The Big Needle by Ken Follett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This second try at Follett was a winner. This was a taut thriller that is also fun to read. The down side, for me, was the surprising amount of sex and drug use through out.

Apparently Follett wrote this first of a three part series under the name of Symon Myles. The main character is named ‘Apples’. An odd name with a lousy reason for using such a lousy name. Despite the name the character is well developed as are most all of the characters in this short novel.

A big plus to this story is Follett’s ability to put the reader in the setting. There are many settings throughout as Apples travels. Each is unique from the tight alleys to the wide spread of a farm.

The conclusion is satisfying, if not obvious to the casual reader.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 8 of ten points.

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Last week’s International Trademark Association (INTA) convention for Adastra I.P. definitely marks one of my favorite events I’ve performed in 37 years. Such a great crowd! One fellow I got to meet is Sebastian Donoso who is an expert of pirates who roamed the Pacific. He told me of his new book about pirates in the Galapagos. We spoke of how many pirates in the Pacific were also pirates that terrorized ‪#‎Florida‬. I said i’d track it down and purchase me one! The next day he returned and presented me with a signed copy! Here’s Sebastian and I.

The downside: Between 22+ hours of drawing at ‪#‎INTA16‬ and then spinning around to also being at the Florida Parent-Educators Association (FPEA) convention all in one week tagged me with a nasty virus i’ve been fighting since this weekend. Ugh!

Dakota Ambush by William W. Johnstone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Standard troubles for the Jensen boys, but with a more involved setting and cast. After now reading over two dozen Johnstone Clan stories, this plot is being revisitied again. Usually the town takeover is covered in the Smoke Jensen series. This time, loosely connected Matt Jensen gets a swing at cleaning things up.

The bad guy is again British, which I find curious. The British have often been the rub in a Johnstone Clan book. This one is much like the others, with just a whole lot more land and money. There’s a lot familiar with this book. Except for the town’s people. Here this book veers from other Johnstone books and well fleshes out the townspeople and the setting of the small city. The hero doesn’t even arrive to the location to save the day until more than half way through the book. Though Matt Jensen is chronicled through the book, the characters of the town take more of a center stage as we learn of their troubles before Jensen steps in.

Further complaint involving the cover and the title. Neither are good representations of the actual book.

Though familiar if you have read other Johnstone Clan books, it’s still a very good and more involved story.

Bottom line: I recommend this story. 6 out of ten points.

The

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The Case of the Long-Legged Models (Perry Mason Mysteries) by Erle Stanley Gardner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fun entry of Mason and Street at work. The case is a bit convoluted as presented in book form as Gardner seems to struggle to make a shifting of an important clue the focus. The shifting makes it necessary to shift other parts of the story nd make the whole book seem more like a game for the reader than a solid plot.

The characters are well written. The scenery is fine, in that there are few locations written. Seemed to me while reading there are so few locations, this could also be put together as a theatrical production.

Nevertheless, this is all fun and it’s always great to visit the office of Perry Mason.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 5 out of 10 points.

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The New Breed by Lee Costigan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This a very good police procedural story of the efforts to rescue a kidnapping victim. The story follows closely a good deal of steps and lengthy details of those efforts. Characters are all very well written. Always nice to read an author who knows how to delineate characters for the reader.

The settings are extremely well done throughout as so many make their way to try and solve this case. I was particularly impressed with the writing of the transportation routes.

The story foundation is pretty simple. It’s the telling and examination of the elements of the story that make this stand out.

The final paragraph that ends the case is the shakiest part of the book. Certain actions described are possible, but it is a stretch of the imagination. After so much well done, i had to read that paragraph 4 times to believe the fumbling. It’s not enough to mark the book.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 7 of 10 points.

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The Secret of Happiness by Billy Graham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

‘The Secret of Happiness’ by Billy Graham is a firm treatise as to how to secure happiness through the Christian faith. Well reasoned and well written, this is a volume to make even an athiest think about how to better lead their lives.

One thing interesting about Graham’s book is that it is a perfect example of someone obviously working through a well prepared outline. The numbered breakdown of ideas throughout the book along with the footnotes make this book easy to follow. The layout also makes this a great teaching tool.

This is a concise and lean examination of Grahma’s view of a road to happiness. Far better than other volumes I’ve read in the past. For example, Bertand Russell’s book of this subject is a meandering mess that more raises the question, “Why be happy?”.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 10 out 10 points.

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The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very good tale of a store clerk and those that also live in his New York town. The reflections of life and it’s sentient inhabitants are the heart of the greatness of the story. There is also very clever plotting that must have an engaged reader or else all is lost. Seems to me the average American would have trouble getting through this book today.

