May Wrap-Up

This post contains affiliate links. This means when you follow a link and make a purchase, I make a small commission at no additional cost to you, the customer. Affiliate links are marked with an asterisk (*) after the link for simplicity

It's the end of the month, which means it's wrap-up time. May wasn't a bad month, although it wasn't a record-breaking month. I did join a new book club, re-read an old favorite and was introduced to new authors. Now, let's get into the books.

Books I Read and Reviewed

The Summoned Ones by Darryl A. Woods- 3.9 Stars

The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon- 2.7 Stars

White Elephant by V. E. Ulett- 3.4 Stars

Galactic Mandate: The Sccream by M. R. Richardson- 1.9 Stars

Books I Read, Only Reviewed on Goodreads

The Hobbit* by J. R. R. Tolkien- 5 Stars

Happy &You Know It *by Laura Hankin- 3 stars (Goodreads review)

The One & Only Dylan St. Claire* by Kamen Edwards- 5 Stars (Goodreads review)

Ella Has A Plan by Davina Hamilton- 5 stars (Goodreads review)

The Hollow Gods by A. J. Vrana- 3 Stars (Goodreads review)

Batman: Court of Owls* by Scott Snydrer- 4 Stars

Genres Read

Children's Books: 2

Fantasy: 4

Science Fiction: 1

Thriller: 2

Comic Books/Graphic Novels: 1

Figures

Number of DNFs: 1

Total Books Read: 10

Pages Read: 2,415

Average Rating: 3.6 Stars

What did you read in May? Any recommendations?

Follow Me Elsewhere: Facebook \ Twitter \ Goodreads \ Instagram

Buy Me A Coffee?

Galactic Mandate: The Scream

Galactic Mandate: The Scream is a 2019 science fiction novel by M. R. Richardson. It was released in early 2019 and published by Room 10 Publishing. I received an advanced copy of the book in order to write this review.

The novel follows a clone named Mato. After being taken from the planet he calls home, he’s taken on a journey across the galaxy. During the course of his journey, he’s forced to decide between what’s best of his oppressed clone brethren and the greater good. When his journey leads him to encountering the sinister Scream, Mato and his allies must figure out what they want and what lengths they will go to to get it.

The first thing I want to say about this book is that the author clearly has a very expansive universe. This story doesn’t take place on just one planet, or even two. Mato seems to go from one end of the galaxy to the other over this rather short novel. There are a lot of big ideas that the author wanted to put on display. There are strong plot elements and a unique story to be found. Richardson’s ideas are very creative and even if plot elements are sci-fi staples, such as clones, he’s found a new way to tell a story about them. The action scenes were interesting and fast-paced and there were a few moments where the outcomes of battle scenes truly surprised me. The story had a lot of potential and a lot of great ideas it was working with.

The biggest problem with the novel, however, is its length. The e-book is under 175 pages, and there aren’t enough pages to fully do the story justice. Events seemed to rush by far too quickly. Mato goes from his home planet, to being in a sticky situation on a space station and there isn’t enough time for the author to elaborate on the context of certain scenes or the motivation of characters. Jay, one of the people traveling with Mato, has a history with a number of people they encounter over the length of the journey, but there’s barely information given explaining his history with them. Events don’t feel like they have any kind of weight because the reader isn’t given a chance to absorb them before the scene changes. I feel like I would’ve enjoyed this novel far more if it was a longer, giving the author time to do some important world-building and let the story breathe a little more. As it currently is now, I don’t know how I felt about the characters, because I barely got to know them. I can’t really say that I enjoyed the plot because it felt incredibly rushed. There were scenes that were important to the overall story that I didn’t realize were significant until the very end because they were treated the same as scenes meant to move the characters from A to B.

I finished the book with a lot of questions still unanswered. Questions that I thought I’d get at least a partial answer to, within the story. I wanted to know at least a little more about the clones and how they were created. I wanted a little more context regarding the past conflicts between the clones and the Acolytes. Names were being thrown around in the story, such as God-Wrath and Dark Reign, without an explanation of who or what they are and the reader is supposed to fill in the blanks with very little information. The author probably wanted the reader to have questions after the novel ended, but in my opinion, I had too many questions when I was done.  The story felt a bit incomplete as a result.

