The Shoulders of Giants by Jim Cliff

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On January 29, 2015

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

The Shoulders of GiantsThe Shoulders of Giants

by Jim Cliff

Kindle, 252 pg.
Jim Cliff, 2013
Read: January 17 – 19, 2015

“I grew up watching The Rockford Files, Magnum P.I., Vega$. Bogart films like The Maltese Falcon, and The Big Sleep, led me to books by Hammett and Chandler. Most of my formative years were spent in front of the TV or with my head in a book. I was realistic about it, though. I didn’t think my life was going to be like some hard-boiled airport detective novel, but I was always good at solving problems, thinking laterally and logically, and it seemed like something I would enjoy.”

This is how Jake Abraham describes his career choice. Jake describes a lot of us there — but where I fantasized about becoming a mystery novelist, Jake wanted to live the novels.

This is where his career starts — a disgraced former police captain hires Jake to find his missing daughter (not surprisingly, Capt. Patterson doesn’t think his former pals in the Chicago Police Department are going to be overly sympathetic). Jake throws himself into this with every bit of gusto he can summon. Which is a lot — thankfully, he’s more than just enthusiasm. Jake’s smart, educated, and (pretty) disciplined — which serves him well.

The case gets pretty serious pretty quickly, and it’s not long before a missing college girl sounds a lot better than what Jake has to deal with. While investigating her disappearance, the rookie P.I. comes across a few other criminal activities — some of which he observes, some of which he helps the police with, and some of which happen to him. These keep the main story from being a simple series of rabbit trails and red herrings and also reveal a good amount about our hero. From a plot-standpoint, this isn’t a great novel, but it’s good enough to stick with.

Jake has a long friendship with a CPD detective who helps him (both purposefully and inadvertently) more than he should, which really helps Jake through some of the understandable stumbles he makes out of the gate. He also makes some really convenient new friends along the way that make it possible for Jake to make progress with some investigations, and even resolve a thing or two. Not the greatest supporting cast — but largely interesting and people I wouldn’t mind spending more time with.

Jake reminds me of Lee Goldberg’s Harvey Mapes (from The Man with the Iron-On Badge/Watch Me Die) — but Jake’s got his act more together, even if he and Harvey are drawing inspiration from the same sources. I like Jake. I actually like him better than I like the book, but as long as you like the protagonist like that, you can keep reading a mediocre book (and this isn’t mediocre, actually — it’s pretty good, just not as good as Cliff will be writing 4 books from now).

Jake has a nice dry wit, like many of the P.I.s he wants to emulate. Lines like

The third number produced nothing. I wasn’t very surprised, sixty percent of Americans have unlisted numbers. There are a lot of paranoid people out there, and it just makes it harder for the rest of us to find out who they are, and where they live.

make sure that this is an enjoyable read.

A fun character off to a promising start. I look forward to reading the next in this series.

—–

3 Stars

Near Enemy by Adam Sternbergh

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On January 27, 2015

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

Near EnemyNear Enemy

by Adam Sternbergh

Hardcover, 306 pg.
Crown, 2015
Read: January 14 – 16, 2015I will admit to being a bit nervous about this — Shovel Ready hit me in a sweet spot and I wasn’t sure that Sternbergh was going to be able to follow it up with an unnecessary (I thought) sequel. Also, as long as I’m being honest — without looking at my post or notes, I’m not sure I could’ve described what about Shovel Ready appealed to be so much. It took less than 2 pages of Near Enemy for it to come back to me — yeah, good story, world building and all; but it was the voice and the distinctive way Sternbergh employed the voice that really worked for me. Obviously, in two pages I had no idea if he could pull it off in terms of story/character/etc., but that voice was there, so I was going to enjoy finding out.

Even more than Shovel Ready (I think), this is a Cyberpunk novel as told by Elmore Leonard. It’s been a year since we left Spademan and the rest, and if there’s anyone who expected a happily ever after for any involved, well, I think they didn’t pay close enough attention to the book. Perseophone and her baby are tucked away upstate, and Spademan’s back to work. Once again, though, he doesn’t complete a hit. He finds the target, Lesser, while he’s in the Limnosphere, and is persuaded to wait a moment until he emerges. Lesser gives the wildest story about what happened to him inside — so wild it’s technically impossible. Spademan’s curiosity is piqued, so he lets Lesser live while he looks into the veracity of his claims.

Spademan’s investigation leads him into a maze of politics, police corruption, Islamic activism, assassins that make Spademan look amateurish, and a strange quasi-religious/quasi-Luddite group. The plot’s really not that twisty — it can’t be while being told in Sternbergh’s minimalistic style — but it’s definitely not straight-forward. And though I saw the big surprise twists coming — their reveals were very satisfying. It’s violent — but not as violent as you’d think a novel about an assassin in a very dystopian New York would be.

