I was hoping for some actual history when I picked this up.. thinking it was a series that might move through Egyptian history, which I know very littI was hoping for some actual history when I picked this up.. thinking it was a series that might move through Egyptian history, which I know very little about.
I know enough to know they didn't have Criossants though,very silly. The author also decided to take a one off line in the Illad that they passed through Egypt on the way home and turned it into a court visit that lasted years... and included Homer himself (a bout 300 years before he was born, give or take).
So we don't have history, but maybe its a good story? nope. Apparently the entire 5 book story is just about Ramses.. this book is just his life before he was Pharaoh. And is the the most perfect person in the history of Earth. There are like 10 vignettes show how amazing he is at absolutely everything.. its repetitive, and not very interesting. By the end I was almost rooting for his annoying scheming older brother to win.
Hard pass on the rest of the series... glad I only got the one. ...more
I know alot of people say the book is always better than the TV show/movie.... and others don't read so much and wait for said movie. For me, its offiI know alot of people say the book is always better than the TV show/movie.... and others don't read so much and wait for said movie. For me, its official... whatever I experience first is the one.
This is another example. I grabbed this after watching the most recent series of the show (Vienna Blood), and I have to say I liked the PBS version of Max and Oskar alot better than this one. The show version of Oskar is a tough, hard nosed cop that is dedicated to his job, and doesn't do much else (as many TV inspectors are). This book version show Oskar as a family man who likes to hang out with Max and sing and doesn't seem like he's all that good at his job. Max is pretty similar, and the addition of him actually chatting with Freud, instead of just being a fan of his work was fun, but Clara was also a big change... and not for the better.
I book is written pretty well, though there actually if anything is too much historical detail. The name dropping of musicians and artists moved from establishing the setting to a humble brag about the research done quickly.
And I have no doubt Tallis' Vienna is accurate and well done, but its just too much... perhaps that's more noticeable because I'm alot less familiar with Vienna than, say, New York, Boston or even London as a setting, but it left me feeling like I was missing something, but it was more than I was willing to look up.
Not a terrible book by any means, but overall I was disappointed....more
I've been sort of vaguely collecting this particular printing of Tarzan, with the black covers and awesome covers (This one by Boris Vallejo). They ceI've been sort of vaguely collecting this particular printing of Tarzan, with the black covers and awesome covers (This one by Boris Vallejo). They certainly can hit the spot if you're in the mood for them.
This particular one was a bit unique in that Jane has a bit of her own jungle adventure... one of her society friends is mounting an 'expedition' to Africa to look for the secret of eternal youth and offers her a lift.
Of course the plane crashes and stuff happens, which then runs into what Tarzan is looking into... the disappearance of some Waziri girls who where allegedly kidnapped by the mysterious Kuruvu (who, of course, also have the secret to eternal youth).
Tarzan is really not in the book much.. his chapters have as much focus on his monkey and his Waziri warriors as he does, and 1/2 the book is about Jane. Of course she does get capture and has to get saved eventually, but she does get to do a bit of traditional Jungle Queen stuff in the meantime. He side of the plot was quite shocking, actually.
One does wonder how many secret hidden tribes Africa can hold at once, but that's just how Tarzan rolls ;).
Post-War Berlin was just as big a mess as it was before the war, and Bernie Gunther is trading his PI skills for coal[b]German Requiem [/b] Philip Kerr
Post-War Berlin was just as big a mess as it was before the war, and Bernie Gunther is trading his PI skills for coal and trying to figure out if his wife (Who he picked up between books apparently) is actually sleeping with an American GI for barter. When a Russian turns up and offers him a huge amount of money to go to Vienna to help his 'old friend' Emil Becker, he jumps at the chance, and right into a big mess of post-war espionage.
This is definitely more a spy thriller than a PI novel, but very good all the same. I'm not a huge WWII guy, but Kerr sure does seem to know his stuff and bring the period and the people to life. While the main character is not exactly a picture of virtue, he is a great character that you want to root for. ...more
Kerr really does an amazing job of capturing what the mood might have been like in pre-war Nazi Germany. Bernie Gunther in isn't exactly a great man, Kerr really does an amazing job of capturing what the mood might have been like in pre-war Nazi Germany. Bernie Gunther in isn't exactly a great man, but he definitely has a sense of justice and having him watch his country's moral fiber unravel is really some powerful writing.
