Category: Fiction Page 327 of 349

This is not at all what I expected from the last installment in the Anna Strong series. For that matter, it’s not what I expected from any Anna Strong book. Although, in retrospect, it makes sense that this would focus on the human side of Anna’s life — her love life, her family, her friends.

Yes, there’s a supernatural storyline — almost perfunctory, and even when it takes center stage in the novel, it does so under the shadow of the personal storylines. If this wasn’t the last in the series, it would seem that Stein was introducing a large, shadowy group that Anna and her allies would wrangle with for awhile. But, that doesn’t appear to be the case. There’s a new vampire character introduced that Anna becomes awfully chummy with far too quickly for someone in her position (vague, yeah, but trying to stay spoiler-free) Again, if there were more books to come — I’d fully expect this new pal to reveal himself to be just cozying up to her to find her Achilles’ Heel. Regardless, it was a quick and painless story that really only served to keep this book in the Urban Fantasy camp.

Stein’s focus was on the human/emotional stories, giving each major character some sort of resolution as the curtain comes down (although Culebra was given pretty short-shrift) — and in each scene apart from the Vampire story, it feels like Stein is trying to channel the spirit of the mid-80s long distance telephone company commercials and make you reach for the kleenex box every chapter. Big emotional moments and conversations, a lotta lovey-dovey faces, and tears being jerked.

Which sounds like a complaint, but it’s not — somehow Stein pulls it off. It’d be easy for this to be overly-sentimental and sappy — and she gets right up to that line, but she doesn’t cross it. Granted, it’s not the kind of book that I’d want to read all the time, but it worked this time. It let her leave Anna in a good place — or at least a place she could find a measure of peace and happiness for a time. But we all know Anna well-enough at this point to know that can’t last, she’ll find trouble/it will find her soon enough. We just won’t get to see it.

The Good Cop: A Mystery by Brad Parks

By HCNewton

On September 2, 2013

In Authors, Brad Parks, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, P-U

The Good Cop: A Mystery by Brad Parks
Series: Carter Ross, #4

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From the opening pages of Faces of the Gone, I could tell that Parks could tell a good story, and a compelling mystery while making you laugh. He’s only gotten better each novel since — which hardly seems fair.

Not that I’m complaining.

There were times when I thought the mystery this time was a tad predictable, but there were enough twists to keep my interest — and the way Parks writes, plus the subplots and characters made it more than enough. Parks makes me laugh out loud frequently — without turning these books into a sit-com like Janet Evanovich would. It’s real humor in the midst of suspense — like early Robert B. Parker or Robert Crais (remember when Elvis Cole was funny?)

My biggest gripe is that Parks only puts out one of these a year.

Dusted Off (and updated): Faces of the Gone by Brad Parks

By HCNewton

On September 2, 2013

In Authors, Brad Parks, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, P-U

Faces of the Gone by Brad Parks
Series: Carter Ross, #1

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a solid mystery novel from a first-time novelist who doesn’t write like a first timer (a career as a newspaper reporter helped a lot there, natch). Some of the characters bordered on stock, but Parks used them well enough that you just don’t care. Same with the mystery itself–on the whole, it was pretty obvious, but it was the telling of the story that sold it. Thoroughly entertaining — I even laughed out loud a couple of times.

Looking forward to the next one.

P. S. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve read this one (I have read it twice, however). I think given the world he created, and the way things have played out in the following books. And just my overall appreciation for Parks, I’d probably give this at least 4-4.5 stars now. But I’ll stick to my original grade, just to be honest. Just know that these three stars are very shiny.

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (wink, wink)

By HCNewton

On August 29, 2013

In Authors, Cormoran Strike, F-J, Fiction, J. K. Rowling, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert Galbraith

A briefer version of this appears on Goodreads.

