Author: HCNewton Page 213 of 610

The Friday 56 for 8/19/22: The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu

On August 19, 2022

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 56 of:
The Art of Prophecy

The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu

It took her old eyes several squints in the darkness before she sighted the small figure dangling halfway down. At the base of the wall was a cluster of soldiers, with Sinsin standing just below the boy as if positioning himself to catch him if he fell. What by the enlightened imprint of Goramh’s ass was that fraud still doing here?

Taishi focused on the boy. Whatever credit she had given Jian for thinking outside the box last night was immediately wiped away by his trying to rappel down a hundred-foot wall with fifty feet of rope. Even more stupid was that it had taken him climbing all the way to the end of the rope before he realized he was in trouble.

One Decisive Victory by Jeffery H. Haskell: The Trilogy’s Conclusion is Almost Nothing but Action

By HCNewton

On August 18, 2022

In Fiction, Grimm's War, Science Fiction

One Decisive Victory

by Jeffrey H. Haskell

DETAILS:
Series: Grimm's War, #3
Publisher: Aethon Books
Publication Date: June 21, 2022
Format: Kindle Edition
Length: 416 pg.
Read Date: August 10-12, 2022

What’s One Decisive Victory About?

After the calamitous events at the end of With Grimm Resolve, the Alliance Navy is raring to strike back, but the government has another plan. The last thing they want is another war—they’re still torn over the last one, and they’ll snatch any excuse to avoid the next.

Naval Intelligence’s Admiral DeBeck can’t believe this and can’t stand it. He knows he can’t do anything. But he has a plan that centers on Lt. Commander Jacob Grimm, but Grimm’s going to have to be sacrificed for it to work.

The Caliphate has struck a massive blow to the Alliance and they need to respond or DeBeck (and most of the Navy) is convinced that they’ll be emboldened to attack again and again—until it’s too late for the Alliance to effectively defend itself.

So they’re going to follow through on the plan to dismiss Grimm from the Navy when the Interceptor is taken out of service. Then Grimm is supposed to steal his former ship, head to Caliphate space, free a bunch of their slaves and wreak havoc on the planet that serves as the center of their slave trade. Then he’ll come home and spend the rest of his life in military prison.

It’s a plan so crazy that it just might work. Or it’ll go down in history as one of the dumbest things humans have tried. If it’s the latter, it’s good that only a handful of people will know about it.

Its Place in the Series

I talked about this with the last book, too, but I think I need to touch on it again.

So this is definitely the end of a trilogy—Haskell might have had an idea for a fourth book by this time, but it’s clearly the end of something. Yes, there’s a way for more stories to be told featuring at least some of these characters—I knew that had to be the case going in. But Haskell writes this in a way that you can’t take for granted that anyone is going to survive this book. You can’t guess how successful this mission is going to be until the closing pages.

This is a hallmark and a strength of the series so far—even coming to it when I did, with multiple books released/scheduled to be released, not knowing just how safe any character would be (arguably with the exception of the title character, but I don’t know that you can count on that).

So, what did I think about One Decisive Victory?

Ooh boy, this is about as action-packed as you can ask for. Not that the previous volumes were think-pieces. But One Decisive Victory is able to build on the work already done in establishing the world and doesn’t need a whole lot of new work to set up this novel. Once that little work is done, the brakes come off and it’s all action.

There’s a lot of good character work in the middle of it all—I’d argue it’s the best character work he’s done in the series—but this is about things happening. Grimm and the Interceptor have their work cut out for them and we don’t need to waste time with much else.

The novel was fast, the action was furious, and the story did exactly what you want. I was on the edge of my seat for almost the entire novel and I loved it. I did think the closing pages came close to being cheesy—but Haskell avoided it, and at this point, he’s earned a bit of cheese anyway.

This was a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, and the fact it’s become a longer-running series is nothing but a positive. Jump on board.

4 Stars

Book Blogger Hop: Favorite Books

By HCNewton

On August 17, 2022

In Book Blogger Hop, Books, News/Misc.

