The mattries37315 reading thread of 2021

Hello everyone and Happy New Year,

The book I'm starting with is The Complete Novels by Jane Austen, I will be reading one novel then take a break for two books then read another and so on until I've finished all of Austen's novels. I'll be posting reviews per novel then an overall book review upon completion the near 1300 tome.

Like last year I've added my "home" reads into my "reading plan" (see link below). My first "home" read will be A History of My Times by Xenophon. Another home read that I'm starting will be Unique America, reading at least a page a day until it's complete.

I'm looking to get at least 35 books this coming year and you can check out which books from my ever expanding shelves I hope to get through this year in my 2021 Reading Plan post linked below.

2021 Reading Plan

>1 mattries37315: Happy new year!

>2 YouKneeK: Thank you, Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Hope your year will be better than last.

Happy New Year!

>4 majkia: Thank you, I hope you're well be better than last as well.

>5 Narilka: Thank you, have a Happy New Year as well!

Happy new year! I hope it will be a good year for you in every way.

>7 Sakerfalcon: Thank you, I hope you have a good year as well.

Happy new year, may 2021 bring you good things in life and in books.

Happy New Year and Reading!

>9 Peace2: >10 Bookmarque: Thank you, Happy New Year and happy reading!

Happy reading, >1 mattries37315:! I am very much looking forward to your reviews of the Austen novels.

Oh, looking forward to your thoughts on Austen's oeuvre! I've been rereading them, and I've found that my ranking is likely to change quite a bit by the time I'm finished. They hold up marvelously well as rereads.

>12 clamairy: >13 libraryperilous: Thanks. I'm currently through Volume I of Sense and Sensibility and getting a hang of Austen's writing.

>14 mattries37315: I have always had a soft spot for Sense and Sensibility so will be eager to hear your thinking!

Happy New Year!

>16 NorthernStar: Thank you. Happy New Year and good reading to you!

And a Happy New Year from me too.

I also will be interested to read your thoughts on the Austen novels.

>18 -pilgrim-: Thank you. Happy New Year to you and happy reading!

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

The death of their father puts two sisters’ futures in doubt, but good things might come to those who wait. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen is the first published novel of her literary career, though initially anonymously, but has been a favorite with readers for over two centuries.

Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are the two eldest daughters of Henry Dashwood’s second marriage whose lives and futures are diminished when he passes, and their elder half-brother John takes over the family estate then is persuaded by his greedy wife to not help his sisters and stepmother financially. The Dashwood’s sister-in-law Fanny does not like Elinor due to the relationship between her and her brother Edward Ferrars believing Elinor is after Edward’s future inheritance. The sister’s mother looks for a different place to live when a distant cousin, Sir John Middleton offers a modest cottage for them to reside, which is happily accepted. Once established, Sir John begins inviting his cousins to his house to interact with his various friends that include 35-year-old bachelor Colonel Brandon and the young bachelor Mr. Willoughby as well as his family, his wife Lady Middleton and talkative mother-in-law Mrs. Jennings. Marianne falls for Mr. Willoughby and believes they are nearly engaged while perceiving Colonel Brandon coolly, while Elinor navigates hopeful matches incubated by Mrs. Jennings before a visit by Edward in which he very. Weeks on, Sir John brings his other distant cousins of Mrs. Jennings, Anne and Lucy Steele, to his home for a visit. During which Lucy and Elinor become friendly when Lucy lets her know she is engaged to an Edward Ferrars that Elinor presumes to not be her Edward, but evidence proves the reverse. Mrs. Jennings convinces Elinor and Marianne to accompany her to London whereon arrival Marianne writes several letters to Willoughby, which go unanswered until after meeting him and his fiancé at a dance that results in a letter from Willoughby that curtly cuts off all communication with her while including everything she sent and gave him. Brandon arrives soon after and relates to Elinor that Willoughby seduced, impregnated, then abandoned Brandon’s young ward, Miss Eliza Williams resulting in Willoughby’s aunt disinheriting him thus leading to his engagement to another woman, so Marianne knows of Willoughby’s true character. The Steele sisters come to London through an invitation of Mrs. Jennings, but upon meeting John and Fanny Dashwood they are invited to their London house. Anne betrays Lucy’s secret engagement to Edward to Fanny resulting in them being cast out of the house while Edward is ordered by his wealthy mother to break off the engagement, but he believes it dishonorable and is disinherited. Admiring Edward’s conduct, Brandon offers him the clergyman’s income for the Delaford parsonage so he can marry Lucy after he takes orders. Mrs. Jennings takes the Dashwood sisters to her second daughter’s home where a still distraught Marianne takes a walk in the rain and becomes dangerously ill so much so it’s believed her life is in danger and a visiting Brandon volunteers to bring Mrs. Dashwood to Marianne. Willoughby arrives, revealing to Elinor he genuinely loved Marianne and is miserable which elicits Elinor’s pity because his choice made him unhappy but is disgusted by how he talks of Miss Williams and his own wife. Marianne recovers from his illness and is told of Willoughby’s visit which results in Marianne realizing she would never by happy with Willoughby’s immoral, erratic, and inconsiderate ways. She values Elinor's more moderated conduct with Edward and resolves to model herself after her courage and good sense. Edward later arrives and reveals that, after his disinheritance, Lucy jilted him in favor of his now wealthy younger brother, Robert. Elinor is overjoyed. Edward and Elinor marry, and later Marianne marries Colonel Brandon, having gradually come to love him. The two couples live as neighbors, with both sisters and husbands in harmony with each other.

Overall, my first Austen novel was a good read as I found the main characters readable and the secondary characters full of interesting quirks and backstories though Lucy Steele’s manipulative and scheming that slowly comes out throughout her appearances. If there is a good starting point when reading Austen, it appears her first published novel is perfect.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Sense and Sensibility from The Complete Novels by Jane Austen, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch

The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch

The journey of Locke and Jean find themselves facing off with their “Sister” in an election game overseen by some of the most powerful people on the planet. The Republic of Thieves is the third book of Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastards sequence which see the first appearance of the Lady Bastard herself and Locke’s former lover facing off with the duo.

The book begins with flashback to the first meeting of Locke and Sabetha, the woman that he has been in love with throughout the series but who has not been introduced until this book, when they are still part of the Shade's Hill gang under the Thiefmaker. Locke falls for her but does not get to see her often then learns from older children that Sabetha drowned, and he will never see her again. Throughout the book in a series of flashbacks Locke and Sabetha as a part of the Gentlemen Bastards through their early years and finally how they became a couple while playing actors in a production of the book’s title, The Republic of Thieves. The book’s present narrative begins weeks after the previous one with Locke is dying and Jean is working to save his life, including kidnapping a physiker that brings down a local gang on them that takes everything they have. Afterwards a Bondsmagi by the name of Patience appears and offers the pair a deal. They can work with her faction of the Bondsmagi to rig elections, in favor of the Deep Roots Party, in exchange for money and Locke's life. They agree. The Bondsmagi carry Locke to the ship to Karthain on which they perform the healing. When completed is Locke is alive and hungry, it is now that they learn that Sabetha is working for the other side, the Black Iris party, and has been there a few days. Upon their arrival in Karthain, the two sides play several childish pranks back and forth. Locke is tricked by Sabetha and he and Jean awaken on a luxurious boat. Locke and Jean barely escape this boat by cutting off a small boat and escaping to shore. After a multiple day journey back to the Karthain, Locke and Sabetha make a truce for the safety of themselves and Jean to prevent issues and ensure a good show for the Bondsmagi. The elections continue and near the end Patience explains to Locke and Sabetha that Locke may be an ancient Bondsmagi who successfully moved from one body to the body of a child. The cost of this was the plague mentioned in previous books. The election result is 10 – 9 in favor of the Black Iris party. One of Locke's schemes plays out and a key Black Iris member changes his position to neutral making the result 9 – 9 – 1. Locke, Jean, and Sabetha escape the fallout to a safe house. Locke awakes in the night to find Patience there and Sabetha gone. Patience explains that Locke may or may not be the magi, but she will not tell him. Sabetha has left after learning about this. Jean appears and Locke tells him he will respect Sabetha's wish for space and will only go after her if she would wish it. The epilogue gives a story about the Falconer and his journey regaining power. The epilogue ends with the Falconer killing his mother, Patience.

This book was hard to judge because I was more interested in the flashback narrative of the young Gentleman Bastards’ first con as actors in Espara than the present-day political contest between the Bastard Brothers and their Sister. That is not to say that the political game was not interesting but compared to the early adventures of the Bastards the election felt more like it was set up for the Bondsmagi plot, though the introduction of Sabetha was nice especially as she will be important later in the sequence most likely. And the purported origin of Locke could either be very interesting or a big misdirection which will be interesting to see play out.

The Republic of Thieves felt like both a prequel and continuation of Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastards sequence with underlining plot thread that will no doubt become important in the future of the series. This interesting combination does not make the book bad but does not make it feel like a united whole either. However, at the end of reading I’m still interesting to see what Locke and Jean will do in the future.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Valhalla Rising by Clive Cussler

>21 mattries37315: You might be in luck. Supposedly Lynch has submitted book 4 to his publisher. The release date for Thorn of Emberalin of this year might actually be for real.

>22 Narilka: I've seen. However, since I have the paperbacks I'll be waiting for Thorn to come out in that.

>22 Narilka: I'll believe it when I hold a copy in my hands.

A History of My Times by Xenophon

Thucydides’ The History of the Peloponnesian War ends suddenly with seven more years to go, one man decided to pick up the history and its aftermath which for centuries many readers were grateful for. A History of My Times by Xenophon sees the end of the Second Peloponnesian War and follows the aftermath of that devastating war which saw hegemony move from Sparta to Thebes.

Xenophon begins his history right where Thucydides’ left off and the first two books of the work cover the last seven years of the Peloponnesian War, which saw the return of Alcibiades to the Athenian military and the resultant Athenian naval victories before his second exile and the rise of the Spartan navy that led to the fall of Athens and the establishment of the 30 tyrants allied to Spartan hegemony. The internal politics of Athens took centerstage as the reign of the tyrants resulted in a civil war that saw the restitution of Athenian democracy. Book 3 looks at Spartan politics and the campaign of King Agesilaus to Asia Minor to fight the Persians. Book 4 sees the Persians bribe Sparta’s traditional allies and enemies to unite to attack Spartan hegemony as well as end Agesilaus’ campaign. The resulting Corinthian War continues through Book 5 when both sides accept terms by the Persian King in the so-called “King’s Peace”, however five years later a Spartan general captured the Theban acropolis resulting in Sparta controlling the politics of the city until a band of exiles retakes the city and begins reestablishing the Boeotian League with the resulting Boeotian War. Book 6 sees the end of the Boeotian War and Spartan hegemony with the Battle of Leuctra, which inaugurates the short-lived Theban hegemony. Book 7 sees Sparta and Athens ally to battle Theban hegemony even as the former is convulsed with internal rebellion and outside Peloponnesian resistance allowing Thebes to invade the Spartan homeland. The work ends with the second Battle of Mantinea which was a tactical Theban victory but strategic defeat that saw the end of Theban hegemony with all the major powers of Greece weakened from decades of fighting.

In his introduction of the book, George Cawkwell essentially said this history of Greece by Xenophon was a memoir that was circulated amongst his friends who knew all the details of the events Xenophon was writing about. Meaning that modern-day readers like myself are totally in the dark and basically Cawkwell would have to fill us in with his footnotes thanks to other sources from the era that essentially showed that Xenophon was an Athenian-born Spartan partisan and Agesilaus’ fanboy. Though Xenophon mentioned his adventure with the Ten-Thousand expedition against Artaxerxes II, he does not go into it given he had already written the Anabasis and given full details though it might be a better read then this book.

A History of My Times for centuries was thought to be “the” history of the end of the Peloponnesian War and the early 4th Century B.C., but after other sources came to light it turns out Xenophon left a lot of things out. This does not mean that the book is totally worthless, however it needs to be read critically.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of A History of My Times by Xenophon, feel free to comment here or there.

Valhalla Rising by Clive Cussler

A plot to monopolize North American oil and natural gas production leads to terror attacks on two ocean liners that have newly installed revolutionary engines that will destroy the oil industry as we know it, the only man to stop this plot is of course Dirk Pitt. Valhalla Rising is the sixteenth books of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series that finds the Pitt and NUMA attempt to foil this diabolical plan while attempting to find the secret lab of a reclusive scientist.

In the early 11th-Century, a fleet of ships from Iceland sail past Vinland to the entrance of the Hudson Bay and find sanctuary in a large underground cove that has a passage almost to the palisades above and is carved out by the explorers. The resulting settlement only last a few years before a conflict with the Native Americans results in its destruction. In the 1880s, a US Naval ship is destroyed by a metallic sea monster that has portholes in which the captain sees man face looking out at him. In 2003, Dirk Pitt spearheads NUMA efforts to rescue passengers on two ocean liners that were targeted by an oil and natural gas cartel’s CEO that wants to discredit the revolutionary magnetohydrodynamic engines installed on both by a reclusive genus scientist—that dies in the first liner’s disaster—to help his efforts control all North American oils resources and supplies then to shut out foreign oil. Along with figuring out where the deceased scientist’s lab was Pitt must deal with a plot to destroy the World Trade Center with a natural gas tanker while Loren Smith must deal with bribed officials to investigate the evil CEO in a Congressional hearing. After evidence from St. Julian Perlmutter found in Jules Verne’s home, Pitt finds the cove found by the Vikings that not only contains their longships but the actual Captain Nemo’s Nautilus with a prototype of the revolutionary engines that the reclusive scientist deciphered and improved. At the end of the book when Pitt attempts for the third time to propose marriage to Smith, he is interrupted by the surprise arrival of his until then unknown children, twins Dirk Jr. and Summer, by Summer Moran.

Let me start with addressing the WTC plot first by saying this book was originally published in August 2001, a mere three weeks before terror attacks so Cussler was not attempting to profit off a real-life situation. As for the actual events in the book and of the overall series, there are a lot of retcons throughout this book that void the events in Raise the Titanic! and add to the events of Pacific Vortex, especially the former with the introduction of the Pitt twins that were set up throughout the book by Cussler having Dirk think about how he was getting old. As to the actual narrative of the book, I found this book not up to Cussler at his best. The main antagonist is really the CEO’s terror cell leader who I did not mention above because he is not memorable compared to other characters that he shares traits with throughout the overall series. Honestly, this is more an investigation into the reclusive scientist’s life with stopping an evil plot as a side quest type of deal.

Valhalla Rising is a book that read like a mishmash of plots and events that were intended to build to the future of the series, but also discredited events from the previous books. This is the penultimate book that Clive Cussler solely wrote himself before his son Dirk would become his coauthor, which makes one wonder if the quality of this book and the next made his publisher want to give him help. Overall, not this is not the worst book of the series—far from it compared to the very first books—but things throughout the novel felt off.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Valhalla Rising by Clive Cussler, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading "Pride and Prejudice" from The Complete Novels by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Sometimes first impressions are off the mark which causes all sorts of problems, either causing you are interest in someone who turns out not to be who you thought or missing someone who is your soulmate. Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen’s second novel as the explores the roundabout courtship of two individuals whose first impressions of each other put them off on the wrong foot.

Just outside the village of Meryton in Hertfordshire during the Regency, bachelor Mr. Bingley arrives in the neighborhood in a rented residence, where he, his family, and friend Mr. Darcy interact with the Bennets at a local ball. Bingley friendly manner earns him popularity and becomes attracted to the eldest Bennet sister, Jane. Meanwhile the richer Darcy’s prideful demeanor is instantly disliked and the second eldest Bennet, Elizabeth, overhears him stating that she is not attractive enough to tempt him makes her prejudice against him. After Jane falls sick during a visit at Bingley’s and Elizabeth cares for her, Darcy changes his view of Elizabeth while Bingley grows fonder of Jane. The Bennets’ cousin and entailed heir Mr. Collins visits one of the Bennet girls, but after Elizabeth rejects him Collins marries her best friend Charlotte. A charming army officer, George Wickham, arrives in Meryton and relates the bad blood between Darcy and himself confirming Elizabeth's dislike of Darcy. Soon after a ball that the Bingleys hold, they depart for London with no plans to return dashing the expectation of Jane marrying Bingley resulting in her visiting the Bennet’s Aunt and Uncle Gardiner in London. Months later Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr. Collins in Kent where she meets Darcy’s wealthy aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who expects her nephew to marry her daughter, only for Darcy and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, visit Lady Catherine at the same time. Fitzwilliam tells Elizabeth how Darcy recently saved a friend, presumably Bingley, from an undesirable match which obviously upsets Elizabeth. Later, Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, declaring his love for her despite her low social connections. She rejects him angrily, stating she could never love a man who caused her sister such unhappiness, Darcy brags about, and further accuses him of treating Wickham unjustly, which Darcy dismisses sarcastically. A day later Darcy gives Elizabeth a letter that explains his disagreements with Wickham that results in his attempt to elope with Darcy's 15-year-old sister, Georgiana, for her considerable dowry. Darcy also writes that he separated Jane and Bingley due to Jane's reserved behavior, sincerely believing her indifferent to Bingley, and because of the other members of their family. Elizabeth is ashamed by her family's behavior and her own lack of better judgement that resulted in blinded prejudice against Darcy. Some months later, Elizabeth accompanies the Gardiners on a tour of Derbyshire during which they visit Darcy’s estate Pemberley after Elizabeth ascertains that Darcy is absent only for him to return unexpectedly. Darcy is exceedingly gracious and later invites Elizabeth and the Gardiners to meet his sister, and Mr. Gardiner to go fishing. Elizabeth is surprised and delighted by their treatment, connecting well with Georgina much to Darcy’s delight. However, Elizabeth receives news that her sister Lydia has run off with Wickham and informs Darcy before she and the Gardiners depart in haste. After an immensely agonizing interim, Wickham agrees to marry Lydia. With some veneer of decency restored, the couple visit the family and Lydia tells Elizabeth that Darcy was at the wedding. Though Darcy had sworn everyone involved to secrecy, Mrs. Gardiner now feels obliged to inform Elizabeth that he secured the match, at great expense and trouble to himself. She hints that he may have had "another motive" for having done so, implying that she believes Darcy to be in love with Elizabeth. Bingley and Darcy Meryton neighborhood. Bingley proposes to Jane, who accepts. Lady Catherine, hearing rumors that Elizabeth intends to marry Darcy visits and demands she promise never to accept Darcy's proposal. Elizabeth refuses and the outraged Lady Catherine leaves. Darcy, heartened by his aunt's indignant relaying of Elizabeth's response, again proposes, and is accepted.

