January 2018 Book Wrap-Up

10 books this month.
What were they and what did I think of them?

I’ve also done a vlog for this on booktube:

Why I read it:	I spotted this in the local library and thought it gave off a suitably Buffy vibe, so I thought I’d give it a go.
What is it about?:	Cryptids (non-human entities such as bogeymen, dragon princesses and other such beings) live among us in secret, but are they to be exterminated as abominations or left to live free as individuals? Something bad is happening to them and it’s left to reluctant Verity Price to save the day, even though it gets in the way of her passion of dancing.
Thoughts:	This was a delight to read. Humorous without it being a comedy and with characters so appealing that the slow-moving plot doesn’t detract from the story. Each chapter is headed by an amusing quote from one of the elder Price’s as well as a brilliantly descripted location. Highlights definitely include the Aeslin Mice, a tribe of sentient mice who religiously celebrate every mundane thing Verity does and whose likeness act as the page breaks throughout the book.
Score:	Buy it.
What’s next?	Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived
Why I read it:	I’ve greatly enjoyed this series and so of course would like to finish it off.
What is it about?:	Failed Jedi Zayne Carrick is drafted into the Republic military in the Mandalorian War. Chaos ensues for combatants in both sides.
Thoughts:	As usual, Zayne ‘Forest Gumps’ his way through a number of otherwise lethal situations, often faring much better than those around him. However, by now, Zayne has gotten used to the bizarre levels of chance that his unique connection to the Force provides for him. This is mostly played straight with only a few comic relief moments where Zayne goes through a baptism of fire to truly discover his place in the universe. A mostly satisfying read that had some nice cameos from Jarael and Gryph. The artwork was pretty decent, too.
Score:	Worth reading
I’ve also read:	All of the Knights of the Old Republic series and many, many Star Wars books
Why I read it:	I spotted this in the local library and had to read it.
What is it about?:	After Order 66, the fall of the Jedi Order and the Republic and the rise of Palpatine’s Empire, Darth Vader is on a mission to seek out and exterminate any residual Jedi.
Thoughts:	This volume actually contains four stories: 1. Purge – I’d previously read this as part of the Clone Wars: Endgame collection. Darth Vader is led into a trap by a group of Jedi resulting in magnifying his reputation when he walks out again. This is brilliantly illustrated with some very exciting action. There’s no doubt as to the end result, Vader does live to feature in the movies after all but, as this story features many of the significant Jedi from the Clone Wars graphic novels, each death was very impactful. 2. Seconds To Die – Chronicling the ‘life-flashing-as-she-died’ last few seconds of a Kel-Dor Jedi, looking back over her lifetime. A bittersweet look at a life lived and it’s sudden conclusion. Well told and with good artwork. 3. The Hidden Blade – Darth Vader is tasked with babysitting a factory, but is distracted by the Jedi leading insurrectionists attacking the facility. Can he stick to his task, or will he give in to his hate and seek out the Jedi? A pretty obvious question with some pretty ugly artwork. 4. The Tyrant’s Fist – An extended story that also has Jedi leading insurrectionist. Darth Vader explores the destruction of the Jedi by first killing their reputation, their image and the that the people have for them, before taking their actual lives, thereby not making martyrs of them. An interesting story that perhaps went on a bit too long. Overall, this was okay though the first story is definitely the best of the bunch by a long way and I already have that in Endgame.
Score:	Worth reading
I’ve also read:	So. Much. Star Wars.
Why I read it:	I’ve been rereading all my Star Wars graphic novels chronologically. This one’s next on the pile.
What is it about?:	More politics, intrigue, action, excitement and betrayal.
Thoughts:	The volume actually contains five stories: 1. Dead Ends – Bail Organa and Finis Valorum explore the lies and corruption that surrounds the senate. If it weren’t for the fact that we all already know it’s Palpatine, this would have been quite interesting. Instead it was merely a thing. 2. Bloodlines – Upon the imminent death of a Jedi, we watch as his recent life flashes before his eyes and we see all the tricks and lies culminating at the end at the beginning of the sequence with his forming a friendship with Palpatine. Told in a way that kept the narrative interesting, this was a poignant story showcasing the damage that high-level corruption can do. 3. Hate And Fear – Obi-Wan Kenobi, presumed dead by the Jedi order, joins forces with fellow captive ARC clone trooper Alpha in a bid to escape the clutches of Asajj Ventress. Beautifully illustrated and very exciting, this story make reading this book so much more worth it. 4. No Mans’ Land – Sees Anakin Skywalker lead a rescue mission to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi despite being told that he must already be dead. This is really more of the closing chapter to the previous story as Obi-Wan fights he way out, Anakin fights his way in. Not sure why this has a separate title, to be honest. 5. The Best Blades – Yoda visits an old friend in a bid to convince him not to split his planet from the Republic. Using more of a Manga style of artwork, this is very wordy and quite slow-paced with an almost inevitable conclusion.
