Feb 27 2007

The Watchman by Robert Crais

One of the challenges I face in reviewing books is how to handle a series of books or books with reoccurring characters. When I was young, and had lots of free time, I would always read a series in chronological order (publishing order, not internal to the books). I want to read and discover how the author developed the characters and plot as the series progressed. I wanted to be in on the inside jokes and references.

In my current circumstances that really isn’t possible. There simply isn’t enough time for me to go back and read a series before I take on the latest release. I have too many other books I want to read. There are always books I want to read but can’t because tough choices have to be made. This is often one of those choices.

The reason I bring this up, is that this choice in itself presents a challenge. For example, I recently finished The Watchman by Robert Crais. The lead character in the novel is Joe Pike. Pike is secondary character in Crais’ previous series which featured L.A. PI Elvis Cole; who is in turn a secondary character in this new series. Before The Watchman I had never read anything by Crais. So I have no background on either character nor on Crais style.

This puts me at a disadvantage in many ways compared to other reviewers. I can’t comment on how this book compares to others in the Cole Series nor can I comment on how Pike is developed and presented in comparison to past stories. All I can do is judge the book as a stand alone work. Nothing terribly wrong with that, it just feels a little incomplete.

With that caveat out of the way, please see the review below.

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By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 0

Feb 26 2007

The Art of Losing by Keith Dixon

What is more important: doing what you love or being financially stable? What kind of risk would you take to achieve both? How corrupting is money? These are the questions that hover in the background in Keith Dixon’s recently released novel The Art of Losing .

In a recent Q&A, Dixon described the book as “literary noir” and that seems an apt term. It has the grit and darkness of noir with the style and depth associated with literary fiction. (BTW, it is a hybrid genre (not that the one precludes the other anymore) that I am rather found of these days. I think fellow Nomads Olen Steinhauer and Kevin Wignall could both be grouped in this category.)

The Art of Losing centers on the life of Mike Jacobs, a documentary filmmaker, after he has landed in New York City by way of LA. While his films have been well accepted critically they have been financial disasters. Jacobs throws his life into each only to have it flop at the box office. In rather desperate financial straits, he decides to take a risk in order to achieve some independence.

This risk involves fixing a horse race with his producer friend Selby. This plot soon involves Jacobs making contact with various bookies (Selby’s bad reputation on the gambling circuit prevents him from doing it), losing large sums of money to prove they aren’t con men, and bringing in a couple of jockeys to help throw the race. The plan is to win big by controling not who wins but who loses. As is the way with such plots, however, the supposedly fool proof plan doesn’t quite come together. This puts Jacobs face to face with some rather nasty folks. Suddenly, Jacobs is thinking about how he is going to survive as it seems his entire world is coming down around him.

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By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 0

Feb 23 2007

Napoleon and the Hundred Days by Stephen Coote

In my efforts to bail out Kevin for his lack of posting, I am trying to post more book reviews. In that vein, Stephen Coote’s Napoleon and the Hundred Days is an interesting look at the character of Napoleon and the events of his return to power in 1815.

The book begins with the Conference of Vienna in 1815 and looks back at Napoleon’s rise to power. Along the way, Coote describes the key moments in this rise and the major figures in Napoleon’s life (among them Josephine, Marshal Ney, and Fouche). Coote briefly describes Napoleon’s major campaigns leading up to the major disaster in Russia and his subsequent exile to Elba. Coote then spends the rest of the book on Napoleon’s return to power and defeat at Waterloo.

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By Jeff Grim • Reviews • 0

Feb 19 2007

Knights of the Cross by Tom Harper

Tom Harper’s second book entitled Knights of the Cross which chronicles the adventures of Demetrios Askiates in the First Crusade is much better than his first, The Mosaic of Shadows. This book seems to flow more than the first.

Here is an excerpt from Publisher’s Weekly about the book:

…As the First Crusaders are stuck in an interminable siege of Turk-held Antioch, Demetrios Askiates, a Greek assigned as scribe to the Byzantine emperor’s representative, must once again play detective. The discovery of a Norman knight with his throat slit and bearing unusual markings on his corpse threatens the shaky alliance among the varied European armies of the First Crusade. Amid battles and political intrigues, Demetrios desperately pursues the few clues he has, even as the late Norman knight’s companions, who may have joined him in promoting a new heretical sect, also turn up dead. …

Harper does an excellent job in developing the various characters and giving the plot several twists and turns. He also brings the time period alive for the reader – describing the city of Antioch and the battles that waged around it.

With that said, I still Harper could trim some of the text from the book. There are times when the story drags with subplots that are not relevant to the story. For example, I found myself skimming some of the text when Harper delves into the religion of some of the characters.

Overall, Harper’s second book is an improvement over the first and I think anyone interested in the Crusades from a different perspective (a Byzantine one) would do well to read this book.

By Jeff Grim • Reviews • 0

Feb 16 2007

The Battalion by Col. Robert W. Black

Colonel Robert Black’s The Battalion: The Dramatic Story of the 2nd Ranger Battalion in World War II is a fascinating account of the unit that was made famous by the assault on Pointe du Hoc during the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Black interweaves the individual experiences of the men with the operations of the battalion.

The book more or less covers the exploits of the battalion from its formation, April 1, 1943, to its deactivation on October 23, 1945. The book’s primary focus is on the battalion’s training and assault of Pointe du Hoc. It covers the battalion’s march to Germany and the end of the war with a special emphasis on a crucial battle in early December 1944 – Castle Hill – where the battalion captured the hill and fought off five German counterattacks.

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By Jeff Grim • Reviews • 0