CLYDE WISHAM
Pretty good book featuring 18th century naval action in the Mediterranean Sea. Captain Carlisle and Master Holbrooke are attractive protagonists, and I enjoyed their adventures. This story is solidly anchored around the very real Battle of Minorca in 1756 between French and British fleets. (An indecisive battle, but the French carried the day.)
We get tall-ship naval engagements, dangerous missions, a mystery to resolve, and a romance. What's not to like?
IMO, this story is not quite up to the story-telling level of the Aubrey-Maturin and Horatio Hornblower books (a tough level to match) but is still a good read, especially if you like historical novels set during the Age of Sail.
Steven Crossley's audio narration is quite good.
Solid four stars.
An powerful story very well told, and a disturbing look into the dark history of chattel slavery in the United States. Some parts of this story hit me emotionally and I am sure they will stay with me from now on.
There are a lot of detailed reviews of this book. I suggest that it is best to skip them and come at this story ‘cold' if possible.
I am classifying this story as “fantasy” rather than “science fiction” because no scientific justification or mechanism is given for the time-travel elements. It just happens.
Quite a good biography of a political and military figure that was larger than life. Well researched and well written.
Lafayette was fearless champion of liberty, but not stupidly so. He always tried to do what he thought was right, and though he sometimes blundered, he stuck to his principles all his life. Given that he made many enemies over the years, including the French Kings and Napoleon, and that he was active in multiple revolutionary movements, it is a wonder that he survived to die in old age – still much beloved in both America and France.
Mike Duncan did quite a good job of narrating his own book.
4.5 stars rounded up.
Jacqueline Winspear takes a break from her long-running Maisie Dobbs series to give us a story about a woman who is trying to deal with stress brought on by her experiences in two world wars. (I suppose what we would now call PTSD.)
It is the late 1940s. Elinore White is just trying to live a quiet life and, if not forget about her past, then at least come to accept it. Of course that is not to be. When London gangsters show up, she reluctantly has to break out old skills.
At first this story seemed somewhat unfocused to me. It is told on three timelines and it seemed to me that much of it was just giving Elinor White's backstory, which I suspected could have been done more economically without all the time jumps. But, I should have trusted Winspear's storytelling fu. As the story progresses, she pulls all the threads together very nicely indeed. There are bad guys of various stripes – some worse than others. There are innocents that need protecting. There is a deep mystery to unravel. And, the MC has demons to expunge.
I have to wonder if this is a one-off or if Jacqueline Winspear is going to start a new series with her Elinore White character? Time will tell, I suppose.
Anyway, quite a good story. Solid 4 stars.
I find it difficult to review this book. Basically, Ken Follett has chosen to write a story illustrating how easy it would be for things to go very badly very quickly. As usual with a Follett book, the story is well written. It is peopled with believable characters some of whom I became quite invested in.
There are two basic story lines. The first follows covert and overt activities to counter jihadist criminals operating in North Africa. The second and main story line follows high-level geopolitical maneuvering and brinkmanship with literally everything on the line.
I really cannot say much more without giving things away. (The cover text will tell you pretty much what to expect.)
I dropped this book to four stars because an occurrence in the first story line pushed my WSOD a bit too far. At one point, some of the main characters were captured by slavers, but the captors didn't search them and steal everything they had. Difficult to believe.
Anyway, a long but entertaining read – very tense, very exciting. However, proly not the best book for you if you have to have a happy ending.
Very good pop science. Thomas Halliday is a skillful writer, and he takes us on an interesting journey through deep time. He reads the rocks and chemistry to provide us with detailed snapshots of ecosystems that once existed on this planet. These ecosystems changed dramatically over time and were truly alien worlds – very different indeed from the present.
This is an interesting book, but it is not predigested pap. Some science background would be helpful in understanding. I found myself going to the internet frequently for images of some of the lifeforms described.
Recommended for those with an interest in the history of our planet.
4+ stars.
