Currently reading a book with an action heroine?

[Werner]

Peter O'Donnell's iconic character Modesty Blaise is one of my favorite fictional action heroines. Although Last Day in Limbo is out of series order for me, I'd started reading it in a public library in another county back in the early 90s (long story!) and had always really wanted to read the whole thing. I'd hoped to work it in this year, and today was the perfect opportunity; so I've now started on it again (and read past the point where I'd earlier had to stop).

[Werner]

With a common read coming up next month in another group, I was looking for a short(ish) read to help fill up the intervening time. So, I picked a book that's been in my physical TBR piles for some time, Mr. and Mrs. Smith by a new-to-me writer, Cathy East Dubowski. It's the novelization of the movie of the same name, which I saw back in 2015; I'm hoping the book might clarify some plot points that aren't very clear (at least to me) in the film version. :-)

[E.G.]

Werner wrote: "With a common read coming up next month in another group, I was looking for a short(ish) read to help fill up the intervening time. So, I picked a book that's been in my physical TBR piles for some..."

Let us know how you like it. I thought the film was entertaining, but the plot holes bothered me, too.

[Werner]

I'll link to my review when I list the book in my tracking post for this year's Action Heroine Reading Challenge, E. G.! Barring anything unforeseen, I expect to finish the book before the end of the month.

[S]

Just started a 6 book series called Federal Histories (Witch of the Federation) by Michael Anderle. I have to say I love action packed stories with a strong lead female character. It has a strong para military and a take no prisoners feel. So if you don't like killing, you might not start this one.

[Mervi]

I'm currently reading this year's Hugo nominated works. It was a pleasent surprise when I realized that the main character in A Master of Djinn is an action heroine. Fatme is one of the few female agents working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities. She's trained to use both firearms and swords. The story is set in an alternate 1912 Egypt where magic is real.

[Werner]

I've linked to my review of Mr. and Mrs. Smith (see messages 852-4) in my tracking post for this year's Action Heroine Reading Challenge for some time. But if anybody finds it more convenient to have the link here, it's: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... .

[E.G.]

Mervi wrote: "I'm currently reading this year's Hugo nominated works. It was a pleasent surprise when I realized that the main character in A Master of Djinn [bookcover:A Master of Djinn|52504334..."

Nice!

[E.G.]

Werner wrote: "I've linked to my review of Mr. and Mrs. Smith (see messages 852-4) in my tracking post for this year's Action Heroine Reading Challenge for some time. But if anybody finds it more convenient to ha..."

Thank you. I'll pass on this one.

[Werner]

E. G. wrote: "Thank you. I'll pass on this one."

You definitely won't be missing a must-read classic, E.G.! :-)

[S]

Latest series I am loving!
Steel Dragon
Steel Dragon series by Kevin McLaughlin, Michael Anderle
Dragons rule the world. Their claws are into every aspect of human life, from government to industry. But Kristen Hall is about to throw a wrench into all of that. Because she’s a dragon, too. She just doesn’t know it…yet!

[Georgann]

S wrote: "Latest series I am loving!
Steel Dragon
Steel Dragon series by Kevin McLaughlin, Michael Anderle
Dragons rule the world. Their claws are into every aspect of human life, from gover..."
Sounds good!

[E.G.]

Just finished binge reading the Kate Daniels series. I'd read the first two volumes and picked up the third on a promo. After that totally hooked! I also blew out my goal for 2022 and need to increase it.

https://www.goodreads.com/series/4069...

*I skipped the side character stories. The books are bit pricey and I didn't feel like investing beyond the main story.

[Georgann]

Hooray for binge reading!! I really loved Andrews' Innkeeper series! Good review, @Werner

[Werner]

Georgann wrote: "Hooray for binge reading!! I really loved Andrews' Innkeeper series! Good review, @Werner"

Thanks, Georgann!

[E.G.]

Georgann wrote: "Hooray for binge reading!! I really loved Andrews' Innkeeper series! Good review, @Werner"

I read one or two of those, but they didn't capture my imagination the way the Kate Daniel's book did.