I don’t know why, but this Austen novel connected more than Sense and Sensibility whether it was because of Elizabeth or the overall story I don’t know. Elizabeth Bennet read as a more rounded character than either of the Dashwood sisters with both agency and a willingness to change. The latter is also true of Mr. Darcy, who changes his view and attitudes to Elizabeth’s family as well as doing things at the beginning he would not have done before. With a few exceptions, the rest of the characters in the novel are a tad two-dimensional although well-written individually and narratively, which has a nice progression from event to another.

Pride and Prejudice might be Jane Austen’s most popular novel and after reading it I can tell why, Elizabeth Bennet is an instantly relatable and likeable character that grows throughout the book through a narratively enjoyable progress.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Pride and Prejudice from The Complete Novels by Jane Austen, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading From Manassas to Appomattox by James Longstreet

>27 mattries37315: I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed this one. It 's my favorite of hers, and it would seem I am not alone. I also enjoyed Lady Susan quite a bit, but that was not finished so it's hard to guess what the complete novel would have been like.

>28 clamairy: As far as I know Lady Susan is finished, it was never published in Austen's lifetime, as it is in the The Complete Novels collection that I'm going through.

>29 mattries37315: Ah, so it was meant to be a short story then, and not a full length novel? I did some Googling, and it was considered 'finished but unpublished.' This makes me think she wanted to either ditch it, or flesh it out a bit more.

From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of the Civil War in America by James Longstreet

After spending years on campaign to win your new nation’s independence, after the war unsuccessful conclusion your former comrades bury you after you decided to support the victors. From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of the Civil War in America was James Longstreet’s answer to the post-war criticisms leveled by those who created the Lost Cause myth.

Longstreet gives a quick overview of his early life, his time in West Point, and his service in the Mexican War before going into his resignation from the US Army and journey from New Mexico to Virginia to join the Confederate Army. As the title of the memoir indicates, Longstreet was a participant of the first major battle of the war at First Manassas and he described his own actions throughout the battle as well as the overall course of the confrontation. Longstreet would continue this throughout the book, but also added in his interactions with Lee, Jackson, A.P. Hill, and various Confederate government officials including President Jefferson Davis especially when defending his actions around Gettysburg which Lost Cause proponents claimed cost Lee and thus the South victory. Longstreet also talked about his strategic view of the war as the conflict progressed and viewed the situation in the West where the war could be changed for the better of the Confederates but found his superiors neither supportive before Gettysburg nor once allowed to help in the West undermining the efforts of Confederate forces. Longstreet’s detailed account of the end of the war in early 1865 brought the desperate fight in full view until the surrender before acknowledging that his friendship with General Grant started up again right after the surrender that helped him going forward in his life.

Given this was a memoir and a defense of his own actions against the attacks of those who were political motivated to raise up Lee and Jackson as part of the Lost Cause meant they needed someone to actively undermine them and thus caused the South to lose, one must think hard about what Longstreet is writing through this lens. While fighting for his own reputation, Longstreet was not afraid to show the human fallibility of both Lee and Jackson though not at the expense of their accomplishments nor to aggrandize his own except when the reputations of the troops under his command was at stake. Longstreet’s strategic view of the war, especially the West but also in the Gettysburg campaign, were a fascinating read and interesting to think about. If there is one criticism of the edition that I read it was with the battle maps included as they were hard follow given poor shading and small print which did not really distinguish between Union and Confederate forces.

From Manassas to Appomattox is obviously not an unbiased account of the war from the view of a Confederate general, yet James Longstreet unlike some other Confederates aimed to show the flaws of the Confederacy instead of creating a mythos of a Lost Cause.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of From Manassas to Appomattox by James Longstreet, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

In our digital age we might not think anyone is invisible but if we open our eyes, we will see those that have fallen through the cracks, now think about how it was 70 years ago for those who knew they were second class citizens. Invisible Man is the only novel that Ralph Ellison published in his lifetime, but upon its publication was hailed as a masterpiece.

The narrator, an unnamed black man who lives in an underground room stealing power from the city's electric grid, reflects on the various ways in which he has experienced social invisibility during his life beginning in his teenage years in the South. Graduating from high school, he wins a scholarship to an all-black college but to receive it, he must first take part in a brutal, humiliating battle royal for the entertainment of the town's rich white dignitaries. After years later during his junior year, he chauffeurs a visiting rich white trustee for the afternoon but goes beyond the campus resulting with horrifying encounters for the trustee upon seeing the underside of black life beyond the campus. Dr. Bledsoe, the college president, excoriates the narrator and expels him through giving him false hope of re-enrolling by giving him recommendation letters to trustees in New York. After learning this, the narrator attempts to get a job at a paint factory but finds everyone suspicious of him which leads to him getting injured. While hospitalized, he is given shock therapy based on misinformation that he purposely caused the accident that injured him. After leaving the hospital, the narrator faints on the streets of Harlem and is taken in by a kindly old-fashioned woman. He later happens across the eviction of an elderly black couple and makes an impassioned speech that incites the crowd to attack the law enforcement officials in charge of the proceedings. After the narrator escapes, he is confronted by Brother Jack, the leader of a group known as "the Brotherhood" that professes its commitment to bettering conditions in Harlem and the rest of the world. At Jack's urging, the narrator agrees to join and speak at rallies to spread the word among the black community. The narrator is successful but is then called before a meeting of the Brotherhood and accused of putting his own ambitions ahead of the group, resulting in him being reassigned to another part of the city to address issues concerning women. Eventually he is told to return since his replacement has disappeared and to find him, which he does only to find him disillusioned then shot by a police officer. At the funeral, he gives a rousing speech that rallies the crowd but upsets the Brotherhood leaders due to them not having an interest in the black community’s problems. Without the narrator to help focus the community, other’s take advantage causing a riot. Getting caught up with looters, the narrator navigates the neighborhoods until he falls into an underground coal bin that he is eventually sealed in which allows him to contemplate the racism he has experienced. In the epilogue, the narrator decides to return to the world and that he is telling his story to help people see past his own invisibility and provided a voice for those with a similar plight.

I will be honest I will have to reread this book in a few years because I feel that early in the book, I was not connecting well with the narrative but that later changed especially as the narrator arrived in New York. The ‘trials and travails’ of the narrator while attempt to work at the paint factory and his treatment with the faux-Communists were eye opening given my current employment and some of the political events and or trends over the years. Ellison’s critical look at the African American societal and cultural divides in the South and the same in the North with prejudices in full display was eye opening and a reminder that to look at groups monolithically is a mistake both today and looking back at history. If I took away anything from this reading of the book, it is that.

Invisible Man is a book that needs to be read period. Ralph Ellison’s masterpiece, while I did not rate it “great” this time, is a book that I need to reread to full grasp everything going on in the narrative and appreciate its impact.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading "Mansfield Park" from The Complete Novels by Jane Austen

Unique America by Jeff Bahr

Covering all 50 states, the book highlights roughly 300 attractions and events that are as the title of the book says “strange, unusual, and just plain fun.” Each chapter covers a different region of the country with each page dedicated to a destination—sometimes two if a location has a lot to show—beginning in one state of the region and then systematically going through each state until getting to the other end of the region. Whether looking for interesting destinations to sightsee or stay at, or just taking a trip through reading and using your own imagination, this is a nice resource to reference.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Unique America by Jeff Bahr, feel free to comment here or there.

>33 mattries37315: That sounds wonderful! The perfect book for planning a road trip. I wish I had had it when I was on my JYA many years ago.

>33 mattries37315: You make it sound a splendid read for armchair travellers!

>35 hfglen: Which is what we all are under current circumstances.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

A quiet, unassuming young woman who knows her place amongst her richer relatives sees more than they do about the true characters of not only themselves but those they interact with. Mansfield Park is Jane Austen’s third published novel and one if it’s most analyzed not in the protagonist Fanny Price but also the economic situations of her family.

Fanny Price, at age ten, is sent from her impoverished home in Portsmouth to live as one of the family at Mansfield Park, the Northamptonshire country estate of her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram. There she is mistreated by all but her elder cousin Edmund. Her aunt Norris, the wife of the clergyman at the Mansfield parsonage, makes herself particularly unpleasant which gets worse after she is widowed five years later. When Fanny is sixteen, Sir Thomas leaves to deal with problems on his plantation in Antigua, taking his spendthrift eldest son Tom. While away Mrs. Norris, looking for a husband for Maria, finds Mr. Rushworth, who is rich but weak-willed and considered stupid, and Maria accepts his proposal. The following year, Henry Crawford and his sister, Mary, arrive at the parsonage to stay with their half-sister, the wife of the new incumbent Dr Grant, enlivening life in Mansfield as Edmund and Mary start to show interest in one another. On a visit to Mr Rushworth's estate, Henry flirts with both Maria and Julia. Maria believes Henry is in love with her and so treats Mr Rushworth dismissively, provoking his jealousy, while Julia struggles with jealousy and resentment towards her sister. Mary is disappointed to learn that Edmund will be a clergyman and tries to undermine his vocation making Fanny fear that Mary's charms are blinding Edmund to her flaws. After Tom returns, he encourages the young people to begin rehearsals for an amateur performance of the play Lovers' Vows. The play provides further opportunity for Henry and Maria to flirt, but when Sir Thomas arrives home unexpectedly the play is cancelled, and Henry departs allowing Maria to go ahead with marriage to Mr Rushworth. They then settle in London, taking Julia with them. Sir Thomas sees many improvements in Fanny and Mary Crawford initiates a closer relationship with her. When Henry returns, he decides to entertain himself by making Fanny fall in love with him. Fanny's brother William visits Mansfield Park, and Sir Thomas holds what is effectively a coming-out ball for her. Although Mary dances with Edmund, she tells him it will be the last time as she will never dance with a clergyman leading Edmund to drop his plan to propose. When Henry next returns, he announces to Mary his intention to marry Fanny. To assist his plan, he uses his family connections to help William achieve promotion. However, when Henry proposes marriage, Fanny rejects him, disapproving of his past treatment of women. Sir Thomas is astonished by her continuing refusal, but she does not explain to protect Maria. To help Fanny appreciate Henry's offer, Sir Thomas sends her to visit her parents in Portsmouth, where she is taken aback by the contrast between their chaotic household and the harmonious environment at Mansfield. Henry visits, but although she still refuses him, she begins to appreciate his good features. Later, Fanny learns that Henry and Maria have had an affair that is reported in the newspapers leading to Mr Rushworth sues for divorce right on the heels of Tom falling gravely ill and leads to Julia eloping. Edmund brings Fanny back to Mansfield Park, where she is a healing influence. Sir Thomas acknowledges Fanny was right to reject Henry's proposal and now regards her as a daughter. During a meeting with Mary Crawford, Edmund discovers that Mary only regrets that Henry's adultery was discovered. Devastated, he breaks off the relationship and returns to Mansfield Park, where he confides in Fanny. Eventually the two marry and move to Mansfield parsonage. Meanwhile, those left at Mansfield Park have learned from their mistakes and life becomes pleasanter there.

Unlike the previous protagonists of Austen’s, Fanny is the outsider among her Mansfield relations and a poor to boot. However, this outsider status allows Fanny more freedom to question appearances especially when dealing with the Crawfords, who are basically jerks with barely any redeeming qualities and when a glimmer of hope that they can change present itself they decide to continue being jerks. Of all the busy-body characters in Austen’s novels that I have read, Mrs. Norris is not only the worst but also more annoying than all the others so far. Yet somehow with all this mix of characters, Austen brings out an interesting narrative that sees the poor relation of a family come out looking the best in Regency society.

Mansfield Park is a change up from Jane Austen’s previous two novels, but that does not change the quality of Austen’s writing and the wonderful narrative that highlights this story. However the standout part of this novel is Fanny Price, who so far is the best Austen protagonist that I’ve read.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Mansfield Park from The Complete Novels by Jane Austen, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Trojan Odyssey by Clive Cussler

>37 mattries37315: I'm so happy to see some love for Fanny Price! Too often she is dismissed as dull and priggish because she's not sparkling and witty like, say, the Bennet sisters, and she's put in a position where she is forced to take an unpopular moral stance on her family's behaviour. I love seeing the actions of others through her eyes, and always root for her as the underdog. So many people find Mansfield Park boring and only read it once, but to me it has so many interesting layers to explore.

>38 Sakerfalcon: Oh, I have always liked Fanny Price too. I think Mansfield Park captures very well the dilemma of being caught in transition between two worlds; she is no longer comfortable in the family into which she was born, because they do not behave in the way that she has been raised to expect, yet she is also fully aware that she is considered "not really one of us" by the Bertram's.

>37 mattries37315: I agree with what you say about Mrs. Norris. Hey, does anyone think that's why that is the name of Argus Filch's cat in the Harry Potter series?

>41 clamairy: I had never noticed that connection before. Well spotted!

>42 -pilgrim-: Oddly I did not notice it when I read the book myself for the first time just a few years ago. But it jumped right out at me reading >37 mattries37315:'s review.

>38 Sakerfalcon: >40 -pilgrim-: The way I interpreted the situation with Fanny was that since she is the poor relation living with her rich relatives she must be morally spotless else it would not only reflect poorly on them, but would appear to show her "ungrateful" for the opportunity of living with them. Basically she's in no-win situation and is doing the best that she can.

>41 clamairy: That cat is in everyone's business, though I don't think it's as annoying. But I wouldn't put it past Rowling to been inspired.

Trojan Odyssey by Clive Cussler

A diabolical plot to change the climate of the Northern Hemisphere is intertwined with an historically significant discovery with one man finding himself in the middle of it. Trojan Odyssey is the seventeenth book in Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series which sees the titular hero, his best friend, and his two grown children take on a multinational corporation in the Caribbean and Central America.

The book opens with a fictional historical overview of Homer's Odyssey as told by Odysseus, who withhold details. In the present day, Dirk Pitt, his son Dirk Pitt, Jr., his daughter Summer Pitt, and friend Al Giordino are involved in the search for the source of a brownish contamination around the waters of the Caribbean. While searching off the coast of the Dominican Republic, the Pitt twins find bronze Celtic items leading to the finding of a burial of an important druidess resulting in NUMA concluding that Iman Wilkes’ theory of the Trojan War occurring in England and Odysseus’ journey occurring in the Atlantic is correct. Meanwhile Dirk and Al search around the coast, rivers, and lakes of Nicaragua leading to them finding out about a diabolical plot by the multinational corporation Odyssey and China to divert the Gulf Steam through four tunnels to the Pacific and freeze North America and Europe while selling them newly created fuel cells at massive profits. Dirk and Al foil the plot then rescue the twins when Odyssey’s leadership captures them and attempt to sacrifice them in a neo-druidic ritual, afterwards they decide they are too old to continue saving the world. Al plans to transfer to another NUMA department or quit depending on Admiral Sandecker’s response, however Sandecker tells Dirk he will be nominated for Vice President and has set things in motion to make Dirk the new Director of NUMA. Finally, Dirk and Congresswoman Loren Smith get married.

Utilizing the theory presented in Iman Jacob Wilkens’ Where Troy Once Stood, Cussler creates two mysteries that intertwine but are relatively independent from one another. Dividing the ancient and the modern mysteries between the Pitt twins and the team of Dirk and Al brought a better narrative flow as well as allowing Cussler to develop the newly introduced twins that will carry the series going forward. While the Gulf Stream diversion plot is unique, it was easy for it to be foiled given that one of the interconnected tunnels runs right next to a volcano that is set off by a bomb. Odyssey’s leader mysterious lead who happens to be the druidic high priestess who disguises herself as a overweight man was pretty underwhelming. Cussler attempted to put back the retcon genie he unleashed in the previous installment, but unfortunately created another when he resurrected Loren’s father for the wedding. Through there really is not an antagonist and Cussler focused on developing the Pitt twins, this book read a whole lot better than the previous installment though again not up to the quality he achieved a few books ago.

Trojan Odyssey is the last book of the Dirk Pitt series that Clive Cussler solely by himself, while not his best work it is an improvement over the previous installment. It will be interesting to see if Dirk Cussler will help the overall quality of the series going forward.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Trojan Odyssey by Clive Cussler, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading The New Emperors by Harrison E. Salisbury

The New Emperors: China in the Era of Mao and Deng by Harrison E. Salisbury

The establishment of the People’s Republic on October 1, 1949 brought a new dynasty to the forefront of Chinese political life but one with a Communist vocabulary while still relying on the Mandate of Heaven. The New Emperors: China in the Era of Mao and Deng by Harrison E. Salisbury follows the history of the first 40 years of the PRC through the lives of its first two leaders through to 1991 and the official end of the Cold War.

Harrison from the outset establishes how Mao’s decision to make Beijing the capital of the People’s Republic and his use of the Forbidden City as his residence along with that of his inner circle setting the new Communist regime in the mold of previous dynasties established by peasants. In fact, Mao’s study of the court histories of previous dynasties appeared to influence his governance more than Karl Marx, especially his admiration of Qin Shi Huang the first Emperor of the first dynasty of Imperial China. This admiration would result in his callous disregard of the lives of Chinese peasants during the Great Leap Forward and later the Cultural Revolution that stunted the entire nation for a decade as well as taking out numerous potential rivals for power, including the multiple demotions of Deng who persevered until Marshal Ye installed him in leadership through a military coup. Instead of following Deng’s reign leading up to Tiananmen Square, Harrison looked back from 1991 to how then-current China had developed under Deng before 1989 protests that momentarily undermined Deng’s control in the Party as well as the leadership not understanding the power of television when the Western nations began sanctioning them.

With three decades since the publishing of this book might have aged Salisbury’s thoughts on how China’s leadership would move towards 2000 poorly, however the historical content about Mao overall and the role the Cultural Revolution played into the response to Tiananmen are top notch. How Mao and later the Party have structured their hold on power by combining the Mandate of Heaven and Communist thought was interesting and provided context in understanding how events unfolded. Salisbury’s analysis of how the leadership that survived the beatings and tortures of the student Red Guards of the Cultural Revolution viewed the student protests of 1989 in that vein and wanted to suppress it at all costs. However, it is sobering to realized that the students of the Cultural Revolution are the leaders of China right now.

The New Emperors reveals that even as some regimes say they are a break from the past, they heavily rely upon it. Harrison E. Salisbury book might be 30 years, however it’s history of the rise of Mao and how Deng “saved” the Revolution is important to understanding the course of 21st Chinese history.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of The New Emperors by Harrison E. Salisbury, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading "Emma" from The Complete Novels by Jane Austen

Bigfoot!: The True Story of Apes in America by Loren Coleman

Did Bigfoot just pop up one day or has it been around for a while? Veteran cryptozoologist Loren Coleman examines the question in Bigfoot!: The True Story of the Apes in America.

