It does occur to me that I haven't even done a single post concerning one of my favorite new authors so far this year: Karin Slaughter. Aside from having a neat name for a mystery/thriller writer (assuming it's real) her books are great! Not happy, no, but very intense and captivating. The issues are tough, and hard to take sometimes, but the writing and stories are excellent. Here's a little overview...might have some spoilers.
I first heard of Karin Slaughter when I got her novel Triptych as a freebie. I wasn't sure I wanetd to read it, and decided to listen to one of her unrelated audiobooks first. My library had the first of her other series, Blindsighted, so I picked that up...and noticed another audiobook called Martin Misunderstood there as well. I can't say it looked interesting, but I saw it was read by Wayne Knight, who played one of my favorite movie characters of all time: Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park.
So I ended up listening to Martin Misunderstood first. I am not sure this was a good idea. It was kind of lame and depressing in my opinion. Ironic and convoluted, but not a stellar novella, as far as I'm concerned. Still I decided to listed to Blindsighted.
And I was blown away. As I said, some of this content was very hard to take. This one deals with the invstigation of the brutal rape and murder of a woman that goes back to the similar assault that the county coroner, Sarah Linton, had survived years past. Sometimes I just felt like giving up on the book, and other times I was so horrifically fascinated I couldn't wait to see what was next.
In the end, I decided to listen to the next book in the series, Kisscut. It was worse. It dealt with child porn, and rings of pedophiles, and children so caught up and controlled by adults, they think they have no choice but to do as they are told. Of course, right at the beginning, the police chief, Jeffery Tolliver, shoots a 13-year-old girl, and it never makes it clear that this was necessary...and it haunts him later.
I don't want to sound trite and stupid, but part of me is relieved by these books. I am not in any way aroused by the descriptions of rape or child molestation...and believe me, they can get graphic. There may be many things wrong with me, but it does not extend to cruelty and domination.
Right. By then I was hooked, and had to actually read the next book, A Faint Cold Fear, which features some odd murders, and Sarah Linton's sister, Tessa, is attacked losing her unborn child. It deals a lot with Lena, the sister of the woman murdered in the first book, too. She goes from being a police detective to an alcoholic college security guard, and falls in with a supposedly reformed...but still nasty...white supremecist. The interesting thing, stylistically, is that Karin Slaughter brings back a character form the first book as the villain, though previously he'd been discounted as a harmless nerd. It was very unexpected, but I thought it worked well plotwise.
Next up was Indelible, a good part of which was flashbacks to Jeffery and Sarah's early relatonship. It was written in a different way, but I thought it was excellent...and the way the end unexpectedly tied the past and present together was very good.
The 5th was Faithless which went back to some of the more brutal and horrific things dealing with children...some of which are done in the name of religion. The one guy who really thinks he is doing God's will by burying a child alive is almost worse than the vicious, careless, killers elsewhere. Part of it also talks about domestic abuse in various relationships. Lena is back on the force as a detective, but can't bring herself to do anything about being abused by Nazi-boy, and one woman willingly takes beatings because she is afraid to lose her husband's "support." Makes me sick, and more so because it really happens.
That's all I've read of the Grant County series, but in the meantime I also listened to Triptych on CD instead of reading the copy I have. It's kind of a more urban parallel to the Grant County series, with one minor character (Amanda Wagner of the GBI) common to both. Anyway, it deals with a nasty serial rapist/killer, but is more the story is the innocent man who was framed for the first of the murders and spent 20 years in prison for it. It's a good story, though like most, not entirely pleasant.
I've had to take a semi-break from Karin Slaughter and read a few lighter books...and to my mind, almost anything is lighter. Most murder mysteries, or even horror books are not as detailed and realisic. At least not to me. Still, I have great respect for her writing, and I plan to finish the 6th Grant County book, Beyond Reach as well as the sequel to Triptych, Fractured, before too long. Fractured seems to be more focused on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) agent Will Trent...he was featured prominently in the first book, but I wouldn't have said he was the main character. Beyond Reach is about Lena's problems coming to a head...I'll be interested to see where each goes.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
It's been a while...
I've been meaning to do some updates, but it seems like everything I read is part of a series, and I'm not sure what to say with the next book coming right up.
One stand-alone novel I recently read was The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams. I'd been in a bit of a reading slump, and sort of picked this one up just to see what Williams was like. It was long (828 pages) but I figured I could just take it slow.
