Iscariot: A Novel of Judas (audiobook) by Tosca Lee

Published by Simon and Schuster Audio 
Published February 5, 2013
Read by Jason Culp
Duration: 9 hours, 11 minutes

As the title says, Iscariot: A Novel of Judas tells the the story of one of the most infamous people in history - Judas, the disciple that betrayed Jesus.

Tosca Lee tells the story in a very sympathetic manner. At no point in the story is Judas an evil man. In fact, he is the opposite - he is an exceptionally good man who lives an upright life, tries his very best and truly loves Jesus, the man he calls "teacher."

A close up of Judas Iscariot (front) in
Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper"

Tosca Lee creates a sympathetic back story for Judas involving a life full of loss, pain and a tragic multi-generational search for the messiah. Judas has decided that searching for a messiah is the surest way to get hurt. Instead, he has joined a secret society that is working to push the Romans out of Judea. But, things radically change when Judas meets John the Baptist and then goes on to meet Jesus.

Interestingly, throughout the story, as Judas hears what Jesus teaches he rarely gets the real meaning. He argues with Jewish officials that Jesus speaks in metaphors all of the time so his stories cannot be taken literally but Judas mainly misses the point time after time. Judas is looking for a military leader and does not truly hear what Jesus says about his true purpose and when his kingdom will commence.

Tosca Lee's writing style is often clunky with old-fashioned phrases. It can be be very tedious but it does blend easily with quotes from the Bible when they are worked in (she tends to use quotes that are similar to  the more formal style of the NIV translation rather than some of the more informal newer translations). For all of that clunkiness, there are some moments of literary magic here. The scene where Jesus heals the leper comes to mind as does most of the story of Jesus's trial.

Jason Culp brought this book to life. The multitude of voices he created just work to create a different world.  Even better, Culp really acts out the anguish and the passion that prevail throughout the end of the story.

I received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review as part of the Audiobook Jukebox Solid Gold Reviewer program.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: Iscariot: A Novel of Judas

Reviewed on March 22, 2013.

Bear Is Broken (Leo Maxwell #1) (audiobook) by Lachlan Smith

Published February 5, 2013 by HighBridge Audio
Read by R.C. Bray
Duration: 8 hours, 10 minutes

Lachlan Smith's debut novel is set in 1999 San Francisco. Leo Maxwell is a newly minted lawyer (less than a week) who was been helping around his brother's law office for the last few months. Teddy  Maxwell is one of the most controversial and most successful defense attorneys in San Francisco. His specialty is not high profile clients, but hookers, drug dealers and the like. He is thoroughly hated by the police department, the prosecutor's office and any number of people who were unhappy about cases that he won.

This matters because Teddy is shot in the head in the middle of a restaurant by an unknown assailant right over Leo's shoulder and the list of possible suspects is enormous. The police think that one of Teddy's clients did it, or maybe an unhappy victim of one of his clients. Teddy's friends and clients think that the police did it.  All Leo knows is that he has to figure it out and somehow muster the courage to finish Teddy's closing argument in what may very well have been his last case.

Up to this point, Bear is Broken is an amazing first novel. It is tight, interesting, has the reader rooting for Leo to successfully finish the argument for his brother and somehow figure out who shot Teddy. The argument scene is amazing and then this tight legal thriller scatters everywhere.

Leo accuses everyone of shooting his brother. These are not just mere musings or suppositions to Teddy's former wife. No - these are confrontations, screaming matches, announcements to the world. He accuses the police, his brother's investigator, one former client, then another and then accuses them of working together and then changes his mind and then decides that he was right and starts all over again. Throw in a large subplot involving the murder of Leo and Teddy's mother years ago, their father serving time in jail for that murder and another one involving a drug dealer and a missing cash retainer (and a shady secretary) that was pre-paid to Teddy Maxwell and two more subplots involving a former client who was caught disposing of a body and that client's connection to even more stuff in Leo and Teddy's past and a look at San Francisco's prostitution scene and a rich girl that enjoys sexual games and is good with a gun and you can see that there are just way too many moving parts here. I honestly do not know how Leo solves the mystery in the end or if he actually did. All I know is that the person he finally settles on in the end is a bad person and needed to be punished for plenty of other stuff so why not for Teddy Maxwell's shooting?

The real positive to the audiobook was the reader. R.C. Bray's voice characterizations were excellent. I loved his characterization of Teddy Maxwell and the police officer in charge of the case. He covered a variety of different accents with real skill - everything from hookers to messed up druggies to elitist old rich ladies. He has a lot of talent. But, there is no way a fantastic performance by a reader could have made up for the confused jumble that is the end of this book.

My advice to Lachlan Smith would have been to have pared away at least half of these subplots and then saved them for other books.

But, what's done is done. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. The first part was excellent - 5 stars. The last part was all over the place and left me confused (1 star) which makes a 3 star average.

