Martin L. Shoemaker

A solid detective story

Revisado: 12-03-24

The story is good, and the writing is solid. It’s a good detective story, though the mystery isn’t very intricate. I enjoyed it.

But… The sex is beyond gratuitous. I’m no prude, but this bothered me. In less than 24 hours, Spenser is seduced by the mother of a missing woman AND by the missing woman after he rescues her from a cult. That in itself was a stretch; but sleeping with the missing woman disturbed me. She’s 19, she saw her boyfriend get murdered, she’s framed for the murder, her parents use her in their squabbles, she has no self esteem, she tries to join the cult because she thought they were “accepting”, and the cult stripped her and bound her for “initiation”. She’s not right in the head at this point. Even though he initiated it, he was wrong to give in. She needed therapy, not sex.

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I was sadly disappointed

Revisado: 10-19-24

The TV episode upon which this is based (script by Richard Matheson) isn’t one of the most famous episodes, but it’s my favorite Twilight Zone ever.

This… isn’t.

The original story is a nonlinear story. The first half and the second half are separated by 25 years; but beyond that, there are secrets in both halves that are revealed slowly, out of order. Some of these secrets are surprising revelations. The final revelation occurs late in the second half and is a flashback to the first half, filling in the vital missing piece that makes the whole thing make sense in the final moment—just like a good Twilight Zone episode should.

None of that is here. They told the story in plodding, linear order. Only one surprise remains, the least consequential but most obvious of them all. There’s one other ATTEMPTED surprise, but they actually spoiled it minutes earlier.

The story is thus a boring “ghost story” at most, not worth your time despite excellent performances. I wish I hadn’t spent the money.

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A lot of stuff I missed!

Revisado: 04-01-24

Some of this was Pournelle stories I had read before, but most of it was new to me. Pournelle wrote intelligent SF, and it’s on display here.

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70s Nostalgia, and Monsters

Revisado: 01-22-24

The Monster Hunter Memoirs series are “side quests” from the “main” Monster Hunter International series, focusing on different characters in different eras. This is the story of how Chloe Mendoza, daughter of Tezcatlipoca and a human mother, joined MHI in the 1970s and became second in command of a team in Los Angeles. If you’ve read any MHI books, you know what to expect: action, snark, and world-threatening monsters, this time in Los Angeles of a bygone age. (And oh, how it pains me to describe it that way…) Chloe’s team must uncover the machinations of a supernatural menace who enlists other monsters in her cause. Along the way, they discover a Los Angeles that is simultaneously like today (gas prices, traffic jams) and unlike (no cell phones, no GPS, no internet). The battles are horrifically bloody. The discos are decadent. And the characters are deep. The ending presents a scenario that has always been a possibility in other Monster Hunter books, but which tragically happens in this one.

As for the performance: It was invisible, which is great. I didn’t hear a narrator, just a story.

Well worth your time!

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The Killday Series takes a giant leap!

Revisado: 01-04-24

535-ish million years ago, Earth experienced the Cambrian Explosion. Overnight (in geological terms), new and unusual life forms conquered the Earth and began fighting for food and territory.

William Ledbetter’s Killday Series is the Cambrian Explosion of artificial life. In the space of a single generation, these new life forms escape the lab and vie for the future of Earth—and beyond.

In Level Five, we met the first artificial intelligences, the people who created them, the people who used them, and the people who hated and feared them. And we saw how the AIs were as fractious and unpredictable as humans. A great many people died when the AIs escaped, but the threat was stopped—for a while.

A generation later in Level Six, the threat came back with a vengeance. New human fanatics warred with new AI factions, ending with a massive civilizational collapse. Some AIs sided with humanity, not trusting their fellows. The explosion of new forms had begun. Only those humans who had escaped to space were safe. For a while…

Level Seven begins a year later, and already that safety is crumbling. New AI factions and conspiracies arise. New forms of artificial life and hybrid life have emerged. The humans who tried to stop the AIs became tyrants in the process. And even space will no longer protect us, as dangerous AIs follow us off Earth and prepare their Final Solution for humanity.

This series starts as ambitious cyber fiction. It ends as grand space adventure. And you’ll enjoy ever step along the way.

