A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

    1962; 152 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genres : Dystopian Fiction; British Literature; Movie Tie-In; Banned Books.  Overall Rating: 9*/10.

 

    You gotta hand it to the droog, Alex.  That’s because if you don’t hand him everything you’ve got, Alex will thrash you to within an inch of your life.

 

    Come to think of it, Alex might beat you up even if you do give him everything you’ve got.  He's one of those malchicks who thoroughly enjoys being a gangland thug.

 

    The police are aware of Alex’s misdeeds, of course.  They’d love to throw him in jail, but finding witnesses willing to testify against him, and who are still alive, has been impossible so far.

 

    Also, the jails are getting crowded due to gangland thuggery running rampant.  If only there was some magical way to reform hardened criminals.

 

What’s To Like...

    The initial book version of A Clockwork Orange came out in 1962, followed a decade later by the blockbuster movie version.  Both of those releases thoroughly irritated the book’s author, Anthony Burgess, because both chose to delete the entire last chapter in his book.  A ”complete” version, including that final chapter, was published in 1986 in the UK, and that’s the version I read.

 

    The story is told in the first-person POV (Alex’s), which means you get to read it in punk gangland slang language called “Nadsat”.  In most cases, I could suss out the meanings of the Nadsat words; with Anthony Burgess also providing translations of a few of the more obscure words in the text.  Still, I kept a list of the Nadsat-to-English vocabulary, and am very glad I did.  And you can also Google the Nadsat word to get its translation.  Ain’t 21^st-century technology amazing?!

 

    Outside of the absent/present last chapter, the book and the movie versions match up rather well.  I’d seen the film twice when it first came out, so I pretty much knew how the storyline went.  If you haven’t seen and/or read this tale, be forewarned that there is an abundance of violence in it.  The enigmatic title is referenced several times in the text, and the first excerpt below, which comes from the author’s Introduction, not the story itself, will clue you in.

 

    The ending is both logical and twisty.  It appropriately answers “What is Alex’s ultimate fate?”, both in the immediate future (Chapter 20), and later on in life (the initially deleted Chapter 21).  I felt that it left the door open for a sequel, but that never happened.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

    Droog (n.) : a young, violent gang member; a ruffian (Nadsat slang)

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.4*/5, based on 11,014 ratings and 1,556 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.00*/5, based on 781,357 ratings and 26,306 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    If {a human being} can only perform good or only perform evil, then he is a clockwork orange—meaning that he has the appearance of an organism lovely with colour and juice but is in fact only a clockwork toy to be wound up by God or the Devil or (since this is increasingly replacing both) the Almighty State.  It is as inhuman to be totally good as it is to be totally evil.  The important thing is moral choice.  Evil has to exist along with good, in order that moral choice may operate.  Life is sustained by the grinding opposition of moral entities.  (loc. 74)

 

    “I’ve been out of the rookers of the millicents for a long time now.”

    “That’s just what worries me,” sighed P.R. Deltoid.  “A bit too long of a time to be healthy.  You’re about due now by my reckoning.  That’s why I’m warning you, little Alex, to keep your handsome young proboscis out of the dirt, yes.  Do I make myself clear?”

    “As an unmuddied lake, sir,” I said.  “Clear as an azure sky of deepest summer.  You can rely on me, sir.”  And I gave him a nice zooby smile.  (pg. 30)

 

“There’s the mackerel of the cornflake for you, you dirty reader of filth and nastiness.”  (pg. 5)

    The amount of profanity in A Clockwork Orange is surprisingly small—I noted just six instances in the first 50% of the book.  Of course, this is offset by several assaults and rapes.  It should be noted, however, that those violent scenes are less graphic in the book than on the screen.

 

    My e-book gave the story’s length as 152 pages, but I wouldn’t call it a quick read.  There are a slew of gangland slang words used, and it takes some time to remember which means what, even if you’re keeping a list.

 

    Overall, reading the book version fifty years after watching the movie was a great experience.  Yes, there's a flood of sex and violence, but the reader is also given much to think about.  Is there a way to cure violent behavior in thugs like Alex?  If so, is it a godsend or a curse?  If the choice of what we do is taken away, have we been dehumanized?  And so on.

