GUEST POST: Angelfall - Susan Ee

A warm welcome to guest reviewer, Lara Zierke! 

Summary:  It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with Raffe, an injured enemy angel. Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco, where Penryn will risk everything to rescue her sister and Raffe will put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again. (Image and summary from goodreads.com)

My Review:  When Penryn sees five angels ganging up on one to cut off his wings, she can’t help but intervene—even if every angel is considered the enemy. As a result, her young wheelchair-bound sister is kidnapped by the angels and Penryn makes a shaky pact with the injured angel, Raffe—she’ll help him survive without his wings if he takes her to the angels’ stronghold so she can find her sister.

Together, they survive street gangs, starvation, a strange human resistance camp, Penryn’s psychotic mother, and flesh-eating demons as they both get closer to the angels’ aerie in San Francisco.

Despite their friendship—and a blossoming romantic tension—their truce has an expiration date. Angels are forbidden to fall in love with humans, and Raffe (the archangel Raphael, known as the Wrath of God) is the one who punishes angels for doing so. Besides, Penryn is too headstrong to fall for the enemy. She struggles with the moralities of war as she turns her back on the resistance movement to help the enemy. She doesn’t know what’s right or wrong anymore, all she knows is that however broken it is, she needs her family back.

It’s been a week since I’ve read this book (and I’ve read three books since) and I am still thinking about it. The characters are immensely complex and fascinating. Penryn is very likely my favorite tough-girl heroine ever. Strong, compassionate, decisive, feminine, flawed, and not annoying. Raffe makes an excellent counter-character, though as the “strong, silent type” I’d really like to get inside his head more. The book opens with action and never lets up, sucking you in from the first paragraph.

My rating: 4.5 Stars

For the sensitive reader: A good amount of fighting and violence (though not described explicitly). This definitely has some darkness to it that could easily be the stuff of nightmares.

Sum it up: A captivating mash-up of urban paranormal and dystopian genres—think Hunger Games meets City of Bones but without annoying heroines. 

The Dragon King - Nils Johnson-Shelton

Summary:  The exhilarating final book in the Otherworld Chronicles trilogy, whichSchool Library Journal called "a surefire hit with the legions of Rick Riordan fans."

Artie Kingfisher, his sister, Kay, and the New Knights of the Round Table have finally reached the legendary isle of Avalon. But before Artie can take his place as King Arthur reborn, he must recover nothing less than the mythical Holy Grail. And as the greatest battle of his life looms, Artie finds himself facing off against the one person he never dreamed he'd be fighting.

In The Dragon King, Artie's life-changing quest comes to a spectacular close as the young king discovers what it truly means to be a hero. Rich in mythology and bursting with twenty-first-century fun, this high-spirited spin on Arthurian legend is perfect for middle grade fans of Percy Jackson, the Alex Rider Chronicles, and House of Secrets.   (Summary and image from goodreads.com.  I was provided a copy of the book at no cost in exchange for my opinion.) 

My Review:  Spoilers.  Warning.  There will be SPOILERS.  I can't write a real review of this book without SPOILERS.  (Granted, these are spoilers only if you haven't read the first two, reviewed here and here.  If you're caught up, no worries.)

Did I mention the spoilers?  

Oh, my goodness, Merlin!?  I don't think I've ever been so grateful I had a whole series to devour at once, because an evil Merlin?!  I've got to quote Junie B.  Wowie, wow wow!  I was flabbergasted that Johnson-Shelton went there, but to have Merlin's parentage (his father was a demon in most legends, hence his amazing power) actually brought to the forefront of the series and the way that the author handled it was amazing. 

I am a sucker for a good retelling, and the approach that Johnson-Shelton took to the whole Arthurian legend has been a pleasant surprise from the start.  This book, the final book in the series, was an amazing story full of betrayal, amazing quests, redemption, and sacrifice - both of a personal and a collective nature.  Again, it's darker than its predecessors, but it never felt unnecessarily so.   I found myself on the edge of my seat during the final battle scene - Artie and his knights were faced with so many daunting challenges and it highlighted their nobility well.

