Dark Side Of Hollywood. This book is perfect for those types that love the darker stories of Hollywood, and particularly the stories about how dementeDark Side Of Hollywood. This book is perfect for those types that love the darker stories of Hollywood, and particularly the stories about how demented and depraved some "wholesome" childhood stars become as adults. At under 300 pages, it is a fairly quick read, but with every chapter coming from a different character's perspectives - and several of them, to boot - this may be one that is too complex for some to follow. And yet, that storytelling mechanic actually works well for this particular tale, particularly the deeper into the tale we get. In the end, it even becomes a bit of a mindbender trying to determine who is actually responsible - so again, people that like their endings all tied up in a bow... probably not your thing either. Overall an interesting tale that keeps the reader engaged, and one that will work well for those darker summer moods. Very much recommended....more
Compelling Survival Story Marred By Inexcusable Missed Details. As someone who cruises more than many - I've got over 100 days at sea with Carnival CrCompelling Survival Story Marred By Inexcusable Missed Details. As someone who cruises more than many - I've got over 100 days at sea with Carnival Cruise Line over the last 16 years and now routinely spent roughly two weeks per year at sea with them - I've been to Grand Turk several times. I'm even going back yet again on my next cruise in Fall 2023. I love the island, it is easily one of my favorite common ports in the Caribbean. And this is exactly what drew me to this book. The setting on and around Grand Turk in this book is truly amazing, for the most part it very much feels like you're actually there, even in areas I've never experienced. If this book doesn't make you want to get into the Caribbean ASAP, I'm not sure of anything short of Jimmy Buffett that could. Then, when the storm hits - the other factor that drew me into the book, as I've personally seen some of the devastation Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria wreaked across the Caribbean, and even had a cruise or two diverted to other ports because of the damage sustained where we were supposed to be going - the story shifts into survival mode, and here too the book is remarkably (mostly) realistic. Particularly for the isolation of the island if things truly go bad, as they tend to do during a Category 5 hurricane making a direct hit.
But it is that (mostly) during the survival section in particular that mars an otherwise truly amazing book.
Being someone that alternates her time between New England (Vermont, specifically) and Grand Turk, maybe, *maybe*, the author can be excused for claiming that a 9mm round "isn't meant to kill", as she does during the survival section here in one particularly tense moment. As someone who also owns a 9mm pistol... I can very much attest to the opposite - every single round in my 9mm *is* meant to be a kill shot, should I ever need it to become one, and every single round has the power to do so. Now, if you want to argue *shot placement*, as many in the online and IRL gun communities routinely do, fair game - but that isn't what the author says in this particular passage.
The second major flaw is geographic in nature. Grand Turk is *tiny*, just 6 square miles in surface area, and at least some of that is water. The southern end is dominated by the cruise pier and the services needed to run it. Meaning the actual population of Grand Turk has even less area to live in. And one thing you can easily notice from the bigger ships that dock there in particular is just how *flat* Grand Turk is. If there is a hill bigger than *maybe* 10 feet tall, I've never noticed it in all my time on and at the island. And yet, in another sequence, Mehuron, who per her biography spends a fair amount of time actively living on the island, describes one particular journey is both arduous and up a significant hill. The problem is that the biggest "hill" on Grand Turk, even with putting some research in for this review, is no more than about 60 feet or so above the main elevation of the rest of the town there on Grand Turk. As a reference point, a particularly steep hill - among many in the area - just a street over from the house I spent my teens in in my hometown north of Atlanta, GA, is roughly twice as tall. And in a survival situation, I could be up that hill within minutes with minimal effort. Hell, I used to routinely ride my bicycle up it as a younger teenager.
So she gets a major point of geography completely wrong, and hell, maybe you're arguing "artistic license". Perhaps. My counter would be that the story didn't need that particular element. There could have been other, much more realistic, impediments to that particular location to make it just as treacherous or perhaps even more so, without getting such a basic fact so blatantly wrong.
It is for both of the above errors combined that the single star is deducted, as while both are glaring and nonsensical, neither do they *completely* take away from the otherwise strong tale of life and survival told here.
