Second book in the Chris Cherry series. Some detestable characters but the plot was kind of bland for me. A pleasant, somewhat forgettable entertainment. I’ll read the third one I’m sure - the teaser they put at the end of this one was engaging.
Second book in the Chris Cherry series. Some detestable characters but the plot was kind of bland for me. A pleasant, somewhat forgettable entertainment. I’ll read the third one I’m sure - the teaser they put at the end of this one was engaging.
I liked it ok, but I think it suffered from second book syndrome. You spend years, or decades working on the first book. It takes off and the publisher wants #2 so the can slot it in for the next year.
The third one was ok.
His next one is set in Appalachia, which makes it required reading for me.
I was into 10mm Auto before it sold out and went mainstream, but these days I'm here for the revolver and epidemiology information.
I thought the three books were okay, I gave them each a "3" on goodreads. The characters were a bit thin but the story line was interesting enough for me to want to see where they went.
My biggest problems with the books was the repetitiveness, (even within the same book, let alone from book to book), and the silly, superfluous two word Spanish language entries...some of which were actually wrong.
I think the author has promise, he just needs to hone his craft and technique some. A better editor could have helped immensely.
There's nothing civil about this war.
Finished this, this morning. It’s Gibson, so the writing is smart, stylish, and elegant with an easy and broad ranging intelligence that snaps with electricity. Typical themes are here - central, the personhood of artificial intelligence. But the plot is a bit thin, a central plot device is kind of deus ex, the ending a bit contrived, and in all it feels like less than the sum of its parts. I still enjoyed it.
100% recommend but it's a hard read. I'm surprised the page count is just under 600, it seemed so much longer. There were honestly times I wasn't sure I wanted to finish the book. I don't know why, but the court-martial and just fucking over of people by the chain of command is harder for me to stomach then men being eaten by sharks. At least sharks are doing what sharks are supposed to do. "I want my chain of command to be my pall bearers so they can let me down one last time" is a common refrain among the military and first responders, so maybe I just relate to that more. Anyway, the story has it all. Villians and heroes, tragedy in plenty and redemption as well. It gets dusty sometimes when you're reading the book but it's worth it.
I need some bubble-gum read next, that was heavy.
Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.
I finished this today. Hornfischer is a superb writer and a thorough historian with an easy grasp of men and machines and their strengths and foibles, and the way they interact in warfare. Highly recommended.
https://www.amazon.com/Department-Se.../dp/1524748218
The Department of Sensitive Crimes: A Detective Varg Novel
I had no idea what to expect from this book. I still am not sure how to describe it. Despite the name there's very little "detective novel" here. There's almost no finding whodunit at what there is is incidental. There's no real interviews, no detective finding the tiny thing that breaks the case, etc. It's almost no story at all, or rather it's just people being people and some of those people are police or detectives. Or their spouses. That said it's not exactly Seinfeld either, unless Seinfeld was written as a Swedish philosophy buff with an extensive vocabulary.
What it is, though, is beautifully written. It's a painting with words and superbly done. Perhaps it's a philosophy book masquerading as a novel but intentionally letting it's true nature show for those who look. It's literature in the artistic meaning. I enjoyed it immensely. I also learned a few new words, metonym being my favorite.
Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.
Listened to Michael Medved's The American Miracle and God's Hand on America. Excellent books that give insight into the American idea and prominent people in our history. Some of the Teddy Roosevelt stuff had me laughing out loud, and it's hard to get me to do that.
Right now I am listening to Manhunters: How We Took Down Pablo Escobar by Javier Pena and Steve Murphy. At this point I am only in the early stages of the book, but it's good so far.
An excellent book which I finished this morning. It lacks a bit of focus, compared to the other two books of his I’ve read, but it’s still an outstanding historical study.