Connie Willis' Oxford Time Travel Series

Connie Willis' Oxford Time Travel series is based in the History department of Oxford University in the mid-twenty-first century.  In this future time travel was discovered, but when the space-time continuum prevented anyone from making a profit, the whole enterprise was turned over to the academics for study.  In the first book of the series, The Doomsday Book, we meet historians who are studying the coming of the Black Death in Europe.  Thus is time travel established as a way for researchers to obtain a first-hand account of many of history's most significant eras and events.

We are also told about "slippage," a phenomenon that occurs, ostensibly, to prevent historians from disturbing the flow of the space-time continuum, and changing history (i.e., you can't go back in time and assassinate Hitler).  Slippage is the variation between the date and time set for the historian's arrival and the actual arrival.  Variation (apparently) is generally minutes or hours, but as we see in the third and fourth book in the series (which make up a sub-series of their own), when slippage becomes weeks and months, it is worrying.

Blackout and All Clear, which really is an 1100-page book divided into two volumes, takes us from 2060, to 1944, to 1940-41, back to 2060, then back to 1941 via 1995 ("wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey" indeed as another time traveler once remarked).  The books follow the story of three historians who are studying various aspects of Britain during World War II and their eventually stranding in the past.  I found the story of Polly, Eileen, and Mike and the variety of contemps ("contemporaries," those who actually belong in the past) surrounding them to be equally compelling as both science fiction and historical fiction.

As the story jumps back-and-forth among a number of times and settings, the reader gradually sees the connections and the intertwining of both the space-time continuum ("normal" timeline) and the timelines of the characters.  Polly's first research assignment was in 1944-45, followed by a jump to 1940-41.  Based on this, she knew what would happen because for her it already had happened (see, "wibbly-wobbly").  According to Willis, and her Oxford History Department, historians cannot affect history, but, is that really true?  This becomes the central question for Polly, Eileen, and Mike, and the reader is pulled into the question and forced to examine the forces of correlation and causation that may--or may not--exist.

Blackout and All Clear can very well be read on their own, as for the most part very few characters carry over from The Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, however, all four books are very engaging, and should be enjoyed by fans of science fiction, historical fiction, and (in the case of To Say Nothing of the Dog) mysteries.

Read everything you can!

Erotic Exchanges by Nina Kushner

In the interest of full disclosure, I feel that I must start by saying that Nina and I went to high school together. When she published Erotic Exchanges: The World of Elite Prostitution in Eighteenth-Century Paris I told her I would give her a review on my blog.  This is not, however, just supporting a friend and her career, as I found this book interesting, and fairly accessible to non-historians, as well as non-French speakers (although I did have trouble keeping some of the names straight).

First of all, I want to recognize the amount of research that clearly went into this book.  I have great respect for Nina for wading through handwritten police reports from the 1700s, in French, no less.  I can only imagine that the handwriting alone was a challenge!  This is clearly a topic of great interest to her, and this book will clearly be important to those interested in the history of Paris, of prostitution, and of women's roles.  I don't think I would have had the persistence to pursue this sort of work (although folks said that about my dissertation as well, so, to each his own, as they say).

The accessibility of this book comes mainly through the vignettes about the women and their various men that are woven throughout the analysis of their situations.  Stories of girls entering the world of high-class sex for sale, of families using this world to advance themselves through their daughters, and the tales of love, wealth, poverty, and death that connected everything together.

In my view, this book gave a lot of positive views of these women.  Many of them were clearly in complete control of their lives, and often strung along multiple men, so they really never had to suffer a decline in lifestyle.  The connections between the theater, the ballet, and the opera and this world (the demimonde) were well laid out, and ran deep during the time period under study.  It seems that the police inspectors in eighteenth-century Paris could probably have made good money as paparazzi and gossip writers in Hollywood today!

Now, this is an academic publication, even with its stories and accessibility to a more general audience.  As such, there are some more dense parts to it.  Anyone unfamiliar with this style of writing and chapter formatting may find it slow-going in places, but hopefully they will stick with it to really take in the observations made along the way.

If there is one weakness (and I joked with Nina about this on facebook), it is the lack of illustrations.  She replied to my comment on that by saying that if there had been, the book might be selling more copies.  Alas, readers will have to make do with the pictures in their own minds.