Overall this actually was quite a compelling tale, one that takes the classic disaster format of showing life before, during, and after a disaster and uses it quite well indeed to showcase a particular setting remarkably well while also telling a story of a woman's family and friends, and her overall community, within that framework. Very much recommended....more
Hunter and Hunted - But Who Is Who? This is one of those books that seems like it wants to take on Big Ideas, but in its brevity... eh, those Big IdeaHunter and Hunted - But Who Is Who? This is one of those books that seems like it wants to take on Big Ideas, but in its brevity... eh, those Big Ideas are more sacrificed to telling a more compelling and less potentially divisive story, while still hitting some of the high points of the Big Ideas. Ultimately, this is a book whose main characters are very finely drawn and nuanced... and whose lesser players are almost cardboard caricatures. Still, Heard here uses the main characters, their varying histories, and the island setting (through at least half the book) quite well indeed to craft a suspenseful tale that will keep you on the edge of your beach or pool lounger just enough to keep your feet in the water... without giving you a heart attack before you can finish the book and dive in. A couple of bits in particular are more mind-bending than others, though those are quickly moved on from and the more cat and mouse nature of the book again reasserts itself. Overall a solid, mildly pulse pounding book that will be quite enjoyable as a vacation read and one that should be able to be devoured almost no matter how little reading time one may have on a summer break or vacation. Very much recommended....more
Thorough Examination Of The Field. This is a look at the history of disaster response (mostly in the US, and primarily over the last 50 some odd yearsThorough Examination Of The Field. This is a look at the history of disaster response (mostly in the US, and primarily over the last 50 some odd years) and the incentive structures of the various players in the field - and what those incentive structures lead to, for good and bad. It also has a few recommendations on how to move forward, as most books of this type do, though as with most all recommendations of most all books of this type, these very much come down to a Your Mileage May Vary situation. Though I do appreciate that the authors are realists and openly acknowledge that some would be easier to achieve than others, and some of the recommendations are about as close to "never going to happen" as anything ever truly gets. At 34% documentation, it is even on the high side of average in my experience - which is always a plus. Overall a solid and informative look at a lot of aspects of disaster response - and particularly disaster response coordination - that most even within the field probably aren't fully aware of, and for this alone it is absolutely essential reading for anyone who may ever experience a disaster. Which is everyone, everywhere. Very much recommended....more
Interesting Take On High School Love Angles. This book is quirky enough to make everything work, and yet has a lot of things about it that will throw Interesting Take On High School Love Angles. This book is quirky enough to make everything work, and yet has a lot of things about it that will throw various groups off - often having some element that may be popular with one group, yet having another element that will be off-putting to that same group. For example, you've got the aura-reading ability where our main character sees emotions as colors and you've got the nonbinary side character - and yet the book's very premise is that our main character is openly catfishing, gets caught doing so, and yet things somehow still work out for her. You've got some good, hard work ethic going with both our main character and her best friend, and yet the best friend openly chooses the boy over her best friend. You've got the seemingly rural small town North Carolina vibe going on - and you've got the aforementioned nonbinary character that seems mostly tacked in just to have an excuse to go off on "small minded Republicans" and to be able to promote that the book has a queer character. It could be argued that doing this character in this manner isn't inclusive, but exploitive - and off putting to at least some potential readers anyway. And yet, despite all of its contradictions and issues... the book truly does work. If you're into young adult/ high school romance at all, this book is going to scratch most every itch you have there, and it does in fact have the interesting wrinkles of the auras and how to *use* that ability to set it apart from the field naturally, without needing all of the other aspects. In the end, despite coming close to seeming to try too hard, this really is a mostly benign and fairly interesting tale within its genre, and a very easy and mostly inoffensive summer/ beach read that won't get the pulse pounding too much, but will instead be a more charming and breezy read while sitting poolside or oceanside soaking up some sun. Recommended.
PS: There is no such thing as a love triangle without at least two of the three people involved being bisexual. Thus, while some describe this book as featuring a love "triangle", as all three involved are never described as bisexual, it is most accurately described as a love "angle", with three points and two line segments, the segments meeting at a common point. But this could well be the former math teacher and Autistic in me coming out. I admittedly tend to be a bit pedantic on this particular point. :)...more
Excellent Mid-Series Wrap Up And Soft Reboot. This book is exactly what the title says - an excellent epilogue to the series as it has been, and a sofExcellent Mid-Series Wrap Up And Soft Reboot. This book is exactly what the title says - an excellent epilogue to the series as it has been, and a soft reboot for what is to come. The story to this point, as much as it has been about Hart's Ridge, has also been about the one family, and here we see (most) of their initial travails handled and handled well. Meanwhile, a dark secret emerges that will seemingly drive at least the next book and, depending on how Bratt chooses to play this, could well drive the back half of this planned eight book series. This is also one of the creepiest, and yet even more real because of it, books, with the crime here not being rape or murder or torture or some such, but scams and elder abuse - another facet of life that is seemingly all too common these days in the "real" world, and one which Bratt manages to work into her town and series quite well indeed. And as a bonus, as a "soft reboot" of the series... this is actually a decent entry point for those who have not read the prior books and yet don't mind events from them being discussed within this book. Overall a well told story in a well developed small town in real-enough North Georgia Mountain country, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing where Bratt takes this next. Very much recommended....more
Overt Racism And Extensive Elitism Mar Otherwise Intriguing Premise. In "shit sandwich" form, let's start out with something good, shall we? The premiOvert Racism And Extensive Elitism Mar Otherwise Intriguing Premise. In "shit sandwich" form, let's start out with something good, shall we? The premise here, that peer groups affect behavior more than most other factors, is one that few sociologists - at least those I've seen in my 20+ years on the outskirts of that field - have openly espoused. Thus, this book was immediately intriguing and in fact had at least some promise here.
