Book Review: Merlin's Tour of the Universe: A Traveler's Guide to Blue Moons and Black Holes, Mars, Stars, and Everything Far

 

Merlin's Tour of the Universe is a book by Neil deGrasse Tyson, first published in 1989 and updated in 2024. In it, Tyson answers letters written by people asking science questions. He responds as a fictional character, Merlin, who is an alien who has visited Earth many times over thousands of years from his home planet in the Andromeda Galaxy. Within the responses, he explains concepts from almost every branch of science, including complicated astrophysics, with letters grouped in different topics that make up the chapters of the book. 

The hardcover version of the book is moderately long at just under 280 pages of substantive text. None of the responses to the letters is very long. Most are a paragraph or two. The shortest responses are a sentence or two long, and the longest are about a page. It is relatively easy to read and reads quickly. Although this was Tyson's first book, it is very similar to the style and tone that he has maintained in his subsequent works. He makes the topics easy to understand, and you do not have to be a scientist or engineer to follow what he is saying. It is absolutely worth reading if you are a fan of Tyson's, like or love science (especially astronomy), and/or just want to learn more about science. 

Book Review: Heretics of Dune (Dune #20 Chronological Order, #5 Publication Order)

 

Heretics of Dune, published in 1984, is the fifth of the original six novels in the Dune saga written by the original author, Frank Herbert. It is the 20th book in the saga (including the novels co-authored by Frank's son, Brian, and Kevin J. Anderson) if you read the series chronologically. In this novel, there is another significant time jump from the prior book. This book is set 1500 years after the events of God Emperor of Dune and Leto II's reign, with his "golden path" having been implemented. After an event known as "The Scattering," in which humans spread out across the universe, power is divided among three groups: the Ixians, the Bene Gesserit, and the Tleilaxu. A new matriarchal group called the Honored Matres begins to wreak havoc throughout the Old Empire through violence and sexual conquest.

The length of the book will depend on which version you have, but it is generally around 400 pages. The story is not all that easy to follow, especially since, aside from Duncan Idaho, most of the characters are new (because of the time jump). And this version of Duncan is a ghola (basically a clone), so he is really not the same character as in the original novel. The story also jumps around a lot, so it is not all that easy to follow what is going on, and the overall point of the story is not all that clear until the last couple of chapters. To me, because Herbert had the massive time jumps between his Dune novels, by the time you get to this one, it is so far removed from the original story that it does not really feel like it is part of the same story. It is just a new story set in the same universe, with the names of the original characters dropped in here and there. Ultimately, I would describe this as an okay story that improves toward the end of the book. I would not, however, call this a must-read, especially if you were only really invested in Paul's arc, since that story has almost nothing to do with the events in this book. 

Book Review: Spymaster (Scot Harvath Series #17)

 

Spymaster, published in 2018, is the 17th novel in the series of action-thrillers centered around the character of Scot Harvath, written by Brad Thor. The setting for this novel is in Europe, where several high-ranking NATO officials have been killed. Also, American vehicle convoys have been attacked, and parts for banned missiles have been stolen. Evidence points to Russia's involvement, and Harvath must go after a Russian cell in Sweden without igniting an all-out war that would invoke Article 5. 

The hardcover version of the book is similar in length to Thor's other novels, coming in at just over 320 pages. Many of the regular characters from the prior novels return in this one, and there are also new team members. While the book does not focus on character development, Thor does continue to develop the characters to keep them fresh. Much of the story is wrapped up by the time the novel ends, but a cliffhanger ending will go into the next book. Ultimately, if you liked the previous novels in the series, you will probably like this one. Thor uses the same style and tone that has worked for years, yet still keeps the challenges and adversaries for Harvath fresh. So, if you are a fan of the series, this is worth reading.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire

 

The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire is a 2024 cannon novel written by Chris Kempshall and published in 2024. It is written from the point of view of a historian with the Resistance after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, chronicling the rise, fall, revival, and second defeat of Emperor Palpatine. The book is basically a summary of all the canon material from The Phantom Menace through The Rise of Skywalker. It is written more like a history book than a novel, and highlights major events and individuals in the Empire, the Rebel Alliance, the First Order, and the Resistance. It even includes footnotes to different sources. 

