The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan

(spoilers for The Sword of Summer and The Hammer of Thor)

Goodreads synopsis: Magnus Chase, a once-homeless teen, is a resident of the Hotel Valhalla and one of Odin's chosen warriors. As the son of Frey, the god of summer, fertility, and health, Magnus isn't naturally inclined to fighting. But he has strong and steadfast friends, including Hearthstone the elf, Blitzen the dwarf, and Samirah the Valkyrie, and together they have achieved brave deeds, such as defeating Fenris Wolf and battling giants for Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. Now Magnus faces his most dangerous trial yet. His cousin, Annabeth, recruits her boyfriend, Percy Jackson, to give Magnus some pointers, but will his training be enough?

Loki is free from his chains. He's readying Naglfar, the Ship of the Dead, complete with a host of giants and zombies, to sail against the Asgardian gods and begin the final battle of Ragnarok. It's up to Magnus and his friends to stop him, but to do so they will have to sail across the oceans of Midgard, Jotunheim, and Niflheim in a desperate race to reach Naglfar before it's ready to sail. Along the way, they will face angry sea gods, hostile giants, and an evil fire-breathing dragon. But Magnus's biggest challenge will be facing his own inner demons. Does he have what it takes to outwit the wily trickster god?

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: PG. Lots of fighting, mostly bloodless though body parts go flying. A dragon's blood threatens to melt a character. Constant threat of death. Two characters kiss. A character is gender fluid and will swap from one to the other, and can also shapeshift into animals. The book is entirely centered around Norse mythology with characters being children of said gods. Several main characters are technically dead.

Thoughts: It's a fun series, but I wouldn't say there's any substance to it. Then again, I don't exactly think most of Riordan's work is super deep, it's just fun to explore mythology.

This series interested me mostly just because it was Norse mythology. I was already pretty familiar with Greek and Roman, and even had a working understanding of Egyptian mythology going into the other Riordan books, but what I knew about Norse mythology mainly came from Marvel, which is not a great way to get information. So I was fascinated going into these books.

I think knowing a little more about the mythology going into the books helped me with enjoyment. Either that or Riordan's Norse mythics are pretty indistinguishable from Greek or Roman mythics. Maybe both.

But that's the series in general. This book specifically was just okay. What you'd expect out of a Riordan book, but not much more. The whole Alex thing, though I personally didn't have much use for it, didn't seem to be as bad in the whole "yay, diversity points!" way as it was in other books (looking at you, The Toll), and Sam's religion was a little less offputting than it was in the previous book. It still makes absolutely no sense to me, and I felt like I was being talked down to in the whole Ramadan explanation (though that was probably just because I already knew about it) so that's just me. It seemed respectful in the very least, although I'm not sure how exactly someone who is Islamic might feel about the depiction of their religion in the world of Norse gods. But that's not my area.

The ending isn't any big surprise in any area. Even the second to last scene between Magnus and Alex I actually saw coming, in big picture and a more detailed way. It's a quick read and a fun ride, and I'll leave it at that.

Reversible Errors by Scott Turow

Amazon synopsis: Rommy "Squirrel" Gandolph is a Yellow Man, an inmate on death row for a 1991 triple murder in Kindle County. His slow progress toward certain execution is nearing completion when Arthur Raven, a corporate lawyer who is Rommy's reluctant court-appointed representative, receives word that another inmate may have new evidence that will exonerate Gandolph.

Arthur's opponent in the case is Muriel Wynn, Kindle County's formidable chief deputy prosecuting attorney, who is considering a run for her boss's job. Muriel and Larry Starczek, the original detective on the case, don't want to see Rommy escape a fate they long ago determined he deserved, for a host of reasons. Further complicating the situation is the fact that Gillian Sullivan, the judge who originally found Rommy guilty, is only recently out of prison herself, having served time for taking bribes.

Scott Turow's Reversible Errors compelling, multi-dimensional characters take the reader into Kindle County's parallel yet intersecting worlds of police and small-time crooks, airline executives and sophisticated scammers--and lawyers of all stripes. No other writer offers such a convincing true-to-life picture of how the law and life interact, or such a profound understanding of what is at stake--personally, professionally, and morally--when the state holds the power to end a man's life.

My rating: 1 stars.

Content warnings: R. Lots of casual swearing, three murder victim's wounds are described, and the violence is talked about for a few chapters, one victim was raped post mortem, characters have consensual sex with each other freely and often.

(spoilers below)

Thoughts: If everyone had just stopped having sex with each other, maybe there wouldn't have been so many errors to be reversed.

I've never seen a soap opera, much less one about lawyers, but I feel like this is what a lawyer soap opera would look like. The crime was just a backdrop for the lawyer-ing and politicking of the justice system (which actually could have been really interesting), but all that was really just a backdrop for people having sex all the time.

I don't even remember much about the plot. If it had a payoff, it was a weak one. There was just a lot of filth to wade through, without any real reason to bother.

It started out like it could have been interesting. The plot set up was nice. But then they started having sex and it was all downhill from there. And that was in the first five chapters.

Cut out the sex scenes and tighten the plot a bunch and it could have been a decent short novel. As it stands now, there's no reason at all to read it.

Heaven by Randy Alcorn

Goodreads synopsis: What is Heaven really going to be like? What will we look like? What will we do? Won't Heaven get boring after a while?

We all have questions about what Heaven will be like, and after 25 years of extensive research, Dr. Randy Alcorn has the answers.

