Some New Books and Bill's Continuing Author A-Z

It was a lovely day yesterday so I packed the dogs into the car with me and we headed around to the various local free lending libraries that folks have outside their homes. Besides mine, there are 5 that I know of in Comox. I found a few books and gave them some new books for their libraries in exchange. I'll start today's entry with a look at the four books that I found and then continue with my ongoing Author's A - Z.

New Books

1. Dark Watch by Clive Cussler w/ Jack Du Brul (Oregon Files #3). So far I've been reading Cussler's Isaac Bell mystery series and enjoying a lot. I've been collecting the books from the other series in his catalogue and am looking forward to starting them.

"Cabrillo and his motley crew aboard the clandestine spy ship Oregon have made a very comfortable and very dangerous living working for high-powered Western interests. But their newest clients have come from the Far East to ask for Cabrillo's special brand of assistance: a consortium of Japanese shipping magnates whose fortunes are being threatened by brutal pirates trolling the waters of Southeast Asia.

Normally, such attacks on the high seas are limited to smaller ships and foreign-owned yachts-easy targets on the open ocean. Now, however, giant commercial freighters are disappearing. But when Cabrillo confronts the enemy, he learns that the pirates' predations hide a deadly international conspiracy-a scheme of death and slavery that Juan Cabrillo is going to blow out of the water."

2. Live To Tell by Lisa Gardner (D.D. Warren #4). I've read one of Gardner's thrillers so far and enjoyed. I've added a couple of other her books to my bookshelves. 

"On a warm summer night, in a working-class Boston neighborhood, four family members are brutally murdered. The father—and possible suspect—clings to life in the ICU. Murder-suicide? Or something even worse? Veteran police detective D. D. Warren is certain of only one thing: There’s more to this case than meets the eye.

Danielle Burton is not only a dedicated nurse at a locked-down pediatric psych ward but the haunted survivor of a shattered life. Meanwhile, devoted mother Victoria Oliver will do anything to ensure that her troubled son has some semblance of a childhood.

The lives of these three women unfold and connect in unexpected ways, as sins from the past emerge - and stunning secrets reveal just how tightly blood ties can bind. Sometimes the most devastating crimes are the ones closest to home."

3. Double Deuce by Robert B. Parker (Spenser #19). I have yet to try a book by Parker but I have added two or three of his Jesse Stone stories to my shelves. This was the first book in his Spenser for Hire series that I thought to pick up.

"Hawk wants Spenser to wage war on a street gang. Susan wants Spenser to move in with her. Either way, Spenser's out of his element. So why not risk both?"

4. The Nearest Exit by Olen Steinhauer (The Tourist #2). This is the first time I've looked at books by Steinhauer. It sounded interesting.

"Faced with the potential dissolution of his marriage and the end of his quiet, settled life, reluctant spy Milo Weaver has no choice but to return to his old job as a "tourist" for the CIA. But before he can get back to the dirty work of espionage, he has to prove his worth to his new bosses. Armed with a stack of false identities, Milo heads back to Europe, and for nearly three months every assignment is executed perfectly. Then he's instructed to kill the fifteen-year-old daughter of Moldovan immigrants, and make the body disappear. No questions. For Milo, it's an impossible task, but ignoring his handlers is equally untenable. Suddenly he's in a dangerous position, caught between right and wrong, between powerful self-interested foes, between patriots and traitors--especially now that he has nothing left to lose."

Authors A - Z

Company Town by Madeline Ashby

I'll mention a book by Canadian writer Madeline Ashby before I highlight the authors below. I read Company Town this past February and was pleasantly surprised by it. It was one of those books that I just liked the cover and thought it sounded interesting enough to try. Well worth it. Check it out. It's my first attempt of any of Ashby's writing and it was a neat dystopian adventure.

Isaac Asimov

a. Isaac Asimov. Asimov was born in Russia in 1920 and died in New York in 1992. Over the years, especially when I was heavy into Science Fiction, I read quite a few of his stories. I enjoyed the original Foundation and Empire trilogy; Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. His Robot books; The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, The Robots of Dawn and Robots and Empire were an excellent combination of Science Fiction and Mystery. I also remember enjoying The Fantastic Voyage and The Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain, as well as a collection of robot short stories, I Robot. Recently I discovered another series that sounded interesting, in the Mystery genre, The Black Widowers. I found one of the series and enjoyed it as well, kind of a neat take on the mystery format. It's a collection of six books.