Erotic Exchanges was educational, interesting, with stories that read, in places, like a soap opera.  Nina Kushner brought these women, and men, to life and opened up a somewhat hidden world to her readers.  Don't just take my word for it, pick up a copy for yourself.

Reading is Addictive

The Sanguinists Series - James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell

Armageddon is coming, but a trio of individuals from prophecy can save us.  The Woman of Learning, the Knight of Christ, and the Warrior of Man must save the world from the plotting of the immortal Judas Iscariot.  What?  And.... there are vampires.  On both sides of the battle.

There are two books in this series, so far:  Blood Gospel, and Innocent Blood.  I have read many of James Rollins' Sigma Force books, which typically involve the search for some kind of mystical, historical, or scientific (if not all three) item that poses a threat to the world and civilization as we know it.  I have not read anything else by Rebecca Cantrell, who apparently is best known for her historical-mystery Hannah Vogel series.  In reading this I was expecting a blending of mystery, thriller, treasure hunt, and religious undertones (since so many of the great historical-mystical stories seem to involve some kind of religion to some extent).  What I wasn't expecting was the undead, yet, they appeared, and were woven deeply into the mythology that Rollins and Cantrell have developed around their heroes.

Without giving too much more away, these good-vs-evil novels bring a new twist on both religious fiction as well as vampire mythology.  They are fairly fast reads, and if the thought of an archaeologist, soldier, and priest teaming up to save the world excites you, then pick up Blood Gospel soon, and join the adventure.

Happy Birthday to the Shat!

The TARDIS

What was Padgett Powell thinking?

Do you think it's possible to write a book using only questions?  Have you heard of The Interrogative Mood by Padgett Powell?  Would you believe me if I told you this 164-page book has no declarative or exclamatory sentences in it at all?  Do you think I can write this entire post using only interrogatives?  Will you keep reading to see if I can?  Would you like to see some examples of the questions from the book?  Do you think I will post some regardless of your desire to see them?

• Are your emotions pure?  Are your nerves adjustable?  How do you stand in relation to the potato? (p. 1)
• Wasn't the world better when the term "haberdasher" was current? (p. 18)
• If you had a loud 400 hp 1969 GTO with a Hurst three-speed on the floor and the Allman Brothers' "One Way Out" playing as loud inside the car, would you not be unstoppable not only in all the serious adolescent ways but even now in nearly all of the serious postadolescent pre-senile ways? (p. 41)
• Have I told you of the time my grandmother escaped the nursing home and I found her a block away on a door stoop expiring in the sun and she said to me, "What took you so long?" (p. 72)
• If you were given a fully restored cherry vintage automobile and a paid-for apartment in a foreign city and could have one other thing to go with these gifts, what would it be? (p. 97)
• If you heard someone say "In America, one word says it all," what would you expect that word to be? (p. 112)
• Does it change things a bit for you to perceive that these questions want you bad?  And that they are perhaps independent of me, to some degree?  That they are somewhat akin to, say, zombies of the interrogative mood? (p. 113)
• Why do "making hay" and "haymaker" have substantially different meanings? (p. 137)
• When a woman wears a pair of men's pajamas and removes the top, retaining the pants, do you find this a sexually stimulating outfit? (p. 153)
• Would we be happier if we had something we do not have, or if we were told something we've not been told, or if we said something we've not said, or if we did something we've not done, or if we did not have something that we do have? (p. 162)
• Are you leaving now?  Would you?  Would you mind?  (p. 164)

Does this all seem random?  Why would someone write an entire book like this?  Was there method to his madness?  Who would then publish such a work?  And, most importantly, who would read such a book, cover to cover?  Would you say such a reader was highly intelligent?  Is there a method to the reader's madness?

Are you curious about this book?  Curious enough to seek it out and read it?  Am I recommending it?  Would a recommendation from me make a difference to you?  What, I wonder, will you do now?

Oh Myyy!

At the end of Star Trek V Captain Kirk tells Sulu to plot a course:  "Second star to the right, and straight on 'til morning."  It seems that Sulu did not make it to Neverland.  Instead, he navigated himself right into cyberspace and has taken over the internet. 

