Seven Wonders by Ben Mezrich - Book Report #335

 

When I read that Simu Liu was attached to a new television series based on Seven Wonders, I went straight to my local library and borrowed the book.

Lets face it, it is derivative of The Da Vinci Code and National Treasure.  As a matter of fact, I watched National Treasure while reading the book.

That's not to say it wasn't fun, because it was and I enjoyed it.  With Liu in my imagination, I found the protagonist charming.

It will make terrific television since the adventure spans the world and involves the Seven Modern Wonders of the world.

The joy in stories like this is how they can spark an interest in history, which is never a bad thing.

One thing I did learn was that the Christ the Redeemer monument, in Rio, Brazil is much older that I thought.  Construction started in 1922 and was completed in 1931.

I'm glad I read it but I would not recommend it.

It's just that there is nothing really new about this adventure.

The Executioner #24: Canadian Crisis - Book Report #315

 

About a dozen years ago I went on a buying spree for old Men's Adventure paperbacks.  For the most part I bought them for their covers and their very straight-forward stories.

Through some exploring on the internet I've learned that Don Pendleton is pretty much the creator of today's modern Action/Adventure genre.

Mack Bolan is a lone-wolf executioner of "justice" on a one-man mission to rid the world of the mafia.  This being written in the '70's the mafia was top-of mind.

If you're a comics reader then The Punisher will come to mind as it is a complete lift from The Executioner series.

Let me just say, right now, I did not like this book.  I hated it. 

Through my 55-year-old eyes, I saw nothing original here (although, as I said, this was original at the time) and was nothing more than gun porn.

The series itself took from the old pulp novels of the 1930's.  Bolan himself leaves a sharp shooter medal at the scene of every massacre. 

This being book 24 there are lots of references and characters from previous books, so there is a bit of reward for the dedicated reader. 

Two thirds of the way in and I was hating myself for wasting my time with this crap.  The body count was incredible with nearly all of them suffering a gurgling death or a splatter on the wall and a wipe with the body as it smears the gore on the way to the floor.

I am so sick of gun justice - I know there is fiction out there that does not rely on so much flying lead but it's difficult to find

Wild Cards I - Voume One edited by George R R Martin - Book Report #313

 

Apologies for the lack of posts.  There has been a pandemic going on and I've been busy building my own personal blog at eric-hebert.ca

It was the cover that drew me in.  It looked steampunk to me but I've heard the series described as dieselpunk  which is similar in that it's "retro futuristic" but instead of being informed by the Victorian era it takes its technology cues and attitudes from the 1930's to 1950's.  

I've always been drawn to the aesthetics and technology of the WWII era and the rest of the 1940's.  So this looked like fun.

The series has been around since the 1980's and continues on today.  This particular book was in a mini hardcover format that I also found interesting and prompted me to buy it.  I only wish the other two books in the first cycle were available in the same format, they would look very nice on my bookshelf.

The stories are all loosely connected around a singular event, that of an alien virus spreading throughout the world killing many and giving others "powers" that could be described as super or meh.  Some survivors were made heroic, others villains and still others merely shlubs. 

Think of the X-Men to get a feel of the super-powers folks develop.

Each story was a delight to read and did not just tell the story of some conflict but also delved into the consequences of being changed by the Wildcard Virus.  There is a humanity, humour and pulpy fun to the stories.

I found this book a delight to read as it offered a timely subject (the virus) but also charged the stories with fun.  I felt that we can get through this fight with COVID-19 in much the same way as the characters deal with their virus, by coping and adjusting to it.

Recommended for a bit of escapism in a comic book way that does not take itself too seriously. 

Iceberg by Clive Cussler - Book Report #312

I grew up reading the Dirk Pitt adventures.  At the time, they were a great romp and I loved them.  As I kept reading these summer books, I got a bit tired of how Cussler would wrap Dirk Pitt in the American flag and just how invincible he was.

But I had missed the point; the author was writing camp, fun, over-the-top adventures in the style of the pulps.  I didn't find them believable.  

I wasn't supposed to.

Now I'm in my mid-50's and trying to read them again.  Perspective helps and I can certainly turn the pages for the sheer fun of a story well told.

Iceberg was first published in 1975 and it certainly feels a bit dated, but not by much.  There is some light misogyny and heavy smoking which was typical of the time.

I remember how I always liked the first two thirds of his books.  Iceberg was before his formula was set (much like a James Bond movie) so it lacked the historical reference and his good old buddy,  Al Giordino.  Which I missed.  Yes, the last third was over-the-top to the point of eye-rolling.