And I ended up blazing through it in a week, which for me is very fast. As long as it was, I almost wanted more. I loved the modern setting, and how it transitioned into the faerie world. I thought the characters were great, and the plot very well done. I have never read much of faery lore, so I might have been missing a few things with the different creatures, but it didn't seem to matter with the detailed (and humorous) descriptions.
The story had a great ending, but the end was just a beginning...I think this would make a great series, though so far as I know there are no plans to do so.
Anyway, I liked it so much, I made my Twitter name @clovereffect.
One stand-alone novel I recently read was The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams. I'd been in a bit of a reading slump, and sort of picked this one up just to see what Williams was like. It was long (828 pages) but I figured I could just take it slow.
And I ended up blazing through it in a week, which for me is very fast. As long as it was, I almost wanted more. I loved the modern setting, and how it transitioned into the faerie world. I thought the characters were great, and the plot very well done. I have never read much of faery lore, so I might have been missing a few things with the different creatures, but it didn't seem to matter with the detailed (and humorous) descriptions.
The story had a great ending, but the end was just a beginning...I think this would make a great series, though so far as I know there are no plans to do so.
Anyway, I liked it so much, I made my Twitter name @clovereffect.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Exercise
I said in my earlier post I have been in sort of a reading slump...one reason is actually a good one, as I've gotten back into running more seriously, and have a little less time for reading.
I first started running with the high school track team in 1998. I wasn't very good, but the team didn't cut anybody, and I accidentally fell in love with running. To be honest, I never cared much about the meets...long grueling days for me to spend a couple of minutes getting my butt kicked in the 800. But practice? That was something else. At first I could barely run a mile, but as time passed, I could keep going and going...I felt like the whole city was mine, and I could roam as I pleased.
I confess that since high school I dropped off. I've been on and off with running, and in the 'off' periods I've let myself get way out of shape. Earlier this year I weighed in at 217.8 lbs. I can hardly believe it, and it's just my own laziness to blame...but somehow, I am still drawn to pounding the pavement.
Lately, I've gotten back into it. I really hope I can keep with it this time. I have a lot of friends online at runnersworld.com to support me, and I've signed up for a multitude of road races to keep myself amused. And, as a reader, I turn to books as well:
Another recent book I finished is 50/50 by Dean Karnazes, which is about his running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. Pretty crazy, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed. I liked his comments about the various races and people he met...but it seemed like on every page he went into little side tracks and gave lessons on running. Don't get me wrong, this is good information, but it's the kind of thing a newbie runner will hopefully learn before getting into a serious running program. Maybe I take some of this stuff for granted...I had some good coaches as a teenage knucklehead, and have read dozens of running books over the years. I just thought this book's format was odd...and nothing compared to his first book.
Yes, in 2006 I read Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes. It really made me aware of the world of ultrarunning. It told of his getting into serious running, with a lot of detail on his first 100 mile race, and then about some of his other extreme events...like the Badwater ultra (135 miles through Death Valley) and his marathon at the South Pole, and also his first 200 mile solo run. It was about his experience, and for someone like me it was amazing. I just expected the second book to be more like that, and while 50/50 was OK, I can't claim it wasn't a bit of a letdown.
Stay tuned for more running books...I am currently reading Haruki Murakami's memoir on writing and running, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running and Personal Record by Rachel Toor (another ultrarunner). Good stuff!
I first started running with the high school track team in 1998. I wasn't very good, but the team didn't cut anybody, and I accidentally fell in love with running. To be honest, I never cared much about the meets...long grueling days for me to spend a couple of minutes getting my butt kicked in the 800. But practice? That was something else. At first I could barely run a mile, but as time passed, I could keep going and going...I felt like the whole city was mine, and I could roam as I pleased.
I confess that since high school I dropped off. I've been on and off with running, and in the 'off' periods I've let myself get way out of shape. Earlier this year I weighed in at 217.8 lbs. I can hardly believe it, and it's just my own laziness to blame...but somehow, I am still drawn to pounding the pavement.
Lately, I've gotten back into it. I really hope I can keep with it this time. I have a lot of friends online at runnersworld.com to support me, and I've signed up for a multitude of road races to keep myself amused. And, as a reader, I turn to books as well:
Another recent book I finished is 50/50 by Dean Karnazes, which is about his running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. Pretty crazy, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed. I liked his comments about the various races and people he met...but it seemed like on every page he went into little side tracks and gave lessons on running. Don't get me wrong, this is good information, but it's the kind of thing a newbie runner will hopefully learn before getting into a serious running program. Maybe I take some of this stuff for granted...I had some good coaches as a teenage knucklehead, and have read dozens of running books over the years. I just thought this book's format was odd...and nothing compared to his first book.
