Author: HCNewton Page 580 of 625

Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh

By

On May 9, 2014

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

Shovel ReadyShovel Ready

by Adam Sternbergh

Hardcover, 256 pg
Crown, 2014
Read: May 1 – 3, 2014

It’s the near future, NYC has been rendered nearly uninhabitable by terrorist attacks and most of those that are still there aren’t really in NYC — they’re permanently jacked in to a virtual reality, kept alive by IV feeding bags. (think of a dystopian vision of Ready Player One‘s OASIS)

One of the few not hooked to the VR world is Mr. Spademan, a hitman. He doesn’t care who, he doesn’t care why, as long as the money’s right and he’s given a name, he’ll take the job. Once he’s taken the job, you might as well consider it done, he never fails, he never quits.

Well, until this job. Otherwise, it really wouldn’t be much of a story now, would it? Something happens that keeps Spademan from doing what he does — and the aftermath is pretty deadly. Spademan, his friends/allies, and those around them will be fighting for their lives before long as they plunge into a world of the ultra-rich, ultra-pampered and pseudo-religious.

The voice that Sternbergh employs is strong — you want to hear this guy tell his story. It’s a little heavy-handed from time to time — particularly at the beginning. But there’s a purpose for it, I think — at first I thought it was just a product of this being his first novel, but that’s condescending, and blind. Sternbergh knew exactly what he was doing — persevere through the heavy-handedness and you’ll understand why it was there.

A great mix of noir, SF, and suspense — with a little extra thrown in. It’d be easy to just chalk up this book to a fun combination of style, setting, and premise. But it’d be a mistake, there’s real heart here. Heart, genuine suspense, and a good story (yeah, and style, setting, and premise).

—–

3.5 Stars

Dawn’s Early Light by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

By

On May 2, 2014

In Fiction, Steampunk

Dawn's Early Light (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, #3)Dawn’s Early Light

by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
Series: Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, #3

Mass-Market Paperback, 374 pg.
Ace, 2014

Read: April 23 – May 1

Agents Braun and Books are back in action — this time in the U.S. of A. Teamed up with a pair of agents from the Office of the Supernatural and the Metaphysical, they set out to investigate a rash of missing ships (of both the air and sea varieties) along the Eastern Seaboard. While full enough of the requisite peril and adventure, this particular investigation is wrapped up quickly — but in doing so, the four agents uncover a plot that’s far more hazardous to both nations. The Pinkertons, the House of Usher, the British Royal Family, and a couple of notable scientists/inventors from the era soon are involved in twist-filled machination to wreak havoc.

This leads the agents chasing their suspects across the continent — with stops in Detroit, Flagstaff, and San Francisco. As fun as it is to see Ballantine and Morris show us around a Steampunk Victorian England, a tour of the States is a nice change (also, nice to see a Steampunk U. S. not filled with Priest’s Rotters). Books latest invention (not to mention the toys that the team at the Ministry give them) are perfect — just the kind of things secret agents need (and could even use today), “science”-y in a suspended disbelief manner, and outlandish enough to have to be fictional.

There are two storylines that only relate to the main plot at the end of the book — one involving the House of Usher attempting to kidnap a Ministry agent, and one involving the assassin Sophia del Morte and the Prince of Wales. I could’ve easily taken another fifty pages or more with both of these. Hope to see all these characters again soon. Speaking of characters to see again soon — the scientists/inventors I mentioned earlier? Yeah, we need more of them.

Of course, the Ministry’s missions (even those not actually condoned by the Ministry) are only part of what makes these books page turners. There’s the whole Will They or Won’t They thing with Books and Braun — scratch that. There’s never been a Won’t They, just a When Will They? That’s been obvious from the get-go, honestly. It’s merely a question of what obstacles will be in the way. This time, the obstacles are the American agents — clearly set-up to be stumbling blocks on their road to romance, the fetching librarian and the gun-slinger each with enough common ground and personality to match our heroes. It was a little too heavy-handed for me, and as much as I liked the Americans as characters, I really disliked them in their role as hindrances. Sure, our authors make those storylines pay off nicely — but I didn’t enjoy the ride.

Nothing against the book, it was a fun read with a couple of characters that I enjoy spending time with, but it wasn’t as good (on the whole) as the previous two (see above paragraph) — but the last two chapters, as they revealed exactly what stakes are involved, earned it the extra half star. A fun read, but mostly one that moved pieces into place for the next book or so while tying up a couple of loose ends from the previous books. I’m really looking forward to what’s next. It’ll be great.

—–

3.5 Stars

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

By

On April 29, 2014

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Oy vey. After this, I’m forty-five books away from being caught up. 45.

—–

Outlander (Outlander, #1)Outlander

by Diana Gabaldon

Mass-Market Paperback, 870 pg.
Dell Publishing Company, 2005
Read: March 7 – 19, 2014

So when the announcement was made that this was going to be a TV series, the descriptions offered sounded intriguing — a mix of historical fiction and time travel. I figured the series was at least worth a look. I mean with that many sequels, it had to have something going for it. 50,000,000 Elvis fans can’t be wrong, you know?

