Ready Player One

  Ready Player One is set about 30 years in the future. The world has only gotten worse from the problems we’ve seen today except for one thing: the OASIS, an immense 3-D virtual reality world created by James Halliday and his partner. OASIS has anything anyone could want, it’s the internet but it feels real. People run businesses, get married to people they never meet in real life, in-game money is a far more stable currency than any type that is government issued. Then, James Halliday dies. In his will, he reveals that his entire fortune, $240 Billion, will be given to whoever can find and solve 3 puzzles he has hidden in the vast world of OASIS. Five years later, people are still searching for the answer to the first clue to find the first puzzle. James Halliday was obsessed with the 80s (when he grew up)  so 80s culture has become hugely popular in an attempt to find all this money. The real action begins when a high school kid discovers the location of the first puzzle. . There’s murder, intrigue, feats of derring-do in the real world as well as the virtual one, romance, friendship, and games. What more could you want in a book?

  This book is action packed and terribly fun to read if you have even a little knowledge of 80s pop or geek/nerd/gaming culture. There are references to every kind of genre you could wish in this book. I’ve seen seriously mixed reviews for this book. People either love it or hate it. The only problem is the people who hate give a multitude of reasons and the people who love it just say “OMG this book was great, go read it for yourself.” I loved this book. The first time I read it, I finished it in one sitting and wanted to start over again immediately. The characters are memorable; the story is engrossing; the setting and premise are fascinating. I will admit to being a huge geek and partly obsessed with some of the same things that the creator of OASIS contest loved. Anyone who is a fan of geek/dork/nerd culture will like this book just for the references. If you want a decent adventure in a dystopian future that isn’t too distant from now, definitely pick up this book and soon. 

Strip Mauled edited by Esther Friesner

Well, it turns out I was taken out commission by my twin nemeses of Bronchitis and Bugs for the last couple of months. Now that I'm feeling better and back on my feet, it's time to review all the books I read while I was recuperating. 

Strip Mauled Edited by Esther Friesner

     This anthology is yet another in a series of pun related short stories from this author/editor. This one was great because lately most fantasy stories have been vampire or dystopian flavored. Not these. These are all concentrated on urban or suburban werewolves. I originally picked up this book because I’m a fan of the Chicks in Chainmail series from the late 90’s and early 2000’s. The stories are clever and designed to keep you reading.

     There were a few of them that were kind of not in sync with the rest, such as “That Time of the Month” about hillbilly wolves moving to the suburbs and being chased out by the main character. The main character of that one was way too focused on “removing” people that threatened her “peaceful” existence. That sentence should probably read “murdering people that might expose the fact she was a werewolf“ to be closer to the truth. The writer tended to repeat things that didn't need repeating. Calling the antagonists “stupid hicks” and “dumb hicks” every other sentence gets extremely boring after a couple of paragraphs. There were quite a few gems in this anthology though. “The Fish Story” about a reporter who fights against a kelpie with help of her friend/love interest and her cousin or “Imaginary Friend” about a cop who is a werewolf with a pixie sidekick that no one else believes exists are awesome; I could see a whole book being written about their adventures. The clever one shots about the Cub Scout pack that consisted of kid werewolves and the home owners association for supernatural creatures were great but the best story of all had to be the Teleplay written about an alternate Sesame Street. It was the only traditional werewolf attack story but it was brilliant. Everything you've ever wondered about Sesame Street was mentioned: the Bert and Ernie characters having an unconventional relationship, Big Bird hating Elmo for stealing the spotlight, Elmo being crazy and not too bright. I had little to no problem figuring out which characters were supposed to be their Sesame Street counterparts. The reactions to the werewolf attack were spot on; the attitudes towards each other were believable and hilarious. It was definitely the best story to end the book with.

    I am glad I picked up this book. It was definitely a good read and if you can find it I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a few laughs at the end of a long day.  

If anyone has any questions, comments, or book suggestions, leave me a comment and let me know.

~Wolfe

Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated – Alison Arngrim

     I picked this book out of the library on a whim. I’m always on the lookout for a good autobiography and this one definitely qualifies as that. Alison Arngrim played Nellie Oleson on the television series Little House on the Prairie. Nellie Oleson as fans may remember was a spoiled selfish child, the great nemesis of the show’s main character Laura Ingalls. Over the 7 year span of the show, fans watched as Nellie, Laura, Mary, and the rest of the cast grew up. Being nosy and not content to leave it at that, I had to check out this book to go along with my review of the first five Little House on the Prairie books.

