Author: HCNewton Page 44 of 603

Saturday Miscellany—5/31/25

On May 31, 2025

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

I didn’t think this was going to be a very full list when I started to assemble this post. But, boy howdy, are there a lot of good things below.
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 N.J.’s Peter David, prolific comic book writer known for ‘Incredible Hulk,’ ‘Spider-Man,’ dies at 68—If I read any of David’s comics, it was unknowingly. But his novels? Oh man…my college years and 20s were full of them (and some of his more recent novelizations, too). The man was excellent at merging the humor and heart, darkness and hope, and bringing depth to concepts that don’t seem welcoming to it.
bullet Twain Dreams: The enigma of Samuel Clemens—A Twain revival? Bring it on.
bullet So, a certain “great bearded glacier” set off a firestorm this week in a blog post about a new project, Howard Meets Hercules—I could easily post a dozen reactions, but the AV Club’s summary will probably do. (okay one other, Duncan MacMaster’s is pretty much what I want to say.)
bullet Finding Your Way Into Writing Fiction as J.R.R. Tolkien’s Grandson: Simon Tolkien on the Double-Edged Sword of a Mighty Literary Inheritance
bullet “That Broken, Brave, Beautiful Man is Someone I Wanted to Write For”: Raymond Chandler’s Trouble is My Business Arvind Ethan David—I really wasn’t inclined to try this new adaptation, but clicked on the interview anyway. David’s second answer changed my mind.
bullet Concrete Poetry & The Great Gatsby Re-Ordered—the story behind one of Fahrenheit Press’ latest projects. I can’t say I’m sold on the idea, but I am incredibly curious.
bullet Monthly Manga Mania Featuring Firsty Duelist: Mashle: Magic and Muscles by Hajime Komoto—this is a great idea for a series, and maybe something that will get me to try my second manga 🙂 I’ve always appreciated his writing
bullet Books I’ve Read With Characters Who Don’t Exist—Stephen always brings the oddest list categories–and they work. And with a title like this one, you just have to stop and read, right?
bullet Is Fiction Getting Worse? Tiktok, Tropification and Toxic Ideology—I’m not sure what my answer to the question would be. Maybe?
bullet Books for Men: Book Berne-ing 19!—Haven’t watched this yet, but I’m betting it’s worth a watch. Love the idea and can’t wait to see JCM’s take.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet Attack the Geek by Michael R. Underwood—I refuse to believe it’s been a decade since I read this
bullet Off to Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer—see above comment
bullet And I mentioned the release of some books that should not be that old, either: Long Black Curl by Alex Bledsoe; I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest; The Last Drive and Other Stories by Rex Stout
I’m apparently struggling with the passage of time today.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon (and some I forgot to mention last week):
bullet Instant Karma by Todd Morr—I read an earlier printing of this, but I love the idea of these Pocket Noir books, so I want to mention it. Also–you need to read this.
bullet If You’re Not One Percent by Todd Morr—the populace of a quiet mountain town vs. mudererous rednecks on a thrill kill murder spree.
bullet A Briefcase Full Of The End Of The World by Todd Morr—”Carter isn’t exactly the smartest guy in the room, but even he knows he’s in deep trouble. What should have been a simple snatch-and-grab turns into a nightmare when he realizes there’s something special about the contents of the case he’s stolen. Now, every lunatic, thug, and doomsday prophet in the city is after him, each with their own twisted plans for the mysterious prize.”
bullet Return to Sender by Craig Johnson—Walt goes undercover (or tries to) to hunt for answers to a woman’s disappearance. I started this last night, and am having a blast with it. Also, this is not where I expected this book to go after the ending of First Frost (at least not yet)
bullet Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by Django Wexler—sure, I haven’t read the first in this duology yet. But this looks great.

Opening Lines: The Lies of Locke Lamora

By HCNewton

On May 30, 2025

In Blog Series, Currently Reading, News/Misc., Opening Lines, Quotations

Head & Shoulders used to tell us that, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” That’s true for wearing dark shirts, and it’s especially true for books. Sometimes the characters will hook the reader, sometimes the premise, sometimes it’s just knowing the author—but nothing beats a great opening for getting a reader to commit. This is coming up next for my Fantasy Book Club, and I’m more than excited for the excuse to read it again.

At the height of the long wet summer of the Seventy-seventh Year of Sendovani, the Thiefmaker of Camorr paid a sudden and unannounced visit to the Eyeless Priest at the Temple of Perelandro, desperately hoping to sell him the Lamora boy.

“Have I got a deal for you!” the Thiefmaker began, perhaps inauspiciously. “Another deal like Calo and Galdo, maybe?” said the Eyeless Priest. “I’ve still got my hands full training those giggling idiots out of every bad habit they picked up from you and replacing them with the bad habits I need.”

