularly when that war is against another religious group.

Overall however, I found the book to be a very enjoyable memoir. I’m sure the more conservative readers would love it, those who lean a little left would probably enjoy some of it. It’s something definitely geared towards the older teen and adult readers due to language and subject matter.

If you have an interest in our troops and what they deal with pick up service. I think you might like it.

About the Author

Marcus Luttrell became a combat-trained Navy SEAL in 2002 and served in many dangerous Special Operations assignments around the world.

He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Lone Survivor, and is a popular corporate and organizational speaker.

He lives near Huntsville, Texas.

James D. Hornfischer is the author of Ship of Ghosts and The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, which won the Samuel Eliot Morison Award and was a Main Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. Hornfischer’s third book, Neptune’s Inferno, will be published by Bantam in January 2011. He lives in Austin, Texas.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Anna at Hachette Book Groups for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review. You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

Review: The Blood of Heroes – James Donovan

Thursday, June 14th, 2012
Hardcover: 512 pages
Little, Brown and Company; First Edition edition (May 15, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316053740
ISBN-13: 978-0316053747
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Synopsis:

A small band of rebels stand off against the larger forces of the Mexican Army for 13 days in 1836.

Review

This was an incredible book on one of the most well known events in American History. The author begins by devoting each chapter on one of the major participants: Jim Bowie, Sam Houston, William Travis, David Crockett. We get a brief view of their early history, and their journey towards The Alamo.

The reader also gets to see The Alamo from the opposite side through the various Mexican forces that participated. The reader not only gets to see the 13 days of fighting that took place, but all the events both militarily and politically that went on prior to the siege.

If there was one drawback, it’s that the book is labeled as the 13 day struggle, but very little of the actual content in comparison is about the 13 days. If you are just expecting to read about only that battle, it might disappoint you. However, if you want to learn about everything leading up to it, and afterwards, then you would really enjoy this book.

I liked how the author covered this subject so much with a list of books, photographs, a list of participants, etc. that I intend to pick up another book of his called “A Terrible Glory” that is on the Battle of Little Big Horn.

If you’re a fan of history, a Texan, or just a fan of history, then you should pick this up. I’d say it’s geared towards older readers though because it does depict people being killed.

About the Author

 James Donovan is the author of the classic illustrated account of Custer’s Last Stand, Custer and the Little Bighorn.

He lives in Dallas.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Anna at Hachette Book Group for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review. You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

Review: Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse – Troy Denning

Tuesday, June 12th, 2012
 
Hardcover: 496 pages
LucasBooks; 1St Edition edition (March 13, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345509226
ISBN-13: 978-0345509222
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Characters:

Abeloth
Allana Solo – 9 year old granddaughter of Han and Leia.
Ben Skywalker – Human Jedi Knight
Luke Skywalker – Jedi Grand Master.
Vestara Khai – Human Female Sith Apprentice.

Review

This is the final entry in the 9 book arc Fate of the Jedi. It made the whole journey worth it. The book starts out with the Sith in charge. The Jedi are invading Coruscant in the hopes of taking it back. In a montage of scenes reminiscent of The Godfather or other movies we see various Sith meet their ends.

Almost all of the loose ends are tied up by the end of this story. We see what the future holds for Ben and Vestara. We see what all the visions we meant. And we see the groundwork laid for the Legacy Era.

While I really enjoyed the book, there were some issues. One was in Allana. A nine year old girl realistically wouldn’t be doing much of anything she was doing. The Kiliks were reintroduced into the story, but never seemed to play a major part.

On the plus side, the reader got to see combat with 3 different Abeloths which was a bit confusing at first. We also get to see some Boba Fett action.

All told, I enjoyed the book and enjoyed the story ARC. While it wasn’t all perfect, it did advance the storyline into the future of the galaxy all Star Wars fans know and love.

If you’ve read the rest of the series, then by all means pick this up, you’ll definitely want to see how it ends. If you haven’t and want to see how things tie into Cade Skywalker’s world, then go back to the first of the arc and start reading.

About the Author

Troy Denning is the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Tatooine Ghost and Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Star by Star, as well as Waterdeep, Pages of Pain, Beyond the High Road, The Summoning, and many other novels.

His most recent Star Wars novel is Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Vortex. A former game designer and editor, he lives in western Wisconsin with his wife, Andria.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Katherine at Random House Audio for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review. You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

Review: Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Ascension – Christie Golden

Thursday, June 7th, 2012
Hardcover: 432 pages
LucasBooks; 1st Edition, 1st Printing edition (August 9, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 345509161
ISBN-13: 978-0345509161
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Characters:

Abeloth
Allana Solo – 9 year old granddaughter of Han and Leia.
Ben Skywalker – Human Jedi Knight
Luke Skywalker – Jedi Grand Master.
Vestara Khai – Human Female Sith Apprentice.