The hardcover version of the book is 375 pages long (excluding the index). If you have watched the various movies, live-action and animated series, and read some of the novels, you will know most of the information included in this book. Even so, there is some new material that has not been detailed, including more detail on some of the ancillary characters who didn't get much screen time in the movies. Ultimately, while I would not call this one a must-read, if you are more than just a casual Star Wars fan, it is worth your time to read. 

Book Review: Love, Pamela

 

Love, Pamela is a 2023 memoir written by actress and model Pamela Anderson. It started as a book of poetry and turned into a memoir in which she talks about her evolution from a shy tomboy to the most famous pinup girl of the 1990s, who was the most popular character on the most watched show of the 1990s. In it, she details her life growing up in small Canadian towns, her discovery at a football game, which led to the start of her modeling career and led to her becoming the most famous Playboy Playmate in history, breaking into acting, and her complicated (and often messy) personal life that was constantly bombarded by paparazzi. 

The hardcover version of the book is relatively short at 240 pages and is a fairly quick read. Anderson does not hold a lot back in the book. She focuses on the behind-the-scenes aspects of her personal life more than her acting career (e.g., her time on Baywatch). Not that she does not discuss things people mostly know about, but she focuses more on things that were more private before she wrote this book. She talks about her tough childhood, growing up in a home with an alcoholic father, being molested by a babysitter, and later raped by a kid in her neighborhood. Interestingly, her experience with Playboy seems much different than what other Playmates and models have detailed. She recounted how it saved her from an abusive relationship and that everyone was professional to her. She did discuss how she avoided situations that could have turned out bad when doing Playboy press tours. That is actually interesting because she seems to be very impulsive (e.g., marrying people she barely knew) and certainly did not always make great decisions in her past. She does talk about people she hooked up with, dated, and gave some behind-the-curtain information on her marriages (especially to Tommy Lee) and the craziness behind the theft of their safe with the videos that would be used to create the infamous sex tape. At the end of the book, she discusses her life as a mother and trying to raise her kids outside the celebrity limelight. 

Ultimately, the book is an interesting read. Even though it is short, she discusses a lot about her life, and you can tell that she is not the dumb blonde that her acting roles would suggest. She laments in the book about how the modeling and the people she was hanging around with precluded her from getting more serious acting roles, but then says she was not really focused on being an actress. It is not what I would call a must-read book, but if you grew up when she was massively popular, it is worth reading.   

Book Review: God Emperor of Dune [Hardcover] (Dune #19 chronological order, #4 publication order)

 

God Emperor of Dune, first published in 1981, is the fourth book in the Dune series written by the original author, Frank Herbert. The events of the book are set about 3500 years after Leto II took power in the novel Children of Dune. At this point in time, Leto has become a human sandworm hybrid, terraformed Arrakis, and completely controls the remaining supply of spice. Thus, space travel is almost non-existent, and the few remaining great houses bow to Leto's authority out of fear, while some plot against him. 

The length of the book depends on which version you get. In the hardcover trilogy set, it is just over 300 pages long, but the print is very small. It is not an easy book to get through. Most of the characters are new, aside from the ghola of Duncan Idaho (the latest of many that Leto has used over time), and the main plotline is mixed within a bunch of philosophical monologues, making the story hard to follow. Ultimately, it is not as good as the original Dune novel or any of the prequel novels written by Frank Herbert's son, Brian, and his writing partner, Kevin J. Anderson. You can tell that Frank was trying to comment on human evolution and how ambition and power can turn dark (which is still a cautionary tale for real-world events). Still, the novel would have been better if he had toned down some of the philosophical commentary and focused on the plot against Leto. Even though it is not as good as the original novel, it is still worth reading to see how the entire saga plays out. But, if you were really only invested in the story of Paul, then this is not going to do much for you.

Book Review: Use of Force (Scot Harvath Series #16)

 

Use of Force, published in 2017, is the 16th book in the Scot Harvath series of action-thriller novels written by Brad Thor. The plot of this novel involves a series of terrorist attacks in Europe after the body of a terrorist suspect washes ashore in Italy after a distress call is received by the Italian coast guard. The CIA hires Harvath on a black ops contract to provide the government deniability for his actions as he investigates the attacks. Intertwined with that storyline is an internal US plot that involves the surveillance of the CIA director and the head of the Carlton group, Reed Carlton. 