“Now, Chains.” The Thiefmaker shrugged. “I told you they were shit-flinging little monkeys when we made the deal, and it was good enough for you at the—”

“Or maybe another deal like Sabetha?” The priest’s richer, deeper voice chased the Thiefmaker’s objection right back down his throat. “I’m sure you recall charging me everything but my dead mother’s kneecaps for her. I should’ve paid you in copper and watched you spring a rupture trying to haul it all away.”

“Ahhhhhh, but she was special, and this boy, he’s special, too,” said the Thiefmaker. “Everything you asked me to look for after I sold you Calo and Galdo. Everything you liked so much about Sabetha! He’s Camorri, but a mongrel. Therin and Vadran blood with neither dominant. He’s got larceny in his heart, sure as the sea’s full of fish piss. And I can even let you have him at a … a discount.”

The Eyeless Priest spent a long moment mulling this. “You’ll pardon me,” he finally said, “if the suggestion that the minuscule black turnip you call a heart is suddenly overflowing with generosity toward me leaves me wanting to arm myself and put my back against a wall.”

The Thiefmaker tried to let a vaguely sincere expression scurry onto his face, where it froze in evident discomfort. His shrug was theatrically casual. “There are, ah, problems with the boy, yes. But the problems are unique to his situation in my care. Were he under yours, I’m sure they would, ahhhh, vanish.”

“Oh. You have a magic boy. Why didn’t you say so?” The priest scratched his forehead beneath the white silk blindfold that covered his eyes. “Magnificent. I’ll plant him in the fucking ground and grow a vine to an enchanted land beyond the clouds.”

“Ahhhhh! I’ve tasted that flavor of sarcasm before, Chains.” The Thiefmaker gave an arthritic mock bow. “That’s the sort you spit out as a bargaining posture. Is it really so hard to say that you’re interested?”

The Eyeless Priest shrugged. “Suppose Calo, Galdo, and Sabetha might be able to use a new playmate, or at least a new punching bag. Suppose I’m willing to spend about three coppers and a bowl of piss for a mystery boy. But you’ll still need to convince me that you deserve the bowl of piss. What’s the boy’s problem?”

“His problem,” said the Thiefmaker, “is that if I can’t sell him to you, I’m going to have to slit his throat and throw him in the bay. And I’m going to have to do it tonight.”

from The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

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Opening Lines: Return to Sender by Craig Johnson

By HCNewton

On May 30, 2025

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc., Opening Lines, Quotations

We all know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover (yet, publishing companies spend big bucks on cover design/art and we all do judge them that way). But, the opening sentence(s)/paragraph(s) are fair game. So, when I stumble on a good opening (or remember one and pull it off the shelves), I like to throw it up here. In these few paragraphs, you’re immediately in Walt’s world, knowing you’re in for some good conversations and a slower pace. I’m starting this one tonight, but took a sneak peak.

from Return to Sender by Craig Johnson:

“Nobody smiles anymore.”

“Excuse me?”

“Have you noticed? Nobody smiles anymore.” Mike adjusted himself in the tiny postal Jeep, setting his back against the passenger-side door as he sat on the floor beside Dog so no one would see him in the September early morning light. “Remember when we were growing up how you were taught that when you walked down the street and you met a stranger, that you smiled or said hello?” He sighed, staring at the plethora of mail and packages in the back as if it were a weight he could no longer bear. “People don’t do that anymore.”

Mike Thurman, my late wife’s cousin, was in a bad mood, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a point.

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The Best of the Best from 12 Years of The Irresponsible Reader (12 YEARS?!?!?!?!?!?!)

By HCNewton

On May 29, 2025

In Miscellany, News/Misc.

The Best of the Best from 12 Years of The Irresponsible Reader
It was 12 years ago today that I first posted something to The Irresponsible Reader. That’s one of those numbers that both doesn’t large enough, and is entirely too large. I can’t believe that I’ve stuck with it that long (I can’t remember if I said this or not here, but I didn’t tell my wife about it for weeks, until I was sure I was going to stick with it for a while)—even more improbable is that you, reader, are here. Whether you’ve been around for a few weeks or some years—my mind is boggled by it. Thanks for that, truly.

Now, after being shocked at people doing something like “The Best 15 Books I’ve Read in the last 10 years”—how could you possibly choose? It was stuck in the back of my head—and as I was trying to come up something to do for today, that idea resurfaced. But there’s no way I could come up with something that definitive. However, in most Januarys, I posted a list or five of my favorite books of the year (I was surprised to see how many years I didn’t do this). And now, for the first time, I’ve combined them all into one MEGA-LIST

So MEGA that I truly don’t have a count. So MEGA I had to put a “Read More” link in it so it didn’t bog down the main page. Also so large, that I’m doing annoying things like overusing all caps and the word “mega.”

