Doug Lewars's Blog, page 12

A Damsel in Distress

A Damsel in Distress by P.G. Wodehouse

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This isn't quite as good as the Jeeves books but it's very well done nonetheless. There is, however, one scene near the end I thought the author could have done more with. I would have loved a description of Lady Caroline's reaction to her brother's announcement but we never learn of it. Outside of that, the book is excellent from beginning to end.



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Three Hearts and Three Lions

Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This was probably cutting edge in the fantasy genre for it's time but these days it's pretty run-of-the-mill. It's not a bad adventure and I consider the book worth reading but while it is enjoyable, don't expect to be amazed.



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No Sunscreen for the Dead

No Sunscreen for the Dead by Tim Dorsey

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

If you enjoy this series then I think you'll enjoy this book. I read one previously and the basic idea remains the same. Serge and his drug-addled buddy go around playing vigilante and murdering bad guys in unique ways. One has to give the author full credit for coming up with interesting possibilities for killing people. I expect a fair bit of research was required. Serge is manic while his pas is a stoner and I don't care for either form of humour, although I have to concede the author periodically uses a nice bit of satire to skewer certain elements of society. Still I would have probably DNDed this book early on were it not for two subplots which kept things interesting. The main plot is pretty thin but they were first rate.

I didn't think the climax was handled well. Throughout the book, the author presents the serious bag guys as evil lurking just behind the scenes; however, when he brings them to the forefront, they appear as clowns. The disconnect didn't work. It would have been better to have them bumbling about earlier in the book to account for their actions when we come to the climax. In addition the author glosses over why there are ten villains and only the leader has a gun.

Points need to be awarded for a good try, but the author fails to create the level of chaos during the climax I think he was hoping for. That said, it can be wretchedly difficult to combine humour and chaos effectively. It would have been better if he'd focused on some interactions between individual senior citizens and villains. I think the climax would have worked well in a movie but not on the page.

This book was okay but nothing special and I'm not going looking for other books in the series.



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Immunity Index

Immunity Index by Sue Burke

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I don't mind authors using politics in their stories proved they don't preach or spread it with a shovel. This author did not use a shovel. She used a bulldozer. The reason I read to the end was the fascination coming from a train wreck. No matter how severe the disaster, I just couldn't look away. I kept thinking this can't get any worse and it did.

If your politics are to the right of center you can skip this book. If your politics are so far to the left you consider yourself woke, you'll enjoy this. If you're to the left but not to extremes you may like it but at the same time you might notice the story becomes almost a parody of itself. The only thing the author might have done to heighten the absurdity would be to have had her villains twirl handlebar mustaches and say 'Bwaa ha ha'.

I do not recommend this book.



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Frequantly Asled Questions About the Universe

Frequently Asked Questions about the Universe by Jorge Cham

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This is a work of non-fiction ... barely. The authors don't go beyond the laws of physics but they extend the discussion right to the very theoretical edge. I found it well written, interesting and it sent me off to Wikipedia to look up things like the Cosmological Constant and Higgs fields. I think it's a very useful book for authors of sci-fi and fantasy. There are a lot of ideas which can be tweaked into your books giving the old tropes of wormholes and magic a bit of a twist. It's worth reading.



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The Affair of the Mysterious Letter

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I listened to the audio version of this book and I don't think I'd have wanted to invest the time and attention required for the print version. As something in the background while I was working in the kitchen or doing other chores around the house it was fine. The premise was interesting. A Sherlock Holmes character is presented as a sorceress, needs to handle a case of blackmail, and exists in a world of magic, religious fanaticism and lots of other supernatural accessories. Unfortunately I found the plot rather disjointed and although there were some mildly amusing parts, overall the humour was limited. I doubt I'll bother with anything else by this author.



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The Garden if Iden

In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

It's very seldom I give a book four stars. Generally, if I like it, it gets five and if I dislike it, it gets one. In this case I found the story interesting but there was far too much icky romance for my liking. If you're a big fan of books like Wuthering Heights with all sorts of dramatic impassioned speeches accompanied by bleak desolation, I think you might do alright with this book. If you find excessive romance - at least the author stays away from sex - cloying, you might want to take a pass. It did make me go to Wikipedia and review my history. This book is set in England after the reign of Henry the Eights and Before Elizabeth, when Edward - of not significance - and Mary - of no lasting significance but key to this story - were on the throne. You have immortal cyborgs working to preserve the past for some nebulous future working away while religious fanaticism creates havoc for the population at large.

This is Book One of a series. I examined the blurbs for the other books and wasn't sure if I wanted to continue or not. Then I discovered my library doesn't have the remaining volumes in audio format so the decision has been made for me. I may, at some future time read Book Number 2 in print format or may not. If I have to put up with more whining about the problems of an immortal loving a mortal I think I'll pass but perhaps the protagonist has got her head together after the first book and it might be interesting to see where the author takes the series from here.



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To Say Nothing of the Dog

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I enjoyed the book as I've enjoyed everything by Connie Willis but I can't say this is my favorite. For one think I don't care for time travel as you either have to deal with contradictions or give up on free will. The author addresses the latter point but basically waves her hands at it and moves on. I listened to the audio version and the reader surely have more than a passing acquaintance with 'The Importance of Being Earnest' because he nailed the voice of Lady Bracknell when doing the Victorian matron. The were a few truly funny scenes and the pacing kept the story moving right along although in places I found it rather confusing, particularly near the end when they discuss everything resolving an anomaly that won't occur for over six hundred years. Even if I didn't quite understand all the parts, I enjoyed the story as a whole and consider it well worth the time spent.



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Chrashed

Crashed by Timothy Hallinan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I quite enjoyed this book as it was fast paced and the plot was interesting. It is, however, not for everyone. Before writing this review I checked the 1's to see what people didn't like about it. So you should take a pass on this book if you don't quite understand the word 'fiction' and demand verisimilitude in what you read. The protagonist is a professional burglar who is drafted to play detective and act as a quasi babysitter for drug-addled washed-up actress. Not high on the realism scale so if this bothers you move on. The second criticism by some is the book fails to develop the characters much. Admittedly the drug addict becomes reformed over a couple of pages which is impressive to say the least but for the most part the characters exit much as they entered. Since I'm in the 40% of readers who value plot over character development I wasn't bothered in the least by this; however, if you're a devotee of character-building you probably won't like this one. In general, if you like a first-person crime novel that moves right along and you don't mind flat characters then you'll like this book.



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Straight Man

Straight Man by Richard Russo

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***
If you happen to like petty politics in an academic environment told in a humerous manner, you'll love this book. Admittedly the plot is a little thin which normally might cause me to down rate the book but I found it hilarious. There are all these subtle little digs at academia, pettiness and office, or in this case, college politics. The only thing I would have preferred is a longer treatment of the protagonist's classroom experience. What he describes is amusing and I thought the author might have built on it. In addition I was a little disappointed by the ending and what seemed medically questionable if not impossible. Still, even if the author waffled a little on a few technical aspects, the overall tone of the book was great. I highly recommend it.



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