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| The Hippy Dippy Mail Carrier |
I have only finished two books so far this month but I'm making relatively steady progress on the others I'm reading. I received a few books in the mail the past couple of days, bought a couple and found one of a series I'm enjoying in my Little Free Library this morning. I'll provide the synopses of these books and also continue with look at women authors I'm enjoying.
New Books
"It is a few decades after a revolutionary technology has given humans the ability to resurrect the dead. The ever-increasing population of the risen dead is segregated into areas called necrovilles. Here they have created a wild culture, untouched by the restrictions of the law - except that the dead cannot stray into the realm of the living, nor the living into the teeming necrovilles, after nightfall. It is November 1, the Day of the Dead. Virtual artist Santiago Columbar, creator of drugs and 'ware that melt and reconfigure reality for his many disciples, has grown bored with the realities at his command. There is one reality he has yet to try, the culmination of his life as an artist: He will venture into the forbidden streets of the Saint John dead town, and there walk willingly into the open arms of death. At Santiago's invitation, four of his friends will meet in Saint John to record his death and resurrection. On their way to witness Santiago's transformation, as the necroville erupts into the first volley of a revolution against the living, each will face danger and adventure in the wild streets of the dead...and find that life has changed forever."
"The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine - as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave."
"From the beet fields of North Dakota to the campgrounds of California to Amazon’s Camper Force program in Texas, employers have discovered a new, low-cost labor pool, made up largely of transient older adults. These invisible casualties of the Great Recession have taken to the road by the tens of thousands in RVs and modified vans, forming a growing community of nomads."
"Distinguished short story collection produced by one of the best writers in the science fiction world, previously published as The Best of Walter M. Miller Jr in 1980. This essential collection contains fourteen short stories from the 1950's: 'You Triflin' Skunk!', 'The Will', 'Anybody Else Like Me?', 'Crucifixus Ethiam', 'I, Dreamer', 'Dumb Waiter', 'Blood Bank', 'Big Joe and the Nth Generation', 'The Big Hunger', 'Conditionally Human', 'The Darfsteller', 'Dark Benediction', 'The Lineman' and 'Vengeance For Nikolai'."
"In the Darwin Centre at
London’s Natural History Museum, Billy Harrow, a cephalopod specialist,
is conducting a tour whose climax is meant to be the Centre's prize
specimen of a rare Architeuthis dux—better known as the Giant Squid. But
Billy’s tour takes an unexpected turn when the squid suddenly and
impossibly vanishes into thin air.
As Billy soon discovers, this
is the precipitating act in a struggle to the death between mysterious
but powerful forces in a London whose existence he has been blissfully
ignorant of until now, a city whose denizens—human and otherwise—are
adept in magic and murder.
There is the Congregation of God
Kraken, a sect of squid worshipers whose roots go back to the dawn of
humanity—and beyond. There is the criminal mastermind known as the
Tattoo, a merciless maniac inked onto the flesh of a hapless victim.
There is the FSRC—the Fundamentalist and Sect-Related Crime Unit—a
branch of London’s finest that fights sorcery with sorcery. There is
Wati, a spirit from ancient Egypt who leads a ragtag union of magical
familiars. There are the Londonmancers, who read the future in the
city’s entrails. There is Grisamentum, London’s greatest wizard, whose
shadow lingers long after his death. And then there is Goss and Subby,
an ageless old man and a cretinous boy who, together, constitute a
terrifying—yet darkly charismatic—demonic duo.
All of them—and
others—are in pursuit of Billy, who inadvertently holds the key to the
missing squid, an embryonic god whose powers, properly harnessed, can
destroy all that is, was, and ever shall be."
"Even if there had been no murder, the last trip of a small band of dedicated bird-watchers aboard the Jessie Ellen would still have been news. For George Palmer-Jones and the other avid crew members achieve every bird-watcher's dream when they sight a sea bird which has never before been recorded. In the subsequent excitement, however, no one notices the sudden absence of the most fanatical birder of them all . . .
Later, Greg Franks' corpse, the head bludgeoned, is found floating in the sea.
Had
it not been for Greg Franks, amateur detective George Palmer-Jones
would not have been on the bird watching trip in Cornwall in the first
place. He had been hired by Greg Franks' anxious parents to try and
persuade their errant son to return home. George would have turned the
case down flat but the offer of a free weekend's bird watching was too
tempting to resist. Now, he must unhappily shoulder the burden of
finding why the young man had been murdered. Who hated Franks enough to
kill him? Almost everyone, it seems . . ."
Women Authors I'm Enjoying - Deryn Collier
Canadian author Deryn Collier has written two books in an interesting mystery series, featuring ex-Canadian military officer, Bern Fortin, who has settled in the interior of BC and becomes the local pathologist. I hope she continues the series but it has been 4 or 5 years since the 2nd one.
Deryn Collier
"Confined Space is the first book in the Bern Fortin series. At the moment there are two books written by Canadian writer, Deryn Collier. Bern Fortin is an ex-Canadian Lieutenant - Colonel, with a past that haunts him, who has retired and become the Coroner of a small British Columbia town in the Kootenays. This first mystery involves a death (murder?) at the local brewery. At the same time the body of a young woman is found in a field next to the brewery. Fortin, along with the Safety officer at the brewery, Evie Chappelle, work to determine the cause of the deaths, all the while dealing with personal issues, a possible relationship. Intermingled with the investigation, are correspondence and some flashbacks of Fortin's past; his time both in Rwanda and in Afghanistan. It's an interesting introduction to a new series with potential to develop into an excellent series. I'm looking forward to trying book two, Open Secret. (3 stars)"
"Open Secret is the 2nd and final book in Deryn Collier's Bern Fortin mystery series set in Kootenay Landing, British Columbia. Fortin is an ex-soldier who now works as the Coroner in Kootenay Landing.
In this story while Fortin is off on a morning hike in the mountains he hears a gun shot. Running to investigate he comes across the local doctor trying to revive a man who has been shot. The man still dies and the RCMP are called in to investigate. At the same time Gary Dowd a resident of Kootenay heads to the US border with a shipment of drugs. When he arrives at the border he has second thoughts, takes the drugs and abandoning his car, heads into the mountains. Are these two incidents related? That is the crux of the investigation.
At the time Fortin is being forced to reckon with his past life in the military, an affair with his general's wife, activities in Rwanda where he was deployed, etc. An ex-military man, now reporter, is in Kootenay trying to get a story from Fortin in order to help one of Fortin's military colleagues who is currently in military prison. Oh yes, one other thing, the story delves into the past of Cindy Forsberg, an abused native girl, who was adopted by a white family and disappeared 10 - 15 years ago.
So how are all these events related? That's what the story tries to find out. In its way it was very interesting. There is also a Hell's Angels and drug element to the whole darn thing. So lots of loose ends to try to tie together and sort out. All in all I enjoyed the story but it wasn't perfect. I found it difficult to invest myself in most of the characters, maybe they were a bit too 'quirky'? Maybe there was a bit too much going on, too many secrets, too many disparate events. In the end everything was tied up reasonably satisfyingly. The story was ok, not great but still acceptable. (3 stars)"
Some reading ideas for you. Almost the weekend. Enjoy your Friday and weekend. Stay safe. 😷
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