After introducing himself and how his own researching of Bigfoot started, Coleman’s overview of the subject begins with events in 2000 when a rash of sightings made the news on the National level during the summer before the finding of the Skookum body cast in Washington state. After this hook, Coleman reviews the oral and written traditions and histories of Bigfoot from Native American tribes to colonist, settlers, hunters, and normal people up until 1958 when Jerry Crew made the first Bigfoot casts, and a “legend” was born. Coleman covers everything around the Bluff Creek incident and how it sparked the search for Bigfoot which led to the Patterson-Gimlin film that Coleman covers in-depth as well. Coleman completes his history with the “rise” of other bipedal “monsters” across the country from Florida’s Skunk Ape to Missouri’s Momo. The last half of the book is Coleman covering various topics and subjects that have arisen over the near half-century from Coleman’s own theory about three subspecies of Bigfoot—Classic, Eastern, and the North American Apes in the South—to the belief that Bigfoots were extraterrestrials during the last 1970s and many other things before Coleman finished the book by asking and answering three important questions at this point in the search of Bigfoot.

This is book is a excellent overview of the history of Bigfoot by one of the best cryptozoological researchers to have worked in the field and who worked alongside many of the early and important scientists that studied the subject soon after 1958. Through Coleman focuses on history, he does cover some scientific subjects including one that is not talked about much by researchers. Coleman’s inclusion of his subspecies theory and supporting evidence, especially related to the more apish subspecies of the American South and southern Midwest, adds to the overall work.

Although Loren Coleman’s Bigfoot! is almost two-decades old, it is still relevant for anyone interested in Bigfoot/Sasquatch whether one has been a long-time enthusiast or newly interested.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Bigfoot!: The True Story of Apes in America by Loren Coleman, feel free to comment here or there.

Emma by Jane Austen

A young woman believes she is a natural matchmaker and wants to spread her gift, but it turns out she might have just gotten lucky the first time. Emma is the fourth novel by Jane Austin in which the titular character attempts to improve the lives of those around her with not so successful results.

After taking credit for engineering the marriage of her friend and former governess Miss Taylor to Mr. Weston, Emma Woodhouse's believes herself a matchmaker and looks for her next target. She becomes friends with Harriet Smith with the aim of marrying her to the local vicar Mr. Elton and persuades Harriet to refuse a marriage proposal from Robert Martin, a respectable, educated, and well-spoken young farmer which upsets Emma’s long-time friend and neighbor Mr. Knightley. Elton, a social climber, believes Emma is in love with him and thinks Harriet is an inferior which only comes out after Elton proposes to and is shot down by Emma. After many cancelled plans Frank Churchill, Mr. Weston's son though adopted by his wealthy and domineering though sickly aunt, arrives for a two-week visit and makes many friends though one of them is not Knightley who believes him to be of shallow character. Frank seems flirt with Emma and the two engage in speculation with another arrival Jane Fairfax who is visiting her aunt, Miss Bates, and grandmother, Mrs. Bates, for a few months before starting a governess position due to her family’s financial situation. Elton gets married to a social climber and the new Mrs. Elton and Emma do not get along which makes the former take Jane under wing and attempt to find her a position. Frank humors Emma’s belief that Jane had a mutual attraction to her friend’s new husband, which appear to be confirmed for Emma when a piano is sent to Jane by a anonymous benefactor. The Elton’s treat Harriet poorly, but is counteracted by a gallant act by Mr. Knightley. Frank and Jane start to noticeably arrive and leave outings at opposite times, but the banter between Frank and Emma continues harmlessly until Emma thoughtlessly insults Miss Bates. Emma apologizes the next day after a scolding by Mr. Knightley, but Jane refuses to see her nor accept gifts sent when Emma learns she is ill. Emma later learns that Mrs. Elton successfully convinced Jane to be the governess to a friend of hers. Meanwhile Frank’s aunt dies from her long illness which starts a stunning chain of events as he and Jane reveal they have been secretly engaged since autumn, something is now deceased aunt would have disapproved and whose nature strained the conscious of Jane making her end the engagement. Frank’s uncle approves the marriage, and it is made public making Emma feel embarrassed she was wrong. Events then happen quickly as Emma realizes she is in love with Knightley who proposes to her after at first coming to comfort her over Frank’s engagement only to learn she was interested in Frank. Emma then wonders what to do about Harriet after ruining her hopes only to learn of happy coincidences that have make Robert Martin propose to her a second time which she accepted.

Being completely honest, through most of this novel I imagined Emma becoming a busybody aunt who continually attempts to set up her nieces and nephews like several other characters from Austen’s previous novels, though she will not be a future Mrs. Norris. The overall narrative with its twists and turns was good, but the drag that the main character had on the whole piece was hard to overcome. Of the major secondary characters Mr. Knightley insightfulness into the personalities of others and heroic quest to temper Emma’s overbearing traits for the sake of their dual nephews and nieces—children of his younger brother and her older sister—future happiness makes him the standout of the novel, though the fact that poor Harriet Smith got her happy ending after the suffering she endured because of Emma was a truly the best ending any has gotten in Austen’s writing.

Emma as both a novel and character might have their admirers, but as you can tell I am not one of them. Through Austen wrote some interesting characters and a good overall narrative, the main character just came off as too unlikeable for my tastes.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Emma from The Complete Novels by Jane Austen, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

Emma is my least favourite of Austen's books and heroines. I did enjoy the film adaptation which starred Gynneth Paltrow, largely for Jeremy Northam's performance as Knightly.

>48 mattries37315:, >49 Sakerfalcon: I have to agree about Emma - I found myself wanting to smack her a few times. Perhaps that was what Austen was aiming for - I wonder if she knew an Emma in real life.

>50 NorthernStar: I had some of that reaction, but I think I read it more as a sort of commentary/spoof on that sort of person, or that age of a person. I saw her as so many youthful souls, thinking they have all the answers, knowing very little in actuality.

>49 Sakerfalcon: I have seen any Austen adaptations, but Emma would be the bottom of the list right now whether film or miniseries.

>50 NorthernStar: Sorta like Rowling's Umbridge? I can see that as a possibility. Though I can see >51 MrsLee: view point as well.

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

A ruthless and paranoid Grand Duke looking to become a King believes his best general is planning to usurp him and looks to get rid of her, but he did not finish the job. Best Served Cold is the fourth book and first standalone set in Joe Abercrombie’s First Law world as the vengeful path of the betrayed has an impact for the great powers of the world.

Monzcarro "Monza" Murcatto is the notorious leader of The Thousand Swords mercenary company that has brought victory after victory to her employer, Grand Duke Orso of Talins, becoming wealthy and popular as a result. Unfortunately, too popular for Orso’s liking which results in his ordering that Monza and her beloved brother Benna being thrown down a mountain. Unfortunately for Orso, she survives the stabbing, mutilating, garroting and a brutal fall. Now Monza wants vengeance against the seven men responsible: Orso's bodyguard Gobba, his banker Mauthis, the general of his armies Ganmark, her treacherous second-in-command Faithful Carpi, his sons Prince Ario and Count Foscar, and finally Orso himself. However, she cannot do it alone, so she enlists the help of an oddball carnival of psychopaths to aid her in her quest. This includes: Caul Shivers, a Northman looking to make a fresh start; Friendly, a number-obsessed ex-convict; Castor Morveer, a self-congratulatory blowhard of a poisoner, and his constantly eating apprentice Day; Shylo Vitari, a former Practical; and last, but by no means the least, the lovable scoundrel and drunkard has-been Nicomo Cosca who Monza betrayed to become leader of the Thousand Swords. Across Styria, they systematically work their way through Monza’s list. On the way, they not only kill their targets, but poison an entire bank full of people in Westport, burn a bordello to the ground in Sipani, and play no small role in the fate of Styria as a whole. Before Monza finally kills Duke Orso himself, he reveals that his fears were well-founded, and Benna was indeed planning to usurp him without Monza's knowledge. Meanwhile, various subplots interweaver Monza’s bloody-minded violent revenge. Bayaz and Khalul continue their machinations on the grand chessboard in Styria. Caul Shivers’ moral transformation from a likable optimist to a cold-blooded killer. Through Monza’s flashbacks we learn that her reputation as a butcher of the innocent, may not be as simple as all that. And a mysterious assassin called Shenkt who has his own plans for Monza, and his own desire for revenge … against Bayaz. In the end, a pregnant Monza is Grand Duchess of Talins just as Benna had planned, one of the only stable states in Styria and fulfilling Shenkt’s plan of an independent strong leader in Styria.

Like all of Abercrombie’s books of the First Law there are no purely good characters even though there are some awfully bad ones, but Monza might turn out to be one of the more morally positive by the end of the book than any of the other characters of Abercrombie’s work. All the characters followed throughout the book are well-written and intriguing, but the most intriguing is Benna who though killed in the first chapter worked to make Monza the ruler of a city though given what he did to ruin her reputation appeared to be setting her up to be assassinated so he could take over which would be a real Abercrombie thing to do. The long game of Shenkt appears to be something interest to look forward to for the future of the world especially given who the two big supernatural players of this world are.

Best Served Cold is a fantastic return by Joe Abercrombie to his First Law world that any fan of the original trilogy would enjoy.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reviewing Black Wind by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler

>52 mattries37315: Not nearly as bad as Umbridge! More like >51 MrsLee: said, young and thinking she knows best. I never thought she didn't mean well, whereas Umbridge was purely evil.

The comments about Emma are reminding me of Oscar Wilde’s remark about not being young enough to know everything.

>48 mattries37315:, >49 Sakerfalcon:, >50 NorthernStar: & >51 MrsLee: Yup, yup! I agree with all of you. I found Emma annoying in the book, but somehow Paltrow made her both believable and (though annoying!) still likable. And Jeremy Northam was wonderful in that film.

>54 NorthernStar: I wasn't going for a direct one-on-one comparison as a character, but I believe Rowling based Umbridge off someone she knew.

>55 pgmcc: At my 15th High School Reunion, one of my friends remembered debating our U.S. history & government class teacher several times and looking back realizing how nice he was not running circles around around them because we knew nothing.

>56 clamairy: Well that's a second recommendation for the Paltrow adaptation, might have to make a note of that.

Black Wind by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler

A long-range plan by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea conquer the South is spearheaded by a businessman with a deadly plan to strike the United States with a pandemic of a hybrid strain of smallpox, but Dirk Pitt Jr. appears on the scene. Black Wind is the eighteen novel of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series the first featuring the young Pitt in the lead as well as the first with Cussler’s son Dirk as his co-author.

In December 1944, the commanding officer of the Japanese submarine I-403 is given orders to launch a mysterious attack on the United States, a mission involving Japan’s notorious biological warfare group, Unit 731. The I-403 reaches the U.S. northwest coast but is sunk before the mission can be carried out. Over 62 years later, a team of CDC researchers, including field epidemiologist Sarah Matson, are unexpectedly infected by a deadly and mystery illness in the Aleutian Islands; they are rescued by Dirk Pitt Jr. (hereinafter Pitt Jr.), who is nearby on a NUMA research vessel. Pitt Jr, with friend and coworker Jack Dahlgren, return to the site to investigate, but their helicopter is downed by gunfire from a mysterious trawler. They survive, eventually determining that the illness resulted from a toxic compound of cyanide and smallpox. In Japan, the U.S. ambassador is golfing with his British counterpart when he is assassinated by a sniper named Tongju. Tongju later assassinates the ambassador’s deputy and a semiconductor executive, leaving clues that appear to identify him as a member of a Japanese terrorist group. Investigating the toxin, Pitt Jr. consults marine-history researcher St. Julien Perlmutter, who finds records of the I-403. Pitt Jr. and Dahlgren find and dive on the sunken I-403, but its mysterious ordnance has been removed. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, Dirk Pitt senior (hereinafter referred to simply as Dirk) and his friend and colleague Al Giordino are also discovering forgotten Japanese ordnance that is poisoning marine life. In Incheon, South Korea, Dae-jong Kang, a multi-millionaire industrialist, is secretly a North Korean sleeper agent who has been using corruption to press for rapid reunification of the divided peninsula under the DPRK's rule. Kang reviews his plans with his assistant; they include framing a U.S. serviceman for the murder of a South Korean girl to foment unrest, while Tongju retrieves more of the World War II toxin from a second sunken submarine. Learning of the interference of Pitt Jr., Kang sends assassins to eliminate him, but they fail through ruin a classic car Pitt Jr. had just purchased. NUMA researcher Hiram Yeager has discovered that the toxic ordnance was also carried by a Japanese submarine lost in the South China Sea. Pitt Jr. joins his sister Summer aboard a NUMA salvage vessel that locates the wreck, but Tongju and his commando team seize the vessel. After taking the recovered toxin and kidnapping Pitt Jr and Summer, the North Koreans sabotage the salvage ship and leave the imprisoned crew to drown, but actions by the Pitt siblings before leaving enables everyone to escape. Pitt Jr. and Summer are taken to Kang’s yacht, where the multimillionaire taunts them with a general threat of infecting the U.S. with the hybrid toxin, then leaves them to drown. They escape and make their way back to the United States. Unaware of the exact nature of Kang’s plan, the NUMA team coordinates with government agencies to search for cargo vessels that might be carrying the toxin. However, the real plan goes forward as Tongju and his commando team pirate Sea Launch, a seaborne rocket-launching platform, preparing to fire a toxin-laden warhead at a G8 summit meeting in Los Angeles. When Dirk and Giordino spot the launch platform from a blimp, a deadly countdown is already underway. However, Dirk manages to infiltrate and alter the launch, resulting in the rocket crashing harmlessly into the sea. In the final showdown, Pitt Jr. and a team of Navy SEALs infiltrate Kang's base as he prepares his final getaway aboard his luxury yacht. However, after a showdown on the bridge, Pitt Jr. sends Kang and his yacht to a fiery crash.

As this is the first book that featured the younger Pitt as the main character, his character was more rounded out than his previous appearance. Unfortunately, he is too much of a chip off the ol’ block from his father, in fact its hard to see any differences between the two from physical appearance to their interests (classic cars as shown in this novel) and even getting himself onto a SEAL mission. It could be said that there are a variety of ways that a younger character could be seen as their parent’s kid, being exactly alike is the cheap way out. The overall plot of the book is one of the better ones of the series and an improvement over some of the previous outings, save for a few glaring head scratch moments that don’t ruin things but diminish the quality enough. The evil mastermind (Kang) and his top henchman (Tongju) are among the best in the series as well as head and shoulders over any since probably Inca Gold. If there is one glaring thing in the book, it’s that Summer Pitt sometimes feels like an add on though she’s given enough agency to be more than a damsel-in-distress due to some genes from her father, I guess.

Black Wind is a return to the better quality of books in the Dirk Pitt series, whether it’s focusing the series on a younger protagonist or that fact that Clive Cussler was joined by his son Dirk in writing the book can be argued. While not perfect and nor the best in the series, this is a very fun and engaging read.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Black Wind by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Northanger Abbey from The Complete Novels by Jane Austen.

The Beast of Boggy Creek: The True Story of the Fouke Monster by Lyle Blackburn

One night in early May 1971 brought attention, a lot unwanted, to a 500-person town that eventually became apart of the cultural zeitgeist thanks to surprise blockbuster. The Beast of Boggy Creek: The True Story of the Fouke Monster by Lyle Blackburn examines the events of 1971 and the surprising aftermath as well as the events long before and up to the present-day to give context to those of early 70s.

Before his examination of the string of incidents, Blackburn gives a physical and cultural background of the Fouke, Arkansas region before incidents that brought the little town to the national monster zeitgeist. Then Blackburn goes right into the 1971 incidents using newspaper accounts and interviews of those directly involved or who investigated them in the aftermath including local law enforcement officers to examine all of them. Blackburn then goes back to previous sightings in time over the course of the previous half-century that occurred in the nearby but equally small Jonesville, including those that involved the family of Smokey Crabtree. Blackburn then examines the events leading up to, during, and aftermath of the filming of The Legend of Boggy Creek including its surprise box office performance—leading to horrible sequels—and cult classic status even today. Blackburn then transitions after the “heyday” of the 1970s to explore if there had been anymore sightings and relating many of them through to and past 2000. The last fifth of the book is dedicated to examining theories of what, if anything, the monster could have been from misidentification to an unknown bipedal ape as well as any incidents of hoaxes, particular with the three-toe foot tracks.

Aside from Florida’s Skunk Ape, Fouke Monster is the essential Southern Bigfoot within the cryptozoological community. Blackburn keeps his focus on events directly in Fouke or connected with it from sightings and interactions to the guerilla-style filmmaking of the surprise smash hit that is based off events within the community. As stated above, Blackburn only really goes into analysis and speculation at the end of the book as the primary focus is on those events in 1971 that created the phenomenon and then if there were any similar events before and after the 70s heyday. The most important thing I found in the book is that Blackburn took years researching this book and traveling to the area so often that it appears those in the community that were suspicious of his motives realized he was not there for a hatch job on the community and were willing to be interviewed, some of them relating events for the first time to an ‘outsider’.

The Beast of Boggy Creek is a thorough look into the early 1970s cryptozoological and box office phenomenon as well the history before and after those defining events. Lyle Blackburn writes in an engaging style the clearly brings the events and facts to the reader so they can come to a informed conclusion of their own.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of The Beast of Boggy Creek: The True Story of the Fouke Monster by Lyle Blackburn, feel free to comment here or there.

Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson

Can a book be written that is both humorous as well as serious about mental health? For the third time Jenny Lawson, aka “The Bloggess”, answers yes with Broken (in the best possible way).

As with her previous book Lawson alternates between humor and seriousness, whether dealing with issues with her health or everyday events or just something that inspired her to write about. Always open about the challenges with her physical and mental health, Lawson mixes healthy self-deprecating humor with serious inspirational essays to those who suffer life her while bringing encouragement to all her readers. Essays about her life’s misadventures either on her own or with her family—primarily with her husband Victor—are hilarious and even make you laugh out loud. Other essays include Lawson’s unique ideas for Shark Tank and discussions with her editors about her writing style to name a few, all funny and enjoyable reads in themselves.

Having previously read Lawson’s other two books, I knew what type of book I was going to read and upon completion can say that it is as excellent as them. Lawson knows how to mix humor and serious issues, sometimes in the same essay and sometimes in separate ones, which means that no matter the material covered from reflections on mental health to chronicling medical treatments to her everyday misadventures at home or in the neighborhood or in town everything is written fresh and new from anything previously published. And frankly after the last year we all have had, not only the humorous essays are welcomed but also the encouragement for when we know we feel something wrong with us.