Oh Myyy! is a paperback version of George Takei's journey from science fiction icon to social media superstar, and is a good read for anyone who enjoys humor, social activism, science fiction, and the occasional dirty joke. 

You know, I never thought of Mr. Sulu as a particularly funny guy, but I have to say, that George Takei has a very good sense of humor.  He is a fan and purveyor of the clever, the punny, and the parody, and treats them all as equally as he wants to see all people treated.  Aside from his obvious science fiction connections and interests, it is clear from this book that he feels a great deal of passion for human rights.  Of particular interest, from his own background, are gay rights and the stories of the Japanese internment camps in the U.S. during the Second World War.  "Uncle George" himself spent time in one of these camps, and he has worked hard to bring this story to the forefront of the public's attention (my only other encounter with this part of history was reading A Farewell to Manzanar in high school).  This is, obviously, not a stellar piece of tolerance and open-mindedness in American history, but it should not be ignored, or covered up.  So, much of Takei's internet presence is devoted to the musical, Allegiance, that is based on his own history.

Science fiction, cats, and musical theater.  Truly, George Takei is a Renaissance man.  In Oh Myyy! we see how he, personally, has both drawn attention to particular internet trends, as well as contributed to the popularity of bacon, cats, and the spreading of rumors and false news (unwittingly, of course).

This is a short book, but it is highly entertaining, and along with learning about the George Takei social media conglomerate (really, him, his husband, and a couple of interns), we see some interactions with the people behind Facebook--the men behind the curtain, as it were.

George Takei: actor, social media guru, activist, lover of musical theater, and the most popular senior citizen on the internet.  Hopefully we will have the pleasure of his presence for a long time to come.

What Science Fiction and Fantasy has taught me

I'm a geek.  I fully admit it.  When one tries to play the word "mithril" in Words With Friends, and gets upset when it's deemed "not a real word," it may be safe to say that said person spends (perhaps) too much time in worlds other than our own.  My hand is raised; guilty as charged.  All of those worlds, however, have many lessons.  I'd like to pause from our regularly scheduled discussion of books to list some of those lessons (in no particular order).

1. Always carry a towel. (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
2. Time is not a straight line. (Doctor Who)
3. Sometimes, the Cylons look like us. (Battlestar Galactica)
4. Maybe the red pill isn't always such a good idea. (The Matrix)
5. Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards. (The Lord of the Rings)
6. These are not the droids I was looking for. (Star Wars)
7. The Prime Directive is, sometimes, more of a guideline than a rule (Star Trek)
8. 42. (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
9. Let the Wookiee win. (Star Wars)
10. Do, or do not. (Star Wars)
11. No capes. (The Incredibles) 
12. I should always pay my debts (like the Lannisters). (Game of Thrones)
13. Soylent Green is people. (Soylent Green)
14. Some days you don't want to be wearing a red shirt. (Star Trek) 
15. A bow and arrow pretty much beats all other weapons (Arrow, Lord of the Rings, Walking Dead, The Hunger Games) 
16. Magic always comes with a price.....dearie. (Once Upon A Time)

There will no doubt be more lessons in my future, but for now, those are applicable to many facets of life.

The Mortal Instruments Series

I realize I've been remiss in posting.  This doesn't mean I haven't been reading.  Quite the opposite, in fact, as I've finished 4 books in the last few days.  In this post I will focus on City of Glass by Cassandra Clare, the third in her Mortal Instruments Series (following City of Bones and City of Ashes).  While not a new series, it came to my attention a year or so ago when I saw a trailer for the movie adaptation of City of Bones.  I liked the trailer, and thought, "oh, they're slayers" (a la Buffy).  Well, perhaps on the screen, but not so much on the page.

I would characterize this series as entertaining, but not enthralling (for me, as a middle-aged man anyway).  Having finished the third book of a series of six, I am done.  This book reached, what I felt, was a good point of closure.  I found the book to be closer to Twilight then Buffy (and I quit after the first Twilight--I am firmly in the vampires-don't-sparkle camp), but also closer to Harry Potter than Twilight (again, my opinion).  There is the assortment of vampires, werewolves, warlocks, and teen angst.  There is a Voldemort-like villain (whose name, Valentine, shares an alliterative element with J.K. Rowling's creation), whose goal, like that of He-who-shall-not-be-named, is to cleanse the blood of his supernatural/superhuman race, the Nephilim (who, as you may guess from the name, have a connection to angels).