 

    Based on Amazon and Goodreads reviews, readers of A Clockwork Orange seem very divided on its merits or lack thereof.  Some think it’s a brilliant novel, others claim it’s the worst book they’ve ever read.  I’m in the first camp.

 

    9 Stars.  One last thing.  A group called PEN America monitors what books are being removed from library shelves in public schools on a yearly basis.  For the 2024-2025 school year, the book banned the most times, with 23 bans total, was A Clockwork Orange.  Google it for details.

October - China Miéville

    2017; 320 pages.  Full Title: October: The Story of the Russian Revolution.  New Author: No.  Genres : Russian History; Russian Politics; Non-Fiction.  Overall Rating: 8*/10.

 

    Believe it or not, once upon a time, the United States invaded Russia!  It was back in the years 1918-1921, and was a direct response to something called the October Revolution.

 

    To be fair, the United States wasn’t the only invader.  French, British, Japanese, German, Serbian, and Polish troops helped out as well.  The Wikipedia article cites quite few other countries sending troops.

 

    The reason for this broad-based foreign intervention was clear.  The Russians had done the unpardonable sin of installing the Bolshevik leader, Vladimir Lenin, to lead the country.  Russia had become a Socialist state!

 

    And as everyone knows, Socialism is contagious.  If one country falls into its clutches, pretty soon it will spread like a virus to all sorts of other countries!

 

What’s To Like...

    October is China Miéville’s chronicle detailing the events leading up to, and including, the October Revolution.  The bulk of the chapters focus on  the monthly vicissitudes in February through October 1917, which are sandwiched between an Introduction and a “before” chapter at the beginning and an Epilogue chapter at the end.

 

    In the Introduction, Miéville admits that, although he is going to be fair in describing events in this book, he is not going to be neutral.  This was not unexpected since he is an avowed Socialist and October is arguably the celebration of Socialism’s finest hour.  So I was pleasantly surprised when he portrayed the major leaders of the movement—Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin—in a “warts and all” fashion.

 

    The book is written in English, not American, so you some weird spellings, such as disembowelled, defence, skilfully, programme, learnt, and a variant of one of my favorite words, bowdlerised.  I loved it, although Spellchecker went nutso with that previous sentence.

 

    Before reading October, I knew only a smattering about the Russian Revolution.  Czar Nicholas abdicates early on, a right-winger named Alexander Kerensky takes over, much to the Western World’s delight.  Then Lenin overthrows Kerensky, much to the Western World’s dismay.  That's about the extent of what I already knew.

 

    October filled in the gaps nicely.  I learned that Petrograd, not Moscow, was the capital of Russia at the time.  A slew of coalitions were tried, and failed, in amongst the Nicholas/Kerensky/Lenin regimes.  Factory workers, peasants, lower-ranked soldiers, and women were powerful forces in determining who eventually came to rule Russia.  The fact that Russia was still using the Gregorian calendar, not the Julian one used by the rest of the world makes listing a date for the various events a major pain.  And much, much more.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

    Jacquerie (n.) : a violent, spontaneous uprising or revolt by peasants against the ruling noble class

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.3*/5, based on 706 ratings and 105 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.91*/5, based on 6,937 ratings and 945 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    The government had equivocated over the issue of women’s suffrage.  Many even in the revolutionary movement were hesitant, warning that, though they supported the equality of women ‘in principle’, concretely Russia’s women were politically ‘backward’, and their votes therefore risked hindering progress.  On her return to the country on the 18^th, Kollontai took those prejudices head-on.

    “But wasn’t it we women, with our grumbling about hunger, about the disorganisation in Russian life, about our poverty and the sufferings born of the war, who awakened a popular wrath?” she demanded.  The revolution, she pointed out, was born on International Women’s Day.  (pg. 93)

 

    “What about people’s commissars?” said Trotsky.

    “Yes, that’s very good,” Lenin said.  “It smells terribly of revolution.” The seed of the revolutionary government, the Council pf People’s Commissars, Sovnarkom, was sown.

    Lenin suggested Trotsky for commissar of the interior.  But Trotsky foresaw that enemies on the right would attack him — as a Jew.

    “Of what importance are such trifles?” Lenin snapped.

    “There are still a good many fools left,” Trotsky replied.

