Viekko Spade Reviews Jeremy's Top 20 Books of 2019: Part 2
Well, here we go again.
For those of you just joinin, Jeremy went and asked me to do a review of his top 20 books of the year. Probably because actually doin' this himself cuts into his drinkin' time. But, again, I don't judge.
Editors note: You seem to judge a little.
Anyway, I did the first five last week. We're up to 15 through 11. Here we go.
#15 Clipses Awaken:
I gotta admit. I was kinda excited to see one of them comic books in the pile. We didn’t have much in the way of these growin up where we did. But I heard about 'em. Even read a few when I got to Earth. This one is okay.
I don’t know. Comic books, to me, are supposed to be all flashy and exitin' with explosions and people flyin' and maybe someone's liver getting punched right out their backside. This book, it’s got some of that, but it’s mostly… well, there’s a lot of readin’. Like a lot. Don’t get me wrong, I ain’t opposed to readin’, but there is a limit. Especially when I was expecting that whole liver-out-the-backside-thing.
Strange concept too. It’s about a team of superheroes in the future who get their powers from eclipses. Like when the moon passes in front of the sun. Now one has to wonder if they get powers during any eclipse anywhere or if it’s just eclipses on Earth. And, if it's just Earth, why are they so special? And why are there Clipses scattered all over the galaxy? And what's so special about a thing movin' in front of another thing?
Maybe I’m askin too many questions. The book wasn't bad. Thought it needed a simpler concept. And more action. Less explainin' stuff and more non-surgical liver-ectomies
Jeremy's Review of Clipses Awaken
#14 Infinite:
This book made my head hurt.
So what happens is a guy wakes up on a spaceship that was supposed to land on this distant planet so that humanity could make a new home. Because we kinda messed up the old one. But that gets screwed up when he wakes up to find his friend has killed the entire crew. And also his friend stabs this guy in the heart with a screwdriver.
But it turns out this guy got made immortal. Some thing this crazed AI computer did to him. So he survives and finds himself alone on a ship going nearly the speed of light. Also he's immortal, so he's got some time to kill. So he does what any right-thinking person would do. He straps himself into a simulation and goes flippin’ crazy.
There are lots of questions in this book about life and space and the nature of reality and what it means to be human. Also, giant killer frogs and evil little munchkin people. The whole thing is weird and didn’t make a bit of sense to me.
Jerermy's Review of Infinite
#13 Trust a Few:
Now this one was more my speed.
This book is kind of a sci-fi noir. You got a cast of characters who find themselves at the business end of a gun barrel, and the other end is held by the Syndicate. This book weaves all these characters all together, and each one has got to get over their noki baas and figure a way to trust one another. ‘Course, those who trust in this book tend to die quick, so it’s a bit of a double-edged sword, so to speak.
I liked Jazz. He is this brazen, outspoken, dangerous novsh who basically has the same view of the world as the proverbial bull in the dish shop. Also, someone poked the bull in his iljig. Another character, Avalon, also made me wonder. Both he and Jazz were prisoner warriors who somehow got discharged from a platoon that's basically a death sentence. But Avalon don’t remember what he did. It begs some questions about who we are and are the same bad person if we got no memories of bein’ that bad person.
I definitely got lost in this book. Again, feel like it should be higher on the list. Little worried about what kinda books are actually comin’.
Jeremy's Review of Trust A Few and just you wait, Viekko.
#12 Virtual Light:
This is a good book if you can get over the fact that the story don’t seem to go nowhere.
So you got Chavette, this firecracker of a woman, she goes and steals these glasses from some drunk novsh at a party and, suddenly, the whole world wants to kill her. So the shadowy powers that be send Rydell, a cop that can't catch a break, along with some really creepy evil-doers. Rydell and Chevette end up running off together dodging religious weirdos and underworld types and fantastically rich, greedy noki baas characters. Not exactly sure what for, the glasses don’t seem to do much. Good story, though.
Jeremy's Review of Virtual Light
#11 Clash of Kings:
These books were apparently a big thing in the past. I actually think one of my dad’s books mentioned it. They sounded good.
This is actually the second book. And I have to say… and it pains me to say this, Jeremy was right. I mean, it’s a good book but not as good as the first. I think the reason is this. Yasee, the first book, is kinda straightforward. You got the Starks. They are strong, honorable, loyal, all the things that make up good people. Then you gots the Lannisters. They’re the opposite of that. But we will talk about A Game of Thrones later.
This book is muddier. It’s that real politic thing. Like good and evil, right and wrong don’t rightly matter no more. You can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys because it seems that the bad people get to dictate what’s goin’ on, and the good guys either shut up and do what they're told or they end up with their head on a stick. Or the good guys gotta act bad because aint no winnin otherwise. It makes the sayin’ ‘Kill ‘em all and let the Gods of the Copper Skies sort them out’ make sense.
It’s a long book, and you know there ain’t gonna be a happy endin’. Or any endin’. This is just the beginin’. Makes it a hard thing to sit down and read. It’s like goin' on the Lizard's Peak tour of duty on Mars. It’s a thousand-mile march and, at the end, there ain’t nothing but a bunch of half-crazed killers lookin' for a fight. Kinda makes you wonder why you bother.
Jeremy's Review of Clash of Kings and I'm always right, Viekko. Make peace with this.
