A Book Review: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid's Tale is the most horrifying non-horror novel I have ever read. This book terrified me, because its dystopian vision feels both familiar and real. It is as if this book is describing a nightmarish future that can be, because it is a future that will repeat the past.  

Margaret Atwood wrote this book in 1984, and it was during the time when the Christian fundamentalists were gaining political influences in the US. Despite its contents and the historical background, this book is not targeting at any specific religious or political group. No, The Handmaid's Tale is a warning, of how easily and quickly, things can go wrong, when a group, a faction, or a person, gains too much power in the absence of accountability. Totalitarianism can go by any slogan; be it the left, the right, Hitler, Stalin etc.. you name it. Indeed, power manipulation, is the major theme in this harrowing novel, and it is even more relevant to our current time.

Synopsis:

The US government dissolved after a nuclear war and environmental destructions. In its place, The Republic of Gilead was born. This new government is founded on ideologies even more extreme than that of puritanism.The fertility rate, meanwhile, has plummeted to an all time low.

The Gilead government introduced new laws in the name of anti-terrorism and re-population. These were laws that redefined the status and the role for men and women, and giving birth to a class of women known as the "handmaids".

Inspired by the story of Rachel and Jacob in Genesis 30:1-3, a handmaid's primary function is to give birth, and her value depends solely on her reproductive power and the viability of her ovary. It was here when our story began, with a young woman known as Offred. She is a handmaid, who lies on her back once a month and hoping the Commander can successfully make her pregnant...

My thoughts on this book:

Dystopian fiction is not my forte. Admittedly, I have not even read iconic works in the genre, such as The Hunger Games, Fahrenheit 451, or Nineteen Eighty Four. So why The Handmaid's Tale? Why did I choose this book to be my first voyage into the world of dystopian fiction? Because everyone in my book club has read this book except me, and I have also read a lot of good reviews for this book, about how, its story is especially relevant to our time.

I borrowed this book from my local library, but I waited 5 months for it. This book was so popular that the moment it was returned, someone else would borrow it. When this book finally became available to me, I could not help but feel the excitement surged through me. Finally, I was going to read The Handmaid's Tale!

Over the next four nights, I read this book from the start to the finish. While I cannot say I "enjoyed" The Handmaid's Tale, but the book is thought provoking. I liked this book, but I could not enjoy it because it was too disturbing and terrifying. This is not a story that was meant to be "enjoyed" as one would enjoy, say, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea or Harry Potter. No, The Handmaid's Tale is the stuff of nightmares, and it is scary because every horror and curel act in this book is grounded in our very own history.

Yes, the terrible stuff in this book did not come from the author's own imaginations, but they were inspired by our history. This is why, a sense of familiarity, like deja vu, will creep up your spine while you read it. I have read some essays arguing if the scenario in The Handmaid's Tale can happen in today's world. I think those arguments are missing the point. Personally, I think the value of this book is not dependant on whether if it can accurately predict our future. No, I think this book is relevant to our time because it is sending us a warning, about power manipulation. It warns us about the danger of zealously subscribing to an ideological camp while abandoning independent thoughts. Indeed, our society has a growing trend, where independent thinking is dying slowly. People are no longer evaluating and judging a proposal based on its own merit. Instead, more and more people are identifying themselves by ideological camps and tribes, where they tick the "doctrinal checkboxes" of the particular tribe/faction they wish to belong to. That, I opine, is severely undercutting and killing the civic democracy. Why? Because once you identified yourself with a tribe and think you are on the "good" side, then even if your tribe is doing something wrong you will not see it. This is how totalitarianism can manifest and grow.

Aside from its major theme about power manipulation, The Handmaid's Tale also explored other themes such as; women's bodies as political instruments, language as a tool of power, and how we become complacent. Each of these themes is fascinating and worthy of exploration. I will leave the would-be readers to explore them. It suffices to say, in the mere space of 300 pages, Margaret Atwood weaved a story that is simple on the surface, but complex and thoughtful underneath. Her prose captured, vividly, the details in every scene, as well as the character's thoughts and emotions. This is a character-driven book, and its characters will leave lasting memories on your mind.

