Book Review - Emperor Mollusk vs. The Sinister Brain

Book Cover

I have done movie reviews quite a bit lately so I figured what the heck I can do a book review, right? Sure why the heck not. Today's book is Emperor Mollusk vs The Sinister Brain by A Lee Martinez Barnes&Nobel Post

In one phrase I would describe this book as Sci-Fi at it's best. Even the title screams eccentric, mad cap adventures. This book actually seems a bit less funny than previous books by this author, but it was still very amusing. I don't recall any scenes in this book that made me laugh out loud but it was extremely entertaining.

There were times I found myself having to pause to take in the truly enthralling nature of the scene that I just read. I'm sure there was more than one time where I neglected to realize the amusing nature of something that I had just read. I chalk that up to ADD, and two young children running around the house pretending to have death rays of their own destroying everything in their path.

I have to admit though some of my favorite things in this book were the gadgets that Emperor Mollusk creates. Martinez has a true gift for coming up with ridiculous yet technical sounding names for all these great gadgets.

The book also has some very strong characters. Of course we have Emperor Mollusk himself, self proclaimed Warlord or Terra. He is a mollusk from the planet of Neptune who rides around in an robotic exoskeleton. He is just entirely too smart for his own good. This of course is a great source for many of the mad cap adventures that I mentioned previously. He is a bit of a self centered pompous overlord but he had a very good heart.

Perhaps my favorite character of the book Zala. She is a reptile like creature and commander in the Venusian army. She starts off way too lawful good for my liking. However as the book progresses you get to see her develop into something more than a simple army commander.

And who can forget Snarg the lovable "pet" of Emperor Mollusk. Snarg is a genetically altered giant centipede that acts more like a dog then a centipede.

This book actually left me with a huge smile as the ending was absolutely perfect. It just felt right considering the events that played out in the book.

If you are looking for a great book to read and you like funny Sci-Fi or fantasy, I highly recommend this book for you.

I give this four and a half out of five smiley Mike heads.

9 the movie has got to be one of the strangest post apocalyptic movies I have ever seen.  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472033/

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting when I rented this movie.  I had heard good things when I and I knew that Tim Burton was attached to this so I had to watch it.

The theme of the movie is that technology can destroy us as a race.  Being a tech guy I can sometimes see how technology can be a bad thing.  As you watch the movie you find out that we created technology that turned on us.  This is nothing new as far as story lines go (Matrix, Terminator) however this is a very new take on the concept.

I can't really talk more about the plot without giving away some of the great secrets of the movie.  It is dark and a bit on the depressing side but in the end it really makes you think about what it is to be human.

There are some really great voice actors in this film and it has some really great cinematic moments.  There is a scene near the end when there is a celebration then they find out that the danger isn't really over yet.  The way they transition this part with the music as well as the pictures is brilliant.

Even though it is dark and a bit depressing I would still highly recommend it.

I give this movie four out of five smiley Mike heads.