space – BookBunnies

Caramel reviews Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3 by Jake Parker

Last week Caramel reviewed Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher by Jake Parker. This week he reviews the second book in the series, Rescue on Tankium3, published in 2011. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, today we are talking about the second Missile Mouse book.

Caramel: Yes! I reviewed the first one last week and so this is just the perfect time to talk about the second one.

S: Yes, agreed. So tell us what our favorite space spy Missile Mouse is up to in this book.

C: It starts out with him chasing down a person, and he learns that the said person is being mind-controlled, which leads Missile Mouse to a planet called Tankium3. He learns there that all the men were kidnapped, and disappeared.

S: All the men from the planet disappeared?

C: At least all men from the species of people called Tankians.

S: Wow, that is weird. And quite scary. So what is the reason for this? Or is that the main mystery of the book then?

C: No, we learn that there’s an evil king, named Bognarsh, and he has taken all the Tankian men by mind control machines and is making them mine for fuel.

S: Fuel for spaceships and such?

C: Yeah, and with the fact that the RIP, which I mentioned before in my review of the first book, is fighting the galactic government, fuel is really important.

S: I guess it is kind of like how oil is still so strategically important to today’s world, at least for humans.

C: Yeah, logistics carry wars.

S: That is a powerful and very sophisticated thing to say for a little bunny like yourself, Caramel. But I do know you read a lot about history and know about many of the important wars of this planet. Where did you hear about this?

C: I think it must have been in a history textbook about the civil war, it was talking about how the railroads of the North led to victory.

S: Oh that is interesting. I can see what it means. Especially for long wars, you need to sustain your men in the frontier, you need to keep feeding them, trying to keep them healthy, providing them with sufficient ammunition and so on, and all of that involves a lot of logistics. I also found via Uncle Google, the quote “Infantry wins battles, logistics wins wars,” attributed to American general John J. Pershing. Kind of the same idea!

C: Great minds think alike! I mean I am assuming Pershing was a great military mind, given how he has a Wikipedia page. Then again a lot of awful people also have Wikipedia pages. Anyways.

Caramel is reading Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3 by Jake Parker. — Caramel is reading *Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3* by Jake Parker.

S: Yes, anyways, let us get back to the book. So I now know why the fuel is so important. Now tell me a bit about these mind control machines.

C: Well, there is a big central thing and then there are these little pod-like things that are controlled by that central thing. The pod-like units attach to your head and control you, at least that’s what I got.

S: Alright, that makes sense sort of. So then does the Missile Mouse figure out how to remove them from affected people? Or will he turn off the central thing? Or am I again getting too close to asking for spoilers?

C: Yeah, the last one. I am not at liberty to discuss that information at this point.

S: Hmm, okay. Then let us talk about the book in more general terms. Are these books funny? Or do you just like to see the spaceships? I know you really like Jake Parker’s spaceships.

C: There are not that many spaceships that I could study carefully in this book, but the tech is cool anyways, too. The illustrations look very techy and sci fi, and match the setting quite well.

S: So this was a win for you?

C: Yeah, very much so. if there’s more books in the series, I would greatly appreciate reading them.

S: Okay, we can look into that, Caramel. But for now, this seems to be a good time to wrap up your review.

C: Sure. Why not?

S: Okay, let’s do that then. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3 by Jake Parker and is hoping that there is (or will eventually be) a third book in this fun series. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3* by Jake Parker and is hoping that there is (or will eventually be) a third book in this fun series.

Caramel reviews Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher by Jake Parker

Today Caramel reviews Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher, a fun graphic novel by Jake Parker first published in 2010. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, I can see you have a new graphic novel to talk about today!

Caramel: Yep! I don’t know if you remember that I reviewed Kepler’s Intergalactic Guide to Spaceships? This book is in the same universe.

S: Oh that is interesting! I knew it was the same author / illustrator, but I did not expect the books would be related.

C: Yes, he also was the person who illustrated Darkstalker: The Graphic Novel.

S: So you definitely like his drawing style?

C: Yeah, no question.

S: I am glad you got to read another book by him then. So tell me a bit about it. Who is this Missile Mouse? I am guessing he is the main character.

C: Yeah, it’s sort of obvious as the book is called Missile Mouse, so yes, but this is the beginning of the series based on this guy.

S: The author describes him on his webpage as follows: “Missile Mouse is a James Bond meets Han Solo for the middle-grade crowd. The cocky, big-eared rodent is a secret agent for the Galactic Security Agency (GSA) who prefers to do things the quick and messy way.” So he is a secret agent for the galaxy and he is kind of arrogant like Han Solo of Star Wars.

C: Yeah, that’s about right, and it’s a good description of Missile Mouse. So in this story Missile Mouse gets a new partner, Hyde, and they go on a mission to find and rescue this scientist from his kidnappers, the RIP (Rogue Imperium of Planets), which are sort of the bad guys.

S: Hmm, so the Galactic Security Agency is an arm of a galactic empire, and this RIP is their enemy?

C: Yeah, they are. So the galactic government is a peaceful state, and the RIP are trying to take over the galaxy.

Caramel is reading Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher by Jake Parker. — Caramel is reading *Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher* by Jake Parker.

S: Do we know much about the government Missile Mouse is working for other than it is peaceful?

C: I believe that it’s a democracy, but not much else is really stated.

S: So if it is anything like Star Wars,maybe there is a senate and so on. Okay, tell us more.

C: Before Missile Mouse joined the GSA he was a bounty hunter or a mercenary.

S: Really sounds like the Star Wars universe. But the main character is a mouse. Are the other characters all mice too? Or are there other animals?

C: No, the beings in the universe are a multitude of other animals and aliens that don’t look like animals we know on Earth.

S: Any bunnies? Any humans? Any dragons?

C: None of those showed up in the book.

S: Alright, we are mature enough to enjoy books with no bunnies or dragons.

C: Sure, I’m totally mature.

S: Yes, for a bunny your age, you are definitely mature. But you reviewed other books about mice. Remember The Mouse and the Motorcycle?

C: I also reviewed several books about Babymouse. And don’t forget Ragweed and Poppy and the others? I read all those books, too.

S: Yes, true. Marshmallow reviewed Flowers for Algernon, which also had a major mouse character, who did not speak but still. She also reviewed Maus: A Survivor’s Tale.

C: Yeah. So mice are neat. Anyways Missile Mouse is cool, too, and he is funny and adventurous and brave. And the book is an adventure story and a spy story, and you know I like all those things.

S: That’s true. You read all the Spy School novels, too.

C: Yeah, so spies and secret agents are cool. Therefore this book is cool. And there is some cool space stuff, which I also like.

S: So it is clear you enjoyed reading this book. I think there is at least a second Missile Mouse book. I am assuming you will want to read that too.

C: Yes, I will. In fact I am planning to dive right in as soon as we are done here. Are we done here?

S: I suppose we are. Would you like to wrap it up with your usual ending statement?

C: Sure! Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher by Jake Parker and can't wait to read the second book in the series! — Caramel loved reading *Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher* by Jake Parker and can’t wait to read the second book in the series!

Caramel reviews Redshirts by John Scalzi

Today Caramel reviews Redshirts, a book by John Scalzi first published in 2012. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: Today we are talking about a space story, right?

Caramel: Yes, today we are talking about Redshirts, which is a story that is in a Star Trek-like universe. The book never comes out and says Star Trek of course, but you know it.

S: True. Even the title is a throwback to Star Trek. Redshirts are the ensigns and other members of the crew who wear red uniforms, and if you watch enough Star Trek episodes, at some point it becomes clear that whenever a team goes down to a planet with some of the main characters and a few crew members wearing red, the dangers in the planet would kill off at least one of those redshirts.

