Wulf's Book Reviews

Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski My rating: 5 of 5 stars “ ‘Who the hell are you?’ Geralt asked again, leaning forward. ‘What are you doing… in this forest? How did you get here?’ The girl lowered her head and sniffed loudly. ‘Cat got your tongue? Who are you, I said? What’s your name?’ ‘Ciri,’ she said, sniffing. ” Once more we return to Geralt of Rivia, the eponymous Witcher, and his deeds. Mostly, though, “Sword of Destiny” serves to define Geralt with respect to his friends. We get to meet Dandelion again, and, of course, Geralt and Yennefer of Vengerberg cross paths several times as they are… Well, whatever they are, they certainly don’t know themselves. Most importantly, though, Geralt meets Ciri, the Child of the Elder Blood, for the first time. Ciri, who will become so important in Geralt’s life. We meet her three times throughout the stories in this book which are loosely connected to each other but mostly show us who Geralt truly is. The more I read, the m...

Fallen by Benedict Jacka My rating: 3 of 5 stars Let me state clearly where I stand when it comes to Alex Verus: I think he’s the greatest Urban Fantasy protagonist ever. I’ve enjoyed every single book in the series and I enjoyed this latest instalment as well – just not as much as most of the others, unfortunately. Why though? The trademark humour is there, Luna is there and so are Anne, Variam, Arachne and others. Sadly, they mostly take a place on the backseat this time. Luna barely gets any serious “stage” time; she’s generally around and worries a lot but doesn’t get to do or experience much. For such an important character that’s pretty sad. We do get to see more of Anne who has a more “active” role in the proceedings but she remains unrefined and pale compared to many other characters. Maybe part of that is my own perception, though; I’ve never felt that Anne added much to the books – she always felt like the obligatory love interest and I never found her especial...

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood My rating: 5 of 5 stars STEM Ph.D. candidate Olive meets Adam Carlsen, Ph.D., fake-dates him, inevitably falls in love, almost loses herself in the web of lies she spins - until she finally gets a grip and starts telling the truth. Happily ever after begins. Sounds familiar? Of course. The fake-dating trope is a road very often taken. And, yet, I’ve rarely - if ever - enjoyed the story this much. Not much is new in this story - even the primary conflict is something you might have read about before and, sadly, it’s not uncommon in either academia or industry. Olive is nerdy, insecure, impostor syndrome-prone and, looking back, very, very relatable in many ways. She’s also intelligent, witty, a tease and always trying to treat people fairly. Adam - our dark, brooding hero - has been pining for Olive since he first met her years ago and, thus, quickly agrees to help both Olive and himself by taking part in their fake-dating charade. Meanwhile, h...

A Market Tale by Martin Walker My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a nice and typical Bruno short story. It’s a good sample for the early Bruno novels since it represents everything that’s good about the series: Bruno is so wonderfully likeable, friendly and empathic. The market obviously plays as an important role as in many of the novels. There’s a small conflict but Bruno congenially solves it. I felt right at home with this short story. View all my reviews https://turing.mailstation.de/a-market-tale-bruno-chief-of-police-7-5-by-martin-walker/?feed_id=859&_unique_id=63331e3d9adae

Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings My rating: 4 of 5 stars Finally, we’re (mostly) back on track: Garion gets to know his place in the big picture, Ce’Nedra finally becomes a character and not some one-dimensional caricature and Belgarath shows some human feelings. Whenever we’re not witnessing our heroes travelling but get to know them in their “natural habitat”, things get really interesting. I’m certainly never going to recommend “The Belgariad” to anyone but a teenager but at least this book made me actually want to finish the series instead of DNF’ing. I hope the fifth book doesn’t make me regret my decision… View all my reviews https://turing.mailstation.de/castle-of-wizardry-the-belgariad-book-4-by-david-eddings/?feed_id=852&_unique_id=63307b685ddc6

