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You want book reports. I blog book reports. All is well.
The Wreck of the Mary Deare by Hammond Innes
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is my first time reading Innes, and with Vintage reprinting some of his novels, I thought I’d give this a try, as I’ve always had a fascination with shipwrecks – especially ones that involve mysterious disappearances. That’s the premise here – John Sands encounters the Mary Deare adrift in the English Channel, and boards her in hopes of salvaging the ship, only to find Captain Patch aboard, half-mad and desperately trying to run the ship aground. But why? And where is the crew? Great idea for a novel, and the story of what happened is riveting at times. Unfortunately for me, Innes (an experienced sailor himself) buries the seafaring parts in too much nautical jargon, and the action-packed climax seems somewhat improbable. Also, the dialogue between Patch and Sands can get frustratingly circular and repetitive – it’s as if Innes is using Sands to discredit his own narrative. Overall it didn’t work for me, but people who know more about sailing may get more out of it. For myself, the odds of me trying Innes again are pretty slim.
The Black Ice Score by Richard Stark
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
In which Parker is hired by four nationals from the African country of Dhaba to help them steal back the country’s treasury – which has been stolen by the current president, converted into diamonds and stashed in New York – before their political rivals can get to it first. It’s an unusual Parker book in that Parker is basically a consultant (although not to the point of staying out of the action), and only because his girlfriend Claire wants him to do it. The latter feels slightly out of character, but even more jarring is the section where the usually taciturn Parker monologues for an entire chapter. Credit to Stark for trying to do something different with the formula, but the result isn’t necessarily a stronger brew. That said, it’s still a good entertaining read, apart from the rushed ending.
Hong Kong's Watershed: The 1967 Riots by Gary Ka-wai Cheung
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
According to the intro, very little has been written in the history books about the 1967 Hong Kong riots that led to greater social reform by the colonial government. This book aims to correct that – which it does, though not necessarily very well. Cheung is an experienced journalist, but not an experienced book writer, judging from this book. He tends to shoehorn in as many facts as he can, whenever he can, which results in a lot of tangential information getting in the way of the story. It also relies a little too much on the inflated political rhetoric and “he said/she said” testimony from both sides to tell the story instead of trying to cut through it and get to the truth. So it gets jumbled and repetitive at times. Which is too bad because Cheung has some great sources – he did lots of interviews with key players and gained access to previously classified government documents. So there’s a lot of good information here if yr willing to wade through it. And I did come away with a good idea of what generally happened and why. For anyone looking to build on the topic and produce something more definitive, this is a good place to start.
Spy Hook by Len Deighton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The fourth Bernard Samson book and the first of the second trilogy, which kicks off three years later. Samson’s work and domestic life are getting back to some level of normal – or so he thinks. But when millions of pounds go missing from the Department’s ledgers, Samson is asked to convince ex-Department man (and old friend) Jim Prettyman to return to London to testify in the investigation. When Prettyman is reported murdered and Samson’s superiors take no interest, Samson starts digging further at the behest of Prettyman’s widow. This one seems a bit lightweight, and unusually for Deighton, doesn’t quite work as a standalone – a number of things are left unresolved or unexplained. Granted, the Samson books were always intended to tell a broader story across several volumes, so the payoff may come later. And in any case, I did enjoy reading it – and it was nice to catch up on the various characters in the series.
Our Friends from Frolix 8 by Philip K. Dick
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
The premise: in future, humans will have mutated to create three classes of humans: New Men (super-smart people), Unusuals (people with telepathic powers) and Old Men (i.e. everyone else). The New Men and Unusuals form a powerful elite ruling class to take over the planet, while an underground resistance group called the Under Men await the return of Thors Provoni, a man who went into space vowing to find an alien life form to save the Earth – which he does. The story follows Nick Appleton, an Old Man who starts questioning the system and joins the Under Man movement. This is one of Dick’s more flawed books – it takes awhile for the story to gel into something interesting, there are some internal inconsistencies and some story threads go unresolved or forgotten. But there’s also a lot to like here, from the reversed roles of drugs and alcohol to Willis Gram, the slightly unhinged Council Chairman who steals the show. His scenes alone are worth the price of admission.
