Book Review: Red Sparrow

 

Red Sparrow is a spy thriller set in Eastern Europe. It is centered around a former ballerina named Dominika who, after an injury is forced out of ballet, and thanks to the connections of her uncle who is a top member of the Russian SVR, ends up going to "Sparrow School." The intention is for her to use her sexuality to seduce and/or blackmail targets of the SVR. She ends up becoming a much more accomplished agent and becomes entwined in a plot that involves moles for both the United States and Russia and essentially a game of chess between the CIA and the SVR.

The book, as most know, was adapted into a movie starring Jennifer Lawrence. While I do not think the movie was horrible, too much of the book had to be cut out, and things like the inner monologues of characters that really advanced the plot of the book, could not translate easily to film, and hence were removed. So, the motivations of the characters that we learn in the book are missing from the movie. I think finding a way to get much of that into the movie would have helped it. Thus, as is almost always the case, the book ends up being better than the movie.

Overall, the book is well-written and easy to read with a plot that flows well. The author is an ex-CIA agent who was stationed in that part of the world and draws on his experience, which gives a lot of authenticity to the story even though it is fictional. Each chapter ends with a recipe for some food item that was mentioned in that chapter. They are not key to the story in any way but are a unique addition to the book. It is a mix of action thriller, espionage, with a bit of sex thrown in. It is definitely worth reading, especially if you have seen the movie.

Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic: Out of the Shadows

 

This is one of the young-adult novels set in the high republic era, set after the events of the novel The Rising Storm, and the Nihil attack on the Republic fair. The aftermath of the attack is still being felt by pretty much all parties. The book is centered around the characters of Vernestra Rwoh and her padawan Imri, both of whom are trying to deal with force abilities that they cannot control and are struggling to understand, and Sylvestri Yarrow a hauler whose ship was mysteriously knocked out of Hyperspace and then attacked by the Nihil at the beginning of the novel. It also involves the already-established Jedi characters Reath Silas and Cohmac Vitus. It also brings back the Nihil character Nan who was saved by and then saved Reath in the novel Into the Dark.

This novel is partly about the power struggle within the Nihil and a battle for control of the group and in part a thriller/mystery with the Jedi trying to figure out if the Nihil has a new weapon or if ships are getting knocked out of hyperspace due to some strange natural occurrence. I definitely think the book reads more easily now that many of the characters are established, as I had to spend less time trying to figure out (or remember) who all the characters were. I still think these novels would be better if they did more than name-drop Yoda. It does not make any sense that one of the most powerful Jedi at what is likely the height of his power would sit on the sidelines of the fight against the Nihil just to be mentioned by other characters. Not that he needs to be the focus of the novels, but he could definitely be utilized in some way.

Overall, I would say that even though the novel is one of the young-adult novels, and thus considered ancillary to the main storyline, it is as good and as enjoyable as the main "adult" novels in the high-republic series. It is not a difficult read, and at about 320 pages, depending on how fast a reader you are, it can be finished pretty quickly. I definitely recommend it.

Book Review: Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic (Star Wars: Darth Bane)

 

This is the first book in a trilogy of novels by the same author detailing Darth Bane's rise to power and the institution of the "rule of two" that is still canon (although often violated) based on the Star Wars movies, video games, and animated series. Bane starts out as a coal miner named Dessel in what is essentially a forced labor colony on a planet called Apatros. After a deadly encounter, he is on the run from Republic authorities and winds up at a Sith academy where he is a standout student. He quickly realizes that the Sith as they are currently constituted will end up destroying themselves and he manipulates events that allow him to institute the rule of two, one master to have power and one apprentice to crave power.

The story is very well-paced, intertwining action sequences with drama and intrigue. It is set well before the events of the prequel series (about 1000 years), so there are no "recognizable" characters in the novel, but it really does not suffer from that like some of the newer canon novels do. Even though this book has been relegated to Legends status after the takeover of Lucasfilm by Disney, the character of Darth Bane is canon from the Clone Wars series, and of course, the rule of two was mentioned in The Phantom Menace. And, because it is set so far in the past, it does not impact the stories that are currently canon, and at least parts of it could be brought into canon via new movies or tv series.