So far, I have praised The Handmaid's Tale, but there is one thing I disliked about this book. When it comes to speculative fictions, I (personally) prefer a novel to have the following structures - An introduction by worldbuilding, followed by the main story, before finally reaching the climax and the conclusion. The Handmaid's Tale, however, doesn't follow this structure. Instead of building the whole world at the beginning, this book was doing worldbuilding throughout the entire story. Even at the end of the story, it was still giving us worldbuilding information. This is not a big issue, but a matter of personal taste, and it did dampen my fondness for this book slightly.

The Handmaid's Tale is a disturbing novel and it is not for the light hearted. Yet, it is an important book. Its themes are especially relevant to our time. It warns us to be forever watchful of power manipulation, especially of those factions and tribes we dearly trust. This is because totalitarianism can go by any name and slogan. My gentle readers, I highly recommend The Handmaid's Tale to you.

A Book Review: The Thousandfold Thought by R. Scott Bakker (Prince of Nothing #3)

“Set aside your conviction,” Moënghus said, “for the feeling of certainty is no more a marker of truth than the feeling of will is a marker of freedom. Deceived men always think themselves certain, just as they always think themselves free. This is simply what it means to be deceived.”

        -R. Scott Bakker, The Thousandfold Thought

Written by R. Scott Bakker, Prince of Nothing trilogy reached its conclusion in The Thousandfold Thought. This saga, began with The Darkness That Comes Before, is a fantasy epic, and a vehicle, to explore the consequences of certainty and the human conditions. The story is set in an ancient world not dissimilar to our own pasts, vibrant with history, cultures and religions. Yet, just like our own violent history, Bakker's world is also bloodied by horrendous acts, committed by faithful, pious men and women out of sincerely held beliefs.

The Thousandfold Thought is remarkably shorter than its two predecessors. This book stands at a reasonable length of 481 pages. The question, did this book deliver a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, or was it a let down? To me, this book was hit and miss, while the book had its moments of brilliance, but overall, I opine the book is leaning more to the side of disappointment.

Synopsis:

Anasûrimbor Kelhus, the Warrior Prophet, is now the supreme leader of the Holy War. From the army camp to the besieged city streets, men and women sang praises for this new messiah, they look upon him with eyes full of wonder and awe.

"Hail Kellhus, the infallible prophet".

"Hail Kellhus, our Aspect Emperor".

The Holy War marches on, while the chants and songs for the Warrior Prophet shake the heavens. Their destination – The City of Shmieh, where the Holy War will finally confront and destroy their enemy, the Cishaurim.

My thoughts on this book:

Prince of Nothing trilogy is among the most thoughtful works in the fantasy genre. These books laid bare, the truth about belief systems, and the role they played in the history of a world that is very much like our own. Some parts of this trilogy reminded me of the crusader history, while other parts reminded me of the disturbing stories I read about from religious scriptures. There are so many take aways from these books, especially the first two installments; they were wonderful.

Yes, the first two installments in the trilogy were marvellous, but what about the last book?

The truth is, I did not enjoy the third book as much as I did its predecessors. The first half of this book maintained the pace, and the gripping story, from The Warrior Prophet. In this half, Bakker continued the stories of Kellhus, Achmain, Esmi, and Cnaur. There were many plot twists and shocking revelations. By the second half, however, Bakker suddenly departed from the narrative style in the first half (and the previous books). Instead, the storytelling began to jump from one POV character to the next, in very short successions. In the second half, each POV character's "segment" average to about 3 to 5 pages, and it made the book very confusing and difficult to follow. To make matters even worse, these characters weren't the major characters that we (the readers) have become familiar with. No, in the second half, Bakker introduced dozens of new characters, and new locations, to establish his new POV narratives. As a reader, I found it really difficult to keep track of these new characters and places, and the second half of the book often confused me. The last 150 pages, in particular, was the most confusing part of the book, and I am still not quite sure what I was reading.

It was only after I finished reading this novel did I discover, a massive, 150+ page appendix at the end of the book. I am guessing the author intended his readers to consult the appendix for the galores of new characters and locations that he introduced in the second half. Fair enough, so there is an appendix. In my opinion, if a story requires its reader to constantly consult the appendix by flipping to the back of the book, then it is not good storytelling.

Indeed, the storytelling, it is the bane for The Thousandfold Thought. Don't get me wrong, I still liked Bakker's prose and his characters, but in this book, the storytelling was especially poor and disjointed. Furthermore, the ending in this book was a let down. Why? Well, the previous two books, both massive in sizes, built up a promising and rich story, but this (arguably) concluding volume ended the story at a cliff hanger, with many threads unresolved. It felt like the author was kind of saying, "oh look, by the way, this ending is actually giving you a taste for my second trilogy".

