Doug's Updates en-US Fri, 02 May 2025 21:52:10 -0700 60 Doug's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg ReadStatus9380704168 Fri, 02 May 2025 21:52:10 -0700 <![CDATA[Doug started reading 'Origins']]> /review/show/6017298499 Origins by Kerberos Doug started reading Origins by Kerberos
]]> ReadStatus9380558639 Fri, 02 May 2025 20:49:18 -0700 <![CDATA[Doug started reading 'Ascension']]> /review/show/7534677335 Ascension by Kerberos Doug started reading Ascension by Kerberos
]]> Review7534678692 Fri, 02 May 2025 20:38:38 -0700 <![CDATA[Doug added 'The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England']]> /review/show/7534678692 The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson Doug gave 4 stars to The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England (Secret Projects, #2) by Brandon Sanderson
This book has a modestly terrible reputation. It's much better than that.

While it certainly has its flaws, there's some very good character work. The progression of the protagonist from sad sack to hero is done very well, with believable steps all along the way. And the supporting characters, likewise, are sympathetic and have their own satisfying character arcs.

The setting is an interesting take on 7th (-ish) century Britain with the addition of magic(?). Note that unlike most of Sanderson's books, the magic here is quite soft. While it might have rules in the author's mind, those are never really explained in the book.

The plot, though a bit thin, is sufficient to carry the story to a satisfying conclusion and moved at an excellent pace.

The biggest problems I had were:

* The protagonist's contributions to dialog, both external and internal were laced with weak jokes. It's clear from later comments by other characters that these were intended to be weak, but they did disrupt immersion.

* The climax of the story was just a bit too convenient, both in the way it played out and in the aftermath it left behind.

* The denouement was slow and answered questions that would have been better left vague.

All that said, I liked this book quite a bit. I suspect it would have been better received if it had been written by another author, since it's a departure from much of Sanderson's other writing (though it would have sold _much_ less well, of course). Recommended. ]]> Rating853254760 Thu, 01 May 2025 20:53:58 -0700 <![CDATA[Doug Sundseth liked a review]]> /
Doug Sundseth liked Aaron's review of Of Slicing Men (The Good Guys, #14):
Of Slicing Men by Eric Ugland
]]> Rating853254750 Thu, 01 May 2025 20:53:56 -0700 <![CDATA[Doug Sundseth liked a review]]> /
Doug Sundseth liked Aaron's review of 2 Lies, 2 Thrones (The Bad Guys, #11):
2 Lies, 2 Thrones by Eric Ugland
]]> Review7533698311 Thu, 01 May 2025 20:50:21 -0700 <![CDATA[Doug added 'Trial by Fire']]> /review/show/7533698311 Trial by Fire by P.T. Deutermann Doug gave 4 stars to Trial by Fire (Kindle Edition) by P.T. Deutermann
This book is an almost beat-for-beat straight history of the attack on the USS Franklin and its nearly miraculous preservation from sinking.

The story is an amazing one in nearly every way, and Deutermann tells it well. But this is so close to a straight history that to call it historical fiction, as it is advertised, seems inappropriate. The only fiction, as far as I can tell, is the changing of the names of the actual officers involved. For reference, several of the actual people involved are noted below:

The Captain of the Franklin during the incident, Leslie E. Gehres, was apparently at least as bad as described here; his tenure as Captain has been described as, "a cautionary tale about the scourge of 'toxic leadership'."

The Exec, the viewpoint character in this book, was Joseph F. Taylor, who was awarded his third Navy Cross for his actions during the crisis. Lt. JG Donald A. Gary and Chaplin Lt. Cdr. Joseph T. O'Callahan were awarded Medals of Honor for their actions in response to the attack.

Had this been advertised as a straight historical retelling, even if some parts were inferred from reports rather than actually in the historical record, I would probably have rated this as a 5-star book. Deutermann is at his best when telling stories of the surface navy, and this is a fine example. Recommended. ]]> Review7531714716 Thu, 01 May 2025 19:01:47 -0700 <![CDATA[Doug added 'Kill Team']]> /review/show/7531714716 Kill Team by Jason Anspach Doug gave 3 stars to Kill Team (Galaxy's Edge, #3) by Jason Anspach
Half of the chapters in this book are written from the point of view of the leader of a black-ops "Kill Team" and the other half are written from the PoV of a deep-cover operative.

The Kill Team storyline is written in first-person, present tense, begins immediately after the events of the previous book, and covers training for special operations. There are a few actual small missions along with the various training evolutions. The writing flows well and we get some minor character development.

The deep cover storyline is written in second-person, present tense and begins before the end of the previous book. It explains many of the events leading to the uprising and the run-up to another huge operation. Second-person is used to emphasize the assumed personality of the character the deep-cover operative is playing. While I would normally despise that writing style, it kind of works here. Second-person is still often jarring, but at least there is a solid reason for the choice. And the jarring effect does help to communicate the strange psychology of an agent in that kind of high-stress environment.

Unfortunately, the constant shifting from one PoV to the other along with the shifting of tense disrupts the narrative flow and damages reader immersion.

The plot is an interesting one, covering an attempt to stop a huge terrorist attack from both inside and outside. Some information is kept hidden from the reader (and I suspect it will become important in future volumes).

Overall, this was an interesting experiment in narrative structure. I don't regret reading the book, and I'll continue the series for at least one more volume, but I can't call this book much more than "OK". ]]> ReadStatus9375221464 Thu, 01 May 2025 13:04:47 -0700 <![CDATA[Doug wants to read 'Blindsighted']]> /review/show/7534717727 Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter Doug wants to read Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter
]]> ReadStatus9375165477 Thu, 01 May 2025 12:49:23 -0700 <![CDATA[Doug wants to read 'The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England']]> /review/show/7534678692 The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson Doug wants to read The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson
]]> ReadStatus9375164786 Thu, 01 May 2025 12:49:12 -0700 <![CDATA[Doug wants to read 'The Elder Lands - A Kingdom Building LitRPG']]> /review/show/7534678236 The Elder Lands - A Kingdom Building LitRPG by B. Salem Doug wants to read The Elder Lands - A Kingdom Building LitRPG by B. Salem
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