Overall, it is a very good book, telling a good story. And, it is one of the better stories outside of the Skywalker saga that there is. Hopefully, the book will be brought back into canon sometime down the line (or a new book that incorporates some of what is in this novel, such as has been the case with the new canon novels set around the character Grand Admiral Thrawn). It is definitely worth the read.

Book Review: Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Leia Princess of Alderaan

 

This is one of the young-adult novels put out after Disney's takeover of Lucasfilm. So, it is included in the Star Wars canon, but like the other young-adult novels it is ancillary to the main storyline. It details Leia's life on Alderaan as she was a young teenager (between the events of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series and A New Hope), including her Day of Demand, which was essentially a trial that allowed her to claim the right to the throne of Alderaan (and details the first clue that she was force sensitive), her time in the imperial senate, and the "mercy missions" that Darth Vader refers to in A New Hope. It also details how she got involved in the rebellion, details how she met Amilyn Holdo (Laura Dern's character from The Last Jedi), and even an encounter with Tarkin on Alderaan. We also get some insight into her relationship with Bail Organa and her adoptive mother Breha.

While it is a young-adult novel, the story is very well-written and very enjoyable for adults. It gives the backstory to the character that was never fleshed out in the movies, and the author does a good job of portraying Leia as different from the person she is when she is first introduced in A New Hope but hints at how she would grow into that person. If you are a person that only gets some, but not all, of the novels, this is definitely one that is a good pickup.

Book Review: Fantastic Beasts and the Crimes of Grindelwald

 

This is the second of what will be at least a trilogy of books/movies in the Fantastic Beasts prequel to Harry Potter. It is set in the late 1920s. Grindelwald, having been captured at the end of the first book, escapes in the process of being transferred for trial. Then the story jumps ahead in time a few months, and the rest of the story plays out.

The title is a little misleading as the story is as much about Leta Lestrange and Creedence as it is about Grindelwald. In fact, Grindelwald is in the movie very sporadically, and mostly toward the end. The story also picks up on the Newt-Tina and Queenie-Jacob relationships, and, as you would expect, throws a wrench into things. We also get the first real introduction to young Dumbledore, played in the movie by Jude Law. He, like Grindelwald, is not in the book a ton but is being set up for a larger role in the next book/movie.

Like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, this is not a novelization, but a screenplay. So, it basically tracks the movie word-for-word. Nothing more gets fleshed out in the book, but unlike the Harry Potter novels, nothing from the book is missing from the movie. Also, it is fairly short, about 275 pages, and because the book has a lot of illustrations throughout, the pages are not full of text, so it is a much quicker read than a traditional novel. 

Overall, if you liked the first book/movie then you will probably like this one. While I still prefer the Harry Potter series to Fantastic Beasts, this is still a good story within that world and is definitely setting up the Dumbledore backstory we were all hoping for in the last few Harry Potter novels.

Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic: The Rising Storm

 

This is the second "main storyline" canon novel (basically meaning "adult" novel) set in the high-republic era of the Star Wars universe. As most know, since Disney took over, everything that is put out is considered canon, but the young adult and junior novels are ancillary to the main story that is told in the movies, tv-series, and adult novels. It takes place about a couple of hundred years before the events of the prequel and original trilogies. In this era, the enemy of the Jedi is not the Sith, but a group of pirates called the Nihil.  In this novel, the setting is a Republic fair on the planet Valo, put on by Chancellor Lina Soh, despite warnings of an attack. Most of the book involves the various Jedi trying to stave off the Nihil attack and keep the people safe. Within that is revealed in-fighting between members of the Nihil, whom each wants to take control of the group.