But then we get to the overt racism against anything white male and the extensive elitism in promoting New York City and in particular one particularly exclusive high school as the epitome of virtually everything, openly declaring multiple times that NYC is the cultural heart of the US, among several other elitist (and typical New Yorker) claims. The longer the text goes, the more and more overt the authors get in showing their anti-white male racist misandry, until finally at one point, after clearly establishing "cultures that are longstanding" and similar phrases to mean "white male", the authors openly state "Cultures that are longstanding have a built-in legitimacy to them; to change them means that people inside and outside of that culture *have to see aspects of their identity, their culture, as illegitimate, as immoral, as wrong.*" (emphasis mine). Imagine the outcry if a white author had made the same statement in reference to virtually any other demographic - and *that* is my standard for detecting bigotry: invert the demographics involved. If there would be outcry, it is likely bigoted. Thus, one star is deducted for the overt racism in particular, and the other star is deducted for the pervasive elitism.
Finally, I can say that the bibliography being roughly 20% of the text was perhaps a touch low, but at least on the low end of *normal* in my extensive experience with Advance Reviewer Copies. And yes, as I am writing this review almost fully six months prior to publication, this means that I am in fact reading and reviewing an ARC here.
Overall, there is enough positive and worthy of consideration here to keep this fairly safely above my dreaded "gold mine" label, but there is still enough detritus here that one should approach the text a bit warily. Still, it does in fact bring some worthy wrinkles to the public discourse, and for that reason it *should* be widely read. Recommended. ...more
Neurodivergent Time Travel Women's Fiction. I do believe this is the first time I've ever encountered a book quite like this one - a book with a neuroNeurodivergent Time Travel Women's Fiction. I do believe this is the first time I've ever encountered a book quite like this one - a book with a neurodivergent main character who time jumps most similarly to The Time Traveler's Wife (vs a true time loop ala Groundhog Day or a "glimpse" ala Family Man), but yet ultimately lands more on the women's fiction side than the romance side, despite said main character's main focus being on restoring the romance she loses at the beginning of the tale. There's also quite a reliance on Greek mythology reimagined, more akin to elements of Jeremy Robinson's Infinite Timeline event than say Rick Riordian's Percy Jackson lore. But as with at least Robinson's books (I've never actually read Riordian's), there is enough explanation of the relevant mythology that one not need have a degree in the field to understand the story enough to enjoy the story for itself. Overall, this has quite a few rare features in it, and fans of the time travel genre will likely enjoy it the most, but others should still step into this wildly quirky world. Very much recommended....more
Solid Use Of Multi-POV To Create Compelling Thriller. Ok, this is one the "intelligentsia" claim "you can see coming from a mile away with a blindfoldSolid Use Of Multi-POV To Create Compelling Thriller. Ok, this is one the "intelligentsia" claim "you can see coming from a mile away with a blindfold on". Eh, maybe. I didn't, not until the actual reveal. But I don't read mysteries or thrillers *trying* to do that. If anything, I'm looking for deeper connections to the current zeitgeist or to some legend or lore. (None of which is really present here, to be clear, other than this being yet another missing person based book.) What I found here was a solid use of multiple POVs and perspectives to create a thriller where everyone has secrets, everyone is lying... and yet one person's lies are hiding an awful truth that will unravel the entire thing. And then there is the back quarter or so, where all the lies are revealed, and the tale instead turns into a race to save a life... or end another. This part was where Glass apparently lost some readers, who felt that the tale fell off the rails here. Again, I disagree. While a different approach through this section (yet still maintaining the multiple POVs), I felt it was at least as compelling as anything that had come before it, and indeed even the ending itself felt justified and at least understandable, if not completely realistic. Overall, this book admittedly isn't likely to win any awards, yet as compelling or at minimum serviceable escapism for a few hours (clocking in at just under 300 pages), this is absolutely a book that will transport you away from the "real" world and into one with a bit of everything for everyone, including even doses of humor and romance. Very much recommended....more
Decent Exploration Of The Topic. A couple of caveats to this review up front: This book was released in 2019, and I've read at least a handful of bookDecent Exploration Of The Topic. A couple of caveats to this review up front: This book was released in 2019, and I've read at least a handful of books on the same general topic of human circadian rhythms both before and since. I also read it via Audible, so I have no way of knowing if its documentation is adequate or lacking. These caveats noted, to me this book was more a decent introduction to the general topic than a truly in depth or ground breaking look at it. Most of the things it covered were things I was already generally aware of and even knew a bit of the specifics of due to those other books. So to me, there truly wasn't much "new science" here at all. And yet, the book was very much approachable and enjoyable, and indeed seemed great for someone less read in the subject at hand. Geddes herself reads the Audible version, and it is quite clear she both knows her subject well and is genuinely passionate about it, so those are definite bonuses in my take on the book. Overall a truly solid introduction to the topics at hand, told in a very approachable manner even for those less familiar with them. Very much recommended....more
