Well, we’re into May now but the weather hasn’t quite settled into Spring yet. Still, rainy days give me the time to read. This month, I have a very mixed group for you.
Miscellaneous
Spring Heeled Jack - Mark Hodder ($12.36/$.50, copyright 2011, 354 pages, Trade Paperback)
This is my first foray into the world of Steam Punk. I’m a big fan of books that take place in the Victorian Era and the cover makes reference to two of my favorite historical characters. Sir Richard Francis Burton, the famous explorer, is listed as the hero (along with the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne) and the title indicates that they would be involved in the Jack the Ripper case. Unfortunately, I found the inclusion of smoke-belching, steam powered machines and scientifically altered animals to be a real distraction. Perhaps if it hadn't revolved around Burton I might have tried to finish it. This one goes back in The Pile for now.
How to Become Ridiculously Well-read in One Evening - E. O. Parrott, ed. ( $4.89/$.50, copyright 1985, 180 pages, Paperback)
This was interesting……Mr. Parrott has gotten a bunch of people to do thumbnail sketches of famous books so that Mr. Joe Average, having gotten through this, can seem well-read. Not gonna happen. First of all, most of the capsules are in verse which tends to become repetitive - and, in a lot of cases, the rhymes don't work. Secondly, I’ve read a lot of the works covered here, and the entries don’t help to understand them at all. Plus, Parrott has set this up alphabetically, from Anonymous to John Wyndham, when I think it would’ve been better done in a linear fashion. I didn’t like it.
The Keys of Hell - Jack Higgins ($7.99/$.50, copyright 2001, 240 pages, Paperback)
This reminded me of one of those great black-and-white cold war movies. It’s mostly a flash-back to 1965 where a British agent, a pretty girl, and an Italian smuggler set out to bring a religious statue out of Communist Albania. I could almost see David Niven as the agent. All sorts of stuff happens - gunfights, captures and escapes, double-crosses. And it’s all bracketed by episodes in 1995 that tie-in beautifully. I enjoyed it.
The Maracot Deep - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ($.95/$.74, no copyright but written in 1929, 156 pages, Paperback)
I found this in a used book store in Colonia completely by accident (I'd gone in looking for something else). Yes, this is a novella written by the creator of Sherlock Holmes - my favorite fictional character (as you probably know by now). It’s a Science-fiction tale about 3 men who undertake a scientific expedition in the depths of the Atlantic, get into trouble, and wind up in Atlantis. It almost reads like one of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ stories. It starts out as written communications between one of the explorers and a friend, progresses nicely through their expedition, and ends with an amazing twist. I enjoyed it.
That’s it for this month. A shout-out to all you Moms out there, and a big Happy Birthday to Sarra, Luke, Giancarlo, Brian, and - the Big Six O - Kathy.
Keep reading!