Galactic Mandate: The Scream was underwhelming to me. There was a lot of potential in the story and the author’s ideas, but there weren’t enough pages to do it justice. Scenes felt rushed, some felt like they were thrown in. Important moments weren’t given enough attention. I do feel like, if given a longer page count to work with, the author could’ve written an amazing novel. I hope M. R. Richardson’s next novel is given the length it deserves.

Rating: 1.9 Stars

Follow Me Elsewhere: Facebook \ Twitter \ Goodreads \ Instagram

Buy Me A Coffee? 

In Defense of the DNF

I feel like both readers and authors take DNFs particularly hard. For those who don't know, "DNF" stands for "Did Not Finish" and if a reader DNFs a book, they started reading it and decided not to finish it. While I feel like readers and authors take DNFs hard, I can understand why. As a reader, you've chosen a book that you expected to like and it turned out not to be to your liking. It may feel like giving up. As an author, you've spent months or years working on a book only for someone to come out and say they didn't like it and didn't even finish it. Today, I'd like to share my perspective on DNFing a book and why I don't think it should necessarily be considered a bad thing.

I asked people on Twitter why they DNF'd the last book they chose not to finish. The majority said that they DNF'd the book because they simply weren't enjoying it. A few mentioned not having time, but most said they weren't enjoying the book and stopped reading to find a new selection. More often than not, that's the same reason why I've chosen not to finish a book. I love reading, I love books but not every book is going to fit every reader's tastes. It's unfair to the reader, and even more unfair to the book and the author, to be expected to finish a book the reader isn't enjoying. If I force myself to finish a book I don't enjoy and didn't want to keep reading, rather than just DNF it, when I go to rate it, as I do with every book I finish, it's not going to get higher than 2 stars, maximum. I don't think this is fair to the author when I might not be the book's intended audience. Or the novel might be one of my favorite genres, but I've decided I need a break from that genre. If I don't finish a book, I don't rate the book. Then, I continue on with my day.

Another important factor to consider, when discussing DNFing a book, is a reader's personal tastes pet peeves, and boundaries. This fits in somewhat with the above point, but I wanted to discuss separately. Some readers strongly dislike books written in the first person perspective; others love it. There are a few readers I know who started reading a specific book, realized they just really didn't like the first person POV and DNF'd it, even though they liked the story. Some readers don't enjoy novels written in vernacular language (a la Huck Finn) or with flowery language, and reach a point where they decide they have to stop. Sometimes, unfortunately, there is an issue with subject matter. Authors don't always provide information up front about a book's subject matter when it deals with heavier themes or topics, such as mental health, trauma and things of that nature. Readers may choose to DNF a book because they picked it up, not realizing it was going to be about such a heavy topic. Maybe they simply aren't in the right headspace to read it at that time. It's important to note that, in most cases, when a reader DNFs a book, they're basically saying "it's not you, it's me". The book hasn't "done" anything wrong.

There seems to be this unspoken assumption that if you DNF a book, that's the end-all, be-all for it. The reader is going to drop the book like a hot potato and never look back. That isn't necessarily the case. People change, their tastes change. If I DNF  a book today, I'm not barred from deciding to maybe give it another try in a year or two.

A book being DNF'd is an unavoidable part of that book being published. Just like how every book has at least one negative review, every book has at least one reader who elected not to finish reading it. It's just part of the process. On its surface, it's essentially a neutral thing, yet it's viewed as a negative. The stigma around DNFing books, or your book being DNF'd is undeserved in my opinion. It's unavoidable and better than the alternative: continuing to read a book you dislike and giving it a terrible, scathing and usually unwarranted review.

Do you DNF? What's your opinion about DNFing a book?

Follow Me Elsewhere: Facebook \ Twitter \ Goodreads \ Instagram

Buy Me A Coffee?

