Book Review: Besieged by Kevin Hearne (Iron Druid #8.5)

This addictive and wildly imaginative series stars hero Atticus O’Sullivan: a handsome, tattooed Irishman who looks like a young rock star, but is in actuality a 2,000-year-old Druid with extraordinary magic powers. In Besieged, Atticus’ adventures throughout history are told in a collection of nine new and original short stories. The ancient gods are alive and well in the modern world in this hilarious, action-packed collection of original short stories featuring Atticus O’Sullivan, the two-thousand-year-old Irishman from Kevin Hearne’s New York Times bestselling Iron Druid Chronicles.

• In ancient Egypt, Atticus agrees to raid a secret chamber underneath the library of Alexandria, dodging deadly traps, only to learn that on-site security includes two members of the Egyptian pantheon.
• At a Kansas carnival, fun and games turns to murder and mayhem, thanks to soul-snatching demons and flesh-craving ghouls luring visitors into an all-too-real house of horrors.
• Verily, in olde England, striking up a friendship with William Shakespeare lands both Atticus and the Bard in boiling hot water with a trio of infamous witches.
• During the Gold Rush, the avatar of greed himself turns the streets of San Francisco red with blood and upsets the elemental Sequoia. Atticus may have to fight fire with fire if he’s going to restore balance.

More, you say? Indeed there is—including bogeymen, vampire hordes, wrathful wraiths, and even a journey to the realm of the dead. Prepare to be besieged with nine tantalizing tales—not to be missed, never to be forgotten.

My Review: 
There are nine stories in this anthology and I'll be writing a brief piece on the plot without giving away any spoilers. I do advise reading this AFTER you catch up with the series as there are big plot spoilers in a couple of these stories about events in the main series.

1-The Eye of Horus
Ogma asks Atticus to steal something from the library in Alexandria for him, allowing Atticus to help himself to anything else he likes the look of. This is the story of how Atticus got on the wrong side of the Goddess Bast. The story of Atticus and Bast was released as this novella.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16280685-the-grimoire-of-the-lamb     

2-Goddess at the Crossroads
Posing as a French nobleman, Atticus goes to see Shakespeare's new play Othelloand gets a chance to meet the writer himself. Will tells him he is researching a coven of witches for his new play and Atticus decides to go with him on a spying mission.

3-The Demon Barker of Wheat Street (Revised)
While visiting Kansas, home of Granuaile's mother, she and Atticus stumble upon a visiting carnival. But when they split up to follow the Heaven and Hell paths in one of the attractions, they meet very different fates. I read this story in the anthology Carniepunk and it seems the same to me overall but still a good story to read again. 

4-Gold Dust Druid
During the 1850 Gold Rush, a man summons a demon to gain his riches but it is soon out of control in the town and Atticus has to find it.

5-The Bogey Man of Boora Bog
Owen wants to restore a muddy bog but locals won't cooperate with him until he finds the missing people from their area. The trail leads out into the marshland and Owen is about to discover what is killing people, making him question everything.

6-Cuddle Dungeon
Perun and Flidais go to a bondage club where she is on the hunt for a power stealing nymph and Perun is about to see his lover in a new light. I love the character of Perun but it wasn't a great story. I did like the ending and I hope we see him in the final book.

7-Blood Pudding
Granuaile is working in a bar in Poland while she studies and discovers that not all of the vampires are going to honour the arrangement that they leave the country in the deal between Atticus and Leif. A weaker story as I prefer stories not centered around Granuaile.

8-Haunted Devils
The Tasmanian Devils are dying out from a deadly disease which Owen and Atticus both go to deal with, bringing Atticus into contact with the furious and unforgiving Greta. Can they put aside their differences to heal the animals?

9-The End of Idylls
A sad story about the fate of the wolverine companion that Atticus had before Oberon, as Atticus prepares for the war about to begin.

