Category: The Friday 56 Page 10 of 15

The Friday 56 for 10/22/21: The Conjuring of Zoth-Avarex: The Self-Proclaimed Greatest Dragon in the Multiverse by K.R.R. Lockhaven

On October 22, 2021

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 Conjuring of Zoth-Avarex

The Conjuring of Zoth-Avarex: The Self-Proclaimed Greatest Dragon in the Multiverse by K.R.R. Lockhaven

Marian moved the group along. “She’s a talker,” she whispered to them as they snuck away.

At the next cubicle over, they found a man in his late thirties peeking over the wall.

“This is Dan,” Marian said.

“You guys haven’t seen a green-headed duck around here, have you?” Dan’s eyes darted around the room.

“No.”

“Dan is afraid that a duck is somewhere out there watching him.” Marian made the statement as if it was an everyday, normal thing.

The Friday 56 for 10/15/21: Tear It Down by Nick Petrie

By HCNewton

On October 15, 2021

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 56/56% of:
Tear it Down

Tear It Down by Nick Petrie

She shook her head. “You’d think after the first time I got shot at, or my hotel got shelled, or I saw the aftermath of a drone attack or market bombing, I’d never sign up again. When actually, that’s the reason I kept going back.”

Peter knew exactly what she meant.

The sun never shone so brightly as when somebody was trying to kill you.

The Friday 56 for 10/1/21: Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson

By HCNewton

On October 1, 2021

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

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

RULES:
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:

Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson

I pounded again.

After a moment, I heard footsteps, and the door was snatched open by the same skinny guy I’d seen enter. He no longer wore the jacket with his name on it, but I took a leap of faith. “Jimmy Lane?”

He stared at me, and I had time to study the face on his oversize head, acne scarred with a withered Fu Manchu and limp dark hair that slithered over his shoulders. Oddly, his body parts were all oversize—not only his head but also his hands and feet—almost as if he’d been assembled from parts that didn’t quite match. He had the look of somebody who had taken a lot of questionable chances in life and had paid for every single one of them in spades.

I hadn’t thought it was a particularly difficult question but asked again, this time mixing it up in an attempt to jog something loose. “Lane, Jimmy Lane?”

The Friday 56 for 9/17/21: Headphones and Heartaches by Wesley Parker

By HCNewton

On September 17, 2021

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:
Headphones and Heartaches

Headphones and Heartaches by Wesley Parker

We share a long hug, and I apologize for being so moody lately.

“You’re a teenager. I’d have you committed if you weren’t.” She pecks me on the forehead and all is well in our house again. “I was thinking, you start school and your new job on Tuesday, so what would you say about getting a hotel and spending the weekend in New York City?”

“Are you serious?”

She frowns. “No, I enjoy getting your hopes up and crushing them. Of course I’m serious.”

The Friday 56 for 9/10/21: Suburban Dicks by Fabian Nicieza

By HCNewton

On September 10, 2021

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:
Suburban Dicks

Suburban Dicks by Fabian Nicieza

Since he could barely afford water now, much less weed, Kenny hadn’t spoken with Terry in two years. He parked on West State Street in front of a few houses that almost looked habitable. He walked through the park toward the statue of John Roebling, where they’d agreed to meet.

Terry strolled toward him. He walked with a limp now and had gained at least fifty pounds. The gold front teeth were also new and they kicked up a spark of sun. “The famous Kenneth Lee, in the hood,” he said with a smile. They shook hands. “How’s your brother?”

“Married with a kid. Selling life insurance. We don’t talk much. How the hell have you stayed out of jail?” Kenny asked.

“Always run faster, man.”

“With the limp?”

“Ah, got shot in the ankle,” said Terry. “Never fixed up right. Still run faster than any piece of bacon in this slaughterhouse.”

Kenny wasn’t sure if it was the greatest use of slang he’d ever heard or the worst.

The Friday 56 for 9/3/21: The Run-Out Groove by Andrew Cartmel

By HCNewton

On September 3, 2021

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 Run-Out Groove

The Run-Out Groove by Andrew Cartmel

“…for all these reasons, singles are ten times as hard to find as LPs. And when the record is rare to start with, as in the case of Valerian…”

“It’s almost impossible to find.”

“Yes.” Nevada rolled over, leaning on her elbow and looking at me. “And yet,” she said. “And yet I don’t sense any hopelessness in your voice.”