I think a lot of what has bogged down the two main novels is that it has a ton of characters, none of which is the focus. Unlike the prequel movies and novelizations which focused on about 4-5 Jedi and kept the rest in the background, the novels feel like an ensemble cast of characters that we don't really know and do not get much development. So, keeping straight who everyone is can be challenging, and getting invested in all of them is hard. And, I think it has been a mistake to exclude Yoda from the novels (aside from name-dropping him a couple of times). He is probably the most powerful Jedi at the height of his powers yet has been on the sidelines now for two major disasters in the Light of the Jedi novel and this one. 

Overall, the book is good, but not great. The author does a good job with the story and keeping the chapters relatively short. It does kind of jump back and forth between characters who get separated during the attack, so the storylines kind of shift all over the place. It can be hard, especially if you take a break from reading it for a day or so, to remember what was going on with the group that is discussed in the current chapter because they may not have been mentioned for three or four chapters. But, the fact that the chapters are short (about 10 pages at most, and some are about 2 pages) helps with that. It is definitely a "middle" novel that is setting up a larger battle/confrontation to come. It has a lot of action, and some suspense and drama. It is a fairly quick read (depending on how fast you read and how much time you devote to reading), despite being about 430 pages. If you are a fairly quick reader, and read a little every day, you can definitely get through this in a couple of weeks or less.

Book Review: Cloak of Deception

 

Cloak of Deception is one of the novels that is relegated to Legends status since the LucasFilm buyout by Disney. It is set just before the events of The Phantom Menace. For those who hated all the political maneuvering and subplots of The Phantom Menace, this book has quite a bit of that. Set around that is a plot to assassinate Chancellor Valorum, with the strings being pulled by Palpatine. At this point, Palpatine is just a "lowly" Senator from Naboo and is getting ready for the eventual power grab that will enable him to eventually become Emperor.

Even though the novel is no longer canon, it ties into other storylines that are, including The Phantom Menace movie and the book Tarkin by the same author which is considered canon. This book also established Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's relationship and fleshed it out a bit. Of course, this aspect of the book has basically been replaced by the canon novel Master and Apprentice which is also set prior to The Phantom Menace. 

Overall, the book tells a good story. While some of the political subtexts that bogged down The Phantom Menace movie is in the book, it does not slow down the plot of the book. The book manages to weave in the action sequences between the slower parts that made it work. That is always one advantage of a book over a movie and it worked well here. And, as I said, parts of the book are kind of grandfathered into the canon based on the novels Darth Pleguis and Tarkin by the same author that made up a loose trilogy of novels about the events that lead up to and shortly after the formation of the Empire. It is definitely a good read for those who are fans of Star Wars novels.

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

 

This is, of course, the book that launched the multi-billion dollar franchise about the orphaned boy named Harry Potter that finds out he is a Wizard when he turns 10 years old, and has been accepted to Hogwart's School for Witches and Wizards. It would eventually spawn seven books, eight movies, a spin-off series, and a play. For the few who do not know the story, this book basically establishes Harry learning that his parents were Wizards and killed by an evil wizard named Voldemort, who also tried to kill Harry as an infant. The attempt to kill Harry failed, and Harry was sent by Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts to live with his aunt and uncle and then chronicles his first year at Hogwarts where he meets two schoolmates who would become his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger. 

For those who have seen the movie but have not yet read the book, this is the shortest of the novels so it has the least amount of material removed in the movie adaptation. That said, the movie did change some things and did shorten some sequences. For example, the opening sequence with the Dursleys is more extended in the novel and things like the trip to the zoo play out a bit differently than was shown in the movie. But, all the main plot points from the book ended up in the movie, especially once Harry gets to Hogwarts, so that will not be much different.