Broken (in the best possible way) shows the unique writing style of Jenny Lawson that has made a favorite of millions of reads on the Internet and on the page. This book can either be an introduction to Lawson for a first-time reader or a reacquaintance to a longtime fan of her books.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson, feel free to comment here or there.

>60 mattries37315: I have Furiously Happy on my Kindle, but haven't started it. Very happy to hear this author is worth the time.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

A young woman who believes fiction equals real life suddenly finds out that life is not a book, it’s worse. Northanger Abbey was the first novel completed by Jane Austen, but only published after her death.

Seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland, one of ten children of a country clergyman, grew up a tomboy but by the age of 17 she is "in training for a heroine" and is excessively fond of reading Gothic novels. She is invited by the Allens, her wealthier neighbors in Fullerton, to accompany them to visit the city of Bath and partake in the winter season of balls, theatre, and other social delights. Soon she is introduced to a clever young gentleman, Henry Tilney, with whom she dances and converses. Through Mrs. Allen’s old schoolfriend Mrs. Thorpe, she meets her daughter Isabella, a vivacious and flirtatious young woman, and the two quickly become friends. Mrs. Thorpe’s son, John is also a friend of Catherine’s older brother, James, at Oxford where they are both students. Yet soon enough the Thorpes become possessive of Catherine as John undermines her attempts to spend time with Henry Tilney and his sister Eleanor. Isabella and James become engaged. James’ father approves of the match and offers his son a country parson's living of a modest sum, £400 annually, but they must wait until he can obtain the benefice in two and a half years. Isabella is dissatisfied, but to Catherine, she misrepresents her distress as being caused solely by the delay, and not by the value of the sum. Isabella immediately begins to flirt with Captain Tilney, Henry's older brother. Innocent Catherine cannot understand her friend's behavior, but Henry understands all too well, as he knows his brother's character and habits. The Tilneys invite Catherine to stay with them for a few weeks at their home, Northanger Abbey. Catherine, in accordance with her novel reading, expects the abbey to be exotic and frightening. Henry teases her about this, as it turns out that Northanger Abbey is pleasant and decidedly not Gothic. However, the house includes a mysterious suite of rooms that no one ever enters; Catherine learns that they were the apartments of Mrs. Tilney, who died nine years earlier. As General Tilney no longer appears to be ill-affected by her death, Catherine decides that he may have murdered her or even imprisoned her in her chamber. Catherine discovers that her over-active imagination has led her astray, as nothing is strange or distressing in the apartments and is set straight by Henry. Catherine comes to believe that, though novels may be delightful, their content does not relate to everyday life. Isabella breaks her engagement to James, and its implied she is become engaged to Captain Tilney, which Henry and Eleanor Tilney are skeptical of and they turn out to be correct. Yet Catherine is terribly disappointed, realizing what a dishonest person Isabella is. The General goes off to London and the atmosphere at Northanger Abbey immediately becomes lighter and pleasanter for his absence, until he suddenly returns and forces Catherine to go home early the next morning in a shocking, inhospitable, and unsafe move that forces Catherine to undertake the 70 miles journey alone. Once home, Catherine is listless and unhappy. Henry pays a sudden unexpected visit and explains what happened. General Tilney, on the misinformation of John Thorpe, had believed her to be exceedingly rich as the Allens’ prospective heiress, and therefore a proper match for Henry. In London, General Tilney ran into Thorpe again, who, angry and petty at Catherine's refusal of his half-made proposal of marriage, said instead that she was nearly destitute. Enraged, General Tilney returned home to evict Catherine. When Henry returned to Northanger, his father informed him of what had occurred and forbade him to think of Catherine again. When Henry learns how she had been treated, he breaks with his father and tells Catherine he still wants to marry her despite his father's disapproval. Catherine is delighted, though when Henry seeks her parents’ approval, they tell the young couple that final approval will only happen when General Tilney consents, which he eventually does upon learning the truth.

The quality difference between this first Austen novel and the four that were published preceding it is astonishing, frankly because of how bad it is. Catherine is a coming-of-age young woman and acts like it, which is completely fine, however the overall story she is a part of reads like an Austen rip-off if not for the fact that it was written by Austen. The Thorpes are some of the least interesting characters Austen has written as well being some of the most loathsome though not on the level of Mrs. Norris while making Emma appear not so bad. The General comes off as a fool for believing one person say two opposite things and makes Catherine’s assessment of him as uncaring appears more accurate than Henry tries to countermand in the text.

Northanger Abbey shows some foreshadowing of Jane Austen’s style, but unfortunately it also reads like a bad rip-off novel as well that one can believe is written by the same individual that wrote her four great novels.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Northanger Abbey from The Complete Novels by Jane Austen, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Truman by David McCullough

>61 clamairy: I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.

>62 mattries37315: Well, the thing about Northanger Abbey is, it was written as a spoof of the Gothic novels of her time. I found it great fun. I'm not an Austin authority, but that is what I've heard.

>64 MrsLee: That is what I heard too. I enjoyed it a lot.

>65 pgmcc: >64 MrsLee: That's what I heard too. I read it when I was 17 and enjoyed it very much. Have always meant to read some of the Gothic novels that she was mocking.

>64 MrsLee: >65 pgmcc: >66 -pilgrim-: Halfway through I looked up info in the Wikipedia entry and saw it was written as a spoof of Gothic novels, which is fine for the tour of Northanger Abbey and Catherine's night time experiences but everything else however I wasn't a fan of.

>67 mattries37315: How do feel towards genuine (i.e. intended "straight") Gothic literature?

>68 -pilgrim-: Well I've only read Frankenstein, which is probably second generation gothic, and works by Edgar Allan Poe who put an American spin as well as reinventing it. So I can't really can't give an informed opinion, but I knew from general knowledge that the setting in a religious edifice was connected with Gothic so I judged those portions that I knew to be Gothic.

>69 mattries37315: Frankenstein is regarded as the first Science Fiction novel ever written.

>70 pgmcc: Today it might be the first science fiction novel, however it omits any scientific explanation of the monster's animation. It instead focuses on the moral issues and consequences of such a creation which denotes influence of Gothic tradition.

>71 mattries37315: I am not saying it is not Gothic. I was just pointing out it is regarded as the first Science Fiction novel. Many SF novels do not give technical explanations and the best SF is about the moral issues and consequences of technologies or it uses a Science Fiction environment as a sandbox to explore social issues.

>72 pgmcc: I agree. To Shelley's audience, electricity and galvanism was just as much an exciting, mysterious, but slightly threatening, scientific development as AI, or gene therapy is now.

Greek Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook by Liv Albert

For millennia, the gods and heroes of Greece have entertained numerous people and inspired authors and artists across genres, but not everyone today knows Athena from Artemis or the difference from Theseus and Perseus. Greek Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook by Liv Albert is handy guide to the major figures of the mythos for those interested in knowing who is who.

Albert from the outset does not attempt to tackle every figure in Greek mythology or every myth, focusing on the most important and famous gods and heroes. With this in mind, Albert only focusing one story per entry, though many gods and/or heroes appear in multiple entries given their importance (i.e. Zeus in producing children and Hera going after them or their mothers). Except for individuals and events from The Iliad and The Odyssey, Albert retells the myths in a more balanced way most notably by calling out Zeus as a sexual deviant and Hera for her victim-blaming to name the two most prominent instances throughout multiple entries. Adding depth to the mythological retellings are roughly 25 illustrations by the amazingly talented Sara Richard whose art-deco influenced style gives the gods an ethereal appearance and mortals an unworldly quality.

Greek Mythology is a fantastic introductory book for those interested in the mythos of the ancient Greeks thanks to Liv Albert’s writing and Sara Richard’s art.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Greek Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook by Liv Albert, feel free to comment here or there.

Truman by David McCullough

Born in Missouri a generation after it was the western frontier of the young nation, he led an emerging superpower into the atomic age at the end of the largest war in human history. Truman is all-encompassing biography of the 33rd President of the United States by one of the best biographers and historians of the past half century, David McCullough.

McCullough begins by quickly covering the lives of Truman’s grandparents and parents who relocated and lived on the frontier of Missouri beginning 40 years before his birth. McCullough then guides the reader through Truman’s childhood as his father attempt to succeed in various businesses with mild to no success while young Harry went through school and attempt to strike out on his own in nearby Kansas City until finally joining his family when they went working his maternal grandmother’s large farm that he would continue to work until he joined the Army in 1917 where he would see combat as a Captain of the artillery during the Hundred Days Offensive that led to the armistice. After the war, Truman opened a business that started well but failed during the recession of 1921 after which he turned to attention to politics and becoming a part of the Pendergast political machine. Successful in his first campaign to be a county administrative judge, he failed in reelection only to succeed in the next election to becoming the presiding judge which was a position he used to transform Jackson County with numerous public works that eventually gets him noticed by the new Roosevelt administration that eventually got him a position in the New Deal programs in Missouri. After Pendergast rejected Truman for a run for governor or Congress, he selected him a run for Senate in 1934 and Truman’s victory in the primary he was considered the Pendergast Senator not a Missourian. Through hard work during his term, Truman became a respected member of the Senate but when he went to be reelected, the Pendergast machine was in disarray due to various federal criminal trials and the Roosevelt administration didn’t support him, he was in a uphill battle. In a forerunner to his 1948 upset, Truman outworked his opponents and received support from the St. Louis political machine, which had opposed Pendergast’s Kansas City machine for decades, to a slim victory. During his second term, Truman became a national figure with his Select Committee to Investigate Defense Spending that investigated wasteful spending that saved roughly $15 billion that eventually would get him to be selected as Roosevelt’s 1944 Vice Presidential running mate that was essentially a nomination to be Roosevelt’s successor because everyone knew he would not live out his term. Truman’s nearly 8 years in office cover nearly 60% of the book that started off with his decisions and actions for the five months that dealt with challenges that no other President save Lincoln had to deal with. The challenges of a post-war America especially in the economic sphere led to a Republican takeover of Congress that many blamed Truman for, who used the loss to his advantage to stake differences between both parties that would eventually lead to his strategy for the 1948 Presidential campaign that led to him becoming President in his own right. Truman’s second term was dominated by his decision to military intervene in Korea that would lead to a confrontation with General Douglas McArthur that put civilian control of the military at stake, but also would continually lead to charges of Communist subversion of government jobs that reached a fever pitch with Joseph McCarthy. Once out of office, Truman transitioned to a regular citizen and began figuring out how to financially support his family, which eventually lead to Presidential pension laws for Truman and future holders of the office and creating the Presidential Library system that we know today. But after leaving office very unpopular, Truman’s popularity grew over the two decades of his post-Presidency so upon his death he was genuinely mourned by the public.

McCullough’s writing reads like a novel with his subject his main character and every other individual in a supporting character to reflect upon the protagonist. As I noted in my synopsis, most of the book covers Truman’s time in office that McCullough documents with detail and when doing a Presidential biography of the man who essentially had to deal with the end of the largest war in human history and the beginning of the Cold War is to be expected. With documentation of Truman’s early life not a prevalent, McCullough’s decision to turn a spotlight to his grandparents and parents at the beginning of the book and throughout Truman’s life added depth to the man and the also the area where he grew up and shaped him.

Truman brings the humble man from Missouri to life for those that have only seen him in black and white photographs and film, David McCullough’s writing hooks the reader from the beginning and makes you want to see how Harry S. Truman’s life played out in all facets.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Truman by David McCullough, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

When the publication of a novel results in a major restoration effort for a centuries old Gothic church that features as a significant secondary character, it must be a special book. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is Victor Hugo’s first novel that established him as one of the greatest French writers.

The story is set in Paris in 1482 during the reign of Louis XI. The beautiful gypsy Esmeralda captures the hearts of many men, including those of Captain Phoebus and Pierre Gringoire, but especially Quasimodo and his guardian Archdeacon Claude Frollo. Frollo is torn between his obsessive lust for Esmeralda and the rules of Notre Dame Cathedral. He orders Quasimodo to kidnap her, but Quasimodo is captured by Phoebus and his guards, who save Esmeralda. Gringoire, who attempted to help Esmeralda but was knocked out by Quasimodo, is about to be hanged by beggars when Esmeralda saves him by agreeing to marry him for four years. The following day, Quasimodo is sentenced to be flogged and turned on the pillory for two hours, followed by another hour's public exposure. He calls for water. Esmeralda, seeing his thirst, approaches the public stocks and offers him a drink of water. It saves him, and she captures his heart. Later, Esmeralda is arrested and charged with the attempted murder of Phoebus, whom Frollo attempted to kill in jealousy after seeing him trying to seduce Esmeralda. She is sentenced to death by hanging. As she is being led to the gallows, Quasimodo swings down by the bell rope of Notre-Dame and carries her off to the cathedral, temporarily protecting her – under the law of sanctuary – from arrest. Frollo later informs Gringoire that the Court of Parlement has voted to remove Esmeralda's right to the sanctuary so she can no longer seek shelter in the cathedral and will be taken away to be killed. Clopin, the leader of the Vagrants, hears the news from Gringoire and rallies the homeless citizens of Paris to charge the cathedral and rescue Esmeralda. When Quasimodo sees the Vagrants, he assumes they are there to hurt Esmeralda, so he drives them off. Likewise, he thinks the king's men want to rescue her, and tries to help them find her. She is rescued by Frollo and Gringoire. But after yet another failed attempt to win her love, Frollo betrays Esmeralda by handing her to the troops and watches while she is being hanged. When Frollo laughs during Esmeralda's hanging, Quasimodo pushes him from the height of Notre Dame to his death. With nothing left to live for, Quasimodo vanishes and is never seen again. Quasimodo's skeleton is found many years later in the charnel house, a mass grave into which the bodies of the destitute and criminals were indiscriminately thrown, implying that Quasimodo had sought Esmeralda among the decaying corpses and lay beside her, himself to die. As the guards attempt to pull the embracing skeletons apart, his skeleton crumbles to dust.

This book is hard to judge, mainly because when the narrative and drama is going it is great but early on Hugo liked to focus on other things namely architecture then it was hard to read. While Hugo’s descriptions of Notre Dame are fantastic and are necessary considering its central importance to the book, however the history of Paris and its architecture was a tangent that slowed things down enough to make the book feel like a drag. Hugo’s characters were extremely well-written from the hypocrite Frollo to the love-sick Esmerelda to superficial jerk Phoebus and the book’s titular character Quasimodo.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame features a fantastic narrative, however some of Victor Hugo’s decisions early in the book make it struggle to get through as it veers away from any narrative flow. However, I did enjoy the book overall and would recommend it for people to read yet with a warning about things early so they are prepared to either endure it or plan skip parts of the book.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Persuasion from The Complete Novels by Jane Austen.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

A young woman listens to her elders and mentors that the man she loves is not a good—social—match for her and breaks her engagement, she regrets it ever since. Persuasion is the last completed novel of Jane Austen that was published after her death, which follows a woman who must interact with her former fiancée now a war hero.

The story begins seven years after the broken engagement of Anne Elliot to Frederick Wentworth, the middle daughter of Sir Walter Elliot of Kellynch Hall and a young undistinguished naval officer with a low social standing. Anne's father and her older sister, Elizabeth, maintained that Wentworth was no match for a woman of their family and Lady Russell, a distant relative whom Anne considers to be a second mother, sees the relationship as imprudent for one so young and persuaded Anne to break off the engagement. All this happens when Anne's younger sister Mary was away at school. The story begins the Elliot family is in financial trouble on account of their lavish spending, so they rent out Kellynch Hall and decide to settle in a cheaper home in Bath until their finances improve. Sir Walter, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth's new companion, Mrs. Clay, look forward to the move; Anne is less sure. Mary is married to Charles Musgrove of Uppercross Hall, the heir to a respected local squire. Anne visits Mary and her family, where she is well-loved. As the war against France is over, the tenants of Kellynch Hall, Admiral Croft and his wife Sophia—Frederick’s sister—have returned home. Wentworth, now wealthy and famous for his service in the war, visits his sister and meets the Uppercross family where he crosses paths with Anne. The Musgroves, including Mary, Charles, and Charles' sisters Henrietta and Louisa, welcome the Crofts and Wentworth, who makes it known that he is ready to marry. Anne still loves Wentworth, so each meeting with him requires preparation for her own strong emotions. She overhears a conversation in which Louisa tells Wentworth of Charles first proposed to Anne, who turned him down. This news startles Wentworth, and Anne realizes that he has not yet forgiven her for letting herself be persuaded to end their engagement years ago. Anne and the young adults of the Uppercross family accompany Wentworth on a visit to see two of his fellow officers, Captains Harville and Benwick, in the coastal town of Lyme Regis. Benwick is in mourning over the death of his fiancée, Harville's sister, and he appreciates Anne's sympathy and understanding. They bond over their mutual admiration for the Romantic poets. Anne attracts the attention of Mr William Elliot, her cousin and a wealthy widower who is heir to Kellynch Hall despite having broken ties with her father years earlier. On the last morning of the visit, the youthful Louisa sustains a serious concussion at the sea wall while under Capt. Wentworth's supervision. Anne coolly organizes the others to summon assistance. Wentworth is impressed with Anne's quick thinking and cool headedness, but feels guilty about his actions with Louisa, causing him to re-examine his feelings for Anne. Louisa, due to her delicate position, is forced to recover at the Harvilles' home in Lyme for months. Benwick, who was a guest as well, helps in Louisa's recovery by attending and reading to her, resulting in them getting engaged. Following Louisa's accident, Anne joins her father and sister in Bath with Lady Russell while Louisa and her parents stay at the Harvilles' in Lyme Regis for her recovery. Wentworth visits his older brother Edward in Shropshire. Anne finds that her father and sister are flattered by the attentions of their cousin William Elliot, secretly believing that if he marries Elizabeth, the family fortunes will be restored. William flatters Anne and offhandedly mentions that he was "fascinated" with the name of his future wife already being an "Elliot" who would rightfully take over for her late Mother. Although Anne wants to like William, the attention and his manners, she finds his character opaque and difficult to judge. The Crofts arrive in Bath with the news that Louisa engagement to Benwick. Wentworth travels to Bath, where his jealousy is piqued by seeing William trying to court Anne. Wentworth and Anne renew their acquaintance. Anne visits Mrs Smith, an old school friend, who is now a widow living in Bath under strained circumstances. From her, Anne discovers William's true nature. The Musgroves visit Bath to purchase wedding clothes for Louisa and Henrietta—long engaged to a cousin—both soon to marry. Wentworth and Harville encounter them and Anne at the Musgroves' hotel in Bath, where Wentworth overhears Anne and Harville discussing the relative faithfulness of men and women in love. Deeply moved by what Anne Wentworth writes her a note declaring his feelings for her. Outside the hotel, Anne and Wentworth reconcile, affirm their love for each other, and renew their engagement. William leaves Bath with Mrs Clay soon following him to become his mistress, ensuring that he will inherit Kellynch Hall. Lady Russell admits she was wrong about Wentworth and befriends the new couple. Once Anne and Wentworth have married, Wentworth helps Mrs Smith recover the remaining assets that William had kept from her. Anne settles into her new life as the wife of a Navy captain.

A lot of things happen in a short about of pages, but Austen’s writing made it all come together well. Anne is not the greatest protagonist that Austen has written but given she comes after Emma and Catherine she is welcome change especially since she is older than most, if not all, of Austen’s other protagonists. None of the other characters really stand out, but it was interesting that Anne’s younger sister Mary was written as the annoying character instead of the usual widowed or unmarried older relative.

Persuasion is a fine novel, while it is not Jane Austen’s best work it is not her worst either. While I would not recommend it as your first Austen novel to read, I would recommend it if you’ve enjoyed one of her best works.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Persuasion from The Complete Novels by Jane Austen, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Treasure of Khan by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler.

I need to reread Persuasion. It's probably the Austen that I remember least. There was a good TV adaptation with Ciaran Hinds as Wentworth.

>77 mattries37315: Persuasion is actually the Jane Austen novel that I like the best. And Anne as my favourite character

I listened to an audiobook reading last year, and found that my tolerance for Captain Wentworth's behaviour has lessened. I now feel he was too quick to sign the worst motives to his former fiancée.

>79 -pilgrim-: I think if I were to reread Persuasion independent of other Austen works I might like it more, but since I've been reading all of her works since the beginning of the year it's hard not to judge against one another. Though if push comes to shove Anne is probably my third favorite protagonist behind Elizabeth Bennet and Fanny Price.

>80 mattries37315: That was my reread. I first read Persuasion in my teens, along with Pride and Prejudice (my mother's favourite), Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey. I started Emma at that time also, but found the heroine just too infuriating to stick it.

Anne is my favourite heroine, and I always identified with her; Elizabeth Bennett next, and then I feel about the same for :Catherine Morland and Fanny Price.

I have been enjoying following your reviews of the Austen novels. Your reaction to Emma has not exactly encouraged me to give that one another try.

Treasure of Khan by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler

Genghis Khan conquered half the world, now another Mongolian looks to conquer the rest through oil but inadvertently runs into the one man who can stop him. Treasure of Khan is the nineteenth book in Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series and the second written with his son Dirk, as the elder Pitt returns to centerstage in a mostly land based adventure.

During the second failed Mongol invasion of Japan, a ship is swept out into the Pacific by a series of typhoons and survive long enough to land in the Hawaiian Islands. Several years later, reconstructing an old Polynesian ship and an elderly navigator the Mongol leader returns to China and a personal audience with Kublai Khan. In 1937, a British archaeologist unearths a box containing a scroll to the location of Genghis Khan burial location, but it is stolen by his Mongolian assistant as the archaeologist evacuates before the advancing Japanese. A relatively small oil company headed by Borjin, a Mongolian who is bent on taking control of the world oil market and re-uniting the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia—where he has found significant oil deposits buried at unusual depths—with Mongolia, has stolen a machine which can create an earthquake. He uses the machine to destroy major oil production facilities through the world, crippling China oil supply in a matter of weeks along with the rest of the worlds. He then uses this shortage to make an offer to supply China all the oil it needs. He demands that Inner Mongolia be ceded to Mongolia, and China pay market price for the oil he will supply them, which he guarantees will meet the colossal demands of the Chinese economy. China accepts this deal, not knowing of the hidden oil deposits they are handing to him. Dirk Pitt intervenes to end the situation and discovers that the grave of Genghis Khan has been located by Borjin, whose father stole the scroll to the burial location, and used the treasures to finance his company. Off the Big Island, Summer Pitt discovers a 13th-Century Chinese royal junk that eventually leads to Dirk Sr. figuring out where Kublai Khan’s tomb is located on the island from the other scroll that the elder Borjin did not take.

The return of the elder Dirk to the main character and the focus on Summer not being the damsel-in-distress Hawaiian subplot was a new wrinkle after the previous book. Both the main and subplots were well-written and resulted in a quick page turning story that is one of the best in the series. Unlike the previous novel, Borjin and his siblings were not memorable antagonists especially compared to some that the Pitts have faced in the past. Besides this one blemish, this second father-son effort by the Cusslers is a great follow up to their first.

Treasure of Khan is a particularly good installment in the decades-long Dirk Pitt franchise coming off the heels of another great previous installment. The decision to have Dirk Cussler join Clive in writing the series as so far paid off in a rise in quality.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Treasure of Khan by Clive & Dirk Cussler, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading President McKinley by Robert W. Merry.

Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes

To raise from his short, brutish existence man willing give up his freedom and rights to protect himself if others do the same to one strong man who promises to protect them. Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan revolves around this idea but leading up to it and expounding upon it is a surprising amount of insight of both political and religious thought.

Hobbes’ work is divided into four parts with the first, “Of Man”, covering human nature and why men form governments not for the greater good as other postulate but to protect themselves and their stuff. Hobbes essentially says that men give up their freedom to the government to be protected from other men so they can keep their life and possessions that they can add to. In the second part, “Of Commonwealth”, Hobbes argues that the perfect government is under one absolute sovereign—whether a monarch or legislative body—that will control all aspects of the government with the aim to preserve the persons of the governed by any means necessary and that the govern must obey the sovereign in all aspects of life including in religion and taxation, the later must be used to support those unable to maintain themselves. In part three, “Of a Christian Commonwealth”, Hobbes discusses how a Christian commonwealth should be governed and essentially says that the civil power is the final arbiter of all spiritual revelation and thus the religious power is subordinate to the sovereign as seen in the Holy Scriptures. In the final part, “Of the Kingdom of Darkness”, Hobbes turns his focus towards ignorance of the true light of knowledge and its causes which stem from religious deceivers through four things—misinterpretation, demonology and saints, the mixing of religion with erroneous Greek philosophy, and mixing of these false doctrines and traditions with feigned history. Hobbes blames all the churches and churchmen for these causes as they are the beneficiaries at the expense of the civil power which endangers the commonwealth and the preservation of every man in them.

As one of the earliest and most influential works on social contract theory, Hobbes’ political ideas are often cited and quoted. However, the fact that almost half the work is a religious discourse was a surprise and insightful. That Hobbes discredited church-led states was gratifying, though he then recommended state control of religion was a disappointment but not surprising given the theme of his work. Besides his views on the church-state relationship, Hobbes’ work is primary to understanding how the political thought of today began and how his contemporaries and those that followed him reacted to his views.

Leviathan is Thomas Hobbes’ magnum opus of political thought and has been influential for centuries, whether one agrees with his conclusions or vehemently disagrees.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes, feel free to comment here or there.

>75 mattries37315: I was pondering whether I should read Truman, I think you persuaded me that I should.

Thanks for the summary of Leviathan, I read that one in college but I do not remember it well.

84 I hope you like it, I was really impressed with the amount of information I learned about Truman.

You're welcome.

President McKinley: Architect of the American Century by Robert W. Merry

Though nowadays overshadowed by his young, energetic successor that built upon his foreign policy successes in history, if not for his transformative Presidency the 20th Century could have gone differently for the United States. President McKinley: Architect of the American Century by Robert W. Merry explores the four and a half years of William McKinley in office and whether he led events or where led by them.

Merry begins his biography by leading up to its end, the assassination of McKinley in Buffalo at the Pan-American Exposition after the recently reelected President made a speech that seemed to show him turning towards freer trade and away from the protective tariffs that had defined his political career. After this dramatic beginning, Merry goes back to the first McKinleys to arrive in the Ohio territory where the future 25th President would live his life when not in the Union Army or in politics. Quickly going through McKinley’s early years, Merry spent a little more time following McKinley’s military career and how he rose quickly from a private to a Lieutenant within a year before finishing the war as a Major. After quickly covering McKinley’s time in law school, Merry covered his early years in Canton as a rising lawyer and meeting his future wife, Ida. As McKinley’s political career began and slowly took off, Merry slowed the pace of the narrative to give more facts including the how McKinley became a specialist on the tariff and dynamics of the Ohio Republican party that would impact his career. Once McKinley is in the White House, Merry slows down the narrative and focuses on the eventual four and a half years the redefined the United States at the end of the 19th Century leading to the 20th on the world stage from the lead up to and through the Spanish-American War to the Insurgency in the Philippines afterwards and the Boxer Rebellion in which the United States became a Great Power. Though McKinley’s time in office is now viewed as more foreign policy Presidency, McKinley himself had wanted to focus domestically more and Merry covered the many issues at home from the tariff to the gold standard to anti-imperialist sentiment that McKinley dealt with.

Merry began and ended his Presidential biography with how McKinley having been reelected based on his accomplishments of his first term was evolving his long-held political positions to meet new requirements to set up and complete his view of McKinley making decisions then incrementally push the political attitudes of others towards supporting his new position. Throughout Merry’s look at McKinley’s time in office, he showed evidence of McKinley’s incremental decision making and its high success rate but also the times when events moved too fast and how McKinley dealt with those events. Though focused on McKinley’s time in office more than the rest of his life, Merry’s biographical background of McKinley before his Presidency was fine but at times went back and forth in time during his political career that made things hard to follow and anticipate.

President McKinley is a well-written, informative political biography by Robert W. Merry of the 25th President’s time in office and how he made the decisions he made. While not a thorough biography of McKinley, it succeeds at it’s aim at covering the four and a half years that dramatically changed the United States standing in the world.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of President McKinley by Robert W. Merry, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Lady Susan from The Complete Novels by Jane Austen.

Lady Susan by Jane Austen

A beautiful middle-aged recent widow is on the prowl for a young man for herself and one to take her despised daughter off her hands. Lady Susan is the last complete work of Jane Austen published, over 50 years after her death, in which the titular character is annoyance to her family.

Lady Susan Vernon, a beautiful and charming recent widow, visits her brother- and sister-in-law, Charles and Catherine Vernon, with little advance notice at Churchill, their country residence. Catherine is far from pleased, as Lady Susan had tried to prevent her marriage to Charles and her unwanted guest has been described to her as “the most accomplished coquette in England”. Among Lady Susan's conquests is the married Mr. Manwaring. Catherine's brother Reginald arrives a week later, and despite Catherine's strong warnings about Lady Susan's character, soon falls under her spell. Lady Susan toys with the younger man's affections for her own amusement and later because she perceives it makes her sister-in-law uneasy. Her confidante, Mrs. Johnson, to whom she writes frequently, recommends she marry the very eligible Reginald, but Lady Susan considers him to be greatly inferior to Manwaring. Frederica, Lady Susan's 16-year-old daughter, tries to run away from school when she learns of her mother's plan to marry her off to a wealthy but insipid young man she loathes. She also becomes a guest at Churchill. Catherine comes to like her—her character is totally unlike her mother's—and as time goes by, detects Frederica's growing attachment to the oblivious Reginald. Later, Sir James Martin, Frederica's unwanted suitor, shows up uninvited, much to her distress and her mother's vexation. When Frederica begs Reginald for support out of desperation (having been forbidden by Lady Susan to turn to Charles and Catherine), this causes a temporary breach between Reginald and Lady Susan, but the latter soon repairs the rupture. Lady Susan decides to return to London and marry her daughter off to Sir James. Reginald follows, still bewitched by her charms and intent on marrying her, but he encounters Mrs. Manwaring at the home of Mr. Johnson and finally learns Lady Susan's true character. Lady Susan ends up marrying Sir James herself, and allows Frederica to reside with Charles and Catherine at Churchill, where Reginald De Courcy “could be talked, flattered, and finessed into an affection for her.”

This novella is essentially the titular character playing havoc with her in-laws and their familial relations while attempting to pawn her daughter off to the richest man that will have her while looking to score an even richer man whether he is currently married or not. If this had been a full-length novel with Susan Vernon as the lead character, she would have been one of the most hated characters in the English language who is not evil incarnate. As for the other notable characters, Mrs. Vernon and Frederica were written as morale opposites to Lady Susan and came off well-written, meanwhile Reginald comes off as a fool and is played like one by Susan through much of the story.

Lady Susan was completed by Jane Austen 17 years before her more famous works were published and itself published over 50 years after her death. It’s short length is one of it’s best features as the titular character would not be someone a reader would want to follow for an entire novel.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Lady Susan from The Complete Novels by Jane Austen, feel free to comment here or there.

The Complete Novels by Jane Austen

The novels of Jane Austen are among some of the most beloved, most read, and most adapted from the English language. Featuring memorable characters, locations, and narratives the “big four” Austen novels—Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma—all have similar narrative clichés, but all done in unique ways that makes each story fresh. The later three novels are a mixed back of youthful inexperience (Northanger Abbey), different tone (Persuasion), and unique literary style (Lady Susan) with mixed results. Overall, this is a great collection especially as it has all four of Austen’s major works together.

Sense and Sensibility (3.5/5)
Pride and Prejudice (4/5)
Mansfield Park (3.5/5)
Emma (2/5)
Northanger Abbey (1/5)
Persuasion (3/5)
Lady Susan (2.5)

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of The Complete Novels by Jane Austen, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie.

The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

War! What it is good for? To everyone there is a different answer and when all those people populate the same battlefield it adds another layer to the fight. The Heroes is the fifth book and second standalone set in Joe Abercrombie’s First Law world as old foes locked in a new war that suddenly comes down to a devastating battle for all involved.

Eight years after the end of the original trilogy, The Union and The North are at war once again, but impatience is growing on both sides. Prodded by the ancient Magi Bayaz the Union army under commander-in-chief Lord Marshal Kroy with his ally The Dogman advance towards the town of Osrung that is situated next to a Stonehenge-like structure on a hilltop named The Heroes which is on the road to the capital of the North that Protector of the North Black Dow had slowly retreated towards. Seeing the sudden change of plans of the Union, Black Dow rallies his forces that are feed up with his fighting retreat strategy. Over the course of a little more than a week as the opposing forces head towards the battlefield, fight for three days, and aftermath which results in peace are seen by six characters: Curnden Craw, the aging chief of a crew of Named Men, known to all as a real straight edge; Prince Calder, Bethod's younger son, an infamous charmer and schemer among the straightforward Northmen; Bremer dan Gorst, King Jezal's disgraced former bodyguard, and a near unstoppable one-man-army; Finree dan Brock, the venomously ambitious daughter of Lord Marshal Kroy; Corporal Tunny, a long-serving veteran and cynical profiteer, who also does his best to keep his misfit rookies alive; and finally, Beck, a young farm-lad craving to follow in his famous father’s footsteps, until his first taste of the atrocious waste of human life. By the end of the book, the Union sets up a protectorate under The Dogman while transferring its army to Styria to fight the Snake of Talon while the North regroups under the rule of King Scale as his brother Calder begins manipulating things behind the throne.

Once again Abercrombie writings a compelling narrative with very questionably moral characters, though as his arc goes throughout the book Beck appears to be the most morale character by the end which is saying something. Though not directly connected, the effects of Monza’s vengeance tour through Styria have had ramifications in the North as the two supernatural powers of the world have to contend with this third player on the game board and that effects decisions on both sides of the battle. This is seen from the beginning when Bayaz joins the Union army looking to test new weapons while getting out of a needless war in the North but with a complaint King of the North who will not go along with his rival’s plans to spread Union forces on various fronts. For those following Black Dow, the long stretches of campaigning are tiring and frankly privately agree with Calder that the North needs to rebuild again but cannot come out and say it. Added to the mix are those looking for personal glory or advancement that themselves impact the broader battle and thus effect the politics on both sides for good or ill. Over the course of 541 pages that covers roughly seven days in which three are flowing with blood these interactions as well as in the heat of battle events shape not only the battle but the world in unexpected ways.

The Heroes might focus on one battle, but Joe Abercrombie packs so much into this battle that the reader realizes that so much more is going on that they’ll want to see what the fall out years down the road will be.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Artic Drift by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler.

This is Not Florida by Jay Weiner

On November 4, 2008, an historic election took place that would determine policies that would affect the entire nation, but the winner wouldn’t be determined until the following June. This is Not Florida: How Al Franken Won the Minnesota Senate Recount by Jay Weiner shows how a vicious mudslinging campaign turned into a long dragged-out recount fight that put the state of Minnesota centerstage on how the Senate would operate.

To put the 2008-9 Minnesota recount in context, Weiner explains how it got to that point through the mistakes of the Franken campaign and the truly mudslinging exchanges between the two campaigns that resulted in the Obama campaign deciding not making one appearance in the state that they had in the bag. Once the recount began, Weiner explains how the Franken campaign after getting a tip to a wrongly rejected absentee ballot turned their focus to getting all legal ballots to be counted while the Coleman campaign went into “prevent defense” since they had the most votes on election night and wanted to keep it that way. These decisions at the very outset would ultimately decide the outcome of the recount in the Election Contest trial, but before that the hand recount revealed that Franken had more votes before the wrongly rejected absentee ballots were event counted and increased Franken’s lead. After Coleman challenged the results of the hand recount, his campaign’s inadequate examination of wrongly rejected absentee ballots came to rooster as the Franken campaign ran circles around them during the trial and even increased their lead through their preparation and rejecting Coleman’s initial strategy of “prevent defense”. The unanimous ruling of the three judges at the end of Election Contest trial and the unanimous ruling of Minnesota Supreme Court—after Coleman appealed—certified Franken’s victory.

This book was based on Weiner’s own coverage of the entire recount saga, but while Franken and Coleman were the candidates the really “stars” of the book were their lawyers. Drawn from around the nation—besides the local lawyers hired by the campaigns—and specializing in recounts in which they faced one another numerous times including Florida in 2000 which was always referenced to by Weiner in comparison and contrast. To Weiner the entire process of Minnesota law regarding a recount worked, but like the Secretary of State and others said afterwards the fact that legal absentee ballots were rejected showed something needed to be corrected for the future though not all the changes Weiner thought were necessary have been enacted.

With the backdrop of the 2000 Florida recount as well as a filibuster proof majority in the balance, the Minnesota recount put the state in the political crosshairs. This is Not Florida shows how and why the events of the recount happened from the perspective of a journalist who had to cover every twist and turn. Jay Weiner covers the main players and events thoroughly through a tightly written 288 pages that any political junkie will appreciate.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of This is Not Florida by Jay Weiner, feel free to comment here or there.