Book Blogger Hop

This prompt was submitted by Julie @ Stepping Stone Book Reviews:

What are some of your favorite books?

Are you kidding?!?!?!
Ain't nobody got time for dat!

I just have too many favorites, it’s that simple. I really can’t choose. I’ve taken 3 swings at this post in the last couple of days, and I end up with notes that are too long for me to convert into a readable post (or one that I can finish in a timely fashion). And when I forced a limit on myself (genre, number of books, time of publication), I couldn’t settle on a list without triple or quadruple-guessing everything.

Basically, I couldn’t stop overthinking this question*. But I’d spent so much time trying to come up with something that I just had to post something—even if it was as feeble as this.

* See also: Decision Paralysis or Analysis Paralysis.

What about you?

WWW Wednesday, August 17, 2022

By HCNewton

On August 17, 2022

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

Are you up for WWW Wednesday? Hope so, cuz here we go…

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading the last book in the Jane Yellowrock series, Final Heir by Faith Hunter. My current audiobook is Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest, Ulka Simone Mohanty.

Blank Space

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Chris McDonald’s Roses for the Dead, a great conclusion to the trilogy; and the quick hit of goodness that was The Heron by Don Winslow, Ed Harris (Narrator), on audio.

Blank Space

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu, which just looks great, and my next audiobook should be Out of Spite, Out of Mind by Scott Meyer, Luke Daniels (Narrator), which is hopefully an improvement over the previous one in the series.

Blank Space

Hope you’re reading something good, tell me about it!

A Few Quick Questions with…Valerie D. Johnson

By HCNewton

On August 16, 2022

In A Few Quick Questions With..., YA/MG/Children's Books

Earlier this morning, I posted about Valerie D. Johnson’s 1 2 3 Count with Me on Granddad’s Farm. Now I have the opportunity to share this Q&A she participated in with me–this is a picture book with a difference, and it’s that difference that makes it special. But I should let her talk about it.

Your author bio starts with “math whisperer,” which is a great title—I could’ve used one of those forty years ago! Would you describe what you mean by that and tell us a little more about your background and how it led to you writing children’s books?
During my tenure as a classroom teacher, I noticed that students often exhibited math anxiety or expressed how much they disliked math. Truth be told, I never thought of myself as a “math person.” Math was not my favorite subject as a student; it was too abstract. But now that I’m a mathematics specialist, I not only know the how, but I also understand the why. Now, I LOVE MATH and it is my mission to ignite a love of math in all children, one book at a time.

My superpowers are making learning math easy to understand, engaging, meaningful, and fun. And, I help to build math confidence and cultivate a positive math mindset in children with classroom-tested teaching strategies (i.e. encourage mistakes, play games, use tools, etc.).

I have served in education as a classroom teacher, math instructional lead, and currently as a math specialist. As a math specialist, I design and deliver professional development steeped in research and best practice in education. I also coach teachers in finding new teaching methods, tools, and techniques to improve math instruction.

Can you talk a little about the genesis of this particular book and the series?
Some children think of themselves as readers and not mathematicians. They think that math is not engaging and fun. I’d like to help all children develop a positive attitude about math and think of themselves as both readers and mathematicians through charming, math-themed stories with beautiful illustrations.

For over two decades, I’ve always wanted to write a book that would impact the lives of young mathematicians. So, after two years of sleepless nights, lots of editing, and learning about the children’s book industry, I will finally get to share my story with the world. I have poured my heart, time, and effort into writing a picture book, 1 2 3 Count with Me on Granddad’s Farm, that was inspired by summers on the farm with my grandfather.

The illustrations are adorable—how did you team up with Cee Biscoe? What was the process of working with her to combine story and pictures?
Illustrating my picture book went through a lot of stages and took many months to complete. I found my illustrator, Cee Biscoe, with the help of a publishing company that I hired to edit, design, and format my book. She’s a traditional illustrator specializing in children’s books, with work published in over 20 countries worldwide.