This case starts out as a serial killer, and turns out to be much worse. Having Gunther inside the system instead of a PI for this story was really quite interesting, and gave a very detailed picture of how he perceived things had changed. Wrapping the story around real event and people doesn't always work for me, but it sure does here. It's hard to say a book is good when the subject matter is what it is, but it was definitely extremely well written and engaging....more
This was the 2nd book read, and its a bit odd... the author definitely had an idea of Richard's history, but not the details. The broad strokes are thThis was the 2nd book read, and its a bit odd... the author definitely had an idea of Richard's history, but not the details. The broad strokes are there, but the details are mostly left off, or when they do exist, they are not exactly what happened. I suspect that won't happen as much from this point on (as while the next book was first written, they are closer to chonological going forward), it is interesting.
As far as the book goes, this one takes us through the American Revolution. Richard gets his own Sloop (though of course its a special one) and makes a name for himself (mostly off camera). The 1st half of the book is an ongoing story after saving some army troops and having a bit of a conflict with a British general (and of course his pretty daughter). He ends up saving the day for the troops, and taking out the big scary privateer with a trick (and losing the General a bunch of money in the process).
The 2nd half fast forwards 3 year later... after Richard has made his fortune and reputation capturing prizes, and has been officially promoted to Captain. His superior is jealous of him and there's a big thing.. then the author goes all Forest Gump and makes sure Richard is at the battle of Yorktown.
I feel like the time skip was a bit odd (especially since there could be lots of naval engagements that were never written later, despite all the filling in the story later). The author writes a good naval battle though, which is more than enough to carry the book through. Richard is a pretty standard protoype for a young, gallant Captain during the age of sail, but that's ok, that's what he's supposed to be.
This was a random pick of at a recent library book sale (I did a good job exercising restraint and not add to the to read shelf too much)... I just loThis was a random pick of at a recent library book sale (I did a good job exercising restraint and not add to the to read shelf too much)... I just loved the cover and then reading the back sold me.
The style is pretty unique, and a bit odd. The author is trying to write Falco as a noir-ish private eye, but he's actually more like the Emperor's troubleshooter, with more diplomacy in his job (at least THIS job) than detecting.
In a few places the attempts to have his lead act and sound like a hard boiled PI threw me out of the story... some of the language was at odds with the setting for sure. On the other hand, his history was spot on and he did a fantastic job of bringing the early era Imperial Rome to life.
I'm not sure how realistic his senator's daughter chasing after her boyfriend in the wilds of Germany to make sure he's ok, then actually helping in his investigation. It was entertaining though, and the characters were all fun. ...more
I was a bit torn when I realized I was about current with this series... one the one hand, I was pretty excited to read this one based on the blurb...I was a bit torn when I realized I was about current with this series... one the one hand, I was pretty excited to read this one based on the blurb... I thought surely the dangling plot of Barker's brother would be resolved, and I love me a good Civil War conspiracy.
But, reading this essentially as soon as it is out means next time I'm in the mood for a Barker and Llewelyn novel, I will have to wait, as they are fresh out.
While I was disappointed in the lack of Caleb Barker in the book (he gets a bit of a mention and delivers a letter, but was never 'on camera', there was no shortage of fun Civil War conspiracies!
This was a quick, fun read (as most of the series is) and it perhaps moved the general life and history Mr. Llewelyn forward a bit... maybe. I thought that was the case before when he got married and that was not really the case. Maybe this time. If there is another book, that is, since clearly this is (current) last one. I would hope so though.. while there's no specific cliff hanger going on, I definitely am not done with these two yet! ...more
It doesn't bode super well for the series that in this, just the 3rd book, there is already a clear plot formula. This book goes back to the method ofIt doesn't bode super well for the series that in this, just the 3rd book, there is already a clear plot formula. This book goes back to the method of the first book, where the reader is treated to scenes of the criminals plotting, rather than figuring out the case with the detective.