One example of the violence is a fight scene in the Limnosphere that suggests the climactic battle in The Matrix missed a golden opportunity by not taking fuller advantage of the impossible and/or strange that would be possible in a virtual world.

Of course the ugliness isn’t limited to the damage that people can do to others’ bodies — there’s plenty of other trauma to be found. One example is Spademan’s description of how the City reacted to the last major terrorist attack:

Cops came after midnight.
Special ops. Special cops. The lethal kind, who never bothered to memorize Miranda rights.
Clad in black. Move in tandem.
Red laser dots dancing over locked doorways.
Hand signals. Gloved hands. Give the go-ahead.
Boots unleashed on doors. Doors caved in with a clatter. Suspects scrambling as they’re yanked from their beds, still tangled up in the sheets. Some half-dressed, some half-cursing, dragged into hallways under sweeping flashlight beams, wrists zipped up in plastic cuffs, then shoved down the staircase. Some more than shoved.
A few unfortunate escape attempts shot down as they fought back. Or at least that’s how it got written up in the reports.

At the same time, in the midst of the blackness, there’s moments of happiness, contentment, camaraderie.

There’s a real heart to this character, real sadness — maybe even hope. When you thinking you’ve got Spademan figured out — he does something you don’t see coming. There’s this flashback to a High School (maybe Junior High) English teacher working with Spademan that’ll tug on your heartstrings.

Near Enemy successfully builds on Shovel Ready expanding the world, characters and story strongly, as well as setting things up for (I’m guessing) a final climactic novel that is going to knock my socks off.

This is the kind of book that makes you want to call in sick, blow off appointments and resent the fact that you have loved ones that want to spend time with you (and that, ordinarily, you want to spend time with, too). It’s as immersive as the Limnosphere, with none of the side effects, and just as addictive.
—
Note:I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review. Which was generous and cool of them, but didn’t impact what I said about the book.

—–

4 1/2 Stars

Saturday Miscellany – 1/24/15

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On January 24, 2015

In Books, News/Misc.

A very skimpy offering this week.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

    This Week’s New Release that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:

  • Mr. Kiss and Tell by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham — the second (of what I hope is many) Veronica Mars novel is even better than the first.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Publishing Insights for following the blog this week. Thanks to hortah01 for the interaction.

iZombie, Vol 1: Dead to the World by Chris Roberson, Mike Allred

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On January 22, 2015

In Comics, Fiction

iZombie, Vol. 1 iZombie, Vol. 1: Dead to the World

by Chris Roberson, Mike Allred

Paperback, 144 pg.
Vertigo, 2011
Read: January 20, 2015
Color me underwhelmed.

I love the concept. A non-mindless Zombie has to keep eating brains so she doesn’t become the shuffling, mindless kind. She’s got a friend who’s a ghost, and another who’s a were-terrier (possibly the idea I enjoyed most), and works as a grave digger so she has easy access to “fresh” food. I enjoyed her friends, and wish we’d spent a little more time with them.

But the execution didn’t live up to the potential. I thought the writing was slow and a little unclear a couple of times — but some of that was intentional, I realize, as Gwen’s supposed to be learning what’s going on, but some of the lack of clarity was just poor writing.

I don’t demand dazzling art, I get that not everyone is George Perez, Mark Bagley, or Ryan Ottley, but I’d like something more than competent. People seemed stiff, generic and lifeless. I could only differentiate between two characters because of their skin tone! Not confusing at all.

In the end, it was good enough that given the chance, I’d read the next collection, but I’m not exerting a lot of effort to do so. I’m mildly curious about a few things — and can understand why some would be attracted to this, but it left me feeling cold.

—–

2 Stars

Audio from The Severed Streets by Paul Cornell

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On January 21, 2015

In Fiction, News/Misc., Paul Cornell, Quotations, Urban Fantasy

Recently, I received an email from someone at Audible.com:

I saw your great review of THE SEVERED STREETS and I wanted to make sure that you are aware that the book is also available as an audiobook from Audible Studios. I’d love to offer you a clip from the audiobook to post on the website alongside the review as multimedia content for your readers.

Seems like a good idea to me! I wasn’t aware that they had the book — but if asked, I’d have guessed they did — what don’t they have? Still, it sounds like a good idea (and hey, she called my review “great”). I added it to my review, but thought I’d throw it up, here, too. Seems more likely that people would see it.

The Severed Streets was one of my favorite books last year (see my review, and my 2014 Honorable Mentions), and I’d strongly recommend you trying it.