The book is age-appropriate for kids about 10-11 years old and up. Rowling intended that the kids reading it would be about the same age as the characters in the book, so for the first novel around 10-11 years old. The books get increasingly darker and more adult with each new book, but really for this book a kid only really needs to understand the concept of death and "good guys" versus "bad guys". Otherwise, the novel is pretty tame. It has a good blend of humor, action, and suspense, and touches on themes of family, friends, right vs. wrong, and the like. Even though it is technically a "kids book" it is enjoyable enough for an adult, and even though it was written in the mid to late 1990s, it holds up well enough to be enjoyable even years later. It can easily be enjoyed by people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, etc., whether your first experience with the Harry Potter universe was as a young kid, as a teenager, or (as in my case) as an adult because of watching the movies. And, because it is only a few hundred pages and meant for young kids to be able to read it, adults who are fairly quick readers can probably get through it in a couple of days without a problem

Ultimately, by now anyone reading this likely knows enough about Harry Potter to know the overall story and knows whether they like it or not. But, if you are just getting introduced to the series and are looking at the reviews if you are into fantasy novels or themes like magic, this is definitely worth reading. While it is nowhere near the best book of the series, it does a good job establishing the main characters, telling the stand-alone portion of the story, inviting the Sorcerer's Stone, and setting up what is to come down the line. 

Book Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

 

Fantastic Beasts is, of course, the prequel to the Harry Potter series, set in the same universe, but in the mid to late 1920s as opposed to the early1990s, which was when Harry Potter started at Hogwarts in the novels. Unlike the Harry Potter books, this is not a novel. It is a screenplay for the movie. As such, it is pretty much, scene-for-scene, and word-for-word what you see in the movie. There are no "extra" or additional storylines included in the book that were not in the movie. It also, clearly, does not read like a novel, but more like a script. 

The story is set in New York in the mid-1920s. Newt Scamander (who coincidentally writes a book of the same name that Harry has to purchase for class years later) travels from England to New York in order to release a creature into its natural habitat. He has a run-in with a Muggle (or no-maj as they are called in the United States) named Jacob Kowalski and in the process, a creature called a Niffler, which is pretty much a kleptomaniac gets out and starts causing havoc. Newt's beasts also get blamed for wreaking destruction throughout the city which is actually caused by something more sinister.

While the story is set in the Harry Potter Universe, the story is definitely not a carbon copy of the Harry Potter story. Due in large part to the fact that most of the characters from the Harry Potter novels and movies are not yet born when this is set. The only characters that were seen or mentioned in Harry Potter that are established to be around now are Dumbledore (who is mentioned in the book) and Grindewold, who the book establishes as the main antagonist of the time period.  He is basically the Voldemort of his time, with a goal to start a war between the magical world and the nonmagical world. The other main characters in the book are Tina Goldstein who works at the US version of the Ministry of Magic and her sister Queenie, TIna's boss at the Perceval Graves and Credence Barebone 

Overall, the story is very good. I like the fact that it is different than the Harry Potter world. For example, wizards and no-majes in the US are totally separate from each other, and wizards and witches are forbidden to marry a no-maj. And, the story is not focusing on a young Dumbledore (at least not at this point), using Newt and Tina as main characters along with Queenie and Jacob. So, as long as you accept that this is not a carbon copy of Harry Potter, it is enjoyable. Although, I do think it would have been better as a traditional novel as opposed to just a screenplay which may be difficult for some people to stick with reading. 

Book Review: Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama that Unfolded in the Skies Over America on 9/11

 

Touching History is a book written by a former pilot and airline instructor, Lynn Spencer. It tells the story of 9/11 mainly from the perspective of the air traffic controllers and military personnel, starting at the time air traffic control lost contact with flight 11 and ending with the military patrols that were flying over all the major cities in the days after the 9/11 attacks. Therefore, the book does not focus much on what was happening in any of the buildings or even a ton about what was happening on the planes aside from talking about some of the things that were relayed from passengers or flight attendants to the airlines. She did not even focus much on the known discussions and messages left by passengers to their loved ones (with a few exceptions). 

