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The book reports, they are here.
It’s a slightly shorter list this month, possibly due to a pretty disruptive month. New work schedule + new dog to look after = too busy or too tired during my usual reading times. Sure, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, but you know, when you've got 25+ books in the “to read queue”, you want to at least make a dent in it.
Anyway.
Plunder Squad by Richard Stark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The 15th Parker novel, in which Parker actually has trouble finding a heist worth doing, experiencing a couple of false starts – one of which involves a run-in with a character in a previous book that he should have killed when he had the chance – before settling on a plan to steal some art on its way between exhibitions. And even that comes with complications, one of the biggest being the guy contracting the heist in the first place. This is classic Stark, and it’s fun seeing Parker go through process of deciding which jobs are worth trying and which aren’t the trouble, as well as troubleshooting when things go wrong. This is one of the most enjoyable entries in the series for me.
Faith by Len Deighton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The first book of the third Bernard Samson trilogy, in which London Central hatches a plan to enroll a KGB man (code name VERDI) who claims he can help them hack into the KGB’s computer network. And as usual, most of the major characters have their own agendas, and Samson has to deal with (and work around) all of them whilst at the same time cope with the upheavals that the events of the previous two books have wrought in both his professional and personal life. The espionage angle is fine, but it’s the latter aspect that drives much of the story, and Deighton handles it well, deftly avoiding the predictable melodrama I was expecting regarding the love triangle of Bernard, his wife Fiona and his girlfriend Gloria. On the downside, a few of the changes that happen between the previous trilogy and this one seem a little contrived, if not forced. Still, looking forward to the next installment.
The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’ve never read Brackett before, though of course I’ve seen her screenplay work (The Big Sleep, The Empire Strikes Back), and I was aware of her status as a classic SF writer. Some of her stuff has been showing up in print again, and I decided to give this a try: her post-apocalyptic novel in which the cities have been destroyed by atom bombs and religious groups like the Amish and Mennonites take control because they’re already equipped to live off the land without technology. The USA becomes a theocracy where technology, science and cities themselves are forbidden. The story follows Len and Esau, two Mennonite boys who become obsessed with rumors of a city called Bartorstown where science, technology and the Old Ways still exist, and eventually go off in search of it. It’s a compelling read – Brackett creates a very convincing backdrop (apart from the survivability of nuclear war, but this was written in the 1950s, so okay), and builds up the characters and the story with a cadence that keeps you reading. And it’s got something to say about the relationship of man with both religion and science. All up, it's one of the better post-apocalyptic novels I’ve read. And I’ll definitely be looking for some more of Brackett’s work.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a re-read for me, which is notable because while I’ve read Adams’ H2G2 books repeatedly, I’ve only read the Dirk Gently books once, which was back in the late 80s when they were published. I remember liking them, but I came across the first one recently and realized I couldn’t remember very much about it. So I decided to read it again, and having done so, I can see why it didn’t make a much of an impression the first time. One reason is that, compared to H2G2, it doesn't have as many vivid characters – the most colorful is the title character, and he doesn’t even appear until close to the middle of the story. A more important reason is that my brain was probably incapable of processing the ideas that Adams was throwing around in here. I’m not sure it’s that capable now – Adams does make you pay close attention (and it’s fair to say that it helps to have recently read Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s two most famous poems), but the payoff is worth the effort. Overall I found it a more rewarding read the second time round.
Interconnected,
This is dF
It’s a slightly shorter list this month, possibly due to a pretty disruptive month. New work schedule + new dog to look after = too busy or too tired during my usual reading times. Sure, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, but you know, when you've got 25+ books in the “to read queue”, you want to at least make a dent in it.
Anyway.
Plunder Squad by Richard StarkMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The 15th Parker novel, in which Parker actually has trouble finding a heist worth doing, experiencing a couple of false starts – one of which involves a run-in with a character in a previous book that he should have killed when he had the chance – before settling on a plan to steal some art on its way between exhibitions. And even that comes with complications, one of the biggest being the guy contracting the heist in the first place. This is classic Stark, and it’s fun seeing Parker go through process of deciding which jobs are worth trying and which aren’t the trouble, as well as troubleshooting when things go wrong. This is one of the most enjoyable entries in the series for me.
Faith by Len DeightonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
The first book of the third Bernard Samson trilogy, in which London Central hatches a plan to enroll a KGB man (code name VERDI) who claims he can help them hack into the KGB’s computer network. And as usual, most of the major characters have their own agendas, and Samson has to deal with (and work around) all of them whilst at the same time cope with the upheavals that the events of the previous two books have wrought in both his professional and personal life. The espionage angle is fine, but it’s the latter aspect that drives much of the story, and Deighton handles it well, deftly avoiding the predictable melodrama I was expecting regarding the love triangle of Bernard, his wife Fiona and his girlfriend Gloria. On the downside, a few of the changes that happen between the previous trilogy and this one seem a little contrived, if not forced. Still, looking forward to the next installment.
The Long Tomorrow by Leigh BrackettMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’ve never read Brackett before, though of course I’ve seen her screenplay work (The Big Sleep, The Empire Strikes Back), and I was aware of her status as a classic SF writer. Some of her stuff has been showing up in print again, and I decided to give this a try: her post-apocalyptic novel in which the cities have been destroyed by atom bombs and religious groups like the Amish and Mennonites take control because they’re already equipped to live off the land without technology. The USA becomes a theocracy where technology, science and cities themselves are forbidden. The story follows Len and Esau, two Mennonite boys who become obsessed with rumors of a city called Bartorstown where science, technology and the Old Ways still exist, and eventually go off in search of it. It’s a compelling read – Brackett creates a very convincing backdrop (apart from the survivability of nuclear war, but this was written in the 1950s, so okay), and builds up the characters and the story with a cadence that keeps you reading. And it’s got something to say about the relationship of man with both religion and science. All up, it's one of the better post-apocalyptic novels I’ve read. And I’ll definitely be looking for some more of Brackett’s work.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas AdamsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a re-read for me, which is notable because while I’ve read Adams’ H2G2 books repeatedly, I’ve only read the Dirk Gently books once, which was back in the late 80s when they were published. I remember liking them, but I came across the first one recently and realized I couldn’t remember very much about it. So I decided to read it again, and having done so, I can see why it didn’t make a much of an impression the first time. One reason is that, compared to H2G2, it doesn't have as many vivid characters – the most colorful is the title character, and he doesn’t even appear until close to the middle of the story. A more important reason is that my brain was probably incapable of processing the ideas that Adams was throwing around in here. I’m not sure it’s that capable now – Adams does make you pay close attention (and it’s fair to say that it helps to have recently read Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s two most famous poems), but the payoff is worth the effort. Overall I found it a more rewarding read the second time round.
Interconnected,
This is dF