Anyway, here’s the clip, sounds pretty good to me. If you’re an audiobook person, listen to the sample. If you’re not an audiobook person, you still might want to give it a try — maybe you’re an audiobook person but don’t know it.

Review Catch Up: Beautiful Redemption; Breach Zone; Chasing the Prophecy; Fiddlehead

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On January 21, 2015

In Authors, Fantasy, Fiction, P-U, Science Fiction, Steampunk, YA/MG/Children's Books

I’ve got a backlog of 40-plus reviews I’ve been meaning to write — some of them, I just have to admit aren’t going to get done. But I’m going to try my level best. The four books I’ve decided to tackle in one fell swoop are the concluding novels from series I enjoy, and yet I’ve had trouble reviewing them. On the whole, there’s no reason for it — I should’ve had at least a few paragraphs of material on these, but I can’t seem to muster it (especially given how much time has gone by).

But I do want to clear these off my to-do list, so, without further ado, a few words on these series finales:

Beautiful RedemptionBeautiful Redemption

by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Paperback, 451 pg.
Penguin Books, 2012
Read: November 19 – 20, 2013

On the one hand, this was not at all like the rest of the series — and yet it was a very fitting conclusion. Garcia and Stohl wrapped up everything that needed wrapped up, answered every lingering question (not always as I expected), and generally, did so in an emotionally satisfying way. I wouldn’t have thought that this book would lead to a spin-off series, but it fits.

If you’re into Paranormal YA, this was a very satisfying conclusion, and probably the best of that genre I’ve read.
4 Stars

Breach ZoneBreach Zone

by Myke Cole

eBook, 384 pg.
Ace, 2014
Read: January 31 – February 04, 2014

I really, really liked all of Myke Cole’s Shadow Ops series — a gritty, believable mix of Contemporary Military and Fantasy, and yet, I’ve never reviewed one of his books. Don’t ask me why.

This, the conclusion to the trilogy, is just outstanding. You know how at the end of (pretty much) every fantasy novel, there’s this big, epic battle that takes up most of the last ¼ – ⅓ of the novel? That’s pretty much this entire book. Okay, not really — there’s plenty of backstory, character development and wrapping up the trilogy. But while reading, it sure felt like it was an epic fantasy battle on the streets and in the waters of New York. Somewhere in there, Cole looks gain at questions of patriotism, duty, ethics and morality — and how people of integrity can try to harmonize them all (and, more often, how those with integrity can’t harmonize them all). Seriously, awesome stuff.
4 Stars

Chasing the ProphecyChasing the Prophecy

by Brandon Mull

Hardcover, 512 pg.
Aladdi, 2013
Read: December 2 – 5, 2013

Wow — Mull concluded his Beyonder’s trilogy in a fantastic fashion. Given the target audience, I couldn’t believe how many deaths there were in this book. But, not in a gory or exploitative way. Just a huge body count. But, the core of this book remained the same: these two Beyonders, Rachel and Jason, risking everything for the sake of Lyrian. There’s sacrifice, honor, loyalty, and courage — all the necessary elements of a tale full of heroes — natives and Beyonders, warriors and children, those with many lives and those with only one to lose. Which is not to say it’s not fun — there’s a lot of fun to be had by the characters and the readers. Great way to go out.
4 Stars

FiddleheadFiddlehead

by Cherie Priest

Paperback, 368 pg.
Tom Doherty Associates, 2013
Read: November 12 – 14, 2013

Nice looking book — love the cover, the layout and the graphics are great. I miss the brown ink — what gives, Tor? Sure, the content is the important thing, it’s just nice when the package it’s wrapped in is nice to look at. Speaking of content — this (like the rest of this group) is a fitting — and thrilling — conclusion to the series. Lincoln (wheelchair-bound following the unsuccessful assassination attempt at Ford’s Theater) and President Grant working together near the end of the Civil War to protect a freeman scientist who built an early computer — the eponymous Fiddlehead. Fiddlehead is the best chance to end the War without making everything worse. The presidents, with the assistance of Pinkerton agent Maria Boyd and intelligence from — well, everywhere else this series has focused — in order to begin to deal with the Rotters. I think it’s possible that Boyd is my favorite character in the series — in the Top 3, anyway.

I just didn’t want this series to end, I understand it needed to, but man…just didn’t want that.
4 1/2 Stars

Angel’s Tip by Alafair Burke

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On January 20, 2015

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

Angel's Tip (Ellie Hatcher #2)Angel’s Tip

by Alafair Burke
Series: Ellie Hatcher, #2


Hardcover, 352 pages
Published August 19th 2008 by Harper
Read: November 28 – 29, 2014The way that Dead Connection ended, I figured this one would be Ellie going back home for a while, and was pleased to see I was wrong. I really appreciated the way that Burke fed us details on Ellie’s trip to Kansas to investigate her father’s death in bits and pieces rather than in one big dump of information somewhere along the way and/or a novel-length tale. I’m sure at some point we will get a lot more time and attention paid to that story, but for now, I’m satisfied keeping the focus on Ellie’s work with the NYPD.