The Promise by Gerhard F. Hasel & Michael G. Hasel

Due to the religious nature of this book, please read my review either at the link above or at the book's LT page.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of The Promise by Gerhard F. Hasel & Michael G. Hasel, feel free to comment here or there.

Artic Drift by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler

Global warming is causing the Artic ice sheet to melt opening the Artic Ocean for the once fabled Northwest Passage and a Canadian businessman plans to do anything including ruining relations between Canada and the United States to exploit resources in the region. Artic Drift is the twentieth book of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series and third with his son Dirk, finds NUMA navigating the quickly troubling waters around Canada to solve not only the threat facing the entire globe but peace between longtime international friends.

The plot begins in the year 1847, when the Franklin Expedition becomes stranded trying to find the Northwest Passage and they experience a harsh winter during which the men are seemingly going mad. Their stranded ships, Erebus and Terror, are loaded with a mysterious, unidentified silvery metal. The story switches to the present day as the United States is in a major energy crisis due to other nations, including Canada, restricting oil and natural gas production due to global warming. The resulting loss of northern icecap has opens resources in the Artic Ocean that a Canadian businessman, Mitchell Goyette, looks to exploit for his bottom line while publicly being seen as an environment-first businessman. Using his extensive bribery network that has ensnared the bellicosely patriotic Canadian Prime Minister and the natural resources Minister that he uses to get the fossil fuel deals he wants and sets up faux “environmental saving” businesses to hide his activities. When President initiates a nationwide effort by the government and scientists to find a solution to crisis, a scientist at George Washington University accidentally discovers a process to break down carbon dioxide but her assistant on the payroll of Goyette informs the businessman’s hitman Clay Zak who attempts to kill her. But wanting to keep the United States out of the Artic, Goyette sets up incidents that appear to be American businesses and military threatening Canadian citizens which quickly spirals into various other international incidents between the two nations almost to the verge of military action. During this Dirk Junior and Summer are studying the waters off Alaska and British Columbia when they come across a boat of dead fishermen who have all died of asphyxiation, one of whom is the brother of a Canadian wildlife scientist Trevor Miller. The three investigate the mysterious deaths under the cover of the Pitt’s NUMA & Canadian sponsored research and find Goyette’s recently opened carbon dioxide storing facility is a front for dumping it into the sea and save a cruise ship from a massive cloud of carbon dioxide. Meanwhile the GWU scientist has meal while Dirk Senior and Loren, telling them of her breakthrough and the need for a rare element in the platinum group. After Dirk Senior saves the scientist after her lab is firebombed by Zak, he goes searching for the element and finds himself in a race with Zak who is attempting to find the element as well so Goyette and corner the market. The trail leads to the Artic and the failed Franklin Expedition. Dirk Senior joins a NUMA expedition to explore ocean floor for thermal vents taking Rudy Gunn’s alongside Al Giordino and Jack Dahlgren. The NUMA ship flying under Canadian colors and avoiding various Canadian government ships get to the area where the missing expedition might have come to an end to find a Goyette owned cargo ship lead by Zak looking for the same thing. Dirk Senior and Zak confront one another in the haul of the Erebus with Zak dying and Pitt coming out very much the worse for wear, but thanks to the arrival of a U.S. sub the NUMA crew gets control of the cargo ship with evidence of the illegal activities to Alaskan waters which leads to the decrease in tensions. As the Canadian government is shaken by the bribery scandal, Trevor Miller gets revenge on Goyette in his own country club. Dirk Senior’s search for the rare element came to not, but the NUMA Artic expedition hits on a motherload of platinum group elements thus allowing the GWU breakthrough to go full speed ahead on combating carbon dioxide.

Since Dirk Cussler joined his father in writing the series, the narratives have been some of the best in the series and this book is no exception. While Dirk and his children tackle the same problem and antagonists, they do so without interaction from the other allowing their respective subplots to develop independently to independent resolutions without attempting to bring together in some complicated way. Having Dirk Senior not able to save the day though his actions were a nice change of pace, but the NUMA discovery would have played out better if the Cussler’s hadn’t changed Rudy’s character to be forgetful about bringing samples back to headquarters to be studied. Though once again the antagonist was a greedy businessman, a trope for many books now, however the main actions were caused by his hired hitman who was one of the better henchmen villains of the series. The only other complaint would be the retconning of the fuel cell technology from Trojan Odyssey that was to solve global warming, though maybe because that book was bad it was decided to ignore somethings about it.

Artic Drift continues the string of strong books that began with Dirk Cussler joined his father Clive in writing the series. Though there are the usual clichés, the overall narrative over comes these and gives the reader an enjoyable time.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Artic Drift by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading A Country of Vast Designs by Robert W. Merry.

The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln by Anthony Gross

Through various sources, Anthony Gross brings together a collection of stories told by or about Abraham Lincoln. While some of them are well known, others are not and are interesting. However, some stories need a lot more context or are related to the era that getting them is somewhat hard to do. Given the number of stories that others wrote about Lincoln either say or about Lincoln after his death, it’s hard to know how many are true and not invented by those wanting to be connected slain President. Overall a nice collection, but the reader should be weary that maybe everything might not actually be Lincoln stories.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln by Anthony Gross, feel free to comment here or there.

A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent by Robert W. Merry

From a political has been to the first dark horse President candidate to the first President to preside over a war ending with the annexation of foreign territory, the last five years of James K. Polk’s life changed a lot about the United States. A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent by Robert W. Merry reveals how America’s first dark horse President came to the White House and how he changed the office and the changed the nation through expansion to the Pacific.

Merry sets the stage to cover Polk’s presidency by setting up his election in 1844 with a history of the Jacksonian era to that point and place Polk and his main opponent Henry Clay occupied in it. After two electoral defeats, Polk’s attempt at a political comeback by being presumptive Democratic nominee Martin Van Buren’s running mate is upended with John Tyler’s decision to annex Texas that eventually resulted in the pro-annexation Polk to get the Presidential nomination instead of the anti-annexation Van Buren. His close victory over Clay appeared to call for Texas annexation and passed Congress just before his inauguration in March 1845. Merry then sets about explaining how Polk obtained his four goals for his promised single term (obtaining California, settling the Oregon dispute with Britain, lowering tariffs, and creating an independent treasury). The domestic priorities were covered in a few chapters, much of the book was on Polk’s negotiation Oregon and the situation with Mexico regarding Texas annexation, the border, and later the war. Polk’s administrative talents, working relationships with his cabinet (mostly Secretary of State James Buchanan), and relationships with members of Congress from both parties were detailed throughout the historical flow of events. Merry’s overview of Polk’s place in history amongst scholars and how he is viewed by the public is examined as an epilogue to a transformative single Presidential term.

Merry’s biographical work on James Polk is probably the best part of this historical examination of his presidency followed by his explanations of the internal fissures within the Democratic Party of the mid-to-late 1840s. His interpretation of Polk’s very hands on approach to day-to-day business in the White House on top of managing a foreign war culminating in his death soon after leaving office was well established. Also, his description of the Mexican’s internal political merry-go-round and factions leading up to and throughout the war was a welcome addition to the history. However, Merry’s analysis of the Whig Party and the slavery issue in this period are major issues of the book that should caution readers. The Whigs were portrayed as an elitist only view of America that only those it would benefit supported and that Henry Clay’s American System was soundly rejected, unfortunately the likes of Abraham Lincoln would disagree that the Whig platform was for elites and today’s debating of infrastructure improvements shows that in fact Clay’s American System still influences politics today. But Merry’s attempt to push the big blowup over slavery to being a result of the war with Mexico is problematic as Polk’s victory was the result of an anti-slavery party—the Liberty Party—costing Clay votes in New York and thus the election. It also paints over the fact that for over a decade John C. Calhoun had made every issue he could be about slavery to inflame fellow Southerners and that slavery itself was a banned topic in the House of Representatives because of the gag rule.

A Country of Vast Designs shows how during one single term the United States changed its trajectory both nationally and internationally. Robert W. Merry’s while providing a good biography of James K. Polk and the internal workings of his administration, but either misunderstands or completely misrepresents the opposition and the political role of slavery during this time thus giving a false impression to those not well versed in the era.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of A Country of Vast Designs by Robert W. Merry, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Watership Down by Richard Adams.

Watership Down by Richard Adams

There are many rabbits in popular culture, but none of them are as tough as the rabbits in this book. Watership Down by Richard Adams chronicles a colony of survivors throughout their adventures to create a new life for themselves while avoiding predators and rabbits that have gone off the deep end.

In the Sandleford warren, Fiver, a young runt rabbit who is a seer, receives a frightening vision of his warren's imminent destruction. He and his brother Hazel fail to convince their chief rabbit of the need to evacuate, they set out on their own, accompanied by nine other rabbits who choose to go with them. After eluding the Owsla, the warren's military caste that believe they are trying to spread dissent against the chief, they make their way out into the world. Hazel quickly and suddenly finds himself the leader of the travelling group. After a series of dangerous situations, they come across a rabbit named Cowslip that invites them to join his warren. At first Hazel’s group are relieved, but soon several of them—especially Fiver—believe something is wrong which is confirmed when Bigwig is nearly killed in a snare. Fiver tells the group that Cowslip’s warren is managed by a farmer who protects and feeds the rabbits, but also harvests several of them for their meat and skins. Hazel’s group continue their journey and are joined by Strawberry, a rabbit from Cowslip’s warren. Following Fiver’s visions, the group finds a safe place to settle, the titular Watership Down. They are found by Holly, the head of the Sandleford Owlsa, and Bluebell find the group and related the violent human destruction of their former warren. Hazel soon realizes the new warren needs does or it would eventually die out. With the help of their useful new friend, a black-headed gull named Kehaar, they locate a nearby warren called Efrafa, which is overcrowded and has many does. Hazel sends a small embassy, led by Holly, to Efrafa to present their request for does. Hazel scouts the nearby Nuthanger Farm finding two pairs of hutch rabbits that express willingness to come to Watership. Hazel leads a raid on the farm the next day and rescues the does and one buck but at the cost of Hazel getting seriously injured a hind-leg. The embassy returns with news that Efrafa is a police state led by the despotic General Woundwort that they barely escaped. However, Holly's group has managed to identify an Efrafan doe named Hyzenthlay who wishes to leave the warren and can recruit other does to join in the escape. Hazel and Bigwig devise a plan to rescue Hyzenthlay's group and bring them to Watership Down; Bigwig is sent to do the mission, with infrequent help from Kehaar, and the group escape using a raft. Again, Bigwig nearly dies in the escape attempt. Once they are at Watership Down, the Efrafan escapees start their new life of freedom. Shortly thereafter, the Owsla of Efrafa, led by Woundwort himself, attacks but their surprise is ruined by Hazel’s friendship with the field mice. Through Bigwig's bravery and loyalty, and Hazel's ingenuity, the Watership Down rabbits seal the fate of the Efrafan general by unleashing the Nuthanger Farm watchdog. After the battle Woundwort is missing and Bigwig severally injured while Hazel is almost killed by one of the Nuthanger cats but saved by the farm girl Lucy. The epilogue finds Hazel visited by El-ahrairah, the spiritual overseer of all rabbits and hero of the traditional rabbit stories told over the course of the book. He invites Hazel to join his own Owsla, which Hazel does after assurance of the warren's success and its future.

How can a nearly 500-page book about rabbits be so entertaining? Is this a children’s story or just literature? Honestly, I don’t care as this book was a fantastic read from the characters to the various adventures to the unique types of warrens that Adams has the rabbits encounter and create. In any case I will never view rabbits the same again, both in a good and a bad way (they are violent little furballs).

Watership Down is a fantastic book with not only adventures but stories of adventures that inspire said rabbits. Richard Adams crafted not only a great narrative but great characters that grew throughout the book. This book was recommended this book by a friend and now I can recommend it to others as well.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Watership Down by Richard Adams, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Star Wars by George Lucas from The Star Wars Trilogy.

>95 mattries37315:
Thank you for helping me revisit that. I read Watership Down when it first came out, but have not been back to the book since.

Have you seen the 1978 film?

We read Watership Down in my second year at high school (age 12-13). It was one of the best books I read in my entire school career. Who knew one could be so emotionally engaged by a group of rabbits?

The film is a classic which anyone who has seen it will remember very well.

>95 mattries37315:; >96 -pilgrim-:: >97 Sakerfalcon:
I read Watership Down when I was about twenty-one. I really enjoyed it and the film. The thing that struck me was how violent the bunnies were. :-) I can now understand the rabbit in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. :-)

>96 -pilgrim-: I haven't seen the film, but glad I helped you revisit the book.

>97 Sakerfalcon: I know Adams did a great job making you care for them.

>98 pgmcc: I told my coworker who recommended the book to me the same thing about Monty Python.

>99 mattries37315: Great minds!
:-)

>100 pgmcc: I would recommend it. Fiver 's visions are extremely memorable.

Star Wars by George Lucas

Based on earlier drafts of the industry changing film of the same name, Star Wars gave readers an early view of the film that would change media forever. Though credited to George Lucas, it was ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster to very mixed results.

Not surprisingly the novel follows the narrative of the film, but with added scenes that help flesh out some of the backstory of characters and elements of the setting. While these aren’t surprising, what is surprising is that the novelization is based on earlier drafts of the film script and before the film was edited due to important scenes that are radically different between the two. These differences are not entirely bad, but they could have been better if they were well written. Throughout the novelization the writing is dry or clunky and the dialogue somewhat wooden, if not for the fact that I knew the plot of the film and was able to power through it might have taken me longer to read the story.

The novelization of Star Wars is fine as Alan Dean Foster did an admirable job in fleshing out the backstory though the overall quality of the writing isn’t his best. Personally, I would stick with the film as the novelization does not really add to the overall narrative.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Star Wars by George Lucas from The Star Wars Trilogy, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Crescent Dawn by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler.

>95 mattries37315: I watched the old movie decades ago and was both enthralled and horrified. I have since listened to the audio and found it much more to my liking. I'd like to give the Netflix remake a shot one of these days. My 'To Watch' list is not as bad as my 'To Read' stack, but it's still out of control.

Crescent Dawn by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler

Records recovered from the ancient port of Caesarea, Roman artifacts aboard a sunken Ottoman gallery off Turkey, and two murderous siblings looking to resurrect the Ottoman Empire. Crescent Dawn is the twenty-first book of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series and fourth with his son Dirk, finds the Pitt family in the eastern Mediterranean and Britain unknowing find evidence to an ancient mystery while coming across political terrorists and rogue archaeologists.

The plot begins first in 327 AD a Roman galley carrying cargo so important that a contingent of the Emperor Constantine’s own guard is aboard when it is attacked by pirates off Crete before jumping 1916 in which a British warship mysteriously explodes and sinks in the North Sea. In the present, important mosques in Egypt and Turkey are damaged by planted explosives that raise tensions amongst Muslims across the Middle East, but especially in secular Turkey where a popular fundamentalist Istanbul imam is convinced to jump into the upcoming Presidential election by Ozden Celik. Celik and his sister Maria are behind the mosque bombings are the heirs to the last Ottoman sultan and are attempting to resurrect their family’s place in the country while also grabbing up anything connected to the Ottoman family. While doing underwater explorations off Turkey and on the Israeli coasts respectfully, Dirk Pitt and Dirk Pitt, Jr., find historic discoveries but the elder Pitt’s gets him in the sights of the Celik’s due to its connection to Sulieman the Magnificent. Pitt and NUMA are instrumental in help prevent a massive terror attack in Istanbul by the Celik’s just days before the election and prevent the fundamentalist candidate from winning. Summer Pitt stumbles upon a manifest in England that dates to the time of Constantine and sheds new light on early Christianity through relics found by his mother Helena but finds herself followed and foiled by a rogue British archaeologist. It turns out all three Pitts have found things connected to the 4th century Roman gallery that is found in a cavern in Crete with numerous holy relics connected with Christ and the disciples.

This book continued the fantastic run of narratives since Dirk Cussler joined his father in writing the series, however this is the first that had some annoying plot holes. The biggest and most important for the narrative plot is how getting a fundamentalist Islamic candidate win the Presidential election of the secular republic of Turkey would lead to the Celiks once again coming to power, without really touching on this the Celiks are just psychopathic terrorist siblings of which Maria is the better character of the two. The secondary antagonist, Bannister Ridley, was a cleaver annoying—in a good way—character that added spice to the book. The Pitts being split up into individual stories before coming together at the end was smart decision because it allowed Dirk Jr. and Summer to grow as characters even though Pitt and Al Giordino continued to be the A-subplot.

Crescent Dawn continues the strong narrative installments since Dirk Cussler has joined his father in writing though a significant plot hole marred it slightly. Regardless of the usual clichés of the series, Clive Cussler’s signature franchise is going through its best stretch of books.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Crescent Dawn by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler , feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Grant by Ron Chernow.

>86 mattries37315: >93 mattries37315: >94 mattries37315: Thanks for those reviews, they all sound good. How does Merry stack up against Chernow or McCullough? I thought Grant was fantastic, btw.

>105 Karlstar: You're welcome. If you had asked about Merry after the McKinley book, I would have given him a favorable comparison with the caveat that he wanted to focus more on McKinley's time as President and thus pre-White House years were given a barebones treatment. After reading the Polk biography, I began questioning how well researched the McKinley biography was and if Merry describe the political landscape accurately because there were glaring issues in Polk.

So far Grant is fantastic and I'm currently in the 1868 campaign. Given I read Chernow's Hamilton (years before the musical) and Washington biographies when I had a selection between several Grant biographies Chernow's name on the cover made the selection easy.

>106 mattries37315: I haven't read Hamilton yet, but I liked Washington as well.

This Fiery Trial: The Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln edited by William E. Gienapp

This collection in the words of editor William E. Gienapp is to “provide the most direct record of his (Lincoln) ideas.” Given that Abraham Lincoln was a public individual, as hardly any of his private non-political correspondence survived, his speeches and writings not only shows his progression in eloquence and learn but how his political thoughts developed over the decades from 1831 to the end of his life. Divided into seven chapters separated by years—the first chapter covering the longest period—especially when it came to his years in the White House. Lincoln’s most famous speeches are the obvious highlights of the book, but other speeches and letters are added bonuses.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of This Fiery Trial: The Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln by William E. Gienapp, feel free to comment here or there.

Grant by Ron Chernow

The man who was Lincoln’s main military and policy instrument then ultimately his true political heir has been maligned as a martial brute to his supposedly noble opponent at the tale end of the American Civil War. Grant by Ron Chernow chronicles the life of one of—if not—the greatest general in American history.