Well, they’re probably not wrong, but they sure aren’t talking for me. What an exercise in futility. I literally knew nothing more about the key plot point on page 870 than I did on page 100. While I don’t demand to understand everything fully (even if there weren’t a half-dozen sequels to explain things), but I want to learn something, not just watch hundreds of pages of plot go by to get us nowhere.

So, in the days after the end WWII, an English nurse and her husband — both back from the War and reunited — go off on a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands. While her husband, the historian, is off talking about local history, Claire goes off for stroll and (skipping details here) finds herself face-to-face with her husband’s great-great-something-grandfather. Who turns out to be not-a-nice-man. So Claire ends up running away from this British officer with a group of Scots. Eventually, she finds herself married to one of them, falling in love with her second husband and having loads of sex. And there’s some running from the Brits, dealing with local politics, merging 18th century medicine with 20th century medicine, and getting some sort of religious instruction.

Outlander is big, sweeping, well-written, maddeningly dependent on coincidence, with one-dimensional villains and wayyyyy too much sexy-time — and, worst of all, it’s ultimately pointless. There is literally no point to this all. getting to the expected point is really what kept me going for the last 600+ pages. There are people who will love this (obviously, just do a quick Google search), but I won’t be joining that number.

—–

2 Stars

In Defense of the Descent by Daniel R. Hyde

By

On April 27, 2014

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

This is the first book of a series edited by Daniel Hyde and Mark Jones called, “Explorations in Reformed Confessional Theology.” Although I haven’t read it, I’ve heard an interview with the author of the second book in the series. Based on that interview and this book, the only thing I can say is, “Where’s the rest of the series?”

—–

In Defense Of The Descent (Explorations In Reformed Confessional Theology)In Defense Of The Descent

by Daniel R Hyde

Paperback, 88 pg.
Reformation Heritage Books, 2010
Read: April 27, 2014

Wow. Hyde crammed a lot of history and theology (and history of theology) into these 74 pages! This book could’ve easily been another 50 pages longer if he’d taken the time to fully flesh out some of these points. But the book isn’t lacking because he didn’t do that — not at all. It’s just concentrated, a double shot of espresso instead of the grande drip it could have been.

We may like to think our generation (or so) is the first to be enlightened enough to have qualms with the clause in The Apostle’s Creed, “He descended into Hell,” but that’s just not the case. It’s a centuries-old controversy, and each time the orthodox response has been, “keep the descent,” and Hyde sees no reason to change that.

Hyde examines 6* possible interpretations of the phrase — from the ridiculous (and heretical) to the orthodox. While his critiques of the more lacking views are helpful, he’s at his strongest when he’s giving a positive presentation. When Hyde explains the Reformed and Presbyterian view of the descent clause — first as expressed by the Westminster Larger Catechism (Q. 50), and then as expressed by the Heidelberg (Q. 44). At this point Hyde interacts with a variety of Reformed theologians and catechisms to fully explain the perspective — all very helpful.

Other highlights are his careful examinations of Ephesians 4:7-10 and 1 Peter 3:18-19 (used to support some explanations of the clause) and the four benefits to retaining the clause — a very pastoral section.

It’s short, sweet, to the point. For the believer who feels strange every time they confess “He descended into hell,” Hyde helps you understand just what you’re saying, so next time that clause comes up you can boldly and confidently confess that it is just what you believe.

—–

* 5, really. Two of them are just flip-sides of the same explanation.

—–

4 Stars

Tuesday Miscellany — 4/22/14

By

On April 22, 2014

In Books, News/Misc.

Remember me? Sorry this page hasn’t been updated in forever, I’m really frustrated that things have gotten so hectic (beyond hectic) that I haven’t been able to write practically anything. It’s worse than that, actually, I’m down to about a novel a week for the last month and a half or so. Still no time to write anything, but I figure at least I can dump a bunch of miscellany links and whatnot.

    I know I’m forgetting a few, but here are the new releases I’m most excited about/interested in since I last posted:

  • The Dragon Business by Kevin J. Anderson — looks like fun
  • Attack The Geek: A Ree Reyes Side-Quest by Michael R. Underwood — One of the most fun Urban Fantasy series around gets a new entry. Yah-hoo!
  • The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham — The first in a hopefully very long Veronica Mars series. Not as good as I hoped, but fun enough to keep me wanting more. I’ll try to write more soon.
  • Heaven’s Queen by Rachel Bach — The Paradox series ends here. Can’t wait.
  • Dawn’s Early Light by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris — The third Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novel. Should be fun.

Saturday Miscellany — 3/29/14

By

On March 29, 2014

In Books, Fantasy, News/Misc.

No, I haven’t abandoned blog. Things are a little busy at Irresponsible HQ, I’m juggling a little more than usual lately, and sadly, the ball that keeps getting dropped is this one. I’m working on it. I do have a handful of things I wanted to post here, but no time. But this link, this story? Had to take a moment and do my part to boost the signal. (not that my bit is needed or will be noticed)

Monday Miscellany – 3/17/14

By

On March 17, 2014

In Books, News/Misc.

