Vanishing Games

Title: Vanishing Games

Author: Roger Hobbs [Website][Facebook][Twitter] ; Read by Jake Weber [IMDb]

Publisher: Books on Tape (Random House)

Series: Ghostman, Bk 2

ISBN: 9781101888360

Length: 9 discs ; approximately 11 hours

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

This book needed the circs and seemed up my alley, so I listened to the first book, Ghostman.  Then I could listen to this one.

Comments:

Like the first book, this one has some very graphic violence.  Such as beheading with wire contraptions (that they also had on the TV show Quantico, so I was able to test how my imagination held up to a visual demonstration.)

Jack's mentor Angela has finally contacted him after a 6 year stretch of silence.  After 6 years of not knowing whether someone is dead or alive, do you trust them?  Especially when you trust no one?  And how do you get out of a mess when you have multiple enemies after you, you don't know who any of them are, and they seem to know much more about you?

Why you do what you've trained to do, you be a ghostman, becoming someone new and different in seconds.  Different name, posture and bearing, voice and background...  For me, these transformations are one of the most interesting parts of these stories.

Book three, City of Sirens, is due out in 2018.  A bit of a wait, and with my track record, this gap makes continuing the series iffy.  I'm just now listening to an audiobook that, when I read it's predecessor, I said I couldn't wait for... in 2013.  However, story-wise, I'm definitely interested to hear more of Jack and his adventures.

Ghostman

Title: Ghostman

Author: Roger Hobbs [Website][Facebook][Twitter] ; Read by Jake Weber [IMDb]

Publisher: Books on Tape (Random House)

Series: Ghostman, Bk 1

ISBN: 9780385361767

Length: 10 discs ; 11 hours, 52 minutes

Why this book?:

The second audiobook, Vanishing Games, hadn't circulated yet.  And has a thief in it.  But I couldn't listen to that one without listening to this one.  Plus, it filled the "Title with one word" box on my Summer Reading Bingo Sheet.

Comments:

First on the narration... My very first thought was, ugh.  I don't like this.  It's too gritty and reminds me of my vague memories of the David Baldacci book I listened too (True Blue, narrated by Ron McLarty and listened to in 2012).  So I looked at the back of the case, saw that the narrator, Jake Weber, is the same guy who played the husband in Medium, and decided to be more tolerant.  And that changed everything, because I quickly became involved in the story, and the voice turns out to be perfect for the character Jack.

Now, this story is certainly gritty.  It's extremely graphic with every description of blood and gore.  Some of the violence, described in detail, was horrifying. (In particular, there was a description of the murder of a child that still makes my stomach churn remembering it.  I want to use words like cruel and merciless.  I understand any murder of a child could be described using these words, but this one included torture and ... ugh).  And the descriptions of the guns, etc. made me feel like I was listening to another sniper book.  

But I was caught up in how Jack was going to come out of this mess alive and on top (because surely he would).  I was not so enthralled with the background story (set 5 years ago and interspersed with the current story), but it certainly served a purpose explaining what strings held Jack and kept him from being the free agent and ghostman he intended to be.

Anyway, I ended up listening to it straight through, finishing it pretty quickly as far as audiobooks go (though I mostly kept to just actual driving time and didn't sit in the car for hours at a time just to listen).  I intend to listen to the next book, Vanishing Games, but I have a bit of a pile with audiobooks right now, so it may not be as soon as hoped.

The Killing Time

Title: The Killing Time

Author: Tim Waggoner [Website][Facebook][Twitter]

Publisher: Titan Books

Series: Grimm, Bk 3

ISBN: 9781781166581

Length: 262 pages

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

It's Grimm!

Comments:

I was so excited about this book, so I don't know why it took me so long to start it after I checked it out early October.  Of course once I started it, I zipped through it.

I'm getting ahead of myself though.  I was pleased that the characters felt pretty spot on in this one.  The only character that seemed different was Nick, but those differences were internal (so not necessarily something I'd get from the TV show) and necessary for the story.

This story falls after the voodoo-priest/Cracher-Mortel story arc and before the more recent loss of powers bit.  A shapeshifter type of Wesen called Wechselbalg has come to Portland.  Nick's had an in person encounter with unpredictable and not pleasant results.  It's reeking havoc; the last such occurrence (Wechselbalg taking on Grimm form) led to such horror that it is called the Killing Time.  Is it possible for Nick and friends to avoid a repeat of this, or are they doomed to repeat history?

