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Geeks and the Holy Grail (Camelot Code #2), by Mari Mancusi, for Timeslip Tuesday

The first book in the Camelot Code series, The Once and Future Geek , mixed time travel between the medieval world of King Arthur and our own, and it is a very entertaining book.  The second book in the series, Geeks and Holy Grail (Hyperion, October 2019), is also entertaining (though not quite as funny; King Arthur as a modern day high school student is hard to beat....). When Morgana, sworn enemy of King Arthur, attacks the druids of Avalon, Nimue, the youngest of them, takes the Holy Grail and runs with it.  King Arthur is dying, and only the Grail can save him.  Desperate to keep it from falling into Morgana's hands, she stumbles into Merlin's Crystal Cave.  But instead of Merlin there to help her (he's on vacation in Los Vegas, in our time), there's only his very inexperienced apprentice, Emrys.  His attempt to hide the grail works, in a sense--as a small, flatulent dragon, it sure doesn't look much like a grail.  But it isn't much use to Arthur as a...

The Secret

The Way of Kings

By Brandon Sanderson

     Having been shoved at me (a bit more forcefully this time) by the same person, I read this book, expectations high, because the person didn't lead me wrong on The Midnight Palace. Sadly, the book ended. WAY too soon for me.
     It was one of the best books I have ever read (including the Harry Potter's, and don't get me wrong, a hardcore fan here). The 15 or so years Sanderson spent world building and meeting his characters was well spent, creating this masterpiece. Following Shallan, Kaladin, Szeth, Andolin, Dalinar, and friends (as well as enemies), this novel explores a world torn apart by a 6 year war, driven by the murder of King Gavilair (pardon my spelling), and fought by the disjointed kingdom of Alethkar.
     The view point jumps between the characters mentioned above, all leading seemingly unrelated lives. As the reader dives deeper into the world, becoming emotionally attached to Sanderson's characters, they start encountering each other, plot uncovering connections between the heros. In all, a work of art, as flawless, strong, and beautiful as the Shardplate their world so covets.

     Limited to a 5 out of 5 number scale, I have to give it a five when it deserves a much higher score, such as a 50,000,000,000. Yeah, it's that good. As a food, it is your favorite food, the most scrumptious part of a cookies or cake or maybe cheez-its and chocolate (hey, don't knock it till you try it) that you have been longing for for ages and then you get those first few bites, so savory and delicious that you sigh. The flavor melting on your tongue, permeating through your taste buds until it's all you can taste and it surrounds your senses, enveloping you in its delicious flavor. (Wow, so repetitive.) You take a few more bites, then your parents, thinking you have had too many sweets (which you haven't. There aren't that many truly good books out there) and then taking it away to be revisited on a later date (the next book). Sadly, this book had to end before one finds out what happens to their favorite characters, leaving one clamoring for the last book.

The progress of the next book in the Stormlight Archive can be viewed on Brandon Sanderson's website.

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The Time Museum, Vol. 2, by Matthew Loux for Timeslip Tuesday

Delia and her cohort of kids training at the Time Museum to journey across the ages are back in another adventure-- The Time Museum, Vol. 2 , by Matthew Loux (First Second, June 2019).  This graphic novel has all the brightly illustrated fun and excitement of the first volume ( my review ), and even more danger and suspense. Delia and the other kids are getting ready for their next time travel mission, with the help of none other than Richard Nixon.  Nixon is a surprisingly capable instructor, and the tips and tricks he provides during training come in very useful indeed when things start going wrong.  Their mission sounded straightforward--travel back to 18th century Versailles to patch up French/US diplomatic relations, but it quickly becomes complicated by a temporal loop that brings future versions of themselves back in time too.  And then things become very strange indeed when all of them travel to a dystopian future, where an old enemy awaits.... I have to conf...

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