    “Surely we don’t keep step with fools?”

    “Sometimes,” said Trotsky, “one has to make some allowances for stupidity.”  (pg. 284)

 

“One must always try to be as radical as reality itself.”  (pg. 231)

    There’s very little profanity in October.  I noted only five instances in the entire book, and those were mostly from direct quotes.

 

    Despite the trove of well-researched historical information, I found October to be a slow read.  This was mostly due to incredible number of Russian dignitaries and political factions that came into play.  To be fair, China Miéville includes a “Glossary of Personal Names” at the back of the book.  But it felt like every page had a dozen unfamiliar names, so I soon gave up trying to keep track of them.

 

    Finally, although the Epilogue chapter touches briefly on events occurring after October, 1917, I yearned for many more details about them.  The Czar and his entire family are murdered.  Foreign armies pour into Russia.  Lenin dies, Stalin comes to power, and purges proliferate.  Discussions of these things are sorely needed.

 

    But that just means I’m hoping China Miéville is working on a sequel to October.  I learned a lot from reading about a world-changing uprising, and look forward to learning even more.

 

    8 Stars.  One last thing.  Rasputin, the mad monk, who Miéville says was neither mad nor a monk, gets some ink in the first chapter.  He may not be the scariest dude to have walked this Earth, but . . . wait, yes, he *IS* the scariest dude to have walked this Earth.

Who Knew Tasmanian Tigers Eat Apples! - John Martin

    2017; 194 pages.  Book 6, despite being a prequel (out of 9) in the “Windy Mountain” series.  New Author? : Yes.  Genres : Humorous Fiction; Australia; Urban Comedy.  Overall Rating: 6½*/10.

 

    G’day, mate!  Welcome to Tasmania and to our quaint little town of Windy Mountain.  My name is Moose Routley, and I’m here to help you enjoy your stay.

 

    No doubt you’re here to visit Mayor Jimmy Northan’s famous apple orchard, where our aptly-named Tasmanian Tigers are rumored to come to feed on the fruit there.  Yes, it’s true, the world thinks the Tasmanian Tiger became extinct close to a century ago, but one of our town’s citizens, Wish-Wash swears he’s seen one, and even patted it on its back.  Yes, Wish-Wash is the town drunk, but that doesn’t mean he’d make the whole story up, does it?

 

    I would advise against visiting the orchard during the daytime, since it would technically be trespassing and Tasmanian Tigers are known the feed only at night.  But I also recommend you don’t visit the orchard at night, since then you’ll run across the ghost of Colonel Richard Northan, an ancestor of our esteemed Mayor.

 

    In short, stay away from the orchard.  But when you get back home, be sure to tell everyone you know that while you were staying in Windy Mountain, you came very close to seeing a Tasmanian Tiger!

 

What’s To Like...

    Who Knew Tasmanian Tigers Eat Apples! is both Book 6 of a 9-book series and the series' prequel.  I have not read any other books.  The setting is Tasmania, which is where the author, John Martin, was born and raised, although he has since moved to Canberra, Australia..

 

    The book is written in Australian, and includes a bunch of Aussie words and phrases, including: sheila, sand-shoes, dunny, arvo, hoon, boil the billy, fair dinkum, and sozzled.  I always love learning bits and pieces of a foreign language.  Here, instead of minimizing the use of the “local lingo”, John Martin revels in using them.  It significantly enhances the “local feel” of the story.

 

    Despite the book’s catchy title, there is no overarching storyline.  Instead, at least eleven more-or-less equally important plot threads work their way into the 18 chapters of the tale.  The storyline jumps from one plotline to another, but I didn’t find this confusing at all.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Yakka (n.) : hard, strenuous work

Others: Dunny (n.), Arvo (n.), Hoon (n.).

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 3.4*/5, based on 73 ratings and 16 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.12*/5, based on 68 ratings and 15 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    She kissed him goodbye outside The Applecart and continued on to the Catholic Church for mass.

    The Applecart didn’t actually have a licence to open on the sabbath, but they got around it by calling the session Sunday School.  As long as you were over 18, you were welcome to worship a few glasses of cider, play poker with the blokes and unwind ahead of another hard week of yakka.  (pg. 23)

 

    “Have you actually seen a Tasmanian Tiger yet?”