Even more, I loved the strength that Artie's father and Qwon's mother leant to the group.  There is a disturbing trent in YA/Children's novels that the parents are either mindless automatons or doofuses in order to provide a contrast for the brilliant and amazing protagonists.  Parents aren't the main characters here, but Johnson-Shelton has done an incredible job writing supportive, strong, and loving parental figures in this series.

However, the final resolution - that last chapter - felt so harried and rushed that it didn't ring true.  I had to keep reminding myself that this is a children's series, and they probably don't want lingering conflict (um, I mean room for growth), but it very much felt like "And then they won and everything was magically perfect and nothing went wrong ever again, hooray!", and it just didn't ring true to me.  But up to that point?  Masterfully written.

My Rating:  3.75 stars.  Would have been 4.5, but for that last chapter.

For the Sensitive Reader:  Merlin enslaves children through the playing of video games and uses them as soldiers.  None are harmed, but the principle was creepy.  Again, battle scenes and some pretty heart-breaking deaths (of both humans and dragons).

GUEST POST: The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon - Alexander McCall Smith

Please join us in welcoming Ashley Rayback!

Summary: Modern ideas get tangled up with traditional ones in the latest intriguing installment in the beloved, best-selling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. 

Precious Ramotswe has taken on two puzzling cases. First she is approached by the lawyer Mma Sheba, who is the executor of a deceased farmer’s estate. Mma Sheba has a feeling that the young man who has stepped forward may be falsely impersonating the farmer’s nephew in order to claim his inheritance. Mma Ramotswe agrees to visit the farm and find out what she can about the self-professed nephew. Then the proprietor of the Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon comes to Mma Ramotswe for advice. The opening of her new salon has been shadowed by misfortune. Not only has she received a bad omen in the mail, but rumors are swirling that the salon is using dangerous products that burn people’s skin. Could someone be trying to put the salon out of business? 

Meanwhile, at the office, Mma Ramotswe has noticed something different about Grace Makutsi lately. Though Mma Makutsi has mentioned nothing, it has become clear that she is pregnant . . . But in Botswana—a land where family has always been held above all else—this may be cause for controversy as well as celebration. 

With genuine warmth, sympathy, and wit, Alexander McCall Smith explores some tough questions about married life, parenthood, grief, and the importance of the traditions that shape and guide our lives. (Summary and image from goodreads.com)

My Review:  The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon is the fourteenth book (I know, right?!) in the Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency series.  I’ve read every book in this series, and so not only consider myself an aficionado on all things Precious Ramotswe, but am obviously a very big fan.

Let me start by saying this—if you haven’t read the series, you should. You don't need to read them all or read them in order to understand what’s going on, but you’ll probably want to. They’re well-written, insightful, kind, and wise. Although they are technically mystery books, I’d venture to say that they're about much more than that. They explore friendship and relationships and human nature in a subtle, poignant way that I love.

The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon is a good installment because it goes into depth about the two main characters and their relationship. In the midst of normal goings-on in life, the book helps us understand what others mean to us and why, and explores the ways in which we support or tear down those around us.  One of my favorite things about this series is McCall Smith’s simple, beautiful insights. They’re quotable and everywhere in the books. I find myself thinking about them quite a bit long after the read is over.

These books are also, ultimately, about Africa. They’re a very interesting look into another culture, another place, another people. McCall Smith obviously has a deep love and understanding of Africa and of Botswana, and after reading this series, I very much appreciate Botswana and its culture and beauty. This book, more than others in the series, challenges traditional versus new views, which is a constant issue in Botswana and Africa as a whole.

My rating: 5 stars

For the sensitive reader: These books are clean. In this particular book there is an issue of incest discussed in brief, vague terms.

Nick and Tesla's Robot Army Rampage - Bob Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith

Summary: Nick and Tesla return in an all-new, robot-filled adventure! 

