![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
defrogMeant to post this earlier, but last week was a busy week due to business trips and deadlines (the latter of which are still ongoing).
Anyway, over on Goodreads, they have a thing where you can set a yearly goal for reading a certain number of books, then track yr progress. Based on last year’s tally, my goal was 65. This month’s installment of book reports brings me to 62. So I feel pretty confident about hitting that target.
Uncharted Territory by Connie Willis
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I like Connie Willis, but this novella didn’t quite work for me. The premise is nice: planetary surveyors Finriddy and Carson are scouting the planet of Boohte. They’re famous back home because of TV shows based on their adventures, but their reality is unglamorous as they deal with over-the-top govt regulations and an indigenous guide all too eager to enforce them. The book reads like an extraterrestrial Western of sorts, albeit one that serves mainly as a vehicle to (1) satirize govt bureaucracy and political correctness (imagine Star Trek’s Prime Directive taken to insane levels of caution) and (2) explore gender identity and politics. Willis excels at the former, as always, but the latter doesn’t really gel until the end, and in a way that doesn’t really pay off. I do get what Willis was trying to achieve here, and due credit for trying, but she doesn’t quite pull off the balancing act required to make it work.
London Match by Len Deighton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The final book in the Game Set & Match trilogy, in which Bernard Samson helps capture a KGB courier using information from former KGB major Erich Stinnes – whom Samson convinced to defect in the previous book. But the courier’s confession implies that there is another KGB mole in London Central – which is bad news for Samson, whose loyalty has been questioned since his wife turned out to be a KGB mole herself. Now he must find out who the mole is – or if the courier is lying. Deighton delivers a very good spy yarn that makes the most of the chief problem of the espionage business: never knowing for sure just who is on whose side, and who is telling the truth. London Match gets a bit too bogged down by the domestic lives of the characters – everyone seems to be having affairs with someone else and expecting Bernard to deal with it – and it gets a little tedious for the likes of me. But the twists and turns of the espionage angle more than make up for it.
Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Moore’s second novel, in which insurance agent Sam Hunter – formerly Samson Hunts Alone, a Native American who went into hiding as a teenager after accidentally killing a cop – has his life turned upside down by both a beautiful (if flaky) girl named Calliope and the trickster god Coyote, who has big plans for Sam. I enjoy Moore’s novels a lot, but this one seemed to drag along plot-wise, and the ending seemed somewhat muddled. It does contain Moore’s trademark humor, so at least it’s entertaining – but not all that engaging for me compared to Moore’s better books. However, it was nice to see the first appearance of Minty Fresh, who was a memorable supporting character in Moore’s later novel A Dirty Job.
The Handle by Richard Stark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The eighth Parker novel, in which Parker is hired by the Outfit (a.k.a. the mob) to knock over an island casino in the Gulf of Mexico run by ex-Nazi Wolfgang Baron. The reason: Baron is competing with the Outfit, and they don’t like competition. So they want Parker to rob the casino and burn it down. This installment almost feels a little like a James Bond adventure, at least if Bond was a professional thief instead of a spy. But it’s still classic Parker in terms of planning the heist, recruiting the team, and the plot twists that ensure the plan goes haywire. Baron has the makings of a good antagonist, but unfortunately Stark doesn’t give him all that much screen time. He does however bring back Parker associate Alan Grofield, who makes a great flamboyant foil to Parker’s taciturn no-nonsense tough guy and characteristically manages to steal a few scenes. Little wonder he eventually got his own series for awhile.
Playback by Raymond Chandler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Chandler’s final novel, in which Philip Marlowe is hired by a lawyer to tail a woman named Eleanor King and track her whereabouts. He tracks her to the small coastal town of Esmerelda, but – as always – what should be a simple gets complicated as Marlowe figures out that King is being blackmailed, and that he’s not the only one on her trail. Plotwise, this one is simpler than classic Marlowe books, especially its immediate predecessor The Long Goodbye, and as such it does suffer by comparison (hence the three stars). That said, Chandler’s cynical patter is still a joy to read, and the story is notable for what doesn’t happen as much as what does. Points too for Marlowe being noticeably affected by the events of The Long Goodbye. An average Chandler novel is still better than the best novel by lots of other published authors, so I’d still recommend it.
Once There Was a War by John Steinbeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A collection of dispatches Steinbeck filed from England, North Africa and Italy during his six months as a war correspondent during WW2. It’s a remarkable collection, not least because Steinbeck didn’t cover battles so much as he covered what happened between them. He perfectly catches the human side of the war, writing about the drudgery that soldiers endure, as well as the stress, lack of sleep, rumors and so on. He also writes up humorous anecdotes, superstitions, a few ghost stories, and it’s all good. Interestingly, the highlight is his introduction (written years after the war ended) that talks about what it was like to be a war correspondent at the time, and the general willingness of the press to support the “War Effort” and cooperate with the military censors – something you can’t even imagine happening in any US war today. Fascinating stuff, even for people like me who don’t really like war books that much.