For me, Cuddle Dungeon is the weakest of the stories despite the wonderful Perun being involved. I didn't like the whole bondage theme of the story. Blood Pudding I didn't find greatly exciting either but as I said, Granuaile is not my favourite character especially on her own in the plot. I much prefer Attitus, Oberon and Owen. The other stories are good though and I liked getting an insight into Owen and how he met Atticus.

Read February 2018
4 stars

Chuckles Cover Love #65

If there is one thing that makes a great book even better, it is when it has a cover that we love! The cover design is what catches the eye as we browse through a bookstore shelf or check out the Amazon or Goodreads recommendations. The right cover makes me look closer at a book, to read the blurb and maybe make a purchase. A poor cover might mean I never look at the blurb at all.

NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account.   

This week-N Gemini Sasson and more dogs!

 

Prepping With Chuckles #8 Common Sense Reasons to Consider Prepping

A lot of people still regard the prepper as someone digging their own nuclear bomb shelter in their garden and ranting about the government coming for them while waving an AR15 at the postman. If this is your view of prepping, it might be difficult to see why YOU should consider basic prepping for what might come so today I'm looking at the common sense normal reasons as to why it is a good idea for everyone. 

1) Losing Your Job 
Imagine the scenario. You go into work one day to find your personal belongings in a cardboard box and security waiting to escort you back to the door after a brief few comments about you no longer having a job. You may have a wait of several weeks before any unemployment money comes your way. You might not have another working adult in your house and if you do will their wage stretch to covering mortgage payments, bills, running a car, buying in all your food and dealing with medical bills until you get another job? 

In our imaginary scenario, say there is one full time worker in the household who loses their job and the other works part time or not at all. Next week most of the bills are due to be paid and you were going on a shopping run at the weekend and planning to fill up the car. Ask yourself a few things:

-what savings do you have and how long will it realistically stretch?
-how many meals can you construct from what you have in the house? 
-how long until the government gives you money and how much will it be?
-how long will it be until you find a job? 

Imagine it is 3 or 6 months until you find a new job. If you have been prepping you will have a cupboard or pantry full of tasty food waiting for you so you can cut out the expense of any food shopping and concentrate your savings on paying bills. Think about how much you spend on the average shopping trip just on the stuff you need and imagine not having to suddenly find that money in this situation. You can live off your preps quite easily. You'll have food and water for the whole family, you'll have a supply of non food hygiene and cleaning products available and you can cut down your gas and electricity bills by using those camping stoves or solar powered cooking gadgets in the garage if you want to. Either way, if you have a decent supply of the things you always use, and these items will be vital in helping you stick to a tight budget until a new job is found.

Consider the alternative. No job and limited savings while paying gas, electricity, water, mortgage, petrol costs, insurance, medical bills AND a big weekly shopping every week on top of that? Slowly gathering emergency supplies of food and other essentials might not seem like 'crazy prepper shit' anymore...

2) The Short Term Disaster 
By this I'm talking about hurricane season, a severe storm that hits suddenly, a sudden power cut that lasts a week, tornado, earthquake...anything that can hit your area and cause disruption for days or weeks but will eventually be solved.

I'm using the example here of a hurricane that brings down a ton of trees, causing the electrical system to break down and mass flooding which has you trapped in your home either by choice to stop looters, or because it happened too quickly to get out. Emergency services will be concentrating on getting trapped people out of their homes and utility workers will need to wait for the flood water to recede before the power can go back on. Imagine you are out of power for two weeks and having to be totally self sufficient.

-do you have bottled water to last two weeks?
-do you have decent food that does not need to be cooked?
-have you got an alternative way to cook and boil water?
-do you have alternative options for light and heating that don't rely on gas or electricity?
-do you have pet supplies?