[Graeme]

Werner wrote: "Peter O'Donnell's iconic character Modesty Blaise is one of my favorite fictional action heroines. Although Last Day in Limbo is out of series ord..."

Wasn't there a MB movie? I am sure Dirk Bogarde was in it????????

[Mervi]

Graeme wrote: "Werner wrote: "Peter O'Donnell's iconic character Modesty Blaise is one of my favorite fictional action heroines. Although Last Day in Limbo is ou..."

Yes. The "Modesty Blaise" film is a musical. I don't recommend it.

Tarantino's "My Name is Modesty" is better.

[Werner]

To add a bit to what Mervi said, the 1966 movie Modesty Blaise (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060708/ ), in which Dirk Bogarde played the villain, was initially inspired by Peter O'Donnell's comic strip featuring Modesty; and the filmmakers originally hired him to do the screenplay. After he wrote it, however, they changed their minds and decided that instead of a serious action-adventure film, they wanted to do a tongue-in-cheek parody of the James Bond movies. So they hired another writer to do the final screenplay, and he used only one sentence of O'Donnell's original. But, to make the saga weirder, they hired O"Donnell to do the novelization. He did --but he based it on his screenplay, not the replacement. It was published a year before the movie came out, as Modesty Blaise, and became the series opener for a 13-book series.

Although the books went on to achieve considerable popularity, the 1966 movie was a box-office flop; fans of the character from the comics and book didn't appreciate the caricatured version. I've never seen it (and don't want to); but I didn't know it was a musical. (That would make me even less interested in seeing it, not just because I'm tone deaf, but because treating this material as the stuff of a musical is ridiculous.) I didn't know about the 2004 My Name Is Modesty movie, either, although the IMDB site says the director of that one was Scott Spiegel, not Quentin Tarantino. (See https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347591/... ).

Mervi, you should post your impressions of these movies on this thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... ! Back in 2016, I posted some of the above information there (message 379); but that's the only comment anybody's ever made there about either of the Modesty Blaise movies.

[Werner]

Since I've learned that a review book I was expecting this month actually won't arrive until December, I have an unexpected window of opportunity to make some more headway on a series I'm reading, K. W. Jeter's Kim Oh books. So I'm currently reading the next unread installment, Real Dangerous People: A Novel. (This one will also be the last book I need this year to meet my goal in our group's annual reading challenge!)

[Werner]

Last month, Goodreads independent author Liane Zane (who's also a Goodreads friend of mine) generously gave me a paperback ARC of the concluding book in her Elioud Legacy trilogy, The Draka & The Giant, and I started reading it a few days ago. So, it will be my first read of 2023! So far, it can definitely be described as gripping (it grabbed me by the throat at the outset, and hasn't released me yet :-) ).

[Werner]

Earlier today, Barb and I started a read of the second book in the Avenging Angels series, Avenging Angels: Sinners' Gold. The nominal "author," A.W. Hart, is a house pen name used by Wolfpack Publishing for all of the authors of books in this series (and at least one other series). In this case, the actual author (credited in the back of the book) is one who's new to both of us, Wayne D. Dundee.

[Werner]

I'm continuing my reading of K. W. Jeter's Kim Oh series with the next installment, Real Dangerous Place. I've mentioned this series in this group several times before; Kim's one of my favorite action heroines. :-)

[Georgann]

I just finished book 3 of Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews. Burn for Me is book 1. Now on to the next set of three, and hope they continue writing about the third sister and the two cousins!

[E.G.]

Finished the first two books in the Fallen Empire series. Excellent space opera. I don't have reviews up yet, but if anyone wants to check them out, the ebook version of Star Nomad is currently free.

[Stuart]

I found these at the bookstore today:

The Crystals of Mida by Sharon Green

Judgment Night by C L Moore

The Sword of Rhiannon by Leigh Brackett

Tomoe Gozen by Jessica Amanda Salmonson

The Golden Naginata by Jessica Amanda Salmonson

**I am not certain if the Leigh Brackett book counts in this category. But there seems to be a Lady Ywain of Sark that commands a galley ship, even if she isn't the main character.

