Another fine novel in the chronicles of Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Bernadette Manuelito, Stargazer finds Manuelito blindsided when her old roommate MAnother fine novel in the chronicles of Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Bernadette Manuelito, Stargazer finds Manuelito blindsided when her old roommate Maya confesses to the murder of her husband, a prominent astronomer. The confession doesn't sit well with Manuelito, but is she letting her personal connection to Maya get in the way?
And speaking of personal issues, when Chee is made acting head of the department, he temporarily becomes Manuelito's boss, which threatens to drive a wedge between them.
On the whole, this is a solid continuation of Anne Hillerman's series, although I wasn't quite sure how the secondary case fit in. But that's a minor quibble and might just have been me. I can still recommend this book without reservation....more
Another in the collection of old SF books I inherited from my father, City is an intriguing novel by one of the field's great authors, Clifford D. SimAnother in the collection of old SF books I inherited from my father, City is an intriguing novel by one of the field's great authors, Clifford D. Simak. City is a collection of eight connected short stories comprising a legend told in the far future by intelligent dogs about their origins alongside a mythical race called Man. Most dogs do not believe Man ever existed, but the tales of the legend challenge their beliefs.
On one level, these stories are an exploration of what our own fate might be, given certain scientific developments. Naturally, the science is badly dated by now, but that hardly matters. Other anticipated developments could be substituted for them with much the same result. On another level, this is a fascinating look at how different intelligences might view the world, the strengths and weaknesses of each of them, and their ability--or inability--to comprehend each other.
John W. Campbell issued the challenge, "Write me a creature that thinks as well as a man, but not like a man." Simak has done that here, not once but five times. Alongside humans we find mutant humans, robots (what we would now call AI), Martians, intelligent dogs, and--believe it or not--intelligent ants. All that in one novel!
The stories are enhanced by dogish scholarly commentary preceding each one, which adds a layer of fun to the package. On the whole, it's a remarkable novel that does a good job of spanning the decades....more
This is another of my father's old science fiction books, published in 1951. Dad picked it up the same year. It's something of a science fantasy, trutThis is another of my father's old science fiction books, published in 1951. Dad picked it up the same year. It's something of a science fantasy, truth be told, with scientist Dr. Walter Goodwin making a bold effort to explain the strange things he encounters in an underground world. For the most part, he succeeds (or believes he does), but in the end there are some things that seem to defy materialist explanations.
An entire civilization lies hidden beneath the surface of the Earth, with ancient races of human and not-quite-human creatures divided by their allegiances to a mysterious trio of beings called "the Silent Ones" and their opponent, "the Shining One," a being of light both beautiful and evil who has found a way to come to the surface from time to time and steal away those who get too close. One of Goodwin's colleagues has vanished in this way, setting in motion an attempt to find him and understand the creature that took him.
It's not a bad premise, based fairly well in the science of the times, although very dated by now. For example, the underground world exists in a space created when the mass that became the moon was torn from the Earth and thrown into space. That was one of the ideas at that time. Today, we know it was rather the opposite: the collision of a Mars-sized body with Earth resulted in the moon's formation. In any event, it could have been a pretty good tale, and maybe at the time it seemed so.
Unfortunately, the language is pretty thick, the melodrama heavy, and at one point a massive information dump grinds the story to a halt. I've never read any of Merritt's works. I've heard he was a pretty good writer, but this book wasn't his best. Oh, well. I guess we all have our off-days. ...more
This is another of my late father's books, one of a series of double novels published by Ace in the 1950's. The series boasts luminaries such as PhiliThis is another of my late father's books, one of a series of double novels published by Ace in the 1950's. The series boasts luminaries such as Philip K. Dick, Leigh Brackett, and Andre Norton. The books had two "fronts", one upside down from the other. Each novel reads from its cover to the middle of the book. You read one, then you turn the book over and upside down to read the other. Catchy.
This volume pairs Alien from Arcturus by Gordon R. Dickson with The Atom Curtain by Nick Boddie Williams. Both are very dated, obviously. I found the volume to be a bit like old vinyl singles, with a pretty good "A" side and a dicey "B" side. Dickson's novel is the "A" side.
