Divine Justice by David Baldacci

Divine Justice, the most recent (possibly final, but hopefully not) book in David Baldacci’s Camel Club series of thrillers, is quite a thriller… Picking up where the previous book left off, it continues the story of a group of characters I have really come to enjoy. I’d recommend not starting the series with this book - although, Baldacci does make it rather accessible to readers new to these characters. It begins fast and doesn’t really let up on the action and intrigue until the conclusion. For me, thrillers often fall flat, after a good setup, many authors just don’t have what it takes to hold suspense and move a story along, keeping you turning pages as fast you can… this is surely a “keep you up late wanting to finish” kind of book. If you enjoyed the previous Camel Club books, you will like this one as well.

Throughout most of the book the story is split between a small town mystery and a spy style manhunt - these two stories ultimately come together, in what was a quite satisfying climax. David Baldacci is damn good at his job, which is to entertain with words, and Divine Justice entertains. All in all this is a very good book. Plus it includes the funniest line I have read in a while (just had to mention this because it was rather funny)… “Are you on some kind of librarian crack?” Just the sentence alone is funny to me, but in context it actually had me laughing out loud - well done, David.

Collector’s note - OK, this book is not really “collectible”, but for those looking for a signed edition, on David Baldacci’s website he has an “online book signing”, meaning he gives out free signed bookplates during a book’s initial release… very cool of an author to do this. Check it out, I think we just missed the bookplate offer coinciding with the release of Divine Justice, but he puts out books on a pretty regular basis, so this should be something you can expect to see again in the near future.

Merry Christmas

Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday!

A Song in Stone by Walter H. Hunt

I am aware that it is a bit redundant to say I was hoping to like a book - why else would I even begin reading a book, to not to like it? Well, I really did want to like this book. A time traveling twist on a centuries’ old mystery sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately, for much of what I read, I was more lost than the main character who was dropped in the 14th century and left to figure out the how and why for himself. Granted, this is probably more reader error than anything that can be pinned on the author. Walter H. Hunt does a good job of moving the story along, it was just one I lost interest in… and it’s too bad too, because he can write rather well - his sci-fi “Dark Wing” series is now on my radar and will certainly be bought and read at some point in the future. I am fairly sure this book would appeal to readers who liked The Da Vinci Code (I never read it but did enjoy Angels & Demons) and who are looking for a little more depth and speculation in their mysteries. I would guess it should also appeal to those who enjoyed Connie Willis’s Doomsday Book - although to be fair, Willis’s work seems to include more sci-fi elements, and A Song in Stone leans more towards the esoteric.

As a side note, A Song in Stone by Walter H. Hunt is published by Wizard of the Coast who apparently has a new line of books which are quite different from their Dragonlance/Forgotten Realms related books. I think this is a great thing and am happy to see a niche publisher branching out - I was only ever, at best, a passing fan of their Dragonlance/Forgotten Realms/Ravenloft/Magic books - and I believe their new “Discoveries” line should appeal to a wider range of readers.

Fables, Volume 11: War and Pieces by Bill Willingham

Fables is my favorite ongoing comic book series, and the 11th volume, collecting issues #70-75, does not disappoint. Bill Willingham can sure write a comic book! After just finishing this volume, it occurs to me that Fables could almost be included on my favorite fantasy series list (it won’t make it onto my Project Reread, but it is worth a mention). This volume is the culmination of many of the story lines which have been taking place in the series… basically, the war is on. The series in no way ends with this volume, but it does conclude some things and opens up the world for more tales - I eagerly look forward to years of stories in the world of Fables to come. For those who have read all the previous volumes, War and Pieces is a must. For those who have never read Fables, please go read the first ten volumes, you will want the whole story before reading this, and those previous volumes are truly outstanding. Not wanting to give anything away, all I can really say is that I enjoyed this volume as much as Volume 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers, which was probably my favorite up to this point. The art, provided mainly by Mark Buckingham, is as always, clean and fits the series perfectly. The story is compelling and fascinating. Seriously, even those who do not like comic books should give this series a look.

my Project Reread

A few posts back an offhand mention of "winter is coming", and that phrase's relationship to George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, got me thinking about my favorite fantasy books and series. While there are quite a few I have enjoyed over the years, there are really only three series which I would consider my favorites - The Wheel of Time, The Lord of the Rings, and A Song of Ice and Fire. Each of these three series means something a little different to me, but all make it onto my favorite books list (ok, some of the books don’t, but each series taken collectively does).