Feminist Horrible Bosses. If you're familiar with the 2011 movie Horrible Bosses starring Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman, and Charlie Day... you've gotFeminist Horrible Bosses. If you're familiar with the 2011 movie Horrible Bosses starring Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman, and Charlie Day... you've got a good idea of what you're getting into here. Though that movie was played for comedy, and this is much closer to suspense/ thriller here, and from a much more feminist perspective. These three ladies have been *wronged*, and the bastard that did it must *pay*. Except that there are those things that are illegal, and then there are those things that are wrong... and then there are those things that are prosecutable. And rarely do those three things intersect - and nothing any of these guys has done is technically all three. Indeed, one could argue that one of the guys was actually a moral, outstanding citizen who simply sought to have the laws enforced. Yeah, right. ;) Still, the tale ultimately becomes a cautionary one, as things begin to spiral out of control... as these things tend to do. In the end, this was a solid bit of escapism for a few hours, and really that is all that I really expect in any entertainment medium. As others have noted, Stone's Jane Doe series is genuinely superior to this particular tale, but where I disagree with some of them is that this one wasn't *bad* - it just wasn't as good as the Jane Doe series. Still, if you need some escapism and perhaps some catharsis... this book may just provide a touch of both. Recommended....more
Complex Almost Anti-Hero Leads Layered World Into Promising New Series. This is one of those books that touches on a lot of things - the opioid epidemComplex Almost Anti-Hero Leads Layered World Into Promising New Series. This is one of those books that touches on a lot of things - the opioid epidemic, the crash of coal in the push for so-called "green" energy, land speculation, family, the complexities of being on the right side of the "law" when your family isn't, high school romance and the fallout thereof, traditional Southern living vs the newer get-rich-quick ethos... and even a strong dash of the militia movement and the mistakes on both sides of Ruby Ridge and Waco and the long shadows both of those events cast in certain communities. In the process, it creates a truly layered and compelling world that while just as complex as our own, still allows for a high degree of escapism (for most). And yet, it is also a brutal tale of survival and betrayal, of losing yourself and finding yourself over and over and over again. Of trying to become something you want to be, even as your community and even family are doing their damndest to drag you in other directions. Overall truly a remarkable tale for what it is, and one I am very much looking forward to coming back into this world. Very much recommended....more
South Florida Noir. This really does have that combo South Florida / Noir vibe to it, and if you approach it from that sense... it tends to make more South Florida Noir. This really does have that combo South Florida / Noir vibe to it, and if you approach it from that sense... it tends to make more sense. In the end, this is a tale of one man and his daddy issues, and while ultimately nowhere near the literary feat of The Great Gatsby, also gives off some similar vibes there too.
Note that the Amazon listing even for the Kindle book shows it dramatically shorter than what Goodreads currently shows it as - 209 pages on Amazon (which feels closer to accurate with just how quickly this book reads) vs 336 on Goodreads (which feels remarkably long for just how quickly this book reads). And yes, as I am writing this review a full week before release, that means I read an Advance Reviewer Copy and a Goodreads Librarian can update the page count on that site at any point between when I'm writing this review and when you are reading it. So if this has been corrected, ignore this part of the review. :)
Overall, this is a great, fun, short read perfect for a bit of escapism and perhaps a degree of catharsis. Maybe not a Dr. office read, and arguably not really a beach read either, yet perfect for one of those languid hot humid Southern summer nights. Particularly if you happen to be *in* South Florida at the time, and likely particularly with a good cigar in one hand while sipping a fine Old Fashioned. Damn, now *I* need to read this book again in that manner. :) Very much recommended....more
Wokeism (n): The Tendency Towards Social Justice Turned Toxic. Got your attention with the headline here, right? Good. Now sit down in that chair righWokeism (n): The Tendency Towards Social Justice Turned Toxic. Got your attention with the headline here, right? Good. Now sit down in that chair right there and let me show you how "it's done".
When you get beyond David Auerbach's Meganets, when you get beyond Tobias Rose-Stockwell's Outrage Machine, when you get to the *person* you think you so adamantly oppose...
... what happens when you find out that while they may come from a different culture than you, the human condition remains the same across cultures, and ultimately they share quite a bit of commonality with you?
What happens when you find out the monster at your door, the horrid kaiju that is threatening your children and your very way of life...
... is just another person who is just trying to protect his own way of life and his own kids, who thinks that *you* are the horrid kaiju threatening *his* kids and way of life?
What happens when you stop shooting at each other for just one minute...
... and find out that you had far more in common than you ever had different all along?
Don't get me wrong, this book has a few problems. Currid-Halkett still tends to be at least somewhat elitist and/ or condescending to those opinions she disagrees with, and there is quite a lot of discussion of COVID here - the latter point being the star deduction, as even in 2023 I remain adamant in my one-man war against any book that mentions COVID, and the single star deduction is my only "real" "weapon" there.
Overall though, it is on the higher end of normally well documented, at 29% bibliography, and fairly well reasoned overall. For those that want to avoid the fates shown in David French's Divided We Fall... this book is one that so very many people will need to read and take to heart.
