Andy Weir’s PROJECT HAIL MARY is a joy to read. Good. Good. To begin, the title is not a direct religious reference. It has a football origin, meaning going for a long-shot gamble when there’s no other realistic choice. Instead of saying “He’s praying for a miracle,” we say “the quarterback threw a Hail Mary.”…
SHADOWS REEL is the twelfth C.J. Box-penned novel (and the ninth in the “Joe Pickett” series) I’ve read. It’s a solid link in the series but I didn’t experience any “Oh wow” moments. There are two independent story lines, almost like the book alternates between two novellas. One story line centers around Wyoming game warden…
I learned a lot reading Chris Whipple’s THE SPYMASTERS: HOW THE CIA DIRECTORS SHAPE HISTORY AND THE FUTURE, and I’ve already forgotten most of it. The introduction was an eye-opener. If you don’t read the book, visit your local library and read the introduction. A couple things I came away with: the CIA (Central INTELLIGENCE…
RICH BLOOD is the sixth Robert Bailey legal thriller I’ve read. The characters are all new, except for Powell Conrad, who was a district attorney in the McMurtrie and Drake 4-book series, and is a trial judge in RICH BLOOD. I liked Rich Blood, partly because it’s a good novel, partly because I like Robert…
I really liked Matthew Quirk’s thriller, HOUR OF THE ASSASSIN. The basic plot: Nick Averose, a former Secret Service agent now in his own business as a security consultant, is hired to test the security of the house belonging to a former CIA director. He breaks through the defenses. Unfortunately, while he is chit-chatting with…
Sean Adams’ THE HEAP seems to be a bible or proposal for a TV series. Its good parts are amazing, but the uninspired storylines drag my rating down to three stars. The novel’s basic premise: A building 500 stories high (Los Verticales), really a city unto itself, collapses into a “heap” killing everyone in it,…
Book Review by Joseph Snoe—THE BLADE BETWEEN by Sam J. Miller One thing for sure about Sam J. Miller’s THE BLADE BETWEEN, it’s not a cookie cutter novel. I’m not even sure what genre it is. I have to wait until December to see how Amazon.com classifies it. I was thinking perhaps fantasy or science…
By Alfred Gough and Miles Millar The reviews are all over the place for Alfred Gough & Miles Millar’s DOUBLE EXPOSURE. Me, I really enjoyed it. If you like the James Bond/Jason Bourne/Indiana Jones quick action stories, there’s a good chance you’ll like DOUBLE EXPOSURE. Basic story: In 1962, David Toland, Korean War hero turned…
By Wand M. Morris I really liked Wanda M. Morris’s ANYWHERE YOU RUN (Your Past Will Find You). For one thing, the title actually has something to do with the novel. Second, the promotional blurb on the back of the book accurately represents the story. I appreciate that. I should mention the novel is published…
To writers, and I fancy myself to be one, good openings are the holy grail. The rest of the story has to hold up, but I want an author to grab my attention immediately. I don’ t necessarily mean drop me into the middle of a fight scene. Too many people think you have to…