The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien

It has been quite some time since my last entry.  I haven't had many occasions to read since the holidays, but I came upon The Children of Hurin while exiting my local library and saw it in the giveaway shelf.  I am a big fan of J.R.R. Tolkien having read The Hobbit and the Lord of the Ring series as a teenager, so there I was with a free book from an author that I like.  Who could ask for more?

The Children of Hurin is a story written by J.R.R. Tolkien and it is referenced in his other published works.  His son Christopher Tolkien is the literary executor of his estate.  Christopher Tolkien edited the work for publishing as he also did with The Silmarillion, The Unfinished Tales, and The History of Middle-earth.

This story is set in Middle-earth; the same setting as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.  This story predates these stories.  It is a story of the son of a human lord who fights the evil Morgoth and is captured in a great battle known as The Battle of Unnumbered Tears.  The story follows the life of Turin, the son of the lord Hurin, and his trials, adventures, and heartache.  Turin shows great capacity to lead and fight, but his good qualities are countered by his brashness.

This story is a tragedy.  It was great to read something that doesn't necessarily have happiness and good luck for the protagonist throughout the story.  The beginning of the book was very difficult to read.  The story doesn't have the same feel of Tolkien's other more famous works.  Thinking about it, the closest experience I can equate reading it to is reading the Old Testament.  It had several paragraphs describing genealogies.  There were also times that use of pronouns were confusing.  These things were all tools in the development of the story and I thought it fit the story well.  Some readers will get tired of this though.  This said, I recommend this book.  Know that sticking it out for a couple chapters will be worth it in the end.

If you would like this book message me.  You will only have to pay shipping.

Spinward Fringe Broadcast 2 and 3 (Resurrection and Awakening) by Randolph Lalonde

The second and third editions of the Spinward Fringe story, Resurrection and Awakening, were combined to make this novel.  It is set again in the distant future, in the Milky Way Galaxy.  This story opens with us following what seems to be the hero from the First Light Chronicles, except Jonas Valent has lost all his memories and now goes by the name Jacob Valence.  Jake is the captain of a bounty hunting and reclamation ship.  In the beginning of the story it is discovered that Alice has freed him from stasis and set him on his journey.

This story is written in the third person narrative making it, stylistically, different from the first story.  It is a good change because this story is slightly darker than its predecessor.  This gives you the impression of a slight distance from the lives of the characters.  Again, I enjoyed the character interactions as much as the first novel.  Following the life of a space bounty hunter was new and exciting.  The concept of behemoth corporations continued, and several concepts were introduced that added to the story.  Concepts such as artificial and biological intelligence and their differences and the morality of working without question were present.

This book had slightly more grammatical errors than the previous book.  I also noticed a time or two where the author slipped back into first person narrative.  For me these errors were within acceptable limits.  None of these errors detracted from the story or my reading experience.

I enthusiastically recommend this book.  I purchased this book from Amazon.com for $2.99 which is its current price.  It can also be found on Smashwords.com for the same price.

Origins (Spinward Fringe) by Randolph LaLonde

Origins (Spinward Fringe) is a science fiction story set in the Milky Way galaxy in the distant future (I estimate 500-2000 years in the future).  It was originally written as three novellas (Freeground, Limbo & Starfee Port) and comprised the First Light Chronicles.  It is the story of a starship crew on a secret intelligence mission to go into the galaxy and collect, purchase, or steal advanced technology.  They also have an added mission of forging alliances with helpful governments if the occasion presents itself.

The liked the perspective used by the author.  The story is written in first person and this gives the feeling of being in the main character's shoes.  The story is set in a galaxy where corporations are the main forms of government.  The corporations own planets, solar systems, and entire sectors of space.  The story provides an example of corporate evolution and some of the problems posed through entities controlling large areas of space with profit as the main driver for decisions.  I really enjoyed this viewpoint and I liked the challenges this caused for our protagonists.  The story was full of action and the opening of the story brought us into the action from the very beginning.  Additionally, the story was full of suspense.  I generally knew that the story would continue because there was more book to read, but it had enough twists to keep me guessing how it would continue.  I loved the characters; I sympathized with the protagonists during their difficulties and hated the antagonists as they set about trying to harm the heroes.  I also enjoyed the difficult decisions and follow on actions taken by the heroes to get out of difficult predicaments. 

One reason I like reading science fiction is author descriptions of how technology works.  The description of technology was cursory, but sufficient to understand its purpose and use.  The author placed more emphasis on the development of characters and scenes over the description of technology.

This is one of my favorite books.  It brought me to one of my favorite series - the Spinward Fringe series.  I purchased this book from Amazon.com for $0.00 and this is the current price.  You can also get this book and other books from this author on Smashwords.com listed as Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins.  I fully recommend this title and its sequels.

Hemlock and the Wizard Tower (The Maker's Fire), by B Throwsnaill

Hemlock and the Wizard Tower (The Maker's Fire) is a story of a girl who grows into womanhood fighting against the injustices of a magical kingdom.

I liked how magic was described in the book.  It was a refreshing look at a topic which is usually brushed aside as a strange king of power.  The story did a good job of telling how magic was formed and how it was fueled in this universe.  The story has a couple twists and turns that built to its climax.  The difficulties faced by the protagonist were physical, mental, and emotional.  I really enjoyed the inner turmoil felt by the protagonist when her world view was questioned by a more experienced character.  It is reminiscent of arguments in our society where issues are presented as black or white without grey areas.  Because of this Hemlock was forced to see that the world she thought she understood was more complicated than she believed.  It was also refreshing to read a story where the outcome for the protagonist was in doubt.  Usually when I read a story, I can tell that the protagonists story will end in a certain way.  With Hemlock and the Wizard Tower (The Maker's Fire), I knew that Hemlock's story would continue to the end of the book, I just didn't know how that story would end.  I also liked the range of characters and how they were developed.  The supporting cast made the story more intricate and enjoyable.

Hemlock and the Wizard Tower had minor grammatical errors.  These errors were insignificant and well within my personal margin of error.  Like all stories the main characters had special powers.  I enjoy the story a character tells by learning how they develop special powers.  This story was short on this development, with special powers coming to the characters in their time of need.  The author also used somewhat obscure words on occasion.  The most prevalent was the word inchoate to describe a newly formed entity or thought.  I didn't see the need to use this so often.  The characters didn't use a special form of english that would make this word use so important.

I found the book both enjoyable and easy to read.  I would recommend this book and I intend to read the next book in the series, Hemlock and the Dead God's Legacy (The Maker's Fire).

I purchased Hemlock and the Wizard Tower (The Maker's Fire) from Amazon.com.  It was a free book advertised for $0.00.  It was recommended by Jeffrey Poole at the end of his book: Bakkian Chronicles, Book III - Amulet of Aria.

Genesis of the Frugal Reads blog

I started this blog with the intent to provide reviews of books I acquire for less than $4.00.  I generally read books on my Kindle reader.  For me this is an enjoyable pastime.  I love to allow myself to become immersed in the worlds that I read about.  I love to develop a kinship with the characters of these books.  Because of the joy I experience while reading, I desired to inform others of the books I feel were some of my best experiences.  I hope you and I both enjoy this blog.