Solid (Mostly) Escapist Romance. This is one of those romances such that unless you've dealt with one of the all-too-real but also not-every-person isSolid (Mostly) Escapist Romance. This is one of those romances such that unless you've dealt with one of the all-too-real but also not-every-person issues it uses for a sense of drama - cheating and/ or lying partners and grandparents' declining health in particular - is going to be largely just escapist fluff that is perfect for some much needed respite from the so-called "real" world. At just over 300 pages, it reads perhaps a touch quicker than that number would indicate, while still telling a solid and compelling story full of hijinx, misunderstandings... and meddling grandparents. Kind of perfect for the Hallmark Romance crowd, really, and truly straight up their alley. Overall a mostly fun tale that hits all the expected notes while not diving too deep into any real drama. Very much recommended....more
Chilling Thriller With A Unique Take On Ghosts. Straight up, know that this book is about a child murder - if you can't handle that, this isn't the boChilling Thriller With A Unique Take On Ghosts. Straight up, know that this book is about a child murder - if you can't handle that, this isn't the book for you. For those of you still here, Dunnett does a solid job of showing the aftereffects of an unsolved child murder on the family the child leaves behind, before transitioning into a cat and mouse game to try to stop the killer before he strikes again. These elements of the story are well done, but have been done time and time and time again... and again and again and again. To the point that there is an entire genre of these types of tales, and this tale is on par with its genre mates - if you like the genre, you're probably going to like this one, and vice versa.
What sets this book apart, really, is its take oh ghosts - how they present, what abilities they have, what they know, etc. And here, Dunnett really does a remarkable job of showing how his particular brand of ghosts could work within the overall story being told here. Overall a truly entertaining book with an intriguing take on ghosts. Very much recommended....more
Almost A Texas-Based The American President. Mostly in overall tone, and with this one being in some instances both funnier and more poignant than eveAlmost A Texas-Based The American President. Mostly in overall tone, and with this one being in some instances both funnier and more poignant than even that classic movie - though far from its extremely quotable climactic speech - if you enjoyed that movie, you're very likely to enjoy this book. In both, you get a lot of Democrat-heavy politics, so if that is a major turn off for you - either because of the specific politics or because you don't like real-world politics in your fiction, particularly your romantic fiction, generally - ummm... this may not be the book for you. If you *do* enjoy Democrat politics but want your Democrat politicians to be shown as near John Galt mythic heroes... eh... you're going to be disappointed here, as both of our leads are shown to be very flawed people who happen to meet and fall in love in the middle of an intense campaign. And speaking of the campaign itself, this was actually a remarkably solid look at the inside of campaigning in America today, for all its positives *and* negatives, so there is that - but again, if you're reading for more pure escapism... that may not be what you want.
Overall the book used its near 400 page length well, showing both a slow burn "fake" romance *and* the various political escapades quite solidly, while allowing several secondary characters various chances to shine as well. All told, this is a solid story for what it is that may not be what everyone wants, but there is nothing technically wrong with what it is. Very much recommended....more
Strong Claims Need Strong Documentation. Ultimately, the greatest weakness of this book comes down to the title of the review - and the reason for botStrong Claims Need Strong Documentation. Ultimately, the greatest weakness of this book comes down to the title of the review - and the reason for both star deductions here. The text is barely documented at all, coming in at just 10% or so of the overall text - well below the 20-30% which is more typical in my extensive experience reading advance reviewer copies of nonfiction texts. Though as I've begun noting of late, I may need to revise that expectation down a touch - to 15%, not 10%. The other star deduction comes from the other part of the title - while the overall premise about the titular Outrage Machine seems sound and the explanations directly on it seem fairly spot-on, Rose-Stockwell uses the sciences, history, and even semi-current events in a way that actually brings to mind the practice rampant in the Christian nonfiction space known as "prooftexting", wherein Bible verses are cited outside of their context, and often even contrary to their original context, in "proof" of some point or another. Here, Rose-Stockwell does this with the sciences and history, both near and far. Yes, many of the examples he cites seem at least somewhat relevant, but even in the most relevant of them (such as his discussion of COVID), he ignores and even denigrates needed context which deviates from his intention. At other times, he simply gets the needed context quite wrong, which was particularly noticeable in his treatment of some of the issues surrounding the Founding of the United States and which other, far more well documented, texts have explored in much more and more even depth.
