Forum: It's All Fluff

One night, a long time ago, I was talking to a very good friend of mine. During the course of our conversation I aksed her what she was reading. Anyone who knows me knows that this particular question will come up during the course of any conversation. I am a book lover. My friends love books. We talk about books as much as we talk about our families and our lives. Any way, on this particular night, my friend (Karen) and I started talking books. when asked what she was reading, she simply said "Fluff"

"Fluff?" I asked "What kind of fluff?"

"You know" she replied "Fluff"

Well, that got me thinking. There are many many kinds of fluff. There's thriller fluff, romantic fluff, western fluff, sci-fi/fantast fluff, and by now you get the idea. In fact, I would go as far as to say fluff is the most dangerous substance in the known universe. It is the stuff that ideas both great and idiotic, are born of.

Fluff has the power to take us away from our every day lives and let us live the adventerous life we have always dreamed of. When was the last time you rode on the back of a dragon? The last time you were swept off your feet by a dashing rogue? The last time you were asked to figure out a mystery? When was the last time you explored our past? When was the last time you explored the many mysteries of our universe? Fluff helps you do all that and more!

When you get down to it, it is all fluff!

STAR WARS: Death Troopers

Title: Star Wars: Death Troopers

Author: Joe Schreiber

Publisher: Del Rey

Publication Date: October 2010

Genre: Science Fiction/Horror

Pages: 304

Okay, so we have already established that I am a bit of a Star Wars fan. When the book line for Star Wars started I was like a kid in a candy store. But after a while, I became disillusioned with the series. I guess the saying is true, "Too much of a good thing is bad....."

Then in October of last year, I noticed a new Star Wars book out. On the cover was chains with hooks on the end. On one of the hooks was a Stormtrooper helmet, with the hook through the eye and blood on the helmet. Someone has finally brought horror to the Star Wars universe. Not the darkness that is known for the dark side of the force, but actual out and out horror, and in this case in the form of zombies.

The Imperial prison barge, Purge, filled with five hundred prisoners of the Empire is adrift in space. For some unknown reason, their engines have failed. Hope comes in the form of an abandoned Star Destroyer. The captain of the prison barge brings two teams of soldiers and engineers aboard the destroyer to look for parts to fix their engines. Along with the parts, the boarding team brings back a deadly virus that kills all but six on board the Purge. The six remaining survivors think the worst is behind them. That is until the dead start walking, and they are very very hungry.

Now it may seem that zombies are being over done, and in some respects I might just agree with you. But in this case, it works, and works well, especially when how the zombies came to be is explained. The explanation that is given is something you can actually see happening in the near future, which amps up the horror factor that much more. Throw in two well known heroes from the Star Wars universe and you get a book that grabs you by the throat and squeezes until the very last page.

4 out of 5 stars for predictability and shortness
Re-readable factor of 3 out of 5

Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader

Title: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader

Author: James Luceno

Publisher: Del Rey Books

Publication Date: June 2006

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 368

I've been a Star Wars geek since I first saw it in the theater back in 1977. Please note I said geek and not super geek or super freak. I do not know every aspect of Star Wars trivia. However, what I do know, I enjoy very very much. I will even go on the record as saying I enjoy ALL of the movies. My favorite character from the moves has been and always will be Darth Vader. Who wouldn't want to be a universal bad ass that has the power of the dark side at his disposal? Ever since I first saw him on the screen entering a smoke filled hallway and non-chalantly looking at the dead rebels at his feet, I was a fan. Episodes I-III answered the questions of how he became Darth Vader, and who among us cannot say that the lightsaber duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan was not the most exciting we've seen in the series? But lets face it, putting on the life supporting armor and having the power of the force does not automatically make you feared throughout the galaxy.

Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader tells you how Vader became feared through out the galaxy.

For all intents and purposes, Anakin Skywalker is dead. He is believed to have been killed with other Jedi Knights during the siege of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. In reality, he "died" on Mustafar after a duel with his former mentor and friend Obi-Wan Kenobi. But news of these events have not travelled through out the galaxy, especially the outer rim of the galaxy. It is in the outer rim that two Jedi Masters and a Padawan are leading a bloody charge against the Separatists, and narrowly escape execution. they soon become prey and the hunter is a Sith Lord they had never heard of....Darth Vader.

What made this book a great read for me was the character development of Darth Vader. James Luceno did a fantastic job with the struggle of Darth Vader over Anakin Skywalker. Just because you take a dark path does not automatically make you a dark figure. The conflict between good and evil in Darth Vader is ever present in his first mission for the emperor (a person who is also having his doubts about his new student). As much as it is packed with all the action one would expect from a Star Wars novel, it is also filled with enough emotional turmoil to make you understand what is going on behind the mask of the man who is destined to become dreaded through the galaxy.

5 out of 5 stars
Re-readable factor of 4 out of 5

The General's Daughter

Title: The General's Daughter

Author: Nelson DeMille
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: December 2001
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 468

I first became aware of Nelson DeMille's writing when I started working on a Child and Adolescent unit at a mental health hospital in the south. Luckily, I fell in with a group of readers and on break we would often discuss what we were currently reading. One of the nurses was reading The General's Daughter, and I asked her if DeMille was any good as a writer. She enthusiastically recommended him. So, that weekend i went out and got a copy of The General's Daughter. I finished it by the end of that weekend.