When a rash of robberies hits the town of Half Moon Bay, 11-year-old sleuths Nick and Tesla are determined to catch the criminals—but to do so, they'll have to build a host of new gadgets and gizmos! In this robot-themed follow-up to Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Danger Lab, the brother-and-sister duo build four different droids out of ordinary household objects—and illustrated instructions are included throughout the story, so you can build them, too! Make bristlebots that buzz, hoverbots that float above the ground, battlebots that duke it out, and more! Can Nick and Tesla catch the criminal mastermind—and foil his army of rampaging robots—before it's too late?  (Summary from amazon.com, image from goodreads.com.  I received a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.)

My Review:  If you don't remember, my son and I were completely smitten with the first adventure of Nick and Tesla.  In fact, we loved it so much that for my son's eighth birthday, he requested a Mad Science theme - in their honor.  We had a blast.  (I'm still recovering.)  It came as no shock, then, than when I asked my son if he'd like to read the second one, there was screaming, and shouting, and the kind of mayhem that only an extremely excited boy can execute.  (He stole my copy from me.  He also guarded it in his sleep!)

We join Nick and Tesla two weeks after their first adventure, and although life with Uncle Newt will never be boring, they've settled into their summer.  Until, however, their favorite shop The Wonder Hut is purchased by a former colleague of Uncle Newt's ... and things start inexplicably disappearing from the neighboring shops.  Why do our favorite scientists-in-training care?  Because their best friend, Silas, asks for their help.  His family's store was hit, and they'll lose everything if the stolen item isn't found.  Nick and Tesla can't let that happen!

Goodness, Pflugfelder and Hockensmith are a fantastic team.  The story they've created is fun, engaging, mysterious, and completely true to character.  The teamwork their characters have created is not only inspiring, it's so much fun to witness.   However, it's not all sunshine and rainbows - because reality isn't.  Our main characters miss their parents terribly.  Uncle Newt is great, but he's not the same, and Nick and Tesla haven't heard from their parents since they left for Uzbekistan.  The mystery behind their "work" deepens in this book.  Okay, that's enough of my review - want to hear what a science-obsessed boy thinks of it?

Charlie's Review: I really liked the experiments that Pflugfelder put in the book.  It's weird [REDACTED - SPOILERS!!] sets off the rampage.
Charlie's rating: Five Stars a lot of the funny plans help the good rating.

My Rating:  Five Stars

For the Sensitive Reader:  The word 'butt' is used a few times.  Since I'm strict with my kids' language, that stood out to me.  But that's me being nit-picky!

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science - John Fleischman

Summary:  Phineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his head. A railroad construction foreman, Phineas was blasting rock near Cavendish, Vermont, in 1848 when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain. Miraculously, he survived another eleven years and became a textbook case in brain science. But he was forever changed by the accident, and what happened inside his brain will tell you a lot about how your brain works and what makes us who we are.  (Summary from amazon.com and image fromhttp://www.saratogareads.org/)

My Review:  Have you ever wondered how the brain works?  How it came to be that we know as much as we do about the brain before technology moved us ahead?  How we went from believing the heart governed the body to the brain?  Or are you simply looking for a book that could possibly capture the attention of your teenage child?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, I highly recommend picking up this book.

Phineas Gage is a captivating story about a young man who had it all going for him, only to have it come crashing down after a tragic accident that by most accounts should have killed him.  And it did.  But not for another ten or so years. That's not to say he left unscathed for those years in between.  In fact, most that knew him said he was almost an entirely different person after the accident.  So what happened?  Here's a Reader's Digest version: By a fluke accident, a metal rod, called a tamping iron, fell from his hands, landed on explosives set below him to blast a track for the railroad track he was working to build, and flew up and through his skull.  How he survived?  I'm going to make you read the book to find out.

This is young Phineas Gage after the accident holding the tamping iron.  (Image from mindhacks.com)  

Initially I was going to add more photos, but decided against it in case it offended an unsuspecting reader sensitive to images of this sort.  Feel free to Google his name if you're curious; you'll find lots of interesting pictures about what happened.

While most of the book follows Phineas' story, there is a lot of scientific information about the brain, how it works, and what we learned over time and from Phineas' story. I found this a pleasant surprise.  So much of what we know about the brain has evolved since Phineas' accident in the 1800's (lumps on the head indicating the type of person you are, etc.), and while it's sad to hear of someone loosing so much, I loved learning how it shaped what we know about our brains.