Anyway, I'm so happy novels are being written for this show and really hope the series continues on both TV and book levels.  The first three books came pretty quickly one after the other, but I'm pretty concerned that I haven't seen anything about a fourth title yet.  Maybe they are slowing down as they're approaching being caught up with the show?

The Chopping Block

Title: The Chopping Block

Author: John Passarella [Website][Twitter][Facebook]

Publisher: Titan Books

Series: Grimm, Bk 2

ISBN: 9781781166567

Length: 315 pages

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

As soon as I saw this was coming out, I put in a purchase request at the library.  I love the show Grimm; I simply couldn't pass this up.

Comments:

This came out incredibly soon after Bk 1.  And yet I felt that many of the complaints from the first book were addressed in this one.

Before you start reading there is a "Historian's Note" stating that this book would fall between the episodes "The Walking Dead" and "Goodnight, Sweet Grimm," while the timeline in regards to The Icy Touch was blurry. 

To me the characters in this book felt more authentic.  I didn't suddenly feel distaste towards characters I had previously liked.

While the story/crime was totally sick and gruesome, I was definitely engaged.  Your everyday average human is turning up in dumping grounds, wesen are eating them in an ancient tradition, and there is a tight deadline with friends and innocents lives on the line.

In other words, while I enjoyed the first book as a fan, this book was a definite step up.  I look forward to reading future Grimm books and discovering what else is in store for Nick, his friends, and Portland.

The Icy Touch

Title: The Icy Touch

Author: John Shirley [Website][Internet Speculative Fiction Database]

Publisher: Titan Books

Series: Grimm, Bk 1

ISBN: 9781781166543

Length: 312 pages

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

As soon as I saw this was coming out, I put in a purchase request at the library.  I love the show Grimm, I simply couldn't pass this up.

Comments:

I haven't often read books based of of TV series (like one time with Monk in fact), so it's new.  I was a little thrown at first, because the book does not start at the beginning.  But I got over that.

Another thing that took some adjusting was the personalities.  I guess seeing and interpreting an actor's expressions and body language is different than reading their inner thoughts.  Because I had certain impressions about those characters that didn't quite align with what I was reading.  One character difference that stood out to me was Hank.  In the book, he was a bit whiny with the whole we should expose the Wesen to law enforcement thing.  He just doesn't come across that way on the show.  But there were other character things that I just can't think of off the top of my head.

Beyond that, visiting Nick, Monroe, Hank, Renard, Rosalie, Juliette, and Wu all in my beloved book format was way cool.  The historical flashbacks to Nick's ancestors were interesting, gave information that might have otherwise been info-dumping, and gave some new tidbits that Nick wouldn't necessarily have found in the trailer.

If you've never seen the show, you can still enjoy the story.  But you'll have missed a great deal of the background on the characters.  (Really, to get the best of the characters - watch the show.)

Overall, despite some disappointment, I still enjoyed the book and am glad I read it.  I look forward to reading book 2, The Chopping Block by John Passarella, due out February 2014.

Heart-Shaped Box

Title: Heart-Shaped Box

Author: Joe Hill aka Joseph Hillstrom King

Publisher: William Morrow

ISBN: 9780061147937

Length: 374 pages

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

I found out Daniel Radcliffe was acting in a new horror movie called Horns.  Then I found out that Horns is based on a novel of the same title by Joe Hill, son of Stephen King.  I had heard co-workers mentioning Joe Hill and his parentage along with words like "good" and "award-winning" back when NOS4A2 came out.  I read something that said something along the lines of Joe Hill's novel Heart-Shaped Box was better than Horns (and they like Horns).  So I decided to try both.  In order.  And before the movie.

Comments:

I can't help approach horror with some trepidation.  The few horror books I've read have been good.  And most of the limited horror movies I've seen have been decent.  But still.

Jude starts off being portrayed in such a way as to make me not like him so much.  But then he grew on me.  Well before the end I was rooting for him.  Same thing with his girlfriend Georgia/Marybeth, though the change was not quite so dramatic.  And the bad guy was sick and twisted and ugh.  Which is good, I guess. Right?  So those are the primary characters.  But wait! I forgot one.  Because though she's dead, Jude's ex-girlfriend Florida/Anna also plays a primary role.  And I could appreciate her, but in a more distant way.

Anyway, for the story itself.  It was creepy.  It had twisted mind games, which I strongly dislike (you're so out-of-control when someone else is playing with your head).  And an evil that you need to escape even while feeling trapped.  And some warped background exposed as you go along.  And overall?  I enjoyed it.  But I mostly read it during the day.