Bretonisches Vermächtnis by Jean-Luc Bannalec My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars Vive la France! - auch wenn sich das etwas merkwürdig anfühlt, wenn man weiß, daß sich hinter dem Pseudonym Jean-Luc Bannalec der deutsche Literat Jörg Bong (schon eine Weile nicht mehr) versteckt. Merkwürdig fühlt es sich auch an, nach längerer Zeit der “Abstinenz” einmal mehr in meiner Muttersprache gelesen und, jetzt und hier, auch geschrieben zu haben. Andererseits schreibt mit Martin Walker auch ein nicht ganz so “waschechter” Franzose (sondern ein Schotte!) über seinen Bruno und ist damit ziemlich erfolgreich. Ähnlich verhält es sich auch in anderen Punkten, was beide Roman-Serien angeht: Beide, so scheint es leider, haben ihre besten Zeiten hinter sich. Denn der vorliegende Band “Bretonisches Vermächtnis” ist immer noch nett, Dupin als Figur weiterhin ausgesprochen sympathisch und auch gewissermaßen glaubwürdig; nur leider wirkt doch alles recht routiniert: “ Schon Hunderte Male hatte er h...

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman My rating: 5 of 5 stars " I was fine, perfectly fine on my own, but I needed to keep Mummy happy, keep her calm so she would leave me in peace. A boyfriend—a husband?—might just do the trick. It wasn’t that I needed anyone. I was, as I previously stated, perfectly fine. " Eleanor Oliphant most certainly is not fine. Unless, maybe, Honeyman has read Louise Penny ’s brilliant mysteries, among them “ Dead Cold ” (also published as “ A Fatal Grace ”) and actually means FINE (she even uses this term in all-caps herself) which stands for “Fucked up, Insecure, Neurotic and Egotistical”. That’s part of what Eleanor is. I’ve read this book is about loneliness and, yes, it certainly is but it’s so much more – depression, childhood abuse and recovery. Eleanor goes to work, trying to avoid any non-essential contact with her co-workers or, in fact, any human being for that matter. She relies completely on her routines (“ ...

For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa My rating: 2 of 5 stars If only they could talk. Oh, wait… How non- and intentional miscommunication not only derails a decent story but an entire novel. “ For Butter or Worse ”? This amusingly cheesy title (and Helen Hoang ’s prominent endorsement on the cover) made me read this. Sadly, it was mostly a waste of my reading time. Chef Nina and restaurant chain owner Leo co-host a cooking show and don’t get along. Once she drops out of the show, Nina discovers she’s losing even more business than before and agrees to fake-date her “enemy” Leo. Leo is in a pretty similar situation and, thus, agrees to this charade as well. At this point, I should have stopped. Fake-dating and enemies-to-lovers in one book? That’s a recipe for disaster but Erin La Rosa had to add a lot more ingredients to her novel and as its sole cook, she creates a hotchpotch of topics that are each highly relevant - and thoroughly neglected. There’s, of course, the subject of ...

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The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes My rating: 2 of 5 stars Cinderella meets Piranesi in a pink wish-fulfilment children’s fantasy bubble " The Inheritance Games " by Jennifer Lynn Barnes was a major disappointment. For all practical purposes orphaned 17-year-old Avery inherits a gazillion dollars, has to move into her late benefactor’s huge mansion for a year where his toxic and dysfunctional family makes her life difficult… This was such an interesting premise but Barnes’ simply can’t deliver: Avery herself “feels” a lot younger than 17. She is self-centred, insecure, naïve and while she is supposed to look clever, the “riddles” in this book are mostly either trivial or so obscure that she has to be helped by her male love interests between two of which she simply doesn’t decide. Jameson, Grayson - afore-mentioned love interests - aren’t even graced with any kind of discernible character. Both young men are just walking stereotypes: Jameson is the young pr...