Great nonfiction is exploding onto the marketplace of libraries and classrooms (corny pun intended).  This is another example of one of those books.  If you have difficult to engage readers, ones who really don't get into a fictional tale, try handing him or her this.  My middle school students couldn't help but want to know more about how this tragic story ended and why he didn't die in the first place.  And honestly, so did I!

For the sensitive reader:  If you have a hard time with images depicting what could have happened, even though they are drawn, I recommend you skip certain pages in the book.  Otherwise, it's factual and clean.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Sum it up: A fascinating story of a brain injury that helped the world understand more about how the brain works.

The Signature of All Things - Elizabeth Gilbert

Summary: In The Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction, inserting her inimitable voice into an enthralling story of love, adventure and discovery. Spanning much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novel follows the fortunes of the extraordinary Whittaker family as led by the enterprising Henry Whittaker—a poor-born Englishman who makes a great fortune in the South American quinine trade, eventually becoming the richest man in Philadelphia. Born in 1800, Henry’s brilliant daughter, Alma (who inherits both her father’s money and his mind), ultimately becomes a botanist of considerable gifts herself. As Alma’s research takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, she falls in love with a man named Ambrose Pike who makes incomparable paintings of orchids and who draws her in the exact opposite direction—into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose a utopian artist—but what unites this unlikely couple is a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all life.

Exquisitely researched and told at a galloping pace, The Signature of All Things soars across the globe—from London to Peru to Philadelphia to Tahiti to Amsterdam, and beyond. Along the way, the story is peopled with unforgettable characters: missionaries, abolitionists, adventurers, astronomers, sea captains, geniuses, and the quite mad. But most memorable of all, it is the story of Alma Whittaker, who—born in the Age of Enlightenment, but living well into the Industrial Revolution—bears witness to that extraordinary moment in human history when all the old assumptions about science, religion, commerce, and class were exploding into dangerous new ideas. Written in the bold, questing spirit of that singular time, Gilbert’s wise, deep, and spellbinding tale is certain to capture the hearts and minds of readers.
Summary and cover art from indiebound.org

My Review: Alma was an unexpected blessing, born to intellectual parents late in their lives. Being an only child she was raised more like a peer than a child. She is a wildly intelligent girl but also rather peculiar. This is her story beginning with her father's childhood in the 1760's and transcending over a century to the 1870's. Alma has a natural love for botany and finds reprieve in the natural challenges through her garden studies, especially in her study of mosses.  She is fluent in many languages and possesses a great aptitude for science, particularly biology. Her work in this field will eventually define her life.

The Signature of All Things could probably be most easiest defined as a heart-wrenching love story. Alma falls in love with two men over the course of her life but is also deeply in love with her work. As we can all relate to she faces a multitude of difficult decisions throughout her life. At times she is able to make a wise choice but at other times she chooses quite poorly. In hindsight the better path seems quite obvious but it is difficult to determine when closely viewed. Regardless the combined outcomes of her decisions, regardless of their seeming magnitude, shape her life for better or for worse.

There is a multitude of material to ponder over but above all else is the study of love and humanity. This book is bravely done, written with great pose and confidence. To tell a story of this magnitude is a huge feat but it is accomplished masterfully. This tale covers heartache and loss, self discovery and small triumphs. It ponders several universal questions, such as what sacrifices have others made unknown to you in order to ensure your happiness and, likewise, what desires have you smothered in order to ensure the happiness of others?

Overall I have mixed feelings on this one. It is somewhat anticlimactic. There are bouts of drama but they are almost overshadowed with large amounts of scientific and historical detail. Yet the writing is smart, artful, and easily accessible to the layman. The tale is incredibly thought-provoking and sticks with the reader long after the cover is closed. And it can't be denied that Gilbert has a talent for drawing one into her tales.

My Rating: 3 Stars

To sum it up: A highly researched historical novel that explores the impact of choices throughout a lifetime.

Sensitive readers: There are many sensuous moments explored in detail that may be uncomfortable.

John Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars - Roland Hughes

Summary: What if the Mayans got the start of the end correct because they had survived it once before? What if our written history was just as accurate as the old tale about three blind men describing an elephant? What if classic science fiction writing and television shows each got a piece of it correct, would you know which ones? If your eyes can only see a tiny portion of a collage do you know it is a collage?

Fans of Babylon 5, Star Trek TNG, Battle Star Galactica (the new one) and classic science fiction writing will enjoy the bountiful Easter Egg hunt contained within. When you were a child you learned to connect paper clips or thread beads together to make a necklace. Sit back and watch the beads you’ve had all your life form the picture you could not see. Consider for one second the possibility of the story, then hang onto your mind with both hands while you take the ride.  (Summary and book cover from goodreads.com.  A copy of the book was provided for me in exchange for my honest review.) 

My Review:  "SK" shows up to a dwelling to interview the oldest living human about the "Microsoft Wars", a cataclysmic series of wars that changed the face of earth, essentially ending the world as we know it.  Her purpose is to provide her readers with a firsthand account of the end of the wars, in order to prevent them happening again.  John Smith was only 11 when his grandfather and he sealed themselves in a bunker at the end of the wars, but at nearly 80, he is the world's oldest man.

Roland Hughes writes John Smith as though the reader has obtained the transcript of the interview between "SK" and Smith.  While refreshing to read straight dialogue, there were times that I felt I would have identified or bonded with the characters more had I been privy to their mannerisms or other clues not available in a transcript.  I felt like the style of Hughes' writing was so disjointed and scattered that it took all of my brain power to follow where he may be heading.  I had none left over to develop the characters on my own, and I think that would have endeared them and their stories to me more.

As for the story itself, I am a fan of science fiction, and I was so intrigued as to the bones of Hughes' story.  Also, the title itself, Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars, got my imagination racing.  However, given his propensity for jumping around from subject to subject, skipping forward and backward throughout time, and mixing pop culture as fact, I found this book very difficult to read.  (I just quit trying to understand once he tried to pass Soylent Green as real.)

I was frustrated trying to understand the mythology and the rules that Hughes tries to set up from the beginning.  By the time the pieces of the puzzle would have started to fall into place, I had stopped trying.  It felt like I was trying to assemble one 1,000-piece puzzle without knowing what it looks like, with no edge pieces, and with three other 1,000-piece puzzles mixed into the batch.  

My Rating:  One and a half stars

For the Sensitive Reader:  It's clean, but I found the views about religion offensive, as well as the condescending view taken toward women.

A Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki

Summary: In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there’s only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates’ bullying. But before she ends it all, Nao first plans to document the life of her great grandmother, a Buddhist nun who’s lived more than a century. A diary is Nao’s only solace — and will touch lives in ways she can scarcely imagine.

Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a collection of artifacts washed ashore in a Hello Kitty lunchbox —possibly debris from the devastating 2011 tsunami. As the mystery of its contents unfolds, Ruth is pulled into the past, into Nao’s drama and her unknown fate, and forward into her own future.

Full of Ozeki’s signature humor and deeply engaged with the relationship between writer and reader, past and present, fact and fiction, quantum physics, history, and myth, A Tale for the Time Being is a brilliantly inventive, beguiling story of our shared humanity and the search for home.
Summary and cover art from Ruth Ozeki's website www.ruthozeki.com 

My Review: The diary of 16 year-old Nao Yasutani, a Japanese girl, washes up onto the beach of a remote island in the Pacific Northwest. Once discovered by author Ruth the diary consumes her, pulling her into Nao's troubled life and impacting her own. It turns out that Ruth and Nao have more in common than what appears on the surface. Nao has been uprooted from her American home and is struggling to fit in with her Tokyo classmates. Ruth has also recently moved from an American city to a remote Canadian island and is attempting to breath life into her latest novel. Both are battling personal insecurities as they attempt to define themselves.

The book, which has been shortlisted for the 2013 Booker Prize, opens with Nao writing to the unknown reader of her diary. This one-sided dialog, a bit awkward at first, continues throughout the tale. The chapters alternate between Ruth's voice and that of young Nao. This unusual style provides a unique perspective into the altering lives, places, and time of Ruth and Nao. It is quite easy to become engrossed in both worlds.

