A Death in Victory by Gregory Bean

A pleasant surprise

Published in 1997.

If you are an avid reader, you know how much of a gamble it can be to pick up a book by an author you've never heard of and jump into the middle of a series. You could get lucky and find a great new author to read or you could just be wasting your time.

Well, I'm pleased to report that this is a great book and I'm going to seek out the others in the series. A Death in Victory is the third in a series featuring Harry Starbranch, the town police officer in Victory, Wyoming.

Rather than go through plot details I'll give you a general idea about the book. A Death in Victory reads a bit like Robert Parker meets Tony Hillerman. Starbranch is a wisecracking cop who is not afraid to throw his fists. He has friends and connections everywhere and is not afraid to use them. But, like Hillerman, there's an acknowledgment of the reality of the immenseness of the wide open western spaces. He describes Wyoming and its culture as lovingly as Hillerman describes the Navajo reservation and its environs.

In case you are wondering, you do not have to read the previous books in the series in order to follow along with this one.

Good plot, well-paced. The ending surprised me but also made sense. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I give A Death in Victory 5 stars out of a possible 5 stars.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: A Death in Victory by Gregory Bean.

Reviewed on April 25, 2006.

Blow Fly (Kay Scarpetta #12) by Patricia Cornwell

Easily the worst of the series

Published in 2003 by Putnam

This was an utterly disappointing book. I have stepped away from Cornwell for a couple of years, but I was an avid reader before that, including the horrid series of books that Cornwell started with Hornet's Nest and Isle of Dogs.

Blow Fly is just as bad, if not worse, than those books. I had thought that it was the characters that I disliked in that other Cornwell series but now I am convinced that Cornwell has changed her writing style and I am not a fan of the new Cornwell style at all.

Recommendations:

*Spin Lucy off. She's becoming too Batman-esque, with all of her high-powered technological gadgets, a sidekick and a helicopter. I'm sick of her and I have not liked her since she joined the FBI.

*Do something with Marino other than having him drink, burp, and look unhealthy. He appears throughout the book but only does something useful at the beginning. He is a pathetic version of his rough-edged self in the earlier books.

*Benton. Hated him in every book. Still do.

*I know the French brothers are supposed to be Scarpetti's nemesis but, honestly, how many cops have a nemesis? Give it a rest.

*Do something with the plot other than drag the reader through page after page of Lucy's antics, Marino's unhealthiness, Scarpetti's desire to be a powerful woman (How many times is her 'power' referred to? I'd bet it's at least half a dozen.), Benton's dispassionate scheming and the insane thoughts of a deformed French madman who is constantly playing with his tiny genitalia. Lots of emoting, musing and rambling. Not much action.

*Note to Patricia Cornwell. I know it may have been a while since you had to shop at a Wal-Mart, but they would make an awful place to kidnap someone since the parking lots are constantly watched by cameras. How do I know this? Go to the customer service counter at any Wal-Mart in America and you'll see the monitors showing the display outside.

So, to sum up: This book is terrible. Read the early books in the series - they are great.

I give Blow Fly 1 star out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell.

Reviewed on April 19, 2006.

The Story of 1 (DVD) narrated by Terry Jones

It's math, it's history, it's a lot of fun

Released in 2006.

I watched The Story of 1 when it premiered on my local PBS affiliate and I thought it was a lot of fun and full of loads and loads of interesting history.

As a world history teacher, I am always on the lookout for something that can tell our story with a twist. This one does it quite nicely.

Terry Jones in a still from the DVD

The documentary is narrated by Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. It tells the story of man's use of the number one (and other numbers, but the focus always returns to the number 1) throughout time with a humorous twist. It explores early uses of math, why mankind had to develop math, why the Roman Numerals were inferior to our current system and continues on to the modern use of binary numbers.

As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted it for my history class. It will be great as a different sort of review of the history that we have studied thus far.

I rate this DVD 5 stars out of a possible 5 stars.

The Story of One can be purchased on Amazon.com here.

Reviewed on April 14, 2006.

Bill Peet: An Autobiography by Bill Peet

While not aimed at someone my age...

I nevertheless found Bill Peet: An Autobiography quite fascinating and engrossing.

First published in 1994.

Bill Peet was a self-professed reluctant student, especially of English classes, but he was nonetheless quite the good writer. Peet's illustrations added a lot to the pace and feel of the book and are a joy in their own right. His stories of life in Indianapolis before World War II will be interesting to any native Hoosier (as am I).