Five Decembers is quite a good if rather odd crime novel. Joe McGrady, a Honolulu police detective, starts investigating a brutal dual murder in December of 1941 just before the start of WW2. His investigation takes him West to Hong Kong. There the events of the war take him in an unexpected direction and put his investigation on hold during the war. After the war in 1945 he resumes his investigation and takes it to a conclusion five Decembers later.
That makes the story sound simple. It is anything but. We get a complicated mystery involving more than just the murders and requiring tenacious police work. We get violence, brutality, betrayal, do-or-die situations, and unexpected romance.
For me one of the key aspects of the story is Kestrel's attention to detail. That and Edoardo Ballerini's excellent narration made me feel like I was back in the early 1940s in Hawaii and the Far East during those terrible times.
Solid 4 stars.
What kind of story is Gods of Howl Mountain? Think Robert Mitchum's Thunder Road. But, on steroids and twice as complex. We get violence, moonshine running, and deep dark secrets in a gritty story set in the North Carolina mountain country in the 1950s. It has some great characters. I was especially taken by Granny May – one tough lady who has lived through some really hard times.
The publisher's introduction will tell you the basics. Read that first.
I did not expect the literary quality of the story. Taylor Brown's writing is rich, lyrical, and thought provoking. I listened to the audio version. Mark Bramhall's narration is very good – one of the best I have listened to and perfect for the story.
4+ stars for the story and 5 stars for the narration; so, 4.5 stars rounded up.
Very good indeed. And, just as applicable today (May, 2023) as it was when published in 1987. Wooden-headed, arrogant leaders continue to pursue policies contrary to their own self-interest.
Dana Stabenow's excellent review prompted me to read this book. See it for a more in-depth discussion.
Barbra Tuchman was a very good writer and an excellent historian.
4+stars.
Red Team Blues is a story about a 67 year old accountant getting ready to retire. You would say that sounds kind of odd and pretty boring, wouldn't you? And you would be dead wrong. What we get is a damn good caper novel – a high-pressure story full of suspense, danger, forensic sleuthing, and even a bit of romance.
The best place to learn more about what to expect is Cory Doctorow's own introduction over at John Scalzi's blog. https://whatever.scalzi.com/2023/04/26/the-big-idea-cory-doctorow-2/
I listened to the audio version which is very professionally narrated by Wil Wheaton. (I got it from Libro.fm. It is not available at Audible because Doctorow refuses to have DRM on his works.)
This was my first Cory Doctorow read. I quite enjoyed it; in fact, I powered right through it. I'll be checking out his other books.
Solid 4 stars.
Another good book in the Kate Shugak series.
In this one, Kate finds a body while picking mushrooms in a burned off forest area. It at first appears to be misadventure, but Kate isn't sure and her investigator's itch starts acting up. Thus hangs the tale.
This story doesn't put Kate in much personal danger (unlike previous novels). However she does meet up with some thoroughly unpleasant folk belonging to a religious cult. How do you get to the bottom of a mystery when people refuse to talk to you? If you are Kate Shugak, you find a way.
Alaska itself is a major character in this story.
Perhaps not as exciting as earlier books in the series, but still a good read. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Pretty good historical fiction with a generous dollop of romance. It is built on a strong scaffolding of historical events, and all the major characters are based on actual historical figures. In my opinion this story isn't quite up to the level of Penman's The Sunne in Splendour, but still a good read.
3.5 stars rounded up.
This is a two-part story. You will need to read [b:Shipstar 17910059 Shipstar (Bowl of Heaven, #2) Gregory Benford https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391355987l/17910059.SY75.jpg 25095511] to find out what happened. (See my review for the entire story there.)3.5 stars rounded up for the entire story.
Although published in 2022, this adventure story has the feel of stories published one hundred or more years ago. It reminded me somewhat of H. Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain books.
The main part of the story takes place in post WW1 England and South America. We get an English adventurer with his indomitable sidekick. They put together a small group, including a tough but still very feminine lady, to pursue a mystery deep into an unknown area of the Amazon jungle. In their search for treasure and knowledge, they face great dangers. And their dangers are not all natural, for evil men plot to make the group's discoveries their own.
Nice mix of adventure, action, and romance. 3.5 stars rounded up.