It seemed to me the writing of this book was one of indecision. As i read, I kept getting the impression author Steinbeck had other intentions for pathways of the story. There seemed to me little literary pot holes that suggested editing and re-editing. One that stood out for me was the whole thing involving a gun that had obvious reasons, but it’s insertion into the story seemed odd and then how it is handled later is also odd. Though the story is well written, I found fluidity to be bumpy.

The characters are all, from front stage to back, so well written, it will be hard not to associate them to someone you know or have seen. I concur it is odd that I strongly associated the main character, Ethan, to W.C. Fields. Author Steinbeck writes Ethan as Fields spoke, with typical asides and witticisms. I guess for that reason I associated the next door bank pal with Jerry Lewis, who also was mostly written as Lewis performed. I would suggest not carrying that with you should you read the book. 🙂

The story is a light one heavily decorated with the life of the characters involved. It’s the interaction of these characters and consequences that rise this story above most other books. It has been well observed that the best books are the ones that start characters at one point and, by the end, have them at another. This book certainly does that.

The setting is described, but mostly involving the main structures and the interiors of those.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 9 out of ten points.

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Kill or Die by William W. Johnstone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Number 3 in the series of ‘Flintlock’ and either the writer changed or somebody got in a big hurry to hit a deadline. One things for sure – The writer does not know swamps!

The over all story is good, but far simpler in telling than the previous two. Not helping is my reading great authors since reading the two. Folks like Walter Lippmann, Mark Greaney and John D. MacDonald.

I am so glad I read John D.’s ‘Condominium’ before reading this book. Odds of someone doing that is extremely low. The odd thing is that ‘Kill or Die’ is basically ‘Condominium’. Just that all of the characters have guns. There is the community living in the swamp, a ruthless developer out to wipe out the cypress swamp and the oncoming hurricane. The story was eerily similar.

The writing of the cypress swamp really bugged me. Obviously the writer has never stepped foot in one. I don’t know much about west of the Mississippi and all of the rocks and dirt in the west. Not my thing. But, here in Florida, I know swamps and like them a lot.

It’s supposedly late Summer in a Southern swamp. All of the characters acted comfortable. Even the most die hard Southerner sweats like crazy in late August. But most especially someone like Flintlock, used to the dry western air, would be having a hell of a time adjusting to the thick humidity.

Also, where are the bugs??? Now, most healthy swamps actually have few bugs. But this is described as home to many people. Thus, the swamp should be filled with all kinds of bugs. Few appear throughout the swamp scenes.

The BIGGEST omission, and a huge strike in my book, are the cypress knees. No one is just going to go trotting out into a swamp they don’t know and not, either, navigate around the knees or trip over them. NOT ONCE are knees mentioned. That’s impossible, for a cypress can not survive without the attached knees jutting out for air.

This is the least clever of the three Flintlocks. Rather a standard story with some excellent enhancing elements like the balloon, the odd mid-eastern valet and the description of Evangeline. The odd mysticism continues in this book, but not with the magical flair of the first two. The characters are very well done and typical of a Johnstone Clan book. The settings are lacking this time around, especially with the noted above. The ending appears to be multiple chapters tacked on, I guess, to increase page count. This is the shortest of the Flintlock series by 100 pages.

Proof to me that this is surely a different writer is that Flintlock is not described as in the other two books. The tattoo is only described on his neck and not running from the side of his face to his chest. Also, Flintlock is not described by his shorter stature or mustache. Also, O’Hara’s character has greatly altered to being more of a side kick than the drifter described in the first two.

This third book continues the trend of having a horrible cover. Still not Flintlock on the cover. Also, the background in know way looks like a Louisiana swamp.

Can’t believe I’ve caught up with a Johnstone Clan title! First series I’ve read all that are available.

Bottom l;ine: i recommend this book. 6 out of ten points.

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Condominium by John D. MacDonald
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The saddest part of this book for me was the realization that my tastes have really changed since 40 years ago when I first discovered MacDonald. The writing drew me in and I love Travis McGee. During the next 25 years of tracking down the 77 novels and other work he did, I presented him as my favorite author. i must back down from that now. ‘Condominium’ is a triumph for any author to accomplish. Just not a triumph i care for.

Part of my trouble is the fatalist view throughout the entire book and fed through all of the characters. There is little to nothing happy about the book. Not that there has to be. Unless you want a feel of realism in your story.

The story is just peppered with unreal characters that hate life, expect the worst, find morality an irritating speed bump and are mostly unlikable. Making it all worse is that all of the characters are far too over written. So you get far too much of the latter. There is just no reason to know so much about such a large group of characters. Especially when the bulk of what is depicted is depressing. MacDonald went far out of his way to maybe put a line or two good about each and then bury it all in a pile of a rotten view of life. A good story needs balance of good and evil.

