Book #59

Hell's Bay, by James W. Hall. Unabridged audio.

Throughout Hall's prior dozen books or so, the character of Thorn has played the role of reluctant hero. He is a loner who would like nothing more than to spend his entire life in the Florida Keys making a meager living as a fishing guide. But circumstances never allow for that, and he always finds himself wrapped up in adventure, drama, and danger.

The combination of Thorn's first-person POV and other characters' third-person POV is a style that I have run across more all the time in modern thrillers or mysteries, but it always strikes me as awkward at first. But once I got used to this style choice, I could enjoy the story itself. Hall writes in a very lyrical way, and his books have a very easily-readable feel to them. His thrillers tends to possess a nice combination of plot, character development, description and dialog.

Thorn has been talked into partnering with an old flame in upscale fishing-guide business, which thrusts Thorn out of his comfort zone and into having to engage in small talk with customers. When it is revealed that the first batch of customers are in fact Thorn's long-lost relatives, he grows even more uncomfortable. When it is revealed that the woman murdered in the first few pages of the novel was Thorn's very rich businesswoman grandmother, his discomfort turns to dread. As the fishing expedition proceeds, the killer tries to pick off members of the party, leading Thorn into a face-to-face confrontation with the killer, a woman seeking revenge. It turns out that the family business (which Thorn has just learned about) has damaged by the woman's family through its business practices.

Thorn's old buddy Sugarman, former deputy and current private investigator, looks into Thorn's newfound family and learns of the death of the grandmother. The local sheriff has declared the death an accident, but Sugarman knows better, and he finds the evidence to prove the sheriff wrong. And he senses a deeper conspiracy involved in the murder and the cover-up. These two plot threads converge in a logical way, and the end of the novel is very dramatic.

This story lays the groundwork for a potential change in Thorn's life and lifestyle. The next book will tell how much of a change actually happens. And I am looking forward to finding out.

This Week in Reading

I always have an unabridged audiobook going, as well as an old-fashioned paper-book going. It doesn't happen very often, but a few times a year based on chance and probability, I finish both of these on the same day.  That is what happened yesterday (reviews coming in the next week), and I am not totally sure what I am going to start next.

I read the dead-tree version of James W. Hall's thriller Hell's Bay, and the only reason I actaully "read" that one was that my library has most of Hall's novels on audio, but not this one.  This novel came out a few years ago, but I put it of, waiting for the audio to become available -- but it didn't. Last time I checked, the audio of the next of Hall's novels is at the library, so I will pick it up soon. I am looking at a non-fiction book as my next paper-book, but we'll see.

The audio that I did listen to was Anne McCaffrey's Renegades of Pern, which is about the 10th Pern novel I've read. I am not passionate about the series, as some are, but every year or two, I pick another one up and generally enjoy it. Next up for my earbuds is probably another dragon-related novel (purely a coincidence), the lastest novel in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series.

Retro-review: Captain 3-D!

The only issue of this comic came out in December 1953, published by Harvey Comics, and created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

Originally, readers needed special green-and-red glasses to view this comic, but the reprinted version in the Simon & Kirby collection restores the story to its original art and full color, both for the first time. The restoration is very well done, as there is no evidence that the book was intended solely to be read in 3-D. And there are no obvious 3-D "tricks" in the art, that the movies of the time so often relied on t oemphasize the gimmick.

The story is a classic sci-fi/fantasy tale: a mysterious book finds its way into the hands of young Danny Davis, enabling him to use magic glasses (hidden inside the book) to bring Captain 3-D from the pages of the Book of D into our world. Captain 3-D reveals to Danny that he is part of race of humanoid survivors,  all but wiped out by their enemies, the Cat People. Following a destructive war, the elders placed their great champion in the pages of the magical Book of D, of which Danny is now the guardian.

The stories in this issue mostly involve the return of the Cat People, and Captain 3-D's battle against them, although he and Danny do a little old-fashioned crime-fighting, as well. In our realm, the Captain possesses strength and speed beyond those of normal humans.

It is certainly a crazy premise, but it is also an interesting read as a curiosity. This comic series lasted about as long as the fad did in movies, as this one issue was the only one published.

Walking Dead, issues 25-36.

The key plot development in this series of issues if that we are introduced to the Governor, a man who runs the nearby town of Woodbury.  He is violent and cruel, but has managed to keep his people relatively safe. The man is obviously a villain from the perspective of our heroes, but I like that Kirkman does show that his reign of terror has been effective in its own way. Perhaps this type of "leadership" is what is needed in this horrific new world.

