Book Review – Eluthienn

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – This is author Sam Middleton’s first novel. Eluthienn was published in February of this year. It is the 31st book I completed reading in 2024.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.

The Fromryr, an alliance of humans, dwarves, elves, and gnomes, live in Formaria. It is a labyrinthine network of underground tunnels. They have been at war for ages. They use weapons of immense power, though their origin and understanding have long been forgotten.

Above the tunnels on the surface, exorcist Kalbrayeth Lyander makes an unexpected discovery. He finds a body imbued with unfamiliar magic. That leads him to knowledge he does not want. A secret that will disrupt the status quo, and plunge Formaria into a devastating war. Lyander now has proof that Vampires, which had only been a myth before, are real and pose a growing threat.

Below in the tunnels, gnome Brazier Veranquis, the first officer of the ice mining vessel Chalice of Amaranth, responds to a distress signal. What they find forces them to run or die, leaving behind another vessel with Brazier’s brother, with whom they soon lose contact.

The Prince of Ravinica has been exiled. His heritage portends that he and he alone will be able to kill the vampire king and end the threat. Kalbrayeth Lyander, Brazier Veranquis, and the crew of the Chalice of Amaranth go forth with the Prince on the perilous mission to find and kill the vampire king.

I enjoyed the 12+ hours I spent reading this 369-page fantasy. This fantasy world has a complicated system of magic. The story seems a bit confusing like I jumped into the middle. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 3.6 (rounded to 4) out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Book Review – Mages & Murder

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – L. Evans is the author of Mages & Murder. It was published early last month. It is the 26th book I completed reading in 2024.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.

Mistress Leonor owns The Dancing Bear Inn, located in the village of Bearstone. She has been retired from her time as a mercenary, though she still must be wary as there is an open bounty for her. For the most part, the village is off the busy main road. A winter storm changes that, bringing many outsiders to their village. Among them is Magister Aritus.

Leonor had known Magister Aritus long before. Back then, she was known as the infamous mercenary, Captain Thea Karns. Fortunately, Aritus had failed to recognize Leonor. When Aritus is discovered dead in his room at the Inn, Leonor feels she must take action to solve the murder. The last thing she wants is officials digging into the pasts of the people of Bearstone.

Leonor soon discovers that she is not the only resident with secrets. As she digs out clues, slowly narrowing in on the killer, she finds that she has put herself in danger.

I enjoyed the 6.5+ hours I spent reading this 164-page fantasy. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 3.3 (rounded to 3) out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Book Review – D-Day

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Stephen Hart is the author of more than a dozen books. D-Day was published in May of this year. It is the 15th book I completed reading in 2023.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! I categorize this book as G.

This book provides a good, high-level overview and introduction to D.Day. The book begins with the Allied preparation for the invasion. It follows the German defensive measures that had been put into place along the coast of France. Going beyond the actions of Army units, the D-Day engagements of naval and air units are also covered. Finally, the landings on the American, British, and Canadian sectors of the Normandy beach are described.

Many photos are included with coverage of both the Allied and German forces. Some principal leaders are introduced, and the equipment being used is discussed.

I enjoyed the 3 hours I spent reading this 224-page WWII-era history. I like the chosen cover art. It clearly identifies what the book is about. I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

If you have an interest in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest.

• The “World War II Resources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 620 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II era in history.
• The “World War II Timeline” page expands frequently and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
• The “About WWII” page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII. Included are links to many fiction and non-fiction books on WWII that I have read and reviewed. There are also links to WWII oriented podcasts.

Today is World Backup Day

Today is World Backup Day

Book Review – Japan’s Holocaust

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Bryan Mark Rigg (https://bryanmarkrigg.com) has authored more than half a dozen books. Japan’s Holocaust: History of Imperial Japan’s Mass Murder and Rape During World War IIwas published earlier this month. It is the 24th book I completed reading in 2024.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence and mature situations, I categorize this book as R.

The book attempts to document the most significant instances of atrocities perpetrated by Japan’s military forces during WWII. It begins with events in 1927 and continues to the end of the war. In every location occupied by the forces of Imperial Japan, the local population was subjected to rape, murder, and economic exploitation.