The main takeaway from the book is just how unprepared everyone from air traffic control to the airlines, to the military, was for an attack like this. As anyone who grew up in the 1970s or 1980s remembers, when planes were hijacked they would force the pilots to land somewhere and have a list of demands they wanted to be met as they negotiated with authorities. There was almost never collateral damage on the ground, and planes were never used as missiles. So, it seemed that very few people had any real idea of what was actually going on even after American 11 hit the first tower, really until Flight 77 hit the Pentagon. The book also details experiences of other flights, some of which were considered to be hijacks even after they landed safely, and details one flight that was very likely a 5th plane that would have been hijacked (that was never mentioned in the 9/11 report) had it got in the air (it was caught up in the ground stop) that had 4 or 5 Arab men sitting in first class who ditched their luggage when the plane went back to the terminal in which box cutters and Al-Queda documents were found. It also details the chaos both from the FAA standpoint and pilots in the air when the ground-stop order was issued and trying to land all of the planes currently in the air or coming to the US from overseas. 

Overall, the book is very well written and has a lot of detail that has not been widely revealed to the public. It is more of a just presenting the facts kind of book, but the author does a great job conveying the emotion that the various people involved had while the events were unfolding. She also does a great job conveying the inability of the FAA and air traffic control to effectively communicate with the military because they were all using different systems and different lingo, and how even the different branches of the military had a hard time communicating with each other. I would consider this a must-read for anyone who is into history or just researching, or interested in learning about, the events of 9/11.

Book Review: Star Wars The High Republic: A Test of Courage

 

A test of courage is a short story about a newly promoted Jedi Knight named Venestra Rwoh, who is given her first assignment to supervise a young inventor on a luxury starliner that is traveling to a space station called Starlight Beacon, which was opened after the hyperspace disasters. She is unique in that she was promoted to a full Jedi knight at the age of fifteen., so she is powerful, but still has teenage insecurities, which I think makes her a more interesting character. The ship is sabotaged by the Nihil, who have been the main antagonists of the High Republic novels, and Venestra becomes stranded on a moon with a Jedi Padawan whose master was killed in the first encounter with the Nihil, a couple of civilians, and a droid. The group has to survive not only the dangers of the moon itself but the threat posed by the Nihil.

As most probably know, the junior novels and young-adult novels are really telling ancillary stories to the main adult novels. They generally introduce some different characters or involve a side-mission that is tied into the main story, in this case, the conflict with the Nihil but is not as involved as the adult novels get. To that end, this is a good, but not great story. It is definitely more of a kid's book, but that does not mean adults cannot enjoy it. There is a bit less violence in it than the "main" canon novels have but there is still a lot of action in it (relative to how long the book is). The author also finds a way to incorporate the dark side of the force without it being in the Jedi vs. Sith context that has been in most of the novels, tv series, and movies. The Nihil make for good bad guys that present a challenge to the Jedi without being force users themselves. The book is relatively short, just over 200 pages, so it makes for a fairly quick read. While I do not think it is a book that most are likely to read over and over, it is a good short story ancillary to the main storyline.

Book Review: The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11

 

The Only Plane in the Sky is a book by Jared Graff that details the events of 9/11 using quotes from different people that were involved in the events of that day. The author has used quotes from survivors, people who talked to people on the planes before they crashed, government officials, and even just people who lived through the day. The book is divided into chapters, and then in each chapter, there are quotes from people discussing the topic of the chapter. So, it does not quite read like a traditional book. Each quote identifies the person giving it and where they were (if they were in the buildings). If you have watched any of the documentaries on 9/11 you will know that some of the quotes the author uses are lifted from interviews that people have previously given about 9/11, but the author also conducted quite a few first-hand interviews. Because the book was written in 2019 some of the material he included was from a modern-day perspective on how a person's life had changed since that day.

Overall, the book is very good. It is very emotional in parts and does include some material that I had never heard about despite watching many of the 9/11 documentaries and reading a lot of books about 9/11. It can be very jarring getting a first-hand account of what happened by the people who lived it, and you get a sense of just how lucky some people got where literally being able to turn a corner was the difference between living and dying. I highly recommend this for people who experienced 9/11 or are just into history, current events, etc. 

