CLYDE WISHAM

This is another good entry in the Joe Pickett series. In this one, Joe Pickett goes into Yellowstone National Park to investigate a mass murderer. It proves to be no easy task.
We get an interesting story with a good mystery and the typical C.J. Box twists. We get cold-blooded killers, some odd-ball characters, slimy politicians, dirty cops, corporate intrigue, danger, and no little violence. In addition to all that, Yellowstone Park itself becomes a character in this story. (This story says to me that C.J. Box really really likes Yellowstone.)

Want to read a book involving giant mecha and have it actually make sense? Want a story about an ancient mystery? Want it told in an unusual way? Want a spanking good story?
Well, here you go.

Good solid story in a good series.

This is the authoritative book on the battle of Kursk. A must read for anyone interested in WW2.

Pretty good cozy mystery. Jacqueline Winspear nails 1920s England quite well, and Maisie Dobbs is an attractive character.

Contains some spoilers for earlier books in the series.[b:Odysseus Awakening 35484277 Odysseus Awakening (Odyssey One, #6) Evan Currie https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1502283267s/35484277.jpg 56881661] is another good entry in [a:Evan Currie 15153514 Evan Currie https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1487997311p2/15153514.jpg]'s Odyssey One series. The horror of the relentless Drasin assault has apparently been stopped, at least for now. But the Earth system and the Priminae now face the empire that had unleashed them.Eric Weston still commands the battle cruiser Odysseus, but additionally he has been promoted to Commodore and controls Earth's first quick reaction battle group. When Imperial forces attack a Priminae colony world, Weston's ships and the Priminae must rush to their defense. We get Curry's trademark exciting battle action both between ships and marines fighting in a crippled ship. The odds are long and the battle desperate. Skill, cunning, and luck are required just for survival.And in this book another very odd intelligent race which had been hinted at in previous books now makes an active appearance.Pretty good military SF.

Another good book in the Bobverse series. The Bob's proliferate, there is first contact, there are problems to solve, there is combat, the Bob's learn more about the xenophobic “Others”, and the stage is set for the next phase of the story.
Good space opera.

There may be some spoilers for earlier books.

Lanny Budd number six continues the curious mixture of adventure, suspense, history, and romance of this series. It picks up right where book five left off. (You can read these books stand-alone, but they are much better read in sequence.) Lanny Budd continues his dual life, using his cover as a world-beating art expert to disguise his activities as a secret agent (presidential agent) working directly for FDR.
The action takes place mostly during 1939. We get the German invasion of Poland, followed by the phony war. Then come the invasions of Norway, the Low Countries, and France. All the time Lanny is shuttling around between Germany, France, England, and the USA doing his presidential agent thing. He has adventures. For example, at one point he has to rescue an American lady who underestimated the danger she was in from right under the Gestapo's nose. Later, he gets directly involved in the rescue of the British and French armies at Dunkirk.
There is an incredible amount of detail in all these books. Sometimes it seems to me to be a little too much, actually getting in the way of the story. I have to remember that such detail was perhaps needed because at the time of publication the details depicted weren't history; they were recent events and would have been expected by knowledgeable readers.
Pretty good story. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Perhaps some mild spoilers for previous books.

The previous book was pretty much non-stop action in the battle of Mars. This one, however, is slower paced. Our heroes get reassigned and spend some time training on new weapons and learning new systems and tactics. Andrew and Halley even get a little badly needed personal time. That cannot last of course. Eventually, all hell breaks loose with an all-out Lanky attack on the Formahault System.
In this book, humans have made some progress in learning how to fight the Lankies. But, we still learn nothing about the Lanky history, motivation, biology, economy, etc. Nada. Presumably someone is working on such things, but it seems Andrew isn't in the need-to-know loop.
Perhaps a little weaker than some of the earlier books, but still a solid read. 3.5 stars rounded up.

A re-read some 30 years later. I recently found a beat-up copy in a used book store. It is still a good story.
(M.A. Foster was (is?) a talented writer. Too bad he stopped. I suppose the return on time invested was insufficient.)