This book may be disappointing, but it does not mean the whole trilogy is not worth reading. No, I think Prince of Nothing trilogy is intelligent. In our world, there are many people trying to sell us, certainty, in the guise of philosophy, but what they are truly selling us is philosophy with questions left out. True philosophy is a position of humility, it should ask more questions than providing answers, so it is the opposite to certainty. In many ways, Bakker's Prince of Nothing trilogy has good philosophy; its story is a vessel, for exploring the consequences of certainty, and it does so by asking great questions.

A Book Review: The Warrior Prophet by R. Scott Bakker (Prince of Northing #2)

"Most men would rather die in deception than live in uncertainty. "

     

   - R. Scott Bakker, The Warrior Prophet

In The Warrior Prophet, fantasy novelist and philosopher, R. Scott Bakker, continued his sprawling epic and exploring the consequences of certainty. This book has a holy war, fought in a fictional world rich with history, culture, and religion. Indeed, religion; for what else can symbolize certainty better than religion?

Synopsis:

The Holy War is marching to the city of Shimeh, but deceptions are threatening to tear down its massive ranks from within. Among the factions of the Holy War walks Anasurimbor Kellhus, a charismatic individual seeking to extend his dominion over the entire army. It appears, that Kellhus would either make, or break, the Holy War. On the outside, Kellhus is benevolent and preternaturally intelligent, but what is his true purpose? Is he the Warrior Prophet and the voice of the solitary god? Or is he a blasphemer?

My thoughts on this book:

I liked The Warrior Prophet more than TheDarkness That Comes Before. The previous book, The Darkness That Comes Before, was a difficult read, it had me puzzled over its strange character and location names. By the time I was reading The Warrior Prophet, however, I was more familiar with this fictional world and its people, and so I was able to appreciate the story better. Having said this, I think The Warrior Prophet would have been a stronger novel if it was shortened by 100 pages.

R. Scott Bakker wrote well in this book. Although I would say his characterization is better than his storytelling. In my opinion, sometimes Bakker dwelled too much into a character's thoughts, and it hampered the storytelling as well as bogging down the pace. On the other hand, Bakker's characterization was top notch. There were 4 major characters in this book; a sorcerer called Achmain, a barbarian chieftain called Cnaur, a prostitute called Esmi, and finally, Kellhus, the mysterious prophet. The story is built upon Kellhus and his deeds, but it was mostly narrated from the perspectives of Achmain, Cnau, and Emsi, and this is where the book became very interesting. Allow me to explain.

Almost every religion has holy scriptures, scriptures describing the ministerial lives and the teachings of its founder. This founder was usually charismatic and inhumanly intelligent (and wise). However, the scriptures were often written from the perspectives of the followers and the admirers of that founder, and not by the founder himself. Therefore, not only do we lack the complete information about the founder's entire life, but more importantly, how do we know, what were the founder's real thoughts and desires underneath his benevolent exteriors? In this regard, The Warrior Prophet provided an interesting thought experiment. As mentioned, this book is mostly narrated from the perspectives of three characters, and each of them represents a different view/take on Kellhus and who he was. Achmain was in awe of Kellhus' preternatural intelligence and abilities, Cnaur, who knew Kellhus the longest, saw him as a monster to be feared and hated, while Esmi admired Kellhus' benevolence. Meanwhile, Kellhus himself was more like a force of nature in this book. The narratives, and these characters' viewpoints, brought an an interesting dynamic and tension into their relationships. On the other hand, as readers, we are given an omniscient view of the story, and therefore we were handed the truth about Kellhus himself. It suffices to say, I found Kellhus a most fascinating character, but I also found his true purpose, and his moral centre, deeply disturbing.

Overall, Bakker's characters were tormented and flawed. There was authenticity in the way he depicted the human conditions. Bakker also did an excellent job at depicting every faction in the Holy War. No one was "good", but no one was "bad", each faction was simply doing, in accordance with their faiths, what they believed to be righteous.