Little Wren and the Big Forest by Michael J. Sullivan My rating: 2 of 5 stars This was, unfortunately, a quick and painful read. We’re observing how Wren enters the big - forbidden and foreboding - forest despite her entire family having disappeared in it before. Even worse: She goes into the forest knowing full well it’s a trap and, “being eight years old and small for her age” she has absolutely nothing to expect but being lost forever herself. As if that wasn’t enough already, the story feels forced, a lacklustre piece that’s even gory in part which is something I’m definitely not used to when it comes to Michael’s books and other short stories. Ultimately, it ends with a whimper of a solution that is as forgettable as the entire thing. Just stay away from this short story and choose from Michael’s other works which are simply marvellous! View all my reviews https://turing.mailstation.de/little-wren-and-the-big-forest-the-legends-of-the-first-empire-0-6-by-michael-j...

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’ve first read “The Last Wish” in 2011. It was recommended to me by my friend Ingmar (who still has to read it, I suppose!) who – as it turned out later – used me as a guinea pig for books he intended to read but didn’t know if he would enjoy them and, thus, enticed me into reading them first. Little did that scoundrel know that he had involuntarily introduced me to what is today one of my favourite fantasy book series. It took a few years to really set in, though, because while I enjoyed “The Last Wish” well enough, at the time it was a three-stars-read to me – which means “it was ok’ish but nothing special”. Nevertheless, I wanted to read more about that strange man, a witcher actually, who hunts monsters for a living. Unlike some other heroes in fantasy, Geralt is not a killer-for-hire and he won’t indiscriminately slaughter any non-human but consider them first – and sometimes confuse them: “ The monster s...

Foxes for Christmas by Ben Aaronovitch My rating: 4 of 5 stars Truly just a "moment" but a nice, kind and amusing one. View all my reviews Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam https://turing.mailstation.de/foxes-for-christmas-by-ben-aaronovitch/?feed_id=791&_unique_id=63234c694bde5

Kaffee und Zigaretten by Ferdinand von Schirach My rating: 5 of 5 stars “ Die Würde des Menschen ist die strahlende Idee der Aufklärung, sie kann den Hass und die Dummheit lösen, sie ist lebensfreundlich, weil sie von unserer Endlichkeit weiß, und erst durch sie werden wir in einem tiefen und wahren Sinn zu Menschen. ” Zu Ferdinand von Schirach kam ich über sein Buch “ Verbrechen ”. Irgendwo stolperte ich über den Namen dieses Buches und natürlich kannte ich die Familie von Schirach aus der deutschen Geschichte. Ferdinand von Schirach selbst war mir jedoch kein Begriff und so googelte ich ihn und fand schnell heraus, daß er der Enkel Baldur von Schirachs ist, des “Reichsjugendführers” im nationalsozialistischen Deutschland. Nun ist der Nationalsozialismus ein Thema, das mir persönlich sehr wichtig ist. Ich bin 1975 geboren und so ist es vollkommen klar, daß ich keine Schuld an den Verbrechen der Nazis trage. Ich bin aber in Deutschland als Deutscher geboren und so trage ...

The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith My rating: 5 of 5 stars Robert Galbraith ’s “ The Ink Black Heart ”, the sixth instalment of this fantastic series , consisted of 1644 pages based upon my Kindle’s settings. When I started reading it and saw that, I was somewhat awed. I liked where Galbraith went with this series and, thankfully, decided to go on this ride… And, wow, what a ride it was! Over the time it took me to read this, I felt drawn to this book almost non-stop. I had gotten caught in this ever-moving literary maelstrom… Robin and Strike investigate the identity of a toxic online persona, Anomie, and the brutal murder of a young cartoonist, Edie Ledwell, and her co-creator, Josh Blay, the latter barely surviving the same attack. Anomie who has in turn co-created a fan-made game to the eponymous cartoon “The Inkblack Heart” with his friend Morehouse - another pseudonym - is central to this mystery and eerily reminded me of some real people online… Strike and Robin feel ...

Cold Heart Creek by Lisa Regan My rating: 4 of 5 stars Phew, Josie is back! After having been disappointed by Her Silent Cry , the previous instalment in the Josie Quinn series , this book brings her back on the right track. This time, Josie investigates the murder of a couple and the disappearance of a friend of theirs, deep in the woods. A hermit, some creepy underground caverns and a strange cult feature prominently in this story and lend it a lot of atmosphere and, at least to me, a strong appeal. Of course, “Cold Heart Creek” is the same literary junk food as its predecessors and, thus, you shouldn’t expect deep insights into the state of mankind, human nature or the question to 42 but if you - like me - enjoy a good thriller with likeable protagonists, despicable villains and some fast-paced action in combination with a good part police procedural, you can’t really go wrong with this book. I have just one minor gripe: The resolution of a long-term dilemma of Josie’s i...