     The book starts out, where most autobiographies do, with a bit of background about Alison Arngrim’s family. Originally from Canada, both her parents were in show biz. Her mom played a slew of cartoon characters and happily preformed for Alison’s school friends whenever she was asked. Her father was a talent manager, not many of his clients were mentioned except for Liberace but I gather he was moderately successful. Her older brother was in television as a child but as he reached his teenage years was deemed too old and rebellious to get many or any jobs. As a result of her parents’ busy schedules, Alison was left home much of the time with her brother who took his frustrations out on his little sister in the form of beatings and, later, rapes and molestation. She figured working would get her out of the house and away from the abuse so she started going to auditions and finally landed the gig as Nellie Oleson. From there, she made friends with some of the other cast members and was out from under the thumb of her brother and his friends. There is more gossip and behind the scenes info about all the cast and goings on until the show ended. There are also quite a few stories about her friendships with various cast members after the show ended. The last part of the book dealt with her future after the show. How she dealt with the repercussions of her abuse and the death of her best friend from AIDs, was perhaps the most moving part of the book. She has used her fame to become a great advocate against child abuse and for helping AIDs patients.

     I really enjoyed reading this book. There was a perfect mixture of humor and drama. I always like to hear about stars doing well or people actually coping with their demons instead of using them as an excuse for acting like a jerk. From what I’ve read about other biographies about the stars of the same show, I’m not sure I’ll look into more of them. If I do, you’ll be the first to know. More reviews, coming soon.

~Wolfe

Little House on the Prairie series – Laura Ingalls Wilder

Barnes and Nobles is not my favorite place to buy books. However, they have these lovely leather bound sets of classics that I absolutely adore. When I was there last, I picked up the Little House on the Prairie: the first five novels collection. I figured I’d do all five in one review because, let’s be honest, the first book is less than 150 pages and a children's book. It’s a little hard to write a review that would be entertaining with that little bit to work with. The first book in this series Little House in the Big Woods is actually the Wisconsin book from the "most famous book set in the state" list.

I first started reading these books when I was 10 or so and I wanted to know how I would feel about them as an adult. I still really enjoyed reading this series. I can definitely sympathize with the adults now. In Little House in the Big Woods, the love expressed between all the family while the were having their dance demonstrates nicely that even when you may not see people that often, you’re still family. In Little House on the Prairie, the decision to move because “there’s too many people” is quite the way I feel about our current home some days. Having to abandon their farm that they worked so hard on must have been terrible but Charles, the father, was so accepting. His “we have all the time in the world to get it right” attitude is something more people need to find. On the Banks of Plum Creek was the family’s first semi-successful attempt at staying in one place and it goes disastrously wrong. Blizzards and plagues of grasshoppers pretty much destroy their crops and any hopes of making a living so Pa has to find work as a farm laborer. He’s gone for long stretches of time while the girls grow up and after a couple years and paying off their debts they move on to the next book. Also seeing how the “richer” farmers lived in New England in Farmer Boy versus the struggles of the more adventurous settler farmers was an eye opener. Makes you wonder why people would give up that kind of life to make their fortune but it takes all types.

By the Shores of Silver Lake intrigued me the most as an adult. It takes place a few years after the previous book ends and you begin to see Laura’s and Mary’s adult personalities take shape. The family moves to a railroad building town intending to stake a claim after the railroad has been built. At this time however the town is still a very rough place. The girls aren’t allowed to wander far from home and they don’t understand why which causes some rebelliousness. As a kid from a generally safe 21^st century neighborhood, I never understood why they couldn’t just go where they wanted. As an adult with a better sense of what those places were like, I understand completely and feel sorry for their poor mothers. In the end, the railroad moves on and the Ingalls stake their claim and neighbors start moving in. 

