Books read in 2021: No. 50 -- The Star Wars Album

from Ballantine Books

Started: Dec. 29

Finished: Dec. 31

Notes: This book was a collector's edition originally published in late 1977 soon after the release of the original Star Wars movie. I bought a copy then as a kid and I held onto that copy for years and years. However, somewhere along the long line of my life I lost my copy. Yet we live in the day and age of online auction sites and sales sites, etc. So I was able to purchase another copy for a fair price, though this one is from the second publication date in 1978. This might seem a strange book today considering how far the Star Wars universe and phenomena has come in the last forty-plus years; most of this book deals with a recap of that first movie plus some writings about the sources that influenced Star Wars and some talk of a possible sequel. Oh boy, was there a sequel, and then some.

Mini review: This was a fun, interesting, nostalgic read. It was especially interesting to read about the predictions for a Star Wars sequel, and to chew on some of the comments made by the cast and George Lucas.

Books read in 2021: No. 49 -- The Metaphysics of the Novel

by Don Pendleton with Linda Pendleton

Started: Dec. 22

Finished: Dec. 28

Notes: Don Pendleton was the creator of the men's action/adventure series known as The Executioner, and he was the author of the first thirty-eight novels in that series. Sadly, Don passed away back in 1995. His wife Linda carried on the torch, promoting Don's work and the books they had written together. Linda had made herself available online to fans, so when I purchased this book six or so months ago, I had looked forward to reading it with hopes of being able to ask Linda any questions which I might have had. Sadly, Linda herself passed away just a couple of weeks ago. My condolences to her and her family. Still, having read much of Don's work, I'm interested to get his taking on writing a novel.

Mini review: This one was a bit dated in a lot of its advice concerning publishing, but the writing advice remains solid, though I can't say I learned much there. Still, it was interesting to see how Don Pendleton approached his fiction writing, especially for The Executioner series.

Books read in 2021: No. 48 -- Hail to the Chief

by Ed McBain

Started: Dec. 18

Finished: Dec. 22

Notes: Been reading a bunch of detective novels of late, and I can't do so without reading from my favorite series, that of the 87th Precinct. Man, I love these books. This one is from the early1970s.

Mini review: McBain tried something differently stylistically this time, something I don't recall him using in any other 87th Precinct novels. A good third of this novel is told in the first person, something McBain usually doesn't try. I can't say it worked much here, which is probably why the author didn't use this technique often. It was wordy and slowed the story down, and slowness is definitely unusual for 87th Precinct novels. Still, this wasn't a bad tale. It mainly concerns a gang war between three gangs, and the body county is high.

Books read in 2021: No. 47 -- City Problems

by Steve Goble

Started: Dec. 16

Finished: Dec. 18

Notes: As I'm reading detective fiction of late, I thought it high time I read my friend Steve's latest novel, that of a detective in Ohio, Steve's first not pirating mystery book.

Mini review: If Ed McBain and Waylon Jennings had had a love child, it would have been this novel. With maybe Stephen King as godfather. A rural detective has help from an urban officer who is investigating a case of a missing teenage girl, and going through the potential suspects is no easy task. The ending is more touching than many a mystery novel, and it definitely leaves room for sequels. To say more would be to give away more, and that I won't do. However, I would like to add, yeah, I'm pretty sure Hank DID do it this way. Now it's time to go enjoy some Knob Creek.

Books read in 2021: No. 46 -- On the Run

by John D. MacDonald

Started: Dec. 13

Finished: Dec. 15

Notes: I've only read one MacDonald novel and that was nearly three decades ago and I remember nothing about it, but over the years I've kept hearing great things about this author, so I thought I'd give him another go.

Mini review: This one was all right. Not great, but not awful. There was some good writing here, but there were also stretches which bored me. A young man is on the run after some trouble with a gangster, but then he must return to his childhood home in order to receive a hefty inheritance from a dying grandfather. Along the way this fellow and the grandfather's nurse fall in love with one another. The ending is not a happy one, but it set things up for what would be an interesting tale.

Books read in 2021: No. 45 -- The Destroyer #62: The Seventh Stone

by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir

Started: Dec. 9

Finished: Dec 12

Notes: I read a ton of men's action/adventure fiction as a teen back in the 80s, but I stayed away from this series only because I was already tied down to several other series. It's time to correct that and give this one a try.

Mini review: Not bad. Not overly deep, but what can one expect from what's basically an action/adventure novel? Remo and Chiun are fun characters, and that helps. The action is often unbelievable to the point of absurdity, and that took some of the fun away for me. And the end was quite abrupt. But all in all, yeah, I'd give one of these novels another chance at some point.

