CLYDE WISHAM

Uhtred's saga continues.
Uhtred is aging and he longs to go home to Bebbanburg. He has many enemies blocking his path; so, he will need a good plan and perhaps some help from the gods. Of course the gods help those who help themselves. There will be plenty of work for Serpent-Breath and Wasp-Sting.

[b:Huntress Moon 15746576 Huntress Moon (Huntress/FBI Thrillers, #1) Alexandra Sokoloff https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1342011571s/15746576.jpg 21437405] had been sitting in my TBR list for a while. Though highly recommended by a friend, I had been putting it off because I thought it was urban fantasy, which I haven't been in the mood for lately. In fact it turned out to be a crime thriller, and a good one. It has strong hint of dark supernatural forces, but PTSD developed by the mysterious young “huntress” after a horrible event in her childhood could explain that. There are in fact totally evil monsters in the story, but they are all flesh-and-blood men. Their motivations now – well, that is where the hint of supernatural comes in.Alexandra Sokoloff tells a good story in two alternating threads. The first is of the young woman, the huntress, whom death seems to follow. The other is of the FBI agent who is hunting her. As the two threads come together the suspense builds powerfully. The plot is quite twisty; several times Sokoloff surprised me (which is something I like).I thoroughly enjoyed this book – 4.5 solid stars rounded up. Upon finishing it, I immediately bought the sequel ([b:Blood Moon 17857995 Blood Moon (Huntress/FBI Thrillers, #2) Alexandra Sokoloff https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1367169128s/17857995.jpg 24999447]).

All science fiction readers of course know of Robert Silverberg and most of us have read at least some of his oeuvre. This book gives a glimpse into his life both in and out of the SF&F world. It provides a vision of Silverberg's with wide ranging interests and is well seasoned with his dry wit. I recommend it as well worth a read for those interested in Silverberg or in the golden age of science fiction.

[b:The Neon Rain 6547579 The Neon Rain (Dave Robicheaux, #1) James Lee Burke https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1330058021s/6547579.jpg 1916440] is a very good detective novel set in the 1980s. The writing is elegant, the story intricate, and the characters memorable. Burk takes you right into New Orleans of the time.I listened to the audio version. The narration by Will Patton was very good indeed.

This is a pretty good alien invasion story. Sixteen-year-old Randy Knox is a sergeant with four years of combat experience against the alien “Creepers”. He and his his K-9 partner Thor face very tough enemies, not all of which are aliens.
3.5 stars rounded up. I will continue with the series.

Though a work of fiction, almost all of the characters in Russell's [b:Doc 8911226 Doc Mary Doria Russell https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320560135s/8911226.jpg 13787599] are historical characters. The main character is John Henry Holliday, better known to most as “Doc” Holliday. When reading historical fiction based on actual historical characters, one always has to wonder how much of it is real. The answer in this case, in Mary Doria Russell's own words, is “not all of it but more than you might think.” This book is not about the famous gunfight at the O.K. corral. It covers Doc Holliday's early life but is mostly about Doc's time in Dodge City. The relationship between Doc and the Earp brothers is central to the story. It is not just a character study, however. It is also a murder mystery, and a good one.We get wild cowboys blowing off steam, gunfights, fistfights, prostitutes plying their trade, gambling for serious stakes, horse racing, murder, revenge, love, religion, and compassion all tied together by Russell's beautiful prose. What's not to like?Good book. Now on to [b:Epitaph 18739541 Epitaph Mary Doria Russell https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1404411572s/18739541.jpg 26617057].

Sort of like Catcher in the Rye with a late middle age protagonist. It has its moments.

This, the fifth Lanny Budd novel, continues the somewhat curious mixture of adventure, history, and romance of the series. In [b:Presidential Agent 28601213 Presidential Agent (The Lanny Budd Novels) Upton Sinclair https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1453180481s/28601213.jpg 7387664] Lanny becomes a secret agent working directly for FDR. (Presidential agent #103, no license to kill.) At the start Lanny is also deeply concerned about the fate of his beloved Trudi, who was grabbed by the Nazis toward the end of the previous volume. Those two elements (agent + lover in peril) promised a good action-thriller. Unfortunately, that isn't what we got. I found this volume a bit tedious. It seems like Sinclair decided to give his views in great detail on all the decisions and activities in Europe in 1938 that pushed the world to the brink of WW2. The story suffered somewhat as a result.I will continue with the series.

I do love Boothenay Irons, C. K. Crigger's time traveling gunsmith. In this the third book in her gunsmith series, Boothenay gets kidnapped and taken for the first time into the future. Seems a customer needs help. Or rather the descendant of a customer. This book brings almost all the things I have come to expect from a Crigger story – lots of action, a tight plot, and a bit of romance. The only thing missing is the historical detail she usually provides; understandable as most of the action takes place in the future. Good story.
(Read in eBook format.)

An enjoyable short work by one of the old masters.

This is Crigger's fifth book about gunsmith Boothenay Irons. The previous four stories had her time-tripping into trouble. Always, it was related to an old gun. This story is a bit different. Instead of going to a different time, she is kidnapped to a steampunkish alternate America. (Not a spoiler, as that is almost the first thing you find out in the story.)There she finds herself in the middle of a bloody power struggle. If she wants to get back to her own world, she will have to help one side or the other. She had better choose right; her life depends on it. Lots of action, quite a bit of humor, and even a little romance make [b:Gone Rogue 23450052 Gone Rogue (The Gunsmith, #5) C.K. Crigger https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1414325925s/23450052.jpg 43012611] a good read.

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.

This is Crigger's fourth book about Boothenay Irons, time tripping gunsmith. The book takes its name not from a gun but from an Appaloosa horse named Six Shot.
This time a LeMat pistol with a bloody past sends her back to the 1870's. She and her fiance, Caleb, will be trapped there if they cannot find a way to stop an ancient curse. Boothenay and Caleb soon find themselves in deep trouble. She has to deal with a dangerous and sexually predatory sheriff. Caleb is captured by Nez Perce war leader Axe and faces death by torture. Boothenay with only her wits, Six Shot, and the trusty LeMat must attempt a rescue. Much violence ensues. Though this story is fairly short as novels go nowadays, it is quite enjoyable. (I do hope this isn't Crigger's final gunsmith book.)

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].)

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.

Of Blood and Honey is an urban fantasy set in, of all places, Northern Ireland in the turbulent 1970's. Dark and violent, this very strong first novel has the haunted quality of a world slightly out of joint.
This was a good read. I immediately started on the sequel.

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.

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 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.

Pretty good first contact story. You get lots of danger and high-tech action in a very hostile environment.

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.)

A classic. First published in 1941 and still a good read.

One of Ours is long and rich. Willa Cather has great literary skills.
Having said that, the story didn't really work for me. I found myself unable to really emphasize with Claude, the main protagonist.

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.