The hardcover version of the book is just over 350 pages. It reads much like the other novels in the series, so it will read as quickly or as slowly as the other books (assuming you have read them). While it is not imperative to read the other novels in the series to follow the plot of this one, Thor does refer to events from the prior books from time to time. He also does not provide the main characters' backstories as those have been fleshed out in the previous books. So, it does help to read the prior novels to understand who all the characters are. Ultimately, the book tells a good story and blends action and suspense with some humor. If you are a fan of action thrillers, spy novels, and/or Thor's prior books in the series, this one is worth your time to read.

Book Set Review: Frank Herbert's Dune Saga 3-Book Deluxe Hardcover Boxed Set

 

This is a newly printed (in 2023) hardcover set of the original Dune Trilogy written by Frank Herbert (1965's Dune, 1969's Dune Messiah, and 1976's Children of Dune). The trilogy details the rise and fall of Paul Atreides. The first and longest of the three books, Dune, is the most well-known part of the story as it has been adapted into live-action movies. The stories in the other two books tell Paul's story after he obtained control of Arrakis (Dune). The books include new artwork and are packaged in a decorative outer box. The first book is the best of the three. If you read it first, it can be a bit hard to follow. If you read the vast collection of prequel novels written by Kevin J. Anderson and Frank's son, Brian, you get the backstory alluded to in Dune, which helps to make sense of and give context to the events in Dune. The story gets much weirder in Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. The storylines of those books are not bad; they just get more challenging to follow, especially since time jumps set the events of those books many years after the events in Dune. While the books will not likely appeal to everyone, they are classics in the sci-fi genre and are absolutely worth reading for fans of sci-fi and fantasy books. 

Book Review: Star Wars: Tears of the Nameless

 

Tears of the Nameless, published in 2024, is a young-adult novel by George Mann. It is set in the third phase of The High Republic after the destruction of the Starlight Beacon and the Nihil setting up the Stormwall. There are a few different intertwined plotlines that intersect at different times throughout the novel, each of them involving the Jedi trying to figure out a way to fight The Nameless creatures/Levelers and The Blight. Reath Silas is working with a Padawan named Amadeo Azzazzo to determine if there is a connection between The Nameless and The Blight, which have similarities in how they affect what they touch. Each seems to be controlled by the Nihil. Another storyline involves one of the Nihil Jedi hunters who is using three of The Nameless to hunt down Jedi. 

The hardcover version of the book is 500 pages long and could have easily been included as one of the adult canon novels. It does a lot to advance the High Republic storyline, including revealing the origin of the Nameless and a civilization of force users who eventually figured out how to control them. It does not close what to me seems like a giant plot hole in that the Nameless were used against the Jedi by the Path of the Open Hand in the early High Republic era when at least Yoda and Yaddle were around, and the Jedi still knew relatively little about them (and were totally blindsided by their use) in the later High Republic era 150 years later. Hopefully, later novels will shed some light on why that is the case, but this one does not. Even so, this tells a decent story and advances the overall plot. So, if you like the High Republic storyline, this is worth the time to read.

Book Review: The Woman in Me

 

The Woman in Me is a 2023 memoir by Britney Spears. In the book, Spears provides broad details of her life growing up in a small town in Louisiana, her entry into showbusiness (appearing on Star Search and The Mickey Mouse Club), and her rocket to fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a pop star. She discusses her difficult home environment, the image of her that was portrayed by her team versus her reality, and how she did not always like the picture of her life that was put out (e.g., that she was a tea-tottling virgin when, in fact, she had been drinking, smoking, and having sex since she was in her early teens). She also discusses some of the more well-publicized incidents in her life (such as her Vegas marriage, shaving her head, etc.), her relationships with Justin Timberlake and Kevin Federline, and her life under the conservatorship.

The hardcover version of the book is relatively short, at around 275 pages. It is a fairly easy read, so if you are a fast reader, you can finish it in a day or two. The book does not do an extremely deep dive into all facets of her life, but Spears discusses the high and low points and does not sugarcoat her feelings toward her family and her life experiences. She comes off far less crazy than she sometimes seems on social media and hints that a lot of what she does online is more of an artistic act and a way of expressing her feelings than it is "real." Ultimately, it is an okay memoir. It is not the best or most well-written memoir I have ever read, but it is very honest. It is an interesting read and worth reading, even if you are not a huge fan of her music.

