I'm sure that there are plenty of people around here (surrounding county outside of Denison) that will disapprove of me because they were offended by ...moreI'm sure that there are plenty of people around here (surrounding county outside of Denison) that will disapprove of me because they were offended by this book, but I'm really enjoying it so far.(less)
Fun to ride along with Virgil & Everett again. He's so good at the genre, it's got me thinking that Spencer & Hawk were meant to be cowboys- er, pardo...moreFun to ride along with Virgil & Everett again. He's so good at the genre, it's got me thinking that Spencer & Hawk were meant to be cowboys- er, pardon me, gunslingers.(less)
Not only fast & fun, intense and suspenseful, but I think morally satisfying. The monster really was a monster, not a victim of either circumstance or...moreNot only fast & fun, intense and suspenseful, but I think morally satisfying. The monster really was a monster, not a victim of either circumstance or curse. The other two main characters represent selfless and selfish kinds of people.(less)
Sigh. It's just such a let down to finish one. It's like having to go home after a wonderful vacation, or having to go to bed after a wonderful visit ...moreSigh. It's just such a let down to finish one. It's like having to go home after a wonderful vacation, or having to go to bed after a wonderful visit with great friends when you stay up into the wee hours enjoying the company and the conversation.
I suppose I can re-read any of the Billy Collins books I have or buy one I don't. (less)
Excellent stuff. As I've said before in my updates for this book- Paretsky has an uncanny ability to to make the current and topical into something bo...moreExcellent stuff. As I've said before in my updates for this book- Paretsky has an uncanny ability to to make the current and topical into something both profoundly personal and at the same time exciting and unexpected.(less)
I liked this better than his Spencer books! Too bad there's only 3 in this series. Being an Arizona native I tried for years to get into Western novel...moreI liked this better than his Spencer books! Too bad there's only 3 in this series. Being an Arizona native I tried for years to get into Western novels. I tried Louis L'Amour, didn't care for it. Figured Zane Grey had that Arizona connection, didn't do it for me. I even tried Tony Hillerman for something more contemporary, just didn't seem to click for me. But Resolution was a blast. Shallow? Predictable? Male, macho, misogynist? Maybe, sorta, sometimes, but you know what? I loved it. Tight, direct, just enough humor, plenty of action, characters that are introspective and reflective but not neurotic and who care about each other and looking out for the little-guy.
The perfect summer escape for any grown up who used to be a little kid who wanted to grow up to be a cowboy.(less)
I hope they make it into a movie, because even if you don't think it's on par with 1984 it's at least on par with Dr. Strangelove and Woody Allen's Sl...moreI hope they make it into a movie, because even if you don't think it's on par with 1984 it's at least on par with Dr. Strangelove and Woody Allen's Sleeper- and more recently, Idiocracy. Brooks shows us how we get the government we deserve. Unlike the paranoid Manchurian Candidate, 2030 makes it pretty clear that more often than not, we unwittingly and enthusiastically invite our alien overlords to take charge. (less)
Haven't read this since college. I remember it unfolding like a detective novel, made up of Johnathan and Nina Harker's letters and diaries. I liked i...moreHaven't read this since college. I remember it unfolding like a detective novel, made up of Johnathan and Nina Harker's letters and diaries. I liked it. Reading through it helped me stop having vampire dreams whenever I was under a lot of stress.
So the other night Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film "Brahm Stoker's Dracula" was on TV and I was frankly rather annoyed with it. It seems like Coppola was trying to suck up to Ann Rice readers. The historical Vlad Dracul was a freakishly violent fiend and Stoker's character was an unfeeling, selfish, insatiable beast- in short, a "monster." Coppola tried to make him a sympathetic romantic. I was appalled to find that Nina and the vampire wound up together in a wedding chapel, no less.
So today, browsing through a book store I picked up the book and re-read the last few pages, just to remind myself that Stoker wasn't such a sell-out as Coppola. I was relieved to read a much more satisfying (hope that's not a spoiler) conclusion. One that reaffirmed my faith in morality and humanity, not to mention true love as opposed to just sex and violence. (less)
You have to have a taste for this stuff- simultaneously surreal, philosophical, and full of irony and pulp/pop cultural references. It was a nice brea...moreYou have to have a taste for this stuff- simultaneously surreal, philosophical, and full of irony and pulp/pop cultural references. It was a nice break from the religious and political stuff I'd been reading.(less)