The results of these "righteous" acts were horrible, and they also felt familiar, as if they are echoes from our own violent pasts. For example, one of the major scenes in this book was a city invasion, it was a massacre, and it was depicted in the form of a military report, blow-by-blow accounts, detached of emotions. However, this type of "fact-driven" narrative was curiously effective, it felt more brutal and terrifying despite its lack of embellishments. This book was about a Holy War, the city siege/massacre scenes in this book were disturbing, just like the Old Testament is disturbing (such as the Canaanite conquests). This is a very dark book, but it provokes its reader to think, not just about religion and beliefs, but more importantly, about certainty. The world of Earwa is much like our world, it is rich with history, culture, and religion. Yet, just like our world, Earwa is also full of deeply flawed people who did horrible and nasty things to each other, out of deeply and sincerely held beliefs.

This book reminds us of the importance of doubt - Doubt begets understanding, understanding begets compassion; it is the conviction that kills, hurts, and destroys. Sadly, a lot of people would choose certainty over doubt, even if the things they are certain about is a lie.

The Warrior Prophet is a very good fantasy novel. The book's storytelling may have some shortcomings, but its realistic and suffering characters will hook you into the story. The tone in this book is very dark, very grim, and it has a world inhibited by deeply flawed people. But it reminds us of our own violent history. It reminds us of why doubt is essential and certainty breeds tragedies. This book (series) may not be for everyone, but if you are a fantasy enthusiast, and you like to think about the human conditions, then I would highly recommend this trilogy to you, starting with the first book, The Darkness That Comes Before.

Stayed tune for my next post, where I will be reviewing the conclusion to Prince of Nothing Trilogy, titled, The Thousandfold Thought.

A Book Review: The Darkness That Comes Before, by R. Scott Bakker (The Prince of Nothing #1)

"The thoughts of all men arise from the darkness. If you are the movement of your soul, and the cause of that movement precedes you, then how could you ever call your thoughts your own? How could you be anything other than a slave to the darkness that comes before?” "
          - R. Scott Bakker, The Darkness That Comes Before

Do our thoughts "come" to us ? Or, do our thoughts occur when we "want" it to? And what precedes our thoughts? While Friedrich Nietzsche could (perhaps) offer us some insights into this philosophical question, but R. Scott Bakker, a philosopher and a fantasy novelist, wrote Prince of Nothing, an epic fantasy of three parts, to explore, not only the question of what comes before, but also the consequences of "certainty".

Over the past decade, Bakker's fantasy trilogy has gained great renown in the genre (especially in the Grimdark fantasy community). A number of Bakker's fellow writers, and fantasy enthusiasts, are citing this trilogy as the example for what fantasy can offer – a vehicle to explore philosophy, beliefs, politics, and the human condition.

The Darkness That Comes Before is the genesis for this trilogy.

For 2 years, this trilogy sat on my bookshelf and I did not read it. I put this this series on hold because it has a reputation for being a heavy read and overly complex. With the arrival of 2018, however, I made a resolution; I said to myself that this year, I will read this trilogy.

With much fear, trembling and excitements, I opened the first page in The Darkness That Comes Before. After five moonless nights, I finished reading this book. What are my thoughts? Well, it is... complicated. Let me begin my review with a synopsis for the story.

Synopsis:

Two thousand years ago, an apocalypse scarred the world of Earwa. Two thousand years later, hundreds and thousands are gathering to fight in a holy war. Many faithful souls vouched to die, for what they believe, to be the righteous cause. This is a time of great violence, but it is also a time for great opportunities.

Indeed, opportunities. Out from the desert came a mysterious traveller - Anasûrimbor Kellhus. He is a warrior, a prophet, a sorcerer, and his charismatic presence can charm thousands of followers. What is Kellhus' mission? Is he the messiah or a tyrant? This is a question that can only be answered by the man himself, in due course. What we do know, however, is like all histories, the history of this great event will have its conclusion written by the survivors.

My thoughts on this book:

It is very difficult to review this book. A quick search on Google shows those who read this book have divisive opinions about it. Some people absolutely loved it, while some people couldn't stand it. My own opinion about this book lies somewhere in the middle; I liked this book, sure, but I didn't love it.

I was really surprised that I only liked this book but didn't love it. I mean, this book promised an epic story, set in a grim, dark world. It has top notch characterizations, it explores philosophy, beliefs, and the human condition. Onset, almost everything in this book ticked my checkboxes. Yet, I just didn't enjoy this novel as much as I thought I would.

