Book Review Quickie: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

The book was well written and very engaging. I enjoyed the world Gaiman created and hope he writes more books that take place there. The only thing really keeping this book from getting 5 stars was the ending. It kind of left me feeling...well unfulfilled. After such an epic adventure to have it end the way it did was anticlimactic. Really, it didn't make much sense. Makes me wish books had a "director's cut". They always say that the it's not the destination that matters, but the journey...and this book definitely follows that philosophy. I would highly recommend the book for any Gaiman fan, or anyone else that's a fan of a good tale. You will not gain any insight into the complexities of humanity or any other moral quandaries from this story. Gaiman's overall message seems to drift around. It never seems to settle in on a message. However, I did find it endearing and different, but you might not like the lack of focus. If you like your stories a bit more concrete I would recommend the semi-sequel to this book "Anansi Boys"...it's the better book in my opinion, and more traditionally structured.

Book Review Quickie: Sandstorm by James Rollins

When I picked this book up on a whim, it was purely to serve as a break in my typically fantasy diet. It served that purpose well. The action starts immediately and never lets off. A fun and interesting book. I had never read anything by Rollins before, and after reading this I went out picked up the rest of the sigma series to read later. Think Indiana Jones meets Tom Clancy. A perfect action/adventure story with enough fantasy and scifi to satisfy my imagination. Some parts were a little hard to bite, but nothing major. I call these types of books candy because too many of them might not be good, but one once in awhile is great to have.

Deal of the week: Toshiba NB205-N325WH 10.1" Netbook $289

Who needs an ipad when you have this kind of thing available???

Toshiba NB205-N325WH 10.1 Netbook, Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz, 1GB, 160GB HDD, 802.11b/g, Webcam, Windows 7 Starter (Frost White) The NB205-N325WH Netbook redefines the computing experience available on a laptop. The new design with a generous 10.1 display is contemporary with enhanced protection and build quality fitting for a Toshiba brand. The near full-size keyboard instantly makes it much easier to use and broadens the appeal to a new generation of users. It is an ideal secondary laptop for web browsing. Webcam and Mic Built-in webcams and microphones let you chat face-to-face, collaborate with classmates, videoconference, and generally improve the way you interact with the world around you. USB Sleep-and-Charge Power up your smart phone and other favorite portable electronic devices, even when your Toshiba is asleep or off. Memory Card Reader Transfer files easily from our your digital camera, camcorder, MP3 player or smart phone, sharing home movies and playlists with SD cards, Memory Sticks and more. PC Health Monitor Toshiba's PC Health Monitor alerts you to issues before they become problems, constantly gauging your machine's temperature and power usage, while checking the hard drive to help protect against shocks. EPEAT Gold Compliant EPEAT Gold is the highest possible ranking of the acclaimed Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool which measures products across 51 different dimensions. LED Backlit Display Last longer, use less power, and warm up quicker with the unique LED backlit display. Energy Star Compliant Engineered with respect to our planet, 93% of Toshiba laptops, netbooks and Tablet PCs have met the ENERGY STAR 4.0 standard since it was established in 2007.

Geeks On Fire! Takes on EBook readers: Round 2 - The Samsung E6

This is my second entry into my on going series on Ebook Readers. You can read the first one I did on the Bookeen Opus HERE

Samsung E6

From Geeks On Fire! Collective blog for all things geek

Samsung weighed into the ebook market at CES in 2010. The initial hype looked promising. Due to release early this year. Here is what I found out:

Size: No specific details available other than the screen sizes detailed below.

Display: E101 model has 10-inch screen, and the E6 has 6-inch screen. No backlight, which means long battery life. According to Samsung a 4hr charge will last you 2 weeks...very nice. It uses a stylus pen and has the ability to "write" on the display. Meaning you can take notes, mark up pages, and keep calenders.

Connectivity: A category that is becoming more common in ebook readers. The Samsung readers have Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g for downloading books and newspapers. It also has Bluetooth 2.0.

Format it reads: ePub, PDF, TXT, and even Mp3. They also currently have a deal with google for their out of copyright database. No news yet as to what retail option they will have.

Storage: 2 GB of flash memory.

Cost: $399 for the E6 and $699 for the E101..$399? and $699??!! Samsung has lost their mind. The price for either of these is just dumb.

There really isn't much to say about this one. The price alone is enough to send me running in terror. I also don't like the fact that the storage appears not to be expandable. I'm thinking this will be used to store audiobooks, and 2gb isn't a lot these days. I do like the fact it plays MP3s and has an input option available with the stylus.

Chance of me requesting this reader from The Asian Overlord: NONE unless the price drops to below $300 then it's a possibility.

I found a very similar product with one of my sponsors (imagine that!). This is more in the price range of what I'm looking for. It doesn't support the Lit files, but everything else seems to match up fairly well. The memory is expandable also.

6" JC Planetary E-Book 100 E-Book Reader w/E-Ink Technology & SD Card Slot Enjoy thousands of books within one handy device with this JC Planetary eBOOK100 6-inch E-Book reader!The JC-eBOOK100 features a 6-inch E-Ink screen with 4-level gray scale that lets you comfortably read electronic books for hours on end without tiring your eyes. It's powered by a Samsung S3C2440 400 MHz processor and includes 1 GB of internal flash memory, but you can add up to 8 GB with Secure Digital or MultiMediaCards!The thin and lightweight design feels like you're reading a thin pamphlet and includes a convenient carrying case that's perfect for travel. The JC-eBOOK100 supports PDF, TXT, JPG, BMP, and FB2 ebook files and even supports MP3 playback! Listen to music with the included stereo earbuds!Order now!

Book Review: Brooklyn Knight by CJ Henderson

Professor Piers Knight is the charming, handsome, and intelligent curator of the esteemed Brooklyn Museum. He has in possession the mysterious “Dream Stone” — an artifact that may hold the key to unraveling an ancient and dangerous mystery. But Knight is not the only person who is aware of its importance. With the help of his gorgeous assistant Bridget and his knowledge of magical items, Knight must protect the stone and solve the riddle in order to keep a global disaster from happening.

CJ Henderson‘s Brooklyn Knight proves to be a very entertaining read. Professor Knight is by the far the most developed character in the story. (The others tend to be left a little hollow, but I’m hoping they’ll get more depth in later books). The back cover describes him as “New York’s answer to Indiana Jones,” but that’s a bit of a stretch. Yeah, Knight and Jones are both charming male academics who moonlight as adventurers and solvers of ancient mysteries, but Indy’s abilities are much more mundane, whereas the things Piers Knight is capable of are anything but. Also, Knight never leaves New York, though the potential for future global adventures is definitely there.

Also providing potential for future fun is the magic system which is primarily based around ancient artifacts. Henderson gradually introduces these believable magical elements and, as curator of the museum and a descendent of a long line of adventurers, Piers Knight has almost unlimited access to a wide range of items that give him special abilities. This should provide many interesting plot devices for the stories to come!

Brooklyn Knight is essentially an action/mystery, with fantasy elements thrown in. I enjoy this style of urban fantasy more than any other. I like the adventure, mystery, humor, pseudo-historical aspects, and the limited magic — they combine to make a really fun story!


www.fantasyliterature.com.

You can also learn more about CJ Henderson at the Fantasyliterature author page