Saturday, February 28, 2009

White Witch, Black Curse - Kim Harrison

White Witch, Black Curse is the seventh novel in The Hollows series, featuring Rachel Morgan. I was reading four books at the same time and this one was my bed time story. Harrison's books are hard to put down and I read too late most nights. You want to race to the end, but you're sad when you get there because it's over. Now I start scanning Amazon for the next book in the series. Notice I'm not going to spoil the read for you. The normal witches, demons, banshees, vampires and such are all there. Read it. Better yet, read them all. Very highly recommended.

Friday, February 27, 2009

A Dish Served Cold - Jeffery Deaver

A Dish Served Cold is a short story about revenge and remorse, or the lack thereof. If someone told you that a person was out to get you would you be able to think of a reason why? Would you be able to think of a person with a reason to do you harm? It makes an interesting hypothetical problem. Will it stay hypothetical? Deaver does a masterful job of keeping the reader guessing. Highly recommended.

UR - Stephen King

UR is a novella written to promote the Amazon Kindle. King takes a perfectly safe electronic device and turns it into a sinister source of wonder and fear. And pink for cripes sake! This is not an ordinary kindle. This kindle can access not just one UR, but millions. If I ever see a pink kindle it's not going in the trash. I'm throwing it in a dumpster miles from my house. The white ones are fine though. As always King is amazing. Highly recommended.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The Associate - John Grisham

The Associate is about a new lawyer who's being blackmailed to take a $200,000 per year job. Needless to say, it takes a while to work up sympathy for the main character. In a way this is a cautionary tale about why you should worry about what you do in college and how it will affect your future prospects. Sadly, most people who'll read this book will do so too late to make a difference. Like all Grisham novels it's hard to put down. A very good read. Highly recommended.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Cry Wolf - Patricia Briggs

Cry Wolf is the first novel featuring Anna Latham. Anna is a rare omega werewolf. Her character was introduced in a story from On the Prowl, a collection of short stories that Briggs contributed to. This novel tells of Anna's move to Montana, with her new mate Charles, to be part of the Marrok's pack. The move coincides with a rogue werewolf causing trouble in the area and Anna's skills as an omega werewolf may make a bigger difference than anyone can know. Try to read these in order, but don't miss this book. Very highly recommended.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Mean Streets - Butcher, Green, Richardson, Sniegoski

Mean Streets is a collection of four novellas that all tend toward the supernatural.

The Warrior is a Harry Dresden story by Butcher. I like the Dresden series and enjoyed this story. This novella is the reason I bought the book.

The Difference a Day Makes by Green wasn't appealing to me. It's the kind of story I associate with an author more in love with their own words than in telling a tale. I won't be picking up any of Green's books in the future. I almost didn't finish this piece.

The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog by Richardson is excellent. It was my favorite story in the book. Richardson goes on my list of authors to look for.

I enjoyed Noah's Orphans by Sniegoski. It's not the type of story I'd normally seek out but well worth the read.

I highly recommend this book just for the Richardson novella. Skipping Green's attempt, the other two stories are just icing on the cake.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Ted, White, and Blue - Ted Nugent

Ted, White, and Blue is a hell of a rant. I agree with pretty much everything he says. I've never actually listened to any of Ted's music on purpose. What that means is I've probably heard some on the radio and didn't know it. After reading his book I'll have to give it a try.

From immigration to health care to gun control, Ted is on the money. Too bad he wasn't running for president this time around. I'd pick him over Obama or McCain. If you have a drop of conservative blood in your veins you have to read this book. If you don't, read it anyway and it will piss you off. That seems to be the normal state of mind for liberals. Highly recommended.

I'd love to see what you get when you cross Ted Nugent with Ann Coulter. Wow!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Murder at the B-School - Jeffrey Cruikshank

Murder at the B-School is a mystery involving professors, students, and old money. The detective in this case is Capt. Barbara Brouillard. She's unofficially paired up with Professor Wim Vermeer to dig into an apparent suicide on the Harvard Business School campus. Unfortunately that's the first body to show up, but not the last. I really enjoyed this book. Highly recommended.

The Outlaw Demon Wails - Kim Harrison

The Outlaw Demon Wails is book six in The Hollows series featuring the witch Rachel Morgan. It's hard to imagine a book with this many new surprises in it. There are witches, demons, weres, pixies, elves, and even a gargoyle. My advice is to not read the reviews on Amazon. Some people are intent on creating their own reader's digest condensed version of the story there, and they'll spoil all the surprises. I suggest reading this series in order but read it. Very highly recommended.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The Bodies Left Behind - Jeffery Deaver

The Bodies Left Behind is a novel about murder and a struggle to survive in the woods of Wisconsin. Brynn is a deputy who gets an off-duty call to check out an aborted 911 call and finds herself running for her life. The twists in this story never let you off the hook. It's another Deaver "can't put it down" thriller. Very highly recommended.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Bone Crossed - Patricia Briggs

Bone Crossed is the 4th Mercy Thompson novel. Mercy is not a werecoyote. She's a shapeshifter who changes into a coyote. There's a difference. She's dating a werewolf, she bought her garage (she's a mechanic) from a fairy, one of her best friends is a vampire, and she can communicate with ghosts. What's not to like?

This time around she's still recovering from her experiences in a Iron Kissed and trying to settle down, but Marsilia (the head of the local vampires) has discovered what she did in the book Blood Bound and she's fighting for her life. To make it more interesting, an out of town vampire decides Mercy would be perfect for his herd.

If you haven't figured it out from the above, you really need to read these books in order. Start with the first in the series, Moon Called, and read them all. They're hard to put down. I started this one last night, after completing another book, and finished it today. Very Highly Recommended.

Run For Your Life - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Run For Your Life is the third Michael Bennett novel Patterson has coauthored. Michael is a widowed NYC Police Detective with 10 kids. To make his life more interesting he's chasing a mad killer who calls himself the teacher while all his kids start to come down with the flu. That should keep him busy and it does. Very highly recommended.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

From Dead to Worse - Charlaine Harris

From Dead to Worse is the 8th Sookie Stackhouse novel. This series is one I've been following from the beginning. HBO is now making a TV series based on these novels called True Blood. Still not worth getting TV while I can read the books.

If dating a were, living with a witch, being blood bonded to a vampire, and reading minds isn't enough, Sookie finds herself in the middle of a were war and a vampire war in this novel. She also finds two relatives she didn't know she had. The last one will really surprise you. Very highly recommended.

Monday, February 2, 2009

High Crimes and Misdemeanors - Ann Coulter

High Crimes and Misdemeanors is another well researched and documented book by Ann Coulter. This one sat on my book shelf for a long time, buried behind some other books in my to-read pile. But now that I'm looking forward to reading Coulter's new Guilty I wanted to get it read.

When you read this book you have to wonder why Bill and Hillary Clinton aren't both behind bars. People think that the media is giving president Obama a pass on anything remotely incriminating, but it's clear from this book that the media was holding back on Bill and Hillary as well. I never voted for them and never would. I forgot some of the stuff they pulled and never read about any of it in this much detail. Secretary of state? I wouldn't let that woman clean my house. And I wouldn't let Bill within a mile of any of my daughters or granddaughters.

Read this book. It will open your eyes if you let it. Highly recommended.