Not a lot to report re books, but I have finished two more and am making steady progress on the others. I'll update my completed books, books I'm starting and any new ones that might have arrived.
Recently Completed
"The Beasts of Tarzan is the 3rd book of Edgar Rice Burroughs adventure series featuring the Lord of the Jungle and it was originally published in 1914. My first exposure to his work was his John Carter of Mars Sci Fi series. I read that a couple of times. Over the past few years, I've been meandering through his other works, some standalones, the Caspak (Land that Time Forgot books). I can't say that his stories are fantastic but they are always entertaining and filled with action and adventure.
In Tarzan #3, things start off with a bang. An old enemy, the Russian terrorist, Rokov (he was supposed to be in a French prison) and his partner, Paulvitz have a plan to destroy Tarzan's life. At this time, Tarzan is a civilized man, Lord Greystoke, living in London with his wife, Lady Greystoke and their infant child, John. The two schemers want to kidnap John and Tarzan, which they do manage to do. Jane, even though she's told to stay at home, follows the events and is also kidnapped.
Tarzan is dropped off on an isolated island off the west coast of Africa. Rokov plans to turn the baby over to cannibals on the mainland so he'll be turned into one as well. His plans for Jane are to have her reject her husband and choose Rokov. (Not likely, buddy!)
And that's the gist. Tarzan reverts easily to his jungle life style. He hunts, stalks, discovers a humanoid / ape tribe that he 'befriends' and also a black panther, Sheeta, that he wins over to his side when he saves it from a fallen tree. As well, an African tribe has run ashore on the island and after a battle between Tarzan and his friends, their remaining soldiers are also won over to Tarzan's side.
This motley group must find a way to get off the island (may I suggest an airship, a bridge.. oh, right how about a boat... duh) and then they will track Rokov and is group of reprobates through the jungles of Africa to help Tarzan save Jane and his child.
The story moves from Tarzan's perspective to that of Jane and even of the two villains. It's a quickly paced story, even though the writing is a bit turgid, I found. Put aside the portrayal of Africa as a savage, violent land (not that I was alive in 1914 to know what much of the world was like) peopled by cannibals and wild tribes, the story is still exciting and Tarzan always finds honorable, faithful friends no matter where he finds himself.
Lots of action, lots of bodies, friendship, vengeful enemies, roaring jungle beasts, it's got a bit of everything you'd expect from Burroughs. Some of the throw-ins, like the sudden appearance of more villains, seemed unnecessary, but they all served a purpose. Not great, but still entertaining (2.5 stars)"
"The Unquiet Night by Australian writer, Patricia Carlon was my first attempt at her work. I believe I discovered her during my exploration of the Soho Crime catalogue. It introduced me to many new, interesting authors. She lived from 1927 - 2002 and wrote 14 suspense novels between 1961 and 1970, one obviously being this one. As an aside, I've checked for copies of the other 13 books and thus far have only found one other.
OK, the story. It starts very quickly. A young man, Mart, is in the park with a young woman, Rose, and he's panicking. In a fit of rage, he's murdered her. She went with him, hoping for some fun, but he just wanted to talk about his dreams, etc. and when she said he was a strange bird, he shook her and shook her. Terrified now, he drags her body to a hill overlooking a reservoir, lake... and rolls her down the side into the water.
As he's leaving he sees a lady and young girl, Aunty Rachel and 9-year old Ann. Their eyes make contact, Rachel says hello, he responds and then a rainstorm begins and Rachel grabs Ann and rushes to her car.
As he stands there in the rain, Mart begins to worry. He's not really worried that the pair saw him killing Rose, but when her body is discovered, she might remember him being there. Now begins the real story as Mart tries to find out who the lady and girl are and how he's going to have to silence them.
It's a fascinating story, that grows tenser and tenser as it progresses. The story is told mainly from Mart and Rachel's perspectives, but it jumps from individual to individual as Mart and Rachel make contact with people in the small town. Mart isn't stupid and is quite ingenious in his way of trying to find out who Rachel and Ann are. But these contacts start to develop a picture for the police and mainly Rachel's sort of boyfriend, Steve, a radio broadcaster, who until the exciting ending, begins to put pieces together until the satisfying final sentence.
Carlon gives you a nice perspective of how people react to Mart's telephone calls, the fear he begins to inculcate in local mothers as he tries to find out Ann's name. I don't want to ruin the story because you should get the full impact, but trivial little normal day-to-day activities impact on the final part of the story. Will Mart be able to silence Rachel and Ann? Why are people so frustrating!! I'll get at that tomorrow... No, no! You need to do it now!
It's filled with those little scenarios that make suspense so suspenseful, disconnecting your phone so nobody can disturb you, telling your daughter that you don't want to talk to her about what she might have seen, etc. A pleasant surprise and I'm looking forward to reading my other book by Carlon, The Whispering Wall (4.0 stars)"
Currently Reading (One book started since my last update)
"Nazi Agents are at work in the neutral countries of Europe - attempting to subvert so as to provide further easy victims for the Third Reich. Dr. Palfrey and the 'Rescue Squad' are faced with the challenge and danger of meeting this treachery and overcoming the full might of the German state in its quest for power. There is much standing against them, and they are likely to be uncovered and caught at any moment, but they must succeed as the fate of the allies may depend upon it."
"A pandemic has devastated the planet, sorting humanity into two the uninfected and the infected, the living and the living dead. The worst of the plague is now past, and Manhattan is slowly being resettled. Armed forces have successfully reclaimed the island south of Canal Street - aka 'Zone One' and teams of civilian volunteers are clearing out the remaining infected 'stragglers'.
Mark Spitz is a member of one of these taskforces and over three surreal days he undertakes the mundane mission of malfunctioning zombie removal, the rigors of Post-Apocalyptic Stress Disorder, and attempting to come to terms with a fallen world.But then things start to go terribly wrong..."
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