Surprisingly (or maybe not), it was The Wheel of Time series which got me hooked on fantasy books as a teenager, not The Lord of the Rings as is the case with many fans… the true sense of wonder and discovery I felt while reading The Eye of the World opened up my imagination and it has been used as something of a benchmark which I measure my enjoyment of works of fantasy by ever since. No matter where the series went from that first book, or where it ultimately ends up, it will always be my first, and one of my favorites.

Not too long after I read the first two books of Robert Jordan’s series (the only two available at the time), I discovered The Lord of the Rings and devoured the series. The Lord of the Rings provided a depth and breadth to my appreciation of fantasy. Of course, this was discovered by a whole generation of fans before me, but being relatively new to the genre at the time, reading this classic was a true grand experience.

It was years later when I stumbled upon the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire. I had read many fantasy novels in those years, but none had the ability to take hold of my imagination and mind like The Wheel of Time and The Lord of the Rings did until I picked up A Game of Thrones (thanks in part to the “It’s Brilliant” blurb by Robert Jordan). At a time when I was becoming bored with the redundancy of the genre, A Game of Thrones showed me that fantasy could still be fresh, intelligent, and a freakin’ great read.

Of these three, only Lord of the Rings is a “finished” series... George R.R. Martin is still working away on the fifth book of his series, and the sad of news of Robert Jordan's passing put his series in jeopardy of not being finished (since then, it has come out that he had extensive notes, and Brandon Sanderson was tapped to write the final book of the series using Robert Jordan's notes with the assistance, I am assuming, of Robert Jordan's wife and editor). Nonetheless, the sense of wonder I felt for these works of fiction upon my first reading each is something that I often yearn for - sadly, I have learned that the feeling is not one that can be forced, it just happens, it just is, and it occurs when you are not looking for it (sounds kind of like the generic love advice you'd give a heartbroken friend, I know). Anyway, so here it is - my Project Reread - I plan on rereading all available books (core books - I cannot even contemplate reading all of Tolkien's LoTR related works) of my three favorite fantasy series over, let's say the next year... it may take longer, as I will be leaving lots of room on my to read pile for new books - of course, I can only hope to finish off this project by reading A Dance with Dragons and A Memory of Light… one can always hope.

As a testament to my love for these series, feel free to search my library and see how many copies of each I happen to own (I somehow have difficulty not buying books I really like when I see them for cheap at a book sale or new editions comes out - hey, this is a madness, after all)… uh oh, I just checked and it seems I actually only have one copy of The Eye of the World (not counting the first part freebies they were giving away years ago), so it looks like I must have given away all my copies and have to get more - woohoo, a trip to the bookstore is needed!!!

OK, first up will be A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin… check back sometime soon for my thoughts.

Gladiatrix by Russell Whitfield

In the introduction to later printings of The Poet by Michael Connelly, Stephen King writes about a book’s ability to hook readers… well, let me say, Gladiatrix hooked me from the start. Not only is the first short chapter of Gladiatrix thrilling in its cinematic violence, but is also an intriguing setup to the novel (a story which, at first glance, might not seem to be very original - you know, gladiators, albeit female ones, in ancient Rome - pretty sure that’s been done before). Gladiatrix may not be groundbreaking, but it is very entertaining. This book provides a nice mix of story, character development, sex, and violence… the last two elements in no way distracting from the first. We follow the brutal journey of a shipwrecked Spartan priestess as she becomes a slave and gladiatrix in ancient Rome… sure, there is more to the story, but that is the gist of it, and any other necessary details can be gathered from the book’s back cover, which I am recommending you pick up and at least check out during a future book store visit - Gladiatrix by Russell Whitfield looks to be available here in the US in April 2009.

Although I enjoyed the movie Gladiator very much, and was a big fan of HBO’s Rome, my reading in, and knowledge of, ancient Rome is pretty limited. This did not distract at all from my enjoyment of Gladiatrix. In fact, it has created a slight yearning to read more on ancient Rome - anyone have any suggestions? Any book that leaves me wanting more, either of the author or the genre, is a good thing in my mind (and lucky for me, according to the author’s website, a sequel is in the works). For those who enjoyed 300 or Gladiator, I am sure Gladiatrix will be a very entertaining read… the arena scenes are graphic and exciting. This is Russell Whitfield’s first novel, but it doesn’t often feel like one - he deftly develops the characters and moves the story along at a comfortable pace, never languishing too long on any one scene or character’s point of view, building nicely towards the novel’s satisfying and somewhat unexpected conclusion.

