Softball Update

Cami's game was a rain out today, but by the time Lexi's double-header rolled around, the ground (and sky) were dry and the field was playable.  The highlights include Lexi fielding a ball while playing 2nd base, Lexi driving in a run (although she was out at 1st, she hit the ball hard), and my entire head turning red because apparently the sun only comes out when I forget my hat and sunscreen.

I Call Shotgun by Tommy Newberry and Curt Beavers - Book Review

From the back of the book (a selection):

For fathers who long to make a positive, lasting difference in their sons’ lives, passing down a legacy of values and ideals that will help them mature into men—into true men, leaders, voices of strength and wisdom for the next generation and beyond—the challenge has become more daunting than ever. I Call Shotgun is a practical playbook designed to equip dads for this vital task, increasing our influence and deepening our father-son relationships.
Written as letters from the authors to their own sons, the book’s sixty-three bite-size chapters cover a wide range of territory, from courage and compassion to finance and faith, from peer pressure and purity to hard work and humility. The life lessons within these pages teach sons how to cultivate integrity, follow True North, avoid victimitis, hang with the wise, laugh at political correctness, train for adversity, seek God first, make no excuses, build productive habits, and much more.

When I had the opportunity to review I Call Shotgun, by Tommy Newberry and Curt Beavers, I seized the chance.  Being a father to a young son, I'm always looking for helpful advice in raising him to be a man of God. This book seemed to be right up my alley, especially since it contains many short chapters tackling a single subject.

The chapters, or letters, contain many varied topics.  Some of the topics addressed are as follows: Do
Courageous Things, Celebrate Other People's Success, Treasure America's Personality, Seek God First...Every Day, Learn How to Read the Bible, Revere Our Founding Principles, Think Before You Speak, and Memorize Bible Verses, among many others.  In total, 64 topics are covered. I feel like reading these different topics was a mixed bag.  Some were vary pertinent to me, while others were a good idea but didn't really connect. This may be a function of where I am as a father and my son's age.

While the letter format makes it easy to pick up the book for a few short moments, I also found it a little distracting.  The authors used different fonts to represent their letters.  They also addressed the letters to their sons.  My issue was that I kept trying to figure out who was writing to who.  It's a minor quibble, I know, but one that interfered with my immersion in the topics.

As a whole, I feel that this book is average.  It probably hits right in the middle of the father/son books I've read.  The content was average, with some topics more relevant or covered better than others.  I would recommend this to fathers looking for a quick-hitting guide with varied topics, with sons in the tween to teen age.

I received a review copy of this book from Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze program in exchange for an honest review.

Softball

Cami and Lexi have both had multiple softball games over the past several days.  Cami has continued to hit, although she is getting a little jumpy at the plate and is hitting off the tee again.  She is starting to swing with power now, though.  Also, on Monday she played 1st base and put two girls out, including one of her church friends.  She thought that was pretty cool. Lexi had her best game on Saturday, getting two hits, stealing bases, scoring once, and getting two RBIs.  Last night she played third base, and was ready to field anything hit to her.  It's a lot of fun watching my girls play ball.

Playing Tyler by T L Costa - Book Review

From the publisher: When is a game not a game?
Tyler MacCandless can’t focus, even when he takes his medication. He can’t focus on school, on his future, on a book, on much of anything other than taking care of his older brother, Brandon, who’s in rehab for heroin abuse… again.
Tyler’s dad is dead and his mom has mentally checked out. The only person he can really count on is his Civilian Air Patrol Mentor, Rick. The one thing in life it seems he doesn’t suck at is playing video games, and, well, that’s probably not going to get him into college.
Just when it seems like his future is on a collision course with a life sentence at McDonald's, Rick asks him to test a video game.  If his score's high enough, it could earn him a place in flight school and win him the future he was certain that he could never have.  And when he falls in love with the game’s designer, the legendary gamer Ani, Tyler thinks his life might finally be turning around.
That is, until Brandon goes MIA from rehab and Tyler and Ani discover that the game is more than it seems. Now Tyler will have to figure out what’s really going on in time to save his brother--and prevent his own future from going down in flames.

Playing Tyler by T L Costa is a great new entry into Young Adult (YA) fiction.  It’s a captivating story about Tyler MacCandless and Ani Bagdorian.  Tyler is a teen with ADHD, a heroin-addicted brother (Brandon), a disconnected mother, a dead father, a jones for flying, and tremendous gaming skills.  Into his life steps Rick, a former military man who is mentoring Tyler and teaching him to fly.  Tyler is beta-testing a new flight simulator, a game in which a pilot controls multiple drones and provides air support for missions in the Middle East.  Ani is a Yale freshman, an early high school graduate who both programmed an award winning game and also won the world gaming championship.  She is currently the designer of the sim Tyler is playing, and she is the girl of Tyler’s dreams.  As their relationship begins to blossom, Brandon disappears from rehab, and Tyler begins to have questions about his missions in the game.

 

Costa’s writing is very easy to read, pulling the reader along with barely any time to breathe.  Alternating perspectives between Ani and Tyler really help to develop characterization and provide insight into actions and motivations.  Both characters are well-drawn representations of teenagers looking for their place in the world and struggling with the newness of a relationship.  I also really like how Tyler’s ADHD is written, often using run-on sentences to show the hyper-activity.  The supporting characters, including Rick, Tyler’s mom, Brandon, and Christy (Ani’s roommate) are all fleshed out enough to help propel the story forward, but never enough to distract from Tyler and Ani.