C: Yes. The book is really about that. The main character is this guy named Andrew Dahl and he is himself a redshirt. He joins the Universal Union, which is like the Federation in Star Trek, and is serving on the flagship. He realizes at some point that his friends keep dying. But none of the main crew dies. So the redshirts start getting suspicious.

S: I think that is a really smart plotline.

C: Yes, I think so too. But it gets even better. They realize that they do not really have memories beyond the ship they are on and so on, and they eventually discover that there is a real weird reason for everything.

S: Yep!

C: But I am not telling. I think it would be a big spoiler.

Caramel is reading Redshirts by John Scalzi. — Caramel is reading *Redshirts* by John Scalzi.

S: Yes, you do have a point there. Okay, so let us stop talking about the plot then and begin to talk about other things about the book. Actually I read Redshirts first and could not stop myself from laughing all the time. I thought you would enjoy it, too. Was I right?

C: Yeah, it was pretty good. I laughed a lot, too.

S: I also found the plot twists pretty neat.

C: Yeah, me too. But again, no spoilers! And I kind of guessed some of them.

S: Good for you! I did not. But you and Marshmallow are getting pretty good at guessing narrative arcs.

C: Well, we do read a lot of books.

S: That’s true.

C: Yeah, so the book starts out with a guy on an away mission, for lack of a better term, and he is eaten by land worms, I have no idea what those could possibly be. But they sound just about right for the kind of weird monsters that appeared in the original Star Trek series. And so we immediately get some action and some weirdness, and it is all fun from that point on.

S: I mean, I guess a lot of redshirts did die, I think, and death is not really funny, if you think about it, but in the storyline they were all quite absurd, and you could not help but laugh.

C: Yeah, the setups of the away missions were all weirdly amusing, but the actual plot of the book was awesome. Kind of mind-boggling and mind-twisting, but also funny. And awesome!

S: I am so glad you enjoyed it. But I am wondering. Do you think someone would still enjoy this book if they did not watch any Star Trek?

C: Yes, yes, the plot can still stand alone, but knowing Star Trek sort of just makes it better.

S: I think I agree. For a Star Trek fan like me, there were a lot of inside jokes, but if you are not a Trekkie like me,,I think it is still a great read. Lots of fun and also some things to think about after you are done.

C: Yep.

S: Okay Caramel. I think this might be a good time to wrap up this review.

C: Sure. Let’s do that.

S: What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Redshirts by John Scalzi and recommends it to all bunnies looking for some funny space stories. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Redshirts* by John Scalzi and recommends it to all bunnies looking for some funny space stories.

Caramel reviews Warhammer – The Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness Rulebook

As his first review for the new year, Caramel wanted to talk about Warhammer – The Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness Rulebook from 2022. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, You had already reviewed the core book for Warhammer 40000. What are the differences between the two?

Caramel::Well, in Warhammer lore the Horus Heresy is 10000 years earlier. So the time is around 30000, not 40000.

S: And why does this difference matter?

C: Well, now in this time, there is a civil war between humans and humans, mostly space marines versus more space marines, but they have cool armor, and best of all, tanks, and mechs.

S: Ahh, I understand why you like this now.

C: Yes, I’m a simple bunny.

S: But Caramel, in 40K, too, there was perpetual war.

C: Yes, but in 40K, there are aliens too. In The Horus Heresy, it’s mostly between humans and humans. This is the background they give in the web page for the book:

The Imperium stretches across countless worlds, a newborn empire on the brink of ultimate victory. Yet at the peak of this golden age of conquest, the galaxy has been plunged into an Age of Darkness. Horus Lupercal, Warmaster of the Emperor’s armies, has turned against his gene-father, and the eighteen Space Marine Legions, once united in a Great Crusade to consolidate all Humanity beneath the Emperor’s banner, are riven by betrayal. This is the Horus Heresy – the bloodiest conflict Humanity has ever known. Civil war on a galactic scale, in which superhuman soldiers clad in advanced armour turn devastating weapons upon those they called brothers. Where do your loyalties lie?