Banquets of the Black Widowers (1984).

"I've read many of Isaac Asimov's science fiction books; the Foundation and Empire trilogy, the robot books, Fantastic Voyage, etc. He was such a good story teller. It's been many years since I last read one of his books and recently I discovered this mystery series; the Black Widowers and I bought one of them; Banquets of the Black Widowers.
The Black Widowers are a group of six gentlemen who meet on a monthly basis for a dinner and drinks and then to interrogate a visitor about a mystery in their life. They are ably assisted by their waiter, Henry, maybe the smartest member of the group.
The collection of short stories are gentle and cozy. They follow the same formula for the most part. In each one, one of the members is the host of a visitor; they chat and have dinner and then while they relax over drinks afterward, they interrogate the visitor. Even their interrogation starts off in a similar fashion; first the member must justify their lives and then they tell a story that has troubled them while the members try to offer a solution that might help the person.
There is no violent crime just incidents in their lives that they need help either remembering or rationalizing. The six widowers are middle-aged or older, curmudgeonly and interesting. Their waiter Henry serves and observes and is the voice of final solution, deferred to by the others. I enjoyed this collection very much and will search for the others. Excellent concept. (3 stars)"

The other books in the series are:
- Tales of the Black Widowers (1974)
- More Tales of the Black Widowers (1976)
- Casebook of the Black Widowers (1980)
- Puzzles of the Black Widowers (1990)
- The Return of the Black Widowers (2003)

Asimov is always worth checking out. If you're just starting out in Science Fiction, he can be a great starting point.

Kate Atkinson

b. Kate Atkinson. English writer Atkinson has written some favorites of mine. In the past month, I listed my Top 100 books of all-time and two of Atkinson's books made my list:

- Behind the Scenes at the Museum. This was my #14 on the list. My review of it can be found by clicking on the book title.
- Case Histories. This was #24 on my list, the first Jackson Brodie mystery.

Atkinson has written 5 standalone novels with a new one on the way and also has 4 books in the Jackson Brodie mystery series. I have also completed the 2nd Brodie mystery.

One Good Turn (Jackson Brodie #2). 

"This is the second book in the Jackson Brodie series and we now find Brodie in Edinburgh, which now matched up somewhat with the TV series. In this story, Brodie is only in Edinburgh because girlfriend, Julia, who we met in the first book has an acting job during Edinburgh's festival. Brodie is a retired police detective/ private detective and finds himself somewhat out of pace during this visit. He doesn't really know what to do to occupy his time but suddenly becomes involved in a road rage incident and then finds a dead body, which also manages to disappear on him. We are introduced to a cast of interesting characters; writer Martin Canning, from the road rage incident, Gloria Hatter, the wife of conman Graham and my favourite character, Detective Sergeant Louise Monroe. The story rotates from each character's perspective and moves along nicely, gradually interconnecting their individual story lines. It's an intelligent, well-written, entertaining story and I look forward to reading the rest of this series. I enjoyed the TV series immensely and the books, so far, have not let me down at all."

The remaining books in the Jackson Brodie series are -
- When Will There be Good News (2008)
- Started Early, Took My Dog (2010).

Margaret Atwood

c. Margaret Atwood. Back during my university days at University of Toronto, I took a Canadian Lit course and one of the books we took was Atwood's Surfacing which was originally published in 1972. I can't say it was a favorite of mine but I tried a couple of her other books; The Edible Woman (1969) and a book of poetry, The Circle Game (1964). 

That was it for a long time until I discovered The Handmaid's Tale (1985) which blew me away. I've read three or 4 times, enjoyed the original movie and started watching the new TV mini-series. It's one of the great dystopian novels and seems almost prophetic at times.

"Set in the near future, it describes life in what once was the United States, now called the Republic of Gilead. Reacting to social unrest, and a sharply declining birthrate, the new regime has reverted to -- even gone beyond -- the repressive tolerance of the original Puritans. Offred is a Handmaid who may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant because she is only valued as long as her ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now."

In the past few years, I've begun exploring more of Atwood's work. She has an excellent mix of Fiction and Science Fiction and Poetry. A few examples are below.