The end of last week rolled away from me before I could assemble this for Saturday. So, rather than dusting something off, I figured I’d throw up the odds ‘n ends from last week about books and reading that caught. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

    There Was One Release Last Week that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:

  • Night Broken by Patricia Briggs — a new Mercy Thompson! Know nothing about it, but that it’s sitting on my desk waiting to be taken on a road trip with me this week.

Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich

By

On March 12, 2014

In Authors, Fiction, Janet Evanovich, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Stephanie Plum

What?! A second post? Yeah, trying to make up for yesterday.

—–

Notorious NineteenNotorious Nineteen

by Janet Evanovich
Series: Stephanie Plum, #19


Mass Market Paperback, 302 pg.
Bantam, 2013
Read: Dec. 24 – 25, 2013

When this one gets serious and creepifying…it gets really serious and creepy. Even better, Evanovich restrains the goofiness. Leaving this a moderately suspenseful, witty and charming book. Even Grandma — who has a significant role here — isn’t as cartoonish as she often is.

There are two major cases that Stephanie has to deal with — the Ranger case is pretty fun, if a little lean. The major case, dealing with the missing embezzler, is more intricate than usual. I don’t know that I was convinced by Stephanie’s methods to solving it, but I applaud the complexity of the case and hope that Evanovich is willing to stretch like that again.

Not much else to say at this point — it’s a Stephanie Plum book, and a pretty good one. That’s pretty much all that a Plum-head (Plumb-er?) should need.

—–

3 Stars

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

By

On March 12, 2014

In Authors, Fiction, Pierce Brown, Red Rising, Science Fiction

Red Rising (Red Rising Trilogy, #1)Red Rising

by Pierce Brown
Series: Red Rising, #1

Hardcover, 382 pg.
Del Rey, 2014
Read: Feb 26 – Mar 6, 2014

I’m having a hard time deciding what to say about this one. To really talk about it would require me spoiling every plot point that I loved (most of which I didn’t see coming). So I won’t. I’ll just say that I really, really dug this book.

I don’t want to just compare this to The Hunger Games, as much as reviews/blurbs/etc. make a guy want to. There are some surface-level similarities, yeah. And you could make the case (as I did when just starting the book) that Brown’s Mars was just the place for people who thought Collins’ Panem was a bit easy. In fact several parts of this feel like >The Hunger Games dialed up to 11. The working/living conditions for Darrow and his family are more severe, what Darrow has done to him to prepare him for what’s to come makes what Cinna et al. do to Katniss look like child dress-up, Darrow plays a deadly game on a larger scale than Katniss, and so on. But Darrow’s motivation is different than Katniss’ — she’s trying to survive, he’s trying to do far more (and much of the time, survival’s pretty low on his list) — the stakes he’s playing for are greater, and he will go to lengths that Ms. Everdeen doesn’t have to.

There are a few moments when things seem too slow, or meandering, or even redundant — but each time, I was wrong, and Brown made it all pay off. Visceral was the word that kept coming back to me as I read the book. I had almost visceral reactions to some of the horrors depicted, I could feel the grime and muck (literal and metaphorical) that Darrow crawled around in.

This shows every indication of leading to something epic in the next volume, leaving Mars behind and moving to other planets and/or the space between. As well as seeing if Darrow can retain his self and purpose — and how far will he be willing to go to carry it out.

There is a classic SF reference in Part IV that made me giggle with delight (in the middle of a pretty grim part of a fairly grim book, so I appreciated the placement). I won’t spoil it, but Pierce Brown has bought a lot of loyalty from me with two simple words.

Go grab this one.

—–

5 Stars

Dusted Off: Blue Diablo

By

On March 10, 2014

In Fiction

Blue Diablo (Corine Solomon, #1)Blue Diablo

by Ann Aguirre
Mass-Market Paperback, 336 pg.
Roc, 2009
Read: June 3-5, 2012

Ann Aguirre starts the 4th (or so) chapter by quoting the show, Coupling, which I’m pretty sure means I have to buy every book she’s written/will write. Doesn’t hurt that her heroine, Corine Solomon, has the same power as Anton Strout‘s Simon Canderous–psychometry (just a grittier version than Simon’s).

The book starts off in a nice, homey setting–but it’s clear that Corine has a dark backstory. It’s not too long before we meet a shadowy guy from her past and we’re off and running through a murky mix of various types of magic/magic-users, human trafficking, drugs, and other types of depravity. The plot takes some darker turns than I’d expected (and one or two pretty sillier ones). Corine meets plenty of new people along the way–most of whom are the kind of characters you grow to like and/or are interesting enough that you want to spend more time with.

Overall, a strong start to what should prove to be a very satisfying series.

I really could live without the Guy A or Guy B or Guy Neither storyline (but if push comes to shove, consider me Team Jesse), I did appreciate what Aguirre did with it this time–just not looking forward to more of it).

—–

3 Stars

Page 580 of 625

Previous

Next

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén