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Man points - Look! Tree!
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Jo and I have been busy the past few days, trying to take advantage of the nice weather to get out the Xmas lights and other things.
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Man saws down nice tree
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Today we took a drive out to a local tree farm and made the trek to find our tree. We now know that the place has been open since 11 Nov to let people go in and tag their trees. There were still lots of nice ones though and for a reasonable price, we picked one. It's in the garage for the next couple of days. We'll get it set up Sunday, probably. The garage smells lovely now.
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Manly hunter proudly displays his catch, er, tree
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We treated ourselves to a Tim Horton's apple pie donut on our way to the tree farm. I bought one of the new Timbiebs just to see how it tasted. We shared a chocolate white fudge one. It wasn't bad. I'm proud to have done my bit to help poor Mr. Bieber make ends meet.
So, now, on to my reading update. I'll provide the synopses of my newest books, purchased in December. I'll also provide reviews of the last 3 books I completed and the synopses of the books I've started in their place.
New Books
1.
Humpty Dumpty in Oakland by
Philip K. Dick (1986). Dick has been one of the more unique writers of SciFi that I've enjoyed.
"Jim Fergesson is an
elderly garage owner with a heart condition, who is about to retire; Al
Miller is a somewhat feckless mechanic who sublets part of Jim's lot and
finds his livelihood threatened by the decision to sell; Chris Harman
is a record-company owner who for years has relied on Fergesson to
maintain his cars. When Harman hears of Fergesson's impending retirement
he tips him off to what he says is a cast-iron business proposition: a
development in nearby Marin County with an opening for a garage. Al
Miller is convinced that Harman is a crook, out to fleece Fergesson of
his life's savings. As much as he resents Fergesson he can't bear to see
it happen and--denying to himself all the time what he is doing--he
sets out to thwart Harman."
2.
The Strange Adventures of Mr. Andrew Hawthorn and Other Stories by
John Buchan (1932). My first experience with Buchan was his classic adventure, The 39 Steps. Since then I've read all of the Richard Hannay thrillers and have started checking out his other works.
"The short stories of
John Buchan are known for their authentically rendered backgrounds, taut
pacing, and atmosphere of expectancy and international intrigue. These
diverse tales combine Buchan's remarkable experiences and interests as a
traveler, war correspondent, politician, and classical scholar. Edited
by acclaimed author Giles Foden, this selection features the World War I
thriller "The Loathly Opposite," the frequently anthologized "Sing a
Song of Sixpence," and "Streams of Water in the South," one of Buchan's
personal favorites. Addressing such themes as human frailty, strength,
and redemption, the stories testify to Buchan's worldview that mastery
of oneself leads to the fulfillment of one's destiny."
3.
The Fireman by
Joe Hill (2016). I've been enjoying Hill's Locke & Key graphic novel series very much.
"No one knows exactly
when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is
spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one:
Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia
Trychophyton. To everyone else it’s Dragonscale, a highly contagious,
deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks
across their bodies—before causing them to burst into flames. Millions
are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is
safe.
Harper Grayson, a compassionate, dedicated nurse as
pragmatic as Mary Poppins, treated hundreds of infected patients before
her hospital burned to the ground. Now she’s discovered the telltale
gold-flecked marks on her skin. When the outbreak first began, she and
her husband, Jakob, had made a pact: they would take matters into their
own hands if they became infected. To Jakob’s dismay, Harper wants to
live—at least until the fetus she is carrying comes to term. At the
hospital, she witnessed infected mothers give birth to healthy babies
and believes hers will be fine too. . . if she can live long enough to
deliver the child.
Convinced that his do-gooding wife has made
him sick, Jakob becomes unhinged, and eventually abandons her as their
placid New England community collapses in terror. The chaos gives rise
to ruthless Cremation Squads—armed, self-appointed posses roaming the
streets and woods to exterminate those who they believe carry the spore.
But Harper isn’t as alone as she fears: a mysterious and compelling
stranger she briefly met at the hospital, a man in a dirty yellow fire
fighter’s jacket, carrying a hooked iron bar, straddles the abyss
between insanity and death. Known as The Fireman, he strolls the ruins
of New Hampshire, a madman afflicted with Dragonscale who has learned to
control the fire within himself, using it as a shield to protect the
hunted . . . and as a weapon to avenge the wronged.
In the
desperate season to come, as the world burns out of control, Harper must
learn the Fireman’s secrets before her life—and that of her unborn
child—goes up in smoke."
4.
