Category: books

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

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ALMOST as good as The Martian (2011).

… unforgettable story of survival and the power of friendship …

Project Hail Mary is a 2021 science fiction novel by Andy Weir.  …

 Set in the near future, the novel centers on middle school-teacher-turned-astronaut Ryland Grace, who wakes up from a coma afflicted with amnesia.

He gradually remembers that he was sent to the Tau Ceti solar system, 12 light-years from Earth, to find a means of reversing a solar dimming event that could cause the extinction of humanity. …

… Ryan Gosling plans to star as Grace in the film adaptation.

What I like best about Weir is his ability to make arcane science entertaining and interesting.

The Cellist by Daniel Silva

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Excellent.

The Cellist is the 21st title in Daniel Silva‘s Gabriel Allon series.

It was released on July 13, 2021 and subsequently reached #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List …

The book draws heavily from the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 American presidential election as well as the U.S. Capitol events of January 6, 2021. …

The plot is contemporary and interesting. Action is limited by COVID restrictions.

Dictator Putin and President Biden are important characters.

Some of my favourite characters from past books — especially Christopher Keller — are included.

I have no idea why Allon is still front and centre in the field. As leader of the Mossad he should be working behind the scenes. And should definitely RETIRE after this one.

Amazon

Dean Koontz – THE SILENT CORNER

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Koontz has published over 100 novels.

I did get into his Odd Thomas series.

In 2017 he began his current Jane Hawk series.

“I very much need to be dead.”

These are the chilling words left behind by a man who had everything to live for—but took his own life. In the aftermath, his widow, Jane Hawk, does what all her grief, fear, and fury demand: find the truth, no matter what. …

Amazon

The book is well written. The plot hooks immediately.

Jane is a badass.

Great plot. Good writing.

Main complaints you’ll hear are about the rambling story with no clear ending. Apparently that’s how he puts books together. Starts without knowing exactly where he’s going.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

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A story of date rape.

Jon Krakauer wrote a book that much influenced my thinking:

Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

The book follows several case studies of women raped in Missoula, Montana, many of them linked in some way to the University of Montana. 

Many of the rapists were football players, protected from the justice system.

In Beartown, the 15-year-old daughter of a small town Swedish hockey team general manager is raped by the 17-year-old star of the Beartown junior team.

Fredrik Backman is an excellent writer. This is an important book, as is the Krakauer.

Themes of family, friendship, loyalty. Ethics.

I recommend Beartown.

I also read the sequel, Us Against You. Not nearly as good.

The book was adapted for TV and is available on HBO.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Lighthouse Land by Adrian McKinty

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I love the McKinty books.

But his stab at science fiction young adult novels somehow doesn’t work for me.

The Lighthouse Land was first in the trilogy. I got through it — but won’t continue with the next two.

They would be great for young teens.

The Mosquito Coast – season 1

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The Mosquito Coast is based on the novel of the same name by Paul Theroux published in 1981.

It also loosely adapted from the 1986 film which starred Harrison Ford. It premiered on Apple TV+ on April 30, 2021. 

The series stars Justin Theroux, nephew of Paul …

As with many of the Apple TV shows, it’s very well done.

I recommend it. But many find the plot unnecessarily confusing with too many twists and turns.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Season 2 will take the family to some place like where Harrison Ford ended up.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

In the Cart by Anton Chekhov

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One of the great short stories, “In the Cart” was published 1897.

The author was aware of the dire conditions which teachers had to live in rural Russia.

I listened to a lecture on the tale from a book by George Saunders, professor at Syracuse University — A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life

Sooley by John Grisham

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John Grisham takes you to a different kind of court in his first basketball novel.

Samuel “Sooley” Sooleymon is a raw, young talent with big hoop dreams—and even bigger challenges off the court. …

In the summer of his seventeenth year, Sam­uel Sooleymon gets the chance of a lifetime: a trip to the United States with his South Sudanese teammates to play in a showcase basket­ball tournament. …

During the tournament, Samuel receives dev­astating news from home: A civil war is raging across South Sudan, and rebel troops have ran­sacked his village. His father is dead, his sister is missing, and his mother and two younger brothers are in a refugee camp.

Samuel desperately wants to go home, but it’s just not possible. Partly out of sympathy, the coach of North Carolina Central offers him a scholar­ship. …

But how far can Sooley take his team? And will success allow him to save his family?

JGrisham.com

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Bosch – season 7

On By Rick McIn books, TV1 Comment

The seventh and final season was released on June 25, 2021.

I’d say it was the best of all.

In this one Harry refuses to let the death of a ten-year-old girl be traded away in a plea deal.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

An as-yet-untitled spinoff series for Amazon’s IMDb TV was announced on March 3, 2021, featuring Welliver along with much of the Bosch creative team.

Madison Lintz will return as Harry’s daughter, Maddie, and Bosch recurring character defense attorney Honey “Money” Chandler, played by Mimi Rogers, will also be a main character.

In the new series, Bosch, now retired from the LAPD, will work as an investigator for Chandler. 

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

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I was intrigued by the setting. A scary mountain hotel during a blizzard.

OUTLINE:

Half-hidden by forest and overshadowed by threatening peaks, Le Sommet has always been a sinister place. Long plagued by troubling rumors, the former abandoned sanatorium has since been renovated into a five-star minimalist hotel.

An imposing, isolated getaway spot high up in the Swiss Alps is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But Elin’s taken time off from her job as a detective, so when her estranged brother, Isaac, and his fiancée, Laure, invite her to celebrate their engagement at the hotel, Elin really has no reason not to accept. …

Then the murders began.

Super hyped, I thought this would be another intriguing psychological thriller whodunit. Surprise after surprise.

But it’s actually not well written. Heavy handed. Zero subtlety.

Also, Elin Warner must be the very worst detective on earth.

Almost everyone likes The Sanatorium, but I’d concur it’s a lousy book with a bad ending.