View all my reviews
We come in peace,
This is dF
The Wreck of the Mary Deare by Hammond InnesMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is my first time reading Innes, and with Vintage reprinting some of his novels, I thought I’d give this a try, as I’ve always had a fascination with shipwrecks – especially ones that involve mysterious disappearances. That’s the premise here – John Sands encounters the Mary Deare adrift in the English Channel, and boards her in hopes of salvaging the ship, only to find Captain Patch aboard, half-mad and desperately trying to run the ship aground. But why? And where is the crew? Great idea for a novel, and the story of what happened is riveting at times. Unfortunately for me, Innes (an experienced sailor himself) buries the seafaring parts in too much nautical jargon, and the action-packed climax seems somewhat improbable. Also, the dialogue between Patch and Sands can get frustratingly circular and repetitive – it’s as if Innes is using Sands to discredit his own narrative. Overall it didn’t work for me, but people who know more about sailing may get more out of it. For myself, the odds of me trying Innes again are pretty slim.
The Black Ice Score by Richard StarkMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
In which Parker is hired by four nationals from the African country of Dhaba to help them steal back the country’s treasury – which has been stolen by the current president, converted into diamonds and stashed in New York – before their political rivals can get to it first. It’s an unusual Parker book in that Parker is basically a consultant (although not to the point of staying out of the action), and only because his girlfriend Claire wants him to do it. The latter feels slightly out of character, but even more jarring is the section where the usually taciturn Parker monologues for an entire chapter. Credit to Stark for trying to do something different with the formula, but the result isn’t necessarily a stronger brew. That said, it’s still a good entertaining read, apart from the rushed ending.
Hong Kong's Watershed: The 1967 Riots by Gary Ka-wai CheungMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
According to the intro, very little has been written in the history books about the 1967 Hong Kong riots that led to greater social reform by the colonial government. This book aims to correct that – which it does, though not necessarily very well. Cheung is an experienced journalist, but not an experienced book writer, judging from this book. He tends to shoehorn in as many facts as he can, whenever he can, which results in a lot of tangential information getting in the way of the story. It also relies a little too much on the inflated political rhetoric and “he said/she said” testimony from both sides to tell the story instead of trying to cut through it and get to the truth. So it gets jumbled and repetitive at times. Which is too bad because Cheung has some great sources – he did lots of interviews with key players and gained access to previously classified government documents. So there’s a lot of good information here if yr willing to wade through it. And I did come away with a good idea of what generally happened and why. For anyone looking to build on the topic and produce something more definitive, this is a good place to start.
Spy Hook by Len DeightonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
The fourth Bernard Samson book and the first of the second trilogy, which kicks off three years later. Samson’s work and domestic life are getting back to some level of normal – or so he thinks. But when millions of pounds go missing from the Department’s ledgers, Samson is asked to convince ex-Department man (and old friend) Jim Prettyman to return to London to testify in the investigation. When Prettyman is reported murdered and Samson’s superiors take no interest, Samson starts digging further at the behest of Prettyman’s widow. This one seems a bit lightweight, and unusually for Deighton, doesn’t quite work as a standalone – a number of things are left unresolved or unexplained. Granted, the Samson books were always intended to tell a broader story across several volumes, so the payoff may come later. And in any case, I did enjoy reading it – and it was nice to catch up on the various characters in the series.
Our Friends from Frolix 8 by Philip K. DickMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
The premise: in future, humans will have mutated to create three classes of humans: New Men (super-smart people), Unusuals (people with telepathic powers) and Old Men (i.e. everyone else). The New Men and Unusuals form a powerful elite ruling class to take over the planet, while an underground resistance group called the Under Men await the return of Thors Provoni, a man who went into space vowing to find an alien life form to save the Earth – which he does. The story follows Nick Appleton, an Old Man who starts questioning the system and joins the Under Man movement. This is one of Dick’s more flawed books – it takes awhile for the story to gel into something interesting, there are some internal inconsistencies and some story threads go unresolved or forgotten. But there’s also a lot to like here, from the reversed roles of drugs and alcohol to Willis Gram, the slightly unhinged Council Chairman who steals the show. His scenes alone are worth the price of admission.
View all my reviews
We come in peace,
This is dF