Score:	Worth reading
I’ve also read:	Many, many Star Wars Books
What’s next?	Star Wars: Clone Wars VI: On The Fields Of Battle
Why I read it:	I’ve enjoyed the films and the books, time for some short stories. This is also January’s book of the month.
What is it about?:	A series of short stories following the Yaujta as they prey on different eras of humanity.
Thoughts:	As a short story collection, it would only be fair to give thoughts on each story, so here goes: Story Name: DevilDogs by Tim Lebbon What is it about? A squad off colonial marines are tasked with a retrieval mission on a remote research station. Thoughts: This one read very much like an aliens story. Right up to the appearance of the Yaujta. Actually, even then, the feeling remained. Mixed in with the violence and action is quite a hard look on the liberties humanity feels like it can take. Score: Worth reading Story Name: Stonewall’s Last Stand by Jeremy Robson What is it about? A scouting mission during the American Civil War encounters a Devil in the woods. Thoughts: This was an enjoyable reworking of the original film as if it were based in 1863 and with some of the hunting gear from Predator 2. It certainly felt as if it were inspired by the pistol given as a trophy at the end of Predator 2. A solid Predator story. Score: Buy the book for this story Story Name: Rematch by Steve Perry What is it about? A Yaujta and her mate hunt down an ooman who had not only survived a previous encounter, but had also killed the hunter. Thoughts: This is told in from two main perspectives, the humans’ and the predators’ and this does add a nice element with the predators’ interactions with one another. It’s interesting that Steve Perry has changed the lore he set down in his Aliens vs. Predator: Prey novel where the females dominate over the males and see the hunting is beneath them by having a female involved in this hunt. It’s well paced with a hand bunch of useless oomans for the predators to butcher (literally as a stretching warm up exercise). The tension was well strung and the survival of any of the oomans we cared about was never certain, but then neither was it for the predators either. Score: Buy the book for this story Story Name: May Blood Pave My Way Home by Weston Ochse What is it about? The story follows a band of Buffalo Soldiers based in Central Mexico during the 1916 Punitive Expedition. After an altercation with the native Comanches, four soldiers find themselves in a duelling match against four Ya-OOT-ja to the death. Thoughts: Despite being based in a battle I’ve never heard of, I found myself quickly invested in this story. The link of the predators to the native Comanche’s was, perhaps, a little tenuous but still believable enough to make sense. The duel itself was refreshing in that I’d not seen predators in a straight-up one-on-one fair(ish) fight. (Unless you count the yakuza in the film Predators.) I also greatly appreciated the handy phonetic spelling of Yautja (I’ve always read it as Yowtcha). Score: Worth reading Story Name: Storm Blood by Peter J. Wacks and David Boop What is it about? Based in New Orleans during the height of Storm Catrina, a rescue team save an unconscious boy with some disturbing footage on his camera. Thoughts: Even though there was no heist this had a resonant feeling of the film Hard Rain starring Christian Slater and Morgan Freeman. This story is a little bit different in that it’s not a Yaujta hunting the people. There’s something else, and the Yautja is hunting that. I can’t say more than that plot-wise, but I can say that the story was very enjoyable, and the creature is an interesting one. It started off using the found footage trope, but thankfully passed that and got on with telling the story properly. Exciting stuff. Score: Worth reading Story Name: Last Report From The KSS Psychopomp by Jennifer Brozek What is it about? A salvage crew board a derelict scavenger ship, but they’re not alone on board. Thoughts: This one probably was less impactful as it features in a compilation of Predator stories so you know exactly what’s in store for our hapless space crew. Indeed, this story does play out as expected and this could have had any alien nasty as the ‘monster’ in this one. I still found the action exciting and appreciated the uncertainty as to who, if anyone, would survive. Score: Worth reading Story Name: Skeld’s Keep by S. D. Perry What is it about? In 820 AD a retired predator leads three newly blooded youngsters on a hunt for Viking oomans. Thoughts: The story is told from two perspectives, the Vikings’ and the predators’. The Vikings are attempting to take the titular keep that has been ravaged by a mysterious disease. The action is understandably graphic and visceral with lots of bladed weapons encountering those fragile human bodies. The battle did have a certain A Song Of Ice And Fire feel to it. My only issue was that there was no real explanation as to what the illness