It was a fun read - but it was fluff.  It may be awhile before I read Raise the Titanic!

Still, if you're missing James Bond, you might enjoy one of these classics.

Recommended, but don't expect much.

Below is the cover of the novel as I read it in the late 70's.

Black Wind By Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler - Book Report #292

A Dirk Pitt Adventure

World War II was a pivotal event that formed our present reality.  I find the period fascinating.

In this novel, during the war, the Japanese created a biological weapon and were en route to launch an attack before the submarine was lost sending the toxin to the bottom of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The present-day bad guy now wants the weapon for his own nasty plans.

Sometimes the plot of a Cussler novel doesn't grab me as much as the part of history he dug up to start the story.  In this one, the Japanese submarine also had a launcher for an aircraft.  This was the first time I've heard of this combination.

All kinds of questions came to me; how do you travel underwater with a plane attached?  Once in flight, how does the plane return? Or does it?


Cussler did me a favour by opening a part of WWII history I had never know.

I'm sorry to say, but it was the history lesson that captured my imagination.  I felt a bit like Julien Perlmutter in that I put the novel down many times to search out books about the Japanese Imperial Navy.

So, yes I enjoyed the book very much but not for the usual reasons.

Clive Cussler's Website - https://clive-cussler-books.com/

Japanese submarine history Wikipedia page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarines_of_the_Imperial_Japanese_Navy

Clive Cussler

Trojan Odyssey by Clive Cussler - Book Report #287

I grew up reading Clive Cussler in the '80s.  The man has only increased his output by teaming up with other authors.  I've decided to try and catch up as quickly as possible.  To that end, I've gone as far back as the Edmonton Public Library goes with downloadable audiobooks.

Dirk Pitt adventures are best approached like a James Bond movie; the hero will always win and the bad guy is typically a mustache-twisting character bent on world domination.  But that's okay because there is much more going on in between the lines.

First off, there is always a true historical element to these books,  Cussler will fictionalize these events to suit the story but, because they are real moments in history, they anchor the adventures extremely well.

What makes his books work are the relationships with his main characters; Dirk & Al are the best of friends, trust each other with their lives and always have fun while defying death.  They always believe that things will turn out just fine.

The NUMA team is so incredibly competent I often wish I worked with such dedicated people.

And there is an arc to the lives of the characters that progress from book to book.  Recently, Dirk discovered he had twin children.  In this volume, the relationship of his love progresses as does the growth of NUMA itself.  It's a very satisfying construct to the series.

In this particular adventure the evil genius is secretly plotting to divert the Gulf Stream in order to bring on climate change.  Sure the idea, is silly but it plays with the “what if?” question that all good speculative fiction does.  Any movie or fiction relies on a suspension of disbelief by the person consuming it.  Some stories demand more of it than others

This particular one demanded a lot.

Still it was silly fun.

Borrow the book or buy it second hand.  It's not a book I'll go back to but it pushes the overall arc of the characters’ lives forward and that was satisfying.

Clive Cussler’s website - https://clive-cussler-books.com/

Clive Cussler

James Bond 007: Hammerhead by Written by Andy Diggle, Art by Luca Casalanguida - A Graphic Novel Review

This book was a spot-on delivery of what we've expected from Bond over the years.

There is action, humour, style and cutting-edge technology.

I found the art and the depiction of violence, in particular, to be cinematic.  In that, it wasn't overly gratuitous.  In the past couple of books I've reviewed, I've found the blood, guts and gore splattered on walls a bit too self-serving.

I am sure the body count is about the same but it was handled with a more practiced hand here.

The story was spot on and I was happy to see Diggle bring out the secondary characters, proving they are in positions for more than their typing skills.

And this was a classic plotline; a new weapon is developed to replace ageing infrastructure.  However, what is good for national defence is also good for organized crime and a race is on to control the Hammerhead weapon.

An excellent entry in Dynamite Entertainment's Bond series.

Andy Diggle's website - http://www.andydiggle.com/

Art by Luca Casalanguida

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow - Book Review #174

I found this to be a terrific book.

It was fast paced and pertinent. 

It explores how our society is moving more and more into a surveillance state.   We are inexorably losing our freedoms. 

We follow the adventure of Marcus Yallow and his friends after his hometown of San Francisco suffers a terrorist attack. 