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The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith
Series: Cormoran Strike, #1

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I have to admit, if I didn’t know the name that’s on Robert Galbraith’s birth certificate, I don’t know that I’d have picked this book up. It’s possible– I pick up odd mysteries sometimes(the U.K. cover would’ve been more likely to get me to do it than the U.S. cover). But by the time I was halfway through with this one, I was ready to buy the next 2 or 3 in the series, regardless how this one turned out.

This is not the J. K. Rowling of Harry Potter — that’s obvious, and as it should be. Nor is this the J. K. Rowling of The Causal Vacancy — and that’s just merciful and wise. Let me quote (in it’s entirety) my Goodreads review of that one:

I don’t know, man…I just don’t know.

. It’s ten months later, and I still don’t know. But here, she taps into the same vein that brought her success — a different voice, a different world, different characters — but the same ability to tell a story. Not necessarily all that new, perhaps not written in the most “literary” way, but in a way that grabs the reader, draws them in and keeps them turning pages. At the end of the day, isn’t that what we want? (unless we’re professional critics or professors)

Our entry into this world comes via Robin Ellacott, newly moved to London with her fiancé who comes to the office of a P.I. as a temp secretary. She’s smart (and we eventually get an idea just how smart), spunky, and has long had an interest in detecting, it turns out (which must be nice — I’ve never had a temp job that was in a field I’d been interested for years and years). It’s through her eyes that we get confirmation that yes, the protagonist is a decent guy, despite problems he might be having — and a good detective. While we are introduced to this world through Robin’s eyes, we eventually get to the point where we envy her as she gets to take part in the investigative work.

Her temporary boss, on the other hand isn’t someone we envy — nor is he noticeably spunky, there’s reason to doubt his intelligence from time to time — although he’s clearly an experienced and well-equipped detective. Injured in Afghanistan, he now (almost) ekes out a living doing private investigations. He has an interesting — and novel — past, one that opens doors for him (although he hates having to cash in on it). With the unlikely (but inherently cool) name of Cormoran Strike, he’s a member of a long-line of down-on-their luck, idealistic, hard-boiled, hard-drinking, lone-wolf detectives that goes back to Chandler (if not further). The friendship that Strike develops with Robin gives him the motivation–at least temporarily — to be a better version of himself than he’s apt to be, if only to pay her back for the extraordinary amount of help she’s been to him. It seems inevitable from almost the beginning that thus will develop into at least an unrequited love on his part, as long as Galbraith moves the relationship along in future books as deftly as she does here, I don’t see it becoming the cliche it so really could.

Given the subject of Strike’s investigation — a well-known model from a prominent family, who socializes almost exclusively with A-listers — Galbraith is given plenty of opportunity to comment on celebrity culture –a subject Galbraith has had a certain degree of experience with, and obviously an informed opinion or two about. Hard-boiled detectives tend to comment on society as they go about their detecting, and Cuckoo’s Calling does its fair share, particularly regarding the paparazzi and tabloid journalism, as well as the ridiculous aspects of the lives of celebrities.

The case that Strike is hired to investigate has plenty of twists and turns, more than enough to keep those who don’t care for the rest of the book entertained. I was pretty sure who the Big Bad was early on, and I was right. But I wasn’t in the same time zone as the motive. I was about 50/50 on some of the more minor mysteries, which is nice — for a first time mystery author, I’d have expected to be right about 70% of the time or so. But when I was wrong — I was very wrong. I should add that Galbraith didn’t cheat — everything we needed to know in order to identify the villains of the piece is right out there for us to see, just wish I’d done a better job of it.

A solid set-up for a series, decently interesting characters, and a mystery solid enough to prove that this newbie author (at least in this genre) has some chops. A distinct pleasure. I’ll be waiting for more Cormoran Strike — no matter what author’s name is attached.

Lexicon by Max Barry

By HCNewton

On August 27, 2013

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Lexicon by Max Barry
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

My guess is that no one reading a book review needs to be convinced of the power of words, you probably know the power of words in your own life, not to mention the pen is mightier yada yada. Beyond the power of the written word, comes the power of the spoken word — a good speaker can bring along a group or an individual to a conclusion they’d never agree to were they reading the material — there’s plenty of anecdotal as well as experimental evidence to support the power of the spoken word.

