Suramya's Blog : Welcome to my crazy life…

January 28, 2012

Proof that you can find anything on the net if you look long enough

Filed under: Books Related / Reviews,My Life — Suramya @ 8:57 PM

After looking for this book since 1994 which was when I first read it I finally managed to get my hands on ‘Earth Invaded’ by Nathan Elliott in the Amazon used book section. The book was in pretty good condition and got here quite fast considering it was shipped from the UK using normal post (I as eager to read the book but not eager enough to pay for express international shipping)

Took me about 45 mins to read the first book (its a trilogy and is only 160 pages) but it sure brought back a lot of memories.  The book is the story of how a group of soldiers fight against alien invaders when none of their energy weapons work against them. The plot was simple, and the story straight forward. I guess that the book was written for a much younger audience but was still a good read even at my age.

I have the third book in the series but am still waiting for the second book to be delivered (Got that one from another used store on Amazon) so can’t read the next one till that arrives. 🙁

Currently waiting for my system to finish deleting files fromm the Trash folder so am typing this on the tablet using the new keyboard. 🙂 For some reason when I recovered data from one of my crashed disks and copied it to the new one it got into some sort of loop where the same directories were replicated under a folder over and over again i.e. I have a folder called .wine/dosdevices/z:/dev/fd/3 under which is another wine folder with the same layout and so on… So a 120GB folder was copied over as over 400GB and its taking forever to delete the files. Actually correction, I was able to delete them from the system but emptying the trash is taking time.

Well this is all for now. Will write more later once my system is back up (Booted into single user more to speed things up).

– Suramya

January 18, 2012

‘Vimana’ a good SciFi read

Filed under: Books Related / Reviews — Suramya @ 3:46 PM

Its been a while since I last reviewed a book, guess I have just been busy. However I just finished reading Vimana by Mainak Dhar and really liked it. As some of you know, I don’t usually like reading books by most of the famous indian Authors. Before you get upset, its not because I think that Indian authors are bad, just that the topics most of them write about are of absolutely no interest to me. There are some notable exceptions to this like Ashok Banker (author of the Ramayan series), Amish Tripathi (wrote the Shiva trilogy). Now I have another author to add to the list of authors I like: Mainak Dhar.

The premise behind the book is quite simple, the myths we have about Gods fighting in their flying Vimans are true and based on aliens with advanced technology fighting on earth and one boy gets dragged into the fight because he literally stumbled into it.

The story is quite fast paced and is very light reading, there are not too many plot themes to keep track of, but that just makes the book fun to read. Since there are not too many plotlines at times the story gets a bit predictible but the fast pace keeps it from getting boring.

The love interest of the main character could have been left out but it didn’t get too bad.

In all I would recommend the book to others, Actually this would also be a good book for kids as well. Though for that I am basing the criteria on my reading habits which was considered quite advanced and not normal 🙂 (I was reading Michael Crichton, L Ron Hubbard etc in 7th & 8th class. )

As an side note, This entry was typed in flight on the way to Mumbai using my new keyboard for the Galaxy Tablet. Now that I have this keyboard, I really don’t need a laptop as I can do everything on the tablet. Except maybe code but that isn’t that big an issue as so far I haven’t needed to code on a flight. Plus its a lot more compact than a laptop. 🙂

Well this is all for now. Will post more later. 

– Suramya

July 5, 2010

The Destined Queen (Umbria Book 03) by Deborah Hale

Filed under: Reviews-Fantasy,Reviews-Romance — Suramya @ 9:17 PM


The Destined Queen (Umbria Book 02)
by Deborah Hale

Description:

Can the Queen who has once done the impossible ever be free?

After awakening the “Waiting King” — the one destined to free her country from the long occupation of the Han — Maura Woodbury thinks her duty to her country completed. But Maura’s task has only just begun. Rath, once a notorious outlaw, has no magic, and thus no power to expel the invaders from their kingdom. Yet the people expect a miracle. And so Maura, still new to using life-magic, is their only hope . . .

Maura must journey into the unknown, searching for a magical staff — one that will grant the awakened king one grand wish. But separation from her consort breeds jealousies, devastating secrets and ties to an intimate enemy. Stricken by doubt, Maura and Rath are tempted to ignore the call of fate — but what will happen to the country if they do?

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Rating:

Review:The waiting king has been found but he doesn’t seem to have any special powers or magical weapons. So how does a former outlaw and a wizard’s ward defeat an entire nation’s army?

