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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2019 12:46:14 GMT -5
The Drifter Detective by Garnett Elliott <Just wanted to point out I love this thread... I never would have even knew this existed without Slam's recommendation> Had a night time road trip tonight, so I broke out the sort-of kindle for this one... I think I liked Elliotts sci fi better than the PI story. Jack Laramie reminded me very much of a poor man's Jack Reacher. There was a 'modern western' kinda twist on it (modern being the 50s I think? The setting is definitely much closer to WWII than we are now. the cars indicated late 50s, but it was a hick town, so it could have been a bit later). The bonus story 'fighting chance' was a story about a boxer trying to break away from the mob which was quite good.. perhaps better than the feature. I think this is the case with all kindle ebooks, but I found it very annoying that it says it's 103 pages, when at least 20 of those pages are ads, and they could all the stuff at the beginning of the book as well.. it was really only about an hour's read. I, on the other hand, much prefer Elliott's other work to his SF. My favorite of his is Scorched Noir which is a sizzling short story collection. Close after that is Dragon by the Bay which is a rousing martial arts western fantasy adventure. I've never read Jack Reacher so I got nothing there. Jack Laramie is a WWII vet. A former POW and gunner on a bomber. It's set in the late 40s or very early 50s. Sorry you weren't as happy with it as I was. Both Scorched Noir and Dragon by the Bay were excellent.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 5, 2019 16:06:51 GMT -5
Killer's Choice by Ed McBain (87th Precinct #5)
This was my favorite one so far. We get introduced to the new 'hero' Cotton Hawes, but even better than that is the introduction where the author explains WHY we get him. Then, there's the end, where one of the detectives tells us with a HUGE wink to the reader... 'George the Wino, he's the real hero'. Fantastic! I'm not usually a meta sort of guy, but McBain's intros (written long after the fact, and I'm sure subject to some entertaining revisionism) are just as good as the novels.
The plot for this one was really good... there was a pretty clear suspect right away, but then red herrings galore until it came back around to George the Wino's 'tip'. It's too bad Annie Boone was the victim.. she seems like she would have been an awesome recurring character.
There was a lack of Teddy Carella in this book, which was sad, but I understand she's the wife of the not-main character and probably won't feature much. Still missed her, though.
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Post by berkley on Nov 5, 2019 22:57:26 GMT -5
It's always interesting to hear a writer talk about his or her own work, so those intros sound cool.
I must admit that the one 87th Precinct book I read back in I think the 80s didn't really do it for me: I found it pretty dry and humdrum. I'm open to trying another one one of these days though, since it's such a well-known series and I like exploring the crime fiction genre in general - though perhaps not the police procedural sub-genre in particular if my first experience with the 87th Precinct turns out to be the norm for me.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 6, 2019 7:46:07 GMT -5
It's always interesting to hear a writer talk about his or her own work, so those intros sound cool. I must admit that the one 87th Precinct book I read back in I think the 80s didn't really do it for me: I found it pretty dry and humdrum. I'm open to trying another one one of these days though, since it's such a well-known series and I like exploring the crime fiction genre in general - though perhaps not the police procedural sub-genre in particular if my first experience with the 87th Precinct turns out to be the norm for me. Alot of what I like about the series is that it's SO routed in the time it was written, it feels like a period piece now, which is really cool. I know he wrote them into the 80s, so it'll be interesting to see if they lose their charm as they get more modern. I'm also wondering if he's going to actually age the characters (which could be interesting).. there's so much description, it's very clear that time is passing in real time. There are bits where he gets into long descriptions of police procedure that are rather skippable, but that's only been on a couple occasions.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2019 12:54:18 GMT -5
Star Wars: Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse
As Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus once said, “All paths are coming together now.” That's incredibly true for this book, as it weaves together plots and characters from across Star Wars media (games, novels, comics and of course, the movies). This is the book at makes spending the past five years devouring any canon material worthwhile. At the end of the day though, it's Roanhorse's writing that brings it all together. I think in the hands of a different author, we might not have gotten as much out it. Roanhorse absolutely nails the voices of the characters that we've seen on the big screen, but also breathes some extra life into the characters that come from the other mediums. I won't lie that I am a big emotional Star Wars geek and that I get the feels on a lot of Star Wars related material, but this took it to a new level. I am incredibly impressed by Roanhorse's Star Wars debut, and am incredibly hopeful that we'll see her in the universe again soon.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 10, 2019 8:29:37 GMT -5
Star Wars: Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse
As Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus once said, “All paths are coming together now.” That's incredibly true for this book, as it weaves together plots and characters from across Star Wars media (games, novels, comics and of course, the movies). This is the book at makes spending the past five years devouring any canon material worthwhile. At the end of the day though, it's Roanhorse's writing that brings it all together. I think in the hands of a different author, we might not have gotten as much out it. Roanhorse absolutely nails the voices of the characters that we've seen on the big screen, but also breathes some extra life into the characters that come from the other mediums. I won't lie that I am a big emotional Star Wars geek and that I get the feels on a lot of Star Wars related material, but this took it to a new level. I am incredibly impressed by Roanhorse's Star Wars debut, and am incredibly hopeful that we'll see her in the universe again soon. Nice to know they found another decent author!