In the most comprehensive and definitive book on Heaven to date, Randy invites you to picture Heaven the way Scripture describes it-- a bright, vibrant, and physical New Earth, free from sin, suffering, and death, and brimming with Christ's presence, wondrous natural beauty, and the richness of human culture as God intended it.

God has put eternity in our hearts. Now, Randy Alcorn brings eternity to light in a way that will surprise you, spark your imagination, and change how you live life today.

If you've always thought of Heaven as a realm of disembodied spirits, clouds, and eternal harp strumming, you're in for a wonderful surprise.

This is a book about real people with real bodies enjoying close relationships with God and each other, eating, drinking, working, playing, traveling, worshiping, and discovering on a New Earth. Earth as God created it. Earth as he intended it to be.

And the next time you hear someone say, "We cant begin to imagine what Heaven will be like," you'll be able to tell them, "I can."

My rating: 5 stars.

Content warnings: G. A few brief chapters discussing the idea of sex with no detail.

Thoughts: I went in with an amount of skepticism, both in how theologically sound it might be, and how much I thought the subject would really matter. But things like heaven aren't really super talked about in detail beyond some vague ideas of what might be there, at least in my circles. So when a pastor did a sermon series that drew heavily from Scripture with the ideas in this book, it seemed worth a careful look.

But I really do appreciate the ideas presented, and how they were written about. The author starts off the book by saying not to take his words without examining them against Scripture, and expressing his willingness to retract anything he put forth in the book if he is presented with proof that anything he said goes against Scripture. That kind of humility carried over into the rest of the book, and it's obvious he's not just saying what he thinks but presenting what he has learned after long years of studying.

Here and there are a few chapters that felt needless, like the author was just rambling on about the same things he had already said to fill more space. But those things weren't really things that I personally felt much connection to, so for other people having that many chapters on the topic may be meaningful to them. They just didn't do much for me.

There was even a tiny section titled "A Word to the Depressed" toward the end. Seeing that heading made me nervous, because sometimes people can be under the impression that knowing God can magically fix depression, and I know from experience that isn't true. But the subject was handled with grace, understanding, and sensitivity, and it really made me appreciate the body of the rest of the book even more.

A simple look at the Scriptures surrounding our eternal home, and answers to the most likely questions about it, the book could help dissuade fears of death, and encourage an ever deepening relationship with God.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Goodreads synopsis: Oct. 11th, 1943 - A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun.

When "Verity" is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.

As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage and failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy?

Harrowing and beautifully written, Elizabeth Wein creates a visceral read of danger, resolve, and survival that shows just how far true friends will go to save each other. Code Name Verity is an outstanding novel that will stick with you long after the last page.

My rating: 4 stars. (closer to 4.5)

Content warnings: PG-13. Brief torture-related nudity, a few scattered f-words, description of torture and war violence. 

(spoilers below)

Thoughts: I don't even know where to start.

Verity/Julie's "confession" is a complete trip, the entire way through. It's hard to feel like she's being entirely forthcoming, probably because of how many times she insists that she is, and trying to puzzle out the truth from the lies is pretty much impossible. But I still knew it was there, and I wanted to know what she was playing at. I just couldn't figure it out on my own.

Maybe part of it is also because Julie is how I'd like to imagine I could be, in a situation like that. (Even though I know I probably could never be.) Weaving truth with lies so seamlessly you can't say you've lied, but they can't get the damning truth from you either.

But Maddie's section. I think that almost broke me. Or maybe it did, and I don't want to admit that yet. Either way, it hurt a lot, and it was really good, both in the best ways possible.

It's unflinching in a look at war and espionage, and the pain that comes with it. But it's incredible and beautiful in its own way too.

The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm by Christopher Paolini

Goodreads synopsis: A wanderer and a cursed child. Spells and magic. And dragons, of course.

Welcome back to the world of Alagaësia. It’s been a year since Eragon departed Alagaësia in search of the perfect home to train a new generation of Dragon Riders. Now he is struggling with an endless sea of tasks: constructing a vast dragonhold, wrangling with suppliers, guarding dragon eggs, and dealing with belligerent Urgals and haughty elves. Then a vision from the Eldunarí, unexpected visitors, and an exciting Urgal legend offer a much-needed distraction and a new perspective. This volume features three original stories set in Alagaësia, interspersed with scenes from Eragon’s own unfolding adventure. Included is an excerpt from the memoir of the unforgettable witch and fortune-teller Angela the herbalist . . . penned by Angela Paolini, the inspiration for the character, herself! Relish the incomparable imagination of Christopher Paolini in this thrilling new collection of stories based in the world of the Inheritance Cycle.

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: PG-13. Fantasy violence and war images.

(Spoilers for The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm. And probably the whole Inheritance Cycle.)

Thoughts: Murtagh is back, and I am happy.

Okay, obviously not completely, but it was totally worth reading if just for the one chapter with Murtagh back in the story. And I'm a sucker for his character, so I'll probably be easily pulled into any of Paolini's future books if just for the promise that he'll probably show up again.

Other than that I don't think the book was anything super special? There was sort of an overarching narrative to the "stories" that pulled them together more than I had expected and that was nice. But there wasn't really much that made them special. They were decent, but it was just as well without them too. It could have been interesting to see more of Eragon and the work of building a community of humans, elves, dwarfs, and urgals. But those bits were little and not the focus of the book. It was still nice to have them, but the rest of the book was just some worldbuilding, and even if it was interesting, it wasn't really a story.

It's not a bad little read, but it's not anything super impressive either. Probably worth a read if you enjoyed Paolini's other books, but otherwise it's not really anything special.