    Moose reached over and turned the recorder off.  “You can’t really expect me to answer that!  Poor old Wish-Wash lost all his credibility when he claimed he had seen a Tasmanian Tiger.  Who’s going to take seriously a Tasmanian Tiger hunter who says he hasn’t seen one?  This is my livelihood, mate, and it’s in my professional interests to keep people guessing.”  (pg. 128)

 

Kindle Details…

    The Who Knew Tasmanian Tigers Eat Apples! e-book goes for $3.99 right now.  Book One, Lie of the Tiger, is free.  The rest of the books in the series vary in price from $2.99 to $4.99.  John Martin also has a three-book series, “Funny Capers DownUnder”, similarly priced. 

 

“Trust you to look a gift mountain oyster in the mouth.”  (pg. 22)

    There is only a small amount of cussing in Who Knew Tasmanian Tigers Eat Apples!  I noted just six instances in the first 33% of the book.  Later on, a part of the male anatomy gets mentioned.  I only saw three typos: one misidentification (Reg/Rog), one grammar (rule/rules), and one misspelling (starred/stared).

 

    More than half of the plot threads do not get resolved.  I’m guessing this is deliberate and that they are actually the main plotlines in the books that follow.  We shall see.  I’ve snagged the first book in the series, Lie of the Tiger, and hope to read it soon.

 

    Who Knew Tasmanian Tigers Eat Apples! was a fun read for me.  The pacing was good, the characters were fascinating, and the wit was plentiful.  Since I’ve never been to, or read about, Tasmania, becoming acquainted with the island was an enlightening pleasure.  Hey, maybe I'll take a trip down there and look for Tasmanian tigers myself!

 

    6½ Stars.  One last thing.  Australian Rules Football plays a significant role in Who Knew Tasmanian Tigers Eat Apples!  The implication is made that Rugby is a wussy’s game compared it.  I’ve watched both.  The Aussies are right!

McNally's Luck - Lawrence Sanders

    1992; 323 pages.  New Author? : No.  Book 2 (out of 13) in the Archy McNally series.  Genres : Crime Humor; Private Investigator Mysteries; Florida Noir.   Overall Rating: 9*/10.

 

    Archy McNally sure has been busy lately.

 

    First there was the catnapping of Peaches, an irascible feline with whom Archy doesn’t get along.  But its owners are clients of the McNally family investigation agency, so Pater McNally, has assigned Archy to look into Peach’s plight.

 

    Now there’s been a murder of a client, and Pops has instructed Archy to also work on that case.  These back-to-back investigations are cutting into Archy’s eating, drinking, and socializing time at the Pelican Club.

 

    If only there was some way to combine the two investigations into a single case.  Dream on, Archy.

 

What’s To Like...

    McNally’s Luck is a pleasant blend of crime-mystery, wit, and social commentary.  Archy is the pampered, dutiful son in in well-to-do family where mom, dad, and junior all do their share to make their investigative business a profitable enterprise.  Archy also coordinates his efforts with his friend, Sergeant Al Rogoff, of the Palm Beach Police Department, who’s gritty demeanor contrasts nicely with our hero’s suaveness.

 

    The crime-mystery aspect of the storyline impressed me.  The catnapping plot thread could have easily become absurd, but it doesn’t.  How do you even go about investigating a catnapping, since the victim can’t communicate with you?  Trying to solve the murders (there’s more than one) is equally perplexing.  Archy makes lots of inquiries, with very few results to show for it.

 

    There is also a mystical plot thread, and those always fascinate me.  As part of his sleuthing, Archy attends his first séance, and comes away with mixed thoughts about communicating with the dead to get some answers about the slayings.  I was impressed by how deftly Lawrence Sanders handles this.

 

    The story is told in the first-person POV; and was a vocabularian delight.  Archy never uses a plebian word when there’s a highfalutin alternative.  Lawrence Sanders also sprinkles in a few Spanish, French, and Latin phrases, plus a whole bunch of Yiddish ones.  I loved that.

