Category: Fiction Page 339 of 349

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m not sure I’m up to writing up my thoughts on this book, they seem pretty inadequate…but if I don’t do it now, I probably won’t at all. This is a really good book, a love letter to a medium that’s (almost certainly) dying and a rich character study. Touching, funny, moving, and more than capable of throwing a surprise at you.

At the center of the novel is an international English language newspaper based in Rome. The story of this paper, from its founding in the 50’s through its coverage of the U.S. Invasion of Iraq is told in brief (2-3 page) spurts between chapters telling us about the people who read and/or work for (and/or their families) the paper.

More than once, I was astounded by how invested I could be in a character I just met by the end of one of those chapters–each of these really could be a short story unto themselves. But when looked at as a whole–once you reach the end–it is a well-crafted novel, not just a series of semi-related short stories.

That’s not to say that all the chapters are great–there were a couple that almost missed the mark, and a one flat-out dud (I felt I’ve read the story of the novice reporter being taken advantage of by the veteran a few dozen times).

From the other reviews I’ve read (at goodreads and elsewhere), it’s easy to oversell or overhype this book–and I don’t want to do that, nor do I want to undersell it. It’s very good–not fantastic–not a “must read”, but a “really, really should read.”

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Dusted Off: I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

By HCNewton

On January 25, 2011

In Fiction, Science Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Overall, this was a fun, fast read, though it wasn’t the best written book.

The book opens with a scene that’s supposed to grab you by the lapels and not let go for the next 440 pages. Personally, it didn’t work at all, particularly because I could see the authors doing that.

Thirty pages or so later, the story did get rolling pretty well and before I knew it I was hip deep in the book, and fairly invested with some of the characters.

I had a list of quibbles I had with the writing, but decided not to bother. While they detracted from my enjoyment, they didn’t ruin anything.

The highpoint of the novel was the mix of SF and Magic. It’s not often that you come across that kind of thing, and when done right, it’s dynamite. These authors pull it off pretty well, as they do the rest of the story. I’ll be back for more.

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Dusted Off: The Becoming by Jeanne C. Stein

By HCNewton

On January 21, 2011

In Authors, Fiction, Jeanne C. Stein, P-U, Urban Fantasy

The Becoming by Jeanne C. Stein

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(3.5 actually, but goodreads won’t let me do that) This was just what the doctor ordered, over the last couple of months, I’d tried out a handful of new (to me) urban fantasy series, and had to force myself to finish them. Not this one. A fun ride from start to finish.

It’s the kind of start to a series that reminded me of Kitty and the Midnight Hour — and judging by the fact that of Carrie Vaughn books are now on my shelves at home, that’s a good thing. It’s very much a start to a series, a good ol’ origin story. Butt-kickin’, independent woman (with family issues), is out with her partner doing their bounty hunter thing, and unbeknownst to them, try to take a vampire into custody. Hilarity, er, blood-swapping ensues, and you’ve got yourself a butt-kickin’, independent vampire (with family issues).

Sure, our hero, Anna, has a heckuva learning curve in front of her–which Stein uses well to introduce the reader to her vampire rules, society, hunters, history, and whatnot. A good healthy mix of tradition and nouveau vamp lore.

It is a setup novel, so it’s hard to predict what form the future installments will take, once Anna’s more settled into her fangs, things will be different. But it’s a good start, with a likable cast, and a couple of good threads to follow in future books. Sign me up for more.

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Dusted Off: The Sentry by Robert Crais

By HCNewton

On January 18, 2011

In Authors, Elvis Cole/Joe Pike, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert Crais

The Sentry by Robert Crais

Series: Elvis Cole, #12/Joe Pike, #3
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So the third Joe Pike novel starts off with him gassing up his Jeep and noticing that across the street that a couple of gang-bangers are up to no good at a sandwich shop. Pike decides to intervene, roughs up the ruffians little (well, by Pike’s standards). The shop owner isn’t grateful, but his niece sure is.

Pike senses an instant connection with her, the kind of connection that he hasn’t felt in a long, long time. Where some guys will do something to show off for a gal, try to impress them, Pike decides to get the gang to back off what what seems to be a straightforward protection racket. And it seems to work, very easily.

Which of course, is where things go very, very badly for all involved. The woman and her uncle go missing, so Pike sets off to find her, rescue her from whatever she needs rescuing from and brings Elvis along for the ride. A twisty, nothing is as it seems (at least twice), ride.

More than maybe any other Pike/Elvis or Elvis/Pike novel, this one is about the friendship between these two men. Yeah, there’s the action, the mystery, the bullets (MINOR SPOILER: far, far fewer than we’ve come accustomed to Pike using), and so on. But at the core, this is about the bond tying Pike and Elvis together.

Told in Crais’ (sadly) now-typical shifting perspectives, the action, once it starts, doesn’t relent. I flew through this book without realizing it. The only thing that kept me from finishing it in one setting was forcing myself to put it down so I could get a few winks before work. The best of the Pike books so far, better than a couple of Elvis books, too.

Perfect book for immersing yourself into to get out of a crappy day.

