Jeff MariotteRecensioner
Författare till Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Watcher's Guide, Volume 2
Recensioner
Witch Season: Summer and Fall av Jeff Mariotte
Essentially the entire book is a bird's eye view into Clay's tours in Vietnam, the beginning vestiges of his relationship with nutjob CIA rogue John Donovan, and the circumstances in the war that provoked his rage and vengeance that lead into the events of Mafia III.
Essentially if you've played Stones Unturned DLC, this is a companion piece to that in my honest opinion. Stones Unturned for the uninitiated is the backstory of John Donovan's slippery dealings taking down dirty double agents within the CIA ranks. Plain of Jars is almost a initiation companion to that from the perspective of Clay and his issues out in the field dealing with the same type of corruption from his superiors.
This book starts Clay off as a buck Private, and then explores the who what when where why and how of his time coming into the Special Forces that is talked about in the video game. He's good with a gun and getting out of sticky situations with the enemy, so he gets recruited into the Green Berets quite quickly, and that's where his trouble starts. He's young (about 19) and he's naive to the corruption in ranks. It comes knocking on his door in more ways than one as he figures out who he can trust and who can't, as well as a sidebar love story that comes to a bitter end that provokes his rage similiar to what he did in the DLC Sign Of The Times with the Blessed.
Essentially, this book will give you a backstory window into how Clay pretty much went through so much shit in the Nam that by the time he came back home to help Sammy, he'd taken all he could take.
San Francisco gets more page time as the backdrop to the magical adventures of our favorite three sisters in this one than is often the case, and that’s a big plus. Also a plus is we get sections featuring Darryl, one of the nice male characters from the show that is missed by this reader. He’s involved in a task force set up to catch the “Wet Killer” but realizes early on that they may be dealing with someone more up the alley of our Charmed Ones than the San Francisco Police Department, or the FBI, who will be taking over the investigation if the killer can’t be stopped.
Another big plus is Cole has some involvement here. Another great character that’s missed, he often doesn’t get a lot of page time in the entries I’ve read so far. Leo gets some page time, of course, and that’s good as always. The other good thing is there’s a pretty good story in this one, involving some crafty deception which tests the loyalty of the sisters to one another by calling into question the newest Charmed One, Paige. Phoebe has a vision — or is it a dream? — that leads her to the attic, where she discovers an old letter from a distant Halliwell aunt, Agnes, warning of a new arrival to the power of three who will betray them. Could it be Paige?
As you can imagine, this causes suspicion and distrust between Phoebe and Paige (Paige does not know of the letter), but also friction between Piper and Leo on one side, and Cole and Phoebe on the other, as Piper dismisses the letter but Phoebe is not so sure. But why are they so quick to anger, and so unwilling to talk it out? As they try to research their distant relative, and figure it all out, Leo gets a bad vibe off one of Darryl’s crime scenes. It eventually comes to pass that what’s happening now, may have something to do with a horrific killing spree in San Francisco’s distant past. Aunt Agnes eventually stopped an imposter named Timothy dead in his tracks way back when. But wait, isn’t that guy sowing seeds of distrust between Paige and her family named Timothy?
This one feels more fleshed out than some entries, and it’s not just exclusively the sisters — though don’t worry, there’s plenty of Piper, Phoebe and Paige too. There’s a very good ending to this one, and the aftermath is a nice wrap-up. This is a very good entry, with a bit of grit to balance out the fluff. Highly recommended.
As to the plot, I always wondered about the Prime Directive—basically the “we don’t want to offend the Indian Hunters, so we’ll be vague” name for the Non-Colonial Directive—and what would happen if the rival spacefaring civilization didn’t honor it, which is what happens in this book, and I have to say that that’s a pretty good conflict generator, you know.
I am starting to think that Star Wars is more fun than Star Trek—not that they’re the only two speculative franchises, let alone adventure fiction out there, right—but I guess I am no longer tempted to dismiss James Tiberius Kirk with a monosyllable, right.
…. “Free people made their own choices, and sometimes those choices included hating one another.”
…. The hero is brave and the sociological comments make sense.
…. And the local secondary characters always kinda surprise me, you know.
Anyway, sometimes Star Trek is terrible, but people in general have a better memory for bad things, and you know—this was not terrible.
…. To indulge in the cliche head-to-head: it’s not as good as Star Wars, but sometimes Star Trek is almost romantic, you know.
…. I mean, it’s not a romantic adventure, properly speaking, like say “The Courtship of Princess Leia”—admittedly more feminine than most Star Wars stories, I guess—but Kirk & Company is more romantic than those sorta “Technical Specifications of the Battleship” (Technical Specification of Ships series) type “novels”; even though there’s superficial resemblance it’s far from a rigid observance, you know…. A lot of the plot-and-“science”-centric cavils about Trek plots that Trekkies and such make (I can almost hear them in my head, you know, the anti-literary set: rebel nerd, geek tyrant….) basically revolve around that not understanding what sort of a thing Star Trek is.
It flirts with detachment, in more ways than one, but it was always a little optimistic. Most people can’t really understand the point of chemistry lessons if the chemicals are all made up, you know. It’s just…. Optimism, you know. Romantic-not-romantic.
I gave it a whole extra star just for having a Fred Olen Ray reference in it.
Don’t judge a book by its cover, folks!