This is the question Maura and Rath have to answer. Luckily for them they have help from an unexpected source. However they soon learn that nothing is easy even with magic assisting them. So Maura sets out to find a legendary magical staff while Rath battles the Han on the battlefield.

The characters and plots that we saw in the first book are further enhanced in the second book and a lot of things from the first book start making even more sense that they did in the first book.

The plot was a bit more complex than the first book but still relatively simple compared to some of the other fantasy novels out there in the market.

The characters are even better defined than the first book and the author really captures their hopes, desires and doubts in the book.

Final Recommendation: An excellent read

July 4, 2010

The Wizard’s Ward (Umbria Book 01) by Deborah Hale

Filed under: Reviews-Fantasy,Reviews-Romance — Suramya @ 9:14 PM


The Wizard’s Ward (Umbria Book 01)
by Deborah Hale

Description:

They were as different as night and day — an innocent sorceress and a notorious outlaw — but now all Maura and Rath have is each other. After Maura’s guardian, an old wizard named Langbard, is brutally murdered, the two are thrown together on a quest to find a legendary king and restore a conquered nation.

Umbria has long been under the yoke of the ruthless Han. So long, in fact, that many Umbrians have forgotten the Elderways — the magic, myths, and belief systems that once gave the country its strength. Langbard is one of the few who still remember the old ways, and he has diligently passed his wisdom on to his ward, a sheltered orphan named Maura. When Langbard informs her that she is the Destined Queen who must find and waken the Waiting King to overthrow the Han, she doesn’t accept her task — until Langbard is killed by Han death-mages.

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Review:What would you do if you were told that you were the legendary destined queen who would wake up the waiting king and free your people from the Han who have oppressed them for generations?

This the question that Maura had to answer when her guardian told her that she was the destined queen. Unfortunately for her he was killed soon after so the only person she could depend on was Rath, an outlaw who had promised to guide her to the person who would point her in the correct direction.

The plot is relatively simple and the obstacles that they both face sort of seem contrived at first but as you read along you realize that all of them have a deeper link to the story and each of them furthered the story in some way. Although the main ‘twist’ was something I had expected from pretty much the start, knowing it didn’t spoil the book.

The main strength of the book is the character development which was excellent. Some of the side characters could have been a bit more defined but the main characters were pretty well defined.

Final Recommendation: A great read

July 3, 2010

Kitty Goes to War (Kitty Book 08) by Carrie Vaughn

Filed under: Reviews-Urban Fantasy — Suramya @ 9:12 PM


Kitty Goes to War (Kitty Book 08)
by Carrie Vaughn

Description:

K itty Norville, werewolf radio call-in show host, gets a call from an old friend at the NIH’s Center for the Study of Paranatural Biology, a friend with a problem, who doesn’t know where else to turn. Three Army soldiers who have recently returned from the war in Afghanistan are in custody at Ft. Carson in Colorado Springs. They’re also werewolves suffering from post traumatic stress, unable to control their shape-shifting, unable to interact with people. Kitty agrees to see them, curious and wanting to help. Meanwhile, Kitty gets sued for slander after featuring Speedy Mart – a chain of 24-hour convenience stores with a reputation for attracting the supernatural – on her show, and an old friend-and-adversary has just been released from jail.

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Rating:

Review:The latest book in the Kitty series which stars a werewolf called Kitty is a good read. Kitty has her own pack now and is happily married to another werewolf.

The book didn’t re-cover most of the history of the major characters but at the same time covered just enough that we didn’t feel lost while reading the book.

The plot was decent and inspite of not having any twists and turns was interesting enough to keep my attention. This time Kitty’s radio show was sort of in the background as compared to the previous books where it had a more prominent role. Which was kind of disappointing for those of us who like the radio show a lot but still it was a different take on the story and kept the series from being repetitive.

The book was a very light read and I would recommend it to anyone who doesn’t want to read a book with a really heavy plot.

Final Recommendation: A great read

June 28, 2010

Shades of Grey (Icarus Project Book 02) by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge

Filed under: Reviews-Urban Fantasy — Suramya @ 9:09 PM


Shades of Grey (Icarus Project Book 02)
by Jackie Kessler& Caitlin Kittredge

Description:

AFTER THE FALL OF NIGHT

Jet and Iridium – best friends turned bitter enemies – teamed up to foil the evil plans of the rogue superhero known as Night, but in defeating him they inadvertently destroyed the secret Corp-Co transmitter whose frequency kept the metapowered heroes of the Squadron in line. Now these heroes have turned against New Chicago, ransacking the city they once protected.