It think with this series that works better, since really the fun part is not who the criminal is but how the detective is going to manage to use the rail system to solve it. As with the previous two books, we have the grumpy superintendent maligning methods that of course work eventually, a female witness that gives the excuse to get the detective's lady love involved a bit, and of course a train ride to apprehend the criminal in the nick of time (though the ending here was definitely a surprise)
That said, it's hard not to like train based historical mysteries... it might be a formula but it's a GOOD formula. I noted that the next book has a connection to horse racing too, which puts me in mind of Dick Francis, who somehow wrote like a million mysteries about a very narrow topic, but yet any of the ones I read will all good. ...more
I noticed Titan putting out these short stories as part of owning the license to Robert E Howard's stuff looking for something from the comics, and thI noticed Titan putting out these short stories as part of owning the license to Robert E Howard's stuff looking for something from the comics, and this was the first time I had Amazon had tossed me some free digital money in a bit to check one out.
Nothing too exciting here... there's really not enough to it for it not to be a generic adventure story. The twist in the middle was interesting, but not worth building a story around. There was far too much flowery description for a 39 page story. ...more
This second installment of the series switches to a more standard mystery structure... while there are a few scenes with the suspects, the reader doesThis second installment of the series switches to a more standard mystery structure... while there are a few scenes with the suspects, the reader doesn't find out what's going on until the characters do. there would a couple twists (including one particularly skeevy one) but for the most part this series seems to be pretty 'cozy' as far as the mystery goes. I do wonder how many times the writer can manage to make a train ride be essential to catching the bad guys with out it being the same every time (or maybe it will just be the same every time)
It takes place a year after the 1st one and none of the characters change at all.. that's a bit of a long time to still be in the same opening stages of a romantic relationship as far as that part goes, and no one else changes at all either. That could definitely get annoying quickly.
It was still a fun page turner though, and has some great history bits... this one focused on boxing as it was in mid 19th century England, which was fun. The author also does a great job depicting it as an era of change and progress (lead by the rails, of course)... we'll have to see if there can be enough variety in this narrow theme for me to not get bored after the next one or two. ...more
I was a little sad about reading the book flap of this one.. it seems like they were going to kill off Liam Sharp, who they just made a big deal aboutI was a little sad about reading the book flap of this one.. it seems like they were going to kill off Liam Sharp, who they just made a big deal about last book, and I didn't really want that to happen.
Turns out Thomas created a different eccentric volunteer at the British Museum to kill off instead, so while that was weird, it was better.
This book, as the title indicates, talks about the Egypt craze at the time, which was fun. There was also a thinly veiled but very obvious reference to a certain mystery writer of another famous duo. (thoughI still think they are much more like Batman and Robin than Holmes and Watson). It was a pretty fun story with a twist that was pretty obvious but good none the less.
Apparently, there is not going to be much more character development (in fact, Llewelyn's wife was shipped out of the country for most of the story to get her out of the way) but that's ok, the stories are still good.
I'm looking forward to the next (perhaps last?) one. ...more
WAY back when I first discovered Jeff Shaara and I read Gods and Generals... I remember thinking the first person style was SO cool. It's been a bit sWAY back when I first discovered Jeff Shaara and I read Gods and Generals... I remember thinking the first person style was SO cool. It's been a bit since I've read any of his book (he seems to have quite a lot of them now), and this time I would it really dragged. I quickly got what he was trying to say which each of his point of view characters (he definitely makes you feel bad for Gen. Pemberton), and found myself skimming through the end.
He did have some great maps and bits for the actual battles, but the rest was a bit repetitive. ...more
This was a library book sale purchase.... I came into it knowing nothing about the author or the main character, but I've really enjoyed any of the SoThis was a library book sale purchase.... I came into it knowing nothing about the author or the main character, but I've really enjoyed any of the Soho Crime published books I've come across, and a mystery set in communist Laos in the 70s is certainly unique!
The mystery leaned a bit too much into the supernatural... it was not really clear if we (the readers) are supposed to believe that Dr. Siri actually talked to spirits or if that was just the personality quirk that fictional detective seems to have, but it was definitely not a plus... most of the narrative of the mystery is moved along by spiritual inspiration.
Where the book shined is in the setting and the characters... the side plot with Dr. Siri's assistant trying to get back 'home' to the morgue was by far the best part of the book.. both inspirational and heartbreaking at the same time, yet with enough of the absurd to make it an amazing read. The whole book seemed focused on making the characters larger the life enough so one can learn their lessons without taking it too seriously.
This is among the last of my big pile of sci fi books from a few years back (I'd say I'm down to maybe 20-30 of them from that big purchase). I hadn'tThis is among the last of my big pile of sci fi books from a few years back (I'd say I'm down to maybe 20-30 of them from that big purchase). I hadn't read of the the A. Merritt books because I wasn't clear if they were a series or not.. it seems the are not.
