Yes, it has been a long dry spell since my last post...kinda like how long it takes to sign up for Obamacare.
In any event, I have been plugging away on my reading goal...see the Shelfari to the left there I am currently at 29 out of my goal of 33 books this year.....and decided to take a little break for some brain candy books...yes, the annual offerings by Richard Castle and Brad Thor...two of may favorite authors since the sad demise of Vince Flynn...who is still sorely missed.
The first book, the latest tie in to my favorite TV show, Castle, was actually a pretty darn good page turner, and actually had a little surprise twist at the end. Like all Castle books, it steals plot lines and situations liberally from the TV show, but with just enough twist to keep you wondering. This particular book actually kept me guessing all the way to the end, including the surprise villain reveal. Not a real intellectually challenging read, but good fun and just the sort of book you would expect from Richard Castle. I have actually been pleasantly surprised at how well done these "tie in" books have been done and I am looking forward to the next installment.
The second book, the annual conspiracy theory tome by Brad Thor, was okay, but not entirely satisfying...it was kinda like eating grilled turkey burgers. It fills you up, but you know it could be better. To be perfectly honest, although I love Brad's characters, pacing, and overall story, these have kind of fallen into a rut. This book does have some excellent historical mystery tie-ins, which I liked, and I did have to race to the end and see if the good guys win and the bad guys die in a horrible gruesome manner, but overall it wasn't as fun as his earlier books and to be perfectly honest, was a little preachy...not that there's anything wrong with that, but I feel like it adversely impacted the story.
SO, what I would like to see, should Brad ask, which I doubt, is a tie-in between his Athena Project characters and Scott Harvath. I actually LOVED his debut Athena Project novel, which got panned by a few readers and I think the concept of the all-female butt-kicking SPEC OPS team is very cool. The by-play between the women and their mutual admiration/snarky relationship with Harvath would make a really great story, in my humble testosterone driven opinion. Maybe if his current story line has run its course, he can move off in a new direction with his Harvath character. There are still plenty of foreign and domestic evil doers out there...
That's about it...short and sweet. Two excellent summer readings books that I got too in the fall thanks to the LONNNGGG waiting list at the library.
Life has been extremely busy, but there might be some politics inbound...now that the dust has settled on the whole shutdown fiasco so we could get on to the bigger fiasco that is Obamacare...
In any event, I have been plugging away on my reading goal...see the Shelfari to the left there I am currently at 29 out of my goal of 33 books this year.....and decided to take a little break for some brain candy books...yes, the annual offerings by Richard Castle and Brad Thor...two of may favorite authors since the sad demise of Vince Flynn...who is still sorely missed.
The first book, the latest tie in to my favorite TV show, Castle, was actually a pretty darn good page turner, and actually had a little surprise twist at the end. Like all Castle books, it steals plot lines and situations liberally from the TV show, but with just enough twist to keep you wondering. This particular book actually kept me guessing all the way to the end, including the surprise villain reveal. Not a real intellectually challenging read, but good fun and just the sort of book you would expect from Richard Castle. I have actually been pleasantly surprised at how well done these "tie in" books have been done and I am looking forward to the next installment.
The second book, the annual conspiracy theory tome by Brad Thor, was okay, but not entirely satisfying...it was kinda like eating grilled turkey burgers. It fills you up, but you know it could be better. To be perfectly honest, although I love Brad's characters, pacing, and overall story, these have kind of fallen into a rut. This book does have some excellent historical mystery tie-ins, which I liked, and I did have to race to the end and see if the good guys win and the bad guys die in a horrible gruesome manner, but overall it wasn't as fun as his earlier books and to be perfectly honest, was a little preachy...not that there's anything wrong with that, but I feel like it adversely impacted the story.SO, what I would like to see, should Brad ask, which I doubt, is a tie-in between his Athena Project characters and Scott Harvath. I actually LOVED his debut Athena Project novel, which got panned by a few readers and I think the concept of the all-female butt-kicking SPEC OPS team is very cool. The by-play between the women and their mutual admiration/snarky relationship with Harvath would make a really great story, in my humble testosterone driven opinion. Maybe if his current story line has run its course, he can move off in a new direction with his Harvath character. There are still plenty of foreign and domestic evil doers out there...
That's about it...short and sweet. Two excellent summer readings books that I got too in the fall thanks to the LONNNGGG waiting list at the library.
Life has been extremely busy, but there might be some politics inbound...now that the dust has settled on the whole shutdown fiasco so we could get on to the bigger fiasco that is Obamacare...
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