In a horrifying reveal of exactly how crazy the Governor is, we know that we are seeing in the Governor what (the newly disfigured) Rick may become . After escaping from the Governor, Michonne does some unspeakable things to the man with her sword. Upon fleeing, we see that he may indeed be alive after all that. But that won't come back to haunt Rick and the gang, I suppose. {SPOILER: it does}

Kirkman continues to focus on the theme of man's inhumanity to man, that the living may in fact be a more dangerous threat than the undead. This volume contains lots and lots of blood, relatively little of it zombie-related. The act of killing, relentless killing, even of the undead, even to survive, leaves its mark on the soul.

But the strength of this series, what has turned The Walking Dead into a modern classic, is the quiet scenes that serve as a counterpoint to the zombie horror.  Whatever the surroundings, humanity does persevere, and life does goes on. We get some wonderful scenes of life going on, as a baby is ready to come, and a young couple is figuring out how to get married in this terrible new world.

Book #58

Ender's Shadow, by Orson Scott Card. Unabridged audio.

Not exactly a "sequel" to Ender's Game, this book is closer to being a "co-quel," if you will. It covers the same time frame and events as Game, but this one tells the story of Bean, and Ender Wiggin is merely a supporting character. This change of POV is an interesting idea in storytelling, and the fact that Card is able to in essence tell the same story again in an engaging way is impressive.

The first 80% of the book was very interesting, as the focus on Bean was something entirely different from what I've already read in Game. The introduction of the character of Sister Carlotta helped add originality to this novel, successfully placing the novel in a different world from its predecessor (literally and figuratively). I appreciated much that this new character represented, and felt that she added depth and a sense of reality to this very sci-fi world. The story of Bean's early life in this novel more compelling to me than Wiggin's early life in Game, and Card does a great job explaining the complicated psychology (and physiology) of Bean. 

But the last few chapters of Shadow, the most plot-heavy parts of the novel, felt too familiar. The ending was a highlight of Game, with a terrific twist that I did not see coming at all. The tension that was thick in Game is much lessened here, as the ending of the story is already known. The ending states of the characters were not known, and Card does a good job filling in those, but the story is such a critical part of both Shadow and Game, that is hard to make that part of the book compelling.

The character of Bean, and the overall world that Card has created in these novels, make this a worthwhile read. I will pick up more books in from this world, continuing with either (or both) the Wiggin stories, or the Bean stories.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!
Just do the following:

Grab your current read.
Open to a random page.
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

From page 8 of Hell's Bay, by James W. Hall:
"A hundred yards downstream she turned and looked back and he was still standing in the shallows watching her go. After a moment, he swatted at a bug near his ear, then turned back to his pine shack. She traveled almost an hour downstream before her killer appeared."

Book #57

Viper Pilot, by Dan Hampton. Hardcover.
While serving in the USAF, Lt. Col. Dan Hampton flew over 150 combat missions, earning himself multiple Distinguished Flying Crosses and a Purple Heart, among other honors. Known as "Two Dogs," Hampton was a top F-16 aviator. This is his memoir of his time in the service.

Hampton writes a little about his upbringing, and touches on his father's career as a flyer. He then moves quickly into his own Air Force pilot training, and we see exactly why so many trainees wash out of the intense program. Much of Hampton's active flying career took place in the Middle East, receiving an injury in the Khobar Towers attack and flying in the 1991 liberation of Kuwait. He returned to the area in 2003, fighting in Iraq. The chapter "Sandstorm" details a few of his missions over Baghdad, showing the reader how difficult it is to fight in desert conditions.

Hampton was in the US in September 2001, and the chapter on his responsibilities the days after 9/11 was riveting. He captures the fear and uncertainty that was abroad in the land in those first few days after the attacks. In addition to detailing his own experience, Hampton also includes some of his own commentary about military and political affairs. He has strong things to say about general officers (that many of them are power-hungry egotists), with Wesley Clark coming in for particularly harsh criticism. He also worries that reliance on drones will weaken the long-term flight capabilities of the military.

The actual writing on display in Viper Pilot is very strong. Hampton is able to mix in enough moments of levity (many at the expense of the French) to ease the tension that is present throughout most of the book. His ability to bring the reader into the cockpit and to give a sense of what it feels like to fly 1,000 miles per hour makes the book very readable. There is a little bit of military jargon thrown into the book, but the glossary in the back is there for readers who may not be familiar with the terminology.

Note: I received this book directly from the publisher in preparation for an interview we conducted with the author on the Book Guys Show. We spoke with the author on episode 056 of the podcast, and he was as interesting to talk to as it was to read his book.