was. Score: Worth reading Story Name: Indigenous Species by Kevin J. Anderson What is it about? A colony on the brink of survival finds itself in the middle of a hunt between the planet’s top predator and the Yautja. Thoughts: This was very reminiscent of Aliens Vs. Predator: Prey by Steve & Stephanie Perry in that the basic premise is the same. The only difference is that the gruzzlies are already native to the planet and the Yautja come specifically to hunt them. I enjoyed the Score: Buy the book for this story Story Name: Blood And Sand by Mira Grant What is it about? Two orphans who live with their abusive aunt and uncle find a change in fortune when a mysterious star lands nearby. Thoughts: This was a satisfying tale that suggest that the Yautja are more aware of humanity’s shortcomings than we would have thought. Score: Worth reading Story Name: Tin Warrior by John Shirly What is it about? A soldier who has stood up against a superior officer finds himself testing a reverse-engineered suit of Yaujta armour, against a captive Yaujta. Thoughts: Anther interesting concept that doesn’t quite go in the expected directions. I found myself rooting for the Yaujta as much as I did the soldier. Score: Worth reading Story Name: Three Sparks by Larry Correia What is it about? A rogue samurai is given the task of hunting down the Oni of Aokigahara, a forest demon that kills and skins it’s human victims. Thoughts: A very compelling tale that feels like a retelling of Predator but with a forest instead of a jungle and samurai with swords instead of soldiers with guns. And no chopper, obviously. This was very enjoyable and highly satisfying. Score: Buy the book for this story Story Name: The Pilot by Andrew Mayne What is it about? When a downed American pilot captured by the Russians attempts to escape his captors, he discovers that his fellow prisoner hails from a little further than China as he initially believed. Thoughts: Easily the best story in this collection so far. The character’s plight was believable and felt authentic from the start. His escape was thrilling and when he joins forces with the otherworldly captive the action is exciting and so well realised through his eyes. I enjoyed this one immensely. Score: Storytastic! Story Name: Buffalo Jump by Wendy M. Wagner What is it about? It’s the wild west and the local sheriff of a small town is approached by a gang from his past. Thoughts: What happens when a standard Western story is suddenly hijacked by an alien influence. Well, apart from Coyboys and Aliens, this. The story develops naturally as a standard Western with the sheriff standing up to a gang, and then embarking on rescuing a child from a kidnap situation. Then blood starts happening. I enjoyed the unique method used to get the better of the Yautja and again there was an nice insight into how the predators view humanity. Score: Worth reading Story Name: Drug War by Bryan Thomas Schmidt & Holly Roberds What is it about? Twenty years after Predator 2 Harrigan and Garber find themselves facing a familiar threat. Thoughts: I do appreciate it when a story can tie into established cannon. I like Predator 2 a lot and I thought it great that we had a return of Harrigan. Just like the film, this features a lot of explosive urban combat making this exciting and adrenalin-filled. The final twist was a delight. Score: Buy the book for this story Story Name: Recon by Dayron Ward What is it about? A recon squad deep in the Vietnam jungle find that they’re up against not just the Vietnamese. Thoughts: Another story heavily influenced by Predator. The characters were a little lacking in their characterisation and the story didn’t really play out much differently to how it does in Predator. It was enjoyable enough and still manages to stand out from the other stories in this collection. Score: Worth reading. Story Name: Gameworld by Jonathan Maberry What is it about? Set in the future on a privately-owned world where an illegal fight arena pits combatants against enhanced dangerous animals. All goes well until a Yautja is made to fight. Thoughts: This one had quite a bit of build-up, which again was undermined by featuring in a book with a Yautja on the front cover. However, even knowing that the lead character was going to be duelling against a Yautja, the action was still exciting with a Sherlock Holmes level of detail in the combat. The twist in this was very enjoyable, if a little anticipated. Score: Worth reading. Final thoughts: Wow, this was a very enjoyable read were even the worst story was still worth reading. After the disappointing repetitiveness of the short story collection Aliens: Bug Hunt, this was a very pleasant surprise.
Score:	Bookstastic
I’ve also read:	Concrete Jungle; Cold War
What’s next?	February’s book of the month: The Rage Wars I: Predator: Incursion
Why I read it:	Because it’s Star Wars
What is it about?:	Jedi-hunting bounty hunters, infiltration and Ventress riding a rancor.