Yes, in 2006 I read Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes. It really made me aware of the world of ultrarunning. It told of his getting into serious running, with a lot of detail on his first 100 mile race, and then about some of his other extreme events...like the Badwater ultra (135 miles through Death Valley) and his marathon at the South Pole, and also his first 200 mile solo run. It was about his experience, and for someone like me it was amazing. I just expected the second book to be more like that, and while 50/50 was OK, I can't claim it wasn't a bit of a letdown.
Stay tuned for more running books...I am currently reading Haruki Murakami's memoir on writing and running, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running and Personal Record by Rachel Toor (another ultrarunner). Good stuff!
Lazy Days...
In February, I had an astounding reading month for me. Even without taking into account the short month, I still easily broke my "record" for pages read in a month. It was neat, but there is probably a price to pay in burnout. March started a sort of reading slump, and I guess I'm not out of it yet. Don't get me wrong, I still love my books, I just haven't been able to keep up the same pace.
But...I have finished a few books and should try to do a couple of updates. I happen to know I've been keeping one person on PBS waiting for a review...sorry!
Right. The book in question is Undone by Rachel Caine. I read the first two of her weather warden books, and thought they were very good. Fast-paced and all that. But I've had too much to get to and still haven't finished the third book. I knew from the brief descrption that Undone was related to the WW books, but not how closely. Some of the same characters show up, and I can tell a number of things have happened in the WW series that I haven't read yet...so in some ways it was a spoiler fr me.
On the other hand, this doesn't bother me at all. Aside from a few side issues, Undone stands alone, and the story feels completely separate...albeit in the same world of wardens and djinn. I am the kind of clown that gets a whole series in advance and reads all the back covers, so I constantly blow some of the secrets for me. The writing itself is the most important aspect of a book, so spoilers have never really been a big deal.
I can't tell where this series is going, but it raises huge issues for humanity that (to me) seem hard to deal with in the context of a short novel. It also has a super-cliffhanger ending, so there obviously has to be more. I liked the book, but I was definitely left a little puzzled.
The characters? Cassiel the djinn turned human is the 1st person narrator. She's got a tough time figuring out the human way of looking at thing...frighteningly so at times. Luis the warden seems a little shallow, but maybe that's because you see him through Cassiel's not quite human eyes.
I am looking forward to the next installment, but I plan to read the rest of the WW books before then.
But...I have finished a few books and should try to do a couple of updates. I happen to know I've been keeping one person on PBS waiting for a review...sorry!
Right. The book in question is Undone by Rachel Caine. I read the first two of her weather warden books, and thought they were very good. Fast-paced and all that. But I've had too much to get to and still haven't finished the third book. I knew from the brief descrption that Undone was related to the WW books, but not how closely. Some of the same characters show up, and I can tell a number of things have happened in the WW series that I haven't read yet...so in some ways it was a spoiler fr me.
On the other hand, this doesn't bother me at all. Aside from a few side issues, Undone stands alone, and the story feels completely separate...albeit in the same world of wardens and djinn. I am the kind of clown that gets a whole series in advance and reads all the back covers, so I constantly blow some of the secrets for me. The writing itself is the most important aspect of a book, so spoilers have never really been a big deal.
I can't tell where this series is going, but it raises huge issues for humanity that (to me) seem hard to deal with in the context of a short novel. It also has a super-cliffhanger ending, so there obviously has to be more. I liked the book, but I was definitely left a little puzzled.
The characters? Cassiel the djinn turned human is the 1st person narrator. She's got a tough time figuring out the human way of looking at thing...frighteningly so at times. Luis the warden seems a little shallow, but maybe that's because you see him through Cassiel's not quite human eyes.
I am looking forward to the next installment, but I plan to read the rest of the WW books before then.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Para-updates again
I recently finished two books in ongoing paranormal series, The Killing Dance by Laurell K. Hamilton and Club Dead by Charlaine Harris.
