Redburn. youngster of modest means takes a trip to Liverpool and back. you say why. he hadda go. I wish all children approaching 21 were like this child -- get on a boat and go. bring me some tales and some commentaries. be like a man wants to grow

White Jacket. same signs up for a man o war. compare and contrast. the guy who writes this stuff, if he only never heard of experienced read or studied greek and rome, not the history but the gods, we would have us a true American original. The ending of Mardi was as wicked as the ending of Moby. he gives a stirring account of the cape of good horn. hope. horn hope horn hope. will we have us a mardi moby ending? not sure. the library wanted it back, arrearages were due, i had to dump it in the box. Literary alarum: she landed loud

Obsidian Chamber - Lincoln/Childs - Latest Pendergrast novel from Lincoln & Child. very good. dispenses with all the weird mystical **** that has been in the more recent Pendergrast novels.

The Proud Tower (Barbara Tuchman) - Tuchman's publishing follow-up to "The Guns of August", previously reviewed in this space, which chronicled the first month (or so) of the First World War. This "sequel" is a collection of previously published essays that paint a portrait of the world (mostly Western Europe) in the quarter century prior to that conflict. Two essays on England, one on the US, one on anarchism, one on socialism, one on the "arts" (focused on Richard Strauss), one on the Dreyfus affair, and one on the Hague Peace Conferences. Some of the essays presuppose knowledge about certain early-1900s events, and the essays on England can become a bit overwhelming as politician after politician is introduced, but overall it is well written. Nothing really addressing the Balkans, which is of course where the war's precipitating event started.

White Fire (Lincoln/Childs) - Pendergast novel that follows the Helen trilogy. This one focuses on Corie Swanson, who we first met in "Still Life with Crows", and her attempt to solve a historical mystery in a ritzy Colorado town that was once home to a prosperous silver mining industry. Meanwhile, a series of brutal murders/arson attacks paralyzes the city. Can Pendergast save the day? Will a previously undiscovered Sherlock Holmes story play a role? Damn straight. Did not really see any of the "weird mystical ****" that Mr. Coyote refers to in his above post. The plot is refreshingly absent of some of the elaborate craziness of the latter part of the Helen trilogy. Reminiscent of House, MD, to some extent. Constance, d'Agosta, Proctor, and New York are notably absent from this story.

Posted by mickjagger on 11/24/2010 3:41:00 PM (view original):
SAMURAI WILLIAM- GILES MILTON----VERY GOOD
FLASHMAN ON THE MARCH---- GEORGE MCDONALD FRASER----WHOLE SERIES AWESOME
BIO OF MARTIN VAN BUREN-- FURGET AUTHOR
I, CLAUDIUS-----ROBERT GRAVES

Read All the Flashman books . I agree. These books are written like they are history and non fiction complete with notations on the bottom of pages.
But they are purely fiction and they are Hysterical ! Often some of the best laughs comes from reading the notations on the bottom.
Premise : Flashman is in British Army of long ago. He is an admitted coward and will always run from fight. But often regardless of his tendencies to run from a fight through wierd and wonderful circumstances he ends up a hero and with the most beautiful women.
Once again: Very Funny !

American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964 (William Manchester) - Biography of Douglas MacArthur, who attended high school in Milwaukee (and for whom the MacArthur Square structure is named). I didn't know much about him before reading this. Recommended for those with an interest.

Her Last Breath (Robert Dugoni) - In "My Sister's Grave", we were introduced to Tracy Crosswhite, a Seattle detective who leaves her investigation of a "dancer's" murder when new evidence surfaces regarding her own sister's years-ago murder. In this second outing, Crosswhite has cleared up that matter and returns to the investigation. It doesn't take long before the body count has tripled, and Crosswhite finds herself chasing a serial killer. Good enough, if you can get it for $2.00 as an e-book.

Tourist Season (Carl Hiassen) - Hiassen's first solo novel (had written three crime-type novels in collaboration with William Montalbano). This one is a bit more satirical than those earlier works; a motley crew of disillusioned individuals band together in an attempt to chase people out of Florida and restore the ecosystem. The plot involves the kidnapping of the Orange Bowl Queen, and it's up to a former newspaper reporter turned private eye to set things right.

Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year (7th edition) - This one contains works published in 2012; I've been reading it in bits and pieces for some time now, and finally finished it. Some decent stuff here, especially KJ Parker's novella "Let Maps to Others", and some other stuff that makes you wonder how it got included in a "best of" anthology.

forg i'm bored with my reading. Seymour A Intro did it this weekend in my free time after the roads finally cleared and i made it to Wild Horse

gimme your top 5 all time

i'll do the kermdog review

I'd love to see chuck's review of "Ulysses".

don't fool yourself. unless it has pictures Chuck ain't "reading" it!

when consultation with a dictionary is required for every page, the review reads like this: Unreadable.

I'm now caught up on the Pendergast novels:

Blue Labyrinth - When someone close to Pendergast is murdered (and left at his door), he uncovers clues that lead him to the Salton Sea in California. When it turns out to be a trap, Lt. D'Agosta and Constance Greene must take the lead in solving the mystery.

Crimson Shore - Pendergast and Constance travel to Exmouth, Massachusetts to investigate a wine robbery. While there, they uncover something much more sinister, with clear connections to the Salem witch trials. And... a special guest arrives at the end.

The Obsidian Chamber - As the book begins, Pendergast remains missing and presumed dead after the events of Crimson Shore, and Constance has been taken captive by our special guest. Can Proctor track her down and free her? Bet against it.

I've also started reading the John Rain novels by Barry Eisler. Rain, a former Special Forces member born of a Japanese father and American mother, has become a freelance assassin who specializes in making his kills appear to be of natural causes. He has three rules: a) no second teams on his jobs; b) no women or children targets; c) principals only (no hits on family members to "send a message"). He is accomplished in hand-to-hand combat and very security conscious. When the series begins, he lives in Tokyo, and he sometimes struggles with his biracial identity. I read the seventh book of the series, "The Detatchment" several years ago (was a free or nearly-free Kindle read).

A Clean Kill in Tokyo (previously published as Rain Fall) - Living in Tokyo, Rain successfully takes down his target but then finds himself in a relationship with his victim's daughter, a rising jazz musician, who he seeks to protect from forces trying to recover a disc that her father was thought to possess. Matters eventually become unnecessarily complicated and Rain must face an old Army nemesis, now involved with the CIA. Somewhat clunky at times, and perhaps a bit too full of "authentic" detail of Tokyo's streets, neighborhoods, etc.

A Lonely Resurrection (Hard Rain) - Rain continues to assist the Japanese FBI to reduce corruption in Japanese society but is being hunted by the Yakuza due to the events of the first novel. Rain's friend and "assistant", a talented hacker named Harry, finds an untimely end and Rain must avenge his death while securing his own future. Less complicated plot than the first novel and written with a bit cleaner style.

Winner Take All (Rain Storm) - With too much heat in Japan, Rain has relocated to Brazil, where he reconnects with a dancer he met during the events of "A Lonely Resurrection". Despite careful attention to remaining hidden, the CIA tracks him down and convinces him to take a job in Hong Kong, where it appears the "no second teams" rule may have been violated... or are there other organizations trying to accomplish the same goal. Does the CIA's left hand even know what it's right hand is doing? Rain must travel to a number of locales to track it all down, and we see the first appearance of his old sniper buddy Dox in this novel (they met in Afghanistan during Rain's post-Vietnam mercenary career).


There was a 2009 film called "Rain Fall" which may or may not have been based on the first novel (I haven't seen it). Gary Oldman appears in it.

Keanu Reeves is attached to a TV limited-run series, playing John Rain, but there is no announced premiere date as of yet (originally thought to be ready in 2016, it Is apparently anticipated this year).

The Internet is a Playground - David Thorne - Highly recommend. Thorne is funny and very sarcastic.

In the Clearing (Robert Dugoni) - The third novel featuring Seattle detective Tracy Crosswhite. In this entry, a friend's father has died... a father who was the sheriff at the time a young Native American woman was found dead in the river. It was ruled a suicide, but the sheriff had kept a file on the case... did he have an inkling there was something more? Tracy takes up this cold case to find out. Meanwhile, she has a current day murder to deal with, one featuring confessions by both the estranged wife and the son of the victim. As a bonus, the wife's father is a famous defense attorney.

Still Waters (Viveca Sten) - This is the first of a four-book series called the Sandhamn Murders, Sandhamn being a touristy type island off Sweden. A man walking a dog finds a dead body on the beach, tangled in a fishing net. He's identified as a nearly family-less man from the mainland who has been missing for months. Detective Thomas Swedishname interviews the only apparent living relative, a cousin, and everyone is ready to dismiss the incident as an accidental drowning until the cousin turns up dead after being brutally beaten in a Sandhamn hotel. One of them Scandanavian crime novels capitalizing on the success of the "Girl who.." series but not anywhere near as interesting. This was a freebie through Amazon Prime; I can't say I'm motivated to read the next book of the series. There was some kind of TV series based on these novels, but I am not familiar with it.

DougOut = Dubya

alias nailed.

CAT IN THE HAT (Theodor Geisel) - This introductory and perhaps most successful tome from 1957 takes an early look into what may well be the first dysfunctional family presented to pre-teens in American literature. It centers around Sally, her mother and unnamed brother and an anthropomorphic CAT. As the mother of this, perhaps fatherless, family leaves for work...Sally and her nameless brother are confronted by THE CAT IN THE HAT who effortlessly enters their home as they are bored on this rainy day. His signature red and white striped hat and red bow tie do not fool FISH who warns Sally of impending dangers. As the CAT tries to amuse the children on this rainy day, his tricks and antics become more and more destructive to the house. Eventually a box is produced revealing THING #1 and THING #2 who, despite the protests of FISH, proceed to destroy the home with their antics. Just as Sally and her nameless brother, son of a never mentioned father, are at wits end, FISH spies the mother returning to a now wrecked house. The CAT puts his THINGS back in the box and leaves only to return with a magical machine that cleans up all the messes made by the CAT and THINGS prior. And just as The CAT IN THE HAT leaves through the rear door, the mother enters through the front with the greeting..."What did you do today?" This epic ends with a question we would all do well to consider and ponder. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY? A short and easy read for anyone interested.