[Werner]

I'm now reading now Real Dangerous Fun by K.W. Jeter, the fourth Kim Oh installment. When I finish it, I'll be caught up with all of the series volumes that are currently available in paper format.

[Werner]

Last Monday evening, I wasn't able to log on to Goodreads because the site was down. I decided to read on my Kindle app instead, but had nothing new to read at the time; so I went looking for a promising freebie to download. The one I picked, after reading the teaser, was Assassin's Vow: An Espionage Thriller Novella by the team of David Bruns and J.R. Olson. So I'll be reading that one sporadically, as I get time to do so. :-)

[Werner]

The Covert Guardian: The Unsanctioned Guardians #1, by Liane Zane, is the opening novel of a projected prequel trilogy that spins off from her Elioud Legacy series. She's a Goodreads friend of mine (whom I've mentioned here before) and recently gifted me with a paperback ARC; I started on it yesterday. The book is a short one (155 p.), so I'm expecting it to be a relatively quick read.

Protagonist Olivia Markham was introduced in The Harlequin & The Drangùe as a CIA agent. Here, we get the story of how she came to the attention of the Company, as a 20-year-old college student. After her cousin was murdered, she'd taken some serious martial arts training. In the first chapter, terrorists attack a beach where she's vacationing. Initially unarmed, she killed one thug with a karate kick to the head, then picked up his knife and used it to mortally wound another attacker. (That would get the attention of action-heroine fans, as well as of the CIA! :-) )

[Georgann]

Just finished #4 in the Jane Yellowrock series, Raven Cursed. Talk about non-stop action! Your last 3 all look good, too, Werner!

[Werner]

Georgann wrote: "Your last 3 all look good, too, Werner!"

I'm enjoying the two that I'm currently still reading! Real Dangerous Fun is the weakest entry of the Kim Oh series that I've read so far (my review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ), but it still got three stars from me, rounded up from two and a half because a lady like Kim deserves at least three. :-)

[Georgann]

Just finished Marked. Sure enjoyed it, right from page one!

[Georgann]

Emerald Blaze I HAVE to read the next one, since this one ended with the worst cliffhanger ever in the history of cliffhangers!

[E.G.]

Georgann wrote: " Emerald Blaze I HAVE to read the next one, since this one ended with the worst cliffhanger ever in the history of cliffhangers!"

Oh no! Cliffhangers make me crazy.

[Georgann]

Right??!!! If you ever read this one, the authors have a free short story on their website that takes care of this one. Whew! So glad another reader read my complaint and told me about it!

[E.G.]

Georgann wrote: "Right??!!! If you ever read this one, the authors have a free short story on their website that takes care of this one. Whew! So glad another reader read my complaint and told me about it!"

Good to know! Thank you.

[Werner]

Barring anything unexpected, tomorrow, I'm about to start a review book from another Goodreads friend, Liane Zane. It's the second volume of her Unsanctioned Guardians series, , The Harlequin Protocol, a prequel trilogy to her earlier series, the Elioud Legacy. This is action-adventure/spy fiction, focusing on three female intelligence agents, from different countries but collaborating on a common mission.

[S]

Get Smoked or Go Home (The Warrior) - Martha Carr
As a retired military member, I find this series to accurately portray the (crazy side) military and features a strong female lead. I LOVED IT!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

[E.G.]

S wrote: "Get Smoked or Go Home (The Warrior) - Martha Carr
As a retired military member, I find this series to accurately portray the (crazy side) military and features a strong female lead. I LOVED IT!

ht..."

I love urban fantasy!

[Georgann]

I love urban fantasy, too! I'm currently in the middle of at least 6 series and starting yet another one! I may have to give up on all my challenges this year and just finish up all these series. *shrugs* Maybe my challenge for the year should be to finish the all the numerous series I've started!

[Danielle The Book Huntress]

I finished The Spy and I at the beginning of the month and I loved it. The heroine isn't so much the action heroine (well, kind of), but her sister is definitely in the vein of Sydney Bristow.