Books read in 2021: No. 44 -- The Piranhas

by Harold Robbins

Started: Dec. 2

Finished: Dec. 9

Notes: As a kid, I was surrounded by Harold Robbins novels. My step-dad at the time had been a huge fan of Robbins, reading all the author's works. However, I never touched any of those books even though I read voraciously at that age (and still do, I suppose). Robbins' works had held no interest for me in my young years. Mobsters and sex and Hollywood starlets had not been my thing. But now that I'm older, I thought I should at least give Robbins a try.

Mini review: Not bad. A young man who has family ties to the mafia tries to stay clear of the family business while becoming a millionaire at the top of a corporation. Of course he can't always stay clear of the family business, and that's where the action comes in. In many ways this is a story about the love of a young man for his family, specifically his uncle. I might give Harold Robbins another try at some point.

Books read in 2021: No. 43 -- Criminal Conversation

by Evan Hunter

Started: Nov. 19

Finished: Dec. 2

Notes: I'm in need of some fiction, and as I often do, I turn to one of my favorite authors, Ed McBain. Since he also wrote under the name of Evan Hunter, this should do.

Mini review: A prosecutor goes after a young mob boss. A woman has an affair with the same mob boss. To say more would be giving too much away. To tell the truth, through most of this book I felt I was having my first negative experience with an Ed McBain/Evan Hunter book. The plot seemed so slow, and was more invested in a sexual relationship than with moving forward, but I have to say the last hundred pages made up for everything, with the pace finally speeding up and running headlong into a conclusion that slammed home quite hard. Not sure I'd read this one again, but I believe I can say it's worth reading.

Books read in 2021: No. 42 -- Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

from Wizards of the Coast

Started: Nov. 17

Finished: Nov. 19

Notes: This D&D books is allegedly full of information and rules about all things pertaining to dragons, including magic items, character-creation rules, monsters, and more. I prefer this type of supplement over adventuring modules, so I'm expecting to enjoy this.

Mini review: This one proved quite interesting and could be a boon to players, but especially to Dungeon Masters. There are a few rules here for dragon-related character creation and magic items and spells, but a lot of this is a collection of dragon-related monsters along with information about lairs. A DM wanting to run a high-level game involving dragons will want to search out this book.

Books read in 2021: No. 41 -- The Wild Beyond The Witchlight

from Wizards of the Coast

Started: Nov. 17

Finished: Nov. 17

Notes: This is a newer adventure module for Dungeons & Dragons, the focus here being on the Feywild, the land of the fairies in the D&D universe. I mainly picked this up for a few new character creation rules and the like, but I'll see what else it has to offer.

Mini review: Being an adventure module, there's not much here to add to the rules, but there is one long, somewhat complex adventure for beginning characters who will then level up to about 8th level by the end of this adventure. That being said, there are a few new rules, and there are some interesting takes on portraying carnivals and fairs within a D&D world. Not a necessary book for D&D players and Dungeon Masters, but one that could be of interest to those who love all things having to do with the Fae.

Books read in 2021: No. 40 -- How NOT to Write Female Characters

by Lucy V Hay

Started: Nov. 16

Finished: Nov. 16

Notes: I don't necessarily think I have any problems with writing female characters, but being male myself it's not impossible I have some blind spots, maybe even many blind spots. Either way, I thought this book might open my eyes and perhaps give me some things to think about. Who knows? I might learn something new.

Mini review: A brief read, but one that offered lots of ideas without being preachy. I'm not sure I'm exactly doing anything wrong with the female characters in my writing, but this book gave me some things to think about for the future.

Books read in 2021: No. 39 -- How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market

by Ricardo Fayet

Started: Nov. 5

Finished: Nov. 16

Notes: What drew me to this particular e-book was that it seems quite comprehensive. Most book marketing materials I read tend to focus on one area or even one site, but this one seems rather expansive. So I thought I'd give it a go to see what I learn.

Mini review: Thinking about marketing doesn't exactly excite me, but the writing style here is quite solid and the flow moved fast enough to keep me from becoming too bored. All in all, I knew much of what was presented here, but there was also quite a bit new to me, especially the sections on how to market to sites other than Amazon. I won't say this book will show all the so-called secrets to book marketing, but this book can open one's eyes to a lot of possibilities, especially for beginning authors.

Books read in 2021: No. 38 -- The Book of Job

published by Zondervan

Started: Nov. 2
Finished: Nov. 4

Notes: I have to say, I'm excited about this one. Job is one of the most interesting books of the Bible, and one of the more complex. I've read it in whole or in part numerous times over the years, and always take away something new from it. Also, many Biblical scholars believe it to be the oldest book of the Bible, written even before the works of Moses, and I find that intriguing.