White Elephant

White Elephant is a 2019 historical fantasy novel by V. E. Ulett. It is the second novel in the Code Black series. While it’s a part of a series, the story itself is a stand-alone novel. I was provided with a free copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

The novel follows Miriam, a crew member on the airship Nonesuch. In order to keep her place on board, she must complete a mission for Lord Q and persuade the first white rajah of Sarawak to become loyal to the British Crown once more. When Nonesuch crash lands on the coast of Borneo, Miriam’s mission changes to one of survival. In order to rescue the crew of the Nonesuch, she must trek through the jungle guided by a team of elephants to the would-be empire builder’s capital. The jungle has it’s own laws, however, and Miriam may not emerge with her mission and loyalties unchanged.

Before I get into my review, I wanted to point out a few topics/themes this book deals with. There are multiple mentions of rape and allusions to it. There are scenes involving animal cruelty. There are a few scenes where medical discussions happen, and the description of some of the injuries and conditions might make the reader squeamish.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this novel, especially since it is the second book in a series and I hadn’t read the first Code Black book Golden Dragon. Thankfully, the novel works as a stand-alone book and I was easily able to follow the story without getting confused by the dynamics between characters. I suspect Golden Dragon provides a little more detail about Miriam’s backstory and fleshes out the character of Lord Q a bit, but doesn’t impact this novel beyond that.

I enjoyed the characters in this story a lot. Miriam, the main character, was smart, while also having an edge to her that I liked. She’s a Muslim woman from Tehran and her education and resourcefulness is why Lord Q recruited her. Her behavior and attitude were very realistic for the setting of the story and I enjoyed the journey she went on as a character. My second favorite character was Maximus Thorpe, Miriam’s lover and the captain of the Nonesuch. While most of the story is told through Miriam’s eyes, there are chapters told from Maximus’s as the story begins to come together and the truth about the white rajah starts to become clear. Maximus is very intelligent, and I appreciated the fact that he was skeptical of information he was being told and went with his instincts, on more than one occasion, rather than simply believe what others told him.  This novel has a very diverse cast of characters, including some transgender characters, which was surprising read as historical novels tend to focus on white characters with very few non-white characters included in the background or they’re written as one-dimensional. This is the first historical novel I’ve read to include a trans character.

While the novel is not intended to be an action or adventure story, the actions scenes are well-written and the author maintains the tension through all of the fast-paced action scenes throughout the book without making things seem repetitive. Each scene is unique and each fight feels just as intense, if not more intense, than earlier ones. The novel as a whole is very well-written. The story kept me engaged and the author clearly did a great deal of research in writing it. I was especially impressed when it came to how much information about elephants and their behavior patterns was included. While the elephants start as being just a mode of transportation, they soon become characters in and of themselves. One of the book’s subplot involves the plight of the wild elephants and their treatment at the hands of both the native population and the British hoping to colonize Borneo.  

While I enjoyed the novel overall, I do have a few criticisms. The dialogue can be a bit hard to follow, given that it’s written in vernacular English. For characters who either don’t speak English well or have a strong accent, their dialogue is written to imitate how they’d actually sound. For example, “Miriam” and “England” are spelled like “Maryam” and “Inglang” respectively on several occasions. It’s hard to follow at the beginning, but the more you read of the book, the easier it is to follow. This style also applies to Maximus, who’s Scottish and his dialogue is written to emulate a Scottish accent. I wasn’t a big fan of the climax of the story, due to the way it unfolds. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the reader isn’t able to witness as much of it as I’d hoped. Similarly, the antagonist is described as having gone mad, but the reader isn’t shown enough evidence of this. The reader is shown evidence of him being a terrible person, but the madness, the urgency of Miriam’s mission, really isn’t delivered on. Lastly, there are a few in-universe things that Miriam does that don’t completely make sense. Perhaps I wasn’t pay close enough attention, but for some events, I felt like a little more insight on Miriam’s thought process or feelings would’ve gone a long way.

Overall, I enjoyed White Elephant. It was an engaging read, which I ended up liking a lot more than I expected to. While there are some kinks that need to be worked out and things the author can improve upon, it’s a good novel. I might go back and read the first novel in the series now that I’ve read this one.

Rating: 3.4 Stars

Follow Me Elsewhere: Facebook \ Twitter \ Goodreads \ Instagram

Buy Me A Coffee? 

