Saturday, August 29, 2015

“The Secret Agent,” by Joseph Conrad

FM's rating:

1.      Premise 8
2.      Prose 9
3.      Plot 9
4.      Characters 8
5.      Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Conrad’s best-known book, “Heart of Darkness” was a disappointment for me when I read it a few years ago.  Somewhere I read that this book was better and, sure enough, I found it much more interesting.  The prose is like a cross between Dickens and Dostoevsky without being as long-winded as either of them!  There are several Tarantino-like passages depicting long, psychologically intense dialogs that get deeply into the minds of the characters; some very fine writing almost in the Frank Herbert style.  The plot was full of odd twists, but they all made perfect sense.  Highly recommended!


Here’s the September line-up! 

“The End of the Wasp Season,” by Denise Mina [9/5]
“The Haunted Mesa,” by Louis L’Amour [9/12]
“Brightly Burning,” by Mercedes Lackey [9/19]
“Tears of the Giraffe,” by Alexander McCall Smith [9/26]


(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for the next month, please do so!)
 
 
 
 


 

Monday, August 24, 2015

“'H' is for Homicide," by Sue Grafton

FM's rating:

1.      Premise 9
2.      Prose 9
3.      Plot 9
4.      Characters 9
5.      Overall 9

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Sue Grafton OWNS this genre.  With each new installment in this “alphabet series” she managed to inject a completely new surprise element; this time, the “undercover cop” element with all its dangers and tension.  Kinsey Millhone is adamantly against doing it, but gets tricked/coerced/swept into the role in a very clever series of plot twists.  This is smart writing, liberally sprinkled with wry humor as well as profound passages and convincing descriptions of human foibles.  No 10’s in the ratings?  I’m not sure I can explain that.  These books come just short of blowing me away; due more to my preferences, I’m sure, than any shortcomings of the author.  If someone else were to give this book straight 10’s I wouldn’t argue against it.  Very good stuff.



Here’s the September line-up! 

“The End of the Wasp Season,” by Denise Mina [9/5]
“The Haunted Mesa,” by Louis L’Amour [9/12]
“Brightly Burning,” by Mercedes Lackey [9/19]
“Tears of the Giraffe,” by Alexander McCall Smith [9/26]


(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for the next month, please do so!)
 
 
 
 

Sunday, August 16, 2015

"Scar Night," by Alan Campbell

FM's rating:

1.      Premise 10
2.      Prose 9
3.      Plot 10
4.      Characters 9
5.      Overall 9

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

This one’s not for everyone.  But if you like Tolkien and Frank Herbert this will compare.  Devon, the Poisoner, ranks with Heath Ledger’s Joker in my mind as one of the great Villains With a Sense of Humor.  The plot is complex without being overdone – an achievement worthy of note in any writer.  The writing itself is exactly as descriptive as it needs to be.  The characters are as diverse as in any novel I know, and each fascinating in a different way.  A pretty amazing debut novel – very close to a “10” – with a wonderful Dark quality to it that I loved; and even a strong dose of Steampunk thrown in!  Beautiful!



Here’s the September line-up! 

“The End of the Wasp Season,” by Denise Mina [9/5]
“The Haunted Mesa,” by Louis L’Amour [9/12]
“Brightly Burning,” by Mercedes Lackey [9/19]
“Tears of the Giraffe,” by Alexander McCall Smith [9/26]


(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for the next month, please do so!)
 
 
 
 

Saturday, August 8, 2015

“Dead and Gone,” by Charlaine Harris

FM's rating:

1.      Premise 9
2.      Prose 10
3.      Plot 8
4.      Characters 9
5.      Overall 9

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

This is the ninth book in this series and, yes, I have read them in order!  At this point, there does seem to be a formula of sorts being applied, though I haven’t analyzed it too closely.  It doesn’t matter – it works!  The main attraction here is VOICE and the voice of Sookie Stackhouse (forget about the True Blood TV show already) is absolutely compelling.  The character has a natural, almost completely unselfconscious sense of humor that seems to come from her, and not from the author.  This is brilliant craftsmanship.  The incredible diversity of characters makes the stories as colorful as any in literature.  Harris’ other series are excellent as well, but this one shines, and has made her my favorite female author.  The day that I read the last Charlaine Harris book that I haven’t read yet will be a sad one for me, so I am spacing them out, as I do with a couple of other authors.  Thank you Ms. Harris!

Sunday, August 2, 2015

“Dying Light,” by Stuart MacBride

FM's rating:

1.      Premise 8
2.      Prose 9
3.      Plot 8
4.      Characters 9
5.      Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

This is the first follow-up of the author’s debut book “Cold Granite,” a series featuring Detective Sergeant Logan MacRae.  One of the “Tartan Noir” Scottish writers who feature a specific city in Scotland as the setting for their books, MacBride gives us a fascinating look at Aberdeen.  His approach to crime novel writing sets him apart, as the Houston Chronicle puts it, “By tangling together a half-dozen competing plotlines…” This is impressively accomplished, following the daily, not-so-routine grind of the antagonist, not flashing back and forth between two or three sub-plots which many writers so tediously subject us to.  MacBride consistently displays a fine, wry sense of humor, mostly through the dialogue and manages to give plenty of detail without ever getting tedious.  Good, dark entertainment – becoming one of my go-to writers when my next read HAS to be good!