As with many biographers, Chernow goes into generations of Grant’s family history—including alcoholism—as well as the personalities of his parents Jesse and Hannah who each shaped Grant for both good and ill. Much the biography covers Grant’s service in the Civil War and his Presidency, yet in the little over 100 pages that Chernow covers Grant’s life from his youth through West Point and career in the military including the Mexican War then his interwar civilian life. Chernow not only used these pages to chronicle the young Grant’s life, but also how the struggle of alcohol and his business naivete that would cause issues throughout the rest of his life. With the start of the Civil War, Chernow goes in-depth into how Grant his first command and then how he slowly progressed up the chain of command while dealing with the rebel soldiers but army politics. Then upon Grant’s ascent into the high councils of Washington, Chernow shows how he reassured Lincoln that he was his man and fully embraced his agenda. It was this adherence to Lincoln’s vision that ultimately led Grant to accept the Republican nomination in 1868 and his policy in the South throughout his presidency. Throughout the pages dedicated to Grant’s time in office while the scandals surrounding those individuals that he naively appointed and supported were covered but Chernow balanced it out with achievements of Grant and many of his outstanding cabinet members did during the eight years. Though devoting a little more space to the later years of Grant’s life than those prior to 1860, Chernow focused on Grant’s battle with cancer as he raced to write his memoirs then his legacy.

Chernow knowing the general view of Grant as an alcoholic that defeated Lee through manpower and resources then presiding over a scandalous presidency took his time to address during the biography via themes throughout. Grant’s battle with alcohol was a constant theme until the latter end of his presidency and post-presidency when it appears the presence of his wife Julia and Grant’s own determination essentially conquered the problem. Throughout the Civil War portion of the text Chernow examines Grant’s tactical and strategic thinking especially when he was facing off with Robert E. Lee in Virginia or more accurately tying down Lee’s army while the rest of Union forces crushed the armies opposing them and the will of rebel civilians. Chernow’s chronicling of the scandals of Grant’s presidency was firmly tied to Grant’s naivete with people and always supporting people who he believed to be his friends, something that made him a huge mark for flim-flam men of the Gilded Age. While Chernow’s biography could be seen as “revisionism” by today’s historical readers, it could also be seen as reversing the ‘Lost Cause revisionism’ that occurred during Grant’s own lifetime.

Grant is a fantastic addition to Ron Chernow’s chronicle of great American lives like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. Chernow shows that while Grant was flawed like everyone else, his status today is beginning to return to where it was after he militarily reunited the country after being diminished by those who wanted to pretend the American Civil War didn’t happen.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Grant by Ron Chernow, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reviewing The Empire Strikes Back by Donald F. Gult from The Star Wars Trilogy.

The Empire Strikes Back by Donald F. Glut

The novelization of one of the greatest film sequels in history came out a month before its release on the big scene but the biggest surprise in film history didn’t hit the cultural zeitgeist. The Empire Strikes Back novelization by Donald F. Glut brings the amazing film to the page.

The novelization sticks close to the flow of the film without many extra scenes to flesh out the overall story. What could not be expressed on screen, the inner thoughts of characters and what the flow of the Force is like to name just a few, is included in the narrative and helps flesh out the overall feel of the galaxy far, far away. Due to being based on a previous draft of the script there are continuality artifacts, the biggest is Yoda who is blue. Unlike the Star Wars novelization this was a very readable adaptation resulting in completing it faster than its predecessor.

The Empire Strikes Back is a good novelization as Donald F. Glut was able bring the film to the page in a very readable manner. Though the film is preferred, the novelization is something nice to while away the time.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of The Empire Strikes Back by Donald F. Gult from The Star Wars Trilogy, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reviewing Red Country by Joe Abercrombie.

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie

What would a fantasy western be like? Red Country the sixth book and third standalone novel of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law world answers that question in its blood-splattered pages with a cast of morally questionable characters some of whom are looking to save family, become better, and to get rich.

Shy South, her sister Ro, brother Pit, and their stepfather Lamb live on a farmstead near the little town of Squaredeal in the Near Country, a lawless and large unsettled land west of the Union ruled Starikland that is constantly in rebellion. While Shy and Lamb are in town, their farm is burned to the ground, their friend Gully murdered, and Shy’s siblings kidnapped by an indebted Grega Cantliss who plans to sell children to the Dragon People who reside in the mountains northwest of the goldrush boom town of Crease. Shy and Lamb begin chasing Cantliss’ gang and eventually find three deserters who Lamb beats up for information then kills in a tavern in Averstock to Shy’s surprise. The legendary scout Dab Sweet and his ‘associate’ Crying Rock catch up with the duo and offer them a chance to join their caravan to Crease in the Far Country that they accept. Meanwhile the Union with ‘help’ by Nicomo Cosca’s mercenary company defeats the most recent rebellion in Starikland, Cosca’s company is paid by the Inquisition to head into the Near Country to find rebels much to the chagrin of the Company’s lawyer, Temple. After sacking Squaredeal, Temple and another Company solider go into Averstock to convince the rebels to save the townspeople but Cosca sends in the Company to sack it before the time he gave them was up. Temple runs from the Company and through a series of misadventures falls into a river and is saved by Shy and allowed to join the caravan but in Shy’s debt that he must work off. The biggest incident on the trip was an attack by the Ghosts, native tribesmen, lead by Sangeed through the instigation of Sweet and Crying Rock to get money for their retirement. After fighting off the Ghosts, Lamb kills Sangeed at the negotiation leading the band retreating. Upon their arrival in Crease, Shy and Lamb learn that Cantliss is employed by Papa Ring who is feuding with The Mayor with each control one-half of the city (on either side of the only street in town). Lamb agrees to fight for The Mayor in an upcoming fight for control of the town and later learns his opponent is Glama Golden. Temple helps build a shop for one of the caravan’s participants to finish off his debt to Shy and at the party upon its completion hooks up with Shy but runs out on her when Cantiss bursts into their room to kidnap her before the fighting. Another of the caravan’s members rescues Shy during Lamb’s fight in which he goes berserk and kills Golden resulting in The Mayor winning the town. Ring is hung and Cantliss is captured to lead Shy and Lamb to the Dragon People when Cosca appears forcing a change of plans. Shy, Lamb, Dab, Crying Rock, and a few others of the caravan lead Cosca’s company now including Temple again to the Dragon People and rescue Ro and Pit along with many others as the mercenaries ransack the mountain hideaway that includes a cave full of gold. On the way back, one of the caravan’s members is found out to be the leader of the Starikland rebellion leading to the rest of the caravan members attempting to rescue him by stealing the Company’s pay wagon while Lamb fights his way into where the Inquisition is questioning him. Temple and Shy crash the wagon but are saved by the real rebel leader who takes the gold to start a new war. They return to Crease before the mercenaries and arrange a trick to convince them that the town has pledged allegiance to the slowly rising Old Empire, the Inquisition strips Cosca of leadership of the Company and head back to Starikland. Lamb returns a few days later and the family head home only for Cosca to reappear only to be killed. Upon their return to Squaredeal, Shy takes over the general store while Temple becomes a carpenter/lawyer. One day Caul Shivers appears looking for Lamb to get revenge for his brother but decides not to fight. Lamb leaves the same day for his own reasons.

The amount of morally questionable characters in this Joe Abercrombie work should not be a surprise, what is how many of them are at least trying to not be total…jerks. Shy and Temple were both fun characters to read, each having their previous screw ups to live down but also wanting something better. Seeing the return of one of Abercrombie’s best characters from the first trilogy answered the cliffhanger ending he had at the end of The Last Argument of Kings, but his years long struggle to be a better man ended when he once again became the Bloody Nine. Though I have never read a western, this had the feel of one not only with the caravan and it’s obligatory native tribesmen attack but also a goldrush boom town that its literally isn’t big enough for the two factions opposing one another. Abercrombie also shows that the overall political situation in the world is changing as the Old Empire of the original trilogy is apparently revitalized and a potential rival for the Union, yet the long shadows of the past as seen with the Dragon People means that the fantastic elements of the world are still around ready to play a role.

Red Country is the answer to the question we didn’t know to ask, what would a western be like set in Joe Abercrombie’s First Law world. The mixture of previously established and newly introduced character makes a engaging story that keeps you reading from beginning to end.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Red Country by Joe Abercrombie, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Poseidon's Arrow by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler.

Red country is my favourite of Abercrombie's books that I've read, probably because as you note, many of them "are at least trying to not be total…jerks". I also enjoyed the town politics.

>109 mattries37315: Glad you liked Grant, I thought it was excellent.

>112 Sakerfalcon: The same about town politics, it was interesting to see The Mayor making another appearance.

>113 Karlstar: Chernow is now an automatic biography buy whenever a new one comes out from now on.

>114 mattries37315: I think so too, the only history writer I prefer more now is Atkinson.

>115 Karlstar: I grabbed the first book of his series on the American Revolution last year, instant love. Buying and reading as they come out.

Poseidon's Arrow by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler

The huge leap forward in technology has the United States poised to make every submarine fleet obsolete, but the need for rare earth metals and industrial espionage put it at risk. Poseidon’s Arrow is the twenty-second book of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series and the fifth with his son Dirk, as NUMA Director Dirk Pitt finds himself attempt to protect the interests of the United States like he did back in the day.

In 1943, an Italian submarine-turned-freighter sails the Indian Ocean with material from Japanese-occupied territory headed for Germany when an American plane flies over and damages it so it can not complete its mission. In the present day, the President learns of a secret prototype attack submarine the United States is developing, but just after he learns about it a ruthless an Austrian-born multimillionaire with a vendetta plans on stealing its plans to sell to the Chinese while stopping the development of the prototype. A group of mercenaries knocks out a California mine that specializes in rare earth metals and kills an engineer and defense contractor that are developing the new sub then steal the engineers plans before also stealing one of the submarines revolutionary new engines. Dirk Pitt and NUMA enter the scene when bringing up the dead engineer’s boat only to be attacked by the mercenaries, then it is a race between the two to find first the plans then later the engine with the mercenaries always a step ahead or right on Pitt’s tail which leads to him and Al Giordino getting captured while attempting to stop a hijacking of a shipment of rare earth metals to the United States thanks to an informant. The Chinese while not opposed to paying for all the technology they can get, learn that the millionaire is stealing their rare earth metals as well and decide that enough is enough. A Chinese spy plans to destroy the millionaire’s secret refining facility alongside the Panama Canal where Pitt and Giordino were taken eventually meeting Pitt when he escapes. Pitt, alongside his children, leads a Panamanian security back to the facility just before it blows to save everyone else slaving away there when he learns that the stolen engine and plans are coming through the Canal. Pitt stops the stealing of the engine and gets back the stolen plans though doing so results in the destruction of one of the Canal’s locks. Meanwhile off Madagascar, Dirk Jr. and Summer are attacked in a NUMA submersible by a boat owned by the same antagonist after getting to shore Summer finds the remains of some of the crew of the Italian submarine as well as the boat’s logbook. After finding their father in Panama, the two’s investigation leads them to Terra del Fuego where the submarine had been washed up on shore decades after it’s last appearance. Inside, the twins find tons of rare earth metals that the United States’ purchases from Italy to complete the prototype submarine.

Once again, Dirk Cussler’s writing alongside his father brought a fun narrative to the series. Unfortunately for the second book in a row there were issues that weren’t present in the first three books that father and son cowrote. There were two major issues that were really annoying with the first being Pitt at his age and what he had gone through doing what he did during the climax especially since several books ago he complained he should not be put in those situations again. The second was that the chief mercenary instead of killing a NCIS investigator that he happened upon while stealing the engine, he takes her with him so he can have sex (rape) just so she can be in danger during the Panama Canal chase. The appearance of a Chinese spy and the regulation of Dirk Jr. and Summer to an essentially tertiary position in the story makes me fearful that Clive wants to go back to Cold War spy novels that the early books of the series had while completely forgetting why he decided to retcon the existence of twins, the age of Dirk Pitt.

Poseidon’s Arrow continues a string of good narratives written by Clive and Dirk Cussler, but for the second book in a row there are issues that while annoying doesn’t derail everything.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Poseidon's Arrow by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reviewing Return of the Jedi by James Kahn from The Star Wars Trilogy.

Return of the Jedi by James Kahn

The novelization to the final film of the original trilogy came out close to the theatrical release, but hopefully those purchasing it decided to read it after seeing the film. Return of the Jedi by James Kahn transfers the script into literature.

The novelization flows the film without any new scenes to expand the narrative of the story. Kahn wrote action scenes good, but his writing character’s internal thoughts could not even be called a mixed bag. The main trio’s internal thoughts were passable in the case of Luke, bad in the case of Han, and done right awful for Leia while Vader’s thoughts came off as someone struggling which was effective, in fact the only internal thoughts that came off well were those of Lando Calrissian. Kahn didn’t really go into how the Ewoks had all those traps set up to fight the Imperial troops, but he worded well enough that it made better sense than what was in the film.

Return of the Jedi is an okay novelization as James Kahn brought out good action scenes but came up lacking with internal thoughts. I would not recommend the novelization and suggest sticking with the film.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Return of the Jedi by James Kahn from The Star Wars Trilogy, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reviewing The Star Wars Trilogy.

>116 mattries37315: Have you read Atkinson's WWII trilogy?

>119 Karlstar: No.

The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas, Donald F. Glut, and James Kahn

This collection of novelizations of the original trilogy of the Star Wars franchise is based on film scripts that Alan Dean Foster (ghostwriting for George Lucas), Donald F. Glut, and James Kahn used to bring the films to the printed page. Ultimately only Glut’s treatment of The Empire Strikes Back is the best of the bunch as it was readable, and the characterizations were good. Unfortunately, Dean’s Star Wars and Kahn’s Return of the Jedi while each having one good thing to them were overwhelmed by either poor writing or horrible internalization of characters along with a myriad of other issues to go along side them. I would recommend watching the films over the reading this collection if you’re a general reader, but if you want to dip your toe into the novelizations go for The Empire Strikes Back.

Star Wars by George Lucas
The Empire Strikes Back by Donald F. Glut 3/5
Return of the Jedi by James Kahn 2/5

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas, Donald F. Glut, and James Kahn, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading FDR by Jean Edward Smith.

>117 mattries37315: I didn't know Clive was still writing in any capacity. I used to enjoy the earlier ones for what they are, but haven't been back to read them, nor caught anything beyond about sahara. His authorial cameos were always amusing.

>122 reading_fox: Beginning with the 18th book, Black Wind, Clive son Dirk joined him as a cowriter. Since then the quality of the narratives have been very good to okay but as I noted in my recent review some issues have cropped up. Clive passed away in February 2020 after book 25 came out in paperback, but apparently he and his son had written enough of book 26 that his son felt he could finish it and it's apparently coming out in January next year I believe.

Personally I think Inca Gold is the best book of the series.

FDR by Jean Edward Smith

He is the man who served in office the longest and once the most Presidential elections in history, he is most identifiable by his initials. FDR by Jean Edward Smith shows the life of the 32nd President of the United States from his birth in high society New York to his death just months before total victory in World War II.

From the outset Smith makes the reader aware Franklin Delano Roosevelt is one of the most written about of Presidents thus giving an indication that he will not do anything new but give a new generation of readers a straightforward look into Roosevelt’s life. Three-quarters of the book is Smith’s text with the final quarter being notes and an index, but during the biography proper Smith’s footnotes are in-depth and as interesting as what is in the text proper. Smith devotes a little over a third of the biography to Roosevelt’s life before his run for the 1932 Democratic nomination thus transitioning to focusing on the final 13 years of Roosevelt’s life. During that first third, Smith not only covers Roosevelt’s life but also foreshadows how his early political career in New York would later affect his entrance to Washington politics as Assistant Secretary of State and his later New York career as Governor. While in Washington Smith shows how Roosevelt learned the ways of the city that would come in handing once he assumed the Presidency. Once on the national stage, Smith gives the political backstories to campaigns and later to battles for legislation as well as the overall atmosphere of the Great Depression of the time. Yet while Smith devotes most of the biography to Roosevelt in the White House there is no really in-depthness like some books that devote themselves entirely to an individual’s Presidency and this is telling once the U.S. enters World War II as Smith essentially says ‘FDR did not micromanage the military once he made decision to an objective and left the generals do their thing’ while barely covering his relationship with Churchill.

FDR gives a detailed—but not in-depth—look at the life of the longest-serving President in the history of the United States. Jean Edward Smith writes in an engaging style for a very readable book but with wonderful footnotes that adds to the text. For a general biography this is a must read, but those looking for political or military details this is not.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of FDR by Jean Edward Smith, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Piranesi by Susanna Clarke.

Oxymoronica by Dr. Mardy Grothe

Oxymoronica is essentially a collection of oxymoronic and paradoxical quotes throughout history as assembled by Dr. Mardy Grothe. Dividing the book and the collection into 14 separate entries (literature, politics, wit & wisdom, etc.), Grothe gives introductions to each category and giving examples to the part of the collection he is emphasizing before finished the last half of the chapter with quotes from various sources. Though Grothe tries to bring context and interest to each topical entry, it sometimes comes off as pompous. Overall the collection is pretty interesting, but it’s not the greatest read.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Oxymoronica by William E. Gienapp, feel free to comment here or there.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

You find yourself living a charmed existence thanks to the wonderful World that provides for you, but what if you find all you believe to be real was a way to cope with being trapped in a magical pocket dimension? Piranesi by Susanna Clarke follows the journey of the titular character slowly learning over time that what he thought was reality was not what it seems.

Clarke immediately puts the reader into the fantastical element of this story with the titular character’s narration of journey in the House and its labyrinthine set of statue-dominated Halls in all directions. But Piranesi’s insistence of “the World” having had only fifteen people of which only two are living as the rest our skeletons gives the reader a sense of something not quite right especially when we meet “The Other”. The happy and seemingly content journal entries slowly change throughout the book especially our narrator goes back to his earliest journal entries as his world becomes increasingly crowded with new faces appearing in the many Halls. The book’s conclusion of man recovering from traumatically caused mental breakdown readjusting to our world while still being able to travel to his wonderous prison to keep himself grounded ends his story on a sad yet hopeful note for his future.

Piranesi is a magical, yet sad tale of a man just attempting to live only to realize everything he had believed was a way to cope with a traumatizing situation he finds himself in. Susanna Clarke is able to find a way to give us insight into the though process of a individual having suffered a mental breakdown and learning how it happened to him.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reviewing Breach of Peace by Daniel B. Greene.

Breach of Peace by Daniel B. Greene

You begin the day in the heart of an empire lead by the Almighty who came personally to change life and at the end of the day, you realize you live in a dystopia. Breach of Peace is the debut work of Daniel B. Greene, the first of a trilogy of novellas that introduce his world.