Tolkien Book Tag

I was messing around online, trying to come up with an idea for blog posts, when it occurred to me that I might get  some inspiration if I searched "[book/series] + Book Tag". I decided to do that, which was how I found this tag, the Tolkien Book Tag on BookWormMuse's blog. It looked interesting, and Lord of the Rings is my favorite series of all time, so I decided to give it a try. With all of that (over) explained, I'm going to start completing the tag now.

HOW DID YOUR JOURNEY TO MIDDLE EARTH BEGIN?

It's actually a funny story. When I was in elementary, my teacher informed my parents that I was having problems reading aloud in class. My reading level was fine, but when I needed to read aloud, I'd stutter and stumble over words, even though I knew how to read what I was reading. She suggested that one of my parents have me read aloud at home regularly to improve. My dad volunteered to be the person to read with me, and since he didn't want to listen to me read The Cat in the Hat or other kid's books aloud, he got to pick the book. He chose The Hobbit. We started reading it together, my reading improved and by the time my teacher said we didn't need to do that anymore, I was already invested in the story. So, I kept reading the book. And then I read The Lord of the Rings.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE MIDDLE EARTH BOOK?

The Hobbit will always have a special place in my heart and it's the obvious answer. At the same time, I will say that my favorite Lord of the Rings book is The Fellowship of the Ring. There's just something about that book, about the very beginning of this amazing story, that stuck with me more than The Two Towers and The Return of the King. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE?

Return of the King, hands down. I love the way it's paced. I love the battle scenes. I love the way it was shot and how the plotlines all come together. Also, Aragorn's speech in front of the gates of Mordor gives me chills every time. And the extended edition of Return of the King is amazing and worth the four hours of time it takes to watch it.

MOVIES OR BOOKS?

Books. The book is always better. However, I have watched the movies more often than I've read the books. Also, the movies are pretty true to the books, which is probably why I like them so much. The films are visually stunning. You know you made a good adaptation when a complete Tolkien nerd (aka my dad) watches the films and the only complaint he can come up with is annoyance that Tom Bombadil doesn't appear in the film. 

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTERS?

The better (easier) question to ask would be what characters don't I like, but I digress. I love Frodo and Samwise Gamgee. I'm also a big fan of Pippin and Merry. Also, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Eowyn. And Gandalf and Arwen and everyone else. However, if I absolutely have to pick one character, I guess I'd have to say Sam.

WHAT MIDDLE EARTH RACE WOULD YOU BE?

A Hobbit. I feel like a lot of people would say "elf" or "wizard" because they can do cool things, but if I'm being realistic, I'm more like a Hobbit than anything else. They eat all the time, they don't usually get involved in the shenanigans of the outside world and they build their homes for maximum coziness. Sounds like the perfect life for me.

BEST ACTOR/CHARACTER CASTING MATCH?

Oh, this is a hard one. They got so much of the casting right with these films that narrowing it down to just one choice is hard and I'm not good at making decisions. I feel like a lot of people would say Ian McKellan, and I'd agree, but thinking back, I'm going to go with Richard Armitage as Thorin. That was an excellent casting choice.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE IN MIDDLE EARTH?

Rivendell, because it's absolutely beautiful. A runner-up is defintely the Shire, for how quaint and quiet it appears to be. I also really liked the design of Minas Tirith, so if I could go to Middle Earth, I'd definitely visit there.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THE BOOKS OR THE MOVIES?

Another difficult question. I could start talking about how pumped I get when I see/read one of Theoden's epic speeches. Or mention a few lines that make me laugh, but then that's not really answering the question. So, I'll pick three, a favorite and two run-ups.

My favorite is Gandalf's speech when Frodo says he wished the ring had never come to him.

My second favorite is the scene in Return of the King when Eowyn kills the Witch King of Angmar and their exchange. You know the one. Very Macbeth inspired.

Third choice is Pippin and Treebeard's conversation in Fangorn Forest, when he convinces Treebeard to head south, since "the closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm". I feel like that moment is underrated, even though it shows how smart Pippin can be.

And that's the tag. I hope you enjoyed. I hope I haven't bored anyone who doesn't like Tolkien. I don't know how many of you are Tolkien nerds like I am, but if you are a Tolkien fan and haven’t been tagged by anyone, consider yourself tagged.