If you like this sort of story, or if you share the tastes of 15-year-old girls, you will probably like these books much more than I did, and are likely to read all 6 in the series, plus all of the corollary works which Clare seems to be producing.  Again, this series did not really interest me to the same level as some other YA books lately have (The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Park Service, as examples).

Happy reading, and happy Valentine's Day (although, not the Valentine referenced above).

Kelley Armstrong's Cainsville and Otherworld

Kelley Armstrong at a local bookstore in 2009

This past week I read two books by Kelley Armstrong, the author of the "Women of the Otherworld" series (not to be confused with Yasmine Galenorn's "Otherworld" books--same genre, different worlds and plotlines):  Brazen, and Omens.  Brazen is a recent novella set in the Otherworld universe and features North American Wolf Pack member Nick Sorrentino as he leads the search for the elusive (and somewhat psychotic) former Alpha, Malcolm Danvers.  Although the series officially ended with the publication of the novel 13, Kelley continues to write the occasional short story and novella set in her created milieu, such as this one.  It is always nice for both readers and authors to re-visit familiar settings and people, and this little book was no exception.  In the series, we don't see Nick play a leading role, as he is generally overshadowed by the more dominant (pun intended) members of the Pack, Clay and Elena, who play a minor role in this book.  This was a good story, picking up some loose ends from the series, and not resolving things fully.  So, I imagine we will see more of these characters in the future.

Kelley's new series is called "Cainsville" and the first book is Omens.  Although this series is has a definite supernatural/fantasy theme, it is also a mystery, and, in my opinion, would also fit very well in that film genre that we call "the buddy movie."  Cainsville is a small town about an hour outside of Chicago, and there are mysterious and interesting things that happen there.  Although it is never explicitly stated in this first volume, it appears that this town is a haven for the Fae/fairies/wee folk who immigrated from the British Isles at some point in the past.  There are strong hints that the main character of the book, Olivia Taylor-Jones, has some of that magical blood flowing through her veins, as does her reluctant partner, Gabriel Walsh. 

The book begins with Olivia's comfortable upper-class life in suburban Chicago being turned upside-down as she learns that she was adopted as a toddler and that her biological parents are infamous convicted serial killers.  That is only the first twist in Olivia's life, as readers transition with her to a new way of living and thinking both about her world and herself.

I liked this book, maybe better than the Otherworld series, but I'll hold that thought until I read more.  I devoured the 486 pages in two days, which shows how it held my interest.  There are enough hints that readers of fantasy will see where things are headed, but can't really tell what this particular series' take will be on these supernatural/magical beings.  Readers of fantasy should like this book, as will readers of mysteries and thrillers.  The relationship between Olivia and Gabriel, and Olvia and the town of Cainsville will no doubt develop much more as the series goes on and we see what happens with her and her mothers (both adopted and biological).  I, for one, am very excited for the second book in this series.

Superheroes, zombies, and soldiers, oh my!

Last year I read Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines.  I was drawn to it by the quote on the cover that said "The Avengers meets the Walking Dead."  Well, I like the Avengers, and I like the Walking Dead, therefore, this book is worth a try.  This past week, I read the second in the series, Ex-Patriots, which takes our heroes out of their movie studio "safe zone" in L.A. to the Arizona desert, where they meet up with a new hero and a new villain.

Clines' superheroes are archetypes:  the invulnerable flying hero (St. George); the scientist/engineer with crazy high-tech battle armor (Cerberus); the introverted mystery woman--with no discernible powers--who possesses high intelligence, superior martial arts skills, and a high-tech apartment that clearly cost a fortune (Stealth); and, the guy who can transform himself into pure energy/electricity, while spouting non-stop witty banter (Zzzap).  In this second book, we are introduced to Captain Freedom (his real name, by the way), a super-soldier created through a secret military project (code name Krypton).  Even though we, as readers, are not presented with "new" heroes per se, the characters are more than two-dimensional, and the interactions between them help to carry the story (not to mention the many, many pop culture references from Zzzap). 