All of this noted, to be crystal clear, this really is an important book that when focusing on its central premise of the Outrage Machine and how it works both now and throughout history, is actually quite good. I was simply hoping for a better argued, perhaps slightly more academically rigorous, explanation of the topic at hand - and this is almost more of a memoir form of discussing how Rose-Stockwell realized the idea himself and came to explain it to himself, if that makes any sense. But again, truly an important work that can legitimately add to the overall discussion, and thus recommended....more
Modern Sherlock Holmes/ Police Procedural Blend. Here, we get yet another police procedural set in Great Britain, so the terms and some of the proceduModern Sherlock Holmes/ Police Procedural Blend. Here, we get yet another police procedural set in Great Britain, so the terms and some of the procedures are a bit different than American audiences generally expect, yet are in-line with other similar books I've read. This particular new series has a different bent than most in that its central (series titular) character is a trained tracker/ behaviorist, and his backstory and actions here are reminiscent of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Original Detective. His tracking abilities are also reminiscent of the more modern day author David Wood's Bones Bonebrake, and indeed both Lane and Bonebrake have connections to the same region of the US. This book also features a bit more of a disturbed villain than usual, and some scenes may be a bit much for some readers. Nothing overly graphic, and certainly not "on screen", but the Carrie-type religious abuse is quite heavy handed, while also being necessary to establish the full depravity and insanity of the villain. Overall, a compelling series starter - which is great, since new publisher Storm Publishing is re-releasing almost the entire series under new titles on the same day. Very much recommended....more
Next Up. Yet again, Wood shows that he knows his characters and audience quite well - this is yet another excellent Maddock and Bones tale with both oNext Up. Yet again, Wood shows that he knows his characters and audience quite well - this is yet another excellent Maddock and Bones tale with both of them working together, along with a wide range of the friends they've picked up over the years, to solve some puzzle involving some long lost artifact. We get the same banter and action that the audience has come to expect, and we get the same quick (120 page or so) tale that has come to typify these later works in particular - meaning they're never too much of a time commitment even for people new to the series. Though this one does reference *several* prior tales, so those who are anti-spoiler absolutists... well, this *is* listed as Book 15 of the series... :D The addition of an in-world park that is clearly distinct from, yet also clearly similar to, a certain real world park with complexes in both Los Angeles and Florida is even better, with quite a few solid jokes (and some mild, one-line and move on type, commentary). Adventure fans and/ or anyone looking for a quick read that could likely be completed while sitting in a doctor's waiting room, look over here. Very much recommended....more
An End, Once And For All? This is one hell of an action-packed thrill ride, with Tess, Po, and Pinky struggling as never before to figure out and thenAn End, Once And For All? This is one hell of an action-packed thrill ride, with Tess, Po, and Pinky struggling as never before to figure out and then confront an enemy that may yet prove to be too powerful for even their considerable combined might. For the first time since I began reading this series (admittedly late in its run), Po and Pinky in particular have finally met an opponent who can best them - which produces even tighter and more visceral fighting sequences than the still-great "normal" for this series.
And then... that ending. Not a Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King ending at all - more like a Fallout one or the one at the end of the Mass Effect Original Trilogy (whose soundtrack song over this sequence provides the title of this review). And unlike Mass Effect 3 in particular (and more similar to the widely-regarded-as-best-single-game-in-the-franchise Mass Effect 2), the overall action of the book goes pretty well right up to the moment the "After" is triggered.
If this is truly the end, what a way to go out. And if these characters ever do get a chance to come back... what a way to leave it until that time. Very much recommended....more
Visionary. Outsider. Hero. One of the great lines from the movie The Imitation Game (whose trailer I was just watching as I tried to find this quote, Visionary. Outsider. Hero. One of the great lines from the movie The Imitation Game (whose trailer I was just watching as I tried to find this quote, and where I found the title of this review) that has always stuck with me is "Sometimes it's the very people who no one imagines anything of who do the things no one can imagine." Obviously, in the context of The Imitation Game, it is about the legendary "Father of Computer Science" (and suspected Autistic) Alan Turing.
Barber, in *this* text, makes it clear that it could very equally be said of a man who may well go down in history as at least as important as Turing himself - Frank Hursey. Hursey was a South Carolina native living in Connecticut who discovered a remarkable property of a fairly common substance - and then set it aside like Mordin in Mass Effect 2 looking at some gadget he was no longer interested in. Until Bart Gullong came into his life and recognized the significance of what Hursey had found - and together, the inventor and the salesman/ marketer would go on to change the course of world history.
Barber, through a seemingly episodic format where he provides brief biographical sketches of each of the key players in the unfolding drama while keeping the narrative squarely focused on Hursey, Gullong, and their products, tells a story at least as motivational as anything has ever been told about Turing's own life. A story of a almost literal garage inventor who finds and develops a substance that has literal world changing powers.
A substance that can make battlefield - or anywhere else - traumas far more survivable, by finally solving a problem humanity had never before solved in its known history - how to stop mass bleeding.
This is the story of how Hursey and Gullong found, developed, and marketed the substance to the US military - and then later found mass market appeal in nearly every segment of the economy that might find a desire to stop a potential bleed out.
Including, per Barber, Taylor Swift having it near her at all times in the case of an attack at one of her concerts.
The only reason for the star deduction here is the slightly lower than my expected average of 20-30% on the bibliography, clocking in here at 16% instead. And as I've noted in other reviews of late, given that so many more recent texts are clocking in closer to this 15% point, I may well need to revise my expected bibliography size down a touch.