It is a very strange list—authors that have no business next to each other, strange genre leaps, and a couple of books I’d largely forgotten about. Still, these are books that I’ve shouted about before and that I really want to draw your attention to—go read some of these!

This is definitely a work in progress. I’m going to refine this list a bit in the future (not changing any selections—although I might add some from the year or two I didn’t post a “best of”/”favorite” list), just refining it—making it look better, polish some of the comments, and that kind of thing. My goal is to have this in a format I like by the 15th Anniversary—assuming anyone’s actually still reading me then.

Amongst Our Weapons

by Ben Aaronovitch

My original post
Any installment in this series is a strong contender for a favorite of the year even before I open it, and this one is a great example of why. While telling a pretty strong story, Aaronovitch expands this world and the reader’s understanding of it, a whole new magic system, and seemingly introduces the next major story arc for the series. We get to see almost every major (and more than a few minor) characters, too. For a fan, this book was a heckuva treat.

False Value

by Ben Aaronovitch

My original post
After wrapping up the overarching plotline from books 1-7, what do you do for book 8? Something completely different. If you were to draw a Venn diagram with circles for Charles Babbage/Ada Lovelace, Artificial General Intelligence, and Wizardry—the overlap is where you’d False Value. Who wants more? The mix of contemporary cutting-edge technologies and Newtonian magic is just fantastic.

Throw in more Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy references than is healthy and you’ve got yourself a winner.

Lies Sleeping

by Ben Aaronovitch

My original post
I’ve read all the comics (at least collected in paperback), listened to all the audiobooks, read the books at least once . . . I’m a Rivers of London/Peter Grant fan. Period. Which means two things—1. I’m in the bag already for this series and 2. When I say that this is the best of the bunch, I know what I’m talking about. Aaronovitch writes fantastic Urban Fantasy and this is his best yet. The series has been building to this for a while, and I honestly don’t know what to expect next. Great fight/action scenes, some genuine laughs, some solid emotional moments . . . this has it all. Everything you’ve come to expect and more.

Chain-Gang All-Stars

by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

My original post
If there’s a book I’ve recommended more frequently this year, I can’t think of it. I’ve also bought more copies of it to give away than any other. At the core, this is a satire and critique of the American culture–particularly as it relates to sports, mass entertainment, and (most importantly) the carceral system. Pitting convicted felons against each other in gladiatorial fights-to-death, selling merch featuring them, turning them into Reality TV personalities between bouts…Adjei-Brenyah holds up the worst of the US to look at.

It’s a book about death—violent death at the hands of violent people who only hope to go on so they can kill again—However, in a serious way the book is really about life. It’s a celebration of life, a call to protect it, a call to see it for what it is. It’s a reminder that “where life is precious, life is precious.” It’s impossible to read this without being moved–perhaps to action. But it’s also a visceral and exciting read that can entertain you without forcing you to think deeply about what it wants you to.

Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American

by Wajahat Ali

My original post
I’m just going to remix some of what I said originally, this book was a great mix of memoir, social commentary, and satire—with a little sprinkling of a more general humor thrown in. The way he shifted between the genres was fairly seamless and quite effective—his own story (and that of his parents) were good illustrations of the societal ills he wanted to point to. Ali’s story is the kind that Americans love to tell and hear about success—even if his telling points to many of the flaws in our society. Through grit, determination, perseverance, and endurance, Ali pushes through all sorts of cultural, societal, legal, medical, and circumstantial challenges to arrive where he is. Because he believes in what we can be as a people, based on our (incredibly inconsistently applied and demonstrated) ideals and aspirations. It’s the kind of story we need to see, hear, and read more of.

Amari and the Night Brothers

by B. B. Alston

My original post
I’m a tiny bit worried that recency bias got this one on the list. But, I’m not going to lose sleep over it.

This is a delightful story about a young girl from the “wrong” part of Atlanta being recruited by her missing/presumed dead brother into a Hogwarts/MIB mashup, overcoming odds, making friends, saving the day by doing all the sorts of things that young teen protagonists have to do (with a little support from the grown-ups who are supposed to be stopping her), but mostly through grit. The book is written with a sense of joy and hope, while never losing sight of what Amari has to overcome in terms of her own circumstances as well as the specific villainy.

Also, and I can’t stress this enough, there’s a weredragon. What more do you need?

