I'm reading "On Her Majesty's Occult Service" by Charles Stross.
Disclaimer: The below is merely my opinion. I'm just reading the book.
Categories: SciFi, Horror
This is a copy I picked up at a used book store. The book is a compilation of several Charles Stross "books." I've just finished "The Atrocity Archives" including "The Concrete Jungle" both of which you seem to be able to read at the link I attached (as well as the usual offer to sell ...) I'll report back later on the rest of the book.
Bob works for the government in London somewhere. He could tell you but then he'd have to lock you up for the rest of your life.He was recruited out of college when he wrote an advanced computer science/math paper that happened to reveal too much about the connection (in that universe) between computation and summoning demons, opening portals to alternate realities and such. He's being moved to field work.
The story takes him though various travails, creepy places and night clubs on a highly restricted expense account.
This book reminds me in an offcenter way of the "Thursday Next" books by Jasper Fforde.
It has: Math and physics jokes, inane red-tape, occult nazis and terrorists, government coverups, some great writing, spy jokes, John LeCarre jokes, alternate universes, creepy crawlies, torture and shooting
What did I like: The words and the way they are put together just grab you, a computer guy is the hero, office politics are not revered
What didn't I like: It takes a few more pages to get into than I would prefer
Rating: 4 of 5, I enjoyed it a lot.
11 February 2010
09 February 2010
Elizabeth Lowell, Blue Smoke and Murder ... final
I'm finished with "Blue Smoke and Murder" by Elizabeth Lowell
Disclaimer: The below is merely my opinion. I'm just reading the book.
Well ... it ended just like I expected. It was fun to find out how the store got there. That's where all the suspense was.
This book doesn't go on my list of all-time greats. Nobody will include it in "Great English Literature" of the ages. But neither does it suck.
I still like it.
Disclaimer: The below is merely my opinion. I'm just reading the book.
Well ... it ended just like I expected. It was fun to find out how the store got there. That's where all the suspense was.
This book doesn't go on my list of all-time greats. Nobody will include it in "Great English Literature" of the ages. But neither does it suck.
I still like it.
Joseph Wambaugh, Hollywood Crows ... final
I'm finished listening to "Hollywood Crows" by Joseph Wambaugh.
Disclaimer: The below is merely my opinion. I'm just reading the book.
Finished reading the book the other day.
The ending is quite satisfying. Lots of loose ends are tied up and put away. Nothing seems contrived. A few bits of ambiguity remain. Good triumphs over evil ... mostly.
I liked it ... no change to the rating.
Disclaimer: The below is merely my opinion. I'm just reading the book.
Finished reading the book the other day.
The ending is quite satisfying. Lots of loose ends are tied up and put away. Nothing seems contrived. A few bits of ambiguity remain. Good triumphs over evil ... mostly.
I liked it ... no change to the rating.
01 February 2010
Joseph Wambaugh, Hollywood Crows
I'm listening to "Hollywood Crows" by Joseph Wambaugh.
Disclaimer: The below is merely my opinion. I'm just reading the book.
Categories: Detective, Suspense, Police
I don't know how it ends as I am still listening.
The book seems to be about a bunch of random police incidents covering the Hollywood division of the LA police. There are two groups. The regular officers and the Community Relations Office (or CRO) which everyone calls the "Crows".
The incidents are great entertainment. I don't believe anyone could make up all this stuff. It's too unbelievable to not be real.
For example, there's the guy who steal a purse from a "Walk of Fame" tourist and takes off running. The police officer who sees it radios ahead and eventually the guy goes running into a parking garage, is whacked on the chest by the female officer so hard that his glass eye pops out and rolls under a Toyota. They find it, give it back and he cleans it off in another officers cup of Gatorade before popping it back into place. (Now, who could make that up.)
But, I'm seeing some of the incidents coming together around the Aziz family who are two sociopaths going through a closely contested divorce. I'll let you know if the end is fun in some later entry.
It has: coke addicts, divorced cops, stripper bars, stupid crooks, surfer cops, every imaginable race and country of origin, transvestites, homeless guys, rock drummers, nice people and cock fights.
What did I like: There is something funny happening all the time. And the wording keeps you listening if the inanity doesn't.
What didn't I like: Nothing outstanding so far.
Rating: 4 of 5, I enjoyed it a lot.
Disclaimer: The below is merely my opinion. I'm just reading the book.
Categories: Detective, Suspense, Police
I don't know how it ends as I am still listening.
