The Heart Hunter - Mickey George

This was a gift for my daughter for Christmas. I wasn't sure how it would go, but I'd done a lot of research, and this was pretty highly reviewed.

A curse on the island of Envecor has caused everyone's heart to be outside their body. Some take care of it, while others aren't as caring. It's also made everyone immortal until they find their soulmate. Once they do that, they can leave the island, grow old and die. Some people don't want that to happen. One of those people is the king, so he hires Psyche, a heart hunter. She is tasked with tracking down the king's soulmate and killing them.

There's a lot to love in this book. The illustrations are bold and beautiful, and the story takes you on a journey of pain and healing. Psyche starts out as a tough as nails type, but as hard as she tries, she can't prevent her softer side from peeking through her own armor.

I don't know why this doesn't have more exposure. It's a self-contained story, and it's really good. It easily gets a Good Book! ranking from me.

 

The House on Garibaldi Street - Isser Harel

This book is the true story of the Mossad's operation to bring Adolf Eichmann to justice for his crimes during the Holocaust. The Mossad members went to Argentina, came up with a plan, and got their target out of there. They dealt with various obstacles, almost caught up with Josef Mengele (another really high-value target), and brought Eichmann back to Israel to stand trial.

The writing in this book was very factual, but it still read like a spy novel. Maybe it should have been boring at times, but I wasn't bored. I was fascinated by the amount of preparation that went into this operation. They made sure they had the right man, they had multiple plans in case something went wrong, and they were able to pull it off.

The really funny thing about this book is that it made me nervous. Obviously, they got Eichmann out of Argentina, but the way the book was written made me feel some of the tension these men and women must have went through at the time. I'm just curious what Eichmann thought he was going to gain by playing the servant to his captors. It was a bit creepy. This definitely gets a Good Book! review. 

Interview with Ernest James - July 13, 1990

This interview was an oral testimony taken on behalf of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. I sought out this particular interview because of where this man served and what he saw. He was briefly at Dora-Mittelbau, a place I've become interested in since I discovered my great uncle was at the liberation of the camp.

I didn't get to learn much about the camp, since James was mostly kept away from the prisoners. He did speak about how Germans would deny knowledge of what went on in the camps, but James debunked that. As punishment, the townspeople were made to bury the dead.

The transcript was hard to read since whoever transcribed it left the "uh" in there. Sometimes there were multiple in a row, or a single word between them. In addition to that, the interviewer would sometimes guide James away from what he was talking about and back to a particular topic. This tactic is basically the reason I decided to make a review of the interview. 

I talked to two of my grandparents when they got older, trying to learn about their lives. I also chatted with my great-grandfather when he had dementia and would talk about me without being able to make the connection that I was the person he was talking about. When people are trying to tell you their memories, I believe that you should just let them tell their story. I understand this interview was for a specific reason, but this man might have jostled loose a memory that he never would've accessed at any other time. When I talked to my grandmother, I tried to guide her through a set of questions. At first, it was more factual, but when I let her expand on her memories and let her answers wander, I learned so much more. My great-grandfather was so much more comfortable when I just let him talk instead of trying to tell him who I was.

I know that's a bit of rambling, but men and women of this generation had such important stories to tell. It was frustrating to read Ernest James's story being cut down to the size it was. If it needed to be a certain length, cut it down later. Let the man talk. Let people tell their own stories.

Ernest James was part of the 238th Engineer Combat Battalion

Siege of Darkness (Legacy of the Drow #3) - R. A. Salvatore

In this book, we find out what happens when the drow march on Mithral Hall. Matron Baenre herself is coming along, but there's also a slight problem before heading out. Magic isn't acting in a predictable way, and no one is sure the cause. When magic returns, they march to the dwarven stronghold, where the fight is long and happens on many fronts. Many races come together to fight against the drow. For the good of all goodly folk.

The end was close approaching, and I wasn't sure how they were going to push back the forces of evil, but the sun shines on the good and bad alike. It just affects them differently. Drizzt and Catti-brie are then off to explore the world outside the tunnels of Mithral Hall, but little do they know, Errtu is waiting to exact his revenge on Drizzt. 