Reviewed on March 15, 2013.

Note: This book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review as part of Audiobook Jukebox's Solid Gold Reviewer program.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Bear Is Broken (Leo Maxwell)

In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American Hero edited by Otto Penzler

Published  in 2012 by Smart Pop

I discovered Robert B. Parker's Spenser about 20 years ago. In a way, that is sad because I could have been enjoying Spenser for a lot more years. But, in a way it was fantastic because I had so many Spenser books to read to catch up and there were new ones coming out regularly. For years I was able to read or listen to his books as quickly as I wanted. But, eventually I caught up and had to just wait for the new ones. Sadly, in 2010 Parker died so all of his series came to an end.

In Pursuit of Spenser is an attempt to honor the long and noteworthy career of Robert B. Parker. Editor Otto Penzler has collected 14 essays by such writers as Lawrence Block, Loren D. Estleman and Dennis Lehane (and one work by Parker himself that explains Spenser) in a must-read for any fan. Although the focus is on Parker and Spenser, many of the other of the dozens of characters that  he created are covered as well. His role in re-invigorating the detective story, his take on male-female relationships, race relations and, of course, Spenser's wonderful wisecracks are thoroughly discussed.

Robert B. Parker 
(1932-2010)

I found it to be a wonderful celebration of a unique voice in American literature and a fitting tribute. I know the Spenser "franchise" is being continued by Ace Atkins, but I found myself agreeing with Lawrence Block who decided made the analogy between tribute bands and the real thing. I won't be moving forwards into the  "tribute band" portion of the Spenser franchise. I'll just re-visit the real thing from time to time.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American Hero

Reviewed on March 14, 2013

The Intercept (Jeremy Fisk #1) (audiobook) by Dick Wolf

Published in 2013 by HarperCollins
Read by Peter Ganim
Duration: 11 hours, 11 minutes.

Unabridged.

Dick Wolf is best known as the producer and creator of the many different TV series in the Law and Order franchise. The Intercept is his first attempt at fictional book writing (he has considerable experience at screenplay writing).

So, how was this first attempt?

I liked it. I liked it a lot.

The story revolves around Jeremy Fisk, a detective with NYPD's counter-terrorism squad. New York City has an extensive counter-terrorism unit because New York City has been such a frequent target of terrorism. Fisk is fluent in Arabic and is frequently a contact person between NYPD and the FBI or CIA.

A terrorist tries to commandeer an airplane headed to America from Sweden by holding a stewardess hostage. Five passengers rise up to fight the terrorist and they succeed in saving the stewardess with only the one of the rescuers suffering the relatively minor injury of a broken forearm. When they land the media pounces on the story and the rescuers and the stewardess become nationally famous.

But, Fisk does not like the way things add up once he interviews the captured terrorist. Once he starts digging he finds that his worst fears may be coming true...

Peter Ganim read the book. He covered the wide variety of accents well, especially the Arabic accents. I was especially pleased with the milder New York accents that he provided. So many actors go with no accent or an over-the-top accent. Sure, some New Yorkers sound like the exaggerated stereotype of the New York accent, but how many more have a more subdued accent? I thought it added a nice touch of realism.

This audiobook has more multiple surprise twists and is pushed along at a quick pace. I found it thoroughly entertaining for the better part of a week's commute.

Note: This book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Intercept: A Jeremy Fisk Novel (Jeremy Fisk Novel #1)

Reviewed on March 2, 2013.

The Phony Marine: A Novel by Jim Lehrer

Published in 2006 by Random House

Jim Lehrer, best known as the host of PBS's NewsHour is also an author of fiction (and a former Marine). In the briskly-paced short book The Phony Marine Lehrer introduces us to Hugo Marder, a clothing salesman at a high-end men's store. Hugo has lived an utterly unexceptional life and we join him as he is perusing eBay looking for cuff links to add to his collection. Yes, this is a man who collects cuff links - he is that boring.

The Silver Star

But, that night Hugo notes that someone is selling a Silver Star medal that was awarded to a Marine in Vietnam and he buys it. The Silver Star is only given for bravery in battle. This is no lightweight award and people who have not won it should not wear it. Hugo gets the Silver Star and on a lark he wears it one evening. He enjoys the attention he receives and begins to learn how to act and look more like a former Marine so that he can assume this identity.

Interestingly, along the way Hugo does change. He acts more assertive, he actually lives up to the heroic personae he has assumed - but, does that justify the fraud? Also, what happens if someone discovers what he is doing? Also, who is really what they portray themselves to be? Don't we all put up false fronts from time to time?

This book asks all of these questions and is a surprisingly enjoyable read.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars and it can be found on Amazon.com here: The Phony Marine: A Novel.

Reviewed on February 26, 2013.