Book Review: Children of Dune (Dune #18)

 

Children of Dune, published in 1976, is the 18th overall book in the Dune series of novels (when read chronologically) and the third in the original trilogy of novels written by Frank Herbert. So, it is the third book if you read them in publication order. The events in the book are set nine years after Dune Messiah. Paul has gone off into the desert and is presumed dead. Alia is ruling Dune but is becoming more erratic, having established an autocratic government, and Paul's children, Leto and Ghanima, who both have the preborn traits of Alia and some of Paul's abilities, discover that terraforming Dune will kill all the sandworms and destroy the source of the spice. Jessica and Gurney Halleck return to Arrakis, and a power struggle ensues between Alia and Jessica. To further complicate things on Arrakis, a mysterious blind preacher who holds sway over some of the Fremen begins railing against Alia's government. 

The hardcover deluxe edition of the book is moderately long at 475 pages. Even though it is shorter than the first novel, it is more challenging to read. There are several plotlines that all go in different directions and have twists. The crux of the story is about the fall of Alia and the ascension of Leto II to the throne, but the story is not exactly streamlined in getting to the conclusion. It very much feels like the middle part of a story, and since Frank Herbert wrote three additional novels, that is very much what it is. Ultimately, if you have read the prequel novels by Frank's son, Brian and Kevin J. Anderson, and the two original novels by Frank Herbert, this has the weakest story and is the most challenging to finish. That said, it is worth reading to see how the saga plays out. 

Book Review: Foreign Agent (Scot Harvath Series # 15)

 

Foreign Agent, published in 2016, is the 15th novel in Brad Thor's series of action-thrillers centered around Scot Harvath. The plotline involves a series of attacks against Americans in the Middle East who were planning to move against the social media director of ISIS. It is discovered that the attacks were planned and bankrolled by the Russians, and Harvath is sent to Syria to take out those responsible. The secondary plotline involves a mole inside the US government working for the Russians, who fed them the information that led to the attacks. 

The hardcover version of the book is moderately long, coming in at just over 330 pages. It reads like the other books in the series, so it will read as quickly or as slowly as the others have. You do not need to have read the prior books to understand the plot of this one. While Thor does refer to events in the prior novels occasionally, the series' books mostly have standalone storylines. The thing you lose by not reading the previous books is the character development of the established characters. Thor relies on the earlier novels to provide the backstories of the established characters and only fleshes out the backgrounds of new characters. There are a handful of new characters in this book, some of who may appear in later novels and others who probably will not. Ultimately, the book is a well-written action thriller. This one is worth reading if you are a fan of the genre (and the spy novel genre) and/or Thor's prior novels.

Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic: Beware the Nameless

 

Beware the Nameless is one of the Star Wars junior novels set during Phase 3 of the High Republic era. It was written by Zoraida Cordova and published in 2024. It is set after the events of the junior novel Escape from Valo. In it, a group of Jedi set out to capture one of the force-eating creatures that the Jedi refer to as The Nameless and that the Nihil call Levelers, that the Nihil has used to kill multiple Jedi. A group of younglings (who stow away aboard one of the ships embarking on the mission) end up teaming with a young Hutt named Churo, who has been sent by his sister to recover a Leveler egg to bring back to his clan. 

The hardcover version of the book is moderately long, just under 325 pages. Unlike some junior novels, which tell ancillary one-off stories, this one advances the overall plot of the High-Republic era quite a bit. In this book, we learn more about the Levelers, including how they can affect non-force users. The characters in the book are mostly new, although Ram Jomaram (who has been in a few of the junior novels) does appear, and Yoda appears at the very end of the book. Because it is a junior novel, it reads very quickly. It includes a handful of comic illustrations, giving us an actual look at the Levelers, which have been described in very vague terms in the prior novels (and we learn why that is in this book). Even though it is written for a younger audience and some of the dialogue can be a bit silly, it is good enough for adults to enjoy. If you are a fan of the High Republic stories but do not get all the books, this one is worth reading. 

