The Bold West: Edition 4 (audiobook) by Steve Frazee, Zane Grey and T.T. Flynn

Up and down quality.

So, here's the scoop on the audiobook The Bold West: Edition 4.

There are 3 unabridged stories read by three different readers. The stories are:

'Death Rides This Trail' by Steve Frazee. It is the longest and definitely the best of the three stories. It concerns a family of settlers and the struggles they have after the father is killed in a senseless gunfight. Good character development and an entertaining story. Often funny and often sad. It was originally published in 1953. I give this story 4 out of 5 stars.

Zane Grey (1872-1939)

'Yaqui' by Zane Grey. Originally published in 1920, this is the story of Yaqui, the young chief of the Yaqui Indians of Western Mexico. The Yaqui were hunted down and killed or moved to the Yucatan Peninsula to be enslaved in the Sisal plantations to make rope. This is the worst story of the three by far. The writing was stilted and overly formal and the reader was the worst of the three. The 'gotcha' moment at the end seemed more like a bad 'Twilight Zone' idea. to tell you the truth, it seemed like Mr. Grey had two short stories that he couldn't finish so he stuck them both together just to get them both finished. I give it 1 star out of 5.

'Back Trail' by T.T. Flynn. Originally published in 1949, this is the story of a love triangle involving a cowboy, a rancher and a young woman who manages the local hotel. It is also a story of personal redemption through a change of heart. This story had the most potential, but it was skimpily written so it was hard to fathom the relationship between all of the members of this love triangle. I give it 3 stars out of 5.

So, 4 stars + 1 star + 3 stars = 8 stars. Divide 8 stars over three stories and you get 2.66, or 3 stars.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: The Bold West: Edition 4.

Reviewed on December 16, 2005

Small Vices (Spenser #24) by Robert B. Parker

One of the best books in the Spenser series.

Originally published in 1997.

This is my second reading of Small Vices. I'd read it before, years ago, and all I remembered was that this is the one in which Spenser gets himself shot and very nearly killed. (The beauty, I guess, of having so many Spenser novels is that it is hard to keep them all straight so I can go back and re-read them like they're like new every few years).

If you are familiar with Spenser, most of your favorite characters see some action in this outing. If you are not familiar with Spenser, this may be a good one to start with, although I would recommend some of the older ones to begin.

The never-aging Spenser lives through an entire year of his life in this one, but don't worry, he still doesn't age. Neither do Hawk or Susan. They're like James Bond in that respect. It used to bug me but I know that I don't want to read about Hawk and Spenser's adventures in a nursing home.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Small Vices.

Reviewed on December 8, 2005.

The Adjustment Bureau (audiobook) by Philip K. Dick

The original short story that the movie is based on.

Published by Brilliance Audio in 2011.
Read by Phil Gigante.
Duration: 58 minutes.

Unabridged.

Originally written in 1954 and titled The Adjustment Team, this audiobook was  renamed so that it can be tied in with the movie that is very loosely based on this short story by famed science fiction writer Philip K. Dick.

The one hour length and subject matter put me in mind of an episode of the Twilight Zone - one of the really good ones where we find out the world does not work quite the way we thought it did.

Philip K. Dick (1928-1982)

The premise of the short story is that real estate agent Ed Fletcher is not where he is supposed to be when the adjustment team comes to adjust his office. Instead, due to a bureaucratic mix-up on the supernatural level, Ed comes in to work a few minutes late and finds an adjustment team at work. The team has frozen the regular world and drained it of all of its life while they make adjustments to all the things and inhabitants. This is just regular maintenance and no one notices it - except for Ed who walked right into the middle of it, much to everyone's surprise.

This is a great little science fiction story - fun, freaky and a little thought-provoking.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5.

This audiobook short story can be found on Amazon.com here: The Adjustment Bureau

Reviewed on May 11, 2011.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis' most famous work of fiction.

Originally published in 1950

If you are familiar with Lewis non-fiction writings (Mere Christianity, etc.) were all that Lewis had written he would have left a wonderful legacy. However, Lewis has a large library of fictional works as well.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is my only my second piece of Lewis fiction (the other being The Screwtape Letters) and I found it to be a quick, enjoyable read. The characters are likeable but not particularly well-developed, but that is understandable considering that he intended it to be a fairy tale. How much character development is there in a fairy tale?

Christian themes are very strong throughout the book, but the story can be read without any previous study into Christianity. If you are unsure of the themes or want to make sure that you are not missing any, I would recommend that you pick up any of the half-dozen or more companion study guides that Amazon offers. There are undoubtedly free ones online as well.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Rise to Rebellion and The Glorious Cause by Jeff Shaara

The Glorious Cause is the second in Shaara's two volume piece historical fiction concerning the Revolutionary War. Rise to Rebellion was the first, and I believe the superior of the two, but The Glorious Cause is an excellent novel as well.