S: So the Imperium is powerful but maybe not yet as spread around the universe, and the story is more about an internal struggle?

C: Yes, basically, and the political issues with the God Emperor of Mankind being betrayed by his sons, like a certain Greek titan.

S: Ooh, I see, you are referring to Kronos and his sons, right?

C: Yeah, I am. I’m a smart bunny, too.

S: I never doubted that Caramel! But in your review of the 40K book, you told us that humans still worship the God Emperor. So does this mean that he will prevail?

C: Well, he doesn’t actually like religions, he is apparently old enough to have seen what it does. But he is a perpetual, or a being that is reborn, so, yeah, he was apparently also, I think Caesar, or something.

S: Again, this is very depressing. To have an autocratic leader who hangs around for ten thousand years of perpetual war.

C: No comment. Except a tiny one: he isn’t there after the Heresy; he sort of dies, but doesn’t.

Caramel is reading Warhammer – The Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness Rulebook. — Caramel is reading *Warhammer – The Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness Rulebook.*

S: Hmm. I think you have been reading those other books about the Horus Heresy, right?

C: No comment. I plead the fifth.

S: I have a sneaking suspicion we will be ending up with reviews of some of those books, too.

C: Maybe, I plead the fifth again.

S: Okay, let us not go too far into speculation of that sort. Let us get back to this rulebook. So then the main types of warriors you can play with in this Horus Heresy world are different then, right? You do not have the same kind of warriors, I am assuming.

C: Yes, and no, some chapters of space marines still use the same types of armor and weapons, but have primaris versions, so larger and faster, but not really.

S: So, what are the chapters of this book about? I’m guessing there are rules in it.

C: Oh, yeah, so, the book starts off with a quote by Horus Lupercal to set the stage:

I never wanted this. I never wanted to unleash my legions. Together we banished the ignorance of Old Night, but you betrayed me. You betrayed us all. You stole power from the Gods and lied to your sons. Mankind has only one chance to prosper. If you will not seize it, then I will. So let it be war, from the skies of Terra to the Galactic Rim. Let the seas boil. Let the stars fall. Even if it takes the last drop of my blood, I will see the galaxy freed once more. And if I cannot save it from your failure, Father, then let the galaxy burn!

Then the book explains what the Horus Heresy game is, and then explains the types of space marine armor one might see during the Horus Heresy, but it is missing most of the terminator plates, or any of the tanks or dreadnoughts, but should I tell you what armors types it does talk about?

S: No, I think I had my daily dose of Warhammer today.

C: Aw, one can never have too much Warhammer!

S: I know you think so.

C: Me and many other bunnies around the world!

S: Okay, that is true. So now you have some figures that are from this world and some from the 40K era, right?

C: I have some space marines, but they work for both games; it all depends on whether or not my friends let me.

S: I see. And I also noticed that you have been reading the lore like it is real history basically. You have a solid grasp of the timelines and what happens when and you know so many details…

C: Yep. I know it’s fiction, but it’s cool fiction.

S: Reminds me of the Foundation series Midnight started to review. That, too, envisions a whole future history of a galactic empire.

C: Huh, maybe, but Warhammer sort of also changes the perspective of ancient beings, like necrons, aeldar and orks, who are all older than most of the universe. Then there are the old ones: frog men who are older than the entire galaxy.

S: Hmm, so it is more mixed in with fantasy than pure sci-fi, maybe?

C: Yeah, I can see that.

S: Okay, cool. I am glad we talked about all this. I was wondering about The Horus Heresy, and this helps me get up to speed a bit about all that. So let us wrap up this review.

C: Sure. I think I should probably go to sleep.

S: Yes, I think that is a great idea. As we wrap it up, what would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel has been enjoying reading Warhammer – The Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness Rulebook and will likely leaf through it for many more months (or even years) to come. — Caramel has been enjoying reading *Warhammer – The Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness Rulebook* and will likely leaf through it for many more months (or even years) to come.