The reason I chose to read this book was because one of my favorite authors, Lee Child, wrote a favorable short cover-review for it. I am happy that I picked it up. The author, Owen Laukkanen, did an excellent job with this, his first novel, and he has set himself up well to continue with a series, using the likeable characters he created for this book.
The book opens in Chicago, with immediate fast action and good writing. We have a group of four friends who have decided that their college degrees are worthless because they can't find a job, so have taken to kidnapping instead. Wouldn't be my first choice of careers, but they got away with it for a couple of years until they kidnapped the wrong man. That's when things started to unravel.
This book is full of action and adventure and is really fast-paced, right up to the end. It was a real page-turner, which explains why it only took me a couple of days to read it. It must be said here that it could keep you up past your bedtime because it was hard to put down.
If you like a good adventure, intelligent police work and a little bit of mob action, then this book is for you.
P.J. O'Rourke advises "Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."
Let Galesburg Public Library staff and friends guide you in finding those books.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Our Last Best Chance by King Abdullah II
I first became interested in the man who would become King Abdullah II of Jordan when he made a cameo appearance on an episode of Star Trek: Voyager. At the time, he was still a prince. Apparently he is a huge fan of Star Trek. When I heard about his book, published in 2011, I knew I had to read it. The world needs more leaders who believe in the philosophy of Star Trek (all peoples, educated and living in peace, with good work to do and sufficient food, water, and shelter).
I am not a student of the affairs in the Middle East, and I’m sure there are people who will disagree with some of what is written in Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril. However, I found the narrative accessible and the narrator compelling. In the book, the author tries to shed light on the Middle East for American readers. King Abdullah II was educated in the United States and England, and Jordan is a friend to the United States. He says, “I have been highly critical at times of Israel’s behavior and intransigence, but it goes without saying that there is plenty of blame to go around on both sides for the failure of the peace process.” He also writes, “One of the more frustrating misconceptions in the West is that all Arab women are oppressed, illiterate, kept at home to look after children, and forced to wear the veil when they venture out of the house. Many women across Jordan and the Arab world…go to university and then achieve great things in their professional careers.” He tackles other misconceptions about the Middle East as well.
One of the things King Abdullah II has accomplished is the creation of a co-educational academy in Jordan offering scholarships to those unable to afford the fees. All students are treated equally; even his own son has do his chores and take his turn waiting on tables for other students. One goal is to help Jordanian students compete in the modern global economy. The proceeds from the sales of this book support the school’s scholarship fund.
King Abdullah II is an unusual world leader. If you would be interested in reading about the Middle East, Arabs, and Muslims from a point of view other than what we usually hear on American television, from someone who lives in the Middle East and deals with the issues every day, I recommend Our Last Best Chance.
I am not a student of the affairs in the Middle East, and I’m sure there are people who will disagree with some of what is written in Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril. However, I found the narrative accessible and the narrator compelling. In the book, the author tries to shed light on the Middle East for American readers. King Abdullah II was educated in the United States and England, and Jordan is a friend to the United States. He says, “I have been highly critical at times of Israel’s behavior and intransigence, but it goes without saying that there is plenty of blame to go around on both sides for the failure of the peace process.” He also writes, “One of the more frustrating misconceptions in the West is that all Arab women are oppressed, illiterate, kept at home to look after children, and forced to wear the veil when they venture out of the house. Many women across Jordan and the Arab world…go to university and then achieve great things in their professional careers.” He tackles other misconceptions about the Middle East as well.
One of the things King Abdullah II has accomplished is the creation of a co-educational academy in Jordan offering scholarships to those unable to afford the fees. All students are treated equally; even his own son has do his chores and take his turn waiting on tables for other students. One goal is to help Jordanian students compete in the modern global economy. The proceeds from the sales of this book support the school’s scholarship fund.
King Abdullah II is an unusual world leader. If you would be interested in reading about the Middle East, Arabs, and Muslims from a point of view other than what we usually hear on American television, from someone who lives in the Middle East and deals with the issues every day, I recommend Our Last Best Chance.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Cell 8 by Roslund & Hellstrom
I usually don't read books that are written by two different people because deep down inside I worry that I won't have a "connection" with either one of them. I am convinced that it will be totally obvious that it was written by two people, and therefore confusing. I was wrong.
This is a book written by Anders Roslund, who is a former journalist, and Borge Hellstrom, who is a former criminal with some tricky punctuation on top of each "o" in his name. So right there I thought this book ought to be good.