Alien from Arcturus posits an Earth quarantined for its own good by a spacefaring confederation of aliens who are waiting for humans to attain a certain level of maturity before letting them out into the galaxy. The test humanity must pass is a technical one: the creation of a faster-than-light spacecraft. Meanwhile, the aliens are happy to trade a fair bit of their technology for some of Earth's resources, so humanity has benefited from the quarantine, so much so that a mammoth corporation has evolved to manage the trading. And pretty much everything else on the planet.
One scientist, John Parent, has almost cracked the FTL riddle. But then his project is cancelled due to safety concerns. Of course, it's not that simple. Chicanery is afoot, and Parent along with a couple of unlikely cohorts and an alien who came to Earth seeking enlightenment and deliverance from his own vicious nature end up in a battle against the company. It's not great literature, but it's not a bad read, so long as you can deal with the dated ideas, such as an inhabited Venus (which in reality melts every spacecraft we land on it). I'll give this novel a solid 3 stars.
The Atom Curtain, on the other hand, reads like the author was trying too hard to elevate early science fiction to literary status. In the post World War III era, the western hemisphere closed itself off from the rest of the world by means of an "atom curtain," a zone of radiation that would fry anybody trying to pass through it. The rest of the world presumes the Americas have developed extraordinarily advanced technology and could attack at any moment, so they fly patrols close to the atom curtain. But they can't get through it. And then, quite by accident, pilot Emmett O'Hara does. He discovers a world decimated by radiation and under the iron control of one very old man and his mind-boggling technology.
This novel proved quite a slog. Too much exposition and some very bad science--for example, radiation exposure reversing evolution over a number of generations. There is also the comical or disgusting (depending on your point of view) regurgitation of the fable that "cavemen" practiced violent courtship rituals. And one inexplicable lapse in which a certain room is referred to--every single time--as "that exquisite room." (Why didn't the editor squelch that?)
Despite the problems, I sense Williams meant to say some deep things about good and evil and how nothing is ever black-and-white. But it didn't quite work out, at least for me. I'd give this one only 2 stars. ...more
This is another of my father's old science fiction books. He bought it in 1954, two years after its publication. It was the early years of the cold waThis is another of my father's old science fiction books. He bought it in 1954, two years after its publication. It was the early years of the cold war, when terrifying weapons were proliferating. Tucker envisions a devastating attack on the eastern U.S., with nuclear weapons obliterating the larger cities and biological weapons taking out the rest of the region. East of the Mississippi River is a wasteland, while civilization carries on to the west. But the biological contamination must be contained. The Army therefore destroys most of the bridges crossing the river and keeps the few that remain under heavy guard. Anyone attempting to cross into the west is killed.
Following a birthday binge, Corporal Russell Gary wakes up on the wrong side of the river. The novel follows him as he fights for survival in a land where resources are scarce and nobody can be trusted. Always in the back of his mind--and sometimes in the forefront--is the desire to get across the river and rejoin the Army.
I suppose this would be classified as a men's science fiction adventure. Gary has skills and determination aplenty, and he does survive. But he's not a very likeable character. He cares only for himself, uses everyone he meets, and often throws them away when he's done with them. The women he meets are only good for satisfying his sexual needs, and the men, with one exception, are pretty much only good for helping him get across the river. And he persists in that, even though he's been told that if he gets across, he'll be endangering the entire population, because likely he's carrying the disease that wiped out the east. Does he care? Nope. He just wants his old life back.
It's an okay story, otherwise. It's just hard to imagine anybody rooting for this guy or even caring much about him....more
This was one of my father's old science fiction novels. I originally read it decades ago when (I think) I was in high school, and it made quite an impThis was one of my father's old science fiction novels. I originally read it decades ago when (I think) I was in high school, and it made quite an impression on me. I've always meant to re-read it. Finally did.