Max Barry takes things a step further, what if the power of the spoken word was actual Power — like magic. With enough of a veneer of science/pseudo-science to make Walter Bishop happy and make the whole thing seem grounded. It’s one of the best “magic” systems I’ve come across lately (and there’s been a lot of them)

After a brief — and pretty unconventional — enhanced interrogation scene that made me wonder what I was getting myself into, I came across one of those sentences (or four, in this case) that are enough to convince me that I’m in for the rest of the book. In this case, it was on page 8:

He [our protagonist, drugged and in the midst of being kidnapped] shook his head to clear it, but the world grew dark and angry and would not stay upright. The world did not like to be shaken. He understood that now. He wouldn’t shake it again.

Can’t tell you exactly why — something about the voice would be my guess, but this is one of those things that I don’t want to dissect/scrutinize — but there’s a je ne sais quoi about that quotation that sold me on the novel. And it didn’t let go.

Within the group of practitioners of this magic-y system, there’s some sort of split, with the factions vying over control of an artifact that wields immense power — something along the lines of the prize in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the bodies are piling up.

Told in a series of flashbacks accompanying the present day stuggles, we get the stories of Wil — the only survivor of an event that killed the citizens of an entire Australian town — and Emily — a homeless American teen — as they first encounter, and learn to understand the power of words. These are very human stories — love and loss, betrayal, revenge, opportunities seized and missed. In the midst of the battles, subterfuge and death, it’s these things that stand out in the book.

A real pleasure to read from the opening pages through gripping conclusion, and on to the the entertaining acknowledgments (particularly that last paragraph of the acknowledgments). Max Barry’s an author I’m going to have to come back to.

Gun Machine by Warren Ellis

By HCNewton

On August 26, 2013

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

Gun Machine by Warren Ellis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a great read — think of it as the love child of a Michael Connelly novel and a William Gibson novel. If that’s the kind of thing that appeals to you, go grab this now. If not, well, you should grab it anyway, just so you can see how wrong you are.

I can’t think of anything to say about this book without spoiling anything not already on the jacket. Nearly perfect from cover to cover — there was one too-good-to-be-true coincidence that provided the necessary bit of information at just the right time. But that can be forgiven, given the way it worked out.

This is my first novel by Ellis, won’t be my last.

Insane City by Dave Barry

By HCNewton

On August 26, 2013

In Dave Barry, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Insane City by Dave Barry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ridiculous. Utterly Ridiculous. Which is what it was going for, so good on Barry.

I didn’t think it was as satisfying a novel as his first two solo works, bu the further I got into it, and the more out of control the plot got, the more I warmed to it and the more I laughed.

The ending’s fairly predictable, but pretty satisfying — and funny.

Lots of laughs to be had

The Darwin Elevator by Jason M. Houg

By HCNewton

On August 22, 2013

In Fiction, Science Fiction

The Darwin Elevator by Jason M. Hough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, this was a heckuva read. Solidly built world, you can see it — practically smell it. Yeah, it takes a little while to fill the picture in, but really from the get-go you have a pretty clear idea what this particular distopia is like.

But it’s more than just another distopian novel about survival — thankfully. Actually, it’s hard to put a finger on exactly what kind of SF novel this is without giving away everything, because every now and then — just when you think you have an idea what kind of book this is going to be, and what’s going on and what’s going to happen — Hough comes along, slaps you upside the head and says, “Nope, not that,” and proceeds to pull the rug out from underneath you. Characters you think you’ll be spending time with for the trilogy are killed. Constants turn out to be temporary. The shifts in direction aren’t such to give you whiplash, but it is enough to make you rethink everything you’ve read/predicted up to that point.