It is a subversive novel designed for young readers to take seriously their privacy and right to use encryption. 

Interestingly, even though the story itself was very entertaining I found the essays and bibliography at the end to be just as compelling.

Recommended.

Cory Doctorow's website is here:  http://craphound.com/

Cory Doctorow

Created, The Destroyer by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir - BookReport #152

04/15/2016

There is a long history of men's adventure books. Paperback originals that were a quick and mindless distraction. The Destroyer series was unique in that it took a humorous spin on the genre never taking itself too seriously but delivering on the action and adventure.

This is the origin story and I was able to download it from the Kindle store for free.  Like a good drug dealer would do, the first couple of tastes are free.

There were nearly 200 stories written staring Remo Williams and Chiun and they do not need to be read in any order.

The dialog is crisp, funny, irreverent and intense.  The plotting is quick and the bad guys practically twist their mustaches.  It was a fun read.

If you like Bond, Spenser or even MacGyver then you will enjoy this.

Warren Murphy - http://warrenmurphy.com/

Richard Sapir -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Sapir

Book Report #48, Seawitch by Alistair MacLean

I was in the mood for a bit of action and got that with a rather silly story about a group of wealthy oil executives trying to stop a rogue oilman from drilling in international waters. 

The book was published in 1977 and really does not stand the test of time. 

I found the narration stiff and old fashioned.

Off shore drilling was a relatively new thing in the 70's, apparently, and deep-water drilling was forbidden by an old-boys agreement among the major oil executives. So that part was quaint.  

But one guy, Lord Worth, develops, deploys and begins producing oil from a newly developed deep-water oil rig, called Seawitch.  This goes against the agreement but worse, Lord Worth is undercutting them on price. (Gasp!) Again this a bit quaint since today's oil is bought and sold on the open market and not subject to being valued by the producer. 

The old boys hire a "fixer" to stop Lord Worth only to discover that he has a personal vendetta against Worth and he goes over the top by sinking one of Worth's ships, hiring mercenaries to overtake his oil rig and plans to destroy it buy using military explosives stolen from US military stockpiles. 

You read that right - stolen from US military weapons depots!  The bad guys just waltz in by showing some forged ID tags and walk out with weapons.  This took me right out of the story; I cannot suspend my disbelief so much as to believe security could be so easily beaten.  Not in the 70's - not ever.  This was written during the deepest parts of the Cold War, there was no way the author could expect his readers to go along with this part of the story.

To be honest, all the characters had something artificial about them. And the women - yikes! - they were the poorest written of them all. And there were only two.

Unless you're a MacLean fan or just want to revel in a poorly told story, I recommend passing on this old gem.

You can read more about Alistair MacLean HERE

Alistair MacLean

Book Report #35 - Pacific Vortex by Clive Cussler

Oh my God - what fun!

Clive Cussler has a special place in my heart.  I read him a lot when I was a teenager (sadly a long time ago) and I grew out of his books in my mid 20's.  With my interest in pulp fiction it didn't take long to rediscover good 'ol Cussler who has not slowed down one bit.

This guy is in his 80's now and is only increasing his output by teaming up with all kinds of authors including his own son, Dirk.  The authors he's teamed up with are, Paul Kemprecos, Craig Dirgo, Jack Dubrul, Justin Scott and Grant Blackwood.

The basic story goes like this:  There is an area in the Pacific, north of Hawaii, called the Pacific Vortex, that has, for decades, has been known for ships disappearing with out a trace, just like the Bermuda Triangle.  Along comes a newly built American nuclear submarine and it too goes missing.  Our hero, Dirk Pitt, finds the captain's log capsule floating in the ocean and takes it directly to the US navy.  Thus begins the adventure and with the weight of the US navy the mystery of the Vortex is uncovered.

Pacific Vortex was the first Dirk Pitt adventure written by Cussler but was the sixth in publication order.  This is like American James Bond stuff!  Complete with an evil overlord in a hidden fortress of doom!  There are many tropes that Cussler uses that, like the James Bond films, if they are not present the book feels incomplete.  There is always a beautiful woman who falls, usually tragically, in love with Pitt, there is his best friend and partner Al Girodino and there are the cars.  Oh, the cars are wonderful and sadly the cars also come to tragic ends as well.  But not in this story  Here Pitt drives an AC Cobra into the sunset with nary a scratch on her.  Whew!