Add to this, the ex-humans (zombies), which, really, are standard, run-of-the-mill, reanimated-after-a-virus, walking corpses.  Naturally, the only way to dispose of them is with a shot or blow to the head.  The fun twist here is the setting.  Because Clines has established Los Angeles as the center of his world, there are zombies walking around who used to be famous people.  There is an underlying sub-plot that involves the citizens of the Mount (the movie studio that has become home to the survivors) keeping score of what famous ex-humans they take down.  We are not told exactly what the point system is, but from the dialogue, I can only guess that the more recognizable and A-List the star is, the more points they're worth.  We are also told at one point in Ex-Patriots that with the amount of silicone in L.A., some of the bodies don't decompose as fast as others. 

Peasy, the super-villain from Ex-Heroes returns in the second volume, although he was presumably killed in the first book (fans of this genre will know that it's awfully hard to keep some of these folks dead).  He seems to now be incorporeal, but can control, and speak through, hordes of the ex-humans at a time, giving a mind to the mindless creatures.  In addition to Peasy, our heroes must deal with Agent John Smith, and his particular version of mind control.

To me, this series is a fun read.  Although the characters are archetypes, as I mentioned (for those who didn't figure it out:  Superman, Iron Man, Batman, and the Human Torch(?)), they have a life of their own in the zombie apocalypse that Peter Clines has created.  I am looking forward to the third volume of the series, Ex-Communication, to see what new characters and situations arise.

Corporate Enemies in Print and on the Screen

My last post about Max Barry's Lexicon inspired a few comments on facebook and moved in a direction that has been on my mind:  corporations as the bad guys in books and other popular culture.  In a series of comments that moved beyond the bookshelf to Netflix, the TV show Jericho came up.  I had never heard of this show until it popped up as a recommendation for me based on prior viewing, but apparently when it was on it was quite popular.  For those unfamiliar with it, the basic premise is:  23 nuclear bombs have been detonated in a number of cities across the US (Denver, Atlanta, Chicago, San Diego--I think, and D.C., among others).  The series is set in the town of Jericho, Kansas where citizens had a clear view of the mushroom cloud over Denver.  Throughout the first season there is much speculation about who the perpetrators/terrorists were.  Then, in season 2 we meet Jennings & Rall, the corporation that has "partnered" with the new Allied States of America government to rebuild the country.  Without giving too much away, the relationship between Jennings & Rall and the politicians is corrupt (gee, who would have guessed that?).

This seems to be a theme, or at least, I'm reading and viewing a number of titles that have this in some part of their creative skeleton.  Aside from Jericho, I would add Torchwood Miracle Day (season 4 of the series), The Northern Star: The Beginning by Mike Gullickson, and Marie Lu's Legend trilogy (Legend, Prodigy, Champion).  In all of these we see some sort of questionable/evil collaboration between government and corporations that the heroes must somehow try to overcome.

Torchwood Miracle Day

One day humans no longer die.  No matter how sick, injured, or mutilated, their consciousness and life remain.  The pharmaceutical company Phi Corp seems to have been ready for this to happen.  How?  Why?  Well, that's up to Captain Jack Harkness and Agent Gwen Cooper to find out.  In my opinion, this is the best series of Torchwood to date.  It had a really good cast, was edge-of-your-seat interesting, and, what's always fun to see, featured guest star Star Trek alums John de Lancie (Q) and Nana Visitor (Kira Neris).

The Northern Star:  The Beginning

In this book (apparently the first in a series), society has reached the point of being able to access the internet via an interactive helmet.  It all seems to be virtual reality, and is controlled by (big surprise) one corporation and its CEO.  Through a series of seemingly disparate events, the corporation ends up in bed with the government (didn't see that one coming, did you?) and the corporate technology is utilized to create a new super soldier.  To be fair, the CEO, Cynthia Revo, didn't know about the backroom machinations, but it was her technology that was utilized.  This book really didn't really hit me the way others have.  I highly doubt I'll read the sequel.  It does however stand as an illustration for this discussion.