A prepper pantry and a few common sense purchases will give you the ability to stay in your home (as long as it is safe to do so) and allow you, your family and your pets remain there for whatever length of time the crisis lasts. It means not trying to argue about how many pets, if any, you can take to the evacuation centre and what things you will have to leave behind. It at least gives you some options to think through. If you don't have these options you either need to evacuate or you will be very hungry until things get back to normal.

Preppers look at keeping supplies 'just in case' and that might not always mean 'just in case there is nuclear war or a zombie apocalypse'. 'Just In Case' covers all of these common problems as well and that might be what most preppers end up using their supplies on rather than the EMP or longer term disaster.  But the point is, having a good supply of essentials has you covered for any short term issue and gives you an advantage in a longer term issue. It gives you more options than most people and will stop the panic if the unexpected happens.

After all, it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Chuckles Weekend Roundup

Welcome to my new feature Chuckles Weekend Roundup where I will be looking at what books I've received, anything interesting I've done or bought or watched and other random stuff. I'll be taking a look back at what happened in my blogging world too, sort of like The Sunday Post that some of you do! 

Please note that I'll be visiting your STS/SP as normal, but I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow DISQUS to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I am the only one who does that on my social media! I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account. Sometimes, I have problems leaving messages on blogs hosted by Wordpress-they try to block me because I deleted my account with them but I will persevere as it only happens the odd time!

****************

Another weekend is upon us and I'm glad to see the back of this week. A nice mixture of insomnia and nightmares has plagued me all week leaving me tired and grumpy. This weekend is going to be one of rest and doing as little as possible to try and recharge my batteries! I'll be watching the Winter Olympics again tomorrow and trying to catch up on some reading if I sleep ok tonight. I've been too tired to really read much and added to a few DNFs it hasn't been a very productive reading week. One week left in the dog reading challenge and I still have FIVE to tackle-it's going to be a race to the line. Three of them are in series that I've read at least one book in so I hope to get through them quickly.

 

I did buy a few books as therapy for having a crap week. Well, you have to don't you! It's practically a RULE that you must buy books to cheer yourself up! I've managed to do that this week, gaining a few books from series I follow. I also bought this interesting book about food prepping on a budget which looks fascinating! I also realised I haven't uploaded my prepper non fiction books to Goodreads so figured I better make a start!

 

PAPERBACKS:

 

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38727181-the-pantry-primer

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23214373-the-prepper-s-water-survival-guide 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22909450-the-prepper-s-blueprint

 

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17592396-52-prepper-projects 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8508851-practical-self-sufficiency

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/761698.Cooking_with_Sunshine

Chuckles Blogging World

A bit of a poor week here as well. I'm so glad I have weeks of piost ready to go as I had no energy for writing anything much this week! I did pretty much manage to stay on top of blog comments and visits which is something. I might not be around this weekend as I have a date with my duvet!

 

Book Reviews 

I did at least manage to get a few reviews done and ready to go, a few of which are for the Puppy Love Challenge. I admit I'm doing poorly on it at this moment and I have a week to tackle five books which could be a bit of a riot! 

 

Matthew D Mark-Dark Days Rough Roads

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/chuckles-retro-reads-dark-days-rough.html 

Matthew D Mark-Dark Days Troubled Times

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/book-review-dark-days-troubled-times-by.html

Peggy Webb-Elvis and the Dearly Departed

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/book-review-elvis-and-dearly-departed.html

Kevin Hearne-The Purloined Poodle

Kevin Hearne-The Squirrel on the Train

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/book-review-purloined-poodle-by-kevin.html

W Bruce Cameron-The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/book-review-midnight-plan-of-repo-man.html

Regular Posts

This week I didn't have the time for a sampling post but I went Around the Blogs as usual, though not as many posts as usual to share. Cover Love looked at a K9 unit which was a good excuse to look at dog covers, Top Ten Tuesday was about books I'm no longer interested in reading and Can't Wait Wednesday looked at Days of Panic, an apocalypse book. 