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Post by brutalis on Nov 11, 2019 8:53:02 GMT -5
Shattered Bonds: the 13th book (finale) of the Jane Yellow Rock series by Faith Hunter.
The heroine has taken the title of Dark Queen of the USA vampire world but finds after all of her magical misadventures she is dying from cancer in her human form and only finds relief and life when she is shape-changed sharing BEASt in her soul/body. IT is a wild and interesting read and a bit different from the rest of the series. Up until now it has been about her growth from a solitary vampire hunter as she builds a "family" of characters built of team-mates, friends and Mithrans. This one is more an internal story with all the rest of the gang on the outskirts of the story since it focuses mostly on Jane trying to heal and overcome the newest Vamp baddie while the series bits and pieces are all tied up. Suffice to say she saves the day and her friends and herself while setting up a new status quo for any further adventures and all ends happily ever after (or best as it can in this series) if Hunter decides to write more stories.
It really is a great series and while all 13 books can be read individually they really do advance characters and situations while crafting a fun and exciting world for reading about. Really interesting and different characters populate the series and the main storyline will be one that keeps you interested and wanting to read more. It reminds us that family and friends are important and essential to our lives and will always be worth fighting for and if need be dying for.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 11, 2019 22:23:37 GMT -5
Two-Trick Pony by Garnett ElliottThe last entry (thus far) in the Drifter Detective series collects two short stories that show us the earliest and the latest cases for Jack Laramie. The first story " The Big Bronc Hit" finds Laramie just starting out as a P.I. after the end of World War II and hired through a more veteran P.I. to assassinate a rodeo bronc that busted up a cowboy during a ride. Laramie finds he can't kill the horse and also finds a mystery to solve and a beautiful mute amateur vet as a love interest. In some ways this was a more traditional P.I. story than the norm for the series, but it's a decent read and includes the secret origin of Jack's horse trailer. The second story "The Vinyl Coffin" finds an older Laramie having set up an office in Dallas using the money that came his way in Torn and Frayed. But things were more fun and more lively on the road. He does find himself tied into the life of an Elvis-like recording star who is being used by...pretty much everyone. Not the best of the stories in this series but it's good to see that we don't get the typical Hollywood ending for Jack.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 12, 2019 10:13:25 GMT -5
Only Superhuman Christopher Bennett I don't usually post 'modern' covers, but this one... whew! The artist has some really cool dark sci fi on his site... (a Vader print of which is not my desktop background) Raymond Swanland. You know that saying, 'You can't judge a book by it's cover'? It's a fantastic way to live your life, and it should apply to alot of things metaphorically. For actual books? Not so much. The cover of an actual book is exactly what the publisher wants you to judge, so if you look at this cover, you get a pretty good idea of the content. The liner notes say the author meant this to be a comic, and the story would have fit seemlessly into the 90s Image universe with Rob Liefield or Whilce Portacio on art... anatomically impossible women doing superhero things and losing their uniforms on a regular basis. If it was in that format, perhaps the over-hormonal teenager dialogue would have been minimized (though, maybe not), and the bits of sci-fi would have been more more important (especially with good world building through the art). That vibe doesn't really work well without the visuals, so what you get instead reads like a 16 year old boy's fan fic he wrote after... ah... relaxing... while reading his favorite bad girl comic book. It's too bad, because I would totally read a comic about this world (perhaps even better in the hands of a better writer). He does use what seem to be standard tropes about solar colonization.. the farther out colonists want freedom from the nasty Earthers... but he uses the fact that people have to be modified to live out there to create a viable reason for superheroes to exist, which is fun. Would such people really be 'inspired' by Marvel and DC comics of (for them) 150 years ago? Not sure I buy that, but it's fun. The book really isnt THAT bad.. is moves along, and while the plot 'twists' are more like right angles, and you see them coming a mile away, that's comic book style plotting. If there was just a bit more of the sci fi element, and more exploration of how those changes effect the human condition (which the author goes into a bit, but not enough), and less mostly naked superheroines, it could really have been a good one.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 9,545
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Post by Confessor on Nov 18, 2019 11:59:42 GMT -5
'bout time the index post on the first page of this thread got updated with links to the most recent reviews, isn't it wildfire2099? It's quite out of date now. I know it's a boring and time consuming task, so if you need a green, flop-eared helper, just drop me a PM and I'll be glad to lend a hand.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 19, 2019 8:01:06 GMT -5
'bout time the index post on the first page of this thread got updated with links to the most recent reviews, isn't it wildfire2099 ? It's quite out of date now. I know it's a boring and time consuming task, so if you need a green, flop-eared helper, just drop me a PM and I'll be glad to lend a hand. You're right... I've been thinking about it.. just mustering up the motivation The fact that someone cares definitely helps!