The book seems to be about a bunch of random police incidents covering the Hollywood division of the LA police. There are two groups. The regular officers and the Community Relations Office (or CRO) which everyone calls the "Crows".
The incidents are great entertainment. I don't believe anyone could make up all this stuff. It's too unbelievable to not be real.
For example, there's the guy who steal a purse from a "Walk of Fame" tourist and takes off running. The police officer who sees it radios ahead and eventually the guy goes running into a parking garage, is whacked on the chest by the female officer so hard that his glass eye pops out and rolls under a Toyota. They find it, give it back and he cleans it off in another officers cup of Gatorade before popping it back into place. (Now, who could make that up.)
But, I'm seeing some of the incidents coming together around the Aziz family who are two sociopaths going through a closely contested divorce. I'll let you know if the end is fun in some later entry.
It has: coke addicts, divorced cops, stripper bars, stupid crooks, surfer cops, every imaginable race and country of origin, transvestites, homeless guys, rock drummers, nice people and cock fights.
What did I like: There is something funny happening all the time. And the wording keeps you listening if the inanity doesn't.
What didn't I like: Nothing outstanding so far.
Rating: 4 of 5, I enjoyed it a lot.
Elizabeth Lowell, Blue Smoke and Murder
I'm in the middle of "Blue Smoke and Murder" by Elizabeth Lowell
Disclaimer: The below is merely my opinion. I'm just reading the book.
Categories: Mystery, Suspense
I don't know how it ends yet but it reads just like all the Elizabeth Lowell books I've read. A beautiful woman is on her own and the trouble is getting worse. There's a desert involved and, often, an old home place. She gets in touch with St. Kilda Consulting and they send in an irritating but handsome agent to help. They travel all around hiding from the bad guys and/or fighting it out. The romantic pull is irresistable ... and it works out in the end. (Except I haven't read the end.)
And it's fun. The characters grab your interest. You wonder if or when they will give in to the attraction. The bad guys make you want them to lose.
The basic plot is a young woman, Jill, called back to the family cabin in the wilds of northern Arizona when her great-aunt dies in a fire. She doesn't know that it was set by her aunt's killers who were looking for the lost paintings of a famous western painter. Once she gets there, she's their next target.
She calls in an old favor and gets Zach assigned to protect her. He sets off all her hormones and irritates her to no end. She's an independent woman after all.
You can see where it goes from there. He keeps her alive. Together the figure out why someone is after the paintings. The tension mounts and so forth.
It has: gun fights, romance, corrupt art dealers, valuable family paintings, male chauvinist pigs, friends in the hospital, drug addled bad guys
What did I like: The story keeps moving and though you know where it will end the fun is in the journey.
What didn't I like: Jill is a bit too impulsive, too independent and too talented. Ditto for Zach.
Rating: 3 of 5, I enjoyed it.
Personal notes: I'll update you when I finish it. Sometimes a book is really good until you get to the end.
Disclaimer: The below is merely my opinion. I'm just reading the book.
Categories: Mystery, Suspense
I don't know how it ends yet but it reads just like all the Elizabeth Lowell books I've read. A beautiful woman is on her own and the trouble is getting worse. There's a desert involved and, often, an old home place. She gets in touch with St. Kilda Consulting and they send in an irritating but handsome agent to help. They travel all around hiding from the bad guys and/or fighting it out. The romantic pull is irresistable ... and it works out in the end. (Except I haven't read the end.)
And it's fun. The characters grab your interest. You wonder if or when they will give in to the attraction. The bad guys make you want them to lose.
The basic plot is a young woman, Jill, called back to the family cabin in the wilds of northern Arizona when her great-aunt dies in a fire. She doesn't know that it was set by her aunt's killers who were looking for the lost paintings of a famous western painter. Once she gets there, she's their next target.
She calls in an old favor and gets Zach assigned to protect her. He sets off all her hormones and irritates her to no end. She's an independent woman after all.
You can see where it goes from there. He keeps her alive. Together the figure out why someone is after the paintings. The tension mounts and so forth.
It has: gun fights, romance, corrupt art dealers, valuable family paintings, male chauvinist pigs, friends in the hospital, drug addled bad guys
What did I like: The story keeps moving and though you know where it will end the fun is in the journey.
What didn't I like: Jill is a bit too impulsive, too independent and too talented. Ditto for Zach.
Rating: 3 of 5, I enjoyed it.
Personal notes: I'll update you when I finish it. Sometimes a book is really good until you get to the end.
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