The Killing Dance is the 6th Anita Blake book, so Hamilton is now tied with Piers Anthony for 18th place on my all-time reading list, not counting Shakespeare's plays. Yeah, I'm goofy with lists like that. I suppose with that tease I might as well put down the rest of my top authors:
1) Orson Scott Card - 44 books
2) Robert A. Heinlein - 37
3) Joe Haldeman - 25
4) Michael Crichton - 18
4) Poul Anderson - 18
6) Timothy Zahn - 14
6) Isaac Asimov - 14
8) Patrick F. McManus - 13
9) Robert Jordan - 12
9) Tanya Huff - 12
11) Madeleine L'Engle - 8
11)Robert K. Tanenbaum - 8
13) Dave Barry - 7
13) Greg Bear - 7
13) Roger Zelazny - 7
13) J.K. Rowling - 7
13) Kurt Vonnegut - 7
18) Piers Anthony - 6
18) Laurell K. Hamilton - 6
20) Stephen King - 5
20) Jerry Ahern - 5
20) S.L. Viehl - 5
Also of interest...well, to me, anyway, is what percentage of an authors complete work I have read. I've read nearly all of the first four, but Poul Anderson wrote more than 200 books! I've barely scratched the surface there. Asimov is even worse, though if we discount nonfiction, it's not really close.
Further down, I own almost all of Tanya Huff's books, so she'll make a jump on the overall list, as will LKH and some of the others. It's not looking good for Stephen King and Piers Anthony. I've given both more than a fair chance, I think, but I don't like them enough to plow through the rest of their works.
But that's aside from the point. Getting back to The Killing Dance, I was really surprised by how things shook down, especially with Anita's relationship(s) with Jean-Claude and Richard. I guess I have no comment, but having a little bit of a resolution is somewhat of a relief.
I did note a couple of quotes I wanted to bring in:
Page 174: "I'd never met coffee that wasn't wonderful. It was just a matter of how wonderful it was."
Ah, so true. One more reason to love Anita! I hear people complain about 'bad coffee' from time to time, but I just shrug. All coffee can't be Sumatran pea bean, or whatever, but all coffee is wonderful :-p
Next up... page 217, speaking of Jean-Claude: "He'd Struck Jason down like a dog he didn't much like. And he was so beautiful, it made my chest ache."
This is one problem I have with the story. Sorry, but I will never like any character who can be casually cruel, or understand anyone who can love a cruel person. Those two sentences, juxtaposed, highlight my feelings in the real world.
Enough of Anita. She is easier to write about, but I also finished Club Dead by Charlaine Harris, #3 in the Sookie series. This one was pretty interesting, though definitely painful at points. Sookie is confused about her relationship with Bill, and as a first person story, the reader can share in her confusion, leaving you to wonder what's going on. I still am.
Eric reminds me of Jean-Claude. Powerful handsome, and evil.
No, I will not flinch from using that word. Some things are wrong, cultural relativism is BS.
The Killing Dance is the 6th Anita Blake book, so Hamilton is now tied with Piers Anthony for 18th place on my all-time reading list, not counting Shakespeare's plays. Yeah, I'm goofy with lists like that. I suppose with that tease I might as well put down the rest of my top authors:
1) Orson Scott Card - 44 books
2) Robert A. Heinlein - 37
3) Joe Haldeman - 25
4) Michael Crichton - 18
4) Poul Anderson - 18
6) Timothy Zahn - 14
6) Isaac Asimov - 14
8) Patrick F. McManus - 13
9) Robert Jordan - 12
9) Tanya Huff - 12
11) Madeleine L'Engle - 8
11)Robert K. Tanenbaum - 8
13) Dave Barry - 7
13) Greg Bear - 7
13) Roger Zelazny - 7
13) J.K. Rowling - 7
13) Kurt Vonnegut - 7
18) Piers Anthony - 6
18) Laurell K. Hamilton - 6
20) Stephen King - 5
20) Jerry Ahern - 5
20) S.L. Viehl - 5
Also of interest...well, to me, anyway, is what percentage of an authors complete work I have read. I've read nearly all of the first four, but Poul Anderson wrote more than 200 books! I've barely scratched the surface there. Asimov is even worse, though if we discount nonfiction, it's not really close.
Further down, I own almost all of Tanya Huff's books, so she'll make a jump on the overall list, as will LKH and some of the others. It's not looking good for Stephen King and Piers Anthony. I've given both more than a fair chance, I think, but I don't like them enough to plow through the rest of their works.
But that's aside from the point. Getting back to The Killing Dance, I was really surprised by how things shook down, especially with Anita's relationship(s) with Jean-Claude and Richard. I guess I have no comment, but having a little bit of a resolution is somewhat of a relief.
I did note a couple of quotes I wanted to bring in:
Page 174: "I'd never met coffee that wasn't wonderful. It was just a matter of how wonderful it was."
Ah, so true. One more reason to love Anita! I hear people complain about 'bad coffee' from time to time, but I just shrug. All coffee can't be Sumatran pea bean, or whatever, but all coffee is wonderful :-p
Next up... page 217, speaking of Jean-Claude: "He'd Struck Jason down like a dog he didn't much like. And he was so beautiful, it made my chest ache."