Synopsis:

The Sith are continuing to infiltrate Coruscant. Luke, Ben, and Vestara are off with a team of Jedi to determine where the Sith have vanished to. Daala and Jagged Fel are in a struggle for control of the Empire.

Review

This is the next to the last entry in the Fate of the Jedi series. Much of it is political, but there are still a lot of Sith/Jedi action in it to please those fans. However, it doesn’t seem like things move forward to much in this entry. Well, outside of a complete takeover of Coruscant, which sets things up for the final book.

I enjoyed the story as part of the whole story ARC. As a stand alone novel it doesn’t work well. I am able to see though where they’ve been heading with the whole ARC and after reading this I was really looking forward to the final entry which I’ll review next Tuesday.

If you’re a huge Star Wars fan and have followed this series, particularly if you’re a fan of the Legacy Era, then you’ll want to read this. If you are in the other camp, and consider only the Thrawn Trilogy to be a worthwhile addition, then you might want to skip it.

Age limits on this would be older youth/adults. There is some scenes of violence, but nothing you haven’t witnessed already in a Star Wars movie or novel.

About the Author

Award-winning author Christie Golden has written over thirty novels and several short stories in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Golden launched the TSR Ravenloft line in 1991 with her first novel, the highly successful Vampire of the Mists. She is the author of several original fantasy novels, including On Fire’s Wings, In Stone’s Clasp, and Under Sea’s Shadow, the first three in her multi-book fantasy series The Final Dance from LUNA Books.Among Golden’s other projects are over a dozen Star Trek novels and the well-received StarCraft Dark Templar trilogy, Firstborn, Shadow Hunters, and the forthcoming Twilight. An avid player of Blizzard’s MMORPG World of Warcraft, Golden has written several novels in that world (Lord of the Clans, Rise of the Horde) with three more in the works. She has also written two Warcraft manga stories for Tokyopop, I Got What Yule Need and A Warrior Made. Golden lives in Colorado with her husband and two cats.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Katherine at Random House Audio for a review copy of this audio book. It in no way influenced my review. You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

Review: Fate of the Jedi: Conviction – Aaron Allston

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: LucasBooks (May 24, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345509102
ISBN-13: 978-0345509109
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Characters:

Luke Skywalker – Jedi Master
Ben Skywalker – Jedi Knight
Vestara Khai – Sith Apprentice
Natasi Daala – Chief of State
Leia Organa Solo – Jedi Knight
Han Solo – Human Pilot
Allana Solo – Human Female Child

Synopsis:

Valin and Jysella Horn have been cured. The Jedi and Sith battle over Pydyr is over. Luke, Ben, and Vestara have tracked Abeloth to the planet Nam Chorios, which we last saw in Planet of Twilight. They must stop Abeloth from taking over the planet using the Listeners and Tsils. They must also protect themselves from a Sith death squad coming to Nam Chorios to finish them off.

Natasi Daala has been overthrown, but behind the scenes maneuvering has put some players in place that may not have the galaxies best interests at heart.

Review

It was interesting to once again visit a planet we haven’t since for 15 years, that of Nom Chorios. There’s a lot of exciting action scenes in this book, and a good deal of political plotting as well.

As the seventh entry, I didn’t find this one as interesting as some of the others. It seemed to mostly be setting up events for the third act and the next novel.

While not the best in the series, it’s still essential to the flow and to events that will happen later on. I’d say it’s satisfactory for almost all ages. There is the usual Star Wars violence, and some minor language, so maybe older teens and adults.

If you’ve read the rest of the series, I’d recommend this to keep yourself in the loop. However, it doesn’t work as a standalone, so if you just pick it up, it likely will not make sense to you. I’d say it’s one for the most die hard star wars expanded universe fans.

About the Author

Aaron Allston is the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi books Outcast and Backlash; the Star Wars: Legacy of the Force novels Betrayal, Exile, and Fury; the Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Enemy Lines adventures Rebel Dream and Rebel Stand; novels in the popular Star Wars X-Wing series; and the Doc Sidhe novels, which combine 1930s-style hero-pulps with Celtic myth. He is also a longtime game designer and in 2006 was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design (AAGAD) Hall of Fame. He lives in Central Texas.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Kathryn at Random House Audio for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review. You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.