News

     Anyone who has been reading this blog may have noticed that I haven’t posted in a couple of weeks. There is a decent reason for this, I have run out of reviews. I pre-wrote a bunch of the reviews and have been posting them week by week. I’ve already started on a new batch and have a half dozen in the editing stage. That being said, I have also started on a new reading project. There isn’t going to be a time line on this one since I have to rely on the library for access to these books. I recently found a list that supposedly contains the most well known books set in every state. I have no idea how they chose the books or what makes them the most well known. I wish I did since I have never heard of half of these books. I’ve already finished reading eight of them and even have a review for one written. Going to find these books at the library has already paid off since I keep finding more things I’m looking for or that just manage to catch my attention. Beside my new project and writing, everything else is going well. My job is awesome, my health is good, and I have lots to keep busy with. Sadly my companion has a case of “I don’t know where to start” and won’t give me any reviews. I’ll keep working on him along with the writing. Now it’s back to the editing program for me.

Here is the link to the reading project: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/334181234824273394/

-Wolfe

Acorna the Unicorn Girl – Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball

Acorna the Unicorn Girl – Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball

     Acorna is another of those books that I read as a teen/young adult that I liked enough that when I saw it at the library I had to take it home and try it again. I had to do a little research after I read it because I didn’t recall something classified as a young adult novel having that many controversial issues in it. Apparently, I was wrong.

     The book starts out with a life pod being launched from a ship under attack containing only a baby. The parents are hoping that the life signs for the baby will be so small as to escape the bad guys notice and the baby will be picked up by someone on their side. The life pod is found later by a group of three human miners on the fringe of explored space. The baby is nothing remotely resembling a human and speaks nothing resembling any of the known human languages. She has flat teeth, a horse like mane of hair that goes from head to, well, tail, and a small horn in the middle of her forehead. They name her Acorna. At this time, humans haven’t discovered aliens or vice versa. When their company gets bought out by a huge conglomerate that wants to mutilate and run tests on Acorna, they rescue her and go on the run. In the process, they come across more people who want to posses her for her uniqueness and one group who can help them but only if Acorna helps them first.

     It is apparently nothing like any of Anne McCaffrey’s other books and it deals with some controversial issues (more on that in a second) and I’d hate to see someone spend actual money on a book and hate it. This book goes into serious detail about child slavery, mutilation, torture, rape, kidnapping, and all of it is being ignored, even condoned, by the government of this shady planet. Acorna chooses to help the children of the planet escape their enslavement and helps as many as she can but there is still the overtone of all those they can’t help as well as the future children who get stuck with that situation. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is a good book and there are nine other books in the series but if you don’t like your books to have an underlying message that is disturbing, give this one a pass. 

The Outlaws of Sherwood – Robin McKinley

     The Outlaws of Sherwood starts out by introducing Robin Hood, Marian, and their friend Much. Robin accidentally kills a bully who is threatening him and has to run for his life. While it is clear case of self defense/accident, the Sheriff of Nottingham has always hated Robin’s family and carries a grudge because the girl he was in love with married Robin’s father. In this version of Robin Hood, Robin is a pretty crummy shot, somewhat of a pessimist, and a reluctant leader. He starts his band of outlaws thinking that they will be caught any minute and most of his decisions are based around trying to get as many of his followers away so they don’t share his fate. As time moves on, all of the well know characters become part of the band. Eventually, the final battle takes place and everyone’s fates are decided.

     Now, there’s good things and bad things about this book and it all revolves around the characters. The original (or original to me anyway) characters seem to have more thought put into them and their back story. You learn Cecily’s and Much’s background but Allan-a-dale shows up and the only info you get about him is that he’s a minstrel and his lady-love is to be married off to someone else. Nothing else is said about him or his reactions to things until the final battle. It feels like the well-known characters are just there and not really participating in the story, except for Friar Tuck and even then his dogs get more “air time” than he does. The ending was also unbelievably anti-climatic. After a large battle, the author leads you to believe there is about to be a bigger til-death battle between Robin’s outlaws and the Sheriff of Nottingham’s army. However, the battle is interrupted by King Richard before the first arrow is even shot. I felt cheated and it was way too neat of an ending. It was like everything Robin and others were worried about were tied up with a nice neat bow and thrown out the window along with the Sheriff and his followers. On the whole, if you can find this book at a used bookstore for a nice price or at the library (especially if you are a fan of Robin McKinley), I’d say pick it up but don’t pay full price.