Alright seems I’ve re-established a bit of control over my unruly and nonexistent mob. With the assistance of Captain Obvious, the Heckler and other key figures planted by me in their ranks I’ve negotiated a settlement. All I need to do is continue blogging. Seems pretty simple, right? Well maybe on its head. Its been difficult scrounging up new topics to reveal to you, my dear readers.

“Like people actually read this,” scoffs my ever supportive Heckler.

I scowl and say, “There are so people who read this thing. Look at all the comments.”

Crickets chirp.

In the comments section there are only a few forlorn little garbles of words along with tumbleweeds (lots and lots of tumbleweeds).

“Well what about the number of views here? Riddle me that little Ms. I like poking holes in all your arguments,” I counter triumphantly.

She snorts a derisive laugh.

“Most of those are from you.”

My face turns an interesting shade of red as I shudder with barely contained apoplexy. Suddenly, I deflate like a defeated and hole-ridden balloon. In a quiet voice I mumble that its time to move on into the meat of today’s post.

Today I get to ramble on about two of my favorite subjects: reading and books. In particular I wanted to shake things up a bit and toss out a book review of my very own.

So earlier on in the week, bored out of my skull, listless and profusely whining, I happened upon a book. Well, an eBook to be more precise, but a jumble of words nonetheless.

That book was Scriber by Ben S. Dobson. For a measly buck I could engross myself in a new and daring fantasy world. Usually I am quite skeptical at embarking on a new author’s vision, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. While it wasn’t earthshakingly brilliant or a genre game-changer it nevertheless satisfied my addiction for a few days.

The story centers around the aptly named kingdom of the Kingsland and a washed up “Scriber” named Dennon Lark. the kingdom is under attack by a mysterious group of rebels who don’t talk or bleed. Basic fantasy bread and butter. What set this book apart and caught my eye in the first place, however was its reliance on history.

The Scribers, a sort of guild of academics and doctors and such, were established after an event in the Kingsland’s past known as the Forgetting. Their goal: forget nothing. As a history buff (read: frothing fanatic) I was instantly intrigued.

The book relies on many fantasy tropes that prevent it from being very innovative, but still read in an interesting way. The plot flows in a linear and predictable fashion but is still entirely enjoyable. Reluctant hero joins with group of ragtag societal misfits led by misunderstood hero to combat supernatural threat to a generic fantasy kingdom.

However, over the course of the novel I found myself sympathizing with the characters (although a few redshirts were sprinkled in) and generally surprised by their hidden depths. The action was well paced and the little tidbits of “journal entries” or “historical essays” by the protagonist at the beginning of each chapter made me happy.

By the end of the book I was surprised at how much I cared about what happened to the characters and without giving too much away I thoroughly enjoyed the epilogue and the way it wrapped the book up in a nice, little bow.

With very few hiccoughs (and those minor at that) the book was an altogether enjoyable read and I look forward to more from Mr. Dobson.

For those looking for a nice literary equivalent to comfort food, take a look at Scriber by Ben S. Dobson. The book is available here at: http://www.amazon.com/Scriber-ebook/dp/B005P5YOUW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323034366&sr=1-1

So there it is folks, the first of many hopefully as I review books that I happen to be reading. Hope it was enjoyable and as always thanks for reading.