If I find out that a book is similar to A Game of Thrones then I will want to read that book. I would not expect any book similar to George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series to be as good, but I do enjoy reading the style of fantasy novel which focuses on the political battles of a medieval world where magic plays a very small role in the lives of the characters. Case in point: The Jackal of Nar by John Marco. I discovered The Jackal of Nar while browsing Amazon.com and stumbled across it as being similar to A Game of Thrones.

The Jackal of Nar is the nickname given to the main character, Richius Vantran, who is the prince of a kingdom in the empire of Nar. This empire begins the novel at war with a neighboring land and this struggle continues throughout the book, but evolves through the actions of the main character. While a war between two mythical lands sounds like the backdrop for a fairly basic plot, there are enough twists and turns to keep it interesting.

The other main element driving the story is the love interest of Richius. He struggles between his duties to his homeland and the woman he loves. The choices he makes are not always the most mature ones, but that does not necessarily make them wrong.

Many reviews I have read of The Jackal of Nar focus of this being the first novel written by John Marco. And some seem to want to give Mr. Marco a free pass because this is his first book. But as a reader, I don’t really care if a book is someone’s first or last; it still has to be well written. The Jackal of Nar is well written. I especially enjoyed the attention of detail of describing the locations of the various cities and castles.

Overall this was an enjoyable book, even if some of the choices the characters made in the book were flawed.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Even though Dune Messiah takes places 12 years after the events in Dune, the story picks up at a natural point in the narrative. In addition to being less than half the length of the first book, the story of Dune Messiah has a much narrower focus. Paul Atreides rules the known universe as both a political and religious leader, and a conspiracy gathers to usurp him which is the focus of much of the book. And while this narrower scope of the story which focuses on only a handful characters serves to differentiate Dune Messiah from Dune, it does not diminish the impact of the story.

In Dune, it was destined that Paul would rule. The reader knows this shortly after beginning the book. But in Dune Messiah, the reader realizes that Paul’s fate could be anything and may lie along any path. The reader finds out that through his continued use of the spice melange, Paul knows his ultimate fate through his glimpses of the future and works to steer the events of his life towards that future.

If you expect the sequel to Dune to feature more full-scale battles and grand, epic storytelling then you will be disappointed with Dune Messiah. But if you expect further high quality writing and storytelling in new directions of Paul’s life, then you will find Dune Messiah to be yet another excellent example of what truly great science fiction writing can be from Frank Herbert.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

A non-essential collection of random Civil War tie-ins, the Civil War: Marvel Universe trade paperback did provide a few interesting a fun details to the main story of Civil War. Collecting She-Hulk #8, Civil War: Choosing Sides, Civil War: The Return, and Civil War: The Initiative, the book spans the timeline of events of Civil War and focuses on characters not featured in the main storyline, including (ready for this one) Howard the Duck. Yes, that Howard the Duck, a Marvel comics property, makes a hilarious attempt to comply with the superhero registration act in Choosing Sides. A good introduction to She-Hulk, a still unresolved (in my mind) story about the Iron Fist and Daredevil, the return of Captain Marvel, and the beginning of establishing a status quo after the Civil War ends are all featured in this collection of stories.

While none of these stories were essential to the main storyline, I would still recommend this collection to anyone reading Civil War.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Star Wars: Darth Bane: Rule of Two by Drew Karpyshyn is the sequel to Darth Bane: Path of Destruction and picks up right where the first book leaves off. After all of the Sith except for Bane were destroyed in Path of Destruction, Bane finds a young apprentice which he recruits in his cause to reestablish the more traditional teachings of the Sith and implements the Rule of Two: one master, one apprentice.

I have lately noticed myself enjoying more of the Star Wars books that focus on a small number of characters, rather than those that try to tie in as many plot lines and characters as they can. Darth Bane: Rule of Two focuses on Bane and his apprentice Zannah and their training and learning of the mysteries of the Sith while attempting to avoid being noticed by the Jedi.

While this book may not be one of my favorite Star Wars books of all time, I did enjoy reading it and enjoyed it slightly more than the first Darth Bane book. It is a rather quick read and the author does a good job of describing the action sequences without any confusion. My minor quibble with the book is that Zannah’s motivation for being Bane’s apprentice doesn’t always seem clear or reasonable. For some reason, I have a much easier time accepting why Bane is a Sith as opposed to Zannah, though I am not really sure why. Maybe because Zannah is younger than Bane and at that age should be questioning her master and the motives of the Sith more than she does. I thought that maybe it’s because Zannah is female and I have an easier time accepting that a male can be evil, but I have had no such problems understanding the motives of other bad “guys” who were females in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

If you enjoyed the first Darth Bane book then you won’t be disappointed by Rule of Two and I would welcome a third book in this series by this author.

Rating: 7 out of 10.