Why? A few reasons. Firstly, let me discuss the worldbuilding in this book. I love the world that Bakker has built here. The world of Earwa is unlike any other world in the genre. Instead of the pseudo, medieval European world so common in fantasy, Bakker gave us a world that felt Middle Eastern, and at times, Byzantine. When I was reading this book, I felt its world was living and breathing. It was a world inhibited by nasty, nasty people, but it was also rich in culture, religion, history, and lores.

Despite the greatness in Bakker's worldbuilding, but I just couldn't cope with the names for the places and people in this book, because those names were too alien. It is a norm in fantasy books to have characters and places with weird names, but this book took the genre convention of "alien names" to a whole new level, and this level is just too much for me. Take, for example, the name for one of the major characters; his name (as mentioned), is Anasûrimbor Kellhus. Meanwhile, his father's name is Anasûrimbor Moënghus... Tell you what? This book has dozens of characters and places with this type of strange names. The two names I mentioned are just a taste, to give you an idea of what I am talking about here.

It suffices to say, while I was reading this book, the overly strange names often had me confused about who is who, or where is where (and sometimes I confused "who" with "where", and vice versa).  Furthermore, the first 100 pages were difficult to absorb because it was full of infodumps. Make no mistake, Bakker's writings were superb. His prose was well written and lyrical. The problem, though, he dumped too much worldbuilding information, such as the history and geography details, into the first 100 pages. When this "infodump" is compounded with really strange character and location names, then as a reader, I felt the rest of the book was cumbersome and unwieldy.

Despite the problems I mentioned above, I did like this book. I liked Bakker's narratives, of how, he explored the human conditions via his complex, and tormented characters. I also liked how the philosophy, about the origin and the nature of belief, was explored and blended into the overarching story. The Darkness That Comes Before is very smart, very complex, but it is also an entertaining story.

Hopefully I haven't scared you off from trying this book. Yes, The Darkness That Comes Before is not an easy read, but it is not as difficult to read as Steven Erikson's Gardens of the Moon. The chances are, if you are a veteran to the fantasy genre, then you will be fine  as long as you remain attentive during your readings. Who will I recommend this book to? I believe, those readers who are fantasy enthusiasts (especially of the grimdark genre) may like this book.

Stay tuned for my next post, where I will review the sequel, The Warrior Prophet.

A Book Review: Morningstar by David Gemmell

David Gemmell, best known for his epic fantasy novel, Legend, is a seminal author in the genre. A decade after his passing, Gemmell's stories, about noble heroes, are continuing to attract legions of readers and admirers. He wrote very good fantasy novels. Anyone who likes this genre should read Legend.

In Morningstar, David Gemmell gifted his readers with a pleasant surprise. In contrary to the usual story about an exemplifying hero, he gave us a Robinhood-like story, it is the journey of an anti-hero coming to be a hero. In the end, the readers are left with a question – Does the past of a hero really matter?

Synopsis:

What makes a hero?

Stay a while and listen, to the story of Jarek Mace, also known, as Morningstar. Most people believe, Morningstar was the very incarnation of honor itself, but very few souls know the true history of Jarek Mace; before he became Morningstar, Jarek was once a thief and a soldier of fortune.

So, how did Jarek become Morningstar? Or, perhaps the whole story about Morningstar is but romances and fictions, invented and sung by tavern bards in exchange for a few coins? If you want to know the truth, then listen to the accounts of Owen Odell. Just remember, sometimes the truth is stranger than fictions.

My thoughts on this book:

Morningstar was written in the first person narrative and told from the perspectives of Owen, who, was a comrade of Jarek Mace (who would become Morningstar). The story borrowed from the tale of Robin Hood, and it took on the structure of a forest bandit taking on a tyrannical king. The difference being, while Robinhood was (sort of) noble, Jarek Mace was very far from being a shining example of virtue. No, if you read this book, the chances are that initially you will dislike (or even despise) Jarek Mace.

Through the course of the story, as if by pure luck, whenever Jarek Mace did something to further his own interests, he somehow ended up looking like an honorable hero and so his reputations grew. It was almost as if the title of Morningstar was thrusted upon Jarek against his will. As the book went on, however, the events gradually changed Jarek and his companions. Was Jarek redeemed in the end? Read this book and find out for yourself. But I think this book explored a fascinating question – What matters more? What makes a hero more, or less, of a hero? I leave the would-be readers to explore this story and decide for themselves. As for me, I parted from Morningstar's bitter sweet end, with questions and thoughts that lingered on my mind for many days afterward.