Book Review: The Conspiracy to End America: Five Ways My Old Party Is Driving Our Democracy to Autocracy

 

The Conspiracy to End America is a 2023 book by former Republican strategist Stuart Stevens. It is partly a follow-up to his 2020 book, It Was All a Lie, but this one is more forward-looking. In it, Stevens details how his former party has consolidated power over the years, including how the multi-millionaires and billionaires have used dark money to get nutjobs like Empty-G elected and stack the courts with radicalized nutjobs like Clearance Thomas and the Witch Doctor, Sammy Alito, and baited the low-income racists to bolster their voting base. Then Stevens warns what electing the Orange Genital Wart to a second term would entail, especially if Republicans get total control of the government again.

The hardcover version of the book is short-- just 225 pages--and is a very quick read. Stevens is the "never trumper" that I have the most respect for because he admits that much of the Republican platform and talking points going back years has been total bullshit, and actually does a sincere mea-culpa for what he helped unleash because he was only concerned with winning elections and not the fallout. He admits that the current Republican party is full of nutjobs (who have taken over the party) and weenies who are too scared to stand up to the nutjobs because they care more about losing their jobs than defending our democracy. It is a succinct civics and history lesson that provides much information that people may not know (especially those who do not follow politics consistently). It is an insightful and chilling read, but it is absolutely a book everyone should read.

Book Review: The Winds of Dune (Dune #17)

 

The Winds of Dune, published in 2009, is the 17th book in the Dune saga (if you read them chronologically) and the second in the Heroes of Dune trilogy of novels. It is one of several novels written by the duo of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. The events in the story are set mostly between books 2 and 3 of the original Dune trilogy, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. As the novel Paul of Dune (set between the original Dune novel and Dune Messiah) did, this one jumps time periods. Most of the events are set after the end of Paul's reign after he walks off into the desert at a time when Alia is trying to hold the government together. Paul's former friend, Bronso if Ix (Bronso Vernius), has begun criticizing Paul and his rule. The story flashes back to events that occurred earlier during Paul's rule when we discover the plot against Paul and who was involved. 

The hardcover version is just under 450 pages. If you have read the prior novels (which is necessary to understand the story in this one), especially those written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, this one has a similar style and tone and reads as quickly or slowly as the others. The story is intriguing and fills in the gaps between the original novels. I will not spoil the story for those who have not read it, but we discover that not everything is as it seemed with Paul's rule and the events that led to his downfall. We also get more insight into Alia, who is now a teenager but has all the memories of the prior Reverand Mothers of the Bene Gesserit. The story also shows the cracks that develop in the relationships between Alia, Lady Jessica, Duncan Idaho, and Gurney Halleck and the widening rift between Jessica and the members of the Bene Gesserit. If you are a fan of the Dune saga, it is absolutely worth reading.

Book Review: Capture or Kill (Mitch Rapp Series #13 Chronological Order; #23 Publication Order)

 

Capture or Kill, published in 2024, is the newest entry in the Mitch Rapp series of novels created by the late author Vince Flynn. It was written by Don Bentley, who took over the series from Kyle Mills, who, of course, took it over after Vince Flynn's death. The book is set back in 2011, between the events of the last two novels that Vince Flynn finished, Pursuit of Honor and The Last Man. Therefore, the book is now the 13th book in the series if you read the books in chronological order. The plot initially involves Rapp going after more of the terrorists who had captured and tortured Irene Kennedy. That mission is interrupted when he discovers that a bunch of shoulder-fired missiles have been stolen and are to be used against American targets. As Flynn and Mills often did in their novels, Bentley also weaves the fictional storyline with real-world events. Here, while in the process of trying to track down the missiles, Rapp learns of and assists in the lead-up to the mission that would kill Osama Bin Laden.

The hardcover version of the book is just under 470 pages. Ultimately, the book is an excellent action thriller. Bentley, a long-time fan of the Mitch Rapp series, was able to emulate the style and tone of the prior novels yet make it his own. And because the events are set in the past, Bentley could incorporate characters (some directly and some by name) who had not been in the more recent novels. If you enjoy the series, this is an excellent addition. Bentley does an outstanding job with the characters and honors and preserves the work done by Flynn and (to a lesser extent) Mills. It is a great first outing for Bentley. It will be interesting to see if he does more stories set between prior novels or returns the storyline to the present. It is definitely worth the time to read.