Wycliffe and the House of Fear by
W.J. Burley (Wycliffe #). I've been enjoying this series for quite awhile now.
"After the mysterious
disappearance of wealthy business woman, Bridget Kemp, wife of Roger,
old memories begin to come to the surface. Hadn't Roger's first wife
disappeared mysteriously? For detective Wycliffe, supposedly
recuperating from an illness, it is all too intriguing for him to
ignore."
5.
The Road to Oz by
L. Frank Baum (Oz #5 / 1909).
"Everyone loves a party,
and when the party is Ozma of Oz's birthday party, everyone comes!
Notables from every part of Fairyland take the road to Oz, and Dorothy
(now on her fourth trip) has many adventures and meets many old friends,
as well as several new ones."
6.
Kill Fee by
Barbara Paul (1985). Paul is a new author for me. The story sounded interesting.
"The freelance hit man
known as Pluto takes a unique approach to his profession: clients don't
know they've hired the assassin until after the murder. Pluto
looks for a conflict between two people, kills one of them, and invoices
the other. No one is ever foolish enough to deny payment — Pluto always
collects his fee. When Lt. James Murtaugh of the New York Police
Department takes on the case, Pluto begins stalking the investigating
officer, leading to a suspenseful battle of wits between the detective
and the relentless killer. Loaded with intriguing characters and
ingenious twists, this action-packed mystery promises compulsive
page-turning and an electrifying ending."
7.
The Inugami Curse by
Seishi Yokomizo (Det Kosuke Kindaichi #2). Yokomizo is a new author for me. I've got the two books in this series now.
"In 1940s Japan, the
wealthy head of the Inugami Clan dies, and his family eagerly await the
reading of the will. But no sooner are its strange details revealed than
a series of bizarre, gruesome murders begins. Detective Kindaichi must
unravel the clan's terrible secrets of forbidden liaisons, monstrous
cruelty, and hidden identities to find the murderer, and lift the curse
wreaking its bloody revenge on the Inugamis."
Recently Completed
1.
Let Sleeping Girls Lie by
James Mayo (Charles Hood #2 / 1965).
"Let Sleeping Girls Lie is the second spy thriller featuring Charles Hood, by author James Mayo. I'm sorry to say it was very disappointing. The plot, Charles is tasked to keep an eye on then save a beautiful twin who has disappeared. The twin has a connection with her sister (Tiara and Tickle) and both of them have photographic memories. Some Rasputin like character who seems to have power over women wants to get sensitive information from Tiara and then sell it to interested buyers.
Charles Hood is kind of pompous, spends lots of time sitting around thinking, then wandering into situations, getting in trouble, surviving disasters, but none of them grab your attention. You'd think a battle with a man-eating buzzard, or a fight with dangerous enemies all operating construction machinery, or a final gun battle in a museum with expensive treasures, might grab you but they never seemed to. And the villain, Zagora, is a non-entity, not well developed, just a shaggy, piggish man and for some reason, wealthy women flock to him. The story wanders around France and Italy, seemingly pointless. It left me skimming to the end and unsatisfied with the story and the ending. Sorry, mate. (2 stars)"
2.
The Bang Bang Birds by
Adam Diment (Philip McAlpine #3 / 1968).
"The Bang Bang Birds is the 3rd of 4 books in the Philip McAlpine spy series by British author Adam Diment. The Bang Bang Birds was initially published in 1968 and it is very much of it's time; free sex, drugs, rock 'n roll. Oh and lots of fun action.
McAlpine who works for British intelligence has been seconded to a CIA organization working out of New York. He's basically there to decode documents. So he's enjoying life, living with a free-spirited rich American girl and enjoying his salary, paid by the Americans. But the section chief, an American General, begins giving McAlpine tasks outside his mandate. First he's got to provide a stash of drugs to an American informant. The incident at the bar in a seedier area of New York, leaves a CIA agent injured.
However it does result in McAlpine being given another task. McAlpine complains but is told his boss back in England has agreed to the assignment. So we now find McAlpine pretending to be a rich American, heading off to Sweden to infiltrate the Aviary Club and get information the club has on file that is used to blackmail influential wealthy Americans. Oh yes, the Aviary Club is the Playboy Club on speed; sexy women willing to participate in any activity with the wealthy members, drugs free for the taking and excellent food by 5-star chefs.