 

    Everything builds to a climax in the form of a meeting of the various investigators.  Combined brainpower carries the day, although only after overcoming several slick plot twists.  The tale closes with an Epilogue wherein Archy gives his thoughts about seances.  Presumably it echoes Lawrence Sanders personal ideas on the subject, and was heartwarmingly done.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Zoftig (adj.) : having a full, rounded or curvaceous figure

Others: Tsores (n.), Pourboire (n.), Logy (adj.), Matutinal (adj.).

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.3*/5, based on 1,129 ratings and 95 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.96*/5, based on 3,198 ratings and 160  reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “A strong woman,” I opined.  “Domineering.”

    “Do you really think so?” he said.  “That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?  Dominant perhaps, but not domineering.”

    “You poets,” I said, smiling.  “You make a nice distinction between adjectives.”

    “I hate adjectives,” he said.  “And adverbs.  They’re so weak and floppy.  Don’t you agree?”

    “Indubitably,” I said, and we both laughed.  (pg. 197)

 

    “Do you believe in ghosts?”  (. . .)

    “Oh my, yes,” she said airily.  “I have never seen them myself, but I have been told by people whose opinion I respect that spirits do exist.  Mercedes Blair’s husband died last year, you know, and she says that ever since he passed, their house has been haunted by his ghost.  She knows because she always finds the toilet seat up.  No matter how many times she puts the cover down, she always finds the seat up when she returns.  She says it must be her dead husband’s spirit.”  (pg. 254)

 

Kindle Details…

    McNally’s Luck currently is priced at $7.99 at Amazon.  The rest of the books in the series range in cost from $6.99 to $9.99.  The first nine books in the series are also available in a trio of 3-book bundles for either $14.99 or $16.99.

 

I had no wish to meet my Maker in the parking lot of a store that sold Twinkies and diet root beer.  (pg. 287)

    The cussing in McNally’s Luck is sparse, which is normal for this series.  I counted just four instances in the first half of the book.  A couple of rolls-in-the-hay are hinted at, but there was nothing lewd.

 

    I can’t think of anything to nitpick about.  Archy’s sleuthing efforts kept me turning the pages, and the witty writing style meant there were no slow spots.  The “Is the Supernatural real of fake?” issue was handled deftly, which is no easy feat.

 

    All the plot threads get tied up except for one: Archy’s goal was to lose 5 pounds, and I don’t recall him ever revealing whether he succeeded in that endeavor.  Based on the eating and drinking episodes he describes, I’m thinking he didn’t.

 

    9 Stars.  One last thing.  At one point (81% Kindle), Archy gives an aside, wherein he shares what he calls “McNally’s First Law of Shopping”.  It is a sage maxim, and we’ll divulge it in the comments.

Yellow Ribbon - Mike Faricy

    2015; 207 pages.  Book 11 (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: 5*/10.

 

    Being a Private Investigator is a high-tension job.  Just ask Dev Haskell.  Sometimes you just gotta do something low-stress.  Like baby-sitting.  Which is what he’s doing now.

 

    He’s thoroughly enjoying looking after little 4-year-old Ava and 5-year-old Emma (or is it the other way around?), daughters of a friend of his, Isabella.  Dev’s even doing this for gratis.

 

    It’s a pity the doorbell had to ring.  It’s a pity that Isabella’s ex-boyfriend, Carlos, is doing the ringing, and is in a foul mood.  It’s a pity that . . . well, what happened next is a bit unclear.

 

    All Dev knows is he got beaten unconscious in front of the two girls.  And got punched often enough in the face for everyone who sees him for quite some time is going to remark that he “looks like sh*t”.

 

What’s To Like...

    Yellow Ribbon is the Book Eleven in Mike Faricy’s Dev Haskell - Private Investigator series.  Thus far, I’ve been reading them in order.  The tale is told in the first-person Point of View, Dev’s, and the setting is the greater St. Paul, Minnesota area.

 

    The action starts right away; the above introduction recaps the first chapter.  My favorite character, Louie the Lawyer, sits this one out, but the two baddies, Fat Freddy Zimmerman and Tubby Gustafson, get larger-than-normal roles.

 

   The tone of the text is darker than usual.  Normally Dev is up to his ears in chasing hot chicks and making snarky wisecracks.  Here, his main feminine companionship is two very scared little girls and the sassing is scaled back significantly.

