I Must Get Caught Up on My Reviews!

The time has come for another edition of Catching Up on My Book Reviews. Are you ready? 

I have four books that I want to give you my thoughts on. I have included a link to Amazon US if you'd like to read the synopses or find out more about each book. Here we go!

The Program by Charlie Lovett

Standalone Science Fiction set in New York City

Rating: D

My Thoughts: Lovett has written some wonderful books, like The Lost Book of the Grail, but The Program isn't one of them. This tale of a highly popular new weight loss program kept me intrigued, but when how the program really worked was revealed, it completely lost me. 

This one may not satisfy, but as I said earlier, he has written some wonderful books. 

The Restoration Garden by Sara Blaydes

Dual timeline Fiction set in England

Rating: B

My Thoughts: Julia Esdaile, who specializes in historic garden restoration, has been hired to restore the gardens of Havenworth Manor to the way they were in 1940. Many family secrets are uncovered along the way.

I enjoyed learning more about the language of flowers as well as the garden restoration itself. The characters were sympathetically drawn in both timelines, although the modern-day characters were a bit predictable.

An enjoyable, although not particularly memorable, read.

Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg

#1 Eve Ronin Police procedural set in Los Angeles, California

Rating: A

My Thoughts: When I shared how much I was enjoying Goldberg's Ian Ludlow books, I was told that I should give his Eve Ronin series a try. Of course, I had to.

Eve Ronin (AKA Deathfist) found a way to get the job she wanted in the LAPD, and although she has to put up with nonsense from her fellow officers, she doesn't let that stop her. Goldberg shows Eve's mistakes as well as her real talent as she investigates. 

Filled with Goldberg's usual fast pace, vivid descriptions, and laugh-out-loud humor, I thoroughly enjoyed Lost Hills and look forward to meeting Eve again.

The Missing Checkout Girl Mystery by Rachel Ward

#1 Supermarket Mystery set in England

Rating: B+

My Thoughts: I don't remember how this book first caught my eye, but it did. I was surprised by how many good reviews it had received, and I decided to give it a try because, well... I'd never read a mystery with a supermarket checkout employee as a sleuth. (It also brought back memories of the first time I set foot in a British supermarket and saw the checkout employees sitting down.)

After reading The Missing Checkout Girl Mystery, I am no longer surprised by its good reviews. Bea Jordan and her cohorts are so engaging, and I loved getting to know all of them. In fact, I enjoyed the days of our lives in a supermarket so much that I almost didn't care whodunit.

An added bonus was learning a bit more about British retail, as well as a certain slang term that even had my three English nieces a bit puzzled. (Pasta parcels, anyone?)

Okay. Are you sitting down? You'd better be because I am finally caught up with my reviews! 

Did I tempt you with any of these books? Which ones?

Mark Four More as Read

 

Here I go again, trying catch up on reviews of the books I've read. I am determined to get current, although this post isn't going to be the one to do it.

These are shorter reviews, mainly just my thoughts. If you'd like a synopsis or more information about a book, just click on the link in the book title to be taken to Amazon US.

It's time to get this show on the road!

The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

Historical Fiction, 365 pages

eBook purchased from Amazon

Rating: A+

My Thoughts: I loved this dual timeline novel about the Lyons family. The 1913 timeline features the Lyons family, living in an apartment in the New York Public Library since Mr. Lyons is superintendent there. His wife, Laura, wants to be more than the traditional wife and mother, and while this creates tension, even more appears when valuable books are stolen from the library.

In 1993, Sadie Donovan is curator at the New York Public Library and the granddaughter of Laura Lyons, the famous essayist. Rare books, notes, and manuscripts for the exhibit she's running begin disappearing, causing her to team up with a private security expert. The investigation soon becomes personal. 

The inner workings of the library, the characters of Laura and Sadie, the mystery of the disappearing books and manuscripts, the dual timelines all combined to create a read that kept a stranglehold on my attention. A Best Read of 2025.

Artemis by Andy Weir

Science Fiction, 335 pages

eBook purchased from Amazon

Rating: A

My Thoughts: I absolutely loved Weir's previous novels, The Martian and Project Hail Mary, so I had to pick up this book about Earth's first and only lunar colony. We learn all about the ins and outs of the colony through the eyes of young Jazz Bashara, who's not above trying to commit the perfect crime in order to improve the quality of her life.

I liked the local cop's solution to a domestic violence case, and his use of a spray bottle made me laugh. I also enjoyed Jazz's voice. She drew me right into the story and kept me there. 

I do love the way Andy Weir's mind works, but he is a passionate technophile, and sometimes his descriptions of how things work in space can be a bit much. Fortunately, those parts are easy to skim through. I am definitely looking forward to what that mind of his cooks up next.