Cover Reveal: Banners of Wrath by Michael Michel

By HCNewton

On May 29, 2025

In Dreams of Dust and Steel, Fantasy

I’m very pleased today to welcome the Cover Reveal for the third entry in Michael Michel’s Dreams of Dust and Steel— series: Banners of Wrath to this patch o’ cyberspace this morning! It’ll be the third book in an expected five-book series and will be on sale in January 2026. Which is too far away for my taste, but it’ll be worth the wait (based on the quality of the first two in the series). Before the main event, let’s learn a little bit about the book and author, shall we? It’ll just take a moment, and then we can all take a peak at the cover.

About the Book

This is where I’d normally give a blurb for the book, and I don’t have one for this. So let’s set the stage with this description of the first book, The Price of Power:

Loss. Redemption. Grief. And the dangers of belief.

Prince Barodane could not hold back the darkness. Not even in himself. He laid an innocent city in its grave and then died a hero.

In his absence, war whispers across the land.

Power-hungry Highborn dispatch spies and assassins to the shadows as they maneuver for the throne, while an even greater threat rises in the South. Monsters and cultists flock to the banners of a mad prophet determined to control reality…and then shatter it.

Destiny stalks three to the brink of oblivion.

A dead prince that isn’t actually dead. Barodane buried his shameful past in a stupor of drugs, drink, and crime, and now, he’d rather watch the world fall apart than wear a crown again.

An orphan with hero’s blood who is forced to make a harrowing choice: betray her country or sacrifice her first love.

And a powerful seer who has no choice at all–her grandson must die.

If any of them fails to pay the price…

The cost will be the world’s complete annihilation.

Let that simmer for 1,000+ pages. While it simmers throw in some intrigue, rebellion, murder, scheming, some tragic deaths, some less-than-tragic deaths, a lot of bravery and acts of courage, and more “What the–?!?” moments than you’d expect. And that’s basically where you’ll be at the beginning of Banners of Wrath.

I have a few choice excerpts to share with you from the book.

“Tyrants oft arrive in velvet slippers, but they always leave in iron-shod boots.”

In the face of death, gratitude filled him. There were worse places to be. Worse people to be with at the end. It wasn’t ideal, but so few things in life were. For as long as he could remember, he’d been trying to force that truth to be different, stepping over a passing moment of joy to hunt the great mythical beast of happiness.

And missing it. Missing it every time.

Regret, he decided, was the greatest curse of man and the cruelest gift of the gods.

and lest you worry that this will be thinking, musing, and political maxims…

Slicing and scraping and the press of bodies. The air so suddenly oppressive with cloying heat and bitter breath. Axes rising scarlet then snapping down. She caught a handle on her weapon—hacked off the fingers holding it. Elbowed another man in the teeth. Split another Scoth’s nose with her hatchet blade, his eyes crossing to center on what killed him as sundered brain juice poured from his nostrils.

Anthera yanked her weapon free as an ax swung down at her—overextended. The handle bashed her collarbone and drove her to her knees. Before he could manage a second blow, the man’s face burst in a shower of crimson.

Grunting exertion and the blur of motion. Death devolving into a carousal. So much movement and color, if it were a painting, she’d think it sublime.
But it wasn’t that. It was a machine of threshing sharp edges, and if she stopped for a second, it would chew her to pieces.

About the Author

Michel lives in Bend, Oregon with the love of his life and their two children. When he isn’t obsessively writing, editing, or doing publishing work, he can be found exercising, coaching leaders in the corporate world, and dancing his butt off at amazing festivals like Burning Man. His favorite shows are Dark, The Wire, Arcane, and Norsemen. He loves nature and deep conversations. Few things bring him more joy than a couple of hours playing table tennis.

Website ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Goodreads

and now…

The Cover

cover for Banners of Wrath by Michael Michel
cover wrap for Banners of Wrath by Michael Michel
Don’t those look great? The Cover Art is by Christopher Cant and the design is by Rachel St. Clair. They did a bang-up job if you ask me. Look at the series thus far:
covers for Dreams of Dust and Steel 1-3 by Michael Michel
I can’t wait to see wait Cant and St. Clair have in store for the next two.
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Killer Conversations with Rex Stout and John McAleer: Ridiculously Fun (and insightful, too, if you’re into that sort of thing)

By HCNewton

On May 28, 2025

In Non-Fiction

Killer Conversations

with Rex Stout, John McAleer

DETAILS:
Publisher: Andrew McAleer
Publication Date: March 30, 2025
Format: eBook
Length: 91 pgs.
Read Date: May 21, 2025

How Does the Publisher Describe Killer Conversations?

