Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Cobalt Squadron by Elizabeth Wein - Book Review #293

This book was written for a middle school audience.  Reading it as an adult, it sometimes became tedious.  I kept having to remind myself of this fact.

Other than that I enjoyed the book very much.

I am dismayed at the lack of adult novels set in the timeline of the new trilogy of Star Wars movies.  I guess the publishers are targeting the next generation of fans and believe that an old guy like me just wants to read stories about Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie.  

Too bad, because I am very much taken by Rey, Poe, and Finn.

This book is set in a time before The Last Jedi and centers around the character of Rose, an engineer on one of the New Republic ships.  Before her assignment to that ship, she was part of a bomber squadron with her sister Paige.

The New Order is blockading an independent system and the New Republic is asked to help by smuggling supplies to the resistance movement on one of the planets.

Part of what makes these books, and this one in particular, so satisfying is how they can inform the movies.  In The Last Jedi, we met Rose and only got a glimpse of her sister, Paige.  By reading this book, those quick scenes have much more emotional weight.

Borrow the book from the library or a friend.

Elizabeth Wein's website - https://www.elizabethwein.com/

Elizabeth Wein

Black Wind By Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler - Book Report #292

A Dirk Pitt Adventure

World War II was a pivotal event that formed our present reality.  I find the period fascinating.

In this novel, during the war, the Japanese created a biological weapon and were en route to launch an attack before the submarine was lost sending the toxin to the bottom of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The present-day bad guy now wants the weapon for his own nasty plans.

Sometimes the plot of a Cussler novel doesn't grab me as much as the part of history he dug up to start the story.  In this one, the Japanese submarine also had a launcher for an aircraft.  This was the first time I've heard of this combination.

All kinds of questions came to me; how do you travel underwater with a plane attached?  Once in flight, how does the plane return? Or does it?


Cussler did me a favour by opening a part of WWII history I had never know.

I'm sorry to say, but it was the history lesson that captured my imagination.  I felt a bit like Julien Perlmutter in that I put the novel down many times to search out books about the Japanese Imperial Navy.

So, yes I enjoyed the book very much but not for the usual reasons.

Clive Cussler's Website - https://clive-cussler-books.com/

Japanese submarine history Wikipedia page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarines_of_the_Imperial_Japanese_Navy

Clive Cussler

The Sixth Man by Andre Iguodala and Carvell Wallace - Book Report #291

I am a casual fan of NBA basketball and I’ll admit that I was getting tired of the Golden State Warriors dominating the league for the past five years.

That team was stacked!

Through all the excitement around Kevin Durant and Steph Curry it was always Andre Iguodala that captured my attention.  There was something about his face...

I don’t read a lot of sports-related books but I found this one fascinating.  I enjoyed learning about Iguodala’s childhood and I was relieved that he had a strong family around him.

Learning about the undercurrent of racism that runs through American culture (and probably all cultures) I found depressing because it confirmed that we humans have not grown nearly enough.

The enormous pressure to perform and what that does to the human body was frightening.

What really upset me most was the treatment players experience from fans and the media.  How ugly people could be is sickening.

Does that sound like I did not enjoy the book?  Far from it.  Through it all, Iguodala’s strength and optimism carried him through his career and this book.

It was a fascinating look inside a game that most of us only encounter through a television screen.  Iguodala simply parted the curtain and showed the reader what the life of an athlete is like.

I was happy to learn that my impression of the man was correct.  He has integrity and cares deeply for the sport he loves.

Highly recommended.  This book is worth buying and lending to friends.

Andre Iguodala’s Wikipedia page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Iguodala

Andre Iguodala

Manhood by Terry Crews - Book Review #290

How to be a better man - 

or just live with one

The first time I became aware of Terry Crews was from his role in Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

But it was his recent tour through Edmonton for the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters on Feb 20, 2018, that he really caught my attention as a person I want to learn more about.

I stumbled upon his book on-line and immediately took it out of the library.

The poor guy had a rough start as a kid and he really was a dummy, as most boys and young men are.  I was just as clueless at those ages so the book resonated with me.

What impressed me most was how his ability to learn from disappointments was hard-wired into his DNA.  A lot of people, maybe even most people, would have turned away from their dreams in the same circumstances.  But he pushed through always trying to improve himself.

If you're familiar with his movies and TV work then you know his voice.  It comes through in his writing and made for enjoyable reading.

It was inspiring to see his life-long struggle to become a better man, to improve himself and then to improve his relationships.

To me, the spirit of the book can be found in two lines;

"I realized that everything is not about good or bad.  It's about what you can learn from it."

Terry Crews is a very brave man for sharing his story complete with its warts, mistakes and embarrassments with the world.

Terry Crews' Wikipedia page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Crews

Terry Crews