 

    The main storyline is Dev’s efforts to solve two challenges: rescue Emma and Ava, and recover some stolen money (see second excerpt, below).  The ending addresses both of those tasks, albeit in a not very exciting way and via some very convenient timing.  Things close with a very heartwarming Epilogue.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.1/5 based on 868 ratings and 170 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.89/5 based on 612 ratings and 51 reviews

 

Excerpts...

    For the first time, I realized Rikki was wearing a red-sequined thong and a frown.  She had what looked like hummingbirds in flight tattooed on either hip.  A blue stone pierced her navel which was surrounded by tattooed flower petals.  Deep ponds of mascara added a good twenty years to her face.

    She seemed oblivious to her almost complete lack of clothing, and she struck a defiant pose by placing her hands on her hips and thrusting her chest out.  Either that or she was showing off an estimated three grand worth of breast enhancement work.  She stared at me without blinking.  (pg. 93)

 

    “They banned me from the roulette wheel and then the blackjack tables.  So much for nice customer service.

    “Anyway, I just wanted another drink, and this chick was doing nothing but b*tching, so I figured, screw this, and I just left.  Who’d hang around for more of that?  I sure as h*ll don’t need that kind of sh*t.  On the way out, I stopped by the cashiers’ window, and they were doing a shift change or something, not paying too much attention, and so I just helped myself.”

   “You mean, you robbed them?”

    “I suppose that’s one way to look at it.”  (pg. 155)

 

Kindle Details…

    Yellow Ribbon is currently priced at $5.99 at Amazon.  The rest of the books in the series cost anywhere from  $0.99 to $5.99, with the majority going for the higher price.

 

“We sailed down the road doing our best not to listen to idiot Carlos as he forever destroyed any positive thoughts we may have had regarding Frosty the Snowman.”  (pg. 143)

    The profanity in Yellow Ribbon is moderate; I noted 14 instances in the first 10% of the book, most of which were of the milder, 4-lettered ilk.  A couple of f-bombs show up later, plus one sex toy.  All in all this felt pretty clean for a Dev Haskell story.

 

    There were a bunch of typos, most of which involved punctuation gaffes: missing commas, how to handle multiple paragraphs of the same person speaking, and unneeded apostrophes denoting plurals.  This is par for the course for this series.  Also, one plot thread is left dangling—the whereabouts of one of the main characters.  Perhaps this will be resolved in the next book Dog Gone.

 

    For me, the big disappointment was the storytelling itself.  There is zero plot progression for the majority of the book.  We drive around, in various vehicles, and listen to Dev try to talk his way, and the two girls’ out of their captive predicament.  This might have been okay if the text were loaded with sparkling wit.  Instead, we, and Dev, are merely treated to person after person commenting on how crappy Dev looks.

 

    The big question now is whether Yellow Ribbon signals a shift in tone for the rest of the series.  The sequel, Dog Gone, is on my Kindle.  Here’s hoping it returns to the tried-and-true formula Mike Faricy has used to chronicle Dev’s misadventures.

 

    5 Stars.  One last thing.  I enjoyed learning an acronym that apparently is commonly used in police radio communications: BOLO.  It means “Be On The Lookout” for something or someone.

Red Rising - Pierce Brown

    2014; 383 pages.  Book 1 (out of 6) in the “Red Rising” series.  New Author? : Yes.  Genres: Dystopian Fiction; Military Action; Adventure Fantasy.  Overall Rating: 9½*/10.

 

    It’s a dirty job, but Darrow’s got to do it.  After all, he is one of the best Helldivers in underground Mars, tunneling deeply, and dangerously, into the rock to gather precious Helium-3.

 

    He may die doing his job, but Darrow is prepared to make that sacrifice.  Helium-3 is the key to eventually terraforming the Martian surface, something he would love to see someday.

 

    That’s years away, though.  And something a lowly “Red” like Darrow can only dream about.  But now, he’s learned that there’s a secret shaft that you can climb up and maybe glimpse the lifeless Martian surface.  What an opportunity!  That’ll be spectacular!

 

    You don’t know the half of it, Darrow.

 

What’s To Like...