The book begins with a look at the rise in power of the Japanese military. The ideals of the Japanese were close to those of the Nazis in Germany, eventually resulting in the pact between the two countries. The enlisted soldiers of the Japanese military were treated harshly. That, and their view of themselves as the master race, justified their treatment of subjugated people.

The author focuses on the military’s actions in Nanking, Singapore, the Philippines, Guam, Siam, and Hong Kong. He also examines the many women who were compelled to serve as ‘comfort women’, the biological & chemical experimentation units, and Japan’s involvement in the drug trade.

I enjoyed the 14.5 hours I spent reading this 627-page WWII-era history. This was an informative book. There was little in it I had not heard about before, but the book went into much more detail. It also presented atrocity information in one place. The book was a little dry and challenging to read. It is very academic, with 1563 footnotes. The author repeatedly points out the reluctance of the Japanese government to acknowledge the atrocities committed. I like the chosen cover art. I give this book a rating of 3.8 (rounded to 4) out of 5

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

If you have an interest in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest.

• The “World War II Resources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 620 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II era in history.
• The “World War II Timeline” page expands frequently and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
• The “About WWII” page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII. Included are links to many fiction and non-fiction books on WWII that I have read and reviewed. There are also links to WWII oriented podcasts.

Book Review – Total Eclipse

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Wyatt Werne is the author of two novels. Total Eclipse was published in 2023 and is the second of his Kate Devana novels. It is the 25th book I completed reading in 2024.

I received an ARC of this book through https://booksirens.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence and mature language, I categorize this novel as R.

Kate Devana has been a marine and a special operative within the Space Force. She is retired now and working in Private Security. The retired Major is good at her job. That, and her direct approach, has often caused her trouble with superiors and those in power. Her current assignment is far from challenging. When she is given an opportunity for a more challenging project on the Lunar Colony, she does not hesitate for long to accept it.

Kia is a level 4 AI robot employed as a sex worker at the Barely Legal club in the Lunar Colony. She liked working there more before the current owner, Adrik, bought the club. He is sleazy and harder on the girls working for him. She wants to be free of him and spend time with her boyfriend Nash and his two kids. When she is assigned to meet with an engineer and negotiate a deal for stolen chips, she sees it as a chance to change her life.

Devana’s assignment is to find an engineer trying to sell stolen chips. She has to tread lightly as the last time she was on the Moon, a lab was destroyed while pursuing her duties. As she digs deeper, she discovers the stolen chips are the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot more going on. The colony has become the new Wild West, where most anything goes. A playground for billionaires who can buy anything they want.

Kia’s pursuit of financial independence and Devana’s trail of evidence ultimately lead them both towards an illegal operation involving child trafficking. Kia is driven by the loss of close friends and the desire to protect her “kids”. Devana wants to see justice. Both find themselves in dangerous situations as those behind the operation are unwilling to let anything get in the way of their profits.

I enjoyed the 6+ hours I spent reading this 263-page science fiction novel. I do like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 3.4 (rounded to 3) out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

An App for your Mac – URLtoQR Safari Extension

When we write up a document to share electronically, we often include active links to other documents and websites. This enables the reader to quickly open referenced documents. If we are writing something to share on paper, the only recourse is to include the full URL. That then must be manually entered in a browser window. These are often long and manual entry is often error-prone.

The QR code

A solution for this is the QR code. Per Wikipedia a QR code is: 

A QR code (quick-response code) is a type of two-dimensional matrix barcode, invented in 1994, by Japanese company Denso Wave for labelling automobile parts. A QR code consists of black squares arranged in a square grid on a white background, including some fiducial markers, which can be read by an imaging device, such as a camera, and processed using Reed–Solomon error correction until the image can be appropriately interpreted. The required data are then extracted from patterns that are present in both the horizontal and the vertical components of the QR image (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code)

In simple terms a QR code is an image that can be scanned to render a URL. So if I wanted to have a printed document to share with Mac users I could provide them with the URL for https://www.capmac.org/ OR I could include the QR code below.