Captain Anne Campbell is the daughter of legendary General Joe Campbell, and a West Point graduate. She is the army's golden girl and the pride of Fort Hadley. That is until her body is found naked and bound on the firing range one morning. Paul Brenner, a member of the army's elite undercover unit, is teamed up with rape specialist Cynthia Sunhill. Together they must get beyond a failed affair they had in the past to find out why someone would want the generals daughter dead. Together they will find out how many people were emotionally and sexually involved with Anne Campbell, and just how the pressed uniforms and honor code of the army can hide corruption in its many forms.

This book is a quick read. The characters are engaging enough, but also cliched. It is difficult to become emotionally invested in them. The ending is also a tad bit predictable if you pay attention to what is going on.

3 out of 5 stars for predictable characters and ending.
Re-readable factor of 1 out of 5

Ghost Story

Title: Ghost Story

Author: Peter Straub

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 1979

Genre: Horror

Pages: 560

It was autumn of 1979 when I first read this book. Back then everyone was going crazy over Stephen King, and I wanted something a little different. I found it in a convenience store, and it found its way into my pocket. When I got it home, I started to read it. The opening sentence "What is the worst thing you've ever done?" scared the hell out of me because the worst thing I had ever done was steal that book! So I raided my piggy bank and had enough to pay for the book, so I took it back and told the store owner what I had done and laid the book and the money on the counter. I apologized profusely and was scared out of my wits as to what was going to happen (I was only 14 and never did anything like this). The store owner looked at me and said "Most kids your age are either stealing candy, soda, beer or a pack of smokes. You take a book and come back with it and the money. Take the book kid, if it means that much to you." So I picked the book up and left the money on the counter. He called out to me and said "You forgot your money kid." I turned around and read that first sentence out of the book and told him I wanted to pay for it. "If that's the worst thing you've ever done then you are far ahead of the rest kid. Take your money back and consider it a gift from me. Just come back and tell me about it."

Ghost Story  is about four aging men and a secret held between them. For most of their lives, they think they have gotten away with murder, only to be haunted by the act they committed when they are old men. One by one they are dying, being lured to their deaths by the same woman they killed in their youth. This may be over simplified, but I really do not want to give away too much of this book.

Rest assured this book will scare the hell out of you. It is the kind of book that will dim the lights around you. It grabs you by the throat and does not let go. And the slightest sound will make you leap for the ceiling. (I was living with my grandmother the third time I read it, went to go to the bathroom at 4 in the morning when I had just finished it, heard some voices and went back to bed and held it til the sun came up!) Yes, it is that good!

5 out of 5 stars

Re-readable factor of 5+ out of 5

The Quiet Game (Penn Cage Book 1)

Title: The Quiet Game (Penn Cage Book 1)

Author: Greg Iles
Publisher: Penguin Group
Publication Date: July 2000
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 640

I first became aware of Greg Iles writing with the book Spandau Phoenix (1992), and I've been a fan ever since. All I can say is that his writing style has improved over the years, and that is something I did not think was possible.

The Quiet Game is the first book in his "Penn Cage" series. Penn Cage is a district attorney from Houston. He's sent sixteen men to death row and watched seven of them die. However, after the death of his wife, he leaves his job behind and takes his daughter back to his home town, Natchez Mississippi.

When he gets home, he becomes involved in stopping a blackmailer who has had Penn's father (a prominent doctor) under his thumb. Penn unknowingly ignites a powder keg in a small town when he sounds off on an old murder case with racial implications. With the aid of a news paper journalist, Caitlin Masters, Penn is setting out to right the wrongs of his home towns past. Along the way he will butt heads with the FBI, a powerful judge who nearly destroyed his family, and a woman he loved more than 20 years ago.

There are enough twists and turns in this book to keep even the most seasoned thriller reader on their toes. Just when you think you have everything figured out, here comes a twist from left field to knock you back a few steps, and trust me, Greg Iles stays three step ahead of you the whole way.

The other novels in this series are:

1) The Quiet Game
2) Turning Angel
3) The Devil's Punchbowl
4) Unwritten Laws

5 out of 5 Stars
Re Readable factor of 3 out of 5

Forum: Baen Books

A lot of my friends will ask me to recommend a good sci-fi or fantasy read. Instead of giving specific books or authors, sometimes I will recommend a publishing company, especially if that company has what I consider high quality reading material. In order for me to recommend a publishing company, they have to be consistent in putting out great reading material, and not just a good book here or there.

Baen Books is such a company. Started by Jim Baen in 1983, Baen Books soon became one of the great publishing houses in Science Fiction and Fantasy. What makes them so great? First, authors. Yes, they have some of the hottest authors in the business, especially some of my favorites from when I started reading Science Fiction and Fantasy. The second thing that makes them great is variety. They do not just specialize in one type of science fiction or fantasy. They embrace all types. Anything from hard core Science Fiction to Raging Heroic Fantasy, they have it covered. The final thing that makes them great is the size of the print in the books. Let's face it, my eyes are old. 45 going on 46 years old. Considering that I spent a great part of those years reading, it might be safe to say that some damage was done, to the point that I need glasses. The print in Baen's books is very comfortable to read.

If you want to find out for yourself, but do not want to go to the bookstore, visit baen books at the following link:

http://www.baen.com/

As always, happy reading.