Rex Stout: Killer Conversations (formerly Royal Decree) is a must read for aficionados of detective fiction. Here Edgar winner John McAleer shares some of his most memorable conversations with Nero Wolfe creator Rex Stout. Featuring an updated Introduction by crime fiction icon William G. Tapply and an Afterword by Grand Master Edward D. Hoch, Killer Conversations is an essential collectors’ volume. These in-person discussions with Stout were compiled to inform and gratify, in Stout’s own words, the millions of Rex Stout fans who would be putting these questions to him as if he were alive answering his mail from Wolfe’s West 35th Street Brownstone. Hailed by CBS as the “American Conan Doyle,” in Killer Conversations Stout discusses, among other things, his writingcraft, the Wolfe mysteries, plotting methods, characterization, the modern detective story, his service aboard President Teddy Roosevelt’s yacht, and offers his appraisal of crime fiction icons such as—Agatha Christie, Georges Simenon, G. K. Chesterton, and more. Killer Conversations will keep mystery fans glued to their chair till midnight chimes the hour. And why not, isn’t that what a Stout mystery does?

(the only problem with this blurb is the bit about midnight chimes the hour…the only way most people would be reading this until midnight is if they started at 11:20p.m.)

Some of My Favorite Responses

This is a great collection of pithy takes on everything outlined above—and Stout was great at them. I have to share some to give you a little taste (and because I just had to share some). I won’t cite all the best ones here—but I’m tempted to.

McAleer: When you were writing for the pulps, between nineteen twelve and nineteen seventeen, did you see yourself as a hack writer or as an aspiring young writer on his way to the top?

Stout: I have never regarded myself as this or that. I have been too busy being myself to bother about regarding myself.

McAleer: I know a writer who, before beginning a book, separates a ream of paper into unequal piles of twenty-three, thirty-seven, forty, twenty-seven, and so forth, because he knows in advance how many pages will go into each chapter. How does that strike you?

Stout: He isn’t a writer, he’s a puzzle fiend. Revolting.

McAleer: You’ve said you’d rather have written Alice in Wonderland than any other book in English written in the last century. Why?

Stout: I could write pages about it and they would have to be well written. While giving glorious entertainment in the form of playful nonsense, it does the best job in the English language of exposing our greatest fallacy, that man is a rational animal. A couple of instances out of many: The Queen’s “Off with their heads” shows that the greatest danger of unlimited power is not that it can act by malice but that it can act on whim. The shifting of places at the Mad Hatter’s tea party shows that if all of the members of a group wish to make a change it is not true that they should change in unison in the same direction. To do this right would take hours.

McAleer: Yet you hold Hammett in high regard?

Stout: Certainly. He was better than Chandler, though to read the critics you wouldn’t think so. In fact, The Glass Key is better than anything Hemingway ever wrote. . .Hemingway never grew out of adolescence. His scope and depth stayed shallow because he had no idea what women are for.

McAleer: Inspector Cramer is called “Fergus” Cramer in Where There’s a Will. Later, in The Silent Speaker, his initials are given as “L. T. C.”. How do you explain this discrepancy?

Stout: No significance. Laziness. I didn’t bother to check whether he already had a first name. Of course all discrepancies in the Nero Wolfe stories are Archie Goodwin’s fault.

So, what did I think about Killer Conversations?

Some of the answers Stout gives are deep. Several are flip. He doesn’t always use more than one word (really, would a little elaboration of killed him?) All are just fun to read.

This is a Lay’s Potato Chip kind of read—I bet you can’t read just on Question and Answer. You have to keep going—you might be able to make yourself stop because of something, but you won’t want to. It’s just too much fun to keep going.

Also? This is clearly going to be re-readable (I almost slipped into a re-read while putting this post together).

Ultimately, the question you want to ask yourself about this book is this: Do I want to learn more about Rex Stout? If the answer is yes, you’re going to have a blast with this. If you don’t—why have you read this far? You might appreciate someone talking about obscure authors and classics of the mystery genre. But you’re probably not going to be that engaged.

Me? I loved it. The two cover life, death, love, reputation, writing, Stout’s characters, his career, a little bit about people in his life, and more. If this book was three times as long—I’d say the same thing.

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WWW Wednesday—May 28, 2025

By HCNewton

On May 28, 2025

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

The end of May looms, and I’m behinder than ever. What a problem–too many good things to read. Here’s what’s going in my eyes and ears this week.

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?

Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:

What are you currently reading?


A Graveyard For Heroes by Michael Michel	The Mercy Chair by M.W. Craven, read by John Banks

Michel has my head spinning with this installment–fantasy readers need to get ready for this release next month (volume 1 is available if you haven’t done it yet). With a little less than 300 pages left to go in this, I’m already salivating over book 3’s release in January (the cover reveal for it will be here tomorrow, btw)

I’ve barely scratched the surface of the Poe audiobook, but already I’m hooked–and picking up on things I missed the first time through. As expected, really. I think this is one I’m going to have to read/listen to at least 5 times to get most of Craven’s moves.