It held up pretty well. The basic story is that a race of expansionist aliens have their eye on Earth. Their conquest hinges on spies planted throughout society. Humanity's colonies on Mars fall to the invaders in just an hour and thirty-four minutes. And now they're on their way here. The only hope Earth has lies in its leader, Eldin Raigmore. Based on a series of sophisticated tests that gauge people's capacities and slot them into suitable roles in society, Raigmore is one of the youngest of the small elite occupying the highest rank. But unknown to everyone, Raigmore is himself an alien spy.
My younger self was affected by Raigmore's internal conflict: knowing he was instrumental to the defeat of humanity, yet finding himself increasingly human. Today, I don't feel that so strongly, but that may only be because I already knew what was coming. Even so, I enjoyed revisiting the tale. It's not exactly deathless art. The writing is fairly ordinary, and in places its age definitely shows. (Women get judged a lot on their appearance, for one thing.) But the story is still an interesting one, and McIntosh's aliens are very different from us, to the point that their actions in invading seem surprisingly benign (even though we don't want them to win!).
I'm sure this book is long out of print, but if you stumble across a copy, it's worth a read. ...more
It's rather difficult to characterize this novel without giving too much away. On the surface, it's a gothic mystery. The Hardcastle family, owners ofIt's rather difficult to characterize this novel without giving too much away. On the surface, it's a gothic mystery. The Hardcastle family, owners of a decaying mansion, throw a masquerade ball on the anniversary of the murder of one of their children, and Evelyn, it seems, will be the next to die. Over and over. Because nothing here is quite what it seems. Aiden Bishop finds himself inhabiting the minds and bodies of eight of the guests over the course of eight days. And the only way he can escape is by identifying Evelyn's murderer.
Turton has spun an incredibly complex mystery. His writing is stellar, the characters are thoroughly twisted yet believable, and every time you turn around, you find that all you thought you knew must be thrown out the window.
If there's a problem--and this may just be me--it's possibly too complicated. I have a hard enough time keeping a large cast of characters straight when a story is told linearly, and here it's a loop, a day's events told from a single viewpoint but looking through the eyes of differing characters as those events happen over and over. Almost. Bishop learns he can change the course of events, so it's not always exactly the same.
That aside, it's an intriguing and highly original story. ...more
This is a difficult book for me to rate and review, given that it's a translation of a Japanese novel. Some of the storytelling mechanisms are a foreiThis is a difficult book for me to rate and review, given that it's a translation of a Japanese novel. Some of the storytelling mechanisms are a foreign to me, yet on the whole it's a compelling read and a clever puzzle.
The story itself is a curious one. A rich business owner has built a bizarre house on a cliff at the northernmost tip of Japan. The place is a maze of sloping floors and oddball staircases. During a New Year's gathering, one of the guests is found knifed to death in a locked room, and the only clues are inexplicable: bits of string tied to the knife and other objects in the room, the strange position of the body, and a neat dot of blood on the floor. And then another murder occurs, similar to the first but with some differences. Unable to make headway, the police ask for assistance, and Kiyoshi Mitarai is sent in, a thoroughly unconventional sleuth who at first seems a fool. But of course, he's the only one who sees through the fog and unravels the crimes. The author explicitly invites the reader to solve the mystery before the reveal.
To be honest, I'm not one of those people that read mysteries as puzzles to be solved. In my youth I did, sort of, but it turned out I wasn't great at it. I usually can't hold all the relevant points in my head as I go along. And this particular puzzle contains the worst possible combination of elements from that standpoint: there are too many characters for me to keep straight, they all have (to me) strange names, and the detail presented by the author is overwhelming. So I didn't try to solve it.
