Samyann's Blog, page 58

In only 20 square miles in Virginia…..

During the Civil War, one small section of Virginia became America’s bloodiest battle ground. In an area of barely 20 square miles and including Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor, more than half a million men fought in deadly combat. Here, more men were killed and wounded during the Civil War than were killed and wounded in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the War with Mexico and all of the Indian wars combined. No fewer than 19 generals-10 Union and 9 Confederate-met death here.

Unspeakable by Sandra Brown – Review

Audiobook read by John Henry Cox, 14 hours of listening. The story arc, as a whole, is formulaic. Cowboy with mysterious past is hired by an old rancher with a widowed and deaf daughter-in-law and her small son. Guess what? Yeup, the cowboy and the widow fall in love … this was predictable early in the process of defining the characters. No surprise in a beautiful-woman-meets handsome-cowboy-scenario.

Given the predictable basics, Unspeakable is a good title, because the behavior of the bad guys will make you squirm. The interesting aspects of the story are in the peripheral characters, a retired sheriff obsessed with a 20-year old cold case, the old rancher and his love for his daughter-in-law, the absolutely Unspeakable acts of his psychopathic stepsons.

 

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson – Review

Audiobook. Erik Larson has written a non-fiction documentation of history in the form of a novel. The story is composed of parallel events, the World’s Fair Columbian Exposition of 1893 and the murders committed by H. H. Holmes. It is a very detailed compilation of both, including in-depth research of Chicago, well known celebratory architects and politicians, in addition to the diabolical and grizzly murders of Holmes.

If you have any interest in the history of Chicago, I highly recommended this award winning book. There is considerable name dropping of famous individuals who were involved in or attended the Fair, some surprising. Did you know that the Disney family was so impressed with the beauty of the “White City” that “The Magic Kingdom may well be a descendant”  and L. Frank Baum so dazzled that the fabulous Fair brought to his creativity the emerald city of Oz?

The book is flawlessly read by Scott Brick with the exception of pronouncing the names of a few local Chicago cities. For example, Wilmette isn’t “will meet”, but rather “will met”.

The Ferris Wheel originated in Chicago in 1893

George Ferris erected the Ferris wheel for the very first time at the behest of Daniel Burnham, for the 1893 Columbian Exposition. Now you know!

Pretty cool picture, huh? 2160 passengers…wow!! It completely dwarfs the current Chicago Navy Pier wheel.

Chicago’s Navy Pier during WWII

Chicago’s Navy Pier has intriguing history. Did you know pilot training orientation commenced at Navy Pier during WWII? Eventually, 15,000 pilots were qualified for military service, including a young airman named George H.W. Bush, the future President of the United States. As many as 200 WWII planes still rest at the bottom of Lake Michigan as a result of accidents during training. This photograph was taken between WWI and WWII, so it’s pretty close to how the pier and the skyline appeared at the time. Construction for the pier actually began in 1914.

Dark Horse by Tami Hoag – Review

Audiobook. Dark Horse is read by Beth McDonald, and she does a great job. There are multiple point of view shifts and she handles the switch from male to female in such a manner that the listener keeps up. The current mantra that authors must select a specific point of view and stick with it at all costs is, well, to be blunt: bull. How this fallacy got started is beyond me. Successful authors like Tami Hoag and many others (hello, Stephen King), take all the so called writing rules and stir them in a stew, scooping out only the most delectable bits for themselves. Which is as it should be.

Dark Horse is an enjoyable mystery, with all the twists as turns you’d expect. A nice who-done-it. The female protagonist is an emotionally fragile and physically damaged former police officer embroiled in a missing person case by a youngster needing to find her older sister. The horse world setting is a educational and fun arena in which to be engrossed.

A most significant element is the reader voice. Barbara Rosenblat’s interpretation of Anna Pigeon, the main character in the Nevada Barr series, is similar to that of Beth McDonald. A sarcastic and witty character, Elena from Dark Horse has more reason for the caustic look on life, in my opinion.

 

Delusion In Death: In Death, Book 35 by J.D.Robb – Review

Magic formula, huh? All the characters we know and love are in this story. Peabody, Roarke, Feeney, etc. Some have really bit roles, like McNab. There’s a new major role in this book, a federal investigator. Maybe a future series based on this character? Basically, a couple of grizzly murder scenes results in another obsessive search by Eve and her supporters, a few bad dreams, love scenes and showers with handsome Roarke … all familiar venues.  If you’re familiar with the basics of the first 34 In Death books penned by Nora Roberts, and the well rounded band of sleuthers therein, you’ll be right at home.

 

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones – Review

Audiobook. Premise: A young woman who can see dead people. There you go. Great book concept, right? Add to this the fact that the woman is obsessed with a type A hunk that makes aggressive sexual advances to her as a young girl and now regularly brings her to orgasm in her sleep. Am I a complete prude or does this border on the behavior of a pedophile and is a bit creepy on her part? Fantasies are one thing, but…… The lead character is snarky, obnoxious, and in-your-face to everyone about her abilities, believers included.  One of the dead people even has the hots for one of the ‘alive’ investigators, then tears up when confronted with the grief of her sister. Gimme a break *sigh*. One cliche after another, in virtually every line of dialogue or narrator voice. Although, he author might redirect her career to being a stand-up comedianne as some of the lines are funny.

Unless you’d enjoy getting into a self-absorbed, offending, sexually obsessed airhead, take a pass. I couldn’t finish. I know, I know … pretty sad commentary considering all the laudatory reviews. Apparently, other readers see something about this book to enjoy, beats me.

 

Relic – Pendergast Book 1 by Preston & Child – Review

Audiobook. Science fiction meets crime procedural in Relic. In this first of the series, Pendergast himself doesn’t play a major role in the investigation. Most of the who-done/is-it sleuthing is done by museum employees, Pendergast a peripheral who ultimately saves the day. Preston and Child have bestowed some physic abilities to Pendergast, or must have, because much of the detail gleaned by the museum employees doesn’t involve him directly, but he seems to know. Nice job in defining characters to like and a few to detest.

The story is adaquately read by David Colacci, however some of the New York City policemen sound pretty much alike, difficult, but not necessary, to tell them apart. Nice job with the brrrr of the Scottish scientist.

Pendergast is very popular as a fictional character, but I don’t believe it is because of this book, at least in my opinion. This popularity is a reason to move on in the series and I hope the character becomes more developed.

Civil War horse pee?

In a single day, the 1 million Civil War horses would have peed enough urine to fill more than 12 standard swimming pools.