First, I sent her my manuscript along with other background information so that she could start imagining how everything would look. Over the next several weeks, we collaborated on character development. I sent her pictures of possible character hairstyles, clothes, and features from my vision board. Then, she drew pencil sketches of the characters and animals. Next, she planned what to show on each page of the story (to determine if there would be single or double-page spreads). Then, she created the thumbnail sketches, rough sketches, and full-size sketches. Revisions also occurred during that time. Once the page layouts (text placement and illustrations) were finalized, she painted the final artwork on large sheets of watercolor paper using gouache paint.

You don’t just tell the story, you give some tips for the parent/teacher/whoever who is reading to/with the child to help spur and develop counting in the book and in real life, with some discussion questions to get the child thinking about numbers. I absolutely love that. Was this where the series came from—looking for ways to get parents/etc. to talk about numbers and counting and then using the story as a vehicle for that?
My picture book was created as a way to engage students in meaningful math practice at home and introduce young readers to my grandfather.

I have two passions—teaching math and empowering parents to support learning at home with tips, tools, and hands-on tasks. Parental involvement helps to increase student engagement and academic achievement. Parents can also help make learning less scary by practicing math at home. Learning to count is more than just memorizing and calling out numbers. The book’s back matter helps little ones develop (and reinforce) a strong foundation in counting and quantity by engaging in meaningful learning experiences (i.e. practicing the counting sequence, counting a collection, matching the number words with the objects being counted, exploring the idea of more or less, etc.) with visual supports.

The Discussion Starters, questions in the back of the book, help young readers comprehend and analyze the story for deeper meaning. The visual models (counting dots, fingers, animals, etc.) on the following pages help little ones to dive deeper into counting and reasoning mathematically.

This book isn’t just about numbers—it’s numbers and family, right? It’s common to set picture books on a farm, but you bring in an individual angle—it’s your actual grandfather’s farm and you bring him in as a character. Could you talk a little about that choice?
This story was inspired by summers on my grandfather’s farm and pays tribute to the special bond between children and their grandfathers. The concept of the book is based on my work with young mathematicians in grades K-6 as an Elementary Math Resource Specialist. And, I dedicated this book to my Aunt Katherine Johnson, NASA Mathematician and Hidden Figure, because she loved to count.

This is the first of a series, what other settings are you going to be counting in? Do you have a schedule for what’s to come?
The setting for the next book in the 1 2 3 Count with Me series will take place in my hometown, Philadelphia. But, I haven’t decided whether I’ll finish the manuscript and publish the next counting book or a growth mindset book.

Thanks for your time—and thanks for introducing me to your grandfather—I hope these books take off!

1 2 3 Count with Me on Granddad’s Farm by Valerie Johnson, Cee Biscoe (Illustrator): A Cute Read-Along with Some Great Bonuses

By HCNewton

On August 16, 2022

In YA/MG/Children's Books

I’ve got a Q&A with the author coming up later today, be sure to check back then!

1 2 3 Count with Me on Granddad’s Farm

by Valerie Johnson, Cee Biscoe (Illustrator)

DETAILS:
Series: Count with Me 
Publisher: West Oak Lane Kids, LLC
Publication Date: August 30, 2022
Format: PDF
Length: 32 pg.

What’s 1 2 3 Count with Me on Granddad’s Farm About?

Every summer this family goes to grandpa’s farm—there are several things around this farm—crops, animals, and so on—to count. We spend some time looking at those things, learning a bit about the farm—and as the title suggests, counting them.

Special Features

Since none of the intended audience for these kind of books spends time reading book blogs—especially book blogs that feature as much Crime Fiction as mine does—I tend to focus on how things will be for adult reading to/with the intended audience.

On that front, this book excels. Counting the number of horses or tomatoes is easy enough to do, and the book provides plenty of opportunities for that.

But after the story part of the book are 3 pages of bonus materials designed to help the grown-ups use the book more effectively and to apply the skills practice in the book outside of the book. There are general prompts and specific questions to use.

I love both the idea and the execution of this—more people need to do this kind of thing.

A Word About the Art

Biscoe’s art walks the line between cutely exaggerated and realistic. Let’s see if I can explain that (long time readers will know this is not a strength of mine).