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I and II

 

This is mostly a good story, but it introduces a huge continuity problem with the original novels and movies. I cannot say what it is without spoiling it, but if they were ever to make this into a movie, there would definitely have to be some kind of explanation given to make the reveal at the end make sense. The story is set 19-23 years after the events of the Deathly Hallows. The first "scene" is actually a version of what we see at the very end of Deathly Hallows Part II where Harry and Albus discuss what happens if Albus is sorted into Slytherin. Then, the next few years pass by within a handful of pages and the main portion of the story plays out from there. I will not give too much away, but it involves Albus and Draco Malfoy's son messing with time and then trying to undo the mess they make. 

To be clear, the book is not a novel. It is the script of the play. So, it definitely does not read like any of the other books, It does not have chapters, but does have the act and scene breaks, which makes it a bit easier to read sometimes at least when it comes to the length of the breaks. If you are a person like me who will always try to get to the end of the chapter before stopping reading, when you have very long chapters, it can be a bear to get to the end of the chapter (especially at night). Here, the scenes tend to be shorter (sometimes a page or two) so if you are getting tired, you get a lot more potential stopping points.

Overall, I think the story is a good one (aside from the continuity issue) that mixes the original characters with the newer characters very well. All of the main characters (Hermoine, Harry, and Ron) are in the book and even some of the more ancillary characters (like Neville) do show up even if for a very short time. I like that it gives some closure to Harry and Draco's relationship (more than we ever got at the end of Deathly Hallows), which for me, was one of the best things about the book. It is certainly not what I would call a perfect story, but with a few tweaks, it could be made better and easily adapted into a new movie (if the cast were up for doing another one). 

Book Review: Star Wars The High Republic: Into the Dark

 

Into the Dark is a young adult novel set during the High Republic Era, which occurs a couple of hundred years before the Battle of Yavin/The Original Trilogy. The events in the book run concurrently with those in the "regular" canon novel, Light of the Jedi, overlapping with the hyperspace disasters that are occurring in that novel. It is mostly set on a space station in the outer rim, which has a lot of dark side energy surrounding it and sets a group of Jedi against the Nihil and a new threat. It also jumps between the "present-day" and events that occur twenty-five years earlier, so it is not super easy to follow at all times, especially since all of the characters in the book are new.

The good thing about the High Republic era is that it is not just a rehash of the Jedi vs. Sith conflict, and introduces a lot of new characters. The downside is that it is harder to be invested in characters that will, for the most part, be dead by the time the prequel trilogy even starts. This novel did a fairly good job introducing the group of characters and giving them enough of a backstory that the readers can try to get invested in them. Obviously, the Skywalkers are not even a thought at this point, and whatever the two Sith who are out there (assuming this is post-Darth Bane and the rule of two) are doing, they are not a part of the story at this point (if they ever will be in the high republic novels). Certainly, there is room for the characters to be developed in subsequent novels. The Nihil is definitely set up as a threat to the Jedi and the Republic overall, and the book just really scratches the surface of their group. 

Even though this is a young-adult novel, so it is considered ancillary to the main canon storyline, it is written well enough that adults can easily enjoy it. It is a fairly easy read, but I personally find the novels that have the characters from the movies to be the easiest read because I do not have to remind myself who the characters are when I pick the book up after a few days away from it. Overall, it is not what I would call one of the must-read novels, but it is something that most people who collect the novels will enjoy reading once. 

Book Review: Star Wars: Secrets of the Sith

 

Secrets of the Sith is not really a novel. It is a cross between a journal/handbook written from the perspective of Palpatine after the events of The Last Jedi, but before the events of The Rise of Skywalker, and a picture book. In it, Palpatine basically lays out the history of the Sith, referencing Darth Bane, and his master Darth Plageius. He describes how he corrupted Anakin and turned him to Vader, and his plans for Rey. He also made it clear that his "son" who eventually became Rey's father was more a son in the Bobba Fett to Jango Fett sense than a real son.