 

Chuckles Cover Love

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/chuckles-cover-love-64.html 

 

Around The Blogs With Chuckles

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/around-blogs-with-chuckles_19.html 

 

Top Ten Tuesday

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/top-ten-tuesday-no-longer-interested-in.html 

 

Can't Wait Wednesday

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/cant-wait-wednesday-days-of-panic.html 

 

Discussion Posts 

Prepping With Chuckles this week was about web site resources that you might find useful, Chuckles Chat looked at how we decorate our blogs and Game of Thrones Gossip was all about Arya Stark!

 

Prepping With Chuckles

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/prepping-with-chuckles-7-prepper.html 

 

Chuckles Chat

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/chuckles-chat-57-decorating-your-blog.html 

 

Game of Thrones Gossip

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/game-of-thrones-gossip-56-arya-stark.html 

 

Film Reviews 

I actually have two reviews this week!

 

Hatton Garden: The Heist

The Hatton Garden Job

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/chuckles-film-challenge-hatton-garden.html 

 

Special Posts 

 This week I posted a warning about a dog food recall in the US

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/warning-dog-food-recall-in-usa.html

Book Tags/Blog Awards

none this week

 

 Book Challenge Updates

 

My Goodreads Challenge-36

 

TBR books I own but haven't read-843

 

Currently Reading/Up Next 

I've just finished Loose the Dogs which was a decent read and started reading Dog Duty. I did have a few DNFs which was disappointing. It's all about the dogs this week to finish the Puppy Love Challenge. 

 

 

Next Week on the blog...

 I'm not sure about whether there will be a samples post this week but I will be going Around the Blogs. Prepping With Chuckles will look at WHY you should think about prepping for your family, Cover Love has more cute dogs, Top Ten Tuesday is about favourite re-reads, Can't Wait Wednesday goes apocalypse again, Chuckles Chat is about regular updates and Game of Thrones Gossip looks at Jon Snow.

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Book Review: The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man by W Bruce Cameron

Ruddy McCann, former college football star, has experienced a seismic drop in popularity; he is now Kalkaska, Michigan's full-time repo man and part-time bar bouncer. His best friend is his low-energy Basset hound Jake, with whom he shares a simple life of stealing cars.

Simple, that is, until Ruddy starts hearing a voice in his head.

The voice introduces himself as Alan Lottner, a dead realtor. Ruddy isn't sure if Alan is real, or if he's losing his mind. To complicate matters, it turns out Katie, the girl he's fallen for, is Alan's daughter.

When Alan demands Ruddy find his murderers, Ruddy decides a voice in your head seeking vengeance is best ignored. When Alan also demands he clean up his act, and apartment, Ruddy tells him to back off, but where can a voice in your head go?

My Review: 
I don't really have a lot to say about this one except is just wasn't for me. I think I'm finding out that I don't really want to read about a collection of weird people in a small town. It was the characters that switched me off in this book pretty much as soon as I started.

Ruddy is a bit of a loser who is supposed to be a repo man but isn't doing a very good job of it. Is there much point in being a repo man if every time a person says 'no' to you, you just give up and go home? That's pretty much what he does and nobody is then prepared to do what he says next time. He is pretty much a doormat. The one I really disliked was his snotty sister Becky who uses him as a part time bouncer. He does what he can to help her with the bar she runs but all he gets back is a wave of snotty disapproval from her, and when he gets injured in a bar fight, she is hardly in a rush to get help. Add in dumb Jimmy who cashes cheques sent to him by an unknown source and wonders why they bounce, and an obnoxious couple who decide to get rich by a stupid scheme to get on the witness protection scheme, and I was glad I didn't live in this town. In fact the best character was the stuffed bear.

This wasn't actually a bad book. There is nothing greatly wrong with the book-the writing is fine and it was more a matter of not being to my personal taste than anything else. If you like these small town mysteries then maybe you'll have a better time with it than I did.  

Read February 2018
2 stars DNF