Dave

Two outstanding Hockensmith novellas

Revisado: 04-05-24

Steve Hockensmith is a masterful writer of Westerns (and other genres), and he doesn't disappoint here. These Holmes on the Range titles once again display his trademark mix of humor, suspense, and heart.

Although this is marketed as two novellas, "White Death" (a personal favorite) runs somewhere between five and six hours so it really could be a standalone novel all by itself. The two-hour-long "Black Death," a half hour bonus short story, and "White Death" add up to a great value and a wagon-full of fun.

I usually comment only on the writer, but I must give Chuck Galco his fair due. His narration is spot-on perfect. I can't imagine anyone doing a better job.

Highly recommended!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Holmes on the Range delights in short form

Revisado: 04-05-24

If you're one of those who says, "I only read novels," you should reconsider. Steve Hockensmith is brilliant in short stories as well. These five stories will delight you with his trademark mix of Western humor, suspense, and heart. Highly recommended!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Hockensmith serves up loads of fun

Revisado: 04-02-19

I've been a fan of Steve Hockensmith for years, and in this new volume of his Holmes on the Range series, he delivers the goods again. Old Red and Big Red get "deducifying" and the fun begins. It's an ideal mix of Hockensmith's trademark humor and plot twists. Loved it!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

An all-time great alternate history novel

Revisado: 01-30-19

Rusch has written one of the great all-time alternate history novels. I couldn't stop reading. Highest recommendation!

The performance was also top notch.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

DuBois and Lewis Cole hit the ground running

Revisado: 01-08-16

There are some series characters who capture your imagination from book one: Harry Bosch, Jack Reacher, and Smokey Dalton to name a few. Others take a while to develop. Their first few books are so-so, and it isn't until the series is well underway that the author really hits his stride. I won't slight those writers by naming them, but if you read lots of series, you know what I mean and can fill in your own personal blanks.

Lewis Cole hits the ground running with book one. You won't need to wait for book two or five or eight to get hooked. Dead Sand does the trick.

DuBois captures the ambiance of seacoast, small-town New Hampshire perfectly and has created a wonderfully unique character in Lewis Cole. His past history unfolds piece by piece while the current day events progressively ratchet up the suspense.

The narration by Al Peterson is very good.

With any luck, we'll get the entire Lewis Cole series in audiobook soon. With even better luck, we'll get all of DuBois's novels.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Plenty of plot twists in this alternate history

Revisado: 01-08-16

There are loads of plot twists in this look at what life in the United States would have been like if FDR had been assassinated and Huey Long rose to power. I don't want to reveal too much, but we'd be cooperating with the Germans while living in a fascist state at home.

Part intellectual exploration, part cautionary tale, and part pure fun, Amerikan Eagle kept my interest the whole way through. It used carefully chosen historical details, some of them only appropriate for this alternate history, to bring the story to life. There were times when DuBois pushed my believability threshold to its limits, but he never went over the line.

I wasn't enamored with the narrator, both overall and especially with the voices of some secondary characters. But though I found the writing superior to the narrating, the latter wasn't a fatal flaw.

This was a satisfying, interesting alternate history. Recommended.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Love the Bosch novels, but this was Three Stooges

Revisado: 08-02-15

This is the first time I've been significantly disappointed by Michael Connelly. The Bosch novels are among my absolute favorites, but this was an exercise in frustration. I almost wonder if this was an early unpublished novel that got pulled out of the trunk and trotted out as new.

The main character is foolish beyond belief, leaving fingerprints everywhere after breaking in. And even if you can believe the way he got set up -- which is a real stretch IMO -- the crux of the novel revolves around (SPOILER ALERT) a company delaying a key patent filing that makes no sense. First off, in a cutthroat industry, you don't delay. And if you're trying to get funding, you don't sell off part of the company before filing the patent; you sell AFTER filing the patent.

Hey, I'll go right back to Connelly because he's a master and I'm considering this to be the exception that proves the rule.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

An instant ATF

Revisado: 02-24-06

It is probably better to start with Ender's Game, but this is every bit as great. An instant all-time favorite.

Card is, as usual, outstanding. So are the readers.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A knockout

Revisado: 01-03-06

This book knocked me out with a roundhouse hook that left me down on the canvas, seeing only stars. I won't say anything more to ruin your own experience, but the chills ran up and down my spine and I just said over and over, "Omigod, omigod, omigod."

The pace of this book is admittedly slower than most. In fact, quite a bit so. There's comparatively little "action" as compared to a lot of day-to-day stuff, but there's tension building all the time. And most books of this type need a solid grounding in day-to-day stuff to make the rest work.

Yes, there is a lot about Mormon life, but that is true to the characters. It is a major part of their personalities. This book is no tract for that particular religion. In fact, there's a particularly unlikeable Mormon character. I wonder if some people have a prejudice about reading a lot about religious details. Grisham details a lot about being a lawyer. Cook a lot about being a doctor. The list could go on and on about detailed books of one type or another. Why are detailed non-religious lives ok, but religious ones are not? And just for the record, I'm a non-believer.

So if any religious talk annoys you or you require a lot of action, then this may not be your cup of tea. But if you're willing to have patience for a big payoff, then I think you'll find it worthwhile.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 24 personas