Gladiatrix may not be for everyone, although it has enough going for it to appeal to quite a few, and for those who enjoy historical novels set in ancient Rome, this book is a no-brainer.

SantaThing: Secret Santa for Book Lovers

As I mentioned in a previous post, I love LibraryThing (I plan on expanding my comments on it sometime shortly, so look forward to that) and they currently have a pretty cool thing going for members - check it out... Merry Christmas!

A book a day for 2009

As we get close to a new year, a quick suggestion for those who spend their work days dreaming of books - how about a "Book Lovers Page-A-Day Calendar"? I received one last year as a Christmas gift and have enjoyed it all year. Each day lists a book with a quick description and reason why it might be enjoyed - sure, out of 365 days, you will find days where you aren't interested in the book presented, but on other days you will discover books you didn't know you needed before, feel strangely proud on the days where there is a book you've read, and occasionally be perplexed on days where there is a book listed that no book lover would love. OK, it may not be enough to get you looking forward to work on Sunday night, but come Monday morning you do get to get a quick snippet of three books (unless you cheated and looked ahead on Friday) or more - even a book lover can be distracted as a busy week takes its toll, as does happen to me, but then I get the pleasure of tearing off a wholeweek's worth of pages to peruse during a slower time. Sure hope Santa brings me another one this year...

NYT and the Top Books of 2008

This year’s New York Times 10 Best Books list almost passed by without me noticing it, but now that I see it, I am not too surprised at the selections - all the books have been reviewed well, both in print and around the internet. In past years I would pay close attention to this list (although the more expansive 100 Notable Books List tends to appeal to me more), but this year's list somehow seems less imperative to me - too many books on my to read pile as it is, I guess... or maybe I am getting old and jaded, I don’t know - probably has more to do with the instant access the internet provides and is indicative of the failing newspaper business as whole (I remember keeping a huge stack of old New York Times Book Reviews for a "just in case I want to read something from 3 years ago" type occurrence, now I rarely even buy the NYT Sunday edition to read the Book Review… I just go online). Still, some potentially good reads to take note of… check it out if you missed it like I almost did.

Of Swords and Stones

Over the past month or so I have I read through the first two books of Terry Brooks’ Original Shannara Trilogy. In between each book I read several other books so as not to burn myself out on endless quests (I’d advise you try the same, except for the most hardcore fantasy fans - who have probably already these books anyway). While these books may not be for everyone, they were entertaining enough - here are my thoughts on them…

The Sword of Shannara
I mainly just wanted to get that first book behind me, enabling me to read the rest of the Shannara books, and in the process gather whatever information that might be helpful to know as I continue on with the series. The biggest criticism often thrown at this book is that is nothing but a cheap rip-off of Tolkien. For the most part, this is an accurate assessment - it is a derivative of Lord of the Rings, and at times my mind even played tricks on me, registering character names as their Tolkien equivalents. The story is similar, albeit with less depth and development… which isn’t necessarily that bad of a thing, especially if you head into the book in the right state of mind - looking for a fun fantasy adventure story, just not something overly original. I have never seen anything where Brooks takes offense to the criticism about similarities between his story and Tolkien’s and, from what I’ve read, he is a fan of Tolkien and freely acknowledges The Lord of the Rings as his main influence when writing The Sword of Shannara. While certainly not the best fantasy book I have read (not even in the top 20 or 50, to be honest) it does have some merit and played a role in the popularization of the fantasy genre, and is therefore worth the time to at least give it a shot if you are fan of the genre.

The Elfstones of Shannara
In the second book we finally see something a little more original (or what can be called “original” in relation to the epic fantasy genre, circa 1982, anyway). While based firmly in your typical fantasy world of elves and trolls, Brooks begins to break away from Tolkien. Though another quest novel where the ending can be surmised from the beginning, it gives the impression that you haven’t read this “exact” story before. Taking place a couple generations after Sword, Elfstones could conceivably be read first (in fact, the rumored movie of the series begins here - probably due to the first book’s resemblance to Lord of the Rings). All in all, Brooks provides a much better offering his second time around.

…

In conclusion - for fantasy fans, these books are, for the most part, light and fun entertainment. For someone who doesn’t read a lot of fantasy, there are much better places within the genre for you to explore before jumping into this series. I will be continuing on with further Shannara books, but they are not heading to the top of my to read pile just yet (I have seen several pretty favorable reviews of Brooks' most recent offerings in the Shannara universe, the Genesis of Shannara Trilogy, so I plan on slowly working my way through his recommended reading order until I get to them).