Tag: Swampys Florida
May 29th, 2015 – Book: ‘Jacknife’ by William Johnstone and the gang
by Rob Smith, Jr. on May.29, 2015, under Books
Jackknife by William W. Johnstone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
‘Jacknife’ is just plain fun! A well written battle through nutty folks who think they will take over the world one large over-sized department store at a time.
The Johnstone Clan seems to have connected a ghostwriter of earlier thrillers to this book as it reads much like a few others with similar characters. Can’t recall if I’ve written this before, but there is a strong flavor of Vince Flynn to the point that I wonder if he was involved with this book. One way to tell is if the sound of these thrillers slips from this level, with Flynn now gone.
The writing is strong. Nowhere near the writing of other recent books I’ve read, such as Colin Dexter, Marjorie Rawlings or Edmund Crispin. But the engagement is concrete and the need to propell forward to find out what happens next and the want to read more like it, transcends the better writing. This is great storytelling.
Troubles with the book: Plenty seems unbelievable. There is a definite political slant (That is fine with me). Still, if a reader can enjoy reading this much, then the weakness is not that, but part of the whole that is the entertainment of great storytelling, if I may repeat myself and underscore what the Johnstone Clan excels at.
As is true in the Clan set, the characters are outstanding in their written definitions. The writer(s) and editor(s) involved deserve continued applause. The Hiram Stackhouse character is a hoot.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 8 of 10.
May 24th, 2015 – Book: ‘Stand Your Ground’ by the William Johnstone Clan
by Rob Smith, Jr. on May.24, 2015, under Books
Stand Your Ground by William W. Johnstone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
‘Stand your Ground’ is a speeding train of a book full of well fleshed out characters and bad guys that you have to hate. Well written with the Johnstone Clan touch of not knowing what happens next or who lives or dies makes this a crackerjack true thriller.
I’ve been having a clunky time with good and bad Johnstone Clan books and this volume harkens back to the first of the Last Mountain Man series that started my reading so many of the Johnstone books over two years ago. This one is well plotted, written and with intriguing characters. A few characters have appeared in other Johnstone Clan thrillers and converge here per chance.
Though i share the political views represented in the book, the politics run too thick throughout this book. The political asides slow down the narrative and become irritating as the asides become repetitive. Of course, I have to read through plenty of the opposite side in the bulk of contemporary novels today that is more than heavy handed, irrational and repetitive. I’m opened minded and don’t mind reading both sides. I well know the bulk of those who hold the opposite political view of me would have a great deal of trouble getting through the first chapter of this book. That shouldn’t be the case.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 8 of 10 points.
April 19th, 2015 – My Swampy’s Florida at Dunnellon’s Boomtown Days event!
by Rob Smith, Jr. on Apr.19, 2015, under Cartooning, Swampy's Florida
With my Swampy’s Florida at Dunnellon’s Boomtown yesterday. With me is City Commissioner Penny Fleeger, Jeff Smith and Tessa Noell helping out. Big crowds and lot’s of folks wanting to know about our great state of Florida!
April 1st, 2015 – Celebrating 5 Years of Swampy’s #Florida Books!
by Rob Smith, Jr. on Apr.01, 2015, under Swampy's Florida
Celebrating 5 years of Swampy books in Lakeland with the person who first put the gears in action – Terisa Glover, or a reasonable facsimile thereof.
Also thanks to Tim Reynolds and The Knowledge Exchange for keeping the books going!
March 27th, 2015 – My New Swampy’s Florida Book – Dunnellon!
by Rob Smith, Jr. on Mar.27, 2015, under Cartooning, Swampy's Florida
Out here in Palm Bay picking up the brand new Dunnellon book!
March 17th, 2015 – Meetings and Artwork!
by Rob Smith, Jr. on Mar.17, 2015, under Cartooning
Leave a Comment :art, cartoon, cartoon ink, cartoon inking, child, childrens book illustration, childrens illustration, Florida book art, florida caricature, Florida cartoon, Florida cartooning, Florida illustration, Fred Roers, Fred Rogers, ink, inking, Jacob Smith, Rob Smith Jr, sketch, sketching, Swampys Florida, Taylor Smith more...February 6trh, 2015 – Book: ‘The Moving Toyshop’ by Edmund Crispin
by Rob Smith, Jr. on Feb.06, 2015, under Books
The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a rollicking good literary time as author Crispin takes you along for a weird mixture of mystery and hijinks. There is a mystery in it all but it’s more than forced. The fun is reading Crispin’s writing of the characters and settings. Both extremely well done.
The embedded story is a bit complex and certainly strains credibility. Considering this book is from the mid-1940s and set in tiny Oxford, England, the tale would be far easier to pull off today.
Included are chase scenes written like few others. The best part of those are further descriptions of the locales.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 7 of 10.
January 27th, 2015 – I’m Chug-a-lugging Artwork Again!
by Rob Smith, Jr. on Jan.28, 2015, under Cartooning
My pal Pam Pam Treadwell wants me to post 3 pictures here I drew. Well, I’ve been hunkered down again in the past few hours reworking a Swampy project. Got 18 pages penciled and inked. So, here’s them and three close ups.
January 6th, 2015 – Frogs in air-space!
by Rob Smith, Jr. on Jan.06, 2015, under Illusration
Here’s my latest watercolor painting of frogs and Florida history. This is a frog in the place of aviator Tony Jannus, who is regarded as the pilot of the first scheduled airline in the world. This occurred over Tampa Bay in 1914. The passenger was a former St Petersburg mayor who won an auction to be the first passenger for $400.
December 25th, 2014- Book: ‘A Highland Christmas’ by M.C. Beaton
by Rob Smith, Jr. on Dec.25, 2014, under Books
A Highland Christmas by M.C. Beaton
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
‘A Highland Christmas’ is a pretty standard Christmas mystery with elements of Christmas and questions as to what happened to the elements of the Christmas story. Very light story that, unfortunately, has a political agenda.
Strongly intertwined in this “Christmas” story is the effort to reform a very religious family who the main character, Hamish MacBeth, thinks is missing out on what that character thinks Christmas is. Instead of being open minded to others beliefs, MacBeth, through the writer, labels the family as “bigoted”. The religious family is not trying to change the MacBeth’s beliefs. They are just minding their own business and abiding their personal beliefs. The actual bigot in the story, MacBeth, proceeds to force the religious family to his beliefs. This being the goal of the author, the religious family bends to the closed minded MacBeth’s preposterous efforts to “save” the family.
Having Beaton’s character showing her main character having a discriminating drive against a family’s religious belief might have been better to explore in a non-“Christmas” book. To have it as the basis of a “Christmas” book is a bit tasteless.
For a story that is usually written in the reverse of aggressive vs. innocents, Beaton writes the story and characters well.
Bottom line: I do not recommend this book. 4 or 10.
December 23rd, 2014 – Christmas Dinner Artwork!
by Rob Smith, Jr. on Dec.23, 2014, under Buddies, Cartooning, Friends
Had dinner last night with fellow cartoonist George Pieper and his wife Noreen at Sammy’s Italian Restaurant in Ocala, Florida. George nabbed a photo of me whipping up a painted ornament for them. Did you know the perfect paint for Santa’s suit is spaghetti sauce?