McAlpine takes along his girl-friend, Marianne.. oh, she is pregnant with McAlpine's baby, to help with the fun and games. The story is all a bit over the top, but still an entertaining, action-filled spy adventure. McAlpine is quite likable; a bit cynical about his bosses in England and America, a bit of a coward (although he gets the job done in excellent fashion) and a free spirit (but with a bit of a conservative bend at times.... just at times). The story is light, easily readable and most enjoyable. Diment had quite a cult following and kind of disappeared off the map after the 4th book in the series (currently sitting on my bookshelf). A nice change of pace spy series. (3.5 stars)"
3.
The Venetian Affair by
Helen MacInnes (1963). I keep enjoying MacInnes's stories.
"The more books of Helen MacInnes that I read, the more I enjoy her take on the spy genre. The Venetian Affair, originally published in 1963 was probably my favorite so far.
Arts reporter Bill Fenner is asked to go to Paris by his publisher to get information from a French intellectual, who had been a member of the French underground during WWII. On his flight to Paris is a Russian agent, bringing a package to a contact in Paris. By chance, the agent suffers a heart attack at the Custom's check-in and in the ensuing confusion Fenner ends up with the Russians jacket and when he searches through to try and identify the owner, discovers a stash of cash hidden within.
Fenner involves the US Embassy and ends up part of a group trying to discover a plot to possibly assassinate De Gaulle. The story is a fascinating spy thriller that moves from Paris to Venice where there will be an exciting finale. Jenner will travel by rail with another American, Claire Langley, accompanied by various Allied intelligence people and also those of the enemy. They are to meet Fenner's ex-wife in Venice, a Communist sympathizer who wants to return to the US and is willing to give up mysterious, deadly Russian agent Kalganov, to do so.
That's enough plot for you. Suffice it to say that it's at times quite confusing. Are they being followed, who is on their side? I found the 1st half a bit slower, kind of nebulous and wordy at times but still, the characters get very nicely developed over the course of the first half. The focus is on Fenner, but at times the story moves to other characters, even the 'bad guys', to provide their perspective on various events and incidents. There is murder and the constant threat of it. And once the story moves to Venice, the pace picks up and the tension is ratcheted up so well that it left me quite breathless at times. MacInnes has a way with words and with story - telling that grabs your interest an moves you into the story. You can picture the scene, feel you are part of the action, understand the characters.
It was an excellent spy novel and just a great story. I definitely plan to explore MacInnes's work further. (4.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
1.
The Armada Boy by
Kate Ellis (Wesley Peterson #2 / 1999).
"Archaeologist Neil
Watson did not to expect to find the body of American veteran Norman
Oppenheim in the ruins of the old chantry chapel... He turns to his old
student friend, Detective Sergeant Wesley Peterson, for help.
Ironically, both men are looking at an invading force - Wes the WWII
Yanks and Neil a group of Spaniards killed by outraged locals as they
limped from the wreckage of the Armada. Four hundred years apart two
strangers in a strange land have died violently - could the same motives
of hatred, jealousy and revenge be at work? Wes is running out of time
to find out."
2.
The Time Shifters by
Sam Merwin Jr (1971). Merwin Jr. is a new author for me.
"They called it TTT-short
for Time Teleportation Technique. Like all really great ideas, it was
simple, and easy to operate-too easy, for Chuck Percival, who suddenly
found himself drafted into an army dedicated to defending yesterday
against today... and captained by strange men from tomorrow! Chuck found
the idea of time travel intriguing, but he was by nature suspicious of
people wanting to do him favors-and vice-versa. And time travel turned
out to have a couple of nasty side effects that made the price of time
jumping almost too high to pay. But like it or not, Chuck found himself
in this particular army for the duration--a duration that might last
several hundred years! What happened to him shouldn't happen to any
devout twentieth century coward... including meeting and falling in love
with his own great grandmother!"
3.
Transit by
Edmund Cooper (1964). Another new SciFi author for me. I'm enjoying this story so far.
"He was the subject of an experiment seventy light years away from Earth.
It
lay in the grass, tiny and white and burning. He stooped, put out his
fingers. And then, in an instant, there was nothing. Nothing but
darkness and oblivion. A split second demolition of the world of Richard
Avery.
From a damp February afternoon in Kensington Gardens,
Avery is precipitated into a world of apparent unreason. A world in
which his intelligence is tested by computer, and in which he is finally
left on a strange tropical island with three companions, and a strong
human desire to survive.
But then the mystery deepens; for there
are two moons in the sky, and the rabbits have six legs, and there is a physically satisfying reason for the entire situations."
I'll continue with my ongoing theme of Women Authors whose work I've been enjoying in an upcoming entry. Can't wait, can you?
Enjoy your weekend.