However, the most interesting part details his jobs at Walt Disney studios. His descriptions of how they made movies in the old days as well as the insider's look at Walt Disney himself are fascinating. Peet worked on several Disney movies, including Pinocchio, Fantasia, Cinderella (he created the lovable mice) and the original 101 Dalmatians.

Peet brushes over his life after he left Disney a little too quickly. Peet left Disney to write and illustrate more than 30  books for children.  I would have liked to have read his descriptions of life in the publishing world as well. Also lacking is much history of his family life.

Bill Peet (1915-2002)

That being said, it was still fascinating, entertaining and totally worth the reader's time.

I give this one 5 stars out of a possible 5 stars.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Bill Peet: An Autobiography.

Reviewed on April 13, 2006.

The Spirit of the Place: Indiana Hill Country by James Alexander Thom and Darryl Jones

A wonderful coffee table book that espouses the beauty of much-maligned Indiana

Photographer Darryl Jones and author James Alexander Thom teamed together to make a wonderful little book about the natural beauty of the southern Indiana hill country in The Spirit of the Place: Indiana Hill Country. Thom's text complements Jones' photographs wonderfully.

Indiana does not have mountain vistas or magnificent buttes or gigantic canyons that overwhelm the senses.  Being a native Hoosier, I have an appreciation for the subtle beauties of the state.  Jones does as well. Most of his pictures are taken in hilly Owen county. He captures every season, as well as forest, field, stream, farm, and town scenes.

James Alexander Thom

Thom's text is part biography and part stories he heard growing up in Owen County. If you are a fan on Thom's other works, this one will be a nice addition. If you've never heard of Thom, this is a great place to get to know him and his motivations as an author.

I give this book 5 stars out of a possible 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Spirit of the Place: Indiana Hill Country


Reviewed on April 12, 2006.

Sanctuary (Star Trek, Book 61) by John Vornholt

You can't go home again

Published in 1992.

I picked my title for this review for two reasons:

#1 - Sanctuary describes a legendary planet called 'Sanctuary' - a place where any and all fugitives are welcomed and spared from any further persecution. Unfortunately, McCoy, Kirk and Spock discover that once you come to Sanctuary you can never leave again. Thus the main challenge of the book - how do our intrepid three break out and get back to the 'Enterprise'?


#2 - I used to be a gigantic reader of Star Trek books. In the 80's and very early 90's I had a rather large collection. In fact, my cousin and I had a complete collection if we put ours together. I was quite the fan. I ran across this book and picked it up for old times sake and discovered that 'You can't go home again'. The old magic just was not there. Not that I dislike the characters or even the basic plot idea. It was the way the book was written:

-The supporting characters are one-dimensional cutouts.

-There's no character development.

-The planet is apparently covered with the same plant life since they encounter it in nearly every outdoors scene.

-I found myself being drawn into the last scene until I realized that my own fear of heights was making me imagine it much, much better than it was written.

Probably the last of the series for me. It's not the fault of the series - I have moved on to greener literary pastures and expect more.

I give this one a grade of 2 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Sanctuary (Star Trek: The Original Series Book 61)

Reviewed on April 11, 2006.

The Last Detective (Elvis Cole #9) (audiobook) by Robert Crais

Excellent!

Published by Brilliance Audio in 2008
Read by James Daniels.
Duration; 8 hours, 4 minutes.
Unabridged.

First things first - this is an excellent work - and James Daniels, the reader,  was absolutely great. First rate job. I found myself taking advantage of any chance to listen (while showering, housework, etc.).

The Last Detective is the 9th installment of the Elvis Cole series but it really is the sequel to L.A. Requiem. Not that the bad guys return, but rather Crais continues to show the readers insight into the mechanics of our duo - Pike and Cole. In L.A. Requiem we were treated to the psyche of Pike. This time it is Cole.

I would not recommend this book as a stand-alone since it spends so much time delving into the heart and soul and past of Cole. This means a lot to the fans of the series but most likely means little to newcomers.

The plot in just one sentence: Elvis Cole's girlfriend's 10 year old son is kidnapped and Elvis pulls all of the stops to find him.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of a possible 5 stars and it can be found on Amazon.com here: The Last Detective by Robert Crais.

Reviewed on April 11, 2006.