Even worse, the powerful antisuperhero group known as Everyman has taken advantage of the chaos to fan the flames of prejudice against all superpowered men and women. Just when New Chicago needs them most, Jet and the small band of heroes who have remained on the right side of the law find themselves the targets of suspicion and outright hatred.

Things aren’t going much better for Iridium. When she springs her father, a notorious supervillain, from prison to help her fight the marauding ex-superheroes, she finds that Corp-Co still has some nasty tricks up its sleeve.

But when the most dangerous man alive, the sociopath known as Doctor Hypnotic, suddenly surfaces, Jet and Iridium will once again be called upon to set aside their differences. Yet in the process, deeply buried secrets will come to light that will change everything the former best friends think they know about each other and themselves.

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Rating:

Review:The second book in the Icarus project series picks up a few weeks after the first book ended and mainly covers how Iridium, Jet and the few remaining heroes deal with the extra-humans who have revolted against the normal humans and Corp-Co after they found out that they were being mind controlled into obeying them.

The characters were quite well defined and well written. The plot had some twists and turns in it some of which I could predict and some I couldn’t. In all it made for a good read.

The other problem that I had mentioned in the first book where parts of the book read differently than other parts of the book was not an issue in this book. So I guess they figured out how to completely mesh their writing styles together.

The book ending leaves the way open for the next book in the series and I am quite eagerly waiting for it to be released.

Final Recommendation: A great read

June 27, 2010

Black and White (Icarus Project Book 01) by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge

Filed under: Reviews-Urban Fantasy — Suramya @ 9:03 PM


Black and White (Icarus Project Book 01)
by Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge

Description:

It’s the ultimate battle of good versus good.

They were best friends at an elite academy for superheroes in training, but now Callie Bradford, code name Iridium, and Joannie Greene, code name Jet, are mortal enemies. Jet is a by-the-book hero, using her Shadow power to protect the citizens of New Chicago. Iridium, with her mastery of light, runs the city’s underworld. For the past five years the two have played an elaborate, and frustrating, game of cat and mouse.

But now playtime’s over. Separately Jet and Iridium uncover clues that point to a looming evil, one that is entwined within the Academy. As Jet works with Bruce Hunter – a normal man with an extraordinary ability to make her weak in the knees – she becomes convinced that Iridium is involved in a scheme that will level the power structure of America itself. And Iridium, teaming with the mysterious vigilante called Taser, uncovers an insidious plot that’s been a decade in the making.a plot in which Jet is key.

They’re both right. And they’re both wrong. Because nothing is as simple as Black and White.

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Rating:

Review:This is the first book in the series and is a collaboration between two excellent authors. Although I haven’t read any of Caitlin Kittredge’s work yet I am looking forward to getting acquainted with her work.

The book was a good read and the character development was superb. However the plot line wasn’t that complex and about 3/4th of the way through I had figured out who the ‘big bad’ was. But even figuring that out early didn’t really spoil the book so don’t let that detract you from reading the book.

I think that this is the first time the two authors have collaborated and it kind of shows in the book, not always but definitely in certain parts where the style of writing shifted significantly between sections.

Final Recommendation: A good book.Looking forward to reading the next book in the series

June 22, 2010

Close Contact (Alien Affairs Book 02) by Katherine Allred

Filed under: Reviews-Science Fiction — Suramya @ 9:01 PM


Close Contact (Alien Affairs Book 02)
by Katherine Allred

Description:

GEPs just want to have fun . . .

A Genetically Engineered Person and self-proclaimed “party girl,” Echo Adams loves her diplomatic job entertaining alien bigwigs for the Galactic Federation. But the Bureau of Alien Affairs has discovered she’s much more than she thinks — that a rogue scientist endowed her with skills and psi abilities dwarfing those of common GEPs. And suddenly Echo’s luxury life is over, replaced with a far more dangerous one: a special agent expected to not only chase bad guys but eliminate them.

Echo hates being stuck on Madrea — a planet of technophobes off limits to Federation visitors — hunting for a stolen quartz crystal with a powerful alien life form embedded inside. She despises the Bureau’s restrictive rules — especially the one warning her away from the dangerously seductive commander of the king’s army. And if she doesn’t learn how to use her alleged super-psi powers soon, her partying days — in fact all of her days — will be over for good.