This story begins in Ohio, where a man named John Meyer Frey is on Death Row, accused of murdering his girlfriend. He was 17. We get a sneak peak into prison life, we learn a little bit about the other prisoners, the guards and the Death Penalty. We come to like our guy John, so when he suddenly dies from heart disease right there in his cell, we feel sad. Well, I did anyway.
Fast forward six years, and we run into a man who is a lot like John, but this man lives in Sweden and has a wife and a small child, and so now we are confused. This new John gets himself into a bit of trouble with the police, and his life suddenly takes a horrible turn for the worse. And this, my friends, is where the story truly begins, which is quite fantastic really, and full of twists and turns and a whole lot of people.
This is a good mystery, well-told, well-written and quite exciting. These two authors wrote another mystery/thriller before this called "Three Seconds" which I will try to find. I will tell you that this is a lengthy book, but they use their time wisely, and they really develop the characters.
If you like mysteries that are multi-layered and well thought out, you will love this book. I know I did!
This is a book written by Anders Roslund, who is a former journalist, and Borge Hellstrom, who is a former criminal with some tricky punctuation on top of each "o" in his name. So right there I thought this book ought to be good.
This story begins in Ohio, where a man named John Meyer Frey is on Death Row, accused of murdering his girlfriend. He was 17. We get a sneak peak into prison life, we learn a little bit about the other prisoners, the guards and the Death Penalty. We come to like our guy John, so when he suddenly dies from heart disease right there in his cell, we feel sad. Well, I did anyway.
Fast forward six years, and we run into a man who is a lot like John, but this man lives in Sweden and has a wife and a small child, and so now we are confused. This new John gets himself into a bit of trouble with the police, and his life suddenly takes a horrible turn for the worse. And this, my friends, is where the story truly begins, which is quite fantastic really, and full of twists and turns and a whole lot of people.
This is a good mystery, well-told, well-written and quite exciting. These two authors wrote another mystery/thriller before this called "Three Seconds" which I will try to find. I will tell you that this is a lengthy book, but they use their time wisely, and they really develop the characters.
If you like mysteries that are multi-layered and well thought out, you will love this book. I know I did!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
The success of a tale like Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black lies not in the plot but in the ability of the author to unsettle you. I found the narrative deliciously chilling, evocative, and atmospheric, and I was thoroughly spooked by the end. The author makes excellent use of some haunting images that reappear throughout the book. This is a short book – my copy was only 164 pages – great for a quick read over a short period of time in which to immerse yourself in the narrative. If you are at all tempted by mysterious and gothic tales, I definitely recommend The Woman in Black.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd
A Bitter Truth is an engrossing story with interesting characters who develop more fully with each addition to the Bess Crawford series. The series, which began in 2009 with A Duty to the Dead, is written by a mother and son team under the name Charles Todd. I don’t usually like co-written books, but I really enjoy this series. The narrator, an intelligent and likeable English battlefield nurse during the Great War, is compelling, and the historical information is told in a subtle and effective way, adding to the story rather than pulling the reader out of it.
In A Bitter Truth, Bess finds herself involved in a family mourning the loss of one son, with a second son lashing out in grief and pain after his own war injury. He and his wife are estranged; his mother and grandmother mourn not only the dead soldier but a child who died tragically many years before. After an argument involving a guest in the house, the guest is found murdered, and everyone in the house at the time including Bess is under suspicion. Another plot thread involves an orphaned French child who may or may not be the daughter of the living son.
There are some plot holes, as well as some twists that are highly implausible. However, I was fully involved in the story and I forgave the issues with the plot. If you like historical mysteries with a heavy emphasis on character interaction (like books by Anne Perry, for example), I recommend A Bitter Truth as well as the entire Bess Crawford series.
In A Bitter Truth, Bess finds herself involved in a family mourning the loss of one son, with a second son lashing out in grief and pain after his own war injury. He and his wife are estranged; his mother and grandmother mourn not only the dead soldier but a child who died tragically many years before. After an argument involving a guest in the house, the guest is found murdered, and everyone in the house at the time including Bess is under suspicion. Another plot thread involves an orphaned French child who may or may not be the daughter of the living son.
There are some plot holes, as well as some twists that are highly implausible. However, I was fully involved in the story and I forgave the issues with the plot. If you like historical mysteries with a heavy emphasis on character interaction (like books by Anne Perry, for example), I recommend A Bitter Truth as well as the entire Bess Crawford series.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Dragon’s Path by Daniel Abraham
If you love epic fantasy, I recommend The Dragon’s Path, book one of Daniel Abraham’s series The Dagger and the Coin.