Instead, we find our detective thrown into another high-profile murder case — this time, a pretty co-ed visiting the Big Apple from Indiana ends up murdered after a night out on the town. The evidence seems to point at the kind of guy you want it to be (especially if you’re a Law & Order viewer): some young Wall Street type with more money and good looks than sense. But Ellie, naturally, stumbles onto something else. Something big — that goes back years.

And well, things proceed from there as they do in this type of book. Again, Burke had me fooled, and I didn’t see the solution until she wanted me to — but once she did, everything fit just like it should. Nothing spectacular here, but very satisfactory.

There were a couple of characters who were clearly introduced as redshirts (to borrow from another genre), interestingly drawn — moreso than many authors would do. I genuinely felt bad for one of them towards the end of their life, like I would have a major character I’d spent a book or two getting to know.

I thought the characters of Ellie; her brother, Jess; and her boyfriend with the name I can’t remember, were essentially who they were last time — a little more fleshed out. The highlight for me was Ellie’s new partner, the oddly (but believably) well-to-do Detective J. J. Rogan. I enjoyed him as a character, as well as his interaction with Ellie and hope Burke doesn’t replace him too soon (not sure why after only two books I assume that the role of Ellie’s partner will be adjacent to a revolving door, but I do).

This book wasn’t a lean-forward, turn the pages as fast as you can thriller. But man, it was hard to put down, and was just so easy to go from chapter to chapter to “just one more…”. Between her ease of style and likability of characters, this is just one of those books that you don’t want to put down. Not the greatest mystery novel I read last year year, but it was one of the smoothest reads.

—–

3 Stars

Monday Mutterings

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On January 19, 2015

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., Urban Fantasy

  • Was out of town this past weekend, so I wrote my Saturday Miscellany post a day early and then scheduled the posting. You’d have thought that I’d be clever enough to schedule something containing “1/17/2015” in the title on 1/17/2015, wouldn’t you? Well, you would be wrong.
  • While out of town, had some extra reading time — which means I’m even more behind on reviews now. Hope to chip away at that soon.
  • Part of that reading was Harry Connolly‘s A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark — I’ll spoil my review here: if you like Urban Fantasy, particularly a-typical Urban Fantasy, read this book. Releases on March 3. You can order it from Amazon or Kobo here.
  • I’ve noticed that I’m far less forgiving of typos/proofreading flubs in e-books (particularly those that are self-published) than I am of those in hardcover/paperback. Is it just me? (no, there’s no link between the last two items)

Saturday Miscellany – 1/17/15

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On January 18, 2015

In Books, News/Misc.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye (a strangely short list compared to the last few weeks). You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

    This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:

  • Near Enemy by Adam Sternbergh — a worthy, and entertaining, successor to last year’s Shovel Ready
  • The Way Into Magic by Harry Connolly — Book 2 in Connolly’s Epic Fantasy series, hearing nothing but good about this series. Need to get to it, soon. It’s on my Kindle, but I’m no longer sure I should use it after reading that Bushak piece 😉

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to whatshesreadingnow, Crossroads Reviews, and Curlydaz for following the blog this week. Thanks especially to whatshesreadingnow for the very kind description of this blog that she gave to her readers.

Opening Lines – Near Enemy

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On January 15, 2015

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

We all know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover (yet, publishing companies spend big bucks on cover design/art). But, the opening sentence(s)/paragraph(s) are fair game. Technically, I’m cheating here — I skipped the first eight lines (Chapter 1), this is from Chapter 2, but it’s my blog so I can ignore my own rules, right?

Dare you not to read the rest of the book

—–

This used to be a city of locks.
Every home, at least five, down the door, like a vault.
Chain lock.
Rim lock.
Fox lock.
Knob lock.
Deadbolt.
Funny name, that last one.
Dead. Bolt.
Neither word exactly conjures security.
But no one bothers with that many locks in New York anymore. City’s safer. Or at least emptier. No end of vacancies. And no one bothers to burgle anymore. Nothing left to burgle. Everything’s picked clean, and anyone who still lives in Manhattan and has something of real value to protect — family, dignity, vintage baseball-card collection — does it with a shotgun, not a deadbolt. So the real problem, for the burglar, isn’t getting in. It’s getting back out.
After all, if you apply enough force, deadbolts give.
Shotguns take.

from Near Enemy by Adam Sternbergh

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