The tale opens with the story of the Battle of Mogadishu and the subsequent movie form of it, Black Hawk Down. Don't be surprised to see a movie form of this book itself at some point. Very much recommended....more
When The Pendulum Swings... Where Will Vladeck Be? This is one of those historical/ current event analysis books where, particularly in the "coming ofWhen The Pendulum Swings... Where Will Vladeck Be? This is one of those historical/ current event analysis books where, particularly in the "coming of age" of a novel (ish, as Vladeck shows) concept of the "shadow docket", it will be interesting to see if the author is just as adamant against the idea when his own "team" is using it as heavily or moreso as he is when his political opponents do. Though to be clear, the history and analysis here, while necessarily hitting the current (post-Trump era) SCOTUS the hardest for doing this the most *because they have*, does an excellent job of showing just how we got to this point where it was even possible for this particular problem to exist at all. On that front... there isn't a political "side" in current America or American history that is fully blameless in enabling or using this bad behavior, and Vladeck shows this quite well indeed and indeed seems to be a fairly objective-ish student and teacher of legal history. For such a dense overall topic, Vladeck handles the telling of the tale quite well, such that even people who have barely ever heard of the Supreme Court of the United States of America will be able to clearly see what the current problem is and how we got to this point and why both of them matter.
Indeed, the only real reason for the single star deduction is the slight lack of documentation, coming in at just 15% of the overall advance reviewer copy text rather than the more typical in my experience 20-30%. Though as I've been noting a few times on similar points of late, given just how many newer nonfiction books seem to be coming in within that 15-20% range, I may yet need to recalculate my seeming average.
Overall an intriguing tale, and one that every American truly needs to understand - and Vladeck does a remarkable job of making that particular task as easy as reading this particular book. Truly great work making such a dense topic so relatable and understandable, and very much recommended....more
Flawed Premise And (Slightly) Lacking Documentation Mar Otherwise Intriguing Discussion. Make no mistake - Provost and Kennard show quite a few corporFlawed Premise And (Slightly) Lacking Documentation Mar Otherwise Intriguing Discussion. Make no mistake - Provost and Kennard show quite a few corporate abuses in several different areas throughout this book, and they do in fact make a strong case that this has influenced government to a very strong degree in the post WWII era. Where their premise is flawed (which is where one of the two stars deducted comes from) is that they constantly state that this is "overthrowing democracy" when in fact it is *utilizing* democracy to effect a form of democracy known as "corporatism" - which is a term the authors never once use in the text at all, and which is actually much more precise to their overall premise. The other star deduction comes from the bibliography coming in at just 18% of the text, which is slightly under the 20-30% that is more typical of such texts in my own experience. (Though given how many books of late are coming in closer to 15%, I may in fact need to examine all relevant data and perhaps revise this down?)
Still, even with the flawed premise and not quite enough documentation supporting it, this really is quite an eye opening look at the various abuses of corporate power across the globe and how they have caused quite a bit of harm and perhaps unintended consequences, and for these looks alone, it is absolutely worthy of reading and could enhance the overall discussion of related topics. Recommended....more
Small Town Southern Mystery Draws In Feds. While technically this is Book 4 of the Quinn and Costa series, they and their team don't actually show up Small Town Southern Mystery Draws In Feds. While technically this is Book 4 of the Quinn and Costa series, they and their team don't actually show up for a decent chunk of the beginning of the book - it seemingly took them longer to come into this narrative than Book 3, The Wrong Victim (which does get referenced here, for those that cannot stand any spoilers whatsoever). But once they do show up, things begin escalating quite quickly and as always we see the various team members doing what they each do best and what makes them such an effective team. As is the norm of "freak of the week" police procedurals, we also get a fair amount of team and personal development of much of the team as well, and in the end the reader is left ready for the next adventure. This is a well told and well paced tale that even at 400 pages, doesn't quite feel it - it reads more like maybe a 320 pager or so. I'm very much looking forward to Book 5 in this series, and this entry is very much recommended....more
Beautiful, Emotional Tale Of Survival. This is a road trip tale, and thus you go in expecting both some bumps and some growth, but *how* Drake managesBeautiful, Emotional Tale Of Survival. This is a road trip tale, and thus you go in expecting both some bumps and some growth, but *how* Drake manages to execute on both is quite remarkable. Drawing on the entire American soldier experience from the Forgotten War in Korea to the modern War on Terror in Afghanistan - America's longest war - and also incorporating the realities of being poor in America, this is one of those fiction tales that may in fact hit a little too close to home for many - but read it anyway. The one group of people that I may say stay away from this book, perhaps, is those who struggle with cutting, as it is in fact a significant part of this story and is shown extensively enough to be uncomfortable - and yet still all too real - for anyone. Beyond that though, the grit, realism, and ultimately hope shown here are quite cathartic even to those who have never been in these exact scenarios, and there are several points late in the book where you'll swear whatever environment you're in while reading them has become quite dusty indeed. Truly an excellent tale, well told, and with particular care to all of the subjects it brings forth. Very much recommended....more
No Matter What You Think About The Bible In American Politics - You're Wrong. This is one of the better books I've ever come across in showing just hoNo Matter What You Think About The Bible In American Politics - You're Wrong. This is one of the better books I've ever come across in showing just how the Bible has been debated throughout American history, from its earliest days through Trump, January 6, and even into how Biden is currently using it. And it does a phenomenal job of showing just what I said in the title here - no matter what you think you know about the Bible in American politics, no matter what you personally think about how it has been applied and should currently be applied... you're wrong. While having perhaps a slight tinge of anti-whiteness here (in that the most heavy criticism tends to land squarely on the actions of white people), Schiess really does do quite a remarkable - and remarkably even - job of showing that no one is truly "evil" or even "uneducated" about the Bible (well, specific people in specific circumstances may be), they simply have different methods of understanding and interpreting it which lead to divergent conclusions based on both the text *and those extra-text methods*. And the sides have flipped and flopped throughout even somewhat recent American history such that neither can go more than a few decades without having to explain some prior interpretation from "their" side away.