All the animals and people are drawn in a true-to-life manner, they’re not cartoonish, nothing’s overblown. But everyone from people to horses and deer are smiling.

I think it’s catchy and attractive.

So, what did I think about 1 2 3 Count with Me on Granddad’s Farm?

The only negative I can think of is that the text might be a little small—but it’s hard to tell that sort of thing with a PDF. I might have no complaints if I was looking at a hard copy to have a better idea of scale. Basically, this is designed for the adult to read and guide the child/children.

When read by the adult—especially using the helps provided—I think this’d be a fun and educational read. I think the interactive nature of the book plus the art will grab the attention of the child and will bring them back for more.

Parents/grandparents/caregivers who are wanting a little more out of story time will do well to give this a try. If my kids were a couple of decades younger, I know I’d be grabbing a copy.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this from the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

Divine and Conquer by J.C. Jackson: You Can’t Go Home Again

By HCNewton

On August 15, 2022

In Fiction, Terra Chronicles, Urban Fantasy

Divine and Conquer

by J.C. Jackson

DETAILS:
Series: Terra Chronicles, #6
Publisher: Shadow Phoenix Publishing
Publication Date: June 21, 2021    
Format: Paperback
Length: 239 pgs.
Read Date: August 8, 2022

What’s Divine and Conquer About?

We know that Silver’s Order has been trying to get him back to HQ for some time, and for reasons he’s not been terribly clear about (as I recall, anyway), he’s been reluctant to listen. So they force the issue by arranging a wedding between him and another Paladin. If he’s going to break it off, he has to be there in the flesh.

But he’s going to need more than a “I don’t want to,” so he enlists Ketayl in an undercover effort—they enter into a courtship relationship and he can say that he can’t get married because he already has an intended. Ketayl has some misgivings, but goes along with it—primarily to help Silver, but she’ll also get a chance to look through the Order’s library and maybe find some info on necromancy that’ll help.

Things start going wrong from the instant they arrive—the Order isn’t crazy about Ketayl’s presence (many of them aren’t crazy about her existence, and a big prejudice against elves is on full display). Things between the Order and Silver start off contentious and get worse. And then Ketayl finds a whole new batch of trouble—TIO kind of trouble. Things go from bad to worse from there.

Marzena and Amanda

There are a whole passel of new characters in this novel—one of the benefits of traveling to a new area and encountering a whole Order. But there are really two characters that we really get to focus on.

Amanda is the young paladin that has been selected as Silver’s bride-to-be. She’s driven and smart. She’s not much when it comes to combat—and really not much of a candidate for the order, you get the idea that there’s something not that impressive about her. But she’s good at doing what she’s told, and will do whatever she can to accomplish it—including going through Ketayl.

The other Paladin we really get to know is their Weapons Master, Marzena. She was a fantastic character—the way she quickly embraced Ketayl and resumed the old friendship with Silver in a heartbeat was great. We aren’t used to people outside the TIO knowing Silver so seeing that he has at least one great friend in the world from years ago helps solidify his character. But beyond that, Marzena is exactly what the book needed for the plot, a bit of fun, and perspective on all the events surrounding Ketayl and Silver. She’s definitely the MVP of Divine and Conquer, and I hope we see her again soon.

Ketayl’s Super Power

Sure, we’ve known that Ketayl’s a Mage with more power and potential than she realizes. But that’s really not what makes her such an effective leader and agent—we’ve seen this since the beginning, but it’s been emphasized in the last two books in particular.

Ketayl has this ability to take a rival, critic or outright enemy and turn them into an ally, if not a friend. Divine and Conquer surrounds her with plenty of antagonists—she doesn’t turn them all around, by any means. She doesn’t even try. But there’s one person she does turn around, without really intending to.

I really appreciate this ability of hers, and am glad Jackson is letting it shine—sure, she’s not the only character in the genre with the ability, but she goes about it in a different way than others do. She reminds me of Kitty Norville more than anyone else in that. Anyone that reminds me of Kitty is a winner.