    Although it is set on the planet Mars, Red Rising is first and foremost a Dystopian tale.  The story is told in the First Person POV, Darrow’s; and the book is divided into four Parts, namely:

    Part 1: “Slave”  (@ 1%)

    Part 2: “Reborn”  (@ 13%)

    Part 3: “Gold”  (@ 34%)

    Part 4: “Reaper”  (@ 65%)

 

    The central theme of the book is watching Darrow gradually learn to be a leader.  The culture on Mars is a strict caste society.  Gold is the highest, and Red is the lowest,  As the book’s title implies, Darrow is a lowly Red.  Becoming a leader will be an uphill challenge, and Darrow is going to make his share of mistakes along the way.

 

    The worldbuilding is fantastic.  The story is set in the considerable future since we learn that there are multiple underground Martian colonies and they’ve been there for generations.  Weaponry has advanced accordingly; arms such as scorchers, stunners, thumpers, slingBlades, ionSwords, and ionArrows are now standard issue.  I recall only one strange creature in the story—pitvipers, the bane of Helldivers.  But there are probably more.

 

    I enjoyed the details that Pierce Brown blends into the story.  Darrow learns to play a game called “BloodChess”, and since I’ve been a chessplayer all my life, I’m dying to learn this variant.  Darrow is taught a Kung-Fu-like martial art called “Kravat” and the correct spelling of a governmental system is now “Demokracy”.  On the other hand, youngsters still love to play a game called “Red Knuckles”, which was around when I was growing up.

 

    The book ends at a logical place, with a plot twist that I never saw coming.  Red Rising is part of a 6-book series, and I’m sure the sequel, Golden Son, will continue the timeline of Darrow’s adventure without interruption.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.6/5 based on 94,997 ratings and 6,826 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.27/5 based on 845,123 ratings and 93,395 reviews

 

Excerpts...

    “I’ve hidden from everyone but you,” Mustang says.  “It keeps me alive and ticking.”

    “What’s your plan,” I ask.

    She laughs at herself.  “To be alive and ticking.”

    “You’re better at it than I am.”

    “How do you mean?”

    “No one in your House would have betrayed you.”

    “Because I didn’t rule like you,” she says.  “You have to remember, people don’t like being told what to do.  You can treat your friends like servants and they’ll love you, but you tell them they’re servants and they’ll kill you.”  (pg. 267)

 

    “Do you really eat your own Housemembers?”

    “After months in darkness, you eat whatever your mouth finds.  Even if it’s still moving.  It isn’t very impressive, really.  Less human than I would have liked, very much like animals.  And anyone would have done it.  But dredging up my foul memories no way to negotiate.”

    “We aren’t negotiating.”

    “Humans are always negotiating.  That’s what conversation is.”  (pg. 347)

 

Kindle Details…

    Red Rising currently is priced at $5.99 at Amazon.  The rest of the books in the series cost either $9.99 or $12.99.  You can save a couple of bucks by buying the first three books in this series as a bundle for $26.99.

 

“You’re about as pretty as a gargoyle’s wart.”  (pg. 292)

    There's a moderate amount of profanity in Red Rising; I counted 15 instances in the first 10% of the book.  Pierce Brown lessens the cussword-count by utilizing a couple of euphemistic words: “slag” and “gory”.  They are multifunctional; two examples are “slag that” and “bugger my goryballs”.  I’ll let you deduce their meanings.

 

    This is a work of Dystopian Fiction, so things like rape, dismemberment, and slavery are to be expected.  I also recall at least one “adult situation”.

 

    I can’t think of anything to grouse about in Red Rising.  True, the ending doesn’t really tie up any of the main plotlines, but, as mentioned above, it does pause things at an important moment, yet without degenerating into a cliffhanger.

 

    I find the high value of the Amazon and Goodreads ratings fully justified, and the incredible number of people who took the time to rate and/or review tells me this series is immensely popular right now.  Book Two resides on my Kindle, awaiting my attention.

 

    9½ Stars.  One last thing.  Is Red Rising a goryfine read?  You better slagging believe it!

Point Blank - Catherine Coulter

    2005; 355 pages.  Book 10 (out of 27) in the “FBI Thriller” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Crime Thriller; Suspense.  Overall Rating : 7½*/10.

 

    It’s the chance of a lifetime.  FBI Agent Ruth Warnecki is sure of it.