- The Maddaddam Trilogy. This was a fascinating collection about the future. I especially enjoyed Oryx & Crake and Maddaddam. Synopses of the three are below.

Oryx & Crake - "Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved. In search of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey–with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake - through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride. Margaret Atwood projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond our imagining."

The Year of the Flood -  "In this second book of the MaddAddam trilogy, the long-feared waterless flood has occurred, altering Earth as we know it and obliterating most human life. Among the survivors are Ren, a young trapeze dancer locked inside the high-end sex club Scales and Tails, and Toby, who is barricaded inside a luxurious spa. Amid shadowy, corrupt ruling powers and new, gene-spliced life forms, Ren and Toby will have to decide on their next move, but they can't stay locked away."

Maddaddam -  "In this final volume of the internationally celebrated MaddAddam trilogy, the Waterless Flood has wiped out most of the population. Toby is part of a small band of survivors, along with the Children of Crake: the gentle, bioengineered quasi-human species who will inherit this new earth.
As Toby explains their origins to the curious Crakers, her tales coheres into a luminous oral history that sets down humanity's past--and points toward its future. Blending action, humor, romance, and an imagination at once dazzlingly inventive and grounded in a recognizable world, MaddAddam is vintage Atwood--a moving and dramatic conclusion to her epic work of speculative fiction."

Two other books I've enjoyed are also listed below.

The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus. 

"The Penelopiad: the Myth of Penelope and Odysseus by Margaret Atwood was one of a series of books released in 2005, the others by other acclaimed authors; e.g. Alexander McCall Smith, Philip Pullman, etc, featuring a modern retelling of various myths, either Greek, Celtic, Christian, etc. The Penelopiad is a retelling of the tale of Odysseus, his courting of Penelope, his dashing off to the War on Troy and his return journey, this time from the perspective of his wife Penelope. Penelope remains in Ithaca and must keep his estates in good order and also fend off the suitors who are gorging her food and courting her to try and get their hands on her estate. Penelope tells this story from the future, her spirit now living in Hades. The 12 maids that Odysseus executed on his return act as a Greek chorus, fleshing out Penelope's story. It's an interesting retelling of this tale, with allusions to the present, conversations with Penelope's cousin, Helen (of Troy) and makes the adventure and myth accessible and enjoyable to read. Margaret Atwood is always an excellent story-teller and intelligent author and this book lives up to her standards. I may have to check out the other stories in this series. (4 stars)"

The Blind Assassin. 

"The Blind Assassin opens with these simple, resonant words: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge." They are spoken by Iris, whose terse account of her sister's death in 1945 is followed by an inquest report proclaiming the death accidental. But just as the reader expects to settle into Laura's story, Atwood introduces a novel-within-a-novel. Entitled The Blind Assassin, it is a science fiction story told by two unnamed lovers who meet in dingy backstreet rooms. When we return to Iris, it is through a 1947 newspaper article announcing the discovery of a sailboat carrying the dead body of her husband, a distinguished industrialist. Brilliantly weaving together such seemingly disparate elements, Atwood creates a world of astonishing vision and unforgettable impact."

I've one more book awaiting my attention. It's a new purchase for me, Hag-Seed: The Tempest Retold. 

"Hag-Seed is a re-visiting of Shakespeare’s play of magic and illusion, The Tempest, and will be the fourth novel in the Hogarth Shakespeare series.

The Tempest is set on a remote island full of strange noises and creatures. Here, Prospero, the deposed Duke of Milan, plots to restore the fortunes of his daughter Miranda by using magic and illusion - starting with a storm that will bring Antonio, his treacherous brother, to him. All Prospero, the great sorcerer, needs to do is watch as the action he has set in train unfolds.

In Margaret Atwood’s ‘novel take’ on Shakespeare’s original, theatre director Felix has been unceremoniously ousted from his role as Artistic Director of the Makeshiweg Festival. When he lands a job teaching theatre in a prison, the possibility of revenge presents itself – and his cast find themselves taking part in an interactive and illusion-ridden version of The Tempest that will change their lives forever.

There’s a lot of Shakespearean swearing in this new Tempest adventure…but also a mischief, curiosity and vigor that’s entirely Atwood and is sure to delight her fans."

So there you go. I'll continue this with my next entry. Have a great day.