The documentation here comes in at a slightly low yet still respectable 21%, and while Bible verses are cited throughout the text, there is no actual "prooftexting" here - verses are cited not to prove a point, but to cite which elements of which passages different groups were interpreting different ways at different points in American history.
Indeed, perhaps the only real valid complaint here is that I'm fairly certain this book could be a few times is barely 200 pages... and *still* not cover the topic in true depth. And yet, the depth it does manage to pull off in these pages is still quite remarkable indeed. Very much recommended....more
Activist Polemic With Little Documentation - But The Pictures Are Stunning. Quite honestly, the description on this book as of the time I write this rActivist Polemic With Little Documentation - But The Pictures Are Stunning. Quite honestly, the description on this book as of the time I write this review roughly 10 days before publication (yes, meaning this is an advance reviewer copy with all that this entails) is quite misleading. The description makes it seem as though the reader is getting a well documented history of the history of water control and its current problems and potential solutions to those problems. Instead, this is an activist screed from the very beginning, with next to no documentation - just 7% of the text, when 20-30% is far more typical in my extensive experience.
Thus, as is very nearly always the case, one star was deducted for this lack of documentation. The second star is deducted because of the obvious slant and the strawman arguments so heavily used throughout the text. The third star is deducted for the inaccurate description provided by the publisher.
This is *a* history though, and from the activist, anti-dam perspective, a solid one in the mold of one preaching to the choir - as choirs never ask to see documentation, taking everything the preacher says on faith alone. Which is not science or journalism. ;)
And yet, the pictures provided throughout are truly stunning. Whoever took them did some truly excellent work in that space, and I can honestly recommend this book for the pictures alone. Which is why it doesn't sink any further in the rating.
Overall a dense and blatantly biased yet still somewhat interesting read, and absolutely get this for the pictures alone. (Meaning you need a print or tablet version of this book. :D). Recommended....more
A Grandmother's Love. This is, ultimately, a tale of a grandmother's loves - for her daughters, her granddaughters, and her home. O'Loughlin does an eA Grandmother's Love. This is, ultimately, a tale of a grandmother's loves - for her daughters, her granddaughters, and her home. O'Loughlin does an excellent job of making the grandmother feel like an active character, even though she is already dead in the very first scene, and indeed the grandmother winds up driving the narrative as much as anything else. Outside of the grandmother, this is a tale of one woman's decisions as her life is thrown into chaos in more ways than one, and now she is tasked with repairing a house and her cousins... while also repairing what she can of her own life. It is a tale of learning and loving and the mistakes we make big and small and the love and understanding that gets us through them all. Written very conservatively without being preachy, this is one that the "sweet"/ "clean" crowd will like, and those that expect more cursing and/ or bedroom action in their women's fiction/ romance blends may find a bit lacking. Overall a solid tale for what it was, this is absolutely one worthy of a few hours of your time. Very much recommended....more
If Jimmy Buffett's Secrets Had Secrets. Seriously, if you take the classic line from The Avengers where Tony Stark says about Nick Fury, "his secrets If Jimmy Buffett's Secrets Had Secrets. Seriously, if you take the classic line from The Avengers where Tony Stark says about Nick Fury, "his secrets have secrets", and add an equal part Jimmy Buffett coastal/ tropical "WTF" kind of vibe... this book is a pretty solid idea of what you would get there. Set primarily in and around the general Charleston, SC area, we also get a jaunt into the Upcountry around Greenville as well for a scene or two (while completely ignoring the Midlands area of South Carolina, around Columbia and Aiken, where I once lived for a few years).
But the mysteries (yes, there are actually several - the "secrets have secrets" I was referring to above) are compelling, and our heroine is both remarkable and remarkably flawed, making for a greatly relatable story even as the more fantastical elements of it play out.
Overall the book truly works well, particularly as a series starter. We get a complete tale with no obvious lingering threads, but in a way that the reader *wants* to come back to this world and see what happens next. Very much recommended....more
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