In [b:War For the Hell of It: A Fighter Pilot's View of Vietnam 28487746 War For the Hell of It A Fighter Pilot's View of Vietnam Ed Cobleigh https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1452269838s/28487746.jpg 1909171] Ed Cobleigh tells us what the Vietnam war was like for an F-4 fighter pilot flying combat missions out of Thailand. The book is composed of a loosely connected series of vignettes each focusing on a single topic. The writing is mostly first-person, you-are-there descriptions heavily intermixed with musing about various subjects philosophical, political, and personal. The book is lyrical and often bitingly sarcastic. Cobleigh's sense of humor, often black, shows throughout. It is not all about combat; we also get a lot side trips into various aspects of the surreal world of the Vietnam conflict.Good book.

This was a good story for my first read of the year. Rush takes on the old question of nature vs nurture and explores the relationships of success and happiness, of winning and losing.
This story won a Hugo for best Novelette in 2001. But, I couldn't identify any SF&F elements so I call it straight fiction.
A short, interesting read.

I think I would have loved this story when I was about 13 years old. Not so much now that I am older than dirt.
A boy and his horse get kidnapped and taken in a spaceship to have wonderful adventures. It has its moments.
Slight spoilers: Some things made the story not work for me. The aliens are slightly different looking humans, but that is never satisfactorily explained. Also, there is a lot of hand-wavium science and just plain wrong science.

This is the second volume in Bruce Catton's* two-volume history of U. S. Grant in the Civil War years. Like all of Catton's books, [b:Grant Takes Command 1863-1865 681648 Grant Takes Command 1863-1865 Bruce Catton https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1177102763s/681648.jpg 668041] (and its companion volume: Grant Moves South, 1861-1863) is well researched with plenty of detail. However, it isn't a difficult read. Catton's clear narrative writing style makes it accessible to ordinary folk as well as historians.Recommended for those interested in the US Civil War in general and those who want to know more about U.S. Grant.(*[a:Bruce Catton 4773 Bruce Catton https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1364837454p2/4773.jpg] was one of the best of the many Civil War historians. I still think his [b:This Hallowed Ground: The story of the Union Side of the Civil War 101648 This Hallowed Ground The story of the Union Side of the Civil War Bruce Catton https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348361307s/101648.jpg 3332503] is the best single-volume history of the Civil War.)

I found CoT to be tedious (unlike most who have read it). I reckon the spiders are the best characters. The humans are unbelievable, and there is no way they could have maintained their technology under the conditions given in the story line.

Neil deGrasse Tyson muses and opines about his life and various subjects both scientific and social. This isn't strictly an autobiography but it does have a lot of autobiographical elements.
Quite interesting.

Ky Vatta is back! And she is just as tough a protagonist as ever.

I quite enjoyed this story. You can always count on Walter Jon Williams for a good read; this is no exception.[b:Quillifer 34466940 Quillifer Walter Jon Williams https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1495056522s/34466940.jpg 55587016] is set in a fantasy world. However, there seem to be very few fantastical elements. There is one point where he has a problem with some fire-breathing beasties, and a demi-goddess makes an occasional appearance. But other than that, it seems more like a historical novel set in something resembling Tudor England.This is basically an action/adventure novel. At the start, Quillifer is a young man who grew up working with his father in the butcher's guild but has now been apprenticed to the lawyer's guild. The story starts slowly, building the world and giving a feel for Quillifer and his situation. Then all hell breaks loose and things are never the same again for Quillifer.He is a well-built fellow, but doesn't think himself a fighter or brave. He prefers to live by his wits and has considerable success with the ladies. I would call him a rake except that he genuinely cares for the women/girls he consorts with. As he moves from adventure to adventure, he finds he must be both a fighter and brave.We get raider attacks, privateering, deadly encounters with brigands and murderers, do or die military action, a bit of romance, and a considerable amount of humor.I listened to the audiobook version. Ralph Lister's narration is very good.Good book. I hope for more adventures of Quillifer.

Young Thomas Blackstone is forced to take his great bow and head off to war. It is either that or hang. And a great war it is – what we now call the hundred-years war. He is blooded, quite literally, on the killing field of Crecy.
In this book we get brutal medieval warfare, the horror of the black death, and a surprisingly good love story as we follow Thomas on his journey from a callow teenage archer to a feared and fearsome warlord.
Gilman obviously did a lot of research and gives a rich picture of the life, politics, and combat of the time. Good book; I will continue the series.