Well, that's it. We get into the top ten next week, so make sure to swing by. Got it on good authority that things are about to get weird.
For those of you just joinin, Jeremy went and asked me to do a review of his top 20 books of the year. Probably because actually doin' this himself cuts into his drinkin' time. But, again, I don't judge.
Editors note: You seem to judge a little.
Anyway, I did the first five last week. We're up to 15 through 11. Here we go.
I gotta admit. I was kinda excited to see one of them comic books in the pile. We didn’t have much in the way of these growin up where we did. But I heard about 'em. Even read a few when I got to Earth. This one is okay.
I don’t know. Comic books, to me, are supposed to be all flashy and exitin' with explosions and people flyin' and maybe someone's liver getting punched right out their backside. This book, it’s got some of that, but it’s mostly… well, there’s a lot of readin’. Like a lot. Don’t get me wrong, I ain’t opposed to readin’, but there is a limit. Especially when I was expecting that whole liver-out-the-backside-thing.
Strange concept too. It’s about a team of superheroes in the future who get their powers from eclipses. Like when the moon passes in front of the sun. Now one has to wonder if they get powers during any eclipse anywhere or if it’s just eclipses on Earth. And, if it's just Earth, why are they so special? And why are there Clipses scattered all over the galaxy? And what's so special about a thing movin' in front of another thing?
Maybe I’m askin too many questions. The book wasn't bad. Thought it needed a simpler concept. And more action. Less explainin' stuff and more non-surgical liver-ectomies
Jeremy's Review of Clipses Awaken
This book made my head hurt.
So what happens is a guy wakes up on a spaceship that was supposed to land on this distant planet so that humanity could make a new home. Because we kinda messed up the old one. But that gets screwed up when he wakes up to find his friend has killed the entire crew. And also his friend stabs this guy in the heart with a screwdriver.
But it turns out this guy got made immortal. Some thing this crazed AI computer did to him. So he survives and finds himself alone on a ship going nearly the speed of light. Also he's immortal, so he's got some time to kill. So he does what any right-thinking person would do. He straps himself into a simulation and goes flippin’ crazy.
There are lots of questions in this book about life and space and the nature of reality and what it means to be human. Also, giant killer frogs and evil little munchkin people. The whole thing is weird and didn’t make a bit of sense to me.
Jerermy's Review of Infinite
Now this one was more my speed.
This book is kind of a sci-fi noir. You got a cast of characters who find themselves at the business end of a gun barrel, and the other end is held by the Syndicate. This book weaves all these characters all together, and each one has got to get over their noki baas and figure a way to trust one another. ‘Course, those who trust in this book tend to die quick, so it’s a bit of a double-edged sword, so to speak.
I liked Jazz. He is this brazen, outspoken, dangerous novsh who basically has the same view of the world as the proverbial bull in the dish shop. Also, someone poked the bull in his iljig. Another character, Avalon, also made me wonder. Both he and Jazz were prisoner warriors who somehow got discharged from a platoon that's basically a death sentence. But Avalon don’t remember what he did. It begs some questions about who we are and are the same bad person if we got no memories of bein’ that bad person.
I definitely got lost in this book. Again, feel like it should be higher on the list. Little worried about what kinda books are actually comin’.
Jeremy's Review of Trust A Few and just you wait, Viekko.
This is a good book if you can get over the fact that the story don’t seem to go nowhere.
So you got Chavette, this firecracker of a woman, she goes and steals these glasses from some drunk novsh at a party and, suddenly, the whole world wants to kill her. So the shadowy powers that be send Rydell, a cop that can't catch a break, along with some really creepy evil-doers. Rydell and Chevette end up running off together dodging religious weirdos and underworld types and fantastically rich, greedy noki baas characters. Not exactly sure what for, the glasses don’t seem to do much. Good story, though.
Jeremy's Review of Virtual Light
These books were apparently a big thing in the past. I actually think one of my dad’s books mentioned it. They sounded good.
This is actually the second book. And I have to say… and it pains me to say this, Jeremy was right. I mean, it’s a good book but not as good as the first. I think the reason is this. Yasee, the first book, is kinda straightforward. You got the Starks. They are strong, honorable, loyal, all the things that make up good people. Then you gots the Lannisters. They’re the opposite of that. But we will talk about A Game of Thrones later.
This book is muddier. It’s that real politic thing. Like good and evil, right and wrong don’t rightly matter no more. You can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys because it seems that the bad people get to dictate what’s goin’ on, and the good guys either shut up and do what they're told or they end up with their head on a stick. Or the good guys gotta act bad because aint no winnin otherwise. It makes the sayin’ ‘Kill ‘em all and let the Gods of the Copper Skies sort them out’ make sense.
It’s a long book, and you know there ain’t gonna be a happy endin’. Or any endin’. This is just the beginin’. Makes it a hard thing to sit down and read. It’s like goin' on the Lizard's Peak tour of duty on Mars. It’s a thousand-mile march and, at the end, there ain’t nothing but a bunch of half-crazed killers lookin' for a fight. Kinda makes you wonder why you bother.
Jeremy's Review of Clash of Kings and I'm always right, Viekko. Make peace with this.
Well, that's it. We get into the top ten next week, so make sure to swing by. Got it on good authority that things are about to get weird.
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