 

As a middle/high school English teacher, I’m always on the lookout for something to recommend to my students, and Playing Tyler fits the bill perfectly.  It’s as if John Green channeled Cory Doctorow and wrote Ender’s Game.  This book has it all: action, romance, teen angst, and a struggle with moral integrity against corporate/government/military recklessness.  I highly recommend it.

 

I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley and Angry Robot Books in exchange for an honest review.

Before Watchmen: Ozymandias/Crimson Corsair by Len Wein - Book Review

From the publisher: Discover what happened before WATCHMEN. The team of legendary writer Len Wein and acclaimed artist Jae Lee--in his first DC Comics' work in nearly a decade--delve into the mind of the smartest man in the world: Ozymandias. How does one go from the son of immigrant parents to becoming the world's smartest man? Adrian Veidt begins his journey, both spiritual and physical, that will one day make him one of the most pivotal players in the world-changing events of WATCHMEN.

Collects BEFORE WATCHMEN: OZYMANDIAS #1-6, "Curse of the Crimson Corsair."

This book contains two stories: Ozymandias and Curse of the Crimson Corsair.

Ozymandias was fantastic.  As the prinicpal force behind the events in the original Watchmen, we don't learn much about Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias) other than that he is the "smartest man in the world" and he has a plan to save civilization from nuclear annihilation (from ourselves). This story changes all that.  We are taken back to Adrian's childhood and shown how he grew up as a prodigy.  Interspersed with this is his growin concern for humanity, particularly in the face of Dr. Manhattan and nuclear weapons.  I found Veidt's life and plans fascinating, as he becomes a somewhat sympathetic character, as opposed to the egotistical near-villain he is presented as in the original series.  Discovering the plan weaving through Watchmen was pretty cool.  Len Wein did an amazing job placing his story with the framework of the original, and also tying in to the various other prequels, particularly The Comedian and Dr. Manhattan. Jae Lee's artwork fit the tone and subject wonderfully.

The second story, Curse of the Crimson Corsair, was a link to the Tales of the Black Freighter in the original series.  I believe this particular story was a 2-3 page back-up in each of the prequel comics.  I was not interested at all in this story.  Nothing about it really captured my attention.

As a collection, this was a little disappointing.  However, the Ozymandias story was fantastic.  If you are a Watchmen fan, it is nearly required reading.

I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley and DC Comics in exchange for an honest review.

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan - Book Review

From the publisher: The Age of Kings is dead . . . and I have killed it.
It's a bloody business overthrowing a king...
Field Marshal Tamas' coup against his king sent corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brought bread to the starving. But it also provoked war with the Nine Nations, internal attacks by royalist fanatics, and the greedy to scramble for money and power by Tamas's supposed allies: the Church, workers unions, and mercenary forces.
It's up to a few...Stretched to his limit, Tamas is relying heavily on his few remaining powder mages, including the embittered Taniel, a brilliant marksman who also happens to be his estranged son, and Adamat, a retired police inspector whose loyalty is being tested by blackmail.

But when gods are involved...
Now, as attacks batter them from within and without, the credulous are whispering about omens of death and destruction. Just old peasant legends about the gods waking to walk the earth. No modern educated man believes that sort of thing. But they should...

Promise of Blood was part of a new wave of fantasy books labeled "Flintlock Fantasy".  Rather than taking place in a medieval setting, they are set in a time where gunpowder is prevalent (think 1700's).  This puts a new spin on the traditional fantasy trappings.

Promise of Blood starts out with a revolution among the people of Adopest, led by Field Marshall Tamas, a legendary military leader. It is similar to the French Revolution in that the nobility were taken out and beheaded in order to change the status quo and allow the people true freedom.  This part of the story is relatively minor, though it does springboard Tamas and Adopest into a conflict with the neighboring country of Kez.

The characters and magic, though, are what set this book apart.  There are three types of magic. The first is the Priviliged, a group of  sorcerer-types who have the ability to touch "the Else".  These are generally nobles or work for the nobles, particularly the King in the form of a Royal Cabal.  With the advent of gunpowder came the Powder Mages.  These are people who get a rush/power from gunpowder, allowing them to heighten their senses, ignite powder, and transfer the released energy to another object.  They are typically commoners.  There is a great divide and dislike between Powder Mages and Priviliged.  The final type of magic is the Knacked, people who have a relatively small ability, such as a photographic memory or the ability to go without sleep.

Tamas is the greatest Powder Mage, and with his fellow revolutionaries, including his son, he sets about trying to establish equality in Adopest.  The trouble is, there is a prophecy that declares that Kresimir (their god) will return if the King is deposed.  This will result in war, strife, and the destruction of Adopest.

The story follows several characters as they try to prevent this end, including Tamas, his son Taniel, and Adamat (an inspector tasked to find a traitor among Tamas's group). I particularly enjoyed the development of Taniel and Adamant and look forward to reading more about them.

While the story drags a little in the middle, the climax comes speeding ahead.  By the time the reader reaches the end, the stakes have been changed and many preconceived notions have been turned on their head.

I recommend this book to fantasy fans who want to try something new.  It may also appeal to fans of Brandon Sanderson, both in the uniqueness of the magic systems and due to the fact McClellan was a student of Sanderson's.

I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley and Orbit in exchange for an honest review.

Thought (Lyric) of the Day

I'm really digging the chorus to "Forgiven" by Relient K:

'Cause we're all guilty of the same things 
We think the thoughts, whether or not we see them through 
And I know that I have been forgiven  
And I just hope you can forgive me too

Enjoy the video here as well.