The Dark Bones by Loreth Anne White My rating: 3 of 5 stars This will be an untypically short review because this book was interesting enough but I had expected so much more: This books predecessor, “ A Dark Lure ”, was very, very suspenseful and exciting and told a really interesting story. “The Dark Bones” features a few characters from the first book (namely Olivia and her daughter Tori) but deals with the murder of Noah North which his daughter, Rebecca, a white-collar-crime cop investigates. During the course of her investigation Rebecca meets her ex-boyfriend, Ash, again who quickly becomes a “person of interest” in this case and an older one about two missing kids. As in the previous book, White’s career as a romance writer shines through and – again – her heroine falls for the handsome rugged second protagonist – it worked the first time so why not try to apply the successful formula again? Which would be fine by me but somehow I was not as invested in both the st...

Tim im Kongo by Hergé My rating: 3 of 5 stars "Tim im Kongo” wird üblicherweise als der erste “wirkliche” Tim-und-Struppi -Band angesehen, da der eigentliche Vorgänger, “ Tim im Lande der Sowjets ” von Hergé lange Zeit als “Jugendsünde” abgetan wurde. Auch hat er diesen später meist als “Band 0” bezeichneten Comic nie mehr überarbeitet (im Gegensatz zu den meisten anderen Bänden). Insofern darf der vorliegende Band “Tim im Kongo” wohl zurecht als erster “Tim und Struppi”-Comic angesehen werden. Nie vergessen darf man dabei, daß dieser Comic bereits 1930 erschien und insofern “Kind seiner Zeit” und darüber hinaus das Ergebnis einer sehr naiven europäischen Einstellung zu Afrika und den Menschen dort ist. Die “Eingeborenen” werden in der vorliegenden 8. Auflage von 1981 – und bereits “entschärften” (!) Ausgabe – als geradezu kindlich (kindlich-einfacher Satzbau, einfachste Wortwahl – “Dingsbums” ist eines der häufigsten Worte…) und unendlich naiv dargestellt. Ganz kla...

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke My rating: 1 of 5 stars Reading “ Piranesi ”, I mostly felt unbelievably bored: Piranesi lives in a house with infinite halls; some of them submerged, in some there is an ocean and all feature statues depicting people of all kinds. Piranesi has developed a kind of faith based upon the house and how he feels it cares for him; even going as far as considering himself the child of the house. We witness Piranesi as he wanders the halls of the house; fishing, talking to birds, the statues and the skeletons of the other thirteen people Piranesi believes to have lived in the house and, consequently, in the entire world because to Piranesi the house is the world. There is one other living person in Piranesi’s little house - the Other! The Other is - like Piranesi - some kind of (pseudo-)scientist who devises occult rituals to find “ Great and Secret Knowledge ” and for years, Piranesi has almost religiously and unquestioningly followed the Other’s instructions...

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks My rating: 4 of 5 stars “ As these images were going through my head, my breathing suddenly went still. I looked at Jamie, then up to the ceiling and around the room, doing my best to keep my composure, then back to Jamie again. She smiled at me and I smiled at her and all I could do was wonder how I’d ever fallen in love with a girl like Jamie Sullivan. ” The story is as simple as it gets: Boy (Landon) meets girl (Jamie), falls in love with her (and she with him) but they’re star-crossed lovers. I like this book and I don’t like it. I really like that it feels plausible and honest: “ She looked away. “Yes,” she finally said, “I’m frightened all the time.” “Then why don’t you act like it?” “I do. I just do it in private.” “Because you don’t trust me?” “No,” she said, “because I know you’re frightened, too.” ” I liked how Landon basically fell in love unwillingly and reluctantly but will not and cannot stop once he’s embarked on the jou...