Of the bulk of MacDonald I’ve read, this is one I always put off. Due to the celebration of MacDonald’s 100th birthday, i’m diving back into the 150 of so MacDonald books and such I have. ‘Condominium’ thought to be his crowning achievement had to be read. So I did and wish I hadn’t. I realize I need to read MacDonald with a chaser somewhat uplifting.

The setting is more than well described from sunken rebar to truss and the detailed described plans that go with it…oh, AND the financials. Having worked in Planning and Engineering and having poured through thousands of pages of various construction plans, i found this interesting, if a bit naive about the permitting process.

To me , the last fifth of the book, involving the hurricane is too short and much is left hanging about various characters and the fate of the condominium. Easily a sixth of the book could have been edited out. Trouble is, at this point, MacDonald was throwing a political anvil around and wouldn’t let up to his death. ‘One More Sunday’, which I read when it came out, I well remember as a strongly disturbing tale that i came out of wondering of MacDonald’s ability to reason anymore. Still I upheld him my favorite author! I wonder if he would have lived longer if he had let up being so upset about so much.

Involving the Florida setting: Much I refer to above. More specifically, he well portrays the suckers who move to Florida. Most all are, whether they want to admit it or not. MacDoanlds does a terrific job laying out foolish decisions and how so many are set up by intricate business plans that really do still occur today. Construction of structures has gotten far, far worse since the late 1970s as chipboard and Tyvek have been elected as the cheap industry norm. I agree with MacDonald that fools move to Florida and get what they deserve. If only they would research their move first. Of course, they don’t have George Gobel around anymore to seduce them to the state.

The issues of construction are written by MacDonald to bludgeon his political point. He maneuvers away from the actual process of pulling permits, construction meetings, site work and the actual process of building a structure.

His environmental concerns are mostly valid. Though he again writes to make a point and slithers away from pointing out that if the area was as rickety as he describes, constructing foundations would have been tough to pull off. His writing of clearing mangroves and vegetation is right on. This is an area he always wrote loosely about, which came to my attention after reading what my ex-wife, Sandra Friend, could/can write about natural Florida. From that I get the feeling MacDonald really didn’t have a handle of that subject and the idea of writing of beauty and majestic landscapes was not something that fit in his dark views of the world.

Hate writing this next part, but I viewing the above:
Bottom line: I don’t recommend this book. 4 out of 10 points.

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Dead Eye by Mark Greaney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First, I have to repeat part of my review of Greaney’s ‘Ballistic’: Wow! This is a rip roaring book. Greaney takes his characters far away from what might be expected. Where he takes them and the story that unfolds is terrific!

The Gray Man does have a bit too much of a super hero stance, but he fails so often that Greaney illustrates him as human. Absolutely love the two views of The Gray Man. One is from the main character himself, who lays out his deep insecurities and concerns of his future. The other view is from everyone else which view him as everything from a monster to a humanitarian – basically he’s viewed as an unknown mysterious character. Greaney’s ability to so well accomplish this feat is amazing, especially for the genre he typically writes in.

Despite this being an entirely different tale with far different setting, characters, motivation, etc., this book gets the same above praise.

Let me add that the Dead Eye character was superbly written. Not just as a character but as how he is used to reveal other interesting information. For some reason Jeremy Piven kept coming to mind as I read the book.

There are lots of other characters also excellently drawn by Greaney. The setting, which is complex at times, may have you shivering and claustrophobic. Excellent work.

I will add, as I did with ‘Ballistic”, that convenient characters are used more than they should be. A little too easy a devise to the point I was expecting it.

This is a long book. But so much happens and the book is so exciting that you will be propelled through very quickly.

Bootom Line: I recommend this book. 9 out of 10 points.

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Ballistic by Mark Greaney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow! This is a rip roaring book. Greaney takes his characters far away from what might be expected. Where he takes them and the story that unfolds is terrific!

The Gray Man does have a bit too much of a super hero stance, but he fails so often that Greaney illustrates him as human. Absolutely love the two views of The Gray Man. One is from the main character himself, who lays out his deep insecurities and concerns of his future. The other view is from everyone else which view him as everything from a monster to a humanitarian – basically he’s viewed as an unknown mysterious character. Greaney’s ability to so well accomplish this feat is amazing, especially for the genre he typically writes in.

The story itself begins as The gray Man is about to make a journey. He makes one alright, but not the one expected. Little throughout the book should bhe expected, which makes for a true thriller and an exciting tale.

Character depiction and development is first rate. Locations are well written, but not overly done.

The only draw back would be a bit too much use of the conveniently produced character. Done more than once here and too obvious.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 8 out of 10 points.

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