This was pure pulpy fun!  Knowing that it was written in the 70's and published in 1983 the story actually stands up very well.  There are no glaringly obsolete technologies mentioned and the story feels just like a James Bond movie.  If you like action, adventure, exotic locations, beautiful babe, humor and men being men - you really can't go wrong with this book.

Book Report #34 - Perry Rhodan - Enterprise Stardust

Perry Rhodan, Book 1
by
K. H. Scheer & Clark Darlton

This is an interesting story in the world of publishing.  Begun in 1961 this German science fiction series has been in constant publication, written by a team of authors, for nearly 50 years!  To stagger the mind a bit more; it's published weekly!  The series is sold in instalments and many story arcs (or cycles as they are know in this series)  can range from 25 to 100 issues before the tale is told.

The universe of Perry Rhodan is revisionist; substituting Neil Armstrong as the first man on the moon with Perry Rhodan and his team.  Written a bit like the Doc Savage stories of the 30's Rhodan is the brains behind everything while his team members represent the best in his field.

In 1969 Ace Books began publishing English translations of the series in mass market paperbacks.  If you haunt used book stores, like I do, you'll see loads of these books still floating around.  The difficulty is in finding the early issues in publication order.  Ace published 118 books in the series before ending the project due to lack of sales.

I was able to find PDF editions of the books on-line and converted the first five books to EPUB and loaded them onto my new Kobo Vox.

This first story sets the stage in the series; Rhodan and his team crash land on the moon because some energy beam interfered with their remote controlled landing sequence.  Once safely on the surface Rhodan discovers another crash-landed ship.  This one is most definitely alien in origin.  They make first contact and discover they are in a position to help the aliens in exchange for advanced technology and Rhodan's desire to unite all the people of Earth, which would allow humans the opportunity to join a galaxy-spanning society filled with alien races united under one old (and failing) government.

You can see all the popular science fiction movies taking parts of this series and using them in their own stories.  First Contact, Galactic Empires, Humans discovering they are not alone - all of it is here.

Even more fun is the cheesy 60's and 70's attitudes that prevail and how 50 years of scientific progress renders these stories charmingly dated.

Book Report #31 - Jack Wakes Up

Jack Wakes Up

by

Seth Harwood

I've been following Mr. Harwood's career for a long time.  He's very big in the podcast world and has made this novel (and others) available as an audio download.

The coolest thing about a podcast novel is that it is a complete throw back to the early days of radio.  Harwood himself  reads one chapter at a time and it builds into a serialized story.  When the novel was first podcasted I'd have to wait a week between chapters.  Now you can listen to the whole thing as quickly as you like.

The reason he put it out on the Internet, free for anybody to listen to, was to generate interest and to build a fan base.  By having hard numbers (the amount of times the book was downloaded) he could show a publisher that he had a number of fans who would also turn into buyers of his book.

It worked and Jack Wakes Up was published by Three Rivers Press, in 2008, as a paperback original.

I always knew I wanted to read the book more than I wanted to listen to it.  So I only listened to the first third and waited for the book to be published.  Then I bought it as soon as it was available - then it sat on my shelf for nearly three years - and now I've read it!

It was a very polished and quickly paced first effort.  This guy has got some chops. Harwood can certainly take you into the darkest, seediest, and scariest corners of San Francisco.  This is my kind of stuff.  

The story is about a drug buy.  A big drug buy.  So you know there are going to be some scary characters all over the place.

The book reads like an action movie and some of the scenes, especially in the clubs, I could feel the music thudding in my chest.  Harwood can write a tough guy like the best of them.  His action sequences are thrilling to read.

Did I like the book? Oh, yea, baby!

I only had one bit of trouble with the book.

Palms is an ex-action hero movie star, a one hit wonder.  His career is all but over when a friend calls him up to help smooth over the drug transaction.  Circumstances change early in the book and Palms has to complete the task on his own. Jack's a smart guy but what I had trouble understanding was how he had the experience to pull off a buy that was going so dangerously wrong.  Maybe I missed something early on in the book (and that's very likely) but any rational person would have walked away.  Although he was in financial difficulty I never felt like that was the only motivation for Jack.

With that bit of negative news assided I can tell you that Harwood had my heart racing a few times through the book.  Visit this guy at his website, download one of his free audio novels and give it a try.  If you like crime fiction, suspense and action you can't go wrong with this first effort.

Book Report #28 - Killing Floor

Killing Floor

by 

Lee Child

 This is the first book in the Jack Reacher series.  Reacher is an ex-army MP who after being honorably discharged he decides he wants to live off-gird; traveling all over the United States paying his way with cash and barely leaving a paper trail.