 

    Legend has it that during the closing days of the Civil War, Confederate soldiers hid a bunch of gold in a place called Winkel’s Cave, near Maestro, Virginia.  Over the years, many others have looked for it but no one’s ever even found a trace.  Maybe it is just a legend.

 

    Now, on her day off, amateur spelunker Ruth Warnecki has decided to see if she can find the lost treasure.  She’s doing it on the sly.  She’s parked her car a good distance away.  She hasn’t brought along anyone else.  She hasn’t told anyone what she’s doing or where she’s going.

 

    Hmm.  What if something goes wrong, Ruth?

 

What’s To Like...

    Ruth Warnecki’s spelunking misadventure opens things in Point Blank, and the series’ two main characters in Catherine Coulter’s “FBI Thriller” series, the husband-&-wife FBI team of Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich, show up in the second chapter with their own plot thread.  A pair of wisecracking psychopathic killers, for unknown reasons, have decided to target them.  The two storylines soon merge, although to give more details than that would be a spoiler.

 

    The story's setting is in the Virginia/Maryland area.  The dual plotlines aspect works well at keeping the book’s pacing at a rapid clip; so does a spate of local murders.  And  one detonation of Savich’s prized Porsche.  The writing style is a deft blend of crime-thriller and police procedural; two genres that I always enjoy.

 

    Character development is a prominent aspect of the Catherine Coulter's storytelling.  It was fun to meet Sheriff Dixon Noble, in whose jurisdiction Winkel’s Cave is located.  It was a refreshing change to see the FBI Feds and the local law officers working as one unit on a case.  The resulting investigation introduces a slew of possible suspects, plus one hyperactive toy poodle named Brewster.  This is only the second book I’ve read in this series, so I’m not sure whether any of these local characters are, or become, recurring ones.

 

    The ending ties up all the major plotlines, but is presented in such a manner to where the reader doesn’t figure out who the baddies are before Savich and Sherlock do.  My guess at the who and why of the perpetrators was totally amiss.  Things close with a hint of romance in the air,

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.5*/5, based on 4,124 ratings and 288 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.16*/5, based on 14,287 ratings and 456 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    Savich raised his face to the steel-gray sky, breathed that fresh wild air deep into his lungs.  He could feel Moses Grace was close.  He punched up the incoming call.  “Savich here.”

    “Hello, boy.  This here’s your nemesis.  Ain’t that a grand word?  Claudia read it to me out of a book, said that’s what I am to you.”

    Savich stilled, his mind working furiously.  He knew, he simply knew.  “Who is this?”

    “Why, this is the poor old man you’re trying to hunt down and kill, and bury real deep, Agent Savich.”  (pg. 56)

 

    Ruth put a smile on for Cynthia when she jerked the front door open.  “Well, what do—Dix, hello.  Do come in.  Oh, you.  So you’re still here.  Sorry, but I don’t remember your name.  You’re some kind of police officer, too, aren’t you?”

    “Some kind, yes,” Ruth said agreeably.  “Agent Ruth Warnecki.  I believe we had lunch together, what was it, two days ago?  They say memory is the first to go.”

    Cynthia said, “Yes, I’ve heard that, too.  But why would I even want to remember you?”

    “Good one,” Ruth said.  (pg. 270)

 

“What are you up to, smearing hot dog all over my shoe, making everybody laugh at me?” (pg. 243)

    I wouldn’t label Point Blank a cozy mystery, but the cussing is sparse.  I counted just 8 instances in the first 25% of the book, all of them being of the milder 4-lettered ilk.  A number of adult situations are also referenced, but none are witnessed firsthand.

 

    I don’t have any major gripes with anything in Point Blank, other than nitpicking about Savich and Sherlock not revealing the key break in the case until they confront the main perp.  I have several more books from this series on my Kindle and TBR shelf, so we shall see if holding back on the “big reveal” is a regular occurrence in this series.

 

    7½ Stars.  One last thing. At one point, a psychochemical compound called QuinuclidInyl Benzilate (shortened to “BZ” for simplicity's sake) figures into the story.  I thought I had heard of all such hallucinogenic chemicals, but this was new one to me.  You can read more about it in Wikipedia here.