Sunday, June 29, 2014

From the Archives: A Bit of Action in September of 2005

I began keeping a reading journal several years before I began blogging. I find it interesting to sift through my thoughts of books that I read back then. My reviews were often brief and contained little substance, but I thought it'd be fun to document them here on my blog as well as share them with you. Here are two from September and one from October of 2005: 


Private Wars by Greg Rucka
Bantam, 2005
Suspense/Thriller; 503 pgs

British spy, Tara Chace, is on the job again, in the second of the Queen and Country book series by Greg Rucka. This time, Tara is on a mission that will take her deep into a family battle for power. Heaped in politics, deception, revenge, and action, Private Wars takes readers on a roller coaster ride of espionage and thrills. Tara Chace is one tough lady who always seems to land on her feet in the end. I had difficulty setting down this novel, anxious to see where the story would take me next.


The Hundredth Man by Jack Kerley
Signet, 2004
Crime Fiction; 416 pgs

Jack Kerley’s first published novel, The Hundredth Man, was an enjoyable and easy to read thriller about a Mobile, Alabama detective in search of a serial killer. The story seemed to revolve more around the politics in the police department and the blocked attempts of the Carson Ryder and his partner Harry from doing their jobs. The dialogue between the characters was witty and charming at times, however, I said to my husband pretty early on that it was obvious the writer was a former advertising writer. Although the main character was likeable, he seems a little too good to be true. I did enjoy reading the novel and will definitely be on the lookout for the second in the series when it comes out in paperback.


Darkfall by Dean Koontz
Turtleback Books, 1984
Horror; 384 pgs 

Lieutenant Jack Dawson and Lieutenant Rebecca Chandler investigate the unusual and brutal murders with a supernatural element of a mobster family. Darkfall is a fast paced and intense novel that kept me engrossed from the very first page. I enjoyed Dean Koontz’s writing style. I found his novel intelligently written and easy to read. Darkfall was an enjoyable novel.


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16 comments:

  1. Not 3 books I would have picked but I am always interested in something different. Enjoy.

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    1. Mystica - It's nice to mix things up now and then. :-)

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  2. All three sound appealing. I love espionage and spy stories, so Private Wars sounds especially good!

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    1. Jenclair - I have read several of Greg Rucka's books, but I think I like his Tara Chace books best so far.

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  3. All 3 of these sound interesting and are new to me. I like the setting of The Hundreth Man especially since I have family in Mobile and it's always fun to read settings you're familiar with. Though it's to bad the main character was a little to perfect! That kind of thing tends to work for me for a book or two but I get annoyed with it over a long series.

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    1. Katherine - I enjoy Kerley's series, although it's been ages since I read anything by him. I know what you mean about too perfect characters though. Too many books with that type of character and it gets old fast.

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  4. I don't think I've ever read a Dean Koontz book, though I've been hearing his name ever since I started visiting book social sites. Someday, I will have to give it a try.

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    1. Athira - I've read a couple Dean Koontz books so far and enjoyed them, although one more than the other. He's not quite up there with Stephen King, but he tends to write similar type books, I think.

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  5. Reading your shortened thoughts on these books from your archives always reminds me why I would like to at least write down some of my thoughts on every book that I read. I don't always find the time to do that though :) I particularly think that the Koontz book sounds very interesting! I might save that one as a possibility for the R.I.P challenge this fall!

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    1. Samantha - Even now I find myself writing reviews a week or two after finishing a book because I just don't t have time to do it sooner. It can be hard.

      I think Koontz would be a good fit for the R.I.P. Challenge!

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  6. It's fun to look back on what we wrote in the past and see how far our writing has come. Though I have to say, these reviews did the trick for me: you know a brief snippet of the plot and what you thought about it. I used to read Dean Koontz for years and probably have read this one, but he wrote so many they became similar, and more violent, as years went on. I might be interested in reading Private Wars--thanks.

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    1. Rita - It is fun to look back. It's funny too how sometimes my impression of a book now varies from my thoughts of it when I first finished reading it and recorded my thoughts. It doesn't happen often, but sometimes.

      I haven't read too many books by Koontz. Two, if memory serves me. I heard that about his books--that they became more violent. Just as my tolerance for violence has gone down.

      I enjoy the Tara Chace books by Greg Rucka. My husband is also a big fan. If you do read Private Wars, I hope you like it!

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  7. Those books sound like an intense read and not to mention action-packed! I enjoyed reading Darkfall; I loved Dean Koontz's earlier books!

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    1. Melody - Definitely action packed! I am glad to hear you liked Darkfall too. :-)

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  8. I like the idea of sharing older reviews! It's interesting to see how ones review format evolves.
    I used to read alot of Koontz, he's an old fav.

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    1. Naida - I was going through some of my older blog reviews the other day and my review style has changed quite a bit over the years there too. It's interesting to see.

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