The Order of the Paladins of the Holy Son

So here’s the problem I had with The Order—and therefore the book. It’s a religious Order, sure. But there’s no religion to it. There’s a hierarchy, there are adherents, underlings, traditions—even a couple of group prejudices. But that’s it—it’s the shell of a religion with nothing at the core.

And if it was the case that the Order had drifted from their former orthodoxy and become an apostatized or agnostic group, that’d be one thing—people’d be talking about that. Silver’s friend is one of the few that holds on to the old ways—but we’re talking about training, loyalty, traditions, not beliefs.

Instead, for whatever reason, Jackson didn’t allude to their departure from the faith while hanging onto the form, she didn’t even point to a time when the Order stood for something. I get the impression (and I can’t point to specifics to support this, but I still walk away with the impression) that Jackson has some ideas about what the Order used to believe (maybe still believes)—but I’ve got no idea what it is.

A religious order without a dogma is hard to get invested in—you can’t fault them, you can’t hope they reform for the characters you like to be okay—it’s just a soulless bureaucracy making things difficult for those characters. And hey, that’s a daunting organization to take on, sure.

But boy howdy, do they want Silver back in the fold and are pulling out quite a few stops to achieve that. Also, I’m not sure I get why that is, I mean, I like the guy, but their interest seems a bit extreme. But I can roll with it for the sake of the story.

So, what did I think about Divine and Conquer?

This is the book I’ve been waiting for—possibly for too long, but whatever—we needed the development and background for Silver and some overdue conversations were had. Plus, Ketayl’s achievements with the Arcana Consortium were great to see (at some point, she’s going to start accepting what everyone’s saying about her magic abilities, right?)

I’m not sure I could buy how long the negotiations around Silver’s marriage took—the sheer number and length of meetings seemed out of proportion. Maybe Jackson could’ve given us some other things for them to have been discussing. But they gave us what the novel needed—a way to get him off-screen so Ketayl could get to know Marzena and Amanda better, interact with others of the Order, and generally get into trouble.

This is one of my favorites in the series—because of the character arcs and development. Plot-wise, I think it stumbled a bit, but by the time I get my hands on Book 7, I won’t remember that, I’ll remember the character stuff.

I’m enjoying this series still and am looking forward to the next one. Apparently it’ll be in June 2023, which gives you all plenty of time to read the series.

3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

Reposting Just Cuz: The Last Adam by Brandon D. Crowe

By HCNewton

On August 14, 2022

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

The Last Adam: A Theology of the Obedient Life of Jesus in the Gospels

by Brandon D. Crowe

Paperback, 215 pg.
Baker Academic, 2017

Read: February 19 – March 19, 2017

I just don’t know how to sum up this book succinctly honestly. After a few attempts that are best never seen by anyone, I decided that no one does it better than Crowe does in the first three paragraphs:

What is the purpose and significance of the life and ministry of Jesus in the Gospels? At one level, this may seem like an obvious question. The Gospels are all about Jesus. Moreover, given the structure of each of the four Gospels, it is difficult to miss the central role played by the Passion Narratives. And yet there is much more in the Gospels beyond the Passion Narratives. Jesus is amazingly active. He preaches, heals, exorcises, prays, rebukes, forgives, calls, authorizes, confounds, challenges, rejoices, weeps, blesses, curses, prophesies, and more. In addition, he consistently draws attention to himself as he does these things.

And then there are the Christmas stories (that is, the infancy narratives). These are among the more familiar parts of the Gospels in today’s culture. But what is the relationship between the infancy narratives and salvation? Jesus appears to be quite passive lying in the manger as he is adored by shepherds, and we do not find him to be very active when the magi come and prostrate themselves before him in Matthew 2. But can we look even to the infancy of Jesus and say that Jesus was somehow already beginning to accomplish something of significance? To ask this question is to lead us back to the driving question of this volume, since Jesus did not bypass infancy, childhood, adolescence, or adulthood on his way to the cross. Why? What was it about the life of Jesus that was necessary for salvation—from the manger to the cross and everything in between? Do the Evangelists themselves give us any indications that this is a question they have in view as they write their Gospels? I will argue that they do.