“Don’t you?”

“Not even any fashionable cynicism.”

“Oh dear.”

“In fact what I sense, when you expound at such great length on just how fucking impossible it is to find this record of Valerian’s, is quiet confidence.”

I smiled in the darkness. She could see right through me. “That’s because | think I know someone who’s got a copy,” I said.

The Friday 56 for 8/27/21: Fools Gold by Ian Patrick

By HCNewton

On August 27, 2021

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 56% of:
Fools Gold

Fools Gold by Ian Patrick

Then it comes, a torchlight being shone into the front of our car. I start sitting up showing my hands as the door gets opened.

“What the fuck are you doing on my drive?” The voice asks from behind the phone torch that’s shone in my face. I keep my hands where he can see them.

From his shadow he’s a big lump and he must have company.

“We were just leaving.” I say as he lowers the torch. My eyes adjust, I smile at him.

“Give me the car keys or I’ll introduce you to my favourite hammer.” As if to emphasise the point he shows the claw hammer he’s brandishing in his shovel sized hand.

“You’re the boss, mate, now here’s the keys and lets not get stupid.”I move to get the keys and then I hear Nines.

“Why don’t you shift your fucking heap of shit motor mate and let us leave?” Nines’ pistol is aimed at the guy who hadn’t noticed him move due to his concentration on me.

The Friday 56 for 8/20/21: In Ten Years by Ian Shane

By HCNewton

On August 20, 2021

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:
In Ten Years

In Ten Years by Ian Shane

“You turn thirty-nine today.”

“Yeah, I know. It says so on the cake.”

“You turn forty next year.”

“I can also do first-grade math, Max. Is there a point anywhere in our future?”

“Don’t you think it’s time to find a nice girl?”

“I already have one mother, Max. I have no need for a second.”

“Sarah wants a girl to talk to when we get together.”

“I’ve brought girls.”

“None of them stick around long enough for Sarah to get attached to. Besides, you haven’t even had one of those disposable dates in a while.”

The Friday 56 for 8/13/21: The Dead House by Harry Bingham

By HCNewton

On August 13, 2021

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 56% of:
The Dead House

The Dead House by Harry Bingham

The chamber we’re in isn’t vast by the standards of vast. It’s perhaps twice the length, height and width of that common room at Penwyllt, but it feels cathedral-like to me. Lofty and aerial.

I sit on a hunk of rock and wait for Lloyd (grinning) and Burnett (muttering) to appear. We congratulate each other. Learn to keep our torch beams angled slightly away from each other’s eyes, so we can see each other without dazzling ourselves.

Water pools in places on the floor, but is nowhere more than a few inches deep. Somewhere there’s a drip of water against rock. A faint draught.

Burnett sits next to me, mixing blasphemy and old-fashioned cursing in a way that is both dully conventional but also pleasingly heartfelt and direct.

Lloyd bounces round like a puppy. Splashes to the end of the chamber. Points out that the passage continues on from there. Pokes around a rubble of loose rock along the chamber’s right hand edge, muttering to himself.

When he’s done, he trots back.

‘OK? OK? You both all right? You’ve done well. That was a good crawl. Not as good as Ogof Daren Cilau, but still a good ’un. A really good ’un. Now, OK, take a break. Have a rest. I’ll get the sacks and we’ll set up base camp.’

The Friday 56 for 8/6/21: All Together Now by Matthew Norman

By HCNewton

On August 6, 2021

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:
All Together Now

All Together Now by Matthew Norman

Michelle is in her swimsuit; a pair of goggles hang around he, neck, “Can we go in the pool?” she asks. Before Blair can answer Kenny enters. He’s wearing his swimsuit, too, but it’s on backward and his goggles are wrapped upside down around his forehead “We gotta go in the pool!”

“At least somebody came to party,” says Cat.

Martin takes a theatrical sip of his awful drink. “I’m on it,” he says. “Hon, hang with your friends. Michelle, Kenny, it’s cannonball time.” Michelle and Kenny cheer… Martin leaves to change into his suit while Cat throws grapes in the air from a giant fruit bowl for the twins to try to catch in their mouths.

“That’s kind of a choking hazard, Cat,” says Blair. “Oh, honey, don’t eat floor grapes.”

“Is your mommy always like this?” Cat asks the twins. She throws a grape up for herself, and it bounces off her nose.

“Like what?” asks Kenny.

“Such a mom?”