It's been just over 6 months since I moved to the e-book reader (Nook Color!) and I have discovered one thing. I'm probably reading MORE than ever before (and that's saying something). The advantage is that I don't have to choose which books gets stuck in my backpack or whatever. I'm carrying around 40 volumes at any given time. So it doesn't matter what mood I'm in, I probably have something to read.
So it's been a busy summer. Let's see if we can get caught up. This is in "as I remember them" order:
A Plague of Demons by Keith Laumer If I could grow up to be any Science Fiction writer it might just be Keith Laumer (unless it was Isaac Asimov or Robert Heinlein). He was a truly fine writer with a deft touch on language and character. His stories have a wonderful sense of humor which he exercised to the maximum on the Retief stories, a sort of James Bond of the Diplomatic world series. I had forgotten how much I really enjoyed him till I stumbled on the re-releases that Baen books has published. This is a group of short stories that range all across his virtuosity. Was really sorry it was over.
Gun by Phil Bowie This is your basic thriller type with a lone wolf hero with a past he doesn't like to talk about. The story is pretty good, the writing is pretty good. I'd read him again.
Dark Legacy by Anna DeSteffano Barnes and Noble gives away a free e-book every Friday. Seems like an awful lot of them are romances so I take a pass. This one sounded like a thriller about a secret government agency trying to exploit psychic powers. OK, I'm in. About 100 pages in I thought "She's a romance author!" and I was right. The book isn't bad but some of the writing is just a bit much. On the whole it wasn't bad but I doubt I'll read any more by her.
Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer - Here was a discovery! Back in the day Heyer was a hugely popular English writer of historical romance and detective fiction. In fact she pretty much created the historical romance genre. Today she's pretty much unknown which is too bad based on this one. Well written and right up there with Agatha Christie as far as twists and turns go. Finding more of her detective stuff looks like it'll be tricky but I'm definitely in for more.
The Angel of Terror by Edgar Wallace - Another English detective writer from the first half of the 20th Century. Very prolific he's had more movies made of his books than any other author (including King Kong from a short story of his). This is a chilling tale of a beautiful young woman who will do anything to get what she wants. Interesting that the ending is hardly the norm for his time either. Good stuff.
Plan B by Joseph Finder Actually just a short story by writer and former Intelligence officer Finder. It was a quick read but not especially enthralling. Part of an ongoing series of his with character Nick Heller. Didn't make me want to run right out and get any more.
The Hunt by Jan Neuharth This is the first of a series of books about the fox hunting set in rural Virginia. Neuharth never bothers to try and justify fox hunting which I suppose is fine if you believe in it but it left a sour taste in my mouth. She had the chance to try and sell it and didn't. Seemed a missed opportunity. (But then the next two books in the series are "The Hunt" and "The Kill" so presumably she doesn't have a problem with it). The writing was adequate, the story was actually pretty good. Except for the standard idiot hero character who is bound and determined to do everything as wrong as possible making his situation worse at every turn. I can't believe anyone is that stupid. At least anyone with as much education and background as her lead. Not inclined to read any more.
Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambley I don't read a lot of horror or vampire novels but this one caught my attention. She has a real feel and it didn't seem all cliched about the blood suckers. I really enjoyed it. This is the first of a series, now up to three books. Set in Edwardian England she drew me right in. Don't know that I'd go looking for more vampire novels but if I came across her I'd certainly read another. Hambley writes extensively in fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction. (including some Star Trek and Star Wars stuff)
The Doomsday Code by Alex Scarrow One of a pair of writing brothers from England this is part of a young adult series about a group called the Timeriders. It's a time travel adventure story that manages to avoid too many of the cliches of the genre. I enjoyed the book a lot.
The Samurai Strategy by Thomas Hoover - I've now read several books by Hoover and I become less enthralled with each one. Hoover suffers from a bad case of author intrusion. In his case it's usually trying to show us how much he knows on a subject despite the fact that it doesn't advance the story. He's not a bad writer when he gets out of his own way but I think I've reached the end of my rope with him.
The Black Mask, The Assistant Murderer by Dashiell Hammett Both short works by the ultimate American detective writer (IMO) and pretty typical hard boiled stuff.
The other great thing about the Nook is that I also get access to old sci-fi pulp magazines, short stories and more. The quality varies widely so I'll not waste your time. If you have an e-reader (Nook, Kindle, Kobo etc) it's well worth exploring all the free book options out there.
That's most of what I read this summer. I'm sure I've forgotten at least a couple but now I feel like I've caught up a bit.
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