Summer is here again, and I'm back to my stride with the number of books read this past month. And, I've got a little something extra to talk about at the end of this posting, so let's jump right in.......
Miscellaneous
Mr. Shivers - Robert Jackson Bennett ($7.99/$.50, 324 pages, copyright 2010, paperback)
What drew me to this book was that it takes place during the Great Depression so I naturally expected something like "The Grapes of Wrath" - one of my favorite reads. The main character is riding the rails, but not in search of work. He's out to find the person who killed his daughter. What I thought would be a straight-forward revenge story veered into the supernatural. I figured out the ending about 3/4 of the way through. It was interesting.
The Night Gardener - George Pelecanos ($7.50/$.50, 431 pages, copyright 2006, paperback)
I've been wanting to read something by Pelecanos for some time now. I've read a lot of praise for his work - both as a novelist and as a writer and producer of "The Wire". This one deals with a series of murders in Washington, DC in 1985 and how - 20 years later - they have effected 3 police officers who were at the scene of the last one. Their lives have gone in different directions, and they now find themselves facing what could be the return of the killer. I found the ending very satisfying. I enjoyed it.
Time Machines - Bill Adler, ED. ($13.00/$.50, 382 pages, copyright 1998, Trade Paperback)
This is an anthology of "The Best Time Travel Stories Ever Written"..their words, not mine. I gotta be honest, I don't usually pick up anthologies. Now I remember why. I managed to get through about 7 of the 21 stories in the collection before giving up. They just got too technical, and I found myself struggling to keep at it. I didn't like it.
Series
The Big Bamboo - Tim Dorsey ($7.99/$.50, 367 pages, copyright 2006, paperback)
The first Tim Dorsey book I read - a couple of months back - blew me away. It was hysterically funny. Now here was another one starring his homicidal hero, Serge Storm. This one runs from Florida to Hollywood, involves movie-making, kidnapping, the Yakuza, and an oil-land con game. Unfortunately, it did get as confusing as it sounds, it could've been funnier, and Serge came across as really crazy instead of neurotically eccentric. It was OK.
These next 2 books - parts of different series' - share a similarity. I'm gonna call it the Spencer effect. When Private Eye novels started, they came out of the Pulp magazines of the 50's. The P. I. was a loner with a sense of humor and a code of honor, but he could also be judge, jury, and executioner. Think Marlowe, Spade, Hammer. Now we still have the honorable, quick-with-a-snappy-retort hero who agonizes over his moral code, but the dirty work - the real violence, the killing, the "wet works" - are done by the side-kick. Think Spencer and Hawk. These next two books are perfect examples of this change.
Deal Breaker - Harlan Coben ($7.99/$.50, 343 pages, copyright 1995, paperback)
This is the first in the Myron Bolitar series. He's a sport's agent who just happens to have an unexplained, mysterious background with the Federal Government (FBI, CIA?). And, his side-kick is a rich, preppy, closet homicidal maniac named Win (who also was Myron's partner during government service). Here they deal with a missing girl, a new client, and some ties to his past that Myron tries to make right. I enjoyed it.
Stalking the Angel - Robert Crais ($7.99/$.50, 260 pages, copyright 1989, paperback)
This, I believe, is the second in the Elvis Cole series. Cole is a Vietnam Veteran turned P. I.. This case involves a stolen work of Japanese philosophy, a kidnapping, and the Yakuza. The "wet works" involves Cole, but is primarily handled by Cole's partner, Joe Pike. I enjoyed it.
(ASIDE: What are the odds of two books in the same month involving kidnappings and the Yakuza?)
DVD
Here's that something special I mentioned.
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Errol Flynn? No. Kevin Costner? No. Russell Crowe? No. Richard Greene? YES!
That's right. Richard Greene, in the 1955-starting TV series that ran for about 3 or 4 years. I was part of the first generation to grow up with TV and this was one of the first non-juvenile shows I remember. This DVD - found at a library sale for $4 - has 4 episodes from that series, including the very first one. Interestingly, it was made in England with an English cast which added to it's authenticity. It's in glorious black-and-white, though the sound quality is poor, and the first episode is grainy in parts - possible due to being filmed out-of-doors. The sword fighting is laughable, but Robin and his band of outlaws - including Little John, Friar Tuck, and Maid Marian - constantly make fools out of the Sheriff of Nottingham and his minions. They even outwit Prince John in one episode. I couldn't wait to read the stories the series was based on. Excellent.
Enjoy the summer and....
Keep reading.