The opening sentiment states “A time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me, and every one of us who is, or was, or ever will be.” (p.3).The theme of time is very thought-provoking and certainly plays an integral role in the story. Time is first introduced in a very logical sense but later there is a fantastical play with the idea of time, giving the tale at first an uncomfortable twist that works itself out later on. The tale contains a myriad of themes and ideas to ponder over, most namely resilience following turmoil and perseverance in times of uncertainty but also environmental and social issues. This one would make quite an interesting book club selection.

I listened to this book and thoroughly loved it. Part of the magic arises from the author narrating the audio-book and therefore she reads it exactly as she heard it while writing it. There are several Japanese terms used throughout and the beauty found in the pronunciation would have been lost to me without the author's aid. However the print version contains some unique elements as well including footnotes, varying font styles and sizes that aid in the understanding of Nao's mindset as she wrote, and several appendixes. Both amusing and heart-wrenching this book is equally delightful in either print or audio format.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

To sum it up: A unique novel told in a modern voice about discovering and accepting oneself at any given point through time.

Sensitive readers: There are a few choice words and sexual situations that were important to the plot but may be uncomfortable to some.

The Seven Swords - Nils Johnson - Shelton

Summary:  Across both worlds are seven legendary blades. Some have been uncovered, Some forgotten, Others secreted away.

Very soon all must be united.

Spending the summer fighting dragons, rescuing wizards, and leaping through portals into the Otherworld was only the beginning for Artie and Kay Kingfisher. The two worlds remain divided, Merlin is missing, and worst of all, Qwon Onakea, their kidnapped friend, may be lost to the Otherworld forever. It seems the only way to save both worlds—and to save his friends—is for Artie to claim his throne as King Arthur reborn.

To do this, Artie must gather his knights so they can venture forth and recover each of the Seven Swords. Finding them all is Artie's only hope for victory.

But all the video games in the world haven't prepared Artie for the battles to come against giants, dragons, ogres, and sorcerers. Nor is he ready for the unexpected threat of the Peace Sword, a mysterious weapon used by the treacherous Mordred to kill the original King Arthur more than a thousand years ago... (Summary and image from goodreads.com.  A copy of the book was provided at no cost in exchange for my honest review.)

My Review:  Back to the Otherworld!  This time, Artie has an overarching need to rescue his dear friend Qwon, but Merlin's insistence that the gathering of the seven swords take precedence is creating inner conflict for the young kingling.  Further, Artie has a feeling that Merlin isn't being quite as honest or as good as he should ...

This was a very typical "plot thickens" book.  Not only did it give the reader a further understanding of why Artie and Merlin, and Morgraine and Mordred are at odds, it throws enough twists and plot shake-ups in to keep this retelling fresh.  

Nils Johnson-Shelton does a great job in this second book making the Arthurian legend a worldwide tale.  His descriptions of Swedish and Japanese mythologies, as well as the behavior of some of Artie's knights and their relationships with their swords, breathes new life into a tale that, while it could never be musty, is always fun to reimagine.  His telling of one of the knights' berserker rages had me in stitches.  However, this is definitely a book meant to move the story forward, and I found it quite a bit darker than the first series. It's an understandable shift - the protagonist is moving from innocence into his destined role, and that is never an easy shift.  However, it was there, and I think that Johnson-Shelton handled it masterfully.

I found myself caught between interested reader and concerned parent more than once.  Artie's behavior, at times, gave me pause, as it comes across a little insolent.  However, looking back on what is coming, it's certainly justified.  (I guess it's one of those ends justify the means deals.)  I also need to give credit for a plot twist that had me flabbergasted - not easy for a girl who's read as much Agatha Christie as I have.

My Rating:  Three and a half stars

For the Sensitive Reader:  There are a few more battles this time around.  The same knight that lost an arm loses another limb.  There is also a discovery of a "shop of horrors" - a secret lab of Morgraine's full of genetic failures.