Since my last update I’ve knocked off three more Harry Bosch books, an horrible Jack Reacher, another volume in S.E. Morison’s epic naval history of WWII, a good kicking for the “Lost Causers”, and some pretty damn good science fiction.
The Bosch books were: The Wrong Side Of Goodbye, Two Kinds Of Truth and the first Bosch book featuring Renee Ballard (although it is actually the second Renee Ballard book) Dark Sacred Night all by Michael Connelly. All of them were excellent. It’s very nice to see a 20+ book series that doesn’t diminish as it progresses, and this one doesn’t. I think these last few are just as good as the first few.
Speaking of series that diminish as they progress, after knocking off the Bosch books, I then read the latest Jack Reacher; The Sentinel by Lee Child and Andrew Child. Oh my God was it bad. It was so bad that there’s no danger of it being made into a movie, the material wouldn’t stick to the film. And its bad on many, many, levels. The plotting is ridiculous, the dialog is terrible, the characterizations are wooden, and the writing verges at times on unreadable. I got this one for free from the library and still feel ripped off. Run far, far, away from this one folks. You’ve been warned.
Next up was Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause by Ty Seidule. The author grew up in Lee’s hometown of Alexandria Virginia, attended Washington And Lee University and was commissioned into the Armor Branch of the United States Army. During his 35 year Army career he served in a number of capacities including combat as a History professor at West Point rising to History Department Head and retiring as a Brigadier General. This book begins by painstakingly recounting the author’s extensive (but unwitting) indoctrination into the Lost Cause. Seidule then moves on to effectively refuting pretty much every tenet of the “Lost Cause” and modern pro-Confederate perceptions before finally prescribing some changes he feels are needed to effectively address the problem. The book is compelling and well written, but I’m not sure whether it will be very effective. Those who currently understand the actual truth about the Confederacy and the Lost Cause don’t’ need it. Those who are deeply imbued with Confederate sympathies or adherents of the Lost Cause won’t be moved by it. I guess it will be most effective among those who are casually pro-Confederate because they’re been misled. Anyway, I enjoyed it, but I’m not sure it’s going to change much.
Hail Mary by Andy Weir was an outstanding science fiction novel. The basic premise starts with the Sun’s energy output declining very slightly but perceptibly. Research soon identifies the culprit. A microscopic alien life-form is absorbing the Sun’s energy, then traveling to Venus where it is reproducing by mitosis which consumes the energy. The two daughter cells then return to the Sun and absorb more energy. Lather, rinse, repeat. The novel basically covers how we figure this out and what we’re going to do about it. It was a fantastic story and I read it in about a day and a half constantly needing to know what happens next. If you’re at all a fan of science fiction I can’t recommend this one highly enough.
Finally, there was Samuel Eliot Morison dated but still enjoyable Struggle for Guadalcanal: August 1942 – February 1943. Yes, there are newer, better, more informed, books out there about the USN in WWII, but its hard to beat Morison’s access to the primary participants, his proximity to events, and his casual vernacular writing style. I’m enjoying my second trip through these books and just started the next one.
43 for the year
BillP's Book Blog 