The Legend trilogy

In a dystopian future America (and that's a topic for a whole 'nother post) the former United States has divided into the Republic of America and the Colonies of America.  The two sides are at war (naturally).  As with The Hunger Games, we see the main characters become more and more drawn into the war and its strategic center.  What's interesting here is the division of the US.  While the Republic of America has seemingly become a hereditary dictatorship, the Colonies of America are corporate-run.  With a lack of strong leaders, and a bankrupt company, the four largest corporations divided the running of the country among them: one is in charge of security, one provides society's needs, etc.  Although the third volume of the trilogy climaxes with the showdown between the two sides, the Colonies are not necessarily the single enemy throughout the books.  These were a good read, and Lu's style of alternating first-person chapters between the two main characters, Day and June, made it different from other Young Adult dystopian fiction (the chapters are even printed in different fonts and different colors of ink).  If you liked The Hunger Games or Veronica Roth's Divergent series, you'll probably like these.

So what's the point here?  Is this the Zeitgeist of the American creative class?  Many of today's readers and viewers of these genres are too young to remember the Cold War, and perhaps "traditional" terrorists have become cliche (although apparently some Republican is complaining about the lack of Muslim terrorists in Hollywood, so I guess there is an audience for that).  Or is this just that "liberal Hollywood" we keep hearing about staging some sort of protest?  I'm not sure I have enough data yet, but if I get to that point, I'll be sure to bring up this topic again.  In the meantime, happy reading!

The Power of Words

I have been a bit lax in keeping my writing up-to-date with my reading.  I have read three books in the past couple of weeks:  Champion by Marie Lu (#3 in the Legend series), Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, and, the subject of this post, Lexicon by Max Barry.

The Power of Words.

This is really the most basic way to sum up what Max Barry has created in this book.  What would you think if you were presented with the following questions?

1. Are you a cat person or a dog person?
2. What is your favorite color?
3. Pick a number between 1 and 100.
4. Do you love your family?
5. Why did you do it?

Based on these five questions, a clandestine organization--the Poets--is able to assess a person's aptitude for becoming a member of said organization.  Through their training, Poets are taught to assess a person's psychological type (there are 220, or so), and through that assessment, know what words can be used to persuade, or even control, that individual.  Thus:  the power of words.

It is through this assessment and training that Emily Ruff becomes Virginia Woolf (and trust me, many are afraid of her), and becomes part of a chain of events that release the most powerful word (a "bareword") upon the town of Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.  What ensues involves T. S. Eliot, William Yeats, Sylvia Plath, and Charlotte Bronte (not their real names, of course), and the fate of the free world (cue evil music).  Oh, and just for kicks, there's Harry/Wil, an outlier, someone who is immune to all words used by the Poets.  There's love, there's sex, there's shooting, and there are card tricks.  I'm sure you want to read it now!

In some very small ways this reminded me of Lev Grossman's The Magicians, in which candidates for a special school were also assessed in mysterious and unusual ways and then trained to join a larger organization or brotherhood.  Barry, however, wraps his school in science, not magic (although, truly, is there really a difference sometimes?), and places his characters in our world, not worlds of fantasy.  All in all, I liked this one.  It was a bit different than other things I read, and seems to be a single book, not part of a series (which is refreshing).  This is the first of Max Barry's works that I have read, but it's not likely to be the last.  He has a couple of others that look intriguing, so stay tuned!

Jack Reacher

A couple of days ago I finished One Shot, the ninth Jack Reacher novel by Lee Childs.  For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Reacher, or who may only know him as portrayed by Tom Cruise (more on THAT below), Jack Reacher is a former Army MP who has no fixed address or employment.  He is a man who enjoys being off the grid, living a simple life, and seeing the country.  Unfortunately, things seem to seldom be simple (if they were, there would be no point in writing a book about him).  In each novel Reacher seems to show up somewhere, usually by bus, and is somehow drawn into a murder, kidnapping, or other violent crime investigation.  Often there is a personal connection, as in One Shot.

James Barr has been arrested for shooting and killing 5 people in a sniper attack.  He tells his lawyer to find Jack Reacher.  With this scene we must read on to find out the connection between the two men, and the intricate interactions in this small Indiana town that resulted in James Barr being arrested.