The book is a very quick read. Even if you read slowly you can get through it in an hour or two (at the most). It has a lot of pictures, including the first canon look at Darth Plageius (although you really don't see much of him aside from his glowing eyes behind a hood). Of course, the Darth Plageius novel, which was really more about Palpatine's rise to power than it was about Darth Plageius was relegated (mostly) to legends status when Disney took over. I say mostly because the Tarkin novel by the same author, which was grandfathered into the canon novel set referred to events that occurred in the Darth Plageius novel, which bootstrapped some of that material into the canon.

Overall, I would not call this a must-have book. It is almost more of a coffee table or display book than it is something you would ever read more than once. It does have a pull-out poster, so if you are an ultra die-hard Star Wars fan, it will give you something to hang on the wall. But, it does not go much beyond what you learn from the movies, aside from clarifying or fleshing out a couple of points that you may have missed watching the movies.

Book Review: Siege: T**** Under Fire

 

Siege is the follow up to Michael Wolff's first book about the t**** administration, Fire and Fury, which chronicled the first year of t****'s "presidency". This book is based on interviews with (and has direct quotes from) people in his inner circle (mostly Steve Bannon) about events that occurred during the second year of the administration up to the release of the Mueller Report.

Since Wolff is not a journalist, he does not really feel the need to stick to the journalistic norms of presenting the facts and not interjecting his personal opinion into things. Wolff makes it clear that he thinks t****p is batshit crazy and deeply stupid, and that most of the people around him feel that way too. And, he has no qualms about putting gossip in the book (such as that t***p allegedly said that Nikki Hailey gave him a blowjob) that no mainstream media outlet or traditional journalist would touch with a ten-foot pole.  He does give what he claims are exact quotes from his sources, although most (aside from Bannon) are unnamed. It does seem that Wolff got a lot more information from people than others who wrote books about t***p during its time in office because it is not just a rehash of news stories with a few details filled in that some of the other books out there give you. 

The book is what I would call an intermediate length, about 315 pages, and a fairly quick read. If you are a fast reader and have a lot of time to read it, then you can easily finish it in a day or two. If you are someone, who like me, tends to read for a bit before bed, then it can be finished in about 10-15 days (again depending on how fast you read and/or how much time you devote to reading each night). T***p cult members and Q nutjobs (which are basically a circle on a Venn Diagram) will hate it and call it fake news, but anyone with a brain who saw t***p for what it was, will probably enjoy it immensely.

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

 

This is the seventh and final book in the original Harry Potter series of novels. It, of course, has the final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort. The story picks up shortly after the events of the Half-Blood Prince novel, with Harry just about to turn 17 and come of age in the wizarding world. He has a longer, more protracted "goodbye" with the Dursleys than we saw in the movie, and from there the book and the movies mostly track each other pretty well. As almost everyone knows, this book was split into two movies so as to cut as little of the story as possible. That said, there are still things that are removed in the movies (in large part because some characters had larger roles in the books than they did in the prior movies, so their role in the movies got reduced a bit), and there are things that happened differently in the movie than in the book, including the showdown between Harry and Voldemort. 

Overall, I would say that I like the book more than the movie, just because some of the details that were included in the book made things make a bit more sense than they did in the movies. I also think Snape's big moment was a bit better in the book than it ended up being in the movie (although that was good too). I did like the movie version of the final battle more than the book's version of it, however. I think the movie made that more dramatic than the book did. As you can imagine, this is the darkest book in the series given that most of the people reading it would have aged with the characters in the book (at least when it was originally released), so there are a lot of characters that are injured or killed, and the language is a bit more adult than in the earlier books, especially the first two. It ties up the story well and sets up the backstory for Fantastic Beasts and the story of a young Dumbledore. It is definitely worth the read, although, for those who have young kids, I would not read this one to them until they are older. Stick to the first two novels and then read the other books to them as they get older and can handle the darker content. As has been the case for all of the novels, they are written well enough that adults can easily enjoy them, whether you read the books as a kid and are now an adult, or were an adult when the books were originally published and became a fan through the movies. 