Am 24. Februar 2022 überfielen die russischen Streitkräfte auf Befehl des russischen Präsidenten Wladimir Putin das Nachbarland Ukraine . Die vorgeschobenen Gründe des mörderischen Diktators und Kriegsverbrechers Putin sind dabei angebliche "zahlreiche blutige Verbrechen gegen die Zivilbevölkerung, einschließlich der Bürger der Russischen Föderation" begangen wurden, die Demilitarisierung und "Entnazifizierung" der Ukraine sowie die NATO-Osterweiterung. Nichts davon ist wahr und der Überfall Putins, seiner Regierung und seiner Militärs ist durch nichts zu rechtfertigen. Insofern ist es aus meiner Sicht nur zu begrüßen, daß weite Teile der freien Welt die Ukraine mit Sanktionen, militärischer sowie humanitärer Hilfe und vielen weiteren Maßnahmen unterstützt. Gleichzeitig verhandelt die Ukraine unablässig mit dem Aggressor Russland, um doch noch zu einer friedlichen Lösung zu kommen. Ich bezweifle, daß dies funktionieren wird, denn Putin versteht gan...

Die Krabbe mit den goldenen Scheren by Hergé My rating: 2 of 5 stars Wieder einmal bin ich mit Die Krabbe mit den goldenen Scheren bei einem der schwächeren und problematischeren Bände der Comic-Reihe gelandet: Tim ist auf der Spur einer Bande von Opium-Schmugglern und bereist zu Lande, zur See und in der Luft auch wieder - für die Entstehungszeit - “exotische” Orte wie Marokko, wo “die Wilden” geschmäht und von den französischen Kolonialherren "großmütig" geführt werden… Rassistische und kolonialistische Klischees gibt es hier insofern - mal wieder - zuhauf. Bis hin zum am Rande auftretenden japanischen Detektiv, der einer bewußt rassistischen Karikatur entsprungen sein könnte. Auch hier ist Hergé Kind seiner Zeit: Sein Land, Belgien, ist zur Entstehungszeit dieses Bandes (1940) von den Deutschen besetzt und obschon Hergé nicht kollaboriert, so wird er doch zumindest beeinflußt. Ganz zu schweigen davon, daß gerade auch Belgien eine üble Kolonialgeschichte hat. Auch a...

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas My rating: 1 of 5 stars Phew… 816 pages, 10 days and I feel like I aged 10 years because this was such a tiresome read. We find ourselves in the most fanciful and easiest fantasy world to write: A (probably) dystopian future on planet Midgard (yes… the subtlety is killing me…) in which humans are in a constant state of rebellion against their angel/fae/werewolf/ overlords who enslaved and/or killed their leaders. Fortunately, not only does this Midgard feature powerful magic, supernatural beings and great weapons of mass destruction ( brimstone missiles!), no, it also features modern technology like smartphones and email… Bryce Quinlan is a “half-breed” between human and fae and, of course, supernaturally beautiful, tall, sexy and almost suicidally depressed about the murder of her more-than-a-friend-but-not-quite-a-lover-even-though-their-love-is-eternal werewolf companion and the latter’s entire pack. Along comes the “dark and broodin...

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was great escapist fun! This book read like the happy child of Douglas Adams ’ “ Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ” and Martha Wells ’ “ Murderbot ” (in tone more than in spirit!) with a bit of Ernest Cline ’s “ Ready Player One ” mixed in for good measure! After so many “mixed reading results” so far this year, this was a much needed blast of fresh, contemporary air that expertly blew away any residue of blues. This is a fun, feel-good book, a book like a really good popcorn movie. This book is, in Scalzi’s own words: » It’s a pop song. It’s meant to be light and catchy, with three minutes of hooks and choruses for you to sing along with, and then you’re done and you go on with your day, hopefully with a smile on your face. I had fun writing this, and I needed to have fun writing this. We all need a pop song from time to time, particularly after a stretch of darkness. « I so enjoyed Jamie Gray, the l...