Carved in Blood by Michael Bennett

#3 Hana Westerman police procedural, 306 pages

eBook purchased from Amazon

Rating: A

My Thoughts: I continue to enjoy this series set in New Zealand. I'm learning a lot about the Maori culture through the strong plots and even stronger character of Hana Westerman. 

In this third book, Hana has been working with her father to help young locals to earn their driver's licenses-- those licenses being passports to their futures. When Hana's ex-husband is murdered, she's brought in to solve the case. 

This is an excellent series that I hope goes on for a good long time.

An Enemy in the Village by Martin Walker

#18 Bruno Chief of Police, 305 pages

Digital galley from Net Galley

Rating: B

My Thoughts: It's always a pleasure to visit with Bruno, the police chief of the small French town of St. Denis. (I always read these books with a French accent!) As Bruno works to solve the murder of a successful businesswoman, readers are treated to good food and good friends. And sparks fly between Bruno and Jilly, a woman who happens to have a basset hound just like he does. 

Will Bruno, who never has good luck in the romance department, finally find love? I'm looking forward to finding out.

There you go-- four more reviews that get me a bit closer to catching up. Have you read any of these? Which ones? What did you think? Of course, inquiring minds want to know!

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

 

First Line: "What's Two plus two?"

 

When Ryland Grace wakes up, he doesn't remember much, except that he's been asleep for a very long time. When the memories start to return, he realizes that he's millions of miles from home... and he's the only surviving member of a crew that set out to save Earth.

 

Now it's all up to him to prevent an extinction-level event for humanity, and what may at first seem impossible is given a ray of hope with the appearance of an unexpected ally. Now Ryland Grace just might have a chance. 

~

My first encounter with the mind and imagination of author Andy Weir was when I read The Martian. I liked it a lot, but it was science-heavy science fiction, and there were times that all that made my eyes glaze over. However, I noticed that most of my friends and fellow bloggers who raved about it had listened to the audiobook, so when Project Hail Mary came out and readers began raving again, I remembered this and wisely bought the audiobook. What happened?

I loved it!

 

Project Hail Mary reminded me of those Sci-Fi classics that I absorbed in my teens and twenties. A very human, very likable, yet flawed hero. A mission to save Earth. Catastrophe millions of miles from home. Meeting an alien life form. Yes, this book is still science-heavy, but Ray Porter's voice kept me enthralled throughout. The science never became a drag. I was completely engaged in the story. I laughed. I cried. I wondered what was happening to Grace and Rocky when I was away from the book.

Yes, I loved the entire story, but my favorite part had to be Grace and Rocky, the alien who's one of the best sidekicks in literature. Showing how they learned to communicate, how they learned what made the other's species tick, how they came to work together to solve what appeared to be an insurmountable problem... 

 

(Although Grace and Rocky are definitely the heroes of this book, I'd like to say a word of praise for Stratt, the steel-spined, no-holds-barred woman in charge of putting together the mission to save Earth. She often made me laugh, and even though I wish I could learn what ultimately happened to her, I'm fairly certain that her own predictions came true because that's how we humans roll.) 

 

Project Hail Mary is sheer storytelling delight, and one of my Best Reads of the year. I can hardly wait to see what Andy Weir's imagination comes up with next!

 

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Narrated by Ray Porter

ASIN: B08GB58KD5

Audible Studios © 2021

16 hours, 10 minutes

 

Science Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon

Far From Home by Walter Tevis

First Line (from "The Apotheosis of Myra"): Out beyond the French windows during the day's second sunset the grass began singing.

Three of Walter Tevis' six novels (The Hustler, The Color of Money, and The Man Who Fell to Earth) were adapted into major films, but he was also known for his short stories. I was in the mood for short stories and a bit of science fiction, so I picked up Far From Home.

This collection of thirteen stories reads fast. They are all well-written, and many of them gave me food for thought because of the subjects the author touched upon. Of the thirteen, five garnered most of my attention: "Rent Control," which shows the importance of a rent-controlled apartment in New York City; "The Apotheosis of Myra," about a husband who wants to get rid of his wife (but I enjoyed it for Tevis' vision of life on another planet); what a man tries to do to his past in "Sitting in Limbo"; to what lengths governments and engineers will go in order to be rid of a small obstruction in the path of a proposed monorail in "The Goldbrick"; and "The Ifth of Oofth," a cautionary tale about messing with the fifth dimension.

This is a solid short story collection that should please anyone who enjoys well-written science fiction.
  

Far From Home by Walter Tevis

eISBN: 9780795342875

RosettaBooks LLC © 2014

Originally published in 1983.

eBook, 150 pages

Short Story Collection

Rating: B

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

 

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

First Line: Dr Strauss says I shoud rite down what I think and remembir and evrey thing that happins to me from now on.

In Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon, a mentally challenged man working as a janitor in a bakery, agrees to an experimental surgery that turns him into a genius... and brings him heartache.

I still seem to be going through a phase of reading the books some of my favorite films were based upon. It's always interesting to me to see what the filmmakers changed in order to tell their own versions of the story.

I've watched two different film adaptations of this book: 1968's Charly, starring Cliff Robertson (who won an Academy Award for his performance in the title role), and 2000's  Flowers for Algernon, starring Matthew Modine.
Both films opted to make a kinder, gentler version of Daniel Keyes' book.

The book is written as a series of progress reports, and they provide a vivid picture of Charlie's mental and emotional intelligence. The sections in which Charlie was mentally challenged were literally painful for me to read because my eyes simply did not want to translate so many misspelled words. This reaction did surprise me, and I was certainly glad when Charlie's reports began to improve post-surgery.

I think the thing that surprised me the most in a comparison between the book and the movies was Charlie's anger. Post-surgery, Charlie realizes that all his good friends at the bakery, all those guys he had so many laughs with, were really making fun of him all along. Charlie's past has also been hiding some extremely painful episodes. And as his intelligence increases to genius level, he becomes very impatient with everyone around him because they can't keep up. Obviously, the filmmakers decided that much of this (understandable) anger could not be shown because it could jeopardize audience sympathy for the character.

Since the book is written as a series of progress reports, the tone often seems very dispassionate, as if I were being kept at a distance. I'm not sure if I care for this or not. What I do know is that I'm glad I read Daniel Keyes' book. I feel as if I really know Charlie Gordon now, and even though I may have a sentimental preference for the movies, I like him just as much now as I did before. Daniel Keyes created a marvelous character study in which he proves that emotional intelligence is every bit as important as mental intelligence.

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

eISBN: 9780547539638

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt © 2007

Originally published in 1959.

eBook, 228 pages

Science Fiction, Standalone

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.


 

The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson

First Line: First he thought it was a tidal wave.

One of my favorite movies of all time is The Incredible Shrinking Man, and one of my favorite writers-- when I was a tween and a teen-- was Richard Matheson. Matheson wrote Rod Serling's introduction to The Twilight Zone (as well as a few episodes) and many other short stories and books that were turned into film. I grew up liking what the man could do with my imagination.

The novel The Shrinking Man is the basis for the movie I mentioned above, and I wanted to see how they compared. If you're talking to a book lover, you will normally hear that the book is always better than the movie. But that's not true. In this case, the film is superior to the book, and it's got everything to do with the main character, Scott Carey.

While out on a boat, Carey is covered in a mysterious, glittering mist that he later finds out is part radiation, part insecticide. He begins to shrink. Steadily. Until he lives in fear of the family cat. But he continues to shrink, until-- trapped in the cellar of their house-- he finds himself continually fighting off a very determined spider.

This book can be very interesting to read. How can a man who's literally shrinking away to nothing be able to provide for his wife and his daughter? How are his wife and daughter going to be able to cope with this situation? There's a lot of good food for thought within the book's pages. Unfortunately, one thing almost completely ruined The Shrinking Man for me-- Scott Carey.

Now, don't get me wrong. I tried to cut Carey as much slack as I possibly could. After all, how on earth would I know how I'd react if the same thing happened to me? But it was a very difficult thing to do. Scott Carey is one of the most juvenile, thoughtless, self-centered, violent-tempered, unlikable, whiny characters I've come across in years. It got to the point where I was rooting for the spider to win but feeling guilty about it because the spider probably would've suffered from horrible heartburn.

So just remember. The book isn't always better than the movie. The Shrinking Man is a case in point.

The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson

eISBN: 9780795315701

RosettaBooks© 2011

Originally published in 1956.

eBook, 373 pages

Science Fiction, Standalone

Rating: B-

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The Martian by Andy Weir

First Line: I'm pretty much fucked.

When a tremendous dust storm hits their habitat on Mars, the Ares 3 crew members abort their mission and begin the long return journey to Earth, leaving the body of astronaut Mark Watney behind. There's only one problem: by some twist of fate, Mark isn't dead. Now he's alone on a hostile planet with no way to communicate with anyone. Somehow, some way, Mark has to figure out how to survive for four years when the next mission will arrive. Can he do it?

I'm not a die-hard science fiction fan by any stretch of the imagination, at least not since my teens and early twenties, but when trusted book sources raved about this book, it haunted me until I was forced to buy and read it. I have to admit that one of the things that drew me in was the first line. Although I do come from a family of farmers and sailors (and all the earthy/salty language that may imply), it wasn't the f-word that drew me like a magnet. There's just something about that first line that tells you even though the chips are down as low as they can get, this character still has a sense of humor. And as I well know, a sense of humor can keep you going when a lot of other things can't.