Next up is Passage to Dawn. I'm reading another nonfiction since the interview I just finished was so short, but then I'll be finishing up this series. Good Book!

The Bionic Man Omnibus Volume 1 - Multiple authors

We love the Six Million Dollar Man around here. Lee Majors and Richard Anderson are a great dynamic duo that bring a special kind of friendship to the spy game. When I learned this book existed, I really wanted to read it. Also, this says volume 1, but there isn't a volume 2.

This book is more of a modern take on the bionic man. He's using technology that definitely didn't exist when the book or the show came out, so that's something to keep in mind. The stories cover some familiar ground (Bigfoot), and some new ideas (revenge on O.S.I. for losing a job).

This entire group of comics was disappointing for me. When I read the book, Cyborg, that the show was based on, I was struck by the difference in tone. I still appreciated the book for what it was, but this was a whole other level of unnecessary.

Steve is really whiny in these comics for some reason. There are numerous times he's called out for throwing temper tantrums, and it's a reflection of what I'm thinking. I also don't know why there's so many sexual innuendos in there. The panels with Jaime at the beginning were just way too much. Then, we have the friendship between Oscar and Steve. In this, you'd never be able to tell they were best friends if they didn't tell you all the time. Gone are the little jokes and genuine care they have for each other. In its place are forced dialogue and yelling.

Mini Spoiler: Bigfoot. I don't know what the deal with that was, but anytime you're going to take a bionic dog and rip its head off, I'm out. They try to play it off like "oh, we can rebuild him," but they took his HEAD. That's where his personality's at, so I'm not sure why they were so proud of themselves.

I think if you love the Six Million Dollar Man, the show, I would stay away from this. If you were a fan of the book, you might get some enjoyment out of this, but honestly, if you have to tell the government to secure Steve's Wi-Fi so he can't be hacked, then we're probably dealing with an unnecessary level of stupid. So disappointing...

Impossible Odds - Jessica Buchanan

Jessica was in Somalia as an aid worker when she was abducted with a co-worker. She was held hostage without vital medication for 93 days. Having to live day by day, wondering if today was the day her captors would sell her to a worse organization or just outright kill her was a strain to say the least. On January 25, 2012, 24 brave members of SEAL Team Six parachuted in and rescued both captives.

This book tells the entire story. It changes point of view between Jessica, Erik (her husband) and general information. It also goes back far enough to give information about Jessica's childhood, how she met Erik and how they ended up in Somalia.

If you're looking for a book that focuses solely on the kidnapping and the rescue, this probably won't keep your interest. I personally liked getting to know both Jessica and Erik, but others may not care as much. Also, there is a section of pictures hidden at the end. My copy also had an epilogue that was added later and had an update on how Jessica and Erik were doing. I really liked that. I would've liked to know what happened to Poul. He seemed to disappear from the story once they were rescued.

Overall, I'm glad this one had a happy ending. By that I mean Jessica came out of it able to move on to a fairly normal life. I'm sure there aren't a lot of people that are able to do that after living through such a tragedy. Good Book!

Starless Night (Legacy of the Drow #2) - R. A. Salvatore

Finished the next one in this series. We join up with our heroes who are mourning the loss of Wulfgar. Some are handling it better than others. Surprisingly, Catti-brie seems to be doing the best. Drizzt has decided the drow won't give up on capturing him, and he's determined to go alone to the Underdark and prevent further heartbreak to his friends.

Catti-brie won't let Drizzt go off on his own, so she harasses Regis into telling her the truth. He wasn't super keen on the idea of Drizzt going off on his own, so he hands over some items, and Catti-brie heads off to pursue her friend.

I just want to point out that I did mention if we didn't bury a body, people have a tendency to pop back up. I was right. A certain assassin is wandering around the Underdark, but he isn't having the best time. I liked the different setting for this one, and the author used the darkness almost as another character at times.

Next up will be Siege of Darkness. Starless Night was another Good Book!