In spite of bogging down in the details of the house's layout and construction, not to mention the sometimes ridiculous speculations of the police, I felt compelled to keep reading. Shimada does weave an intriguing story! And when you get to the end, well, it's an astonishing denouement. I don't think I've ever read a story about a house that was...well, you'll have to read and find out for yourself. You'll see! ...more
I'm a long-time Agatha Christie fan, so it's no surprise I enjoyed this mammoth collection. It brings together all of her Hercule Poirot short storiesI'm a long-time Agatha Christie fan, so it's no surprise I enjoyed this mammoth collection. It brings together all of her Hercule Poirot short stories, 51 in all, offering a unique perspective on the dapper little Belgian. There isn't much to say about it aside from that. Just dive in!...more
Lucy Foley has crafted an intriguing murder mystery somewhat in the vein of Agatha Christie but with a twist. The tale unfolds as a group of friends wLucy Foley has crafted an intriguing murder mystery somewhat in the vein of Agatha Christie but with a twist. The tale unfolds as a group of friends who first bonded in their college days come together in a remote wilderness lodge for New Year's reunion of sorts. Once there, everything begins to unravel between them as old secrets begin to poison the adventure, culminating in murder.
The story is told in two threads: "now" when the body is discovered, and the few days leading up to the murder. The story is told in first person from the points of view of the women involved, plus a third-person account from the point of view of the lodge's mysterious gamekeeper. In an interesting twist, Foley keeps the name of the murder victim from the reader for as long as possible, which enhances the suspense.
The last third of the book becomes a serious page-turner. If there is a flaw, it's that (at least for me), the detailed accounts of the female characters' takes on the other guests get a bit tedious. It's fine when we are first learning who's who, but at some point I just felt it bogged down a little. (I could ding the book half a star for that, but the rest of it is so good that I don't have the heart to do it!)
The only other issue I had was likely a personal one. I just don't get how these people could possibly have stayed friends for so long. Admittedly, deep friendships are sort of alien to me. I've always had stronger attachments to family than others, and the few friends I've had wouldn't have been my friends if they acted the way this crew does. One of the characters gives some explanation in the denouement:
"Sometimes I positively hated her. But I did love her. That's what happens when you have known someone for such a long time. You see all their faults, but you know their best qualities, too..."
Which is true enough, but it's also true (isn't it; or am I that naive?) that if the other's faults are too great, especially if you are victimized by them, it drives a wedge between you. So I'm not quite sure why this gang was still together in the first place.
But if one can suspend disbelief on that point, it's a great tale....more
If I could, I'd probably rate Nine Lives 3.5 stars instead of 3. It's a clever idea: a killer delivers a list of nine names to nine people, each of whIf I could, I'd probably rate Nine Lives 3.5 stars instead of 3. It's a clever idea: a killer delivers a list of nine names to nine people, each of whom is on the list and none of whom seem to have any connection to each other. Then, one by one, the people on the list are murdered. Local police and the FBI investigate, but they can't dredge up any connections that indicate why the victims have been slated for death and by whom. FBI agent Jessica Winslow is on the list, but even she can't find any connections. The best guess anyone has is that the motive must be buried in the past. The connection may not be between the victims but their parents.
Swanson does a good job of building and maintaining suspense, portraying the lives of the victims and their associates, and the frustration of the authorities. It's worth the reading. At the same time, it does have a few flaws (at least according to yours truly).
First, the language is very plain, the descriptions utilitarian. No metaphors, nothing that makes one sit up and take notice. I enjoy artistry in an author's language. Here the language was just kind of there. Not bad, just not particularly interesting.
Second, near the end, the killer explains himself in a long note--over 10 pages in this edition. I found that too much. I suppose it may have been necessary in some degree, because neither the police nor the FBI ever made much headway. But it seems contrived, as though the author felt a need to explain everything to the reader and had no other mechanism for it. Personally, I'm not a fan of that technique. Your mileage may vary.
Finally, the story is a pretty bleak one. Without giving away anything too significant, there is no real closure. P. D. James said that mystery readers like order, which is ironic because murder mysteries are some of the messiest, most disordered tales around. But at the end, order is restored, by which she meant that the killer is stopped and justice is served, at least to some degree. Maybe not perfectly, maybe not without a lot of casualties, yet it happens. In this novel, I got no sense of that. (I can't say why without giving away the ending.) The author did try to offer a positive outcome in the final chapter, but to be honest, that was simply a fluke, not because law enforcement apprehended the killer or anything remotely similar. I was glad he put it in there. It offered a bit of light in the darkness. But wasn't justice. It was merely a happy accident.