Using a QR code

Using a QR code is easy and can be done with your iPhone (or Android phone) or iPad. To use the QR code:

1. Open the camera App on your device
2. Center the QR code in your screen (notice the yellow brackets around the QR code once the camera has identified it.)
3. When the code has been scanned and interpreted a box will appear at the top of the screen.
4. You can touch on the box and the linked webpage will open in your browser

As you can see from the example above a QR code can be read from paper or from a screen.

Generating a QR Code

There are several tools available, but a method I recently found and have used, is the free URLtoQR Safari Extension. Just open the App store and search for URLtoQR. It is available for macOS, iOS, and iPadOS versions of Safari. For this article I am installing URLtoQR on my Mac.

Once the extension has been installed, go to Safari => Settings and open the Extensions tab. Make sure the checkbox is checked next to URLtoQR to enable it.

The warning concerned me a little so I followed the suggestion and updated the Website tab. In the Website tab I changed the setting to ‘Denny’.

I can still use the extension but I am now prompted to temporarily approve access for the Extension.

Using URLtoQR

To use URLtoQR click on the icon in the menu bar (identified by the arrow). That will generate a QR code and display it. Left click on the QR code and you can copy or download the image.

Now that you have generated the QR image it can be used on any document.

An Application

I am a docent at the Texas Military Forces Museum in Austin, TX. As I chat with visitors, I find that some are very interested in Texas history. The Texas Heritage Travel Guide is a 172-page state publication which is very handy as it lists sites of historical interest across the state.

We used to have copies of the publication to hand out, but they have been out of stock for several months. For those who are interested in more Texas history I created an Apple Notes page with the QR code and the cover of the pamphlet. I can show visitors that Notes page on my iPad and they can scan the QR code and download the brochure.

Book Review – Elantris

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Brandon Sanderson (https://www.brandonsanderson.com) is the author of nearly 60 novels. Elantris was published in 2005. It is the 94th book I completed reading in 2023.

I purchased this novel. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.

Elantris was once a beautiful city. Now it sits abandoned for the past 10 years, though it looks like centuries. A terrible disease fell upon the city, striking at random among its inhabitants. The godlike inhabitants are transformed by the Shaod into monsters. The city is walled off, and any afflicted are forced into the city. They become dead to those outside.

When it is discovered that Prince Raoden of Arelon has been afflicted by the Shaod, he is thrown into Elantris. He fights his affliction and slowly begins to rebuild what he can. The savagery and grime in the city, as well as bands of the afflicted, are deadly obstacles. Raoden and his followers will do what they can before they eventually are driven mad by the Shaod.

Princess Sarene of Teod had already been married to Raoden in absentia. She is on her way to Arelen to meet Raoden and celebrate their marriage when he falls to the Shaod. She is told when upon arrival that the Prince has died. Rather than return home, she stays in Arelon to fulfill the political pact that came with the marriage. Sarene was well-trained at home and rapidly fits into the politics of the Arelon court. She feels there is more to the story of Raoden’s death than she is being told.

Gyorn Hrathen, a high-ranking Derethi priest, has been sent to Arelon to convert the country. He has only three months to complete his quiet takeover. Otherwise, the Derethi armies will force the people of Arelon into their folds. Hrathen gathers followers and plots against the King of Arelon and Sarene to undermine their power.

Sarene recognizes Hrathen as a threat to both Arelon and her own kingdom of Teod. She does what she can to resist his efforts. She also motivates charity for those exiled into Elantris, not realizing that among them is her husband.

I enjoyed the 19.5 hours I spent reading this 657-page fantasy. Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite fantasy authors. I have read eight of his other novels and enjoyed every one! The plot is rife with action, politics, intrigue, and subterfuge. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 5 out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Book Review – The Frozen Girl

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Roberta Gately (https://robertagately.com) is the author of more than a half dozen novels. _The Frozen Girl _ was published in 2021 and is the second novel in her Jessie Novak series. It is the 23rd book I completed reading in 2024.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.

The young 27-year-old Jessie Novak is only 5′ 3″, but she has established herself as a respected ER nurse at Boston City Hospital (BCH). She recently began working part-time with the Boston Police as a forensic nurse. At first, she meets resistance from some of the police. But after she is involved with the care of Danny Coyle, a police officer shot during a routine traffic stop, she is accepted as one of the team.