Though the book follows the investigation of an extremely violent crime by three top inspectors of God’s own police, it gives a look into how average people view the area they live in and by the end how what they believed is completely wrong. Greene mixes a crime mystery in a fantasy world that quickly is ensnarled in political intrigue with significant religious overtones that is a lot to attempt in 134 pages with so-so results. The three main characters—Inspectors Khlid, her husband Sam, and their colleague Chapman—are a mix of good and cliché. The main narrative viewpoint of Khlid is well written in which we get a feel for the world an average person experiences—though from a law enforcement perception—and how it comes crashing down, Sam comes off as a quick-tempered cliché while Chapman comes off as a smart incompetent especially when one considers his divided loyalties. Given that the beginning s dark with the aftermath of a violent crime, the fact that the ending is darker not in violence but how a character’s worldview is completely shattered is effective.

Breach of Peace is a nice debut work as Daniel B. Greene gives readers a look into the fantasy world he is creating. Some elements work as well as some characters, he attempts to put a lot in a small page count to mixed results, but he does have good prose that makes for an engaging reading experience.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Breach of Peace by Daniel B. Greene, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Havana Storm by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler.

The Hoopa Project: Bigfoot Encounters in California by David Paulides

A trained law enforcement professional turns his skills to investigating Bigfoot incidents and sightings based on witness interviews. The Hoopa Project: Bigfoot Encounters in California by David Paulides provides the results of a years long investigation in a specific area.

Paulides’ years as a police investigator shows early with his matter-of-fact recounting of how he got interested in the search for Bigfoot and what convinced him that it might be worth his time. This straightforward approach continued throughout the book especially in what led him to selecting the Hoopa Valley in northwestern California to be the focus of his search and how he gained the trust of the residents of the Hoopa Indian Reservation to get interviews and asked for signed affidavits. Paulides’ use of affidavits and the hiring of law enforcement forensic artist Harvey Pratt, a member the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe, to draw sketches based on interviews with witnesses gives this book extra weight for those believers and skeptics that read the book. Unfortunately, it appears the later editions, one of which I read, reproduces the images only in black and white thus making maps hard to decipher for the information that were included to provide. While Paulides straightforward writing can seem dry it provides evidence of his law enforcement background which makes it attempts at engaging the reader with more personable language jarring. As part of each witness interview Paulides gives the reader a description of the location based on his personal research in the area, however his attempts to connect a location to other witnesses comes off awkward due to referencing accounts that appear later in the book while not identifying where said account could be found in the text. Yet while these writing decisions are annoying, they do not take away from overall effort.

The Hoopa Project is the first to two books David Paulides wrote in the late 2000s before going on to his more well-known Missing 411 series. Overall, it’s an intriguing read for those interested in the search for Bigfoot.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of The Hoopa Project by David Paulides, feel free to comment here or there.

>128 mattries37315: I may have to look for that. Sounds like it is almost in my backyard. Not really, as I am in the valley, but I and my family have been all through that area. Really lovely wilderness. None of us saw anything remotely like Bigfoot though.

>129 MrsLee: I had heard of Paulides because of his Missing 411 series, but didn't realize he had written a book on Bigfoot/Sasquatch until I saw two copies of this book in the Speculation section at my local used bookstore. I couldn't pass it up.

Punderworld (Volume One) by Linda Sejic

How the earth got its seasons has been mythologized across the planet, one of the most famous comes from the Greeks and has been immortalized in various forms by Western culture. Punderworld (Volume One) by author-artist Linda Sejic is an awkward and relatable retelling of the myth.

When Sejic began sketching Greek gods during a creative break from her series Blood Stain she did not intend to create another graphic novel series, however as illustrated in her bonus material her characters Vlad and Eliot “begged” to be the templates for Hades and Persephone then suddenly she began doing scenes that led to an entire graphic novel. Sejic portrays Hades and Persephone as secret admirers for centuries who suddenly find themselves thrown together after Zeus tries to “help” in typical Zeus fashion by abducting Persephone and Hades attempts to stop it. Besides the two primary characters, the Zeus and Demeter appear as major secondary characters with the latter being a well-meaning overly protective mother true to the myth. But besides a well plotted story, a graphic novel must have the artwork to back it up and frankly Linda Sejic brings the story to life through her art. Not only does the reader have to follow the dialogue and the actions of the characters they must take notice of the overall scene for the subtle clues of what is going on behind the characters’ back and what is going to happen. It’s hard not to drone on, but frankly Sejic’s work speaks for itself and should be experienced book in hand.

Punderworld (Volume One) begins the retelling of a well-known myth just more awkward than the reader is used to. Linda Sejic not only writes a fantastic story, her art catches the eye.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Punderworld by Linda Sejic, feel free to comment here or there.

How the Post Office Created America: A History by Winifred Gallagher

It began before the Revolution and was required to be proved for by the Constitution itself, the Post Office. How the Post Office Created America: A History by Winifred Gallagher covers the three-century plus long history of delivering the mail in America.

Throughout Gallagher’s text she brought forth evidence to support her argument yet save for helping foster the airline industry the Post Office appeared to have more of a symbiotic relationship with the country. Gallagher’s historical narrative begins early in the 1700s and ends approximately in the early 2010s, through this three-century period the ups and downs of the post in America were chronicles and how it interacted with the establishment of other forms of communication. The fascinating information that was brought forth were the crisis of the 1840s that changed the Post Office for the next century and the “golden age” from 1890-1920. Gallagher’s highlighting of various Postmasters General that headed the department that either innovated services or helped it in its time of need. The book also highlights the main efforts that some have attempted to privatize the post instead of being a public service and in the Afterward Gallagher explains the three scenarios of the now USPS could head in the future.

How the Post Office Created America is a look at the long history of the post in the United States and how it shaped and was shaped by the nation. Winifred Gallagher brought a lot of information to the text to support her argument, while I personally came away with a different conclusion based on the same it was an intriguing read.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of How the Post Office Created America by Winifred Gallagher, feel free to comment here or there.

Oddly Normal Book 4 by Otis Frampton

After an interesting first week in Fignation, Oddly Normal is looking to begin a not so exciting routine to her life but she’s quickly learning that might not be the case. Oddly Normal Book 4 continues Otis Frampton’s young adult series with ‘classic’ storytelling.

Otis Frampton begins the series’ second story arc with Oddly learning more about Fignation as whole while meeting new characters from Ragnar and Reggie’s father, interacting with Oddly’s favorite comic book character who is fellow student, and their new old teacher who isn’t finished with Oddly. Frampton introduces young readers not only to elements of Mary Shelley’s classic novel but it’s most famous movie adaptation as well as classic comic tropes which all serve as both giving background to Fignation but also foreshadow events in Oddly’s own story in the future. Frampton’s art is vibrant and effective mood setting that enhances the storytelling, which given the medium is a major plus.

Oddly Normal Book 4 finds Otis Frampton giving his readers a follow up to the dramatic events of the previous installment while introducing them to classic tropes in an entertaining way.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Oddly Normal Book 4 by Otis Frampton, feel free to comment here or there.

>133 mattries37315: I think your original touchstone/title there is incorrect!

>134 Karlstar: Nuts. Thanks.

>135 mattries37315: Makes perfect sense now.

Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson

War always brings about innovation, but when immortal forces begin their conflict again like they’ve always done anything new will have dramatic consequences. Rhythm of War, fourth installment of Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive sees the war over a year old and looking like it might be a long conflict.

This latest installment takes place a year after the events of Oathbringer, Sanderson bridges the time gap for each character in various ways—Kaladin in battle, Shallan in an undercover situation, etc.—that is explanative while not making the beginning of the book a slog. While dealing with the war from the perspective of at least one participant from each side, Sanderson tackles the effects of various mental illnesses that two of his primary characters must learn to cope with as part of their greater narrative arcs which came across as well written and not glossed over. However, in attempting not to shortchange the issues the characters are dealing with it feels Sanderson dwells on them too much in some scenes. The twist-and-turns in allegiances in the war, the surprising other half of one of the most infamous events in the history of Roshar, and the agreement between two characters to bring the war to an end in a short time highlight the climax of the penultimate volume of the first half of the series.

Rhythm of War is filled with twists and turns in both the narrative and character development that sets the stage for what is shaping up to be a stunning climax to mark the end of the series’ first half. With each new book Brandon Sanderson expands the connections of the Cosmere and Roshar appears to be the place where a showdown will eventually take place, but what kind and between who is going to be interesting to find out.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reviewing Havana Storm by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler.

Havana Storm by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler

An Aztec treasure that influences the history between the United States and Cuba plus adding into the narrative a Cuban underwater mining operation that is causing ecological damage that is linked to political shenanigans of the island nation’s leadership. Havana Storm is the twenty-third book in Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series and the sixth cowritten by his son Dirk.

A standard novel for the series with a fun narrative that has been the hallmark of the younger Cussler’s time writing with his father. As with the last two novels Clive goes back to the well with the elder Dirk being the hero and damsel-in-distress savior, this time with his daughter Summer being said damsel multiple times though on one occasion she is more active in saving herself. A nice change of pattern was the inclusion of a wealthy industrialist that isn’t a massive dirt bag but a nice human being. Unlike the hard retcon of Trojan Odyssey that has occurred over the past few books, this book had a soft retcon of some elements of Cyclops though the ones left in should have resulted in a few different narrative choices especially concerning the elder Pitt.

Havana Storm continues the fun narratives that have marked the series since Dirk Cussler has joined his father in writing, however Clive’s desire to keep on fall back on tropes continues to be a downside that has hamstrung these last few books.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Havana Storm by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Edward IV by Charles Ross.

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House in the Big Woods recounts a little over a year in the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder living in the Wisconsin backwoods in the 1870s. Wilder recounts various events in her childhood that gives a modern-day reader a glimpse of what life was like in the northern frontier when your nearest neighbor was miles away, a trip to town a few hours would be an all-day affair, and wild animals of all sorts would visit throughout the year. Given the period written about and at what time Wilder wrote the book, there are things that would not be written or printed today however a responsible parent or educator would use that as an excellent teaching moment. And the illustrations of Garth Williams are a nice addition to the book and bring some of the stories to better perspective.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder, feel free to comment here or there.

Edward IV by Charles Ross

A devastating battle resulted in his father and younger brother dead leading to him taking up his family’s claim to the throne of England and he took it. Charles Ross’ Edward IV is the first modern biography of the first Yorkist king.

Ross essentially divided this biography into three parts, one for each of Edward’s reigns and how Edward governed over the course of his time on the throne. Edward’s reputation over the centuries was either a strong warrior-king or a lazy, debauched ruler who partied himself into an early grave depend on who was reviewing him; Ross revealed that both opinions were true as Edward was a charismatic individual who inspired men to fight for him but coming to the throne at such a young age made him enjoy it. Ross’ lively writing describing Edward’s reigns stood in stark contrast to his writing of Edward’s governance which was dry and at times snooze-inducing, while I understood Ross’ decision to compare various economic or law-and-order issues from both reigns it might have been better to mix the governance in with the happenings of the reigns.

Edward IV looks at the man who founded a dynasty that lasted only two years past his death but began laying down the foundations that the Tudors would use to transform England especially his famous grandson, Henry.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Edward IV by Charles Ross, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks.

The Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks

The novelization of The Phantom Menace, the first in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, was written based off the script of film by famed fantasy author Terry Brooks.

Brooks generally follows the script of the film, but importantly adds several scenes that help give background to several key characters. The chief beneficiary of the added scenes was Anakin Skywalker, who unknowingly has been using the Force his entire life to do amazing things as a 9-year-old especially as a podracer. Unlike the film where the identity of Darth Sidious is quickly known, Brooks effectively hides Padme Amidala’s dual identity through there clues are subtle enough for someone who has never watched the film. Though Jar Jar Binks can get on the reader’s nerves, Brooks is able to write him to be not so annoying as in the film and seeing things from his perspective is interesting. While Brooks can’t completely change the dialogue from the screenplay, he’s able to make it more palatable.

The Phantom Menace is a novelization that improves upon the film in various ways, which says something about the film itself and the quality of writing by Terry Brooks.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Odessa Sea by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler.

Odessa Sea by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler

Three eras of Russian history in the last century converge in a dangerous combination of treasure, war, personal greed, and personal vengeance that affect four nations in various ways. Odessa Sea is the twenty-fourth book in Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series and the seventh cowritten with his son Dirk.

After three consecutive books that had fun narratives but were weighed down by tired tropes, the Cusslers wrote a book on par with their first three collaborative efforts. The backdrop of the still ongoing, even in 2021, Russo-Ukrainian war and an apparently duplicitous industrialist that appears to be selling weapons to both sides but with an agenda quite different was a great twist at the end of the book. The black-market smugglers-salvagers that the elder Pitt deals with throughout the book’s main subplot were competent villains, one half of which were stopped by Pitt and Giordino doing their thing while the other half were taken out by the antagonist of the second subplot. Dirk and Summer’s battle with a Russian spy to find missing Romanov gold was a fun mystery—that once again took them to London which is becoming a trope now—which featured the antagonist-antagonist battle and Summer for once not being a damsel-in-distress but showing she had the Pitt genes to take care of herself.

Odessa Sea is the penultimate collaboration between Clive and Dirk Cussler, but of the seven it probably is the best overall book featuring two intriguing subplots that interact in interesting ways without being weighed down by the tired tropes that hampered their previous three efforts.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Odessa Sea by Clive & Dirk Cussler, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading J. N. Andrews: Mission Pioneer, Evangelist, and Thought Leader by Gilbert M. Valentine.

>141 mattries37315: >142 mattries37315: Both of those sound interesting, thanks.

>143 Karlstar: You're welcome. A note for the Dirk Pitt series, you don't have to read all the previous books to know what's going on. While they have references to adventures in previous installments, each book is written so that someone picks up any book in the series and enjoy without getting instantly lost.

Sorry if you already knew this.

>144 mattries37315: No problem! I think the last Cussler I read was Sahara, it has been a while.

>145 Karlstar: Okay. I can also recommend Inca Gold, it was the first Pitt book I had via audiobook back in high school. When I finally read it, it not only held up to the nostalgia but is probably the best book in the series IMHO as it's the only other book I've rated 4 stars besides Odessa Sea.

J.N. Andrews: Mission Pioneer, Evangelist, and Thought Leader by Gilbert M. Valentine

While Joseph Bates, James and Ellen White were the founding triumvirate of what became the Seventh-day Adventist Church, it was the fourth person to join the inner circle of leadership that would systematize the emerging Sabbatarian Advent movement. Gilbert M. Valentine’s J.N. Andrews: Mission Pioneer, Evangelist, and Thought Leader is the first major biography of one of the early Adventism’s most important figures.

Valentine approached Andrews’ biography in a chronological fashion with a few chapters set aside dedicated to Andrews the Sabbath historian and Andrews the theologian. As the longest book within the Adventist Pioneer Series at over 720 pages, one might have assumed that there was a lot to learn of Andrews life, however as Valentine stated in his introduction this book would also focus on James and Ellen White’s leadership in the fledging Sabbatarian Adventist movement. While Valentine’s biographical narrative of Andrews life was very well-written, at times his decision to make this book a secondary biography of essentially James White would effectively sideline Andrews which ironically mirrored real-life events—whether this was intentional on Valentine’s part I can’t guess. The analysis of Andrews as Sabbath historian and theologian were highlights of the book especially the praise Andrews received from Seventh Day Baptists both during his lifetime and today.

The life and scholarship of John Nevins Andrews were not only important during the early history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church but as Gilbert M. Valentine was able to show significant even today.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of J. N. Andrews: Mission Pioneer, Evangelist, and Thought Leader by Gilbert M. Valentine, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Over the last century plus, the affect of combat on its participants has changed in the perception of the population at large and popular culture but the view of anti-war literature seems to change depending on the wider political viewpoint. So it goes. Slaughterhouse-Five is Kurt Vonnegut anti-war magnum opus that not only focuses on the affect of war on its participants but also its crimes against noncombatants.

Billy Pilgrim survived the Battle of the Bulge becoming a prisoner of war and then surviving the firebombing of Dresden, survived a plane crash in Vermont, and was finally abducted by aliens who view time in a different way which helps Pilgrim because he has become “unstuck in time”. Vonnegut writes a layered story with shifting chronological perspective of the protagonist to write an anti-war novel without the text coming out explicitly to say it is an anti-war story. Not only is the anti-war theme present so is the affect of combat on its participants with Pilgrim’s—as a stand in for Vonnegut—PTSD from his time in the Ardennes through being a prisoner to the firebombing of Dresden, which affect everyone differently. A superficial read would say that Pilgrim’s head injury in the plane crash obviously resulted in brain trauma the created his alien delusions and exacerbated his war-related PTSD with more PTSD from the plane crash, but this shows Vonnegut’s writing mastery as there appears to be a simple explanation but doesn’t discount the fact that Pilgrim could still have been abducted by aliens. So it goes.

Slaughterhouse-Five is highly praised, but also can be divisive because of how Kurt Vonnegut wrote it. However, whether the reader turns out liking it or disliking it, this book is a must read. So it goes.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, feel free to comment here or there.

I'll next be reading What If? edited by Robert Cowley

Deuteronomy: The Book of Love by Jiri Moskala

Due to the religious nature of this book, please read my review either at the link above or at the book's LT page.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of Deuteronomy: The Book of Love by Jiri Moskala, feel free to comment here or there.

What If? edited by Robert Cowley

The path untrodden, counterfactual reality, or simply alternate history. Twenty of the late 20th Century’s eminent historians look might have been in the essay anthology What If? edited by contributor Robert Cowley.

The twenty essays range from 701 B.C. Assyrian siege of Jerusalem to Berlin and China early in the Cold War in the middle of the 20th Century, some deal with one event but some deal with several scenarios (i.e., the American Revolution, American Civil War, the beginning of World War I, and the early Cold War in/around Berlin). In addition to the essays were 14 sidebars from other contributors. Of the single scenario essays among the best was Ross Hassig’s “The Immolation of Hernan Cortes” and James M. McPherson’s “If the Lost Order Hadn’t Been Lost” while the two worst were Victor Davis Hanson’s “No Glory That Was Greece” and close second was Lewis H. Lapham “Furor Teutonicus: The Teutoburg Forest, A.D. 9”.

What If?: The World’s Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been is an good collection of counterfactual historical events and what the alternate history would have been for the world.

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The link above goes to my Wordpress page that has my review of What If? by Robert Cowley, feel free to comment here or there.

This is my final book of the year, look for my 2022 thread on January 1.

Happy New Year!

>151 Karlstar: Happy New Year!