Books read in 2018: No. 36 -- The Bear and The Dragon

by Tom Clancy

Started: June 1
Finished: July 7

Notes: There was a time when I was a big Tom Clancy fan, but I eventually grew tired of his writing, for a variety of reasons. However, it's been a good long time since I've read anything by him, so I thought I'd turn to him once more and see if I he can revive some of the old spark in me. Plus, I'm going on a long trip, and since this is a long novel, I figure it'll do me for the majority of my vacation.

Mini review: I wanted something long to read to last a month-long vacation and I got, and then some. Russia discovers vast gold and oil deposits in Siberia, and China decides to invade to grab the deposits for themselves. War breaks out with the U.S. joining the fray on the side of the Russians. If I say any more, it would be giving too much away. The writing here is solid, but the whole rah-rah-everything-the-American-military-does-is-perfect-while-everyone-else-is-an-idiot attitude wears thin over 1,100 pages. I don't mean to sound unpatriotic, and I have nothing against U.S. military forces, but reality is more complex. Also, having been published at the tail end of the 20th Century, the political and military situations presented here seem almost quaint compared to the real world where 9-11 has occurred and politics has gone completely down the toilet, making this book read almost like wishful science fiction for another world. Anyway, this was a good read, but I have a feeling it'll be the last Clancy I touch for the reasons I pointed out.

Books read in 2018: No. 35 -- Black Amazon of Mars

by Leigh Brackett

Started: May 30
Finished: May 31

Notes: I've not read a lot of Brackett, mostly short stories in one anthology or another, but I've been meaning to read more of her work, so here goes.

Mini review: This was actually an interesting, adventurous sci-fi novella. A mercenary of sorts finds himself embroiled in a war between barbarian tribes and a city on Mars, then is forced to face dangers from far in Mars' past to bring about a conclusion to not only the war, but to an old enemy ready to take over Mars once again. A fun read, especially if you like older science fiction and space opera from the 1950s and 1960s.

Books read in 2018: No. 34 -- LZR-1143: Within

by Bryan James

Started: May 29
Finished: May 30

Notes: Been a while since I've read any indie authors, so I thought I'd give this zombie novella (and its author) a try.

Mini review: This was an interesting story. A group of online bank workers are trapped within their corporate building while a zombie apocalypse breaks out outside, and of course they have to find a way to survive ... or not. The writing is fairly strong, the characters interesting enough, and the story itself kept up my interest. I might have to check out this writer again.

Books read in 2018: No. 33 -- Horrorstör

by Grady Hendrix

Started: May 26
Finished: May 28

Notes: This comedy horror novel hit fairly big a couple of years ago and I've been meaning to check it out, so here's my opportunity. It's about a haunted furniture store that's a spoof of Ikea stores, so maybe it'll be amusing, and possibly horrifying.

Mini review: This was actually pretty good. The humor is quite mild, and I didn't find the story overly terrifying, but the writing is fairly strong and the tale was interesting enough to keep me flipping pages pretty quickly. My favorite part was the ending because I felt that, while not trend-making or outrageous, it went places most horror novels don't, showing the aftermath and the effects of the horror upon survivors, but also showing an opportunity for making things right. Worth checking out. And not gruesome or overly dark, for those who shy from such things.

Books read in 2018: No. 32 -- Let Me Off at the Top!

by Ron Burgundy

Started: May 21
Finished: May 26

Notes: Sometimes you see a book that's just so goofy, you want to give it a try. I have no idea who the real author is, even after an online search, because ... for those of you who might not know, Ron Burgundy is not a real person but a fictional character from a series of movies. The actor who portrays Ron is Will Ferrell, but I find it unlikely (though not impossible) that Ferrell has penned this book. Anyway, this is supposed to be an autobiography of Burgundy's life. The first movie with Ron was quite funny, in my opinion, the second one less so but still not awful, so maybe I'll enjoy this.

Mini review: This wasn't as funny as I had hoped it would be, but it gave me a few chuckles here and there, and for the most part it kept with the Ron Burgundy character fairly well. If you're a big fan of the movies, you might want to check this out, otherwise you can skip it.

Books read in 2018: No. 31 -- Brook Trout and the Writing Life

by Craig Nova

Started: May 18
Finished: May 21

Notes: Trout aren't my thing, me being more of a bass and sunfish kind of guy, but fishing definitely is, and of course I'm a writer by trade. So this book seemed a natural to me, especially as the award-winning author lives only about a half hour from me. All those things considered, I thought I'd take a look at what he had to say, though admittedly I've not read any of his other works.

Mini review: This one turned out not to be for me, which is a shame since the author is a writer and a fisherman, and so am I. However, different types of writers and different types of fishing. I found this one to be too literary in a modern sense, written in an easy-enough-to-follow manner, but quite full of liberal upper-middle-class white male navel gazing. Yes, I realize how dismissive what I just wrote sounds, but it's also the best description I can come to for this book, and I feel less guilty about it as the author is mildly dismissive himself once or twice. This book isn't a pity party, to be fair, but it faux-ruminates upon mostly everyday life with some kind of vague reflection that's kind of, sort of supposed to be almost spiritual, at least illuminating. I found it none of these. Comparing life to fishing and vice versa doesn't take any great philosopher, nor does comparing writing and fishing. While not an awful book, it seemed more for the author than the reader, and as an author myself I'll say that's not necessarily a bad thing, though it doesn't always make it good for the reader. In this case, I was one of those readers.

Books read in 2018: No. 30 -- Know Your Bible

from Barbour Books

Started: May 17
Finished: May 18

Notes: This little book was gifted to me a couple of years ago, so I thought it time I finally read it. It's supposed to offer a synopsis of each book of the Bible, so that might be interesting, even useful as it might explain some things in a short, simple form.

Mini review: As with many such little books, there's an evangelical tone, though it is rather slight here. Still, there's definitely a Protestant leaning, as the Catholic Bible is different from that of the Protestant. All in all, this is a handy book. It breaks down each book of the Bible into a short synopsis, lists the supposed authors and approximate dates when written, gives a few better-known verses, etc. This would be a good book to have around when needing a quick reminder, and it might open eyes to those books of the Bible which are not so well known. Obviously, this book will mostly be a help to believers, but even those who are not Christians but wish to study religion or the Bible could find this short book helpful.