What did you recently finish reading?


Fifth Sparrow Rising by Cindi Hartley	The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch, read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

Hartley’s book is a sweet dose of encouragement–I’ll try to say more soon.

I had forgotten, somehow, almost all of this Rivers of London book after the first couple of chapters. Shame on me. There’s so much to enjoy.

What do you think you’ll read next?


Return to Sender by Craig Johnson	Life Hacks for a Little Alien by Alice Franklin, read by Sally Phillips

I keep letting new releases sit on my shelf while I’m working on other things this year–I’m putting my foot down now and will read the new Longmire book this week. That’s for many reasons–primarily because there are too many people in Real Life that are going to be annoyed if I can’t talk to them about it soon.

I’ve got nothing to say about Life Hacks… really, was browsing and it looked cute.

How are you closing this month?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Animal Companions (who are we kidding? Dogs)

By HCNewton

On May 27, 2025

In News/Misc.

The topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesdays is Animal Companions. I’d started a pretty diverse list, including Hedwig the snowy owl and Beast from the Jane Yellowrock books, but then I started to list dogs—and, as frequent readers know, I quickly got carried away and I had to eliminate any non-canine entry. I had to leave too many off as it was, maybe I’ll do a sequel list one day. And who knows? Maybe I can think of 10 non-dogs worth mentioning, too.

But for now…

Top Ten Animal Companions (read: dogs)
In alphabetical order:

	Chet the Jet from the Chet and Bernie mysteries by Spencer Quinn Chet is half of the duo that makes up Little Investigations–he’s the brawn, while Bernie Little is the brains. And the driver. And he does anything that requires an opposable thumb or talking. Chet? He’s about the action. Chet also handles the books’ narration—his loyalty to and love of Bernie shines forth throughout. Slim-Jims, riding shotgun in Bernie’s series of Porsche convertibles, and Charlie (Bernie’s son) are close. His love of taking down perps comes in a third, but boy, does he relish it. You just can’t not grin while reading Chet’s narration. image taken from the cover of Heart of Barkness and the Tor/Forge blog post Behind the Scenes: The Making of the Heart of Barkness Cover!
	Dog from the Walt Longmire series by Craig Johnson The rather unimaginatively named Dog is Walt Longmire’s steadfast companion. He’s a mix of several breeds—and possibly a small bear. He’s there when Walt (or someone else) needs him. Dog can intimidate a suspect—or someone antagonistic to Walt—very easily. Even more than the rather intimidating Henry Standing Bear. Dog’s also good at comforting and giving affection to humans, too. Like all good dogs. While no one on this list is going to pass up any form of treat—Dog’s stomach seems to be made of sterner stuff than most. image taken from a recent Facebook post by Johnson, the dog is his old dog, Max, the inspiration for Dog. He apparently plays a big role in the new Walt Longmire book that releases today!
	Edgar from the Washington Poe series by M.W. Craven Edgar is Washington Poe’s Springer Spaniel, who serves as comic relief and as an alarm system for Poe. He probably wouldn’t be much of a defender, if it came down to it (no offense, buddy), but he’s alert for anyone approaching Poe’s rather remote croft. Not that Poe needs a defender, he just needs the alert to get ready for trouble. Edgar doesn’t get enough screen time, but he lights up the page when he does. image taken from The English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association's website.
	Chet the Jet from the Scott and Maggie books by Robert Crais Maggie served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan before an IED in Afghanistan killed her handler. This left Maggie with severe PTSD and a second chance at work with the LAPD. It didn’t seem to be going too well for her until she was assigned a partner who was also suffering PTSD after the death of his partner. The two understood each other and helped each other start to recover. Since then, the pair has made a great team for the LAPD—and even helped out Elvis Cole once. Crais has his hands full with Cole and Pike, but I’d jump on a new Scott and Maggie book so fast that it’d make my head spin. image taken from the website for Project Paws Alive (a group you might considering donating to)
	Mouse from The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher Mouse is a good dog. Everybody says so. He’s Harry Dresden’s friend, and he’s the protector of Harry’s daughter, Maggie. He’s a Temple Dog, a Foo dog—who pretty much chose to be with Dresden and trained himself by watching Harry. He’s without doubt the most powerful dog (physically, mentally, and magically) on this list—he will also melt your heart (all of them will, though). If I were ranking these in order of preference, he’d probably be at the top of the list (by a nose). Since his first appearance in Blood Rites, his presence in the series grows and grows (as does audience appreciation for him)—he’s even handled the narration for a couple of short stories. image taken from Tyler Walpole's page—a print that will soon be hanging on my wall.
	Nobby from In the Best Families by Rex Stout I can’t say much about Nobby. I don’t care that the book was published 75 years ago—I’m not going to spoil anything. I can say that he belonged to Mrs. Barry Rackham, after having been given to her by her cousin, Calvin Leeds, who raises and trains them. I can also say that he’s pivotal to the plot. image taken from the Doberman Pinscher Club of America's website
	Oberon from the Iron Druid Chronicles, Ink & Sigil series, and Oberon’s Meaty Mysteries Oberon is the Irish Wolfhound companion of The Iron Druid (aka Siodhachan O Suileabhain, Atticus O’Sullivan, Connor Molloy). He’s a lover of sausage (and other meat products), a lover of bathtime (especially if it involves stories being told to him), and a fierce fighter. He’s solved some murder mysteries, met gods and goddesses, along with all sorts of supernatural animals. He also knows English—and can communicate telepathically in it to Atticus and anyone else Atticus links him to. With the assistance of Atticus, he’s written “The Book of Five Meats” (a cookbook) and “The Dead Flea Scrolls” (the foundational text of Poochism, a religion for dogs). Oberon, unlike all of these critters, loves popular culture, movies, and whatnot. He’s funny (even when unintentional) and has a huge heart. There might be times when you’re not so sure how interested you are in his human companions and friends in the books he appears in—but you’ll stick with them for Oberon. I really wish I’d given myself more time to write this post; Oberon deserves a few more paragraphs. image taken from Kevin Hearne's blog post Oberon's Holiday Special
	Pearl from the Spenser books by Robert B. Parker (and Ace Atkins and Mike Lupica) Named and modeled after Parker’s own German Shorthaired Pointer, Pearl came into the series rather late, but quickly became an ever-present fixture (until her death, and replacement with another German Shorthaired Pointer named Pearl, and then another). Spenser and Susan shared custody of the dog. Pearl has rarely had an impact on the plot of a novel (although she did contribute in Pastime pretty significantly). Largely, she functions as something for Susan and Spenser to talk about rather than their relationship or Spenser’s case—but she still brightens up any scene she’s in. image taken from the an author photo on the ofifical Robert B. Parker website
	Rose from the Charlie & Rose Investigate series by Jo Perry Rose is a very different kind of character than the rest of the dogs on this list in several ways—most definitively in that she’s dead. After a hard life of neglect and abuse, Rose has become a ghostly companion to another ghost. Charlie spends his life looking into murders and other crimes associated with people who were important to him while he was living (including his own murder), and Rose silently accompanies him. At the same time, Rose both communicates in a way that dog owners will appreciate and will take action on her own to push the investigation forward/direct Charlie. It’s hard to explain. Nevertheless, when I think of notable dog characters, there’s no way that Rose doesn’t leap to mind. image taken from a cover of Dead is Better
	Tara from the Andy Carpenter series and Lessons from Tara by David Rosenfelt In real life, Tara was the dog that changed Rosenfelt’s life and inspired him and his wife to begin their shelter for elderly dogs. In fiction, Tara is Andy Carpenter’s dog and constant companion—the one he turns to for advice and to talk through his cases with. Granted, she doesn’t give him good (or any) feedback, but she can always be trusted to listen to him on their walks. She also inspired Andy to open his dog rescue. image taken from the cover of Lessons from Tara by David Rosenfelt.