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Rating:

Review:The second book in the Alien affairs series is based 32 months after the first one and is told from the view point of Echo Adams who is a Genetically Enhanced Person (GEP) commissioned by the Department of Protocol to organize state events. But to her dismay tests show that she has a large PSI talent and because of that she is shifted to the Bureau of Alien affairs.

The book is a great read from the first page all the way to the end. I mean how can you not like a book that starts off with the following sentence “Kiera Smith should eat worms and die.”

The plot was not too complicated and the characters were quite well written and given enough of a background to make them interesting and not so much that I got annoyed. Some of the secondary characters could have used a bit more detail but it wasn’t that big an issue.

The ending was expected and wrapped up the current storyline quite nicely but enough new stuff was introduced to us that the next book in the series has a lot of plot lines to choose from.

Final Recommendation: A great read.

June 19, 2010

Skin Game (Skin Series Book 01) by Ava Gray

Filed under: Reviews-Paranormal,Reviews-Romance — Suramya @ 8:58 PM


Skin Game (Skin Series Book 01)
by Ava Gray

Description:

A beautiful fugitive’wanted dead or alive.

Kyra is a con woman and a particular kind of thief. She steals with a touch, but she only takes one thing: her target’s strongest skill. Which means she can be a fighter, an athlete, a musician, an artist’anything she wants’ for a limited time. Heartbroken, she turns her gift toward avenging her father’s murder; with deadly patience, Kyra works her way into casino owner Gerard Serrano’s inner circle. After pulling off the ultimate con, she flees with his money and his pride.

A hit man who never misses the mark.

Reyes has nothing but his work. Pity for Kyra, he’s the best and mercy never sways him once he takes a job. He’s been hired to find out where Kyra hid the cash’and bring her back to face Serrano’s ‘justice.’ Dead will do, if he can’t locate the loot. He’s never failed to complete a contract, but Kyra tempts him with her fierce heat and her outlaw heart. So Reyes has a hell of a choice: forsake his word or kill the woman he might love.

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Rating:

Review:This is a book that I had tired to read before and for some reason couldn’t read more that a chapter at the time. When I started reading it again I thought that it would be the more of the same and would probably end up abandoning the book in the middle. But to my surprise I really enjoyed the book the second time around and finished it quite fast. I guess the first time I read the book I wasn’t in the mood for the kind of story this book had or something. I am just glad I reattempted to read the book.

The main character of the book is Kyra who has the ability to steal the strongest skill a person has by touching them skin to skin and she uses this ability to con people. The book starts off by introducing us to Kyra in the process of conning someone in a pool game. The plot was pretty simple but interesting and the way the characters interact with each other kept the book interesting.

One thing to keep in mind when suggesting this book to others, it has a lot of explicit sex scenes in it so don’t recommend it to someone who gets offended easily or is not old enough.

Final Recommendation: A good read. Will be getting the next book in the series.

June 14, 2010

Thirteenth Child (Frontier Magic Book 01) by Patricia C Wrede

Filed under: Reviews-Fantasy,Reviews-Young Adult Fantasy — Suramya @ 8:54 PM


Thirteenth Child (Frontier Magic Book 01)
by Patricia C Wrede

Description:

Eff Rothmer is the twin sister of a seventh son of a seventh son, growing up on the edge of the “safe” settled area of the U.S. in the 1850s (though history has not gone quite the way it did in our world-the Civil War, for instance, happened in 1832, and Lewis and Clark never came back…)

This is the first book of a fantasy trilogy about settling the West in a world where magic works and the New World was not settled until modern magic (of Columbus’ day) made it
possible to fend off the dangerous wildlife (which includes both imaginary beasts like steam dragons and spectral bears, and real-life post-ice-age creatures like wooly mammoths).

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Review:This is a book that I had been waiting to read for a long time. It took forever for the store to deliver it to me but now that I have read it, it was worth the wait to get it.

The book has been written for young adults and stars Eff who is the 13th child in her family and because of that is expected to bring bad luck to everyone around her. The only people who don’t believe her are her immediate family and her twin brother.

The book starts when Eff is quite young and then covers her life till she turns 18. During this period she learns more about herself and the world around her and how even though she is the 13th child that doesn’t mean that she would bring doom to everyone around her.

Its a very nicely written coming of age story that takes place in an alternate universe where magic is real and the wild west is actually wild and the frontiermen have to deal with both magical and mundane threats.

Final Recommendation: A great read. If you know teens who might be interested in reading Fantasy then I recommend that you suggest this book to them.

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