The Dragon’s Path is a long book, and it took some time for me to get into it. After a mysterious prologue, the author introduces different threads for four main characters. I began to wonder whether common plot threads would ever start to weave between the four characters. However, eventually, the characters’ stories became entangled.
Once I got involved in the story, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I’m glad to know there are more books on the way about these characters. The characters have depth and secrets. They make mistakes and regret them. Their feelings for each are conflicted, and their relationships are more complicated than simple romantic ties. One of the main characters is female, and strong female characters are sometimes lacking in epic fantasy.
There are a lot of characters in the story. A glossary of both the people and the different races present would have been helpful. Overall, however, the made-up names and places did not make my head spin the way they do in some epic fantasy.
The second book in the series, The King’s Blood, has not yet been published, but The Dragon’s Path can be read by itself. It is clear at the end of the book that there is more to come, but the main plot lines are tied up – even that mysterious prologue.
The author notes in an interview at the back of my copy of the book that he “wanted an epic fantasy without much violence.” This attitude is part of why the book appealed to me. There are scenes of great violence, but they are not described in great detail. The feel of the book is not primarily one of violence. The book is driven by characters and their interactions. In contrast, I started the first book in George R.R. Martin’s incredibly popular Song of Ice and Fire series and couldn’t finish it, partly due to the level of violence.
One thing that caught me off guard is the absence of dragons in a book called The Dragon’s Path. The dragons are kind of like the ancient Romans are for us. They ruled long ago and established the jade roads that people travel on. They also made mistakes that ended in their downfall. (I am guessing there will be dragons in later books – otherwise, why mention dragons at all? But I could be wrong about that.)
The title of the book has two meanings – the characters travel the dragon paths from one place to another, but their society is also moving toward the path of ruin. That kind of layered meaning makes The Dragon’s Path a satisfying read.
The Galesburg Public Library is exploring the possibility of a new Science Fiction/Fantasy book discussion group. If you are a teen or an adult who might be interested in participating in such a group, please contact me at jane.easterly@galesburglibrary.org, or attend an exploratory meeting upstairs at the library at 6:30 pm on Monday, January 30.
The Dragon’s Path is a long book, and it took some time for me to get into it. After a mysterious prologue, the author introduces different threads for four main characters. I began to wonder whether common plot threads would ever start to weave between the four characters. However, eventually, the characters’ stories became entangled.
Once I got involved in the story, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I’m glad to know there are more books on the way about these characters. The characters have depth and secrets. They make mistakes and regret them. Their feelings for each are conflicted, and their relationships are more complicated than simple romantic ties. One of the main characters is female, and strong female characters are sometimes lacking in epic fantasy.
There are a lot of characters in the story. A glossary of both the people and the different races present would have been helpful. Overall, however, the made-up names and places did not make my head spin the way they do in some epic fantasy.
The second book in the series, The King’s Blood, has not yet been published, but The Dragon’s Path can be read by itself. It is clear at the end of the book that there is more to come, but the main plot lines are tied up – even that mysterious prologue.
The author notes in an interview at the back of my copy of the book that he “wanted an epic fantasy without much violence.” This attitude is part of why the book appealed to me. There are scenes of great violence, but they are not described in great detail. The feel of the book is not primarily one of violence. The book is driven by characters and their interactions. In contrast, I started the first book in George R.R. Martin’s incredibly popular Song of Ice and Fire series and couldn’t finish it, partly due to the level of violence.
One thing that caught me off guard is the absence of dragons in a book called The Dragon’s Path. The dragons are kind of like the ancient Romans are for us. They ruled long ago and established the jade roads that people travel on. They also made mistakes that ended in their downfall. (I am guessing there will be dragons in later books – otherwise, why mention dragons at all? But I could be wrong about that.)
The title of the book has two meanings – the characters travel the dragon paths from one place to another, but their society is also moving toward the path of ruin. That kind of layered meaning makes The Dragon’s Path a satisfying read.
The Galesburg Public Library is exploring the possibility of a new Science Fiction/Fantasy book discussion group. If you are a teen or an adult who might be interested in participating in such a group, please contact me at jane.easterly@galesburglibrary.org, or attend an exploratory meeting upstairs at the library at 6:30 pm on Monday, January 30.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler
I would recommend The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler to anybody who likes a story that sticks in your mind. I found myself thinking about the characters even when I wasn't reading. It's a fast read--I read it in a couple of nights. It is a story about working through the grief process with humor and wisdom. The book is due out in April 2012.
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