This is the first book in the series (I've read one other) and takes place in the South near Atlanta.  There are a couple plot stretches that took me out of the story to say, "Really?"  Reacher gets off a Greyhound bus near a small town, he walks into town looking to dig up some history on an old blues singer he's a fan of.  While walking he's picked up by the police and accused of murder.

It doesn't take long to discover he's not the killer and somehow he becomes involved in the investigation.  He has experience as an MP but there is no way any police investigation would allow the direct involvement of a civilian.  That was the first plot point that made me say, "Really?"  The second came when we find out who WAS killed.

Most of the story involves Reacher driving from place to place occasionally killing bad guys in nasty ways and never, ever being arrested for it.  He even shows one of the cops, who he's now sleeping with, a trunk full of bodies that he created and she doesn't even react to it.

The book was over 500 pages, was boring and far-fetched.

Pass.

No more Reacher for me.

Book Report #9 of 26

Money Shot

by 

Christopher Rowley

Book 3 of the Netherworld trilogy.

Here it is - the dramatic conclusion!

The answer to Taste Imperative is revealed.  The stakes are much higher and the body count starts to accelerate.

Again and again the flaws in this series kept showing up; from some meaningless chases to some clunky sex scenes to just playing one cliche after another to string a story together.  I kept stopping and remembering other stories I'd read or movies I'd watched.  There were bits of Mad Max, Lord of the Rings, Blade Runner and just some goofy situations that just made the whole thing a mess for me.

I enjoyed the last sequence in the secret bunker but the whole thing ended in an eye-rolling steal from Blade Runner!

Did I enjoy the series?  Well, I like the concept of the books, merging the novel with the graphic novel but the story was so weak that, in the end, I kept thinking that I could have read something else.

Book Report #7 of 26

Pleasure Model (Netherworld book 1)

By

Christopher Rowley

I was first stuck by the concept of this book; published by Heavy Metal Pulp (an imprint of TOR).  It is a science fiction novel with art work throughout, this seemed like a perfect mash-up of the old pulp magazines of the 20's and 30's and the Heavy Metal monthly for grown-ups.

If you liked the movie Blade Runner (and who didn't?) then this will be a nice reminder of why you liked it.  The book has it all; a weary police officer who's seen it all, a murder that is much more than it seems and a witness who is a Pleasure Model, an illegal gene-grown human.  As Rook (our detective) investigates the murder an attempt is made on the life of the Pleasure.  Rook decides to protect her and thus begins his run from the people who are trying to kill them.

The book has the look, feel and tone of Blade Runner it is quickly paced and the artwork enhances the story.  I always feel good that I've imagined something very much like the artwork shows.  Perhaps I got used to the visuals of the interior art but I never found it distracting.  There is a satisfying conclusion to the first book but in no way does it leave you thinking that you don't need to read on.  You don't read book one unless you are prepared to read book three and the first volume leaves you at a natural break point in the story; not in the middle of the action.

I've already started book two and will let you know how it read in two weeks.

You might be wondering what happened to The Dark End of the Street listed on the right.  I'm about half way through it and so far I'm not digging it very much.  The editors picked a wonderful premise and they went to two distinct types of writers to contribute to the volume.  They tapped the shoulders of mystery / crime writers and literary fiction authors.  So far I've only liked the ones written by the crime writers.  And I've hated, yes hated, the stories from the literary mob.  Literary fiction - where nothing actually happens and characters gaze at their navels and mope.

So I've put the book aside half read.  I'll pick it up again from time to time and read one or two stories until I've finished it.  I'll keep it up there to motivate me to read it.  At some point I'll get sick of looking at the cover on my blog and I'll finish the book just to change the art.

You may be wondering what the cover of the second book in the Netherworld series looks like so here is a picture for you.

Cheers!

Hunt: Beyond the Frozen Fire by Gabriel Hunt

Here's a run down of what was read and seen for the past couple of days

Wow!  A modern day Indiana Jones!  There were even evil Amazon Nazi women in a hidden valley of Antarctica complete with a Nazi dooms-day machine pointed at Washington, DC!

Too bad it was still boring.

This is the second book in the Hunt series, that I've read, and the second one that I found dull beyond words.  I would have stopped reading both books but I want to believe in the publisher and so I keep reading right to the end.

I have one more book on the shelf but I'll wait before I try this series again.