Oh!  And when I started it (in the car on the way to the zoo), I was listening to Hugh Laurie's Didn't it Rain.  And that bluesy feel really worked for the book, despite the fact that Jude was apparently more of a metal musician (as I kept reminding myself).

So I should be reading Horns soon.  And if that goes well, maybe I'll even try NOS4A2.

Trailers (only slight variations between the two):

So Cold the River

Title: So Cold the River

Author: Michael Koryta

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

ISBN: 9780316053631

Pages: 503

Obtained: Library copy (Print and ebook)

Why this book?:

My grandmother's book club chose it.

Trailers:



Comments:

I started this as an ebook, but mostly read it in print.  This was so much faster paced compared to the last book club book.  What a relief.  Though someone from work said her sister said it was hard to get into.  I guess it's an individual person kind of thing.  I know my grandmother read it quickly.  And I'll see what the others think on the 11th.

Eric is a failed, um, I can't remember what he called himself.  He made films, documentaries and the like, but weird things happened and he had conflict with the directors and some sort of breakdown... it was all kinda muddled and relayed to the reader in past tense.  Because now Eric does those film things they play at weddings and funerals and other important events.  He especially excels at the funeral film/slideshows.  Hence he gets the client who starts this whole adventure...

He's to document his client's father's childhood/childhood history/boyhood home.  So he drives from Chicago to French Lick and West Baden, Indiana.  But before he leaves the creepy stuff starts happening.  And it all involves that bottle of water his client gave him to use as inspiration.

I found the story interesting with touches of humor and wallops of creepy.  Also to be found...

• Intriguing descriptions of the hotels which are, apparently, real.
• Bits about the instruments used to measure the weather, etc.
• Quite a bit of trust and "am I crazy" sort of moments on the main characters behalf.  Can you believe him?
• Addiction - and not the way you might think.
• Some racial (and racist) relations.
• Some paranormal ghost and possession and evil stuffs.
• In line with the former two points, violence is to be expected.

And that's about it without telling you the whole story.  I would have no problem reading more by this author - except as this is not a series, that seems unlikely.

The Summons

Title: The Summons

Author: John Grisham

Publisher: Doubleday

ISBN: 0385503822

Pages: 341

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book: I just started participating in my grandmother's book club, and this was their selection.

(Note: I mention why I choose the books I read in just about every post anyway, so I think I'm going to try the "why this book" as an extra section... If it becomes difficult to separate the reason from the comments, I'll drop it.)

Comments:

I haven't read Grisham since I was a teen.  At the time I enjoyed them (esp. The Runaway Jury, though I couldn't bring myself to ever watch the movie).  So I don't know if this is a reflection of my changing reading tastes, or Grisham's writing, or what, but I dragged myself through this for the first half +.  I had to finish it:
1) So I could discuss it when the club meets.
2) Because my grandmother decided she couldn't finish it (she read the first 19 chapters and last 7 chapters) - keeping in mind that she has no interest in "legal thrillers."

Here's the thing, the whole story is "Where'd this money come from?" and "Who else knows about it?"  It didn't make for much of a plot to me. 

The story did eventually pick up and I finished the book, but not without some frustration.  And I didn't especially care for the ending.  Not the who and why, but the way it was all resolved.

I wish I could remember what his writing was like, and what I enjoyed before.  Too bad I didn't blog back then.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Criminal

Title: Your Friendly Neighborhood Criminal

Author: Michael Van Rooy

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Series: Monty Haaviko, Bk 2

ISBN: 9780312606305

Pages: 324

Obtained: ILL library copy

Comments:

I read the first book in this series, An Ordinary Decent Criminal, for The Canadian Book Challenge 6. I read this one because I wanted to know how things went for Monty after the last book.  The only way to do that (without purchasing it) was ILL.

A smuggling ring is being set up to traffic people (refugee sorts) between Canada and the US, and Monty has been paid to help with making the route secure and the smuggling so quiet as not to be noticed by officials on both ends.  Too bad one of the original crew had a drug problem and a big mouth.  Now others want to use the route for more nefarious purposes (drugs, guns, etc.), and Monty needs to clear this issue up.