The body of a dead woman is pulled from the Neponset River. At police headquarters, Novak gets to see evidence found on the body. That is when she realizes that she used to work with the dead woman. Sheila Logan had been a nurse supervisor at BCH until she had disappeared months earlier.

At first, Novak is excluded from the investigation because of her connection with Logan. That does not stop her from investigating some on her own. She learns that Logan had been having an affair with a BCH surgeon Dr. Tim Merrick. Novak also uncovers what appears to be evidence of financial fraud. Eventually, Novak is brought back into the police investigation. In a national database, they find a West Virginia nurse who had been strangled and dumped in the Blackwater River. The crimes are similar but there is nothing to tie them together.

A few other things are complicating Novak’s life. There is a budding romance between her and Detective Sam Dallas who is leading the murder investigation. A woman claiming to be Novak’s mother shows up on her doorstep. Novak thought her mother had abandoned her. The woman’s story is far different from the one her father had told her. A travel nurse, Kate Wagner, was hired to help fill in at the ER when Novak is working with the police. While the woman has good recommendations, Novak is having to train her on the job.

The deeper Novak digs into the murder, the more she thinks there is to it. Before long her interest in the case comes to the attention of the killer. Novak finds herself in more than one dangerous situation. Will she survive long enough to bring the killer to justice?

I enjoyed the 7.5 hours I spent reading this 252-page mystery. This was a good, but not outstanding novel. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 4 out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Book Review – Blood Roses

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Douglas Jackson (https://douglasjackson.net) is the author of more than a dozen novels. Blood Roses was published earlier this month and it is the first book in his Warsaw Quartet series. It is the 22nd book I completed reading in 2024.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence and mature language, I categorize this novel as R.

The novel begins just a few days after Germany invaded Poland in 1939. Germany is rapidly pressing forward into the heart of Poland. Polish Army Lieutenant Jan Kalisz is recovering from his wounds in a Warsaw hospital. Though he knows there is little chance of halting the German advance, he is anxious to return to the front lines.

A mysterious man visits him in the hospital one night. The stranger quietly advises Kalisz that he can do more for his country by slipping back into his old life than dying on the front lines. He had been an investigator with the state police before being called up. The Polish resistance expects the Germans to retain infrastructure employees when they take Warsaw. Kalisz would be an inside man for the resistance.

Reluctantly, Kalisz agrees. To many Poles, he appears to be a collaborator. Even his wife feels that he has given up on his own country. He is attacked on more than one occasion by his fellow Poles for working with the Germans. A neighbor approaches him about a missing Jewish girl. Knowing his German masters will not allow resources to be ‘wasted’ on the girl, he sends them away.

The authorities reconsider the case of the missing Jewish girl after a 13-year-old German girl, Trundl Kleist, is found murdered. Not only has she been murdered, but her body has been cut open and her organs used for an ‘artistic’ display. This gruesome crime gets the attention of the Germans. Bodies of other young girls are discovered, each subjected to a similar end. While not all Germans trust or like working with a Pole, Kalisz becomes deeply involved with the investigation.

The murderer considers himself an artist. He had a start in Germany, but only after his transfer to Poland has he been able to express his art. His canvas being the eviscerated bodies of the young women.

Kalisz desperately wants to find the killer before yet another young girl dies. He must find his way through hatred amongst the Poles, as well as through the hatred and distrust of the Germans. Their assumption that only a Jew would be capable of the brutal deaths makes his efforts at finding the truth even more difficult.

I enjoyed the 8 hours I spent reading this 347-page WWII-era mystery. The author expects to have three more novels in this series. I look forward to reading them, though they do have a dark and sinister air. I do like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 4.4 (rounded to 4) out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

If you have an interest in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest.

• The “World War II Resources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 620 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II era in history.
• The “World War II Timeline” page expands frequently and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
• The “About WWII” page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII. Included are links to many fiction and non-fiction books on WWII that I have read and reviewed. There are also links to WWII oriented podcasts.