MUSIC MONDAY: “Don’t Panic” by Clerics of Ohm

By HCNewton

On May 26, 2025

In News/Misc.

The Irresponsible Reader's Music Monday logo

Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.

Don't Panic

Kaua’i Storm by Tori Eldridge: A Thriller + So Much More

By HCNewton

On May 26, 2025

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

Kaua’i Storm

by Tori Eldridge

DETAILS:
Series: Ranger Makalani Pahukula Mystery, #1
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication Date: May 20, 2025
Format: eARC
Length: 445 pg.
Read Date: May 9-13, 2025

What’s Kaua’i Storm About?

Makalani Pahukula, who has been serving Crater Lake in Oregon as a Park Ranger for years, comes home to Kaua‘i for the first time in even longer for the celebration of her grandmother’s eightieth birthday—which is going to be a family reunion/community gathering on a pretty grand scale.

When Makalani touches down, it’s not quite the joyous occasion she’d anticipated. Yes, her parents and grandmother are delighted to see her—as is an old friend (I’m going to forget to mention this later, but we needed more of her). But two of Makalani’s cousins are missing—one is in high school and the other is a former college football star.

Their disappearances are being written off as some foolish lark—although it gets the family squabbling—each set of parents blaming the other and lashing out. Makalani doesn’t think either explanation fits the cousins she remembers (while making allowances for people changing) and she wonders why the police haven’t been involved.* After a dead body is found in the nearby forest, Makalani starts to meddle and takes it upon herself to find her cousins—over the objections of just about everyone.