Waiting for the next book from Crais, if only he could write faster…

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Dusted Off: Wolfsbane by Patricia Briggs

By HCNewton

On January 14, 2011

In Fantasy, Fiction, Patricia Briggs

Wolfsbane (Sianim, #4) by Patricia Briggs

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fun, solid read with characters you end up caring a lot about without even noticing, just a touch of action, a splash of romance, and at least one character who switches between species. In other words, it’s a Patricia Briggs novel.

Like its predecessor Masques, this was written pretty early in her career, and it shows. It’s still a heckuva story, and I’d jump right into a third adventure of Wolfe and Aralorn.

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Dusted Off: A Stained White Radiance by James Lee Burke

By HCNewton

On January 13, 2011

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

A Stained White Radiance by James Lee Burke

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Elmore Leonard famously quotes Steinbeck saying, “Sometimes I want a book to break loose with a bunch of hooptedoodle. . . . Spin up some pretty words maybe or sing a little song with language. That’s nice. But I wish it was set aside so I don’t have to read it. I don’t want hooptedoodle to get mixed up with the story.”

I sincerely wish Burke would follow Leonard’s urging to get rid of the hooptedoodle, or as he puts it later, “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.”

There’s a whole lot in here (and most of this series) that sounds like writing. Once you take all that away, there’s not a lot in this book. Horribly thin plot, from the get go everyone knows who did what and pretty much why, there’s just a few hundred pages of wheel spinning, hooptedoodle, and moments intended to be tense that really aren’t.

Not sure if I’ll keep going with Burke.

Dusted Off: When the Sacred Ginmill Closes by Lawrence Block

By HCNewton

On January 12, 2011

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

When the Sacred Ginmill Closes by Lawrence Block

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’ll be honest, I’m sticking with this series primarily because of the author’s reputation, though Eight Million Ways to Die did impress me. I was fairly dismayed when I started this book and it looked like all the progress that Scudder made during his outing was tossed out without explanation or comment. A relapse, or backslide, etc. would’ve been acceptable if Block had done it right (obviously), but to just start off the book without noting that he’d fallen off the wagon was just horrible.

Thankfully, he didn’t waste too much time before he had Scudder inform us that this was an extended flashback. That done, we could see Scudder not at his alcoholic worst, just pretty bad–probably before the first book in the series, now that I think of it. Then he brought us back to the present at the conclusion of the novel, making the whole exercise mean something. What made me ready to toss the whole series at the beginning, in the end made a pretty effective novel. It’s not a trick that he can use more than once, I think–and my gut says Block wouldn’t try.

As far as the mysteries that make up Scudder’s cases? Marginally interesting, at best. I’ve yet to be really impressed by the whodunit aspect of Block’s books, it’s how Scudder interacts with the suspects/victims/survivors that makes them interesting–especially as he interacts with himself. But one of the two mysteries here is about as strong as he gets, and the other is about as weak as he gets. So…eh, whatever.

If you like Matt Scudder, this book will satisfy you. If you’ve never encountered him before, I’m not sure this is the book to start with.

Dusted Off: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

By HCNewton

On January 11, 2011

In Fantasy, Fiction

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I put off writing this review, because I was pretty sure if I’d done it right away, it’d have been filled with all kinds of hyperbole. With a few days’ worth of distance, I can honestly say most of it would’ve been deserved. I’m going to keep this short and vague, because that’s the only way I think I can keep myself from gushing and rehashing this book in detail.

The story, while solid, feels like something I’ve read more than once (tho’ I honestly can’t say where, it just feels that way). A lot of the characters aren’t that novel, maybe even a bit stock-ish. But not all of them. There are four or five characters for whom the term “multi-faceted” doesn’t seem adequate, so that more than makes up for it.

But what truly, truly makes this book great is the way the story’s told–both the structure and the voice. As much as I wanted to find out what happened to Yeine and the rest, I didn’t want to walk away from the Jesmin’s voice and style.

Great debut novel. Sooooo looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.

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Dusted Off: I Know You’re Dead and All, But . . .

By HCNewton

On December 8, 2010

In Authors, Currently Reading, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Dear Stieg Larsson,

Until you become a much, much better writer than you are, you really need to get to the hook earlier than page 245 of 640. Dude, that’s 40% of your book.

Just sayin’,

Dusted Off: Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith

By HCNewton

On November 5, 2010

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

sorry for the rushed nature of this one, but I wanted to get something up today and didn’t have time to polish it right.

You just have to love this concept. An illiterate cowboy in 1890’s Montana hears about Sherlock Holmes due to the republication of some of Watson’s accounts in American periodicals. He’s drawn by what Holmes does and sets about getting his hands on all of Watson’s reports he can. And then he makes his brother read them to him over and over and over so he can learn how to do what Holmes does. At some point he thinks he’s learned enough to start, and puts himself in a situation to put his skills to the test. And presto, you’ve got yourself a novel.

So much for the concept–how was the execution? Ehhh, not as good. It was dull, downright slow, filled with a bunch of cliched Western types. It was interesting enough to keep me reading, but man, did it get sloggy in parts. I’m glad I persevered, because the conclusion was satisfying (even if it’s pace was 200% of what preceded it) and the central characters were amusing.

These brothers offer a great take on Holmes/Watson, and I’m sure I’ll get to the sequels pretty soon. Hoping that now that the series has been set up, the next ones will pick up a little faster.