In this volume I will argue that we find a shared perspective among the diversity of the four Gospels that the obedient life of Jesus—in its entirety—is vicarious and salvific in character. More specifically, I will argue that Jesus is portrayed in the Gospels as the last Adam whose obedience is necessary for God’s people to experience the blessings of salvation. In pursuit of this thesis, I will consider what the Gospels themselves say about the lifelong obedience of Jesus, which concomitantly involves considering how Jesus’s life and ministry are related to his passion. By concentrating on the Gospels I do not intend to imply that these are the only documents in the New Testament that speak to this issue. I do believe, however, that a focus on the Gospels qua Gospels is important because of the way they narrate the life of Jesus, and because their testimony to the significance of Jesus’s life for salvation has often not been given sufficient attention. Thus a sub-aim of this book is to help us read and interpret the Gospels theologically.

So, there’s his aim, rather, there are his aims. How does he go about it? Here’s the Table of Contents to give you a look at how he’s approaching his arguments (yeah, I’m quoting a lot here, but you try to tackle this book in a blog post rather than a dozen or so page review and see how easy it is):

1. A Tale of Two Adams in the History of Interpretation
2. The Last Adam and the Son of Man in the Gospels
3. The Last Adam as the Obedient Son of God
4. The Last Adam and the Fulfillment of Scripture
5. The Glory of the Last Adam in the Gospel of John
6. The Last Adam and the Kingdom of Righteousness
7. The Death and Resurrection of the Last Adam
8. The Last Adam and Salvation: Theological Synthesis and Conclusions

This is primarily an exegetical work — dealing with the text of the Gospels directly. But Crowe leans upon historical and systematic theology as well (especially in Chapter 8). Outside of Chapter 5, he’s primarily dealing with the Synoptics — but not exclusively. It is not impossible to read for the dedicated layman — I’ve read more difficult works in the last few months, but it’s not something you can skim with profit. There are issues that I’m not sure I understand the purpose of addressing, as I’m not aware of all of the academic controversies he’s addressing, but even when you don’t understand everything about those portions of the book, you can still gain from working through them.

I learned a lot. I thought about passages in a way I haven’t before — seeing things in a new light, or at least a different light. I really don’t have a lot to say about this particular book — primarily I just wanted to post about it to maybe get a reader or two to look at it that might not have otherwise. I loved it, even when I had to work a little harder than usual to get what he was saying, it was worth it. This is the kind of thing the Church needs more of.

This is written from a Confessionally Reformed perspective, but not necessarily for the Confessionally Reformed any more than other Evangelical/Evangelical-ish readers. Although, the Reformed will be more used to thinking in some of the categories he uses than others (as Crowe indicates late in this interview).

This is not an easy read, this is not a quick read, but it is a good read (why do I feel like Lewis’ Mr. Beaver now?). This is theology that will lead to doxology — as well as more theological and doxological reflection and study. I wasn’t sure what I expected to get out of this book, but Crowe delivered it and more. I’m not doing a good job summing things up here, just get this book and read it (as well as all the books Crowe writes that you can afford, I’m pretty sure I never got around to posting about his book on the General Epistles which was almost as good as this one (and easier to read)).

—–

4 1/2 Stars

Saturday Miscellany—8/13/22

By HCNewton

On August 13, 2022

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

It’s Left Hander’s Day and I should have a list of characters to mention here, but I can only think of Kvothe and Arya Stark when it comes to fiction. Anyone out there know of any notable sinistral characters? There has to be a bunch of them…

I don’t have a long list today, apparently I wasn’t the only one not feeling incredibly creative this week. (or with time on our hands). More time for our Weekend Reads, right?

