read: The Inexplicables (3.5 stars)

The Inexplicables by Cherie Priest
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I really, really wanted to like this book. I've been waiting for Cherie Priest to set another story in the messed up version of Seattle she created in Boneshaker, but she's only teased with dribs and drabs in other books. Finally, she's back in the Emerald City (now a putrid shade of yellow in the Boneshaker universe). But I was a bit disappointed. I'm giving this one three and half stars (but Goodreads won't let me add fractions).

Four stars once again for setting and characters and imagination. Also four stars for readability. But I'm marking this down a bit for the story itself. It just never quite clicked for me. Ms. Priest warned her followers that we might not like Rector "Wreck-em" Sherman, but that isn't really the problem for me. My issue is with his story. I never quite felt like he really had anything on the line. Sure, he had no skills and nowhere to go when he gets kicked out of the orphanage. And he's a bit mentally unstable. But once he's inside the walls of the ruined city and nursed back to health, things seemed to bog down. I felt like the only point of the story was to give him/us a tour of the city and bide time until something interesting happens. The stakes aren't really raised until Act 3 and then everything is quickly resolved. I expected more story, maybe some deeper foreshadowing. And why was such a big deal made of Rector's nickname, when nobody calls him "Wreck-em"?

All-in-all, I did enjoy reading the book and look forward to the next one in the series.

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read: One Shot (4 stars)

One Shot by Lee Child
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very solid action thriller with some good mystery elements. I'm glad I read this before the film came out. I'm not sure why everyone is getting so hung up on Jack Reacher's size in contrast to Tom Cruise. Most of what makes Reacher unique is his attitude and skill set, not his size. He's a cop, almost a cop-machine. And he's nigh unstoppable, when he's motivated.

In this book, he's definitely motivated. And as usual, he's motivated by his sense of justice. What also stands out for me is the author's style. Direct. Precise. Efficient. Sort of like Reacher. I actually saw the ultimate destination of the story from the very beginning. It is a story afterall. I didn't have all the details, but I had the gist. But the unfolding of the story and the skill in telling it still made it a very enjoyable read. Recommended.

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read: Frozen Heat (3 stars)

Frozen Heat by Richard Castle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The latest tie-in novel for the Castle television show is pretty much exactly what you expect a tie-in to be. Therein lies my growing complaint.

While the stories and writing are pretty good, and this plot is (ultimately) one of the best so far, I am tiring of the Mary-Sue of it all. The 'real' Rick Castle would never write this book. In retrospect, he would have never written any of the Nikki Heat books. They are too on-the-nose reflections of his (fictional) life. These are books about Castle, rather than by (Richard) Castle.

The first two-thirds of the book moved pretty slow for me. Either it's chock full of too many introductions and traveling about, or I was just impatient. Either way, it seemed like it took forever to get through. But then things picked up and I liked how they wrapped things up.

Summary: Almost 4-stars for overall writing and plot. Marks off for some boring bits and for Mary-Sue (Ricky-Sue?).

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read: Stories: All-New Tales (3 stars)

Stories: All-New Tales by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was just getting into Neil Gaiman when this was announced and had to have it. It had to be good. Right? Eh.

Neil's contribution was pretty good, as were a couple others. A few stories were real clinkers. The rest pretty average. There are some big names here. I expected better.

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read: Talking About Detective Fiction (4 stars)

Talking About Detective Fiction by P.D. James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this slim volume, the author has a bit of a chat with us about the state of detective fiction. Her perspective is distinctly British, and rooted in the middle of the 20th century, but that doesn't mean her observations aren't keen or widely applicable or out of step with modern readers and authors. On the contrary, from this elder stateswomen of detective writing we gain perspective, depth and understanding about the past, present and future of the genre.

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read: "A Spark of Death" (4 stars)

A Spark of Death: A Professor Bradshaw Mystery by Bernadette Pajer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Entertaining and winsome debut mystery novel centered around the early days of electricity, which was itself considered a mystery at the time. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The historical and geographical setting of Seattle at the turn of the previous century was well crafted. It was obvious that everything was well researched, without the reader being hit over the head with it. The mystery was nicely plotted and characters clearly defined. I didn't figure out whodunnit until it was revealed.

While the writing was engaging, overall, I found it to be somewhat flat and repetative. Yes, we're in a mystery and, no, the protagonist still hasn't figured it out. But why are we spending what feels like a fourth of the novel rehashing motives and alibis for everyone? I feel like more could have been done to round out and deepen the characters and settings even more.

I liked spending time with Professor Bradshaw and the folks in old tyme Seattle. An extra star for the use of setting, science, and an engineer protagonist. I look forward to reading more books in the series.

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read: Formic Wars: Burning Earth (3 stars)

Formic Wars: Burning Earth by Orson Scott Card

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Enjoyable addition to the Ender saga by Orson Scott Card. It's been a while since I last read Ender's Game, so I did not spot the plot discrepencies that others have pointed out. What did bother me was how matter-of-factly the characters in this book dealt with First Contact. I think there should have been a bit more debate even among the adventurous, though stoic, miners. On the up side, the story was exciting and the art was effective.

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