At some point, I started to mentally fill out one of those AD&D alignment grids for the characters — with 2 exceptions (and I guess you could make the argument for another one or two) they’re all some sort of “Neutral.” A couple of “Neutral Good”s, one “Neutral Evil,” (and of course, the exceptions — one “Lawful Good” and one “Chaotic Evil” (or “Total D*ck”), but on the whole, everyone is “Neutral”, just out to survive. Maybe find a little comfort and fun, but mostly just trying to survive in this uncertain world. Which is no mean feat.

It’s that need to survive that creates most of the conflict, most of the motivation for characters — and makes the whole thing so compelling. Almost every decision becomes a matter of life or death — sometimes for the person making the decision, sometimes for large groups of people, occasionally for the human race.

In the end, I think more questions were raised than were answered — but I didn’t feel cheated by any means, it wasn’t that Hough bit off more than he could chew, or left a lot of red (or potentially red) herrings laying around. Nope. He answered questions, he resolved plotlines, saw characters through their arcs. And those answers, resolutions and arcs led organically to new ones. The way it should be. He didn’t end things on a cliffhanger, but there’s almost no way someone could read that last line and not get impatient waiting for the sequel.

Indexing, Episode 7: Bread Crumbs by Seanan McGuire

By HCNewton

On August 20, 2013

In Fantasy, Fiction, Indexing, Seanan McGuire, Urban Fantasy

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Indexing by Seanan McGuire
Series: Indexing, #1.7

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Episode 7: Bread Crumbs
Well, didn’t see any of that coming. Wow. Well, not totally true — I’d figured something a lot like what happened with Demi at the end of the episode was coming. But McGuire’s been leading us to that for awhile now, so that’s not a knock on her ability to surprise the reader. Given how many different things happened in this episode, that’s still a really good ratio.

More stuff — little things, episodic things, character things, overarching plot things, comic things, curious things, puzzling things — happened in this episode than any other. The pacing was far different, too — there was an urgency to everything that unfolded that matched what was going on for the characters. The team split up to deal with several narrative events — their night was chaotic, messy, and terrible — and the writing matched that. I read this a few days ago, and more than any single plot point, that feeling sticks with me.

Not that the plot points have faded — this is one of those bits of writing that burns itself into your brain for awhile. Every character is well-served, even the constantly under-utilized Andy. He gets more ink — and action — here than in the first six episodes combined. We learn a lot about him along the way — and while Jeff is featured as much as he usually is, we learn as much about him as Andy.

This is an episode where the changes to the narrative are front and center, on display for Henry’s team to see as clearly as it is for the reader — and the rest of the Agency. Not just the potentially earth-shattering events are lived through, but paradigm-shifting realizations are reached. The road for these five just got a lot bumpier ahead.

In the midst of this heaviness, McGuire puts a well-placed bit of comedy (possibly two, depending how you take the latter). Henry and Sloane are working to keep a Peter Pan from attempting to launch himself off a roof and discover that he really can’t fly. I wondered if instead of trying to stop him, what if they made him think a lot of happy thoughts — would that have actually permitted him to fly? In a world where a Snow White manifestation can actually talk to birds, I wouldn’t have thought so. But maybe. With time running out and their normal efforts failing, Sloane does the smartest, most inventive thing I’ve seen anyone in this book do to help this boy grow up. I laughed out loud as I realized what she was up to, and kept it up through her execution. I’m still not sure why Henry was so against it.

I’m more invested in this story than I’ve been at any point since I started reading it, and cannot wait for Episode 8.

Leverage: The Con Job by Matt Forbeck

By HCNewton

On August 19, 2013

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

Leverage: The Con Job by Matt Forbeck
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Wow, it’s so easy to read men like Lee Goldberg and think that all tie-in novels are really good, this is one of those books that serves as a cold dose of reality. This was sloppy, lazy, heavy-handed and overly-reliant on inside jokes and name dropping. Most of those revolved around Wil Wheaton — and, yes, were amusing. But there were just so, so many of them it became annoying, I started calling this book “Leverage: Forbeck Less-Than-Threes Wheaton.”

I’ll be back for the next book, because I was such a fan of the series and these characters, not because of this book — just thankful it’s a different author.