Thoughts:	Some stories in this one: 1. Show Of Force – A fantastic story following Mace Windu leading other top Jedi onto a space station to take down a band of Jedi-hunting bounty hunters. This is a brilliant showcase of how unstoppable a Jedi task force is, if they’re not being manipulated from the start and are free to just do their thing. 2. Forever Young – In attacking a citadel, Anakin Skywalker is shocked by how young his accompanying Jedi is. This was quite a short story where Anakin just had to learn not on ly the hardships of war itself, but what true dedication can mean. 3. Armour: Aayla Secura seeks to retrieve a maguffin only to find her wayward former master, Quinlan Vos is also after it. With Quinlan Vos going deep undercover into Count Dooku’s forces and having previously undertaken some decidedly unJedilike acts, the big question hanging over this story is: Is Quinlan now a Dark Jedi? This story keeps you guessing until the very end (and even then it’s not crystal clear). I really enjoy Aayla and Kit as characters and found this to be a great platform for them. 4. Dreadnaughts of Rendili – After being rescued by Obi-Wan Kenobi, the renegade Jedi Quinlan Vos rejoins the Jedi as they attempt to thwart the mutiny of a dreadnaught fleet. This was a fantastic story that had a little bit of everything worth having. Quinlan Vos’s loyalties forever remain in question and my thoughts on them almost panel to panel. Ventress has two thrilling duels against Obi-Wan and Anakin. All superbly illustrated too. This all made for a very entertaining read.
Score:	Booktastic!
I’ve also read:	Many, many Star Wars.
What’s next?	Star Wars: Clone Wars VII: When They Were Brothers
Why I read it:	I enjoy short story collections and thought I’d try one on a genre I’ve not read that much on.
What is it about?:	A series of short stories based on and around the concept of the living dead.
Thoughts:	Ordinarily I’d do a quick review of each story, but with over 30 stories in the collection that would take a fair while. The quality of these stories vary quite dramatically from Storytastic! with some really interesting ideas on the zombie/living dead aspect to Toilet Paper with little to no relevance to collection of stories they’ve been grouped with. Some I really enjoyed, others, I greatly detested. For the most part, I think that the better stories do outweigh the weaker ones
Score:	Worth reading – as long as you skip the rubbish ones.
What’s next?	The Mammoth Book of Apocalyptic SF
Why I read it:	I’ve already read books 1 and 2 to my 9-year-old son and so this is the obvious choice here.
What is it about?:	Honorary FBI agent Chevron Savano and Riley find themselves falling through time once more and facing off against and old and deadly enemy.
Thoughts:	The first two books of the series had lots of great character development and good adventures. This one, unfortunately seemed to be a bit lacking in both. Overall, it was okay but is not as good as the others. There was also an overuse of the sci-fi gobbledegook that did stuff just because and was the get-out clause of many of the situations.
Score:	Worth reading – for completeness sake.
I’ve also read W.A.R.P.:	The Reluctant Assassin and The Hangman’s Revolution
What’s next?	My son’s picked Amazon Adventure by Willard Price.
Why I read it:	I’ve been going chronologically through my Star Wars collection. Sometimes I pick up a book I’ve already passed in the timeline and need to fill those gaps.
What is it about?:	Han Solo’s rival smuggler Dash Rendar finds himself without a ship and needs work fast. His new job as a bodyguard to a popular singer proves to be a little more than we was led to expect.
Thoughts:	This was an exciting, amusing and very entertaining read. There were a lot of interesting characters, particularly the sarcastic droid Leebo. The mystery as to who the threat was kept me guessing throughout the story. Han Solo also provided a nice cameo roll.
Score:	Booktastic!
I’ve also read:	A lot of Star Wars
What’s next?	Going right to the beginning with: The Lost Tribe Of The Sith by John Jackson Miller
Why I read it:	It’s the next Clone Wars in the series I’m reading, of course I’m going to read it.
What is it about?:	Before Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi had their final duel on the Death Star, they were very close friends who constantly looked out for one another. These stories show their final adventures together as ‘brothers.’
Thoughts:	The main story Obsession follows Obi-Wan’s obsession into finding the now-believed dead Ventress. This leads to an epic face-off against Durge, a significant battle that includes General Grevious and a final confrontation with a surprisingly moving conclusion. The artwork as a little odd but the story was first rate. There’s also an untitled short story that showcases just how Obi-Wan and Anakin trust each other and rely upon one another. It’s a little unnecessary but quite poignant when knowing what is to come.
Score:	Booktastic
I’ve also read:	A lot of Star Wars
What’s next?	Star Wars: Clone Wars 8: The Last Siege, The Final Truth

And that was January.

What will I be reading in February?
Check out my booktube video to find out: