Contact - Carl Sagan

   1985; 374 pages.  New Author? : Yes, at least since the creation of this blog.  Genres : First Contact Sci-Fi; Hard Science Fiction.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

 

    Let’s suppose Intelligent Life exists in the Universe somewhere besides here on Earth.  How would we know?

 

    Well, we can look through telescopes at bright lights and hope to see some sort of “intelligent transmission”, although I’m not sure what that would be.  Is there anything that travels at the speed of light, besides light, of course?  Why yes, there is!  Radio waves.

 

    But radio waves come in all sorts of different wavelengths.  How can we tell which particular one an Extra Terrestrial would use to send out a signal?  And how would they transform a radio wave into a message someone on another planet would understand?

 

    That’s what Ellie Arroway has been working on for quite some time.  On taxpayers’ money.  And so far, she hasn’t found diddley squat of any intelligence via radio waves, on any wavelength, from any of the thousands of stars that’s she’s pointed her radio telescope at.

 

    Maybe we are alone in the Universe.

 

What’s To Like...

    Contact is divided into three parts, namely:

Part 1: The Message (chapters 1-9)

Part 2: The Machine (chapters 10-18)

Part 3: The Galaxy (chapters 19-24)

    Contact is a work of the “Hard Science Fiction” genre.  Carl Sagan makes an in-depth examination of how we Earthlings would (sometimes as opposed to “should”) react to finding out we aren’t alone in the Universe.

 

    The Message postulates that the most-likely means of initial contact is receiving radio signals from Outer Space.  Logical, but how do we figure out how to decode those transmissions?  The Machine theorizes that the Message gives us instructions on how to build a transport machine.  Fine, but do we have the materials and technology to build it, and dare we test it out before firing it up?  The Galaxy invites five Earthlings to sit down in the transport machine and enjoy the ride to intergalactic parts unknown.  Awesome, but are we sure we built it correctly, how do we choose who goes, and what if those ETs just want five specimens to dissect and study?

 

    The character development is superb.  Ellie is the protagonist, of course, so we expect she’ll be one of the Five selected to take the interstellar voyage.  But the other four in the group are richly developed as well, each having their own discrete traits.  Ditto for a host of secondary characters, including a number of government officials who are less than thrilled about this expensive space travel project (what if it doesn’t work?), and a fundamentalist preacher and a televangelist who are worried that God Himself, or even Satan, is the Entity behind those radio waves.

 

    Things build to a great ending, which is simultaneously cynical, revelatory, sad, and ingenious.  To give details would entail spoilers, which we eschew here.  Things close with a genealogical surprise twist for Ellie, which might sound irrelevant but explains a lot of the details in her life.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Samizdat (n.) : the clandestine copying and distribution of literature banned by the state.

Others: Armillary Sphere; (n.); Chiliasm (n.).

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.5/5 based on 6,428 ratings and 687 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.15/5 based on 148,202 ratings and 5,016 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    Now the pulses were washing against a warm world, blue and white, spinning against the backdrop of the stars.

    There was life on this world, extravagant in its numbers and variety.  There were jumping spiders at the chilly tops of the highest mountains and sulfur-eating worms in hot vents gushing up through ridges on the ocean floors.  There were beings that could live only in concentrated sulfuric acid, and beings that were destroyed by concentrated sulfuric acid; organisms that were poisoned by oxygen, and organisms that could survive only in oxygen, that actually breathed the stuff.  (pg. 51)

 

    How much better if a few of your cells could be preserved.  Real living cells, with the DNA intact.  He visualized a corporation that would, for a healthy fee, freeze a little of your epithelial tissue and orbit it high—well above the Van Allen belts, maybe even higher than geosynchronous orbit.  No reason to die first.  Do it now, while it’s on your mind.  Then, at least, alien molecular biologists—or their terrestrial counterparts of the far future—could reconstruct you, clone you, more or less from scratch.  You would rub your eyes, stretch, and wake up in the year ten million.  (pg. 340)

 

“The Earth is an object lesson for the apprentice gods.”  (pg. 247)

    There’s a smidgen of cusswords in Contact.  I counted four of them in the first 25%, all of which were of the “milder” ilk.  I don’t recall anything that I’d label an “adult situation”.

 

    Some reviewers felt the “science versus religion” angle was overplayed in the text.  They have a point, but frankly, I think Carl Sagan accurately anticipates the religious response.  Life on other worlds, in other solar systems and other galaxies, is hard to factor into spiritual dogma.

 

    The pacing felt slow in the first two section, but keep in mind their subject matter—decoding radio pulses and building a spaceship—is highly technical by nature.  You don’t want any thrills-&-spills to take place during those phases.  The “first contact” stage also felt rather anticlimactic.