The Plot Against America: A Novel by Philip Roth

Published in 2004 by Houghton Mifflin

In The Plot Against America, Philip Roth creates an alternate history centered around the presidential election of 1940. FDR doesn't run against Wendell Willkie. Instead, Charles Lindbergh enters the contest at the convention as an anti-war candidate and defeats Roosevelt.

In the real world, Lindbergh was  friendly towards the Nazi regime in Germany and made several public anti-Semitic comments so Roth's little twist to history is not out of line. Also, Lindbergh spoke at several "America First" anti-war rallies in 1940 and 1941. The first part of this book is the strongest. The alternate history moves briskly, the introduction to the Roth family and its main character, Philip (I can only assume that this is intended to be an alternate history autobiography) proceeds well.

Lindbergh speaking at an America First rally 

However, after the part of the book about the family trip to Washington, D.C. The Plot Against America just bogs down. The story moves forwards and backwards, sometimes weeks at a time and Roth seems more concerned about creating a sense of the atmosphere of pre-World War II Newark than he is about telling his story. Recently, I watched the movie To Kill A Mockingbird and it occurred to me that Roth was intentionally attempting to mimic the feel of movies like that, except in Newark, New Jersey. If that was intention, he succeeded, but he also succeeded in derailing his story with endless stories of secret bus trips and horses at orphanages. I am not quite sure what the point of all that was, but I know that I grew weary of it.

The end of the book is a mess. Roth tells the political ending long before he tells what happens to the Roth family and the little Jewish community of Newark. When he tells the ending so early, the drama is ruined, completely ruined. Also, the motivating factor given for Lindbergh's pro-German actions is so far-fetched, so ludicrous that I almost threw this book across the room.

So, I end up giving this book 3 stars. Great start, nicely realized (but oftentimes pointless) description of life in Newark, ridiculous ending.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Plot Against America.

Reviewed on February 26, 2013.

Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government by P.J. O'Rourke

Originally published in 1991.
I read the 1992 Vintage Books paperback edition.

Dated but still has teeth.

P.J. O'Rourke goes after the ridiculousness that is the federal government with his trademark irreverent style in his 1991 book Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government.

Some of the commentary is dated (lots of talk about the forgettable 1988 presidential election with Republican George H.W. Bush going against Democrat Michael Dukakis. Also, the first one I voted in) but some of it is incredibly relevant. For example, the story of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) looking into the mystery of suddenly accelerating Audis 1n 1986 was reminiscent of the same problem with Toyotas that filled the news channels in 2009 and 2010.

Perhaps O'Rourke's most famous line comes from this book: "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." (pg. xvii in the preface) This sentiment is pretty typical of the book as a whole and one that I generally agree with. O'Rourke talks with former advisors to presidents, shadows a congressman, talks with lobbyists, bureaucrats, policeman, people who live in atrocious government "projects" built for the poor to live in, and more.

P.J. O'Rourke

O'Rourke notes on page 36: "It is a popular delusion that the government wastes vast amounts of money through inefficiency and sloth. Enormous effort and elaborate planning are required to waste this much money." And, O'Rourke proceeds to show the reader how and makes a solid case for a smaller, leaner government. He also explains how it got to be such a mess.

There are times when he fails to make his case. For me, the chapter on agriculture ("Agricultural Policy: How to Tell Your Ass From This Particular Hole in the Ground") was a nice lesson on overlapping government programs that seem absurd. For example, he bemoans the fact that there are so many government interventions that the marketplace is not really a factor in agricultural policy. That is true enough, but he negates his own argument on page 148 when he notes that "Cheap plentiful food is the precondition for human advancement. When there isn't enough food, everybody has to spend all of his time getting fed and nobody has a minute to invent law, architecture or big clubs to hit cave bears on the head with...we wouldn't grow food, we'd be food." O'Rourke seems to miss (or ignore) that the convoluted system of price supports, payments to keep fields idle and grants have the practical result of keeping plenty of extra food being produced and more than enough producers on hand. That way, if there is a massive drought (like the drought of 2012) there is plenty of food to make up for it. Because it is deals with food, the system is rigged to encourage over-production. Could it be more efficient? Sure. Could it be done smarter? Sure. But, O'Rourke fails to make his case that it should not be done at all.

O'Rourke's look into anti-poverty programs demonstrate that they were not working and that poverty is not easily solved and "You can't get rid of poverty by giving people money." (pg. 128, emphasis his) If nothing else, this chapters reveals that O'Rourke is not simply a know-it-all. He knows that he does not know how to "fix" poverty and that government is certainly no doing a good job of it, either.

This is an entertaining read, even if you don't agree with all of his conclusions. I started this book one day when I misplaced the book I had been reading. In just a couple of pages I knew had to finish this one first. Entertaining, often profane, never boring.

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars and it can be found on Amazon.com here: Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government.

Reviewed on February 22, 2013.