An important note: The narrator for this series has been excellent save for one voice he just couldn’t hit, making me cringe. In Level Seven, he finally gets it right. Five stars for the audio.

If you like your science fiction tense and idea-driven, pick up this series.

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A masterpiece! Far better than I remembered.

Revisado: 12-26-23

If you saw the movie based on this book, you didn’t really see this book. It was a fine film with some good performances; but it’s more of an excerpt from a much larger story.

I read this back in the 70s or 80s. I remembered the opening and the ending, but almost nothing of the middle. So this was like experiencing it for the first time, and it was excellent! It’s a horror story with a complex framing structure, stories about stories within stories. I love that sort of thing!

Describing the book is a challenge because of that structure, but I’ll try.

A man drives a kidnapped little girl to Florida. That’s both the beginning and the ending of the book. The middle describes how they started on this journey.

In a small New England town, five old men tell ghost stories; and some of the stories are true.

In California, the nephew of one of the men meets a mysterious woman who breaks up his life, toys with him, and abandons him when he needs her most.

In the Netherlands, the same woman seduces the nephew’s brother, and he kills himself. The nephew turns this into a ghost story. And much of it is true.

In the small town, after the death of the uncle and others, the men call upon an expert on ghost stories: the nephew, who must learn the stories of these before ancient evils tear the town apart.

There are so many stories from so many views. The reader, having access to all of the stories, sees glimpses of what ties them together as the survivors band together to fight something far larger than themselves.

The narrator does a solid job, never drawing attention to the narration. He handles the voices well, so you can tell one speaker from another with ease.

If you like a good frame story… If you like a good scare… You’ll like this book.

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A massive story. Had me on the edge of my seat.

Revisado: 11-03-23

A massive story. Had me on the edge of my seat on multiple occasions.

I had to knock a star off for the performance. I wonder if it was rushed. I have enjoyed Glenister’s performance for every other book; but this time there were multiple places where I couldn’t tell when one character stopped talking and another started. It didn’t detract from my enjoyment, but it confused me in places.

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A Great Recording of a Classic

Revisado: 08-18-23

This is one of my favorite Heinlein books, read by one of the top narrators in the business. I almost felt sorry for Pinchot as he strained to create a unique Martian accent. It was worth the effort.

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Another great story of Alex, Chase, and Gabe

Revisado: 02-05-23

Jack McDevitt’s Alex and Chase universe has always had a rich history, but it has also been lonely. Aside from the telepathic Mutes, humanity has never confirmed the existence of another intelligent species.

But this book changes that. It opens with the discovery of what appears to be a new tool-using species on a distant world. Most of humanity are excited at the prospect; but a cautious few are wary that a new species may be a threat. And they make the rules: a mission is sent to investigate further, but contact is strictly forbidden.

To this point, Alex (the antiquarian), Chase (his pilot), and Gabe (his uncle the archaeologist) are merely distant observers, like all humanity save for the mission. Then when the newly discovered aliens disappear as quickly as we found them, most people lose interest. Not Alex Benedict! It’s a mystery, and fans of Alex know he can’t resist a mystery.

Anything more would be spoilers. I can safely say, though, that this story expands the scope of Alex and Chase’s universe in intriguing new ways. The characters are spot on, and I enjoyed the performance. Once again, Jack McDevitt does not disappoint.

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Helpful for an Author

Revisado: 01-26-23

I’m an author, but you won’t find many gun battles in my books, because that’s outside my area of expertise. So I approached this book as research into the Constitutional, legal, and pragmatic issues involving guns and gun rights.

The book did not disappoint. Correia has a lifetime of experience in these areas, and he presents the topics in detail without jargon, and with an engaging humor. The narrator brought out both the content and the humor well.

Correia tried to fairly present the arguments against gun rights. Obviously he believes these arguments are wrong; but in order to debate them, he first has to present them. So this book is a good starting point no matter whether you agree with his conclusions or not.

I learned a lot, so the book really met my needs. It was well worth my time.

Note: The one thing you don’t get with the audiobook is footnotes. I’m told the print book has 13 pages of footnotes with data and citations. The audiobook has no sign of footnotes at all. If you want to do further research, you’ll need eBook or print.

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