Mini review: As I said, I always see something new when I read this book. This time, though I recognize God's words to Job can seem harsh (and God never really answers Job's questions), I have to wonder if God was speaking like a scolding parent to a child, that God spoke harshly in order to warn Job of the dangers of questioning God. Maybe, maybe not, but that's what came to my mind this time.

Books read in 2021: No. 37 -- The Case for a Creator

by Lee Strobel

Started: Oct. 18
Finished: Nov. 2

Notes: I've read a couple of other Strobel books and I have to say he's not really won me over, but I'm giving him at least one more chance. I enjoy studying Christian apologetics, and Strobel is a decent enough writer, but I find much of his writing covered better by other authors, and I always feel Strobel leaves out important and often obvious questions which need answering.

Mini review: I have to admit, this is probably my favorite of Strobel's works that I've read. I'm probably drawn more to this book because much of it is based upon science and scientific reasoning. That being said, I'm not necessarily convinced the argument that science hasn't discovered something or figured out something necessarily means an intelligent designer is the ultimate cause. Still, there's much here to consider, and this book was good at pointing out areas in which modern science still does not have answers.

Books read in 2021: No. 36 -- The Book of Esther

published by Zondervan

Started: Oct. 18
Finished: Oct. 18

Notes: Having just read one book of the Old Testament, I thought I'd go ahead and read the next one.

Mini review: The king of Persia appoints a Jewish woman, Esther, as his queen and she helps stop a genocide of all Jews in the kingdom. And within this story are the origins for the holiday known as Purim. There's very little historical evidence that any of this is true, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen, or something similar, though I won't argue either way. Interestingly enough, God never shows in this book, and for that matter is not even mentioned.

Books read in 2021: No. 35 -- The Book of Nehemiah

published by Zondervan

Started: Oct. 17
Finished: Oct. 18

Notes: I've not read as much of the Bible as I meant to this year, but the year isn't over yet, so here's to catching up.

Mini review: To some extent this is a retelling of the Book of Ezra, and the priest Ezra does make an appearance, but mainly this book is told by Nehemiah, the governor over the Jews during the period in which the Empire of Persia ruled. Mostly this book consists of a rebuilding of Jerusalem and of Nehemiah enforcing ancient laws.

Books read in 2021: No. 34 -- Contact

by Carl Sagan

Started: Sept 23

Finished: Oct. 16

Notes: I know Sagan can write nonfiction, so I thought I'd see how he tackles fiction.

Mini review: A scientist discovers a radio message being beamed to Earth from the Vega system. And that's really just the beginning. To say more would be to give too much away. Over all, this is a pretty good book, and the last 50 or so pages does a little more than border on religion, but equates at least certain aspects of science with religion. It works. That being said, there is a lot of telling and not so much showing here. Sagan's writing style works better for nonfiction than fiction, but this isn't an awful read, though it is a bit long winded at times.

Books read in 2021: No. 33 -- Space Viking

by H. Beam Piper

Started: Sept. 12

Finished: Sept. 23

Notes: Since I've been on something of a sci-fi kick of late, I thought I'd read more from an author I've generally enjoyed over the years.

Mini review: I have to admit to being disappointed with this one. With a title like Space Viking, I expected there to be a lot of action, but there really isn't. The story takes place in a universe not all that different than the original Star Trek series except instead of a Federation there are royals and pirates, and much of this tale is about world building. There's a rather dark scene at the beginning and a big fight near the end, but even those aren't all that interesting. Well, this was one of Piper's earlier works, and I know he gets better, so I'm not turning my back on him completely.

Books read in 2021: No. 32 -- Ender's Game

by Orson Scott Card

Started: Sept. 1

Finished: Sept. 11

Notes: I've read a couple of Card novels in the past and I didn't enjoy them, but this particular novel has proved so popular I thought I should give it a go.

Mini review: While this was written fairly well and an interesting enough story, I wasn't really pulled into it. Until the very end. The last 40 pages made me appreciate this novel of a child who is cajoled into interstellar war with an alien species. I'm still not feeling the love that has been poured upon this book over the years, but I did enjoy it much more than other works by Card that I've read. I might even seek out the rest of the books in this series.

Books read in 2021: No. 31 -- Willful Child

by Steven Erikson

Started: August 27

Finished: Sept. 1

Notes: Erikson, author of The Malazan Book of the Fallen, has for some while now been my favorite of the modern fantasy authors, so I thought I'd see how he handles science fiction.

Mini review: Well, I have to say, this book was not what I expected. It was about as un-Malazan as a novel can be, and I suppose that goes to show the talent of the author. This was, obviously so, a spoof of the Star Trek franchise, especially the original series, down to individual characters and even particular episodes. It was all silly humor, sometimes even slapstick. And while I found it quite amusing, about halfway through the book it became a bit much. In my opinion, this would have worked much better as a long short story or novella.