[Werner]

Having read and liked a couple of books in Wolfpack Publishing's Avenging Angels series by A.W. Hart out of series order (long story!), Barb and I have decided to follow the series (she's an avid Western fan, and I enjoy these books as well). So we've started on the first book, Avenging Angels: Vengeance Trail. The actual author of this one is Peter Brandvold ("A. W. Hart" is a house pen name).

[Mervi]

I started a new series Black Ocean: Mercy for Hire. It's a science fantasy setting: the heroine is wizard in a Star Wars style setting. Esper's magical talents make her a formidable fighter and she can also persuade the universe to see things her way. While she is a mercenary, she wants to help people so she's very picky about her clients.

Her companion is Kubu, an intelligent alien who looks like a dog. The first book, Wayward Saint: Mission 1 was very entertaining and I'm now listening to the second book.

[E.G.]

Mervi wrote: "I started a new series Black Ocean: Mercy for Hire. It's a science fantasy setting: the heroine is wizard in a Star Wars style setting. Esper's magical talents make her a formidable fighter and she..."

Thank you for sharing this!

[Werner]

Barb and I got started today on a new book we're reading together, Caught in Crystal by one of my favorite fantasy authors, Patricia C. Wrede. (This is another one we read once before, back in the 90s, but are revisiting.) We read it as a standalone, having stumbled on it at a flea market; I only learned after joining Goodreads that it's the fourth book of the author's Lyra series, which I'm not familiar with otherwise.

Kayl, the protagonist of this book, is a 36-year-old widowed mom to two kids (her oldest is twelve), keeper of an inn in a quiet village, where she leads a peaceable life. But in her younger days, she was a warrioress, part of the Sisterhood of Stars. Her sword lies buried under the stones of her hearth, but she still knows how to use it --and when the book opens, a crisis coming to a head is about to prompt her to pick up the weapon again.

[Georgann]

I'm sure you'll enjoy rereading that book, Werner. I have enjoyed so many of her books. I have been working more steadily on some of my UF series, and I just finished #9 of Jane Yellowrock, Dark Heir . I am amused to note that I posted I read #4 almost exactly a year ago! So I guess I'm not making all that great of progress after all.

[Werner]

Yes, Georgann, Barb and I both are definitely enjoying the reread! (I've just edited my comment immediately above yours, to clarify or correct parts of it on the basis of the fresh reading.)

You can probably invest more time in reading than I can, so you're making better progress with your unfinished series than I am with mine. (But I keep plugging away at them! :-) )

[Werner]

A couple of days ago, I finished reading Louisiana Longshot, the first novel in the Miss Fortune Mysteries series by Jana Deleon. (I've linked to my review at my tracking post on this year's challenge thread.) When I started reading it, I didn't mention it here, since the "cozy" and "romance" tags (the romance develops in later books) made me think it wouldn't have any action scenes directly described. But as it turned out, that pistol on the cover isn't just there for decoration. :-)

[Werner]

Yesterday, I started reading a paperback ARC of The Guardian Initiative by Liane Zane (which actually just went on sale in that format today, though it's been available on Kindle a little longer). This was a kind gift from the author; it's the final book in her action-adventure/espionage trilogy The Unsanctioned Guardians. Both of the first two books got high ratings from me, and I expect that this one will as well!

[Werner]

Back in January, my Goodreads friend (and our fellow group member) Charles Van Buren gave five stars to the 77-page e-novella Miss Knight and the Night in Lagos by Vered Ehsani, who was born in South Africa, but now lives in Kenya. That put it on my radar; and since it's free for Kindle (it's a teaser for a series), I downloaded it to my Kindle app. Since my Internet access was down yesterday over breakfast (which I eat at my computer), I started reading it to pass the time. :-)

Though it's not long enough to count towards our annual challenge, the protagonist of this tale, Beatrice Knight (she's using the alias Anderson here) is a bona fide action heroine. An orphaned, 19-year-old Victorian girl of good family, Bea's talents and training are ...unusual for young ladies of her class. Smart, sharp-sensed and with quick reflexes, she can see the auras of living creatures, totes a sword cane that she can also use as a club, and serves as an investigator for a secret society that protects paranormal creatures (provided that they're harmless).