Book Review: Here, Right Matters

 

"Here, Right Matters" is a memoir by Alexander Vindman, who was the only person who was actually listening in on the phone call between t***p and the President of Ukraine which led to the first impeachment to publically testify. The title of the book comes from what is probably the most famous line of his opening statement telling his father not to worry about the fact that he is testifying in the impeachment case. It alternates back and forth between Vindman's early life, first growing up as an immigrant in America with his father, twin brother, and older brother, and then detailing his military career, meeting his wife, and having his own child, with the events that would thrust him into the national spotlight. It details his reaction to the call, why he felt he had to report it (and that he never thought it would become public), and why he testified even over the objections of his own father (who was an ardent t***p supporter at the time). The book also provides some behind-the-scenes details of both Vindman's closed-door and public testimony and finishes with a recounting of the end of his military career.

The book is fairly short (less than 250 pages) and is a fairly quick read. I like that it gives some insight into who Vindman is as a person and what caused him to do what he felt was right in reporting to his superiors what he believed to be misconduct on the part of t***p. While it is clear that he was no fan of t***p even before the impeachment mess and the fallout that stemmed from it, he saw himself as apolitical when it came to his job and his duty and unlike the boot-licking toadies that ran rampant in the t***p administration, Vindman was going to do what he felt was right regardless of his personal politics (which seemingly did have a more conservative bent, at least until t***p came along). 

Overall, the book is a good read. It can be a bit dry, but not overly so, and I, for one, was happy to support a guy who did what was right for his country. I definitely recommend it.

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

 

This is the sixth book in the Harry Potter series of novels. It really advances the story forward, not only revealing details of Voldemort's past but also finally revealing his weakness and, what Harry needs to do to defeat him. It also mixes in the "normal" school trials and tribulations like relationships, exams, and the like. The title of the book is based on an annotated potions book that Harry finds with notes by someone called "The Half-Blood Prince" that suddenly allows Harry to excel in potions, impressing the new potions professor, Horace Slughorn, a former Hogwarts professor who has a history with Voldemort when he was known as Tom Riddle.

As has been the case with most of the books, it contains a lot more material than was seen in the movie. There is a lot more to the Malfoy storyline, which in the book incorporates both Kreacher and Dobby, as well as having a lot more elements than was seen in the movie. It also develops the relationship between Ginny and Harry a lot more than the movie did. And, there is more to Harry and Dumbledore working together than we saw in the movie. It, like the prior two novels, was certainly long enough (at 650 or so pages) to be split into two movies, so if you have only seen the movie you will likely enjoy the book even more. 

As I said above, the book is long, but it flows well and makes for a fairly quick read. It continues to get darker in terms of the storylines and there are more characters in danger this year as the confrontation between Harry and Voldemort gets closer. It is definitely too dark for little kids but should be okay for most teenagers (as the books were written to become more adult as kids reading them aged). And, they are definitely good enough that adults can enjoy them too.

Book Review: Secrets of the Galaxy Deluxe Box Set

 

This is a set of essentially four handbooks, one given to Jedi Padawans, one for the Imperial Academy troops, one for members of the Bounty Hunter's Guild, and one that is really a written Sith history. They do not read like novels, but more like instruction manuals, codes for the members of the intended audience to live by, etc. In the margins, there are notes by different characters making comments on the text, that range from Luke, Han, Boba Fett, Palpatine, Anakin (both the Jedi version of Anakin and later as Vader), Ashoka, etc. 

The books are relegated to "legends" status and not a part of the official canon material, but certainly, some of the material in them are tied to canon events, so they are kind of a hybrid between non-canon and canon material. They are all relatively short (about 160 pages each), and for the most part, are quick reads. The one drawback is that the "handwritten" notes in the margins can be very hard to read, both because the text size is small, and because it was made to look like handwriting, and sometimes very messy handwriting. They are not what I would call a must-read, even for die-hard Star Wars fans, but they are entertaining.