I think Monty is slipping. Oh he says he's gone straight, but he's does more and more criminal like activity as he goes. It's as if he thinks, "If it isn't for gain, or if it is for good, it's okay." Mmhm. Right. Nevertheless, I enjoyed seeing how he solves the situations he comes across. I have to say that the violence is pretty up there though. The willingness to torture, etc.  Somehow, despite Monty's tendency toward violence and a character that is so very different (from me and my world) that it's hard for me to comprehend, he makes the story.

Anyway, I have to try the third book, A Criminal to Remember.  But that will be the last since the author, Michael Van Rooy, passed in early 2011.

An Ordinary Decent Criminal

Title: An Ordinary Decent Criminal

Author: Michael Van Rooy

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Series: Monty Haaviko, Bk 1

ISBN: 9780312606282

Pages: 278

Obtained: ILL Library copy

Comments:

Michael Van Rooy was a Canadian author I discovered on NoveList (unfortunately he passed in 2010).  This is the first of his crime series, and it sounded interesting so I decided to try it.

Monty/Sam is a criminal trying to go straight.  He's moved with his wife and young son to Winnipeg to get a fresh start.  But that's kind of hard to do when you have guys breaking into the house you're renting and you shoot them - all in the first 2 pages of your story.  Monty is arrested and assaulted by the police and can't really lead his new life with this hanging over his head.

The detective who arrested him is set to let everyone know about his past and ruin his start before it's even begun.  And the cousin of one of the robbers he shot is after him to hold up his reputation.  His very first employer fires him after one day's work, and his landlady is trying to have them evicted, and the neighbors don't want him around, and someone's trying to get him to break under his addiction, and, and, and...

So maybe Monty needs to go back to his old ways - just a little - to set things right and make his future possible.

The language and everything else is pretty graphic.  Monty is going straight for his family and new beginnings  - not because of any remorse.  The dust jacket says he's a "antihero who readers will root for against all odds."  I don't know what to think of him really.  I wouldn't say I like him (and I can and do like criminal protags - thieves and assassins and all).  But I did root for him too.  I think it was the justice (or lack) of the thing.  I mean, the man is trying to do things differently, whatever the reasons, and you're gonna mess that up for him?  It riled the part of me that wanted to advocate for prisoner's rights back when (If only I had the nerve to actually speak up - which I don't because I'm terribly shy, really.  But that was a career path I considered at one point.).

The story kind of reminded me of the television show Prison Break, even though Monty's completed his time and isn't even on parole or anything so it isn't the same thing at all.  Anyway, I hope to read the second book, Your Friendly Neighborhood Criminal, because I'm curious how things go for Monty, but I'll have to ILL it, too.

True Blue

Title: True Blue

Author: David Baldacci; Read by Ron McLarty

Publisher: Hachette Audio

ISBN: 9781600247613

Length: 12 Discs; 14 hours

Obtained: Personal copy - won from another blogger a few years ago

Comments:

I needed an audio to take the puppy on a walk (long story), the library was closed, and I had just finished the audio I did have checked out (A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny)... Then I had a light bulb moment.  I still had that audio I won and never got around to listening to.  Unfortunately, when I first started it, I didn't like it.  There was a molestation scene in the prison; I never handle rape/molestation in books/movies well.

And I think a large part of my dislike was due to the narrator.  He felt more spy novel than thriller to me.  Plus, when Beth and Mace Perry were talking to each other, Beth sounded like a guy.  She actually sounded like a guy most the time, but it was more obvious and grating when she was talking to her sister.  Then there was the music and sound effects.  This was my first time with sound effects or music between scenes in an audio.  It took some adjusting.

But adjust I did.  Eventually, I was able to get into the story (good thing with 14 hours of listening).  I ended up thinking Mace was a decent character.  But the character that really shined for me was Roy Kingman.  I thought Roy was great.  He was the perfect sidekick, intelligent in his own right.  He had compassion and integrity (even if he allowed for some rule breaking when with Mace).  And he amused me.  I had some lol moments while listening and walking the dog, and they usually involved him.

As for the story, it interested me, but it also ventured in areas I didn't want to go.  My father is schizoaffective.  He can be paranoid about things, so anything that approaches conspiracy, even if it's legit, is something I avoid.  True Blue is loaded with conspiracy, which made me wary.  But the social aspect intrigued me.  My undergrad major was basically sociology with a concentration on law (delinquency, criminology, and sociology in and of prison  and court systems were all addressed in my coursework), so I already have an interest in some of the area's this book touches on.

Anyway, I've been told this particular book isn't Baldacci's best work.  I may try him again depending on the timing.  If I do, I think I'll either go for print or an audio with a different narrator.