Murder Mysteries

by Neil Gaiman , Daniel Chabon (Editor), P. Craig Russell (Illustrations)

Hardcover, 112 pages

Expected publication: May 27th 2014 by Dark Horse Comics

Description:
Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell venture into the world of myth and angels in this new edition of their noir-fantasy tale. Constructing and maintaining all of heaven and earth is an immense task, which God has divided up amongst the various ranks and stations of angels. As with any huge effort, there are bound to be casualties. Lights is shed on the lords behind creation as one lonely man in Los Angeles hears the story of one particular unspeakable crime: a murder in Paradise.

Review:
I wanted to read this comic adaption of Neil Gaiman's story of God, angels, and the first murder committed in Paradise. I personally have not read the story myself, the story is published in his collection Smoke and Mirrors. I had figured that this trade paperback would do a good job to interpret the short story, but..... it seemed to me to be a loose interpretation of the book. The story was short and the art was good but did not, in my opinion, help the interpretation process. I will need to get my hands on a copy of smoke and mirrors and read the original.

Rating:
4.5/10

The Sentinel (The Sundering #5)

by Troy Denning

Hardcover, 304 pages 
Expected publication: April 1st 2014 by Wizards of the Coast 

Description:

In the fifth book of the multi-author Sundering series, New York Times best-selling author Troy Denning sends an embittered paladin, Kleef Kenric, on a quest to stop evil forces from taking advantage of the chaos rolling across the land of Faerûn and claiming dominion over the entirety of the Realms.

Stubbornly clinging to his family’s worship of a long-forgotten god, Kleef Kenric soon discovers that his god has blessed him with divine gifts, making him one of a new group of Chosen cropping up around the Realms. This divine gift makes him an excellent ally—and a target for those who wish corral his powers.

After battling his way out Marsember, a city besieged on all sides in the wake of the Sundering, he becomes swept up in the mission of a group of odd allies—a warrior noblewoman, an accomplished thief, and a mysterious short pudgy man exuding a faint odor of decay. With the forces of Shade tracking their every step, they travel to the Underdark to thwart the rise of the goddess of Death, but before long Kleef learns that his allies hide dangerous secrets—secrets that could destroy not only Kleef but the very fabric of the Forgotten Realms. 

Review:

This is book 5 in The Sundering series. I have never even heard of Kleef Kenric prior to reading this book. I am sad that I haven't before this. Troy Denning writes a very good story of the group of Chosen trying to save Toril from Shar and her followers. If you remember, Shar played a very big part in book 2, The Godborn, of this series. The story flowed very well with lots of action. There was only a tiny bit of lulls and musings of the characters. Overall this was a very enjoyable and easy read. 

This book is recommended for anyone wanting to delve into the Dungeons and Dragons world.

Rating:

8.0/10

 

Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery

by Kurtis J. Wiebe (Author), Roc Upchurch (Illustrations)

Paperback, 128 pages

Expected publication: April 8th 2014 by Image Comics 

Description:

Who are the Rat Queens?

A pack of booze-guzzling, death-dealing battle maidens-for-hire, and they're in the business of killing all god's creatures for profit.

It's also a darkly comedic sass-and-sorcery series starring Hannah the Rockabilly Elven Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarven Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric and Betty the Hippy Smidgen Thief. This modern spin on an old school genre is a violent monster-killing epic that is like Buffy meets Tank Girl in a Lord of the Rings world on crack!

Collecting Rat Queens #1-5!

Review:
A very entertaining comic with some wit thrown in. The art was fantastic throughout. All of the characters in the book were very likeable in their own ways. All of the have their strengths and weakness that make you want to root for each of them to succeed, even though they sabotage themselves more often then not. My personal favorite of the four was Betty, the Smidgen thief. This title will definitely go on my "to buy" list for comics. 

Everyone should give this trade a try. I'm pretty sure if you do, you'll become fans too.

Rating: 9.0/10 

Night of the Hunter (Companions Codex #I)

by R.A. Salvatore

Kindle Edition, 352 pages

Publication Date: March 11th 2014 by Wizards of the Coast 

Description:

R.A. Salvatore’s New York Times best-selling saga continues as dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden returns to Gauntlgrym with old friends by his side once again, as they seek to rescue Bruenor’s loyal shield dwarf-turned-vampire. But not only do Drizzt and his allies face a perilous journey through the Underdark and the dangers of the undead that lie within, but they must cross through a colony of drow, who would like nothing better than to see Drizzt Do’Urden dead. 

Review:
The Companions are back together to kick-butt and take care of business in their own way! 

This installment of the Drizzt saga has me wanting more from R.A. Salvatore. I was getting a little worried for our hero after the Neverwinter series ended with not only the welfare of Drizzt but also in which direction the series would go. (Not that I didn't enjoy his adventures with Entreri, Dahlia, and the rest of the group, but the connection between all of them just wasn't very strong) Was it going to end soon? Were we going to get a lot of stories with Drizzt bumbling around doubting himself and trying out companions like clothes? No, with "The Companions" and this novel, R.A. Salvatore has resurrected the series to the glory of the past.

The book had much action throughout, with Tiago Baenre on a quest to take out Drizzt for his own glory, without any thought other than the prize at the end, and throw in multitudes of drow with the backing of their god Lloth, there has to be lots of fighting throughout. There is so much I could say about this book, but won't so as to not spoil the book for you. All I have to say is Drizzt is back the way he should be.

Rush out and get a copy today!!

Rating: 9.5/10

The Lives of Tao (Tao #1)

by Wesley Chu

ebook, 305 pages

Published April 30th 2013 by Angry Robot

Description:
When out-of-shape IT technician Roen woke up and started hearing voices in his head, he naturally assumed he was losing it. He wasn’t. He now has a passenger in his brain – an ancient alien life-form called Tao, whose race crash-landed on Earth before the first fish crawled out of the oceans. Now split into two opposing factions – the peace-loving, but under-represented Prophus, and the savage, powerful Genjix – the aliens have been in a state of civil war for centuries. Both sides are searching for a way off-planet, and the Genjix will sacrifice the entire human race, if that’s what it takes. Meanwhile, Roen is having to train to be the ultimate secret agent. Like that’s going to end up well…

Review:
First, I just have to say that I regret not reading this book earlier, even though I've seen it reviewed and lauded on by other book reviewers. Shame on me! But the only good from waiting is I can jump right into book two, The Deaths of Tao. Yay, yippee, 

This book from the beginning got me swept up into really liking Tao. I really felt bad for Tao and Edward when the situation went bad for them. Bravo to Edward for what he did so Tao could continue the fight. I was really rooting for Tao when he went searching for another host and rejoiced when Tao found Roen.  Roen could have been anyone of us out here when he discovered that he was not just hearing voices. Throughout Roen's training to become a Prophus agent I felt his pain and rejoiced in his triumphs when they came, which wasn't much at first.

Mr. Chu did a wonderful job writing the dialogue and fleshing out Roen/Tao's feelings throughout the book which made it easy for me to follow since it was very similar to how I would have thought/talked. The emotions that were expressed by Roen and Tao made me feel emotionally attached to both characters. It has been a while since I have read a new book that has been able to do that. You have a new fan that will follow you for a long time.

This book is recommended to any and all readers. If you're not a SciFi fan give this book a chance, I'm positive you too will be a fan of Mr. Wesley Chu and be on the edge of your seat rooting for Roen and Tao.

Rating:
9.0/10.0