* And once the police eventually do get involved, you start to understand the families’ decision not to involve them, and they certainly make things worse.

A Question of Genre

First—I’m not sure that’s the best heading for this section, but it’s close enough. Secondly—I really don’t care about this when it comes to what I think about the book, but this kept running through the back of my mind.

This is billed as a mystery, and it kind of is one—I think more of a thriller than a mystery, but we’re getting into the weeds there. And Eldridge has a reputation as a thriller writer (thrillers that I greatly appreciate, I should add).

But her thrillers also involve a good layer of something else—descriptions of a minority culture (in the U.S.), trauma, business/family culture (in other nations), and so on. She pulls that off here, too. In more than one way.

We also get a fair amount of multi-generational family drama, a little social commentary, some local history, and more.

So much so that the thriller/mystery aspect of the book takes a back-seat to everything else for significant lengths of time. It doesn’t hurt the novel as a whole—in fact, it makes it richer. There are family members and friends that I can hand this to that I can’t hand a lot of the mysteries/thrillers that I read (and I wonder if a couple of the thriller-junkies in my life would put up with this).

Culture and Language

Speaking of that kind of thing…

I am as haole as you can get—so much so that I can’t pronounce it correctly or even consistently, despite having heard it in various formats for years. So, a lot of this book took work for me to understand—work I enjoyed and was glad to do, mind you. But there was effort.

Eldridge littered this book with ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i words and phrases and Pidgin English like crazy. All—or close enough to round up—can be understood in context with a little effort. But for those who want to be sure of their understanding, there’s a great glossary in the back—including words and phrases—both Pidgin English and ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i—as well as phrases, geographical references, historical and mythological figures. I didn’t consult it (foolishly?) until I was done—that’s just how I roll. It confirmed a lot for me and fleshed some things out, too. I do recommend consulting it in the moment.

I knew about, and chose to ignore, the Glossary. Until I finished, I didn’t realize Eldridge also gave us a handy dramatis personae, which would’ve been a great aid in keeping track of the relationships between this large cast. Do you need to read/consult it? No. But I certainly wouldn’t discourage it.

But even beyond the supplemental material, this book is about as close as you can get to a documentary on contemporary Kaua‘i as you can get while keeping this a work of fiction. There’s a lot about homesteading—and the ethnic makeups required for it (past and present), those who live off the grid in public lands, and…I’m not going to be able to provide an exhaustive list, so I’m going to just stop.

I’ll summarize by saying that this is a rich and informative look at the non-touristy part of Hawai‘i (or at least one island’s version of it). Added to the tiered cake of characters and missing-person plot, this icing is just great.

So, what did I think about Kaua’i Storm?

This is going up late—I realize that, and apologize to Eldridge and Thomas & Mercer for that—but I had a hard time resisting talking about all that this novel attempts (mostly successfully) to accomplish.

It’s a very crowded book, I have to say, Eldridge puts a lot into these 445 pages. There’s a storyline involving an overly-zealous student of culture that generally felt out of place, and maybe was. It couldn’t be told at another time, as much as I wondered if it could’ve been used in a sequel instead of this book, because it seemed of tertiary importance and interest compared to everything else going on. It was also entertaining and satisfying—so I’m glad she included it.

Still, it reads like a thriller of 250-300 pages, which is a neat trick.

I didn’t enjoy this as much as a Lily Wong book (it shouldn’t feel like one, and doesn’t), and I enjoyed it in different ways than her previous work (as I should’ve). Having established this world and the characters—it’d be very easy for Eldridge to lighten up on the background material in the future, and keep the focus on the plot and characters while exploring the world (and keeping up the commentary)—making it a leaner and more focused thriller/mystery. I hope that’s where Eldridge takes it—but I won’t complain too much if she doesn’t.

How did I make it this far without talking about Makalani? This is her book more than anything. We’ve all read/watched versions of her story—the kid who couldn’t wait to leave home who comes back discovering how much she missed it, how much she’s changed—and how everyone she left behind remembers her. This version of this template is very successful. She reconnects with her past, her heritage, her family—and she sees how who she is today comes from all of that. Plus, she’s a pretty kick-ass ranger. It’s going to be fun to watch her at work. She’s tough, resourceful, and determined—but not in your typical action-hero way, more like the kind of person you could meet in real life. Likely in the line of duty as a ranger. Her connection with the land—in Hawai‘i or Oregon—and sense of duty is going to get a lot of readers to respond positively to her.

This is a solid thriller, but it’s so much more. And it’ll definitely leave you hungry for a sequel. I strongly recommend it.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley in exchange for this post which contains my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.

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.
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