Reacher knows how to investigate.  As a character he comes across (to me anyway) as intelligent, observant, with a mind that is always working.  He tries to live simply, as I stated above.  He travels mainly by bus, seeing the country, stopping off in towns and cities as the mood strikes him.  In a couple of the novels we see him staying in a place for a few months and working, but usually, he is on the move.  He travels light, buying inexpensive clothing, then replacing it after he feels it has been worn enough.  He does not do laundry, he does not carry luggage. 

I think much of the appeal of these books is Reacher's lifestyle.  I'm certain that I'm not alone in thinking how nice it would be to live like that for a while, seeing the country, studying the human condition.  On top of that, the twists and turns of each case grip readers right to the end of the story.  Childs writes the mysteries well, letting us in on Reacher's thought processes a little at a time, until everything falls into place in the end.  At this point in the series for me, I will say that there is absolutely a bit of formula to these novels, however it hasn't started to feel old yet.  Within each novel we are also given a piece of Reacher's backstory:  his brother, his mother, his former lovers, and military colleagues.  There are a few more of these to go, so I will post more as I read them.

Now, Tom Cruise.  I learned that this movie was being made before I read the first book, and I have not seen it (and I doubt I will).  After starting the first book I thought:  What were they thinking??????  Tom Cruise????  Reacher is described fairly accurately and consistently in each volume.  He is 6' 5", 250 lbs.  Tom Cruise is.... not quite either of those.  If I can be allowed to go off topic just slightly... The key (in my opinion) to ensuring that loved characters can carry on in new formats or new versions is to cast the parts correctly.  J. J. Abrams did this in Star Trek.  That cast is very true to the original iconic characters.  Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher misses this mark.  If you disagree, convince me I'm wrong and maybe I'll watch the movie.  Until then, I will move on to the 10th book:  The Hard Way.

Lula and the giraffe

"Lula slung the bag over her shoulder to take it for a test drive, and a giraffe loped past up."  Takedown Twenty, p. 4

Janet Evanovich has brought us another visit with old friends.  The twentieth installment (not counting the holiday specials) in the Stephanie Plum series brings us the usual cast of characters:  Stephanie, Lula, Connie, Grandma Mazur, Morelli, and Ranger.  Along with these folks, there is a giraffe, which consumes much of Lula's attention throughout the book (I mean, a giraffe in Trenton, NJ??? That's funny, right there). 

This whole series is light and entertaining, with episodes of laugh-out-loud humor.  I recommend for anyone who likes their bounty hunters with unloaded guns and big hair.

"Al-safar zafar" (Voyaging is victory)

"...the creme de la creme of the chess world
in a show with everything, but Yul Brynner"  - One Night in Bangkok from Chess

The Eight by Katherine Neville focuses heavily on the chess world, and, indeed, Yul Brynner is one of the few famous names that does not show up.  Throughout this novel we see interactions between Neville's created characters and

• Catherine the Great, czarina of all the Russias
• Talleyrand
• Robespierre
• William Blake
• William Wordsworth
• Napoleon 
• Benedict Arnold
• Muammar Qaddafi

Those who are included as off-stage personages include: Sir Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, and Bach.

What do all of these folks have in common?  The search for the Montglane Service, the chess set that was gifted to Charlemagne by the Moors.  The search for the pieces, and the secret they contain, stretches across the centuries from medieval times to 1973.  This is an epic story, and I was quite impressed by the amount of research that must have gone into the production of its 598 pages.

This book was an adventure, a mystery, a bit of supernatural/sci-fi, numerology, mythology and featured strong female characters.  Although some of the "loose ends" are tied up a bit too conveniently (i.e. contrived, in my view), the book itself is an absolute page-turner.  I rated it 4 out of 5 stars on goodreads, mainly based on the research involved in integrating all of the myths, history, math, and chess knowledge.

The quote that titles this post was referenced in the book, and resonated with me.  Originally found in The Arabian Nights, it seemed to me to be related to the saying "It's not the destination, but the journey."  And many people do believe also that the hunt is more interesting than the final outcome.  If that's your view of life as well, read The Eight; it will expand your mind.