Book Review: Holly

 

Holly is a 2023 thriller by Stephen King. It is centered around the character of Holly Gibney, introduced in the novel Mr. Mercedes. The bulk of the story is set in 2021, during the COVID pandemic. Holly, who is running the Finders Keepers detective agency, is contacted by a woman named Penny Dahl, whose daughter Bonnie has mysteriously disappeared. The investigation reveals multiple disappearances that seem to point to a serial killer and the involvement of a pair of retired professors. While you do not need to have read the earlier books in which Holly Gibney appeared to follow what is going on in this book, you will get more of the character's evolution as King lets those earlier works serve as the character development for Holly.

The hardcover version of the book is just under 450 pages. King writes it so that the readers know more than the characters in the book. He uses flashbacks to tell part of the story so the readers know who is responsible for the disappearances but do not know the motive until the last act. Even though the readers know more than the character of Holly does early in the book, King still manages to make the story very suspenseful. King does, as he has in his more recent books, include some social commentary (this time, the reaction to COVID and the vaccines) into the story and takes some shots at the orange genital wart (which will, of course, freak out the lickspittle MAGATs). Still, neither of those things dominates the story. Ultimately, it is a very well-written thriller. If you are a fan of King's novels, especially his recent ones, this one is worth reading. 

Book Review: Star Wars Character Encyclopedia (2019)

 

If you have any of the other Star Wars encyclopedias, this one is par for the course in terms of what you get. Each character receives a 1-page description, which includes a combination of biographical information and pictures. Not every character in the canon material is included, just characters that have appeared in the movies (updated through the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story). It does not contain any characters from the animated series or the canon novels (like Thrawan, Ezra Bridger, Ashoka, etc.) or any of the new characters that will be in The Rise of Skywalker. Nor does it include much detail about any character, even the "main" characters from any of the trilogies. It is nowhere near as comprehensive as the Han Solo devoted book published earlier this year. Unlike that one, I would not call it a "must get" book, but for those who collect some, or all, of the new books that get put out, it makes a nice addition to any collection as long as you know what to expect.

Book Review: Star Wars: Master & Apprentice

 

Master and Apprentice is an adult canon novel by Claudia Gray, published in 2019. It is a very good story set before Episode I, telling of a mission involving Qui-Gon and a seventeen-year-old Obi-Wan. The Chancellor, who held the position before Vallorum, sends the two to act as the Republic's representatives in negotiations to open a hyperspace lane. The book is a bit of action and mystery, with some political maneuvering mixed in.

The main themes of the book are definitely Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's rocky relationship which was hinted at a bit in The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon's considering an invitation to join the Jedi Council, and at the very end of the book, a further indication that "The rule of two" was more a suggestion than a hard and fast rule.

Overall, the book presents a good ancillary story to the "Skywalker Saga", is a fairly easy read (it is just over 300 pages, but the chapters are kept relatively short), and it provides more character development that the movies could not give. Chances are most people considering getting this collect all the novels and will get this regardless of reviews. If however, you are one that gets some, but not all, of the novels, this one is definitely worth the time to read.

Book Review: We're Not Leaving: 9/11 Responders Tell Their Stories of Courage, Sacrifice, and Renewal

 

We're Not Leaving is a book about the responders of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, published in 2011 in conjunction with the tenth anniversary of the attacks. It is a collection of oral histories in which the author, Benjamin Luft, presents edited versions of the experiences of people who responded to the towers being hit by the planes and those who participated in the rescue and recovery/cleanup operation afterward. 

The softcover version of the book is just under 300 pages. Once you start, it is both hard to read and hard to put down. It is one of the most harrowing and emotional books about 9/11 that I have read. The emotion that the people being interviewed conveyed was palpable, and for many, it had not faded even after nearly a decade. The book is solely devoted to the responders in New York. It does not include interviews with responders at The Pentagon or in Shanksville, PA. Ultimately, it is a must-read book that conveys the horrors and the heroism of 9/11 and the days and months after as the city tried to recover from the attack and the devastation that resulted from it.