Rise to Rebellion is the superior of the two novels due to the changes of heart that the readers sees in John Adams and Benjamin Franklin concerning the issue of independence from England. The Glorious Cause has little of that type deep soul-searching. However, it is a fantastic portrayal of the difficulties encountered by the Continental Army and George Washington, in particular.

If I were to have my druthers, I would have preferred that Shaara had broken the second 600+ page novel into two novels  to make it a trilogy and expanded them both by delving more into the politics of the day and the difficulties of fighting a war with the governmental structures and restrictions that the Continental Congress was hampered with.

In addition, more battles and fronts could have been explored, such as the ill-fated American invasion of Canada and Benedict Arnold's naval adventures on Lake Champlain.

That being said, these are still a highly recommended novels - either for the American Revolution novice or the enthusiast.

Well done, Mr. Shaara.

I rate these books 5 stars out of 5.

These two books can be found on Amazon here: Rise to Rebellion and The Glorious Cause.

Reviewed on December 23, 2005.

Long Kiss: An American Ritual by Charles West

Originally Published in 2010 by Lulu Press.

As the month of May is coming close, this Indianapolis resident and attender of 25 straight Indy 500 races and all of the Brickyard 400s (17, I think) knows what it means to be in love with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. So, I picked up this book in order to see what another gigantic fan had to say about this experience.

Charles West, unlike me, did not grow up visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (my mother's parents lived just a few blocks from the main gate and I clearly remember attending several qualification days and hearing Tom Carnegie's sweet velvet baritone call out, "It's a neeeew traaaaack recoooord!")  Instead, West grew up in Texas and most of his memories were radio broadcasts and delayed TV broadcasts. He also clearly remembers seeing Johnny Rutherford's yellow Pennzoil Chaparral on display as a little boy - that hooked him. For me, it was hearing that distinctive whine of the engines in the 1980s as a lone car drove around the track - you could hear it echo over the stands as the car traveled around the 2.5 mile speedway. It gives me chills even now.

11 years ago, West decided to go to the race - to experience The Big Everything as he calls the 500. West was a long-time veteran attendee of big time auto racing, having been to several NASCAR races, IRL races and CART races. But, this was different and he knew it. West describes every race he attends for 10 years - his drive there, where he stayed, where he sat, the souvenirs and his pre- and post-race rituals. I loved those parts of the book - I knew every place he stayed, the routes he took, where he sat and the restaurants he ate (how can he hate Pizza King? Oh well, at least he loves the Noble Romans on West 10th Street). He even gives away my "secret" back entrance to the Town of Speedway that only us locals know about (How could you do that?!? If I have to sit in extra traffic this year...).

The rest of the book is more problematic. Charles West describes a difficult relationship with his family, his wife, his wife's family but does little to explain the difficulties with his wife and her family. He does do a lot of explaining and details his growth as a person during this difficult time in his life (and some problems are quite heart-breaking, especially where his father is concerned) but it was an odd combination of too much dirty laundry and not enough. He told too much personal information for a book that was primarily about a fan's love of a race, and not enough for a personal journal about his personal growth.

So, I buzzed through the personal stuff and read the racing parts. Despite the occasionally clunky turn of the phrase and the personal struggles story line, I very much enjoyed sharing this fellow fan's passion for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and especially the Indy 500.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5 with the caveat that no one but a hard core racing fan would have the remotest interest in this book.

This book can be found on Amazon.come here: Long Kiss. 

 Reviewed on May 9, 2011.

Spycatcher by Matthew Dunn

Ridiculous but entertaining.

Published in 2011 by William Morrow.

Usually I have a low tolerance for over the top nonsense in my thriller novels. I tend to not like the stories with the unstoppable good guy whose training takes over and causes him to wipe out legions of his opponents. But, this one hit the spot for some reason.

The premise of Spycatcher is really quite simple: Will Cochrane is a member of MI6 - the British version of the CIA. He is their super-spy, code-named Spartan. He is nearly unstoppable and pretty much has carte blanche to do whatever he wants to defend the UK.

A new intelligence leak from Iran has discovered the existence of a similar type of super spy in Iran and he is planning a very big hit against the West. Cochrane is dispatched to stop him.

The chase runs through Eastern Europe and America and of course ends in a dramatic, utterly unrealistic confrontation after sniper fights, special forces commando raids and lots of high level meetings in which Cochrane convinces everyone that he is doing the right thing despite the rising body count.

Is it silly?

Absolutely.

Does it smack of the realism the cover promises?

Nope. Not one bit.

Did I like it?

Surprisingly, I did.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Spycatcher by Matthew Dunn.

Reviewed on May 7, 2011.