View all my reviews
Life during wartime,
This is dF
Anyway, over on Goodreads, they have a thing where you can set a yearly goal for reading a certain number of books, then track yr progress. Based on last year’s tally, my goal was 65. This month’s installment of book reports brings me to 62. So I feel pretty confident about hitting that target.
Uncharted Territory by Connie WillisMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I like Connie Willis, but this novella didn’t quite work for me. The premise is nice: planetary surveyors Finriddy and Carson are scouting the planet of Boohte. They’re famous back home because of TV shows based on their adventures, but their reality is unglamorous as they deal with over-the-top govt regulations and an indigenous guide all too eager to enforce them. The book reads like an extraterrestrial Western of sorts, albeit one that serves mainly as a vehicle to (1) satirize govt bureaucracy and political correctness (imagine Star Trek’s Prime Directive taken to insane levels of caution) and (2) explore gender identity and politics. Willis excels at the former, as always, but the latter doesn’t really gel until the end, and in a way that doesn’t really pay off. I do get what Willis was trying to achieve here, and due credit for trying, but she doesn’t quite pull off the balancing act required to make it work.
London Match by Len DeightonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The final book in the Game Set & Match trilogy, in which Bernard Samson helps capture a KGB courier using information from former KGB major Erich Stinnes – whom Samson convinced to defect in the previous book. But the courier’s confession implies that there is another KGB mole in London Central – which is bad news for Samson, whose loyalty has been questioned since his wife turned out to be a KGB mole herself. Now he must find out who the mole is – or if the courier is lying. Deighton delivers a very good spy yarn that makes the most of the chief problem of the espionage business: never knowing for sure just who is on whose side, and who is telling the truth. London Match gets a bit too bogged down by the domestic lives of the characters – everyone seems to be having affairs with someone else and expecting Bernard to deal with it – and it gets a little tedious for the likes of me. But the twists and turns of the espionage angle more than make up for it.
Coyote Blue by Christopher MooreMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Moore’s second novel, in which insurance agent Sam Hunter – formerly Samson Hunts Alone, a Native American who went into hiding as a teenager after accidentally killing a cop – has his life turned upside down by both a beautiful (if flaky) girl named Calliope and the trickster god Coyote, who has big plans for Sam. I enjoy Moore’s novels a lot, but this one seemed to drag along plot-wise, and the ending seemed somewhat muddled. It does contain Moore’s trademark humor, so at least it’s entertaining – but not all that engaging for me compared to Moore’s better books. However, it was nice to see the first appearance of Minty Fresh, who was a memorable supporting character in Moore’s later novel A Dirty Job.
The Handle by Richard StarkMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The eighth Parker novel, in which Parker is hired by the Outfit (a.k.a. the mob) to knock over an island casino in the Gulf of Mexico run by ex-Nazi Wolfgang Baron. The reason: Baron is competing with the Outfit, and they don’t like competition. So they want Parker to rob the casino and burn it down. This installment almost feels a little like a James Bond adventure, at least if Bond was a professional thief instead of a spy. But it’s still classic Parker in terms of planning the heist, recruiting the team, and the plot twists that ensure the plan goes haywire. Baron has the makings of a good antagonist, but unfortunately Stark doesn’t give him all that much screen time. He does however bring back Parker associate Alan Grofield, who makes a great flamboyant foil to Parker’s taciturn no-nonsense tough guy and characteristically manages to steal a few scenes. Little wonder he eventually got his own series for awhile.
Playback by Raymond ChandlerMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Chandler’s final novel, in which Philip Marlowe is hired by a lawyer to tail a woman named Eleanor King and track her whereabouts. He tracks her to the small coastal town of Esmerelda, but – as always – what should be a simple gets complicated as Marlowe figures out that King is being blackmailed, and that he’s not the only one on her trail. Plotwise, this one is simpler than classic Marlowe books, especially its immediate predecessor The Long Goodbye, and as such it does suffer by comparison (hence the three stars). That said, Chandler’s cynical patter is still a joy to read, and the story is notable for what doesn’t happen as much as what does. Points too for Marlowe being noticeably affected by the events of The Long Goodbye. An average Chandler novel is still better than the best novel by lots of other published authors, so I’d still recommend it.
Once There Was a War by John SteinbeckMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A collection of dispatches Steinbeck filed from England, North Africa and Italy during his six months as a war correspondent during WW2. It’s a remarkable collection, not least because Steinbeck didn’t cover battles so much as he covered what happened between them. He perfectly catches the human side of the war, writing about the drudgery that soldiers endure, as well as the stress, lack of sleep, rumors and so on. He also writes up humorous anecdotes, superstitions, a few ghost stories, and it’s all good. Interestingly, the highlight is his introduction (written years after the war ended) that talks about what it was like to be a war correspondent at the time, and the general willingness of the press to support the “War Effort” and cooperate with the military censors – something you can’t even imagine happening in any US war today. Fascinating stuff, even for people like me who don’t really like war books that much.
View all my reviews
Life during wartime,
This is dF