This is one problem I have with the story. Sorry, but I will never like any character who can be casually cruel, or understand anyone who can love a cruel person. Those two sentences, juxtaposed, highlight my feelings in the real world.
Enough of Anita. She is easier to write about, but I also finished Club Dead by Charlaine Harris, #3 in the Sookie series. This one was pretty interesting, though definitely painful at points. Sookie is confused about her relationship with Bill, and as a first person story, the reader can share in her confusion, leaving you to wonder what's going on. I still am.
Eric reminds me of Jean-Claude. Powerful handsome, and evil.
No, I will not flinch from using that word. Some things are wrong, cultural relativism is BS.
Audiobooks
I finished listening to B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton. I liked it a little better than her first book, I think. I was really surprised with this one, and I thought the plot was twisted nicely. Also, it was easier without Kinsey getting involved with a man like the first one. No offense to Grafton, I didn't think her romance was very convincing in the first book.
Again, I was a little irritated with the reader...perhaps a little more so because she proved she can do male voices without them sounding like morons...yep, the way she pitched the voice of the gay character, Wim, sounded far more natural than the rest of the 'manly' men, probably because she used a more feminine pitch. To me this makes it seem like she's trying too hard the rest of the time.
Just grinds my gears a bit.
I am now listening to The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (if I spelled it right). It's really weird, but somehow compels me to keep listening.
Oh, and another gripe about audiobook style...this one doesn't indicate when a particular CD has ended. The CD player in my car will automatically loop the CD's, and with the clock display on, I don't notice right away. They could at least say "end of disc X" like most publishers do.
Again, I was a little irritated with the reader...perhaps a little more so because she proved she can do male voices without them sounding like morons...yep, the way she pitched the voice of the gay character, Wim, sounded far more natural than the rest of the 'manly' men, probably because she used a more feminine pitch. To me this makes it seem like she's trying too hard the rest of the time.
Just grinds my gears a bit.
I am now listening to The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (if I spelled it right). It's really weird, but somehow compels me to keep listening.
Oh, and another gripe about audiobook style...this one doesn't indicate when a particular CD has ended. The CD player in my car will automatically loop the CD's, and with the clock display on, I don't notice right away. They could at least say "end of disc X" like most publishers do.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
The Plutonium Blonde
I finished my twenty-second book of the year last night, The Plutonium Blonde by John Zakour and Lawrence Ganem. This is the first in a series, which it looks like I am going to thoroughly enjoy.
The main character is the 'last' private detective on an Earth of the future (2057, though the technology is more extreme than I expect we'll really see by then). He's supposed to be an old fashioned kind of private-eye like Sam Spade or Columbo...but only in his attitudes. He's high tech and aided by a supercomputer and a psi-powered secretary.
The content is humorous. Slapstick at times, and intentionally corny. It works well, and it's hilarious, at least to me. Even the names are good. The main character is Zachary Nixon Johnson. Zach Johnson is pretty obviously close to the author John Zakour's name reversed. I didn't get the middle name until I came across the line by another character "You're that Nixon dick." Then I laughed.
With all the humor and outlandish sci-fi, Zach's character is great. His desire to do right and 'save the world' is genuine, and he is loyal and loving to his girlfriend, Electra. I like the fact that he's already in a serious relationship...I get a little sick of the Bond-girl love 'em and leave 'em. Here there's a strong woman partner...mostly in the background, but you don't have to wonder who Zach's sleeping with next.
The main character is the 'last' private detective on an Earth of the future (2057, though the technology is more extreme than I expect we'll really see by then). He's supposed to be an old fashioned kind of private-eye like Sam Spade or Columbo...but only in his attitudes. He's high tech and aided by a supercomputer and a psi-powered secretary.
The content is humorous. Slapstick at times, and intentionally corny. It works well, and it's hilarious, at least to me. Even the names are good. The main character is Zachary Nixon Johnson. Zach Johnson is pretty obviously close to the author John Zakour's name reversed. I didn't get the middle name until I came across the line by another character "You're that Nixon dick." Then I laughed.
With all the humor and outlandish sci-fi, Zach's character is great. His desire to do right and 'save the world' is genuine, and he is loyal and loving to his girlfriend, Electra. I like the fact that he's already in a serious relationship...I get a little sick of the Bond-girl love 'em and leave 'em. Here there's a strong woman partner...mostly in the background, but you don't have to wonder who Zach's sleeping with next.
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