In terms of the writings, I found Morningstar a very well written and a compact book. This novel, a stand alone story, counts to only 280 pages. Yet, in such short spaces, David Gemmell depicted such a lively world, and his characters were very colorful. This book was also very well paced. Among the gallons of sword and sorcery actions, this book also left plentiful of spaces for worldbuilding and character developments. I think fans of David Gemmell would find many things to like about this book.

It is rare to find a stand alone fantasy novel, and it is even rarer to find one that is also thought-provoking and somewhat unique. Morningstar is both, and it is among David Gemmell's finest works. I highly recommend this book to those who are fond of epic and heroic fantasy books.

Until the next time, happy reading!

A Book Review: The Demon Crown by James Rollins (Sigma Force #13)

Every year I look forward to reading a new Sigma Force novel. What are these books about? It is a series of thrillers written by best-selling author, James Rollins, featuring a fictional task force within the US DARPA program, named Sigma Force. The primary functions of Sigma Force are: counter-terrorism, research, and covert operations. The operatives in the team are scientists with highly trained military skills. In other words, each and everyone in Sigma Force can fight like James Bond and think like Stephen Hawkings. Storywise, every Sigma Force novel blended science and history into the storytelling, and these books feel like combinations of Isaac Asimov novels, Indiana Jones, and Mission Impossible movies. This series is damn good, and it is the reason why I started reading thrillers. If you have yet to read a Sigma Force novel, then you really have to read one of them.

Last December saw the release for the 13^th installment in the series, titled, The Demon Crown. This book has a very interesting premise. Not only did it entertain me for hours but I also learned a thing or two I didn't know about wasps.

Synopsis:

In 1903, Alexander Graham Bell led an expedition in Italy. The team uncovered a cahe of bones preserved in ember. The artifact's inscrptions warned of a horror, a secret, that if released into the world, may doom humanity. The team decided to hide the artifact away, but they did not wish not to destroy it; for the strange relic also contained the secret of life after death.

More than 100 years later, during a research trip on an island off coast of Brazil, a team of scientists encountered a terrifying nightmare – all life on the island was extinguished by an unknown species. As the scientists were preparing to report the strange discovery, a shadowed agency attacked them with brute force, killing them all. Only one scientist, an entomologist, Professor Ken Matsui from the Cornell University, survived the armed attack.

Meanwhile, during his career break on the island of Maui, Commander Grayson Pierce of Sigma Force faced an assassination attempt. Between Alexander Graham Bell's discovery, the attack in Brazil, and the plot to kill commander Grayson Pierce, could there be a link between these events? Sigma Force is tasked to solve this lethal mystery, and their only clue is that all three events can be traced back to the founding of the Smithsonian Institute. This time, Sigma Force is racing against the clock to prevent a global catastrophe...

My thoughts on this book:

It was fun to read The Demon Crown, but this book also made me re-evaluate my perspective, about humanity's position on earth. I mean, we (the homo sapiens) often think we are the biggest deal on earth. We think everything on this planet exists for our benefits so we can do whatever we want with it. The fact is, when you look at the data for the distribution of biomass across different organisms, or, survival/dependability between species, then we discover that we are not the biggest deal on earth at all. I mean, for example, insects, not humans, is the group with the largest biomass out of all terrestrial organisms (not to mention there exists 900,000 known types of insects too). We live on a planet of insects, not a planet of humans. And the truth is, if some types of insects become extinct (such as bees), we will die out too. On the other hand, the survival of some insects may not depend on our existence. For example, it is said that cockroaches can out survive us following a nuclear apocalypse. After I read this book, I was reminded that we (the humans) need to respect our surroundings more, because we are not the masters, but only co-inhabitants, with other organisms on this planet, where our very own survivals are depending on them. I don't like to talk about politics, but I am becoming increasingly aware, of the importance on making decisions based on scientific data and facts instead of on ideological camps, this is becoming more important especially in this era where cultural and ideological wars run rampart in the media and social media to cloud our judgements.

Ok, enough of my ramblings about the environment, back to the book review. The Demon Crown, like every Sigma Force preceding it, is a fast-paced, thrilling ride. This book is addictive, with many twists and turns that warrant a roller coaster ride. Certain themes in this book reminded me of Jurassic Park. The book mentioned some interesting sciences (but some of it borderline science fiction). I especially enjoyed the well written, and fascinating chapters describing the behaviors of the wasps and swarms; if James Rollins had written my biology textbooks from back in the days then I would have been a much better student in the biology classes.