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Post by Rob Allen on Nov 19, 2019 11:42:15 GMT -5
I just found out about this book, although it seems it was published a year ago. Looks like a fascinating collection of stories for anyone into detective fiction. The publisher's link is pegasusbooks.com/books/classic-american-crime-fiction-of-the-1920s-9781681778617-hardcoverClassic American Crime Fiction of the 1920sOtto Penzler & Leslie S. Klinger An annotated collection of five unabridged novels from the Roaring 20s: The Roman Hat Mystery by Dannay & Lee - the debut of Ellery Queen. The House Without a Key by Earl Der Biggers - the debut of Charlie Chan. The Benson Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine - the debut of Philo Vance. Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett - the Continental Op's first full-length novel. Little Caesar by W.R. Burnett - the original gangster antihero.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 19, 2019 21:44:53 GMT -5
The Emperor's Horn Jordan Murray
I'm sure this one isn't something anyone else here has seen... the author is local and a friend and attendee of the sci fi/fantasy book club at my local library. She's about to finish her 2nd book, and asked us (in the book club) to be beta readers for the 2nd installment, so it was time to read the first one!
I was a little worried, reading a book from a person I know.. what if it was terrible? Luckily, that's not the case. I'm definitely looking forward to the series continuing... there's alot to come that could be really interesting.
The book does suffer a bit in that it's mostly set up.. it's not clear what sort of series it will be.. will it be a world-shaking revolution? An epic quest? A wizard school? There's a bit of each here... and each set up is filled with rich description and well thought out characters. Trying to do everything in one book of less than 400 pages is a bit much, and as a result, there's not a huge amount of action or plot until the end. When it comes, though, it was not at all what I expected, which makes me all the more interested in what's next.
It's not even clear who the good guys and bad guys are... but the details left hanging are, for the most part, just enticements to read more. It definitely feels like everything will come together at some point, and the fact that it's not obvious how is a good thing for this sometimes jaded reader.
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Post by brutalis on Nov 20, 2019 7:38:01 GMT -5
one of my favorite things is browsing through the Phoenix Comic-con and finding the "local" authors selling their wares. I picked up 3 books from a local surgeon who writes science fiction/fantasy books on the side. The 1st one was an interesting and different take on traditional fantasy as a police crime drama. It kept me thoroughly entranced as I read and it avoided the typical tropes. Have 2 more of his books to read with one being a more pure science fiction mercenary group who are "junk dealers" scrounging war sites afterwards for discarded tech and weapons but the series also involves magic as part of its world building. Looked creative and interesting enough to gain my attention. I truly support and spend my dollars upon these hard working individuals who are crafting books out of their love and devotion for the written word! A worthy endeavor indeed in these days of declining readership.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 20, 2019 15:27:43 GMT -5
The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen by Hope NicholsonFrom the publisher who brought you The League of Regrettable Superheroes, et. al., we get a look at female characters from the comics through the ages. And while the focus (and the subtitle) is on comic books we do get some characters who were in pulp strips (super interesting) and webcomics. Much like the similar tomes that Quirk Books put out this is a lightweight look at a comics niche. There's no attempt to be comprehensive or to really take a serious historical look at the subject. It's a quick look at the characters that Ms. Nicholson finds interesting. And that's fine. There were characters that I wasn't familiar with (which is saying something after 45 years as a comics fan). And it led to a few things I may try to track down. There's nothing groundbreaking here, but it really isn't trying to be. I read this on a tablet while waiting for court cases to come up or in between client meetings. And it's really perfect for that kind of short duration read. It's fun and lightweight and the author has a good voice.
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