 

    But hey, if I were one of the five human space envoys, I'd hope the initial contact with Extraterrestrials was a slow-paced, peaceful affair.  A “Star Wars” scenario, while exciting to read about, would not be a promising introduction to alien species.  I don’t want to come face-to-face with a Stormtrooper, no matter how bad of a shot he is.

 

    Overall, I found Contact to be a thought-provoking work, grounded in real science and logical in presenting one possible way that humanity would react to a “We Are Not Alone” scenario.  If you don’t get bored during the “Message” and “Machine” sections, you’re in for a fantastic read in the final section, “Galaxy”.

 

    8 Stars.  One last thing.  Somehow, both Hydrofluoric Acid and Laetrile make it into Contact’s storyline.  I worked for a company who manufactured HF acid for many years, and had a moonlighting venture to develop a manufacturing process for Laetrile.  Who would've thought that Extraterrestrials are familiar with, and make use of, both these compounds?

Double Trouble - Mike Faricy

   2015; 231 pages.  Book 10 (out of 30) in the “Dev Haskell – Private Investigator” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres: Airport/Beach Read; Hard-Boiled Mystery; Private Investigator Mystery.  Overall Rating: 7½*/10.

 

    Business has been slow at Haskell Investigations.  Its owner and sole employee, Private Investigator Dev Haskell, has now been forced to take a second job: moonlighting as a collections agent for a Coffin Manufacturing Company whose customers sometimes default payments on what is going to be their final resting place.

 

    It only takes Dev one day to realize he’s not really cut out to persuade senior citizens to square away those debts for their death boxes.  But he likes the company owner, so on his way out, he recommends an old acquaintance who has experience in debt-collecting: Tommy Flaherty.

 

    Tommy is a “reformed criminal”, which is a nice way of saying he’s an ex-con.  He also has two sisters, Candi and Lissa, both of which Dev has slept with in the past.  During the same time period.  Until he mistakenly called out the wrong sister’s name at the height of passion.  But that was a while back, and it’s all water under the bridge, right?

 

    Oh jeez, Dev.  You still don’t know a thing about how the female mind works, do you?

 

What’s To Like...

    Double Trouble is the tenth book in Mike Faricy’s “Dev Haskell Private Investigator” series, which I’ve been reading in order so far.  It’s action-packed and a quick read.  Amazon says it’s 279 pages long, but it actually ends on page 227, with a bonus preview of the first eight chapters in the next book in the series, Yellow Ribbon, tacked on.  The tale is told in the first-person POV (Dev’s) and 57 chapters cover those 227 pages, so you’re never far from a good place to stop for the night.

 

    As is the norm in these tales, what starts out as an easy job—see the first excerpt, below—rapidly becomes more complicated.  Various items begin to disappear, such as coffins, ATMs (the whole machine, not just the cash), and some of Dev’s junk food supplies and t-shirts.  The police think someone even stole the license plate from Dev’s vehicle, but hey, it’s still there.

 

    It may be my imagination, but Dev seems to slowly be getting his act together.  He seems to spend a bit less time womanizing here (thank goodness Heidi is still around), and it appears he’s sharpening his Private Eye skills as well.  Even his bar-hopping seems to be curtailed a bit.

 

    Things build to decent, fitting, ending with a clever perp-revealing plot twist that I didn’t see coming, and with the baddies all getting their just desserts.  The final chapter is an epilogue, and adds one last comedic twist to the ending, which is appropriate for a Dev Haskell tale.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.3/5 based on 312 ratings and 72 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.14/5 based on 297 ratings and 20 reviews

 

Excerpts...

    “So, are you going to take the job?” Louie asked.

    “Sounds like I would be getting paid just to follow people around and see if anyone is into anything crazy.”

    “Sounds like a waste of time,” Louie said and sipped.

    “Probably, but now I’d be getting paid for wasting it.”

    “There you go, always looking at the bright side.”  (loc. 652)

 

    I called Leo, my locksmith, and told him I needed new front and backdoor locks.

    “Again?  Dev, didn’t we just replace those things about six months ago?”

    “Was it that long ago?”

    “You know, if you stopped handing out house keys to every woman who let you buy her a drink, you could maybe cut down on this.  I ought to put you on a monthly plan and just change the damn things every thirty days.”

    “You have a monthly plan?”

    “I was kidding, Dev.”  (loc. 1537)

 

Kindle Details…

    Double Trouble is currently priced at $4.99 at Amazon.  The rest of the books in the series are currently either $0.99 or $4.99.  Mike Faricy offers at least one e-book bundle of this series, and has several other series (Hotshot, Corridor Man, and Jack Dillon Dublin Tales) that have the same pricing structure.

 

“Want to come in for a glass of wine and stay for breakfast?”  (loc. 348)

    The profanity in Double Trouble is moderate; with 18 instances of a variety of "milder" cusswords in the first 20%.  There were zero f-bombs, which impressed me, although one showed up in the Yellow Ribbon preview.  Some “adult situations” were alluded to, but there was nothing lurid.  The tagline for this section is a good example.

 

    The typos are getting scarcer as this series progresses, but I still spotted about ten or so, including id/ID, discrete/discreet, Bout/’Bout, and skulls/sculls.  That last one made me chuckle.

 

    But enough of the quibbling.  Double Trouble is a fast-paced crime-mystery, chock full of humor and wit, over-the-top thrills-&-spills, and all-too-convenient timing of events.  Which means it’s an ideal book when you just want to be entertained and not have to cogitate too much.

 

    7½ Stars.  One last thing.  Late in the story, one of the characters is described as having an “egghead degree in chemistry”.  I happen to have a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Chemistry.  That description resonated with me.

The Summer of the Danes - Ellis Peters

   1991; 269 pages.  Book 18 (out of 20) in the “Chronicles of Brother Cadfael” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Historical Fiction; Historical Mystery; Cozy.  Overall Rating: 8½*/10.

 

    It’s the summer of 1144 CE and the Church in England needs a favor from Brother Cadfael.  Two bishops have recently been appointed to Sees in Wales, and the Archbishop of Canterbury has decided to send gifts to both of them.

 

    Brother Mark has been dispatched by Canterbury to deliver the presents, but there’s one slight problem: he’s journeying to Wales but doesn’t speak a word of Welsh.  Would Brother Cadfael be so kind as to accompany Brother Mark and serve as his translator?

 

    Cadfael is delighted to accept!  He was born and raised in Wales, but now is stationed nearby at the Shrewsbury Abbey and rarely gets to visit his old homeland despite its proximity.  This trip will mean he’ll get to travel in Wales for more than a week, while doing the church’s business, and enjoying the local hospitality.  What could possibly go wrong?!

 

    Well, there’s a reason why the book is titled The Summer of the Danes.

 

What’s To Like...

    The Summer of the Danes is the eighteenth book the Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series.  I’ve read twelve of the completed 20-book series so far, and not reading them in any particular order.

 

    This book is unique to the series in several ways.  First of all, it predominantly takes place in Wales, which I don’t recall being done before.  Secondly, this is not a murder-mystery, which is what all the other books I’ve read in this series were.  Yes, a murder takes place, but not until more than a quarter of the way through the tale, and Brother Cadfael isn’t involved in the sleuthing at all.  Indeed, Brother Cadfael is mostly relegated to being an observer of events here, dispensing sage advice and making keen observations.

 

    The book is primarily a work of Historical Fiction, and what a fine job Ellis Peters does in presenting it!  Owain, prince of Gwynedd, is engaged in an internecine struggle with his estranged brother, Cadwaladr, who has hired a company of Danish mercenary seamen (hence the title) to help him procure the throne.  Cadfael and his companions become involved in the dispute when they are captured by the Danes and held for ransom.

 

    The main theme of the story is the role that Honor played in medieval conflicts.  There are leaders and fighters in both the Welsh and Danish forces who strictly abide by their pledges.  That’s true of captives as well; they can be released for pressing reasons if they promise return to their incarceration in an agreed-upon amount of time, and which most of them faithfully do.  There is also some Romance, which is a component of all the books in this series, but it's a secondary plot thread and male readers shouldn't be scared off by this.   

 

    Edith Pargeter (“Ellis Peters” is a pen name) was an English author, so the book is written in English, not American, but this wasn’t distracting at all.  There’s a Glossary of Terms in the back, which was helpful, although it ought to be expanded a bit for us Yankee readers.

 

    The ending is pleasant; all ends well for most of the characters.  Love and Honor both emerge triumphant, and the aforementioned murder is solved without any investigation needed.  The conflict between the two brothers is resolved, albeit not in the way I expected.  The Romance resolution will probably surprise some, but veteran Cadfael readers will correctly guess its outcome long before it plays out.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Tref (n.) : in medieval times, a hamlet in Britain.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.5*/5, based on 1,380 ratings and 169 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.08*/5, based on 5,087 ratings and 324 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “I had a younger brother, better content to sit on one strip of land lifelong.  I was for off, as far as the road would take me, and it took me half across the world before I understood.  Life goes not in a straight line, lad, but in a circle.  The first half we spend venturing as far as the world’s end from home and kin and stillness, and the latter half brings us back by roundabout ways but surely, to that state from which we set out.”  (loc. 898)

 

    “I am Turcaill, son of Turcaill, kinsman to Otir, who leads this venture.”

    “And you know what’s in dispute here?  Between two Welsh princes?  Why put your own breast between the blades?” Cadfael reasoned mildly.

    “For pay,” said Turcaill cheerfully.  “But even unpaid I would not stay behind when Otir puts to sea.  It grows dull ashore.  I’m no landsman, to squat on a farm year after year, and be content to watch crops grow.”  (loc. 1854)

 

Kindle Details…

    The Summer of the Danes sells for $12.99 right now at Amazon.  The other e-books in the series range in price from $9.99 to $14.99.  Ellis Peters is the pen name used by Edith Pargeter for the Brother Cadfael series, you can search under her real name for additional Historical Fiction books she wrote.

 

“There is no one who cannot be hated, against whatever odds.  Nor anyone who cannot be loved, against all reason.  (loc. 985)

    There’s not a trace of profanity in The Summer of the Danes, and I’m always in awe of any author who can do this while still writing a page-turner.  Neither are there any rolls-in-the-hay or other adult situations.  The closest we come to such things is some contemplation on the institution of arranged marriages and a bit of shed blood when someone gets stabbed with a dagger.

 

    I only spotted two typos: a capitalization (He/he) and though/through.  Kudos to the editor for a job well done.  There were a couple of “extras” in the back of the e-book that I didn't utilize.  One was a preview (the Prologue plus the first two chapters) of Book 19 in the series, The Holy Thief,  which I already have on my Kindle.  The other was a “Guide to Welsh Pronunciation”, which might come in handy for anyone who opts for the audiobook version.

 

    As with all the books I've read so far in this series, I enjoyed The Summer of the Danes.  Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael books tend to be formulaic, but it's a great formula, particularly since it involves well-researched 12^th-century medieval historical fiction.

 

    8½ Stars.  One last thing.  Knowing that Edith Pargeter was a meticulous historian, I was skeptical when I read that the base for the Danish seagoing raiding parties was Dublin, Ireland.  Really, Norsemen used to control of a portion of Ireland?!  But Wikipedia confirms this, even making the statement “The Vikings, or Ostmen (East-men) as they called themselves, ruled Dublin for almost three centuries”).  See the “History of Dublin” entry in Wikipedia.

How to Pick Up Women with a Drunk Space Ninja - Jay Key

   2018; 346 pages.  Book 1 (out of 4) in the “Adventures of Duke LaGrange” series.  New Author? : Yes.  Genres : Humorous Science Fiction; Space Opera.  Overall Rating : 7*/10.

 

    Get ready for a new Dynamic Duo!

 

    The main hero is Duke LaGrange, a wisecracking bounty hunter from a colony planet called Nova Texas.  He’s not particularly physically imposing, but he makes up for that by packing two deadly space firearms: a Widowmaker sonic shotgun and a laser revolver.

 

    His sidekick is a silent-but-deadly Ninja warrior named Ishiro’shea.  He’s from some backwater planet called Earth and claims to be of Irish-Japanese extraction, whatever that means.

 

    Right now they’re doing what most superheroes love to do: hanging out at the Why Not Saloon on the planet Kelt, and famed for its wine, women (of all sorts of intergalactic species), and interdimensional portals.  And while Duke flirts with the females in the crowd, Ishiro is engaged in his favorite pastime: lying on the saloon’s floor, passed out drunk.

 

    Life cannot get any better than this.

 

What’s To Like...

    How to Pick Up Women with a Drunk Space Ninja is the first volume in a (presumably) completed 4-book humorous sci-fi series.  The two protagonists remind me of the Star Wars duo of Han Solo and Chewbacca.  Ichiro has taken a vow of silence (it’s a ninja thing) so the banter between Duke and him is one-sided, yet just like Solo and Chewie chitchats, it somehow works.

 

    The opening scene takes place in a galactic bar-&-grill, which is very similar to the one in the first Star Wars movie, save that the band playing is a robotic metal group and the female flirt is an anthropomorphic musk ox.  That gives you a good idea of the comedic tone of the tale.  But the primary plot thread concerns our heroes reluctantly finding themselves forced into joining an epic space quest; which again is very Solo/Chewie-ish.

 

    I liked the character-building.  The good guys are well-intended but rather inept; and the head bad guy may be arrogant, yet he’s also somewhat charismatic.  The warfare scenario takes its cue straight out of Star Wars: the “legitimate” (evil) empire has overwhelming military resources, but the “rebel” (good) resistance has no reason to believe they can prevail, but they'll die trying anyway.

 

    The plotline is humorous, twisty, and has enough action to keep the reader reading “just one more chapter”.  The loyalty of most of the good guys—including Duke—is questionable at times, and both sides occasionally wonder if they’re being manipulated by some higher Power.

 

    The ending is decent; when all appears lost, help comes crashing in from unexpected places, and in the end the bad guys get their just desserts.  The aftermath is given in the second-to-last chapter, ties up the loose plot threads in a heartwarming manner.  Things close where things began, back at the bar-&-grill, with Duke and Ishiro contemplating their next adventure.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.1*/5, based on 285 ratings and 52 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.85*/5, based on 347 ratings and 44 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “I am truly sorry.  Is there anything else that I can help you with?”

    “You hairy Glyptodian bastard!  Tell the Queen that I’m looking right down its bright red gullet as we speak; not too far from the Keltian atmosphere.  I think she might want to know.”

    “You do make a valid point, Mr. LaGrange.  I will seek her out with unrivaled haste.  Do you mind if I place you on hold briefly?”

    “Yes, I mind, Earl!”

    “Thank you.”

    “No, I said, I do mind—”

    The hold music interrupted and chimed away.  (loc. 716)

 

    “Nice to meet you, Lo’n.  I’ve heard so much about you.”

    Duke awkwardly knelt down in an exaggerated curtsy.  Mo’a laughed.

    “Is that right, off-worlder?”

    “But of course.  The great and all powerful Lo’n.  Your exploits are known throughout the universe.  Entire races are sacrificed in your honor every cycle.  The mere mention of your name can impregnate certain species.  Both male and female.  You are a god, my friend, a true god.”

    Lo’n’s eyes locked on to Duke’s.  Silence fell upon the group.  Not even Mo’a chuckled.

    “Off-worlder, I like you!”  (loc. 2483)

 

Kindle Details…

    Right now, How to Pick Up Women with a Drunk Space Ninja sells for $3.99 at Amazon.  The other three books will each cost you $4.99.  You can also pick up a short-story Space Opera e-book by Jay Key, The Art of Negotiating with Space Monsters, for just $0.99.

 

“Not to be a nitpicker, but friends don’t attack each other with fire-covered spears.”  (loc. 1289)

    There’s a moderate amount of cussing in How to Pick Up Women with a Drunk Space Ninja, most of it of the “milder” variety.  I counted 13 instances in the first 10%.  The only adult situation I recall was one roll-in-the-hay late in the story.

 

    The favorite colloquial expression in this part of the galaxy is “Holy Hedgehogs!”, which made me chuckle each time it was used.  Robin, Batman’s sidekick, would love that phrase.

 

    My main issue in HtPUWwaDSN was with the action scenes.  A lot of the fight scenes involve Duke and Ishiro taking on overwhelming numbers of baddies charging at them.  But in most cases, Duke simply pulls out his equalizers, a pair of overwhelmingly deadly firearms, and confidently saves the day.  And in the few cases where that’s not sufficient, dei ex machina crash the party in a most timely manner.

 

    But hey, the same can be said of Batman and Robin, in the old TV version starring Adam West, and I used to love that show as a kid.  It worked for that Dynamic Duo, and it works for Duke and Ichiro as well.

 

    So give your thinking brain the night off, read this book strictly for its entertainment value, and don’t ask yourself any “what are the odds???” questions when our two heroes escape yet another hopeless situation.  You’ll be glad you did.

 

    7 Stars.  One last thing.  Early on, the catchphrase “damn skippy” is used.  I love that expression, but always thought it was invented by Lula, in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, but Google assures me it is a common phrase.  I need to start using it more.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou

   1969; 310 pages.  New Author?  : Yes.  Genres : Biographies & Memoirs; Banned Books; Civil Rights Movement; Non-Fiction.  Overall Rating: 9½*/10.

 

    When we think about the start of the Civil Rights movement in America, the 1950s will most likely come to mind.  Things like Martin Luther King Jr., Selma, bus boycotts, Rosa Parks, protest marches, and much more.

 

    But what was life like for Blacks in the years just before all that?  In the 1930s everyone struggled with the Great Depression, and in the 1940s, World War 2 saw over a million American soldiers either killed or wounded, including both blacks and whites. What was it like for black children growing up in those years?

 

    Also, were conditions different for blacks depending on what geographic area of the United States they were living in?  For instance, were things better in Missouri than in Mississippi?  Maybe being Black in California was better than both of those places.  If so, how much better?

 

    Maya Angelou, American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist, was born in 1928, so grew up in the 1930s/40s. and lived in all those areas along the way.  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings recounts her turbulent experiences during those decades.

 

What’s To Like...

    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the first book in the 7-volume autobiographical series.  It details her childhood experiences starting when she was three years old and, along with her four-year-old brother Bailey, moved in with her grandmother due to the divorce of her parents.  The book ends with a momentous life-changing event in her life when she was sixteen, and presumably the sequel, Gather Together in my Name, continues from there.

 

    The 310 pages are divided up into 36 chapters, which averages out to 8+ pages/chapter.  There is heavy emphasis on Maya’s interactions with her family members, particularly her brother Bailey.  We also watch the child Maya struggle to come to grips with racism (be careful when going to “whitefolksville”), sexual assault (Maya was raped when she was eight years old), and self-reliance (she grew up in a world where circumstances were heavily stacked against her).