This was a fun read; not particularly deep, but enjoyable. The bad guys are wonderfully villainous, and the good guys are steadfast and resourceful. Multiple times throughout the book characters did not act/react as I expected while still staying firmly in character (good storytelling). Of the minor characters, I was particularly taken by the very profane and totally focused Kiva Lagos.
This being Scalzi, there is plenty of snarkiness. I think he had way too much fun writing this story.
Slight drawbacks: The economic system Scalzi posits seems very unstable to me. I cannot imagine it lasting a millennium. Also, the story obviously isn't finished (though it does end on a good breakpoint).
I listened to the audio version. Wil Wheaton's narration was very good.
Pretty good space opera.

It is Berkeley in 1969. Eagle, a former combat nurse in Vietnam, witnesses a young woman being brutally beaten and kidnapped. She reports it to the police but they can do nothing. A discussion at her gym reveals that a number of young people have disappeared recently. Nobody has given it much thought, because, hey, it is Berkley where young folks come and go.Convinced that the abduction she witnessed is related to the disappearances, Eagle teams up with “Pammy” the owner of the gym and “Val”* from Chicago to try and find out the who, what, and why. This improbable investigative team soon finds themselves deep in a very serious situation. But what can three untrained women do when the police can do nothing? They are unsure how to proceed and know it will be dangerous. But they also know they have to try.Good story with an exciting and solid finish.(*Val is a small black woman from Chicago with a mysterious past. She was a character in Nelscott's earlier book [b:Stone Cribs: A Smokey Dalton Novel 20922424 Stone Cribs A Smokey Dalton Novel Kris Nelscott https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1393386814s/20922424.jpg 2982818].)

Dead Six is a fairly long suspense-thriller featuring an intricate plot and a high body count. And you get guns, tons of guns. This is serious gun porn.

There are plenty of detailed reviews of this book out there. I will give just a very brief synopsis.
The book opens with Police Inspector Grant in hospital after having received a serious injury while pursuing a criminal. Bored silly, he casts about for something to do and chances upon a portrait of Richard III. The portrait seems to have little resemblance to the popular image of an evil hunchback. Then, flat on his back, he uses his detecting skills to solve the 450 year old mystery of Richard III and the Little Princes in the Tower.
Good book.

This was a fairly quick read featuring interesting characters and lots of action.[b:Black Crossing 7470336 Black Crossing C.K. Crigger https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1262414352s/7470336.jpg 9556982] is [a:C.K. Crigger 1032599 C.K. Crigger https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s homage to an old story theme: a stranger comes to a town run by crooks and cleans things up. The main protagonist in this case, Marshal TJ Osgood, reminds me somewhat of [a:Robert B. Parker 397 Robert B. Parker https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1423098317p2/397.jpg]'s Jesse Stone. TJ Osgood is a late middle age lawman with a checkered past and a history of alcohol abuse, and the town's big man (basically a local lord and a nasty crook) thinks that will make him easy to control. Big mistake, that.The story takes place in a small town in the Idaho timber country. There are several unsavory characters (in addition to the Big Bad) including a nasty gunslinger and some brutal lumberjacks. The townspeople are generally cowed, but Osgood finds allies in an unassuming deputy and his dog and in Ione Gilpatrick a widow and grieving mother (and one tough cookie). The action starts almost as soon as Osgood arrives in the small timber town and really never lets up. Everything happens over a span of just a few days. We get gunfights, physical attacks, bushwhack attempts, kidnapping, and timber rustling. What's not to like?Pretty good book.

This is a real genre crosser. We get WW2 bomber operations and aerial combat over Germany. We get travel to alternate worlds. We get lots of action in which the heroes have to survive and overcome impossible odds again and again. We get some really really bad enemies. We even get some romance and a bit of humor.
Basically Fata Morgana is a good story well told and with a very nice ending. It was slightly spoiled for me by a real deus ex machina moment late in the book in which a geeky crewman saves them by taking control of some super advanced technology with no explanation at all as to how he did it.