After hearing raves about The Martian and after having read it... just what is my opinion?  It's a darned good book, but not quite rave worthy for me. It is written in the form of a log book, which is the perfect format. Mark is there alone; he has no one to talk to; and the only way we're going to get to know him is for him to write his thoughts and problems down in the log. Each Ares 3 crew member had to have two specialities; Mark's are mechanical engineering and botany. If he is to survive for the four years it will take for help to arrive, he has to concentrate on food and water and making any necessary repairs to the equipment and his shelter. Reading his thought processes as he works through the various problems he deals with is the perfect way to learn his character.

However, I have to be honest. The technical jargon in the first fifty pages started making my eyes glaze over. That "stuff" is necessary to show how Mark survives, and it also shows the tremendous amount of research the author did for the book, but there's only so much interest I can personally show in growing potatoes in a hostile environment and mechanical engineering. (I know of many readers who were fascinated with this. I'm happy for them... and a little envious.)

Something happens after those first fifty pages that sets the whole book on its ear, and my interest re-engaged with a vengeance. Yes, there was still quite a bit of that "stuff" I mentioned previously, but it was easier to digest after injecting more action into the storyline. Before you think this book is nothing but technical language and action, let me tell you that Mark Watney is a gem of a character. His intelligence, his problem-solving skills, his sense of humor, how he copes throughout a situation that would make most people give up... he's one of the best characters I've read so far this year.

If you like science fiction that's so good you feel as though you're on the red planet yourself, if you like survival tales, or if you like brilliant characters, by all means give The Martian a try. I'm very glad I did.

The Martian by Andy Weir
ISBN: 9780804139021
Crown Publishers © 2014
Hardcover, 384 pages

Science Fiction, Standalone
Rating: B+
Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen. 

Them Bones by Howard Waldrop

Title: Them Bones
Author: Howard Waldrop
ISBN: 0-441-80557-4, Ace Science Fiction, 1984
Genre: Science Fiction/ Time Travel
Rating: C+

First Line: "There's a horse in the small mound," said Bessie.

It's 1929 and archaeologists are digging in a mound in Louisiana when they find something very exciting: the skeleton of a horse. What's so exciting about that? From the skeleton's position in the mound, it was in America a few centuries before it was supposed to be. Then the archaeologists dig a little more and find something even more curious: the cause of the horse's death--a cartridge from a rifle.

Them Bones sticks to the Moundbuilder culture of prehistoric America, but the story is told from differing viewpoints: the 1929 team of archaeologists, a scout sent back to the wrong time to prevent World War III, and the group of soldiers who followed him.

The story moves quickly--too quickly--and the chapters involving the group of soldiers tend to be downright confusing. The 1929 group of archaeologists and the scout had the most interesting stories to tell, especially Leake (the scout) who became well-acquainted with the group of Indians he found himself amongst. I've visited Cahokia, the one remaining supreme example of Moundbuilder culture. It is awe-inspiring, so I enjoyed Waldrop's choice of setting and the Indian characters Leake met.

The bones were there for a wonderful book, but they just weren't fleshed out. The setting was a winner, but the pace was too fast and the characters not fully realized. I'm glad that I read the book because it encouraged me to go online and do a bit more research on Cahokia, but Them Bones left me feeling like Oliver Twist. Please sir...couldn't I have had some more?

[Source: Paperback Swap.]

REVIEW: The Man Who Folded Himself

Title: The Man Who Folded Himself
Author: David Gerrold
Protagonist: Daniel Eakins
Science Fiction/Time Travel
Setting: Los Angeles in various time periods
Rating: D

First Line: In the box was a belt.

I am a fan of well-written time travel, and when I discovered that I'd missed this 1972 classic, I couldn't wait to read the revised edition that was printed in 2003. The first thing that put me off was the introduction that told me just how great it is. I'm in the camp that believes if a book is great, let there be no fanfare--let the book speak for itself.

Daniel Eakins inherits a belt from his beloved Uncle Jim and is a tad disappointed until he finds out that it's a "time belt" that will allow him to travel through time. Daniel spends the next few decades gathering money and alternative time lines for himself. If he does something he doesn't like, he just goes back and tells himself not to do it, but all the travels and revisions create hundreds of Daniels. I was told that Daniel kept up with the news and that missing children were found, terrorists were blown up by their own bombs and serial killers didn't have a chance to rack up body counts, but these were merely comments in passing. The main action revolved around Daniel and all his self-created selves. He was a loner and rather than getting out and meeting new people, he tapped the keys on the time belt and played exclusively with himself. (The double entendre is intentional.) By the time this (thankfully) short novel wound to a close, the real identity of one of the characters was anything but earth-shattering, and I just wanted to wring Daniel's neck. This is one "classic" I wish I hadn't found.