 

    Maya’s birth name was Marguerite Annie Johnson, and it was fascinating to learn how her first name morphed into Maya (Marguerite --> Margaret --> Mary --> Maya).  I presume the changing of her last name is due to marriage, but that doesn’t happen in this book. Religion plays a prominent part in Maya’s entire family, and along the way the reader accompanies her to a tent revival (I’ve been to a couple) and learn why the phrase “by the way” is considered blasphemous in some fundamentalist circles.  

 

    Maya’s teenage years were just as unsettled as her childhood, but the reader gets to watch Maya evolve from someone “ignorant of her ignorance” into someone “being aware of being aware”.  In a show of perseverance, Maya applies for, and is eventually hired as San Francisco’s first Negro streetcar conductor.  A short time later, she learns to drive a stick-shift car, with no advance training, at night, on a lonely stretch of road in Mexico, with her dad passed out in the back seat.  Which then leads to her getting stabbed by her dad’s girlfriend.

  

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.7*/5, based on 36,661 ratings and 4,245 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.30*/5, based on 555,423 ratings and 17,684 reviews.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Powhitetrash (n.) : someone so poor (and white) that they cannot afford the missing “o” and “r”.

Others: Siditty (adj.); Chifforobe (n.); Ordurous (adj).

 

Excerpts...

    San Franciscans would have sworn on the Golden Gate Bridge that racism was missing from the heart of their air-conditioned city.  But they would have been sadly mistaken.

    A story went the rounds about a San Franciscan white matron who refused to sit beside a Negro civilian on the streetcar, even after he made room for her on the seat.  Her explanation was that she would not sit beside a draft dodger who was a Negro as well.  She added that the least he could do was fight for his country the way her son was fighting on Iwo Jima.  The story said that the man pulled his body away from the window to show an armless sleeve.  He said quietly and with great dignity, “Then ask your son to look around for my arm, which I left over there.”  (loc. 2590)

 

    The Black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time that she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate, and Black lack of power.

    The fact that the adult American Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste and even belligerence.  It is seldom accepted as an inevitable outcome of the struggle won by survivors and deserves respect if not enthusiastic acceptance.  (loc. 3284)

 

Kindle Details…

    The e-book version of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings sells for $7.99 at Amazon right now.  The other six books chronicling Maya Angelou’s life range in price from $5.99 to $13.99.  Maya Angelou was a prolific writer of poetry, plays, screenplays, memoirs, essays, children’s books, and cookbooks.  Most of her works are in the $3.99-$14.99 price range for the Kindle format.

 

Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being aware.  (loc. 3268)

    For such a tough start to her life, there is a surprisingly small amount of profanity in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.  I noted just eight instances in the first 50% of the book, and most of those were the N-word racial epithet.  The sexual molestation is handled as tactfully as possible, and later on there is one roll-in-the-hay.  I caught only one typo in the whole e-book: staring/starring.

 

    The Wikipedia article mentions that some reviewers categorize I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings as “autobiographical fiction” but it also cites other reviewers (in the “Style and Genre” section) as fully meeting the requirements to be called an “Autobiography”.

 

    I have always suspected that any autobiography will be inherently slanted to some degree in the author’s favor.  For that matter, I think this happens even in most biographies.  If you’re an biography writer, and you want to get paid for your work by your subject, you’re naturally going to present the life you’re writing about in a favorable light as much as possible.

 

    For me, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was a thoroughly captivating and heartfelt work.  I grew up in the Civil Rights era, but that was during the 1960s, not the 1940s/50s.  It was enlightening to read about the roots of the Civil Rights movement.  My only quibble is that I have to read six more books to learn the complete story of Maya Angelou’s life.

 

    9½ Stars.  One last thing.  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has been one of the most banned books in the US school system for many years.  Wikipedia’s article on the book devotes a whole section, titled “Censorship”, to the details and statistics of the bans.  It is worth your time.

Ye Gods! - Tom Holt

   1992; 296 pages.  New Author? :No.  Genres : Humorous Fantasy; Mythology; Satire.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

 

    It’s not easy being the son of a Roman god.  And the head honcho, no less, Jupiter himself.  Just ask Jason Derry. 

 

    Oh, it certainly has some benefits.  You’re a physical masterpiece: you can run at super speeds, dodge flying bullets, and beat the daylight out of any human foolish enough to get into a fight with you.

 

    There are limits however.  Jason’s mom is a mortal, which makes him only a half-god.  Full-blooded deities are more powerful than him, and probably smarter as well.  That means he’s susceptible to being manipulated by the gods, if they so choose.

 

    And Jason has a sneaking suspicion that they are so choosing.

 

What’s To Like...

    Ye Gods! is a clever blend of several Greek mythological tales (Jason & the Golden Fleece, Prometheus) and the modern-day quantum physics concept of multiverses.  If you have an infinite number of parallel universes, at least one of them will still be inhabited by the ancient gods and heroes.  The tale is told via 14 chapters covering 296 pages, with a plethora of fabulous footnotes added that would make Terry Pratchett proud.

 

    It was fun to watch Tom Holt add twists to the classical Greco-Roman myths.  Jason still procures the Golden Fleece, but it’s a minor part of this story.  The gods weren’t mad at Prometheus for giving Fire to humans; it was his second gift to us that got him chained to the rock, with an eagle sent daily to peck out his liver.  The second gift was . . . well, revealing that would be a spoiler.

 

    I’m a lifelong mythology lover, so Ye Gods! was a literary delight for me.  Eleven of the Romanized deities play parts here, plus a twelfth one that I had never heard of.  I was sure that last one was something Tom Holt had dreamed up, and then surprised when I found a Wikipedia page about him.  I’d tell you the god’s name, but that too would a spoiler.

 

    Tom Holt is a British novelist, thus the book is written in English, not American.  So for us Yanks, there were some odd spellings (cheque, sulphur, dialled) and weird words (shufti, git, biro), but I’ve gotten familiar with most of these.  The author also works lots of trivia-worthy items into the text, such as Perry Mason, Burger King, Mithraism, Vivaldi, and one of my heroes, Aleister Crowley.  Late in the story, we get to watch an episode of an alternate-universe TV Game Show called God’s My Witness.  That was exciting.

 

    The ending is vintage Tom Holt: unforeseen yet absurdly logical.  Jason (and the reader) finally get to the bottom of the godly skullduggery, and for perhaps the first time in his life, our hero is introduced to the concept of free will.

 

Excerpts...

    ”Virgil,” he said, “can I ask you something?”

    “Be my guest,” said the Mantuan.

    “If you had a little voice in the back of your head,” said Jason, “that kept telling you to . . . no, suggesting that you do things that you really don’t want to do, because they’re dangerous and you don’t understand why they need doing anyway, how would you react?”

    “I’d have a lobotomy,” Virgil replied unhesitatingly.  “Nothing worse than a chatty brain, I always say.”  (pg. 99)

 

   “Bad King Atreus looked out

    On the slopes of Pindus

    Lightning came and rubbed him out,

    Blowing him to cinders.

    Atreus, the silly sod,

    Came to Jove’s attention.

    People who offend a god

    Don’t collect their pension.”  (pg. 242)

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Nobble (v.) : to try to influence or thwart someone by underhanded or unfair means.  (British, slang)

Others: Chiropody (n.); Simpulum (n.); Profiteroles (n.).

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.1*/5, based on 210 ratings and 26 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.71*/5, based on 1,299 ratings and 40 reviews.

 

“Just because you’re omniscient doesn’t mean you don’t forget the occasional birthday.”  (pg. 157)

    There’s not a lot of profanity in Ye Gods!  I counted just 10 instances in the first 20%, all of the either the scatological or eschatological variety.  Later on, a couple of stronger cusswords crop up, including one f-bomb.

 

    There were only a couple typos: a missing comma, hopped/hoped, and two different spellings of a character’s last name: Bennett/Bennet.

 

    A word to the wise: don't be surprised if you get a third of the way through the book and suddenly realize you have no idea what the main storyline is.  This is trademark Tom Holt, and rest assured that the main plot thread will eventually reveal itself.  In the meantime, just enjoy being entertained by the author’s wit, storytelling, and the antics of a bunch of Roman gods.

 

    8 Stars.  One last thing.  At one point, a “CND symbol” is referenced, and I had never heard of such a thing.  This stymied me, but luckily Wikipedia is the fount of all knowledge.  “CND” refers to a British activist group called the “Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament”, and its symbol is what we ex-hippies call “the peace symbol”.  Peace on!

The Providence Rider - Robert McCammon

   2012; 516 pages.  Book 4 (out of 10) in the “Matthew Corbett” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Historical Fiction; Colonial America; Thriller.  Overall Rating: 8*/10.

 

    New York City, 1703 CE.  Someone is blowing up buildings!

 

    Whoever’s doing it is also painting graffiti on walls next to be exploding buildings.  Actually, the graffiti is rather minimal: just a single name: MATTHEW CORBETT.  It’s logical to suppose that’s the perpetrator, bragging about his crimes.

 

    When Matthew Corbett arrives upon the scene, he’s quite astonished to see his name scrawled on the walls.  He knows he’s not the arsonist, even if others in the crowd are giving him distrustful looks.  He’s more than ready to start investigating the crimes, and an obvious question is already giving him a starting point.

 

    Why is the real perpetrator painting Matthew’s name on a nearby wall each time he blows up a building?