In terms of the book's characters, from Gray, Seichan, Monk, Kowalski, Kat, and Painter Crowe, all of our beloved characters from Sigma Force returned in The Demon Crown with styles. This book followed the structures from previous books, with two parallel story arcs. The first story arc consists of the non-stop actions from Gray, Seichan, and Kowalski in the Pacific Islands. The second story arc relates the adventures of Monk and Kat in central Europe. There is a good sense of character progression here, as the story explored how the past events are continuing to affect our heroes' emotions and relationships. Furthermore, the story gave me a sense of dread. It felt like the characters were immersed in terrible dangers, where we can never tell if these heroes can survive their adventures unscathed.

I am very happy with The Demon Crown. I am a long time fan of Sigma Force series, and I think this book is a worthy addition to the series. I have no idea how James Rollins is able to publish these amazing thrillers, year after year. This man's creative powers must be immense. Currently, there is no news for the next Sigma Force novel. But judging from James Rollins' publishing records, a new Sigma Force novel should (hopefully) arrive near the end of 2018, and so I am eagerly anticipating for Mr. Rollins' next Sigma Force novel to come knocking on my door.

A Book Review: Blood for the Blood God by C.L. Werner (Warhammer fantasy)

Last year, during a visit to a second hand book fair, I came across a novel dressed in eye-catching artworks. The book, titled, Blood for the Blood God, costed a dollar. Its front cover depicted a mighty-thewed warrior cladded in a suit of dark armor, and his hands were clutching the haft of a menacing battle axe. 

"My, oh, my", I thought, "An adventure of blood and thunder! This stuff should be right up my alley."

I took a closer look at the printings on the cover and read, "Warhammer Fantasy".

Warhammer? I have heard of this franchise, it is something to do with the tabletop miniature games, but I don't know anything of the story behind it. The book costed only a dollar, and so I decided to give it a try. Over the next 7 months, Blood for the Blood God sat on my over-crowded bookshelf, forgotten. Last week, though, the book popped into my mind while I was rearranging my shelf. This time, I decided to read it straight away. Feeling excited, I opened the book and ventured into the world of Warhammer for the first time.

My afterthoughts? This book was a hit and miss for me.

This book started with a memorable fight scene - A powerful, brutal warrior known as Skulltaker emerged from the desert wastelands. He then challenged a mighty chieftan to a mortal kombat. Both combatants died in the duel. The chieftain's death led to power struggles, and his legacy was divided into smaller tribes. Eons later, the Skulltaker returned to the mortal world, and he resumed the quest to vanquish all ruling chieftains in the chaotic desert. The next 380 pages of the book narrated the story, of how the desert tribes united in a desperate attempt to stop Skulltaker's killing sprees.

The world in this book is very grim and very dark. The story itself is a feast of violence and treachery (which translates to plot twists and turns). None of the character is morally good and noble. In other words, this is not a typical Tolkienian fantasy novel about good versus evil. No, instead, Blood for the Blood God bears the hallmarks in the "grimdark" fantasy genre.

Grimdark fantasy may be my favorite genre, but I didn't like this book.

After the explosive prologue, the story dipped in its pace and the book became really boring. There were a lot of action scenes, but the characters were uninteresting and I didn't care for any of them. I lost interest in this book after reading one hundred pages of it. I wanted it to be over. Yet I persisted and finished the book anyway just in case it gets better. Did my persistence pay off? Yes and no. Granted, the last 30 pages of the story was interesting, and it delivered a surprised ending. But the memorable ending just couldn't outweigh the fact that 87% of this book was boring and a drag.

That is right! In my opinion, the good bits of the book were the prologue (20 pages) and the ending (30 pages), where most of the book (350 pages) was uninteresting and slow. I wanted to like this book because it is my first time reading a Warhammer novel. In the end, I came away from this book feeling disappointed. Will I be reading more Warhammer fantasy books? Yes, I will, because I found the world of Warhammer to my likings. Perhaps I will scout Goodreads for Warhammer books with at least 4 star ratings. Meanwhile, despite a setting in the world of Warhammer, Blood for the Blood God just didn't do it for me.