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And yet more catching up
Mar. 28th, 2007 10:35 pmMy books-read-and-not-recorded stack is approaching ridiculous lengths. Leaving out books I want to discuss at more length, here are some catch-ups.
( Blood Price, Tanya Huff. )
( The Death of Dalziel, Reginald Hill. )
( Bad Medicine, David Wotton. )
( Snake Agent, Liz Williams. )
And some even shorter summaries...
Die Trying, Lee Child. Solid thriller, good characters, smart plot.
Killing Floor, Lee Child. See above. I worked out the gimmick to this one just when Jack Reacher did (a few pages ahead of the explanation) and liked it a lot. I do like thrillers where neither the good guys nor the bad guys are dumb.
Tripwire, Lee Child. Not quite as good as the first two, but I think he’s also setting stuff up for later books. The gimmick here was, unfortunately, much more obvious to the reader than the characters, which (for me, anyway), creates the wrong sort of suspense, where I feel that the characters are just being dim. A little unfairly in this case, as they know a lot less than the reader for much of the book.
Lady Friday, Garth Nix. Latest one in the series. I must re-read the earlier ones before the end, as it’s been a long time since Monday. Good and inventive, as always; slightly less complex than some of the earlier ones. Looking forward to the weekend…
( Blood Price, Tanya Huff. )
( The Death of Dalziel, Reginald Hill. )
( Bad Medicine, David Wotton. )
( Snake Agent, Liz Williams. )
And some even shorter summaries...
Die Trying, Lee Child. Solid thriller, good characters, smart plot.
Killing Floor, Lee Child. See above. I worked out the gimmick to this one just when Jack Reacher did (a few pages ahead of the explanation) and liked it a lot. I do like thrillers where neither the good guys nor the bad guys are dumb.
Tripwire, Lee Child. Not quite as good as the first two, but I think he’s also setting stuff up for later books. The gimmick here was, unfortunately, much more obvious to the reader than the characters, which (for me, anyway), creates the wrong sort of suspense, where I feel that the characters are just being dim. A little unfairly in this case, as they know a lot less than the reader for much of the book.
Lady Friday, Garth Nix. Latest one in the series. I must re-read the earlier ones before the end, as it’s been a long time since Monday. Good and inventive, as always; slightly less complex than some of the earlier ones. Looking forward to the weekend…
Last few Hills
Feb. 6th, 2007 09:57 pm( Reginald Hill, Death’s Jest Book. )
( Reginald Hill, Good Morning, Midnight. )
( Reginald Hill, Killing the Lawyers. )
I like detective stories for many reasons, but not the least of them is that a good detective story must of necessity have a good plot, and I'm very fond of plot. My definition of a good plot includes good characters, and respect for how the characters would act, and, taking this all together, a good detective story is most of the way towards being what I consider a good book. Having said this I've read a lot of detective stories I haven't liked, where the plot grinds down the characters and everyone is forced to act in a most unlikely fashion (a particularly scarring Ngaio Marsh involving a man in a suit of armour sliding backwards down the bannisters to set up a perfect murder/alibi springs to mind), but if I can clutch Dorothy Sayers, Josephine Tey and, now, Reginald Hill, to my breast in a defensive fashion I'll be perfectly happy.
( Reginald Hill, Good Morning, Midnight. )
( Reginald Hill, Killing the Lawyers. )
I like detective stories for many reasons, but not the least of them is that a good detective story must of necessity have a good plot, and I'm very fond of plot. My definition of a good plot includes good characters, and respect for how the characters would act, and, taking this all together, a good detective story is most of the way towards being what I consider a good book. Having said this I've read a lot of detective stories I haven't liked, where the plot grinds down the characters and everyone is forced to act in a most unlikely fashion (a particularly scarring Ngaio Marsh involving a man in a suit of armour sliding backwards down the bannisters to set up a perfect murder/alibi springs to mind), but if I can clutch Dorothy Sayers, Josephine Tey and, now, Reginald Hill, to my breast in a defensive fashion I'll be perfectly happy.
Experimenting with cut-text
Jan. 28th, 2007 10:06 pmI'd prefer it to be the book's title, but then if I have more than one book (and, at the moment, I do) the titles disappear. Putting my next line in makes that vanish, too, and gives it a strange significance on the header page. Maybe numbers? Or repeat the title?
( Reginald Hill, Child’s Play. )
( Reginald Hill, Deadheads (re-read). )
( Reginald Hill, Bones and Silence. )
( Reginald Hill, Recalled to Life. )
( Reginald Hill, Child’s Play. )
( Reginald Hill, Deadheads (re-read). )
( Reginald Hill, Bones and Silence. )
( Reginald Hill, Recalled to Life. )
One more day down
Jan. 24th, 2007 10:22 pmForgot at least one book in my last post. Gillian Bradshaw, The elixir of youth. ( I do wish she'd go back to writing classical novels. )
Dick Francis, 10lb Penalty. ( Father/son bonding. )
Reginald Hill, Ruling Passion. ( Peter and Ellie arrive for a weekend away with old college friends, and find three of them dead and the fourth missing. )
Reginald Hill, Exit Lines. ( Three elderly men die, but only after uttering last words that incriminate others - rightly or wrongly. )
Reginald Hill, Under World. ( Just after the miners’ strike. Ellie is teaching some of the miners on a day release program, while an old disappearance becomes important again. )
It's just struck me how many of the Dalziel and Pascoe books feature old crimes, and their contemporary after-effects. Will have to think about this.
Dick Francis, 10lb Penalty. ( Father/son bonding. )
Reginald Hill, Ruling Passion. ( Peter and Ellie arrive for a weekend away with old college friends, and find three of them dead and the fourth missing. )
Reginald Hill, Exit Lines. ( Three elderly men die, but only after uttering last words that incriminate others - rightly or wrongly. )
Reginald Hill, Under World. ( Just after the miners’ strike. Ellie is teaching some of the miners on a day release program, while an old disappearance becomes important again. )
It's just struck me how many of the Dalziel and Pascoe books feature old crimes, and their contemporary after-effects. Will have to think about this.
Something I had just about scraped through
Jan. 2nd, 2007 10:41 pmFirst completed book of the New Year. I have an appalling backlog (booklog?) to get through as well, but I'm currently ignoring that.
( Pictures of Perfection, Reginald Hill. )
I also (re)watched Labyrinth at the moment, which is coming under the heading of research. It, and Diana Wynne Jones' Fire and Hemlock (which is much more overt about it), are very useful frameworks for thinking about fantasy, sexuality and the fifteen year old girl.
( Pictures of Perfection, Reginald Hill. )
I also (re)watched Labyrinth at the moment, which is coming under the heading of research. It, and Diana Wynne Jones' Fire and Hemlock (which is much more overt about it), are very useful frameworks for thinking about fantasy, sexuality and the fifteen year old girl.