 

What’s To Like...

    The Providence Rider is the fourth book in Robert McCammon’s “Matthew Corbett” now-completed ten-book historical thriller series.  The riddle of Matthew’s name being in close proximity to blown-up buildings is readily solved and Matthew and two companions, Berry and Zed, quickly find themselves on a ship headed for Pendulum Island in the Bermudas.  Several shady characters accompany our heroes in order to make sure they don’t change their minds.

 

    An old adversary is there to greet Matthew when the ship reaches its destination, wanting him to do a sleuthing job, and promising him ample recompense.  I love it when good guys are persuaded to get in cahoots with bad guys.  The book’s title references Matthew’s acceptance of the job; “Providence Rider” is colonial slang for “Problem Solver”.  Not surprisingly, the straightforward assignment rapidly becomes more complex and dangerous.

 

    The Providence Rider is first a foremost a Historical Thriller, with lots of Action and Intrigue infused into it.  Things proceed at a rapid pace, with a bunch of baddies for Matthew to rub shoulders with, a couple of which are beautiful and deadly women.  The 34 chapters average out to about 15 pages/chapter and there are five drawings included which I thought added a nice touch.  Timewise, the story is set in 1703-04 CE, and I’m really loving this historical fiction series because of the rarely used era that it's set in.

 

    Things build to an exciting climax that, with everyone—good-guys and baddies alike— fleeing for their lives.  There are casualties amongst both the white-hats and the black-hats.  The scene then shifts back to New York, where several secondary plotlines are resolved, plus one major romantic one.  The tale closes with a teaser for the next book in the series.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Fearnaught (n.) : a thick, heavy, shaggy woolen overcoat.

Others: Puffet (n.).

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.5*/5, based on 998 ratings and 171 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.24*/5, based on 3,517 ratings and 349 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “I may sit?”  Sirki motioned to a chair.  Matthew nodded again, though he was concerned about the chair’s survival.  Sirki eased himself into it and stretched out his long legs.  “Ah.  Now, I’m in . . . how would you say? . . . pig’s paradise?”

    “Hog heaven,” Matthew suggested.

    “Exactly.  Let me show you I have no weapons.”  Sirki lifted his arms, shrugged off his cloak, and patted around his midsection.

    “Do you need any?”

    This time a grin burst forth.  “No, I do not.”

    Matthew reasoned it was time to keep his mouth shut.  (loc. 842)

 

    “You had some trouble today.”  It was a statement of fact, as dry as the fish bones in the skeleton collection.

    “A mite,” Matthew allowed.

    “Hm.  One of my stone seahorses is missing from the library balcony.  Also the curtain cords are gone.  There is—was—a wine bottle on the ledge.  What can you tell me about that?”

    “Nothing.”  Matthew shrugged.  His heart was a furious drummer.  “Much.”

    “You shield your enemies.  Why?”

    “I take care of my own business.”

    “That’s admirable.  Stupid, possibly . . . but admirable.”  (loc. 3941)

 

Kindle Details…

    The Providence Rider sells for $11.99 right now at Amazon.  The rest of the books in the series generally range in price from $11.99 to $15.99, with occasional discounts on select e-books, usually to $2.99.  Robert McCammon has other series and standalone novels for your Kindle; they normally range in price anywhere from $2.99 to $11.99.

 

It was a good day, he decided, to not be a ghost.  (loc. 3651)

    I noted 19 cusswords in the first 20% of The Providence Rider, all of them being of the “milder 4-letter words” type.  Later on, there were a couple of f-bombs, plus some references to female dogs and posteriors, as well as one roll in the hay.  There were a couple of typos: assinine/asinine; whether/whither; was/were; and treel-imbs/tree-limbs; but these were sparse enough to not be distracting.  A number of mysterious “Kk” notations popped up between paragraphs, but I suspect this was more the fault of the conversion-to-Kindle software, not the author.

 

    Each character had his/her unique traits, but they were all either “all good” or “all evil”.  I’m partial to "gray" characters, but have to say it was interesting to watch white-hats and black-hats forced to cooperate with one another.  There weren’t a lot of plot twists, although that’s what you hire a Providence Rider to minimize.

 

    Enough of the quibbling.  For me The Providence Rider was a well-written page-turner, with oodles of action, intrigue, and skullduggery jumping up on almost every page.  Next up is The River of Souls, which is on my Kindle, awaiting my attention.  Stay tuned.

 

    8 Stars.  One last thing.  There is a lifesaving scene in The Providence Rider that’s incredibly over-the-top.  It reminded me of an old James Bond movie where Pierce Brosnan jumps out of an airplane in mid-flight over mountains, without a parachute, and ends up somehow deftly skiing up to ski lodge café.  If you remember and enjoyed that Bondian antic, you'll love the one here.