Books read in 2025: No. 29 -- King's Ransom

by Ed McBain

Started: July 26

Finished: July 28

Notes: It's been too long since I've experienced one of my favorite authors and his 87th Precinct novels, which definitely is my favorite fiction series. Thus, I'm jumping back in.

Mini review: Kidnappers attempt to nab the son of a wealthy fellow but accidentally grab the wrong kid. Geez, that would be my luck if I ever turned criminal. Anyway, it's up to the gang of the 87th Precinct to find the kid and catch the kidnappers. This one started slower for me than many a novel in this series, but it sped up swiftly and the pace kept building right until the end. Not my favorite of these books, but still a darn fine read. This one was a little different in that a few characters beyond the usual detectives played rather large roles, a nice change of pace ... but each 87th Precinct novel is unique.

Books read in 2025: No. 28 -- Berserker

by Fred Saberhagen

Started: July 18

Finished: July 26

Notes: I've read plenty of Saberhagen over the years, and enjoyed it, but it's always been fantasy. So, it'll be interesting to pop into his military science fiction series which was quite popular back in the day.

Mini review: Imagine a seemingly sentient, highly intelligent Death Star with only one goal: to destroy all life. That's a Berserker. And in this book, there are hundreds of them swarming our galaxy and at war with mankind in the future. This book is really a collection short stories that tie in well with one another, sometimes with familiar characters showing up in later tales. And while war is the backdrop for all these tales, the war itself isn't necessarily the subject matter of each story here. They all work quite well, written strongly and catching various glimpses of this war against demonic machines. The only story for which I did not care was the very last one, and even it had a fine ending.

Beer of the Week: Samuel Adams Cold Snap White Ale

Beer score: 6.9

Company: Samuel Adams
ABU: 5.3
IBU: 10

I've read different reports, some saying this is the newest name for the Samuel Adams White Ale which has been around for decades, and others say that no, this is not the same beer. I'm not sure which is true, but I know I tend to like white ales, and this one isn't any different.

Pours a slightly cloudy, pale gold with a frothy head that's quite smooth. Gives off weak smells of grainy wheat and a little sweet citrus.

On the tongue, it comes off as sweet at first, but on the way down there's a light bitterness. Pretty smooth, but not watery, and has hints of orange and maybe lemon, along with some maltiness.

Reminds me more than a bit of Blue Moon Belgian White, but not quite as good. Still, a very decent beer, and I could see spending an afternoon with more than a few of these.

Books read in 2025: No. 27 -- Retief's War

by Keith Laumer

Started: July 12

Finished: July 18

Notes: I've never read any works by this author, but I do recall his series of Retief novels were fairly popular during my childhood. So, thought I'd give one a try.

Mini review: Humans seemingly control the government on an alien planet with multiple intelligent species of creatures that look as if they are part insect and part electronic, almost like robots. An outside force stirs up trouble and attempts to take over the planet, but the locals band together to find back. Into all this steps Retief, a diplomat, but he's a diplomat with much in common with the likes of James Bond. This one reminded me quite a bit of the men's action novels from the 1970s which I used to read when I was a teen. But I hated almost every moment of reading this one, at least until the end. I actually enjoyed the final 30 pages quite a bit. The writing style didn't do much for me, and too much didn't seem to make any sense and there was hardly ever any explanation or even descent description, which is rather jarring consider all the different alien races which looked nothing like humans. But I'll admit some of that was the point. This was meant to be a quick, action read and little more. That can be forgiven. What I just about couldn't forgive is that the main character never really seems to be in any danger. Oh, he faces plenty of challenges, even physical ones, but at least in this novel he is never really tested in combat, at least not as far as I'm concerned. He seemed to talk his way out of everything, and that and more than a fair share of luck seemed to save the day most times. But what really irkked me was that the main character didn't really seem to be all that much of a smooth talker, it's just that everyone around him was an idiot, and I do mean everyone. Still, as much as I felt bogged down by this novel, the ending did pick things up quite well and wrapped it all up in a pleasing and even mildly amusing manner.

Beer of the Week: Samuel Adams Blueberry Lager

Beer score: 5.9

Company: Samuel Adams
ABU: 5.5
IBU: 15

I love blueberries, but the few blueberry beers I've had over the years have been ... hmm, not necessarily a disappointment, but not overly special, either.

This one is about the same.

It definitely gives off a blueberry smell when it's poured, and in a clear glass it has a slightly cloudy golden color with hints of amber.

Not an overly strong beer, but I have to say, it's a little more sturdy than I expected.

In the tasting, I get a fair amount of the blueberry and a goodly amount of hops bitterness, but there's really not a lot of sweetness, which isn't bad but is sort of unexpected for a fruity beer.

Eh, not a great beer, not an awful beer, but at least it's something a bit different.

Books read in 2025: No. 26 -- The Integral Trees

by Larry Niven

Started: June 30

Finished: July 12

Notes: It's hard to believe, but I've never read any of Niven's work despite having been aware of him for decades and his early fame in sci-fi circles. This being one of his more popular works, I'm hoping it'll be pretty strong.

Mini review: I'll have to admit it took me a while to wrap my head around this one because there were so many characters thrown at the reader right up front and because the world(s) involved were so unusual that it took me a fair amount of consideration before understanding, though it helped there were illustrations at the front of the book. Basically, a number of tribes of humans have descended from space travelers far in the past, and now they live among giant trees that float throughout a donut-shaped area of space that is habitable. Sounds weird, yes, but it works. It's actually a pretty good story with something of a quest feel and a battle and characters who sometimes are surprising.

Beer of the Week: Samuel Adams Summer Ale

Beer score: 6.0

Company: Samuel Adams
ABU: 5.3
IBU: 8 

I've had this beer before, but it's been a long time, probably more than a decade.

A white ale with lemon added, it goes down fairly smooth despite the fact it has a touch more fizz than I feel necessary. Has a very light lemon scent, but I don't get a lot of that in the tasting, maybe just a hint.

Also, the tasting there's some wheat with a little bitterness, but not much sweet.

Others have commented on various sites that the lemon flavoring here is strong, but that is not my experience now nor has it been in the past (from looking at my old notes). Am I right and they're wrong, or vice versa? Who knows? All of us are different, so judge for yourself.