Maybe that's Swanson's point. Maybe he's trying to say there is no justice in life, that nothing has any real meaning. I'm not on board with that message, myself, but whatever.
Anyway, in spite of these issues, it's not a bad read. You might enjoy it....more
Ann Hillerman's third Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito novel opens with a bang. Literally. Officer Bernadette (Bernie) Manuelito happens to be present whAnn Hillerman's third Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito novel opens with a bang. Literally. Officer Bernadette (Bernie) Manuelito happens to be present when a car bomb kills a young man in the Shiprock High School parking lot during a well-attended basketball game. The car belongs to Aza Palmer, a lawyer slated to preside over negotiations on a controversial proposed development near the Grand Canyon. But Palmer refuses to believe he's been targeted, and resents the fact that Manuelito's husband, Officer, Jim Chee, has been assigned to be his bodyguard.
Chee doesn't relish the assignment, either. He doesn't care for such work in the first place, and Palmer keeps slipping away. But as protesters descend upon the negotiations and acts of sabotage are committed against the facility hosting the meetings, it seems pretty clear someone is willing to flaunt the law to delay or stop the proceedings and raise tensions between the Hopi and Dine tribes, who have conflicting interests to begin with.
The more details come to light about the bombing and the sabotage, the more complex the case becomes, until Bernie calls upon Joe Leaphorn, who is still recovering from a gunshot wound to the head (received in the first novel, Rock with Wings. Despite his struggles with language, Leaphorn's memories stir, adding valuable insights to the developing case.
The resolution is far more disturbing than any of them could have imagined. Hillerman has stored up several surprises for us, and the tale becomes quite the page turner as the climax approaches.
It's a fine read. I'm looking forward to picking up the next book in the series....more
This is a different sort of le Carré novel, not in style, but in substance. George Smiley is called upon to address a new generation of agents, a younThis is a different sort of le Carré novel, not in style, but in substance. George Smiley is called upon to address a new generation of agents, a young bunch just embarking on their careers in the age of glastost and perestroika. At his side is Ned, an old colleague, whose memories are sparked by Smiley's comments. What ensues is a collection of stories of the old days stories of honor an treachery, success and failure.
In spirit, it's rather like Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, which was formed by binding a collection of Mars-themed short stories with the addition of connective tissue, only here, the stories were intended as part of a whole. It works brilliantly. Even as we move from one story to another, it's hard to put down. This might actually be my favorite le Carré yet...although it's hard to pick just one when there are so many good possibilities....more
This will be a slightly strange review. Sinkhole opens with Michelle Miller returning to her hometown of Lorida, Florida after a fifteen year absence This will be a slightly strange review. Sinkhole opens with Michelle Miller returning to her hometown of Lorida, Florida after a fifteen year absence from her family and the two friends she had in high school. Her mother is in the hospital, her relationships with family and friends are in tatters, and she is all but overcome by the knowledge that she had let everyone down. But maybe that's not quite how it was. As she replays her teenage experiences and faces new revelations, a terrible truth begins to emerge.
It's a fascinating, expertly woven story that is hard to put down. But...and here comes the strange part...I couldn't really get into the characters. This is not the author's fault. It's that the people populating this novel are rather far removed from my own experience. Time and again, I wanted to shake Michelle and scream, "What is wrong with you?" I suspect it will be obvious to most readers what's going on. The question is whether you can relate to how Michelle reacts to it. I just couldn't.
As I read, I half suspected the tale was intended as a tragedy. It's not. It's more of a redemption story. But the final chapters had a different feel from the rest of the book, as though suddenly the characters were pressed into service explaining everything to the reader. True, they had a lot of explaining to do to each other, too. But after such a long time watching everyone hide things, it was a jarring to see them come clean with such enthusiasm.
