Jet II - Betrayal, by Russell Blake

In spite of some bumpiness in Mr. Blake's writing in the previous volume, I've read the second in the "Jet" series.   No complaints this time about his writing.   It is a good action / adventure novel.

Having said that, it is guilty of the typical sins of this genre:  a seemingly invincible super-hero protagonist and complex leaps of reality.   This is so much the norm though.  

I liked this enough that I'm certain to read the next volume in the series.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, by Robin Sloan

When the opportunity arises to comment on a book that is actually breath-takingly delightful to read, I'm full of good cheer.   Mr. Sloan's novel is simply outstanding.  Okay, I'm gushing.

To describe it though, is not so simple.   A quest for great treasure, weaving a sense of history with the capabilities of modern-day technology, heroes and a villain (but not a scary one).

If you enjoy Neal Stephenson's books, you're apt to enjoy this.  (If you aren't familiar with Mr. Stephenson, start with the amazing Cryptonomicon , but if the sheer volume of that book is daunting, go with Reamde.)

Read this book.

Jet, by Russell Blake

The good news is that this spy / suspense novel has an interesting plot and good character development.  The bad news is that you have to make it through some clunky opening prose.   It isn't bad, it is just that Mr. Blake feels as though he's trying a bit too hard to start.  Fortunately, he used up most of his adjectives in the first few pages, which allowed things - for the most part - to run cleanly thereafter.

There's a section late in the book that has the same stilted feel as the opening.  Or worse.  But aside from those two speed bumps, things do move well.   This is the first in a series, and my plan is to read the next volume.   So not great literature, but a good book for a cold evening, and a bargain on Kindle.

Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection, by A. J. Jacobs

Mr. Jacobs' books all describe his quest to achieve something; his "Year of Living Biblically" is my favorite to date.   In this book, Mr. Jacobs aspires to achieve optimal health.

It is a disappointment.

Yes, it is amusing.  It is a bit more autobiographical than his other books, occasionally leaving the core topic.   But I wanted it to be more seriously useful.   He briefly mentioned the landmark "China Study," but didn't delve at all into the body of research around vegan eating.   I'd have expected Mr. Jacobs to have referred to folks like Dr. Ornish or Dr. McDougall.   Nope.

If you can get this book at the discount table of your local bookstore (if such brick and mortar anachronisms still exist), or through a good Kindle deal, do so.

The Inquisitor, by Mark Allen Smith

This is a very strong mystery / thriller.  But it can be difficult to read, as the protagonist is a professional at "information retrieval" - which is a euphemism for torturer.   The graphic scenes weren't over the line horrible, but they were disturbing enough that I'd want to post the warning.

This is a bit of a psychological thriller, as the hero slowly understands more about himself and his childhood.   All the characters are well developed and interesting.

Mr. Smith wrote one of those novels that leave me anticipating a sequel.   I recommend this fine book

What Doesn't Kill You, by Iris Johansen

This last time I read a book by Ms. Johansen, back in 2008, I didn't care for it much but considered it well written.  Since then either my taste in writing has become more refined, Ms. Johansen's writing has severely declined in quality.   Either way, I would not recommend this book.

Important message to readers:  this experience confirms my suspicion (which I mentioned recently in another review) that you can not trust five star reviews on Amazon!   The one star reviews, however, seem quite trustworthy.    At the date of writing this blog post, there are 31 Amazon five star reviews out of 68.   48 are either five or four star.   Only seven are one star reviews.  So 46% say excellent, 71% say great, and only 10% say trash.

Yet this book clearly deserves no more than one star.   I'll quote from the first one star review I come upon, titled "Save your money," the reviewer continues, "The story line is weak, the dialogue is repetitive and the characters are one dimensional. I started reading and by page 50 was scanning, halfway through I was just reading every other paragraph just to get it done."    This is dead on accurate.

In contrast, the first four of the five star reviews all feel fake.  Or perhaps written by folks whose sense of good fiction differs rather dramatically from mine. 

It was a chore to keep reading beyond even the first few pages; I did so out of pure stubbornness.  And perhaps masochism or self loathing.  Really, it would take psychoanalysis to determine why I didn't return this book to the library after just four or five pages.

You probably want some specifics to support my rantings.   The hero is rude, self focused, and addresses every topic with repetitive whining.   Consequently the dialog is stilted, unnatural, and annoying.   The plot holes are massive and while generally forgivable in a spy thriller, in this book they are just irritating.  

You also might be wondering:  for such an unsatisfactory read, why so much effort panning the book?  Why not just say how bad it is and move on?    The reason is simple:  I was pleasant in 2008 and ended up wasting time four years later.   Venting this way should keep me clear of Ms. Johansen's writing forever.

Black List, by Brad Thor

All of Mr. Thor's novels share a style:  there is political ranting (i.e., tea party style) that is sometimes a speed bump amidst the plot, there are good guys who have to moral or ethical compass other than doing what they imagine as appropriate to defend the nation, all exposed with writing and character development at the C to C+ level.

Since the last book of Mr. Thor's that I read (two years ago), his writing hasn't changed sufficiently to make me a big fan.

So, if you want to read an action adventure novel that you don't have to invest much energy into, although you might skim a bit on the boring parts, then this isn't bad.

The fundamental plot line of this book is government monitoring of its citizens.   This topic could be a very interesting skeleton for a well written novel.   Unfortunately here the exposition of the idea is boring and not very well linked to the action.

The Risk Agent, by Ridley Pearson

This is a suspense novel set in Shanghai.   A private security firm, Rutherford Risk, works with a multinational doing business in China whose employee was kidnapped (along with an employee of the security firm).   The two heroes are Knox, a stereotypical action hero, and Chu, who has skills in forensic accounting as well as in spy craft; they both work for Rutherford.

This novel has enough plot movement to keep me interested to the end and reasonable character development.  Mr. Pearson signaled his intent to make this a series featuring the two main characters.   I'll probably read another one of these if I can borrow it from a free library or buy from Kindle at a deep discount.

Discount Armageddon, by Seanan McGuire

This is one of the wackier paperbacks I've read.   The hero maintains balance between humans and non-human creatures.  (By non-human I mean:  ghouls, werewolves, bogeymen, et al.)  An opposing cult seeks to exterminate all the non-human creatures.   A dragon may be in hibernation near a New York City sewer line.

Yes, in my world this qualifies as wacky.  The good news:  Ms. McGuire has a sense of humor and writes with good plot pacing and character development.   So it was (mostly) very fun to read.

Apparently this novel is part of a series.   I don't expect to read more of these, but that's more a statement of personal preference than a critique of the book.  

Oath of Office, by Michael Palmer

The good news:  good character development and strong writing that held my interest right to the end. 

The bad news:  the plot has credibility and reasonableness gaps the size of the Grand Canyon.

Still, all in all, an entertaining novel.