Ramsey's Book Reviews

This page contains my summaries, reviews and WILL contain spoilers. I won't post on every book I read, but I'll try to include many. If you're more interested in things I'm writing, well I'm currently writing a shared story of fantasy in a yahoo group of my own construction. I also dabble with a couple of novels and short stories set in the Mystic Realms used in my RPG.

Other Blog Entries

# 10 - Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 18:51
Subject: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

As always, be warned that this contains SPOILERS!!!!
   I enjoyed the book. Something real seems to start to happen, although it seems obvious that Potter is still more or less lucky, without real skill except nobility to add to his reportoire of ability. Surprisingly, it would seem without question that Snape is evil. He killed Dumbledore and it seems impossible that there are any other escapes from that laid out in the books. So, Harry plans to destroy the pieces of Voldemort's soul before eventually killing the man himself. Draco turned out to be a scared young boy who couldn't kill Dumbledore afterall. Still, he's a death eater like all the rest. In any case, one more to go.

# 9 - Tuesday, January 17, 2006 - 19:36
Subject: The Two Swords by R.A. Salvatore

Yet another powerful book by RA. I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I must say that it is almost formulaic from one standpoint. Obould is certainly a powerful opponent. Khadizea seems to finally fall into its rightful place. Quite a few fall in this book, but the heroes remain in tact. Anyway, not a lot to say. I finished the book in a single day - and stayed enthralled. Laughed quite a bit. Ooo oi!

# 8 - Saturday, November 5, 2005 - 23:20
Subject: insomnia by Stphn King

The first half of this book moves rather slow. But in the end its pretty good. also, I like a lot of how he talks about more of the information relating to the dark tower series. Patrick Danville turns out to be the most important person in the book. But as before, his story seems largely unwritten. I find it hard to believe that his most important task in all these stories is just to erase the crimson king. I have a feeling that its his drawings that help keep the tower up. Anyway, enough of those musings and more about this book. The book talks about how there are different levels. each person is surrounded by an aura as well. this aura is like a spring of energy for those who are on higher levels. The auras can tell a person's mood, future, or health. There are strings attacked to the person's aura that lead up to a ballon. this is some sort of connection to the person's soul. I'm not sure if that's my interpretation or if they say that. If someone on a higher plane cuts this chord, the person is doomed to die in the near future - for all intents and purposes. I may have made that one up too. anyway, there are long timers that are on some of the upper planes. Largely there are agents of chaos and order at different levels in general. Anyway, a lot of this i think I will twist into some sort of D&D cosmology. One that I like better than the standard one anyway. The standard one has its advantages... but ... one where all the planes are shared could be useful. Gives lots of means of travel. Especially thinks like the dream world and such. Still, I guess you don't want everything to coexist...anyway, that's a blog for some other place. I liked this book, but I would recommend that people read the first part and then skip half of the book and read the last half. its hard to get through the first chunk of the book. Plus, reading it was more interesting due to the dark tower stuff and the first half told us nothing about that. Well, that's enough ramble for now!

# 7 - Saturday, July 23, 2005 - 10:13
Subject: Dark Tower VII - The Last Book in the Series by Stephen King

Remember, I write SPOILERS! Well I've finally gotten through the last book in the series. Perhaps as expected, Jake and Eddie and Oy all die. Amazingly, Susannah doesn't. Somehow she's allowed to leave before she does die. They save the beams and then proceed heading towards the tower. They kill Mordred and rescue a boy named Patrick Danville. This boy has the ability to create things in the real world by drawing them. He can also delete things from the world. Scary power that. Anyway, the thing everybody reads the books for is to learn how Roland makes the tower. What's he do? It would seem like the path to the tower is for redemption. He wants to get there and see what's at the top so that he may redeem himself. So that all of his losses are not in vain. Ironically, he continues to commit (directly or indirectly) more and more atrocities as he continues down his path to find the tower. At the top of the tower, the tower forces him to repeat his path again. A form of purgatory ? Or is Roland forced to live his life until he realizes that the losses he's committed are not all necessary. That maybe his path the tower does not have to be one of death and destruction. Its an interesting idea. Anyway, I liked VI a lot better than VII. But its down now. Its over. I enjoyed it the whole way.

# 6 - Wednesday, June 15, 2005 - 08:01
Subject: Cavern of Black Ice by J.V. Jones

Wow, great book!
Definitely not a stand alone book. Throughout the first 400 pages, the "main" characters do not even meet. Ash is a Reach and needs to dispel her powers in the cavern of black ice. Raif is a clansmen with some minor powers of sorcery (he uses the power to track hearts for heart kills). Raif's clan was "taken" over by Mace Blackhail, who could only be an evil man. He raped Raina Blackhail (the previous chief's wife), ordered Raif's sister murdered and otherwise manipulates everyone. Now to the evil side. Marafice Eye is the head of the Spire's warriors. Not a great position of power but he is resilient. The surlord of Spire Vanis is Penthero Iss. He is a sorcerer and he keeps "The Bound One","The NameLess One", who turns out to be Baralis, in his basement to gain access to his power. That won't last forever. Sarga Veys is the true sorcerer of might in the region. Powerful, but not over the top. Angus Lok is Raif's uncle who "rescues" him from the clan after Mace Blackhail orders the murder of women and children. Raif ran from that scene after he was knocked from his horse by a clansmen for trying to stop them. Angus disappears when Raif gets captured and is held at the Ganmiddich clan roundhouse by the Bludds. Raif gets away when Blackhail (and notably his brother) take over the roundhouse. Drey lets Raif go but cuts him from the clan forever with his words, news and deeds. Angus always took back roads and hit from sight as much as possible. Towards the end of the book, his wife and beautiful daughters fall under a trap made by an assassin. The outcome is unknown but you are left with an impression that the assassin kills three and then has trouble with the last (eldest) daughter. Raif's sister comes under attack by Mace's assassins and runs into the dog cote (one of her favorite hiding spots). The dogs rescue her but there was word of witch and that is left up in the air as well. I liked it although I thought she could have made it more stand alone. Then again, that isn't how retail works is it ;)