Even so, I kept reading. It says something about the author's skill that in spite of the above two issues, I didn't want to put the book down. The only true criticism I would offer concerns the periodic overuse of obscenity. I've complained about this from time to time before. (It's probably becoming a bit of a rant. Sorry.) Once upon a time, writers and editors understood that overuse of any word is a writing flaw, but somewhere along the line obscenity gained special status. Bad idea. If you were to replace overused obscenities with "clean" synonyms ("stupid" could often work), the flaw would become hilariously evident.
But on the whole, I consider Sinkhole a fine debut novel, even though it didn't quite connect with me personally....more
Faraway and Forever is a collection of five novelettes by one of my fellow Maryland authors. Imaginative science fiction tales all, they visit futuresFaraway and Forever is a collection of five novelettes by one of my fellow Maryland authors. Imaginative science fiction tales all, they visit futures where an alien race is using our very DNA against us; where people seek immortality in machines and vice versa; where human dramas play out on alien worlds; where wishes are grown, packaged, and delivered; where religion takes curious turns as it spreads to distant worlds.
The stories are well-plotted and hard to put down, but there are a few oddities here. For one, there are religious undertones to most of them, and while that's not a problem for me--it's not preachy, and anyway religion is a part of life and thus a valid concern of fiction--it's a bit unusual here. While there's a Roman Catholic feel to it, this isn't Christianity as anyone knows it. Interesting, to be sure, but it might raise a few eyebrows.
The other oddity, which I call such because otherwise the stories are well-written, is that the dialogue isn't always up to snuff, too wordy in some places, a bit artificial in others. It didn't put me off so much that I couldn't enjoy the stories, but it drew attention to itself.
On the whole, though, I found the stories worth reading. If you enjoy flights of imagination, you'll probably have fun on this journey....more
This tiny volume contains the winners of the Maryland Writers' Association 2023 poetry competition. In all, there are 11 poems: one first place winnerThis tiny volume contains the winners of the Maryland Writers' Association 2023 poetry competition. In all, there are 11 poems: one first place winner, one second place winner, three third place winners, and six honorable mentions. Every one of them is a delight to read and re-read (even though, as I've said before, I'm a novice when it comes to poetry). My favorites come from the honorable mentions, but that's a personal thing, I'm sure. The last one in the volume, "Learning Curves" by Robin Steven Payes, really connected with me, possibly because my children--and a couple of my grandchildren, by now--are all grown up. But given how small the collection is, there is likely something here for everyone. ...more
The third book in John le Carré's "Karla Triology" brings George Smiley out of retirement to once more hunt his nemesis, a powerful Soviet agent knownThe third book in John le Carré's "Karla Triology" brings George Smiley out of retirement to once more hunt his nemesis, a powerful Soviet agent known only as Karla. It begins when an old general who everyone discounts is murdered, shot in the face at point-blank range shortly after attempting to get word to "Max" (a.k.a. Smiley) about "the Sandman." As Smiley unofficially pursues leads and gathers evidence, a picture begins to emerge of Karla's all-too-human weakness and desperation. Years before, Smiley failed to convince him to defect. Could this be the opportune moment? Can Smiley live with himself as he adopts his nemesis' tactics?
I have a lot of "favorites" among le Carré's novels, but this one is definitely near the top. With a strong story and great writing, it's hard to put down. ...more
Pen in Hand is the literary journal of the Maryland Writers' Association. Published bi-annually in January and June each year, it brings together poetPen in Hand is the literary journal of the Maryland Writers' Association. Published bi-annually in January and June each year, it brings together poetry, short stories, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, and artwork from MWA members. This is the July 2023 edition, which includes a selection of haiku, in addition to poetry of other forms.
The poetry runs the gamut: peaceful, funny, nostalgic, pained, desperate. I'm a novice when it comes to poetry, but I found it all absorbing. Of the prose, my two favorites are Kathleen Fine's heart-rending "The Liar" and Linda Berry's "A Child's Brooklyn Memories" (which reads like a short story but may be a memoir). The other entries were engaging, too, although a bit more polish might have been applied here and there. Overall, it's an enjoyable and worthwhile read....more
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