By Jeffrey J. Marriott
Cover- Douglas Klauba
Published Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. 2022
I’ve known of Jeffrey Mariotte’s work since the days of his Desperadoes comic book series. Recently I purchased and read the third book in his Cody Cavanaugh series and thoroughly enjoyed it. So I was excited when it was announced that he was writing a Tarzan novel especially since it would be set in the American Southwest. One might think that it unusual that a “western” writer would tackle Tarzan but it should be remembered that Edgar Rice Burroughs, himself wrote westerns,
Still this is a fish out of water story, placing Tarzan in a setting with no trees. As I started reading I wondered if there would be any action that would be distinctively Tarzan. Stepping away from some trappings such as John Clayton visiting Edgar Rice Burroughs, I wondered if maybe Doc Savage or some other ultra human adventurer could be substituted. I mean, the story is in the middle of Arizona, no trees to swing through, no Numa the lion or Tantor the elephant. What makes this a Tarzan story? Marriotte allayed my fears with some nice touches that made this firmly a Tarzan tale.
The story is part of the ERB Expanded Universe meaning that it actually falls into continuity of the original series. The story after the incidents in “Tarzan and the Lion Man” which is a story steeped in Hollywood. So at the beginning of this tale, we have Tarzan exiting L.A. after an incident in Hollywood and a visit with an old friend. Departing on a train for Chicago with thoughts of returning home to Africa.
After that we really move into a gangster novel set in the Southwest. The gangsters being a reflection of the times. The story is action packed of violence and pursuit, this reflecting the structure of a western novel.
It is a fast paced read at only 126 pages. It should be noted that an ERB novel could range from 125 pages to over 300 pages. With this being a singularly focused novel, the shorter page count makes sense. I could argue that Doc Savage, Tarzan’s urban counterpart could have been substituted, the adding of a mystical element takes the book out of Doc Savage’s realm.
Fun, fast read. Nicely packaged with a cover by Douglas Klauba and nice petrified wood touch with the dust jacket removed. This isn’t a story adding to the Tarzan mythos but it also doesn’t take anything away from it. In these days of longer stories, with a lot of exposition, it’s nice to read an action packed tale. Like a roller coaster, the reader gets a nice build up and then gets to enjoy the ride until the end.
So definitely recommend for readers of Tarzan, readers of fast action and for readers looking for a tasty snack over a full meal.
Spike is such a great character. He is snarky and sarcastic and always have the best one-liners. But I still like Angel best when it comes to BTVS and ATS. But one thing that never gets boring is watching Angel and Spike together, they are like brothers...that hate each other, but still work together. So has Spike gone bad again? Well I don't want to give the plot away so you just have to read it yourself!
Review also posted on And Now for Something Completely Different and It's a Mad Mad World
It's been ages since I saw the TV-series or read an Angel book so it was nice to find Angel graphic novels on Scribd. I actually don't have time for reading graphic novels right now since I need to finish some books. But boy it's nice to take a break from all the books to read a graphic novel instead.
I liked the story in Angel: The Curse. As usual nothing goes as Angel wants because the clan Kalderashto is fighting the regime of Corneliu Brasov. Angel needs to help them fight Brasov to get to Natalya Kalderash because she is the only one that can help him with the curse...
Review also posted on And Now for Something Completely Different and It's a Mad Mad World
Spike is such a great character. He is snarky and sarcastic and always have the best one-liners. But I still like Angel best when it comes to BTVS and ATS. But one thing that never gets boring is watching Angel and Spike together, they are like brothers...that hate each other, but still work together. So has Spike gone bad again? Well I don't want to give the plot away so you just have to read it yourself!
Review also posted on And Now for Something Completely Different and It's a Mad Mad World
It's been ages since I saw the TV-series or read an Angel book so it was nice to find Angel graphic novels on Scribd. I actually don't have time for reading graphic novels right now since I need to finish some books. But boy it's nice to take a break from all the books to read a graphic novel instead.
I liked the story in Angel: The Curse. As usual nothing goes as Angel wants because the clan Kalderashto is fighting the regime of Corneliu Brasov. Angel needs to help them fight Brasov to get to Natalya Kalderash because she is the only one that can help him with the curse...
Review also posted on And Now for Something Completely Different and It's a Mad Mad World
I think the author tried to develop too many plot lines. The Greg/Catherine line was expanded to two cases and were brought to decent conclusions. The Nick/Ray/Brass line (the one the title was drawn from) however, was more disappointing. Nick's thread and Brass's thread again were decent, but Ray's thread was almost unacceptable.
It's still a good light read, though.
Richie Krebbs is an ex police officer and obsessed with criminology. Frank Robey ex-FBI and Detroit Police, officer is obsessed with a missing child's case for years. In an abandoned house, Richie stumbles upon what he believes to be a clue in in the case and seeks the help of Frank. Together the two decide they are going to try to solve this years old crime at any cost.
Richie not knowing what he wants out of life, being at maybe his all time low is very likable. hHe is flawed, unsure of what his future holds, but solving this case could be the glue that holds him together. Frank a comic book loving Cop, reluctantly gets involved in a cold case, he too is very likable. The two make an unlikely pair, having opposite personalities. But the teaming up of Richie and Frank, makes a fascinating read.
An exciting, intense tale of suspense. There are some secrets revealed, some (plot) twists, that make the story exciting. Watching Richie and Frank so close to the truth provides the perfect amount of page turning suspense, drama and action. I feel those who love a great suspense will enjoy Empty Rooms.
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