This is very much in the vein of the 'travelogue' adventure of the early pulps (as the time it was written would indicate)... the hook is that it is steeped in Babylonian mythology. The hero receives an artifact (a model ship) and it transports him back to that era, and smack into a conflict of the gods.
The book has a bunch of fun (if stereotypical) characters and some good pulpy action. It's of course very dated and has some stuff in it that will strike modern readers.. the good guys keep slaves and have no concern whipping them, and of course the female lead is totally subservient, but as long as you get past that it's a fun book with a bit of Babylonian mythology info-dumped in. Not the smoothest read ever but worth the time for sure. ...more
It seems we are inching toward Normandy, and this one finds Billy in the midst of a big training accident. Benn goes nearly full Agatha Christie with It seems we are inching toward Normandy, and this one finds Billy in the midst of a big training accident. Benn goes nearly full Agatha Christie with this one, complete with a manor house and quirky family full of secrets. He even gets them all in a room for a big reveal.
The mystery itself was pretty clear early on, and while there was a twist, it wasn't very significant, really more just a twist of the dagger to the bad guys.
Benn seems to be enamoured of tossing surprise famous guests into the story, which is a different (and more annoying) was to abuse coincidence than having characters Billy had come across before cropping up again. These two particular guests were really fun though, so I give it a pass.
This one even had a bit of a happy ending (though based on the summaries it seems it doesn't last. ...more
Just when I thought I might be tired of this series... I was wrong. Benn changes style here... this feels more like an Agatha Christie mystery than anJust when I thought I might be tired of this series... I was wrong. Benn changes style here... this feels more like an Agatha Christie mystery than anything, with a focus on the local cops and a couple interlocking mysteries in a small British town.
That doesn't meant there is no historical content though, because there certainly is, though all of it is pretty sad. We get more on the fictional characters attempts to convince the real life British leaders to believe the Holocaust is happening.. which in retrospect is pretty horrifying.
The true focus is that of African Americans during the war, and while of course Billy has a friend that he grew up with (which definitely happens more often than it should.. it's a big war) but 'Tree' Jackson is a fantastic character so I forgive him.
It's can be hard to read about how horrible some humans can be to others, but I'm sure the real life situations are even worse. I just wish more people would realize it. ...more
I was feeling for the first half of this book that it felt alot like the book a couple books ago, just in a different setting. And the extensive descrI was feeling for the first half of this book that it felt alot like the book a couple books ago, just in a different setting. And the extensive descriptions of the physical features of the Vatican were doing noting to change my mind.
Then, about 1/2 way through, there was a shocking twist that made me have to read the rest of the book in one sitting, so it turned out pretty good. As it turned out, I had the murderer pegged in this one really early on, but it turns out that was a very minor point in the story.
I also really appreciate that the author takes the time to write a nice chapter on the history behind his story, which characters are taken from real events, etc.. it really saves me alot of googling!
Benn seems to be upping the coincidence meter.. which I'm never a fan of. Not only doesn't Billy end up at Anzio and run into Audie Murphy but he manaBenn seems to be upping the coincidence meter.. which I'm never a fan of. Not only doesn't Billy end up at Anzio and run into Audie Murphy but he manages to end up having his brother involved with his murder case.
The story itself was good, but it wasn't really much of a mystery where clues were looked for.. pretty much all the suspects died until one was left... so not the best detecting there. I think this was my least favorite of the series, even though one particular event at the end was really interesting and I'm curious at the repercussions in later books.
I do think it was nice to see the author spotlight PTSD, but I'm not sure we really need that these days....more
Definitely the best in the series so far! Benn has some great insights (through the characters) of what life in war time might be like... the actors iDefinitely the best in the series so far! Benn has some great insights (through the characters) of what life in war time might be like... the actors in the story have very logical, real motivations... all with the backdrop of the actual events that occurred.
Kaz's development through these first few stories has been especially interesting... with the real life events depicted in this volume, it will be very interesting to see where he goes and does next.
I also really like Major Cosgrove in this book. Spy-types in a non-spy novel very often are always just 1st order ends justify the means types, and that was not the case here. In fact, the guy that was like that was sacked... very refreshing. I'm really glad I stumbled upon this series, its not something I would have been likely to pick up with the cool covers catching my eye!
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