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Where Are Mass Market Paperbacks Headed?
bullet The Fine Art of Naming Characters in Crime Fiction
bullet Anne Rice and the making of a modern vampire
bullet The Five Great Novels of Dashiell Hammett—for years I’ve told myself I need to read Hammett…this might have pushed me over the edge.
bullet NetGalley’s blog, We Are Bookish, had a couple of handy posts this week:
bullet NetGalley’s Guide to Who to Tag in Book Reviews
bullet Tips for Battling Reviewer Writer’s Block
bullet The Books that Made Me – The Once and Future King by T.H. White—Inexplicably, I’ve never been able to finish this book, I need to give it another shot.
bullet Different Ways To Categorise Fantasy—another helpful post from Peat Long
bullet Reading & Book Collecting
bullet 10 Years, 10 Favorite Books—Great idea for a post, but I have no idea how Caitlin was able to limit it to just one book for each year without at least one tie. (then again, I do, what 5 or 6 best of lists each year, I clearly have trouble limiting myself)
bullet How Reviewing Changed the Way I Read?

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet The Thriller Zone Episode 83: Eli Cranor, author of Don’t Know Tough—Cranor sounds and talks just like you’d expect, this was a great chat.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Bark to the Future by Spencer Quinn—Chet and Bernie are back for novel #13, and it’s a doozy. Bernie tries to help an old high school teammate and gets into a lot of trouble. I blogged about it couple of weeks ago
bullet The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu—What do you do when the prophecy about the Chosen One who will save the country is wrong? Taishi, the greatest war artist of her generation, decides to mold the object of the prophecy into who the kingdom needs him to be.
bullet The Deal Goes Down by Larry Beinhart—a retired PI is hired as a hitman and ends up working to save women from abusive marriages—and make money at the same time. (that’s a lousy job of summarizing the description, but without reading the book, it’s as good as I’m going to get…click the link)

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to tinareadsallthebooks who followed the blog this week. I hope you enjoy the content and keep coming back.
Late Night Reading

Persecution by RC Bridgestock: Charley Mann Hunts Her Most Elusive Killer Yet

By HCNewton

On August 12, 2022

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Persecution

by RC Bridgestock

DETAILS:
Series: DI Charley Mann Crime Thrillers, #3
Publisher: Canelo
Publication Date: July 8, 2021
Format: Kindle Edition
Length: 267 pgs.
Read Date: August 9-10, 2022

What’s Persecution About?

DI Charley Mann is looking into a murder—one of those killings that make you despair for anyone’s humanity—and it’s a complicated case—just establishing the identity of the victim is difficult. The motive for the killing is impossible to pin down. And there’s a dearth of viable suspects.

But she and her team keep plugging away, making slow and steady progress—in a great touch of realism (as per usual for this series).

At the same time, she’s overseeing the investigation into some break-ins at a local university. Someone is breaking into the rooms of single women and staring at them while they sleep. Campus security hasn’t been paying attention to the reports until some police officers take a report seriously. The invader hasn’t crossed the line into violence, but the police know it’s only a matter of time.

There’s no evidence to support it, but Charley’s gut feeling is that these are connected. But even if she’s right, it doesn’t do her any good—she has no evidence to point to a suspect for either. There’s a break out there for her team to catch, they just have to keep working at it.

I Finally Put My Finger On It

This is the third book in the series that I’ve read, and I’ve talked about the problems I have with a lot of the dialogue. I’m not sure I’ve done the best job describing it, but I’ve tried. I think I finally put my finger on it, now.

There was something about a conversation in the first chapter that rang a bell with me, but it wasn’t for another 10-20% that it came to me: these characters—crime scene officers, PCs, detectives of all ranks—they talk like they’re in an HR training video.

If you’ve ever made it through a training video, you know what these people frequently talk like.

So, what did I think about Persecution?

This isn’t important at all, but this is a bad title. It has nothing to do with anything in the book. Really, it doesn’t matter, because most people are going to think of it as Charley Mann #3 or something like that. But, blech.

On to more substantive things—I don’t have a lot of new things to say about this book. Actually, I have nothing new to say. Like its predecessors, I really liked the story, I think the characters are interesting, and the police procedural aspects of the novel (the crime, the investigation, the twists, the original victim’s backstory, etc.) are exactly what I look for in a procedural—but the writing isn’t quite there. If Bridgestock took a